The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism

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From Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and bestselling author Ron Suskind comes a startling look at how America lost its way and at the nation's struggle, day by day, to reclaim the moral authority upon which its survival depends. From the White House to Downing Street, from the fault-line countries of South Asia to the sands of Guantánamo, Suskind offers an astonishing story that connects world leaders to the forces waging today's shadow wars and to the next generation of global citizens. Tracking down truth and hope within the Beltway and far beyond it, Suskind delivers historic disclosures with this emotionally stirring and strikingly original portrait of the post-9/11 world.

In a sweeping, propulsive, and multilayered narrative, The Way of the World investigates how America relinquished the moral leadership it now desperately needs to fight the real threat of our era: a nuclear weapon in the hands of terrorists. Truth, justice, and accountability become more than mere words in this story. Suskind shows where the most neglected dangers lie in the story of "The Armageddon Test" —a desperate gamble to send undercover teams into the world's nuclear black market to frustrate the efforts of terrorists trying to procure weapons-grade uranium. In the end, he finally reveals for the first time the explosive falsehood underlying the Iraq War and the entire Bush presidency.

While the public and political realms struggle, The Way of the World simultaneously follows an ensemble of characters in America and abroad who are turning fear and frustration into a desperate—and often daring—brand of human salvation. They include a striving, twenty-four-year-old Pakistani émigré, a fearless UN refugee commissioner, an Afghan teenager, a Holocaust survivor's son, and Benazir Bhutto, who discovers, days before her death, how she's been abandoned by the United States at her moment of greatest need. They are all testing American values at a time of peril, and discovering solutions—human solutions—to so much that has gone wrong.

For anyone hoping to exercise truly informed consent and begin the process of restoring the values and hope—along with the moral clarity and earned optimism—at the heart of the American tradition, The Way of the World is a must-read.

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There are a number of story threads that illustrate the dichotomy between our culture of individualism and the fundamentalist cultures with which we find ourselves so at odds: "the fault line between faith and reason," as he calls it. But it also explores the historical and cultural background that led to today's dichotomy between what Suskind calls "the axis of divinity and authority" and countries that live by "the earthly sacraments of inalienable rights and informed consent." There is a lot of informative and persuasive material here that is well worth reading. Supreme Court ruling in June 2008 that prisoners have the right to file for habeas corpus). Suskind gives us our culture through the lens of Ibrahim's experience. The content of the book is an indictment of the backroom politics that led to the Iraq invasion, and in that regard I expect that, as usual, it confirms the beliefs of those who already believe it (it had that effect on me) and fails to impress those who believe otherwise.

Staying with a host family in a depressed area of Pennsylvania, he is befriended by a girl from his high school. The host mother then asks him what Suskind calls "the transforming question" -- the question that guides a country based on the notion that the people are sovereign, the question that exposes "the hairline crack between censure and compassion." She asks the young Afghani, "But what do YOU think.""The Way of the World" is a powerful book. I listened to the audio production, which was not entirely successful. gave up its claim to moral authority in the campaign against WMD.

Each of the threads contributes to the analysis of how the U.S. Along the way, Suskind covers a lot of ground and takes an unusual approach to the construction of his book, which was published in August 2008. "Does that ever happen in your country, Ibrahim." she asks him. Journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind develops and documents the circumstances leading to President Bush's statement that Iraq was known to have weapons of mass destruction; a deliberate lie, according to The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism. as part of a cultural exchange program. There are stories of operations by the CIA and by ex-CIA personnel; of Benazir Bhutto in her attempt to regain power and how the United States stood back from the effort to protect her; of the prisoners, lawyers and litigants involved in the case to establish habeas corpus rights for prisoners held at Guantanamo as enemy combatants (leading to the U.S.

On the other hand there were sections so opaque to me that I would probably have skimmed them to gather some small sense of their content, knowing they would never truly speak to me. It's an effective structure for a suspense novel but I found it somewhat disorienting here. The story at the core of this book is the flawed basis on which the United States brought war to Iraq. Eventually he finds out that she has a baby at home and assumes that she is married. He discusses it with his host mother who explains that Jillian is NOT married.

Yes, he says, but we'd have to kill her.

The story that will stay with me is that of young Ibrahim, a Muslim teenager from Afghanistan.

Thirteen hours of listening at one pace was difficult and I don't recommend it.

There is nothing linear here.

I DO recommend reading the book, though, if you are interested in the role of the United States in world events.

I wonder how the book would look and feel if the author had devoted a section to each story, rather than pulling the puliing the strands apart and playing them out inch by inch.

A refugee in his own country, Ibrahim was chosen to spend a year in the U.S.

For one thing, there were passages so emotively written, so epigrammatically perfect, that I would have liked to linger over them.

You may not agree with all of Suskind's premises, but I guarantee that you will find a lot to think about.Linda Bulger, 2009

I should also say, this is my first book of Ron.But, as I was reading through two things became very clear - One, Ron has lot of information to tell us and he is all over the place, unfortunately.Weaving might not be the right word, but "jumping" all over the place and trying to stich didn't really work. I should say, I picked up the book with a lot of expectations. I've heard about book, heard Ron's interviews, read few reviews as well and I know the topic very well. Every chapter and sometimes, even between pages, I got the feeling that I'm reading different books and often wondered one question "hmm. what's the connection, context here."This just stopped me to not proceed beyond the third chapter ( of the four ) and I stopped reading.I wish Ron took some time to see this disparateness and have some continuity, as it'd have dramatically improved the case, that the book is trying to make.

I had a couple of hours to kill in the bookstore, and picked up this book quite randomly. I couldn't let it go for the next 8 hours. The style of writing is very novel and engaging, and the intermingling of stories (all of them independently fascinating) evoked a sense of global understanding that would have been very hard to attain if he had just put each story in an independent chapter. Loved it.

A great book. Through disparate narratives and characters, Suskind deftly illustrates the many challenges faced by America today. He rightly suggests that survival in a post 9/11 world will require a depth of understanding, transparency, compassion, selflessness - a journey back to the core of our moral values and how we must tap into these values once again to find our place as the humble leaders of an increasingly dangerous world.

I bought this book in a hurry before I went on vacation. I feel like I chose unwisely. I am not familiar with the author but I expected it to be much better.