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Title: The Man Who Tried to Save the World : The Dangerous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of an American Hero by Scott Anderson ISBN: 0-385-48666-9 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 16 May, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.45 (20 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: fantastic
Comment: What an inspiring man Fred Cuny was en what a great story.
A lovely written book about a great man. There should be more people like him. Great book.
Rating: 4
Summary: A great read, but with some intensely irritating errors
Comment: The book reads like a thunderclap. It starts quickly and picks up pace, holding the reader's fascination the entire time. Anderseon summarizes the humanitarian aid community and the situation in Russia well. (Full disclosure: this reviewer is an expatriate in Russia working with refugees.)
The errors in the book are therefore almost unforgiveable. It's simply incredible that someone who supposedly did so much research made such fundamental mistakes as:
1. Referring to the newly constructed Embassy--the one with all the bugs--as "miles" from the older Embassy where he was speaking with the Ambassador. The two buildings are separated by about three hundred meters, and are visible to each other.
2. Referring to a "two-million" dollar ransom for Cuny on one page, and eleven pages later referring to the individual who made it as the man who demanded "three million" dollars.
There are other errors as well, all of them inconsequential to the flow of the story and its overall conclusions. I must admit, however, that it left me wondering what other facts did he get wrong that I did not know about.
A final quibble is that Anderson presents Cuny's positive achievements as simple facts. There is no doubt that Cuny achieved much during his life, and he did a lot of good, but he and his approach to humanitarian aid were (and still are) much more controversial than the author indicates. The people Anderson blithely dismisses as angry at Cuny's accusations of ineptitude should have been given a greater say on how -they- felt about -him-. This is minor, however, and simply means the reader should be aware that the author has a bias, which is neither surprising nor unexpected.
Rating: 5
Summary: Maintains its relevancy - a great read
Comment: Anderson's book is two great tales in one: a brief history of the Chechnyan conflict; and the amazing life of Fred Cuny.
Writing this review right after the conclusion of the recent Chechen-led, mass-hostage-taking in Moscow, I have come to fully appreciate the continued relevance of Scott Anderson's great piece of journalism. Chechnya was, in Fred Cuny's words, the "scariest place I've ever seen." [Read about this guy's incredible life and you'll understand the magnitude of that statement.]
The book is filled with many tales of the desperation, fighting power, guile and pluck of the Chechnyan people. In short, it's no surprise to me (and certainly not to Scott Anderson, I bet) that despite Vladimir Putin's assiduous efforts, the terror has made its way to Moscow.
If you think one life can't make a difference, then you don't know about Fred Cuny. What he did in Sarajevo during the Bosian conflict will blow your mind.
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Title: Triage by Scott Anderson ISBN: 0684856530 Publisher: Scribner Paperback Fiction Pub. Date: November, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Famine, Conflict and Response: A Basic Guide by Frederick C. Cuny, Richard B. Hill, Pat Reed ISBN: 1565490908 Publisher: Kumarian Press Pub. Date: February, 1999 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis by David Rieff ISBN: 068480977X Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Emma's War: An Aid Worker, a Warlord, Radical Islam, and the Politics of Oil--A True Story of Love and Death in Sudan by Deborah Scroggins ISBN: 0375403973 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Taking Liberties: Four Decades in the Struggle for Rights by Aryeh Neier ISBN: 1891620827 Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: 07 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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