Money, Blood and Conscience

People come to writing from different avenues, some of which translate well into creating compelling fiction and some doesn’t. David Steinman is a career foreign democracy revolution strategist. Pretty hefty. Also, and more closely related to this book’s subject, he’s served as a senior foreign adviser to Ethiopia’s emerging democracy. For his various efforts he has been nominated for 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. All of which is to say, the man really, really, really knows what he’s talking about in this book…a story of a tv show producer turned grand scale charity relief person for Ethiopia, who becomes closely involved with the country’s rebel leader turned country’s legitimate leader and all the subsequent political consequences. The main character as we meet him in the 80s is a typical wealthy entrepreneur dissatisfied with his lucrative but meaningless work, who sees one of those starving child infomercials and goes all Geldof, eventually creating a huge concert to raise money for the destitute African country. But it doesn’t end there, he visits Ethiopia more and more, falls in love with a local woman, befriends a local rebel and then witnesses his meteoric rise to the top office and systemic abuse of the said office in the years to come. And through it all, the protagonist diligently works on putting together aid packages for the starving, despite the blatant mishandling of it by the powers that be. Meanwhile, the man he helped rise to power perverts democracy by playing all the right political games with major foreign players and abusing and murdering his own citizens. The sum total results in genocidal numbers, but it takes decades and a really personal connection for the uneasy symbiotic relationship between the two to finally sever. It’s a powerhouse of a story and not so much due to writing (the writing is perfectly serviceable in a matter of factly sort of way, but far from being the star of the show), but because it’s so heavily based on real events. I mean, I was vaguely aware of the situation in Ethiopia, the strife and starvation that made the news, but didn’t know all the terrifying details that led to it. It’s a fairly prototypical situation, actually, for a third world country. The tribal rivalries alone throw plenty of sticks into spokes, but there does seem to be a profound inability to self govern in a way that results in any sort of properly democratic way. Granted these countries were sort of unnaturally created by others, the boundaries, traditions, rules imposed on the locals by people with no respect for their own customs and traditions and it’s probably entire unfair to expect the emulation that was presupposed. Granted the first world countries have been making a mockery of democracy lately all by themselves, but there are still (for now) checks and balances. In countries like Ethiopia it seems there are none. Ever since gaining independence from colonial powers, there have been efforts to imitate the globally aspired to standards, but it almost all inevitably turns to internecine fighting, misappropriation of funds, poverty, starvation, violence, violations of basic rights and freedoms and so on. And I know this is a huge generalization, but it is an empirically sound one. Even if people come to power for the right reasons and desire to bring a positive change, a brief time in that coveted office changes all of that. It might just be down to something as basic as the inherent defects in social make up, it’s more difficult to be good, it’s easier to go the either way. Tragic as that may be. And it’s tragic the way first world countries exploit their lesser by using them for their own ends as military power in the chosen region and so on. Like a vicious cycle of exploitation on various scales. Something about the evils of too much power. So anyway, sorry for the tangent, but this book made me think about all that. Because it’s the sort of book that really makes you think. It was also very educational and provided a complex well balanced representation of Ethiopia past and present, locally and on global scale. Frankly, I’m not sure I would ever read a nonfiction book about all of this, and so I really appreciated the way the author combined the investigative journalism with a fictionalized plot aspects for a much more compelling reading experience. All in all, I found it to be a great read, enlightening, smart, intellectually engaging. It may not be a great work of literature (I’m not even sure I very much liked the protagonist either, his unwillingness to realistically perceive the situation he was perpetuating was frustrating, his dedication to maintaining status quo was maddening, but all of these were all too understandable foibles of a wealthy man who is proud of himself for making a difference and refuses to critically consider his actions), but it is a terrific account of a country in crisis, one that, interestingly enough, says as much about the US as it does about Ethiopia. Read this book for its historical and sociopolitical context and you’ll come away educated, informed and disturbed, kind of like after reading NYT in the morning. But, if you can deal with the inherent bleakness of the subject matter, do read this book. Thanks Netgalley.

First, let me admit, I went in knowing almost nothing about the events this book revolves around. Although this is a fictional take on actual events, it feels like Steinman did a lot of research to bring it all to life. There are unforgettable people withing the pages of this book, and they face daunting challenges, including corruption and violence. Although those outside Ethiopa mean well, they're truly unprepared for what faces them and hinders their desire to provide aid within the country. I would've liked some of the characters to be more fleshed out, but the plot moves along smoothly, and makes you want to keep reading. If you enjoy historical fiction based on real events, then you're going to want to grab this one.