Just Finished Reading: A World in Disarray – American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order by Richard Haass (FP: 2017) [328pp]
Typically, I’m VERY late to the party. Maybe if I had read this book soon after I picked it up, rather than almost 10 years later, I might have been ahead of the news cycle! However, we’re here eventually.
The world was born refreshed (although birthed in both fire and blood) with the end of World War Two and the beginnings of the Cold War. For a significant part of the world and for a significant period of time things were, generally, stable. This meant than long-term planning and long-term profits were possible and the world entered, somewhat briefly, an era of rapid and persistent growth. As we know now this came to a grinding halt with the 1970’s oil crisis (which feels very familiar right now) and we entered a period of growing instability. When the Berlin Wall fell and, shortly after, the Soviet Union followed some expected things to calm down permanently. They did in fact (quoting Teal’c from Stargate) calm up. The orderly world many of us had been born into or grown up in started to break down. Part of this was to do with the instability in the ex-Soviet states and Russia itself. Part was caused by the rise of China and the slow (relative) decline of the US accelerated by foreign wars and other adventures. Part was caused by economic shocks and the revolutions across the Middle East and South America. Part was caused by the inability of the existing nuclear powers to prevent their proliferation to others like India, Pakistan, North Korea or Israel. Seemingly, without the military and ideological binding of the Cold War things began to spiral out of control.
The author argues, and I somewhat agree, that at least some of the blame for this state of affairs can be laid at the feet of the United States. Without the Cold War to focus minds the US has struggled to define or decide on its place in the world. Is it enough to be a ‘shinning beacon’ to the rest? Do they need to ‘bang heads’ when other countries step out of line (as in the First Gulf War) or is it OK to support tyrants for the ‘greater’ good (which all too often aligned with American good). More to the point, with shifting political ideals and changes of party at the top could America keep a consistent policy over decades? His central argument (which I disputed) was that the world cannot achieve stability or prosperity WITHOUT US involvement. The question, as always, is what that involvement would look like.
This was by no means a perfect book. As we know, a GREAT deal has changed in the last 10 years. As I was reading through this, I was more than a little surprised that Trump was not mentioned at all. He did eventually show up in the afterword and the author explained that the original hardback version went to his publishers as the election that Trump (unexpectedly) won was underway. What he did say was that the disarray he saw coming was accelerated in the first year or so of the first Trump administration. I do wonder what he would think now! I did find the text a little boring to be honest. Part of that was the fact that most of what he talked about I was mostly familiar with and that I (mostly) agreed with his analysis – so it contained little new information or ideas. I also thought that, despite his insider knowledge and wide experience, he was rather naive and had the all too usual American blind spots where the world is concerned (in that the rest of the world isn’t America nor does most of it want to be). Overall, though this is a pretty good, high-level, general introduction to global politics post-WW2 and especially post-Cold War as well as a sobering assessment of the future we’re pushing in to. It’s a little out of date at this point but by reading it you’ll have a fair idea of how we got ourselves into this mess. Reasonable and more on this subject to come.
Matthews now hosts a weekly music show on BBC Radio 6 Music, a weekly blues show on BBC Radio 2, and from 2021-2024 co-hosted a weekly show on BBC Radio 4, Add To Playlist, which won the Prix Italia and Prix Europa 2022. She also makes documentaries for television and radio and was a roving reporter for The One Show. She founded "The Good Life Experience", a festival of culture and the great outdoors in Flintshire in 2014, and is author of Hook, Line and Singer, published by Penguin Books, and children's stories Tales from the Deep and Gelert, A Man's Best Friend, published by Gomer. Matthews' illustrated version of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood was published, in November 2022, by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Catatonia were formed in 1992, after Matthews met Mark Roberts. She subsequently sang lead vocals on, and co-wrote the music and lyrics for, the band's hits. Songs she co-wrote included "You've Got a Lot to Answer For", "Mulder and Scully", "Dead from the Waist Down", and "Road Rage". Matthews also played guitar on the earlier material before second guitarist Owen Powell joined the band. She also performed a single with the band Space named "The Ballad of Tom Jones", which tells the story of two lovers who want to kill each other, but then hear a Tom Jones song that defuses their homicidal feelings. Matthews later collaborated with Jones to record a version of Frank Loesser's "Baby, It's Cold Outside" on Jones's 1999 album Reload. Matthews was voted the "Sexiest Female in Rock" in a 1999 readers' poll in the now-defunct magazine Melody Maker.
After Catatonia's rise to fame with their second album International Velvet, and subsequent success with Equally Cursed and Blessed, the band returned in 2001 with their fourth studio album, Paper Scissors Stone. In September 2001, the band officially split.
[I saw Cerys sing at Glastonbury in 2000 when she supported The Pet Shop Boys. My friend at the time (who is Welsh) was a HUGE fan of hers and he passed some of that on to me. They were a fun band while they lasted.]
Just Finished Reading: The Accomplice by Joseph Kanon (FP: 2019) [324pp]
Hamburg, 1962. It was a request that Aaron Wiley could hardly refuse. After suffering a heart attack on the street his uncle was fighting for his life. His uncle, Holocaust survivor, dedicated Nazi Hunter, was convinced that he seen the infamous Dr Otto Schramm in Germany. A man who was supposed to have died in Argentina, a man who had picked his uncle, Max Weill, out of a line of camp inmates to help him with his ‘experiments. It was a face, a way of walking that Max could hardly forget. Aaron was harder to convince but a later incident changed his mind. But what could he do about it? Despite being a desk officer for the CIA, he had no field experience, couldn’t speak the language and had no contacts in Buenos Aires except for the CIA office there. Aaron knew they wouldn’t help him. Why would they? They hadn’t been in the Nazi hunting business since the war ended and they were trying to make nice with the new government now that Peron was out. So, he was on his own. Even Max’s contacts in MOSSAD where less than enthusiastic, especially with the global publicity surrounding the Eichmann kidnapping. But reluctantly, they would help as much as they could, which would be damned little. Aaaron was most definitely on his own...
I’ve never been disappointed with this author, and he is an auto-buy for me every time I see another of his books in paperback. This was (as expected) no exception to his run of excellent historical/Cold War thrillers. From the first few pages I was hooked. The feel of the novel was somewhere between ‘Marathon Man’ and ‘The Odessa File’ - kind of Cold War, seedy, war criminals hiding (often in plain sight) with higher authorities either turning a blind eye or actively colluding with their disappearance (for a number of reasons – none of them good). One top of this wonderful ‘feel’ we have very good characterisation – you know how I like that – with Max, Aaron, the love interest Hanna (a wonderfully complex multi-layered character) and other less central players. The story itself took turns I wasn’t expecting and surprised me multiple times which I really liked. Nothing worked out quite the way I thought it would. But I think the best part of the novel for me was the completely outstanding dialogue. Not only did it feel REAL it was clever, complex, full of asides and meanings that wouldn’t have been apparent to those without the godlike view of the reader. More than once, I thought that any other character in earshot wouldn’t really know what they were *really* talking about – rather than what they SEEMED to be talking about. It was quite brilliant.
As you might expect I really enjoyed this – I do seem to be doing very well with novels lately – and the author has confirmed, yet again, his auto-buy status. There is a warning however, being based around the subject matter it is there will be moments of nastiness (to say the least) which some sensitive readers might find rather objectionable. I did have a few nose wrinkling/frowning moments and I consider myself quite Stoic. So, be warned! Obviously recommended but with that caveat in mind.
