The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power

Reviews (See all 20) Write a reviewfor this

• 
  

  Having got through most of my life with (to my shame) only a passing interest in current affairs, I decided the time had come to address my ignorance. Happily, I came upon a number of books in a new genre (for me) to assist in my endeavour. This is one of them. Sanger's excellent journalistic skills and the sometimes terrifying subject matter make this a fascinating and educating read - I now feel I could hold up my end in a dinner party conversation on American foreign policy. This is no... (show more)

  Having got through most of my life with (to my shame) only a passing interest in current affairs, I decided the time had come to address my ignorance. Happily, I came upon a number of books in a new genre (for me) to assist in my endeavour. This is one of them. Sanger's excellent journalistic skills and the sometimes terrifying subject matter make this a fascinating and educating read - I now feel I could hold up my end in a dinner party conversation on American foreign policy. This is no mean achievement having bailed out of so many worthy tomes that utterly failed to hold my interest. Sanger makes no assumptions about the reader's level of political knowledge, but fills in all the salient facts, peppered with plenty of anecdotal material and humour. He seems to have had an extraordinary level of access inside the White House and farther afield. I don't think he's quite got as far as interviewing Osama bin Laden, (I'm still only half way through the book) but one nearly feels he'll pull off that stunt sooner or later. At times I found myself thinking of James Bond movies as the plot thickens around nuclear missiles going missing and falling into the wrong hands - except that, frighteningly, this is not a movie. Sanger is not an alarmist but he doesn't pull any punches either. A riveting read that falls just short of a 5 star vote from me, due to a slightly irritating habit of repeating information in case, perhaps, we didn't pay attention the first time. Or the second time. By the third time he presented the Khan scandal as though it was new information I was feeling just a little patronised. But a superb read nonetheless - I will be looking out for more of this. (show less)

   

   

  by Aine on Feb 04, 2010 at 03:34PM

  Already read

  Is this review helpful? yes no
   
• 
  

  A fascinating look at the international challenges of the last eight years, including Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North Korean, China, and terrorism. Sanger clearly feels Bush, Cheney, and a few other key top members of the Administration screwed up royally when they took their eye off of other pressing issues as they focused their attention on Iraq. The book feels overly ethnocentric (all other countries do what they do because of the US, as it turns out) and slanted against any opinion tha... (show more)

  A fascinating look at the international challenges of the last eight years, including Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North Korean, China, and terrorism. Sanger clearly feels Bush, Cheney, and a few other key top members of the Administration screwed up royally when they took their eye off of other pressing issues as they focused their attention on Iraq. The book feels overly ethnocentric (all other countries do what they do because of the US, as it turns out) and slanted against any opinion than what Sanger holds. In this way, the book is less like research and more like a really long article (Sanger writes for the NY Times). I think this sort of slant takes away the credibility of his argument. Furthermore, Sanger writes with 20/20 hindsight, but doesn't seem to acknowledge it. All of this said, he recognizes that the challenges the US faces are, in fact, incredibly complex. Worth reading but with a large grain of salt. (show less)

   

   

  by Joel on Sep 07, 2009 at 11:37PM

  Already read

  Is this review helpful? yes no
   
• See all reviews
  Write a review