First published 2010
George Packer draws on a decade of reporting to examine how major events reshape individual lives. His investigation follows Iraqi interpreters abandoned by American forces, traces a discarded T-shirt's journey from New York to Uganda, and documents Appalachian reactions to Barack Obama's election. Packer moves between war zones and failed states, capturing voices from the margins of history. The collection spans from September 11 through Obama's rise to power, exploring how the war on terror transformed American foreign policy. Packer reveals the gap between political idealism and its human costs, showing how grand strategies play out in personal stories. These dispatches expose both America's capacity for self-deception and its potential for renewal.
Genres: non-fiction, 21st-century, journalism, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-narrative, social-commentary
Setting: America, Appalachia, Iraq, New York, Uganda
Period: September 11, Obama Administration
432 pages · Kindle Edition · Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Content warnings: war