The Good American
The Epic Life of Bob Gersony, the U.S. Government's Greatest Humanitarian
Robert D. Kaplan
- From
- the
- New
- York
- Times
- bestselling
- author
- of
- The
- Revenge
- of
- Geography
- comes
- a
- sweeping
- yet
- intimate
- story
- of
- the
- most
- influential
- humanitarian
- you’ve
- never
- heard
- of—Bob
- Gersony,
- who
- spent
- four
- decades
- in
- crisis
- zones
- around
- the
- world.“One
- of
- the
- best
- accounts
- examining
- American
- humanitarian
- pursuits
- over
- the
- past
- fifty
- years
- .
- .
- .
- With
- still
- greater
- challenges
- on
- the
- horizon,
- we
- will
- need
- to
- find
- and
- empower
- more
- people
- like
- Bob
- Gersony—both
- idealistic
- and
- pragmatic—who
- can
- help
- make
- the
- world
- a
- more
- secure
- place.”—The
- Washington
- PostIn
- his
- long
- career
- as
- an
- acclaimed
- journalist
- covering
- the
- “hot”
- moments
- of
- the
- Cold
- War
- and
- its
- aftermath,
- bestselling
- author
- Robert
- D.
- Kaplan
- often
- found
- himself
- crossing
- paths
- with
- Bob
- Gersony,
- a
- consultant
- for
- the
- U.S.
- State
- Department
- whose
- quiet
- dedication
- and
- consequential
- work
- made
- a
- deep
- impression
- on
- Kaplan.Gersony,
- a
- high
- school
- dropout
- later
- awarded
- a
- Bronze
- Star
- for
- his
- service
- in
- Vietnam,
- conducted
- on-the-ground
- research
- for
- the
- U.S.
- government
- in
- virtually
- every
- war
- and
- natural-disaster
- zone
- in
- the
- world.
- In
- Thailand,
- Central
- and
- South
- America,
- Sudan,
- Chad,
- Mozambique,
- Rwanda,
- Gaza,
- Bosnia,
- North
- Korea,
- Iraq,
- and
- beyond,
- Gersony
- never
- flinched
- from
- entering
- dangerous
- areas
- that
- diplomats
- could
- not
- reach,
- sometimes
- risking
- his
- own
- life.
- Gersony’s
- behind-the
- scenes
- fact-finding,
- which
- included
- interviews
- with
- hundreds
- of
- refugees
- and
- displaced
- persons
- from
- each
- war
- zone
- and
- natural-disaster
- area,
- often
- challenged
- the
- assumptions
- and
- received
- wisdom
- of
- the
- powers
- that
- be,
- on
- both
- the
- left
- and
- the
- right.
- In
- nearly
- every
- case,
- his
- advice
- and
- recommendations
- made
- American
- policy
- at
- once
- smarter
- and
- more
- humane—often
- dramatically
- so.In
- Gersony,
- Kaplan
- saw
- a
- powerful
- example
- of
- how
- American
- diplomacy
- should
- be
- conducted.
- In
- a
- work
- that
- exhibits
- Kaplan’s
- signature
- talent
- for
- combining
- travel
- and
- geography
- with
- sharp
- political
- analysis,
- The
- Good
- American
- tells
- Gersony’s
- powerful
- life
- story.
- Set
- during
- the
- State
- Department’s
- golden
- age,
- this
- is
- a
- story
- about
- the
- loneliness,
- sweat,
- and
- tears
- and
- the
- genuine
- courage
- that
- characterized
- Gersony’s
- work
- in
- far-flung
- places.
- It
- is
- also
- a
- celebration
- of
- ground-level
- reporting:
- a
- page-turning
- demonstration,
- by
- one
- of
- our
- finest
- geopolitical
- thinkers,
- of
- how
- getting
- an
- up-close,
- worm’s-eye
- view
- of
- crises
- and
- applying
- sound
- reason
- can
- elicit
- world-changing results.
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