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A stunning personal narrative of best intentions gone awry, Michael Maren, at one time an aid worker and journalist in Somalia, writes of the failure of international charities, such as CARE and Save the Children, who he claims does anything but. Maren also attacks the United Nation's "humanitarian" missions are controlled by agribusinesses and infighting bureaucrats.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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London Review of Books
A devastating portrayal of aid agencies drunk on government largesse and indifferent to actual needs and to the impact of their assistance.— London Review of Books --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
A devastating portrayal of aid agencies drunk on government largesse and indifferent to actual needs and to the impact of their assistance.— London Review of Books --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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The town of Baidoa in southwestern Somalia, it seems, will forever be called "the city formerly known as the City of Death." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The town of Baidoa in southwestern Somalia, it seems, will forever be called "the city formerly known as the City of Death." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I came to this book via Paul Theroux's 'Dark Star Safari' and his observations of the foreign aid paradox. Having previously read Romeo Dallaire's 'Shake Hands With The Devil' (commanding general of UN troops in Rwanda up to and during the genocide) I was beginning to feel uneasy about UN and other NGO involvement in developing countries. This book, together with 'Lords Of Poverty', both written by people who can speak with total authority on the aid industry, for such it is, turned unease into a healthy scepticism that questions the bona fides of every well-intentioned media celebrity, government minister, UN spokesperson, to appeal to our consciences and take our money. That's what all these books are about, and the title, taken from: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."? The question is, whose? This books answers that.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Maren does a good job of smearing the UN system, US foreign policy directions, and corrupt officials of the developing world. He does less well when it comes to the private international aid organizations, whose evisceration seems to be his primary aim.
He targets mainly CARE and Save the Children, two vastly different organizations. The blunders and witting or unwitting contributions to the problems of Somalia made by CARE and the other large NGOs are not in the same category as the problems associated with sponsorship.
He should probably have trained his sights more carefully on one or the other problem. Instead we get a scattershot denunciation of all attempts at aid, as patronizing, self-serving, and ultimately destructive.
Some of the 'facts' he uses to support his case are patently flawed--especially his discussion of the PL480 program and his definitions of Title I, Title II and Title III. This may be academic, but these mistakes undermine some of his broader points.
Finally, while I agree most wholeheartedly about the apathy and ignorance--bordering on criminal neglect--which is rife within the UN system, I think his tar-brush is a bit too ambitious when it comes to the overall picture of international aid.
I fully support his recommendation, at the end of the penultimate chapter, that an independent body be established to accredit organizations who are actually doing good, and to channel donors toward them as the most hopeful targets of resources. My fear is that probably the largest organizations in existence today wouldn't make the list, and some of the smaller, more professional ones, when injected with so much donor capital, will become bloated and ineffective, much as the big ones are today.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
First off, I think this book should be retitled to reflect that 95% of the information is on Somalia and the charities & aid organisations there. I was hoping for a broader look at foreign aid rather than one case study. Nevertheless, this book was compelling at the beginning. I loved the personal story of Chris, (who worked for CARE in remote Somalia, his family was with him) for him it all went sadly wrong and this really touched me, and also Michael's own story of his time in Africa. But by the middle of the book, I found my interest waning. The personal stories were fading and I felt like I was bogged down in a boring array of facts. If you are looking for a book on Africa that is a wonderful personal experience, check out Keith Richburg's Out of America - it's brilliant.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent Dose of Truth
The author is well qualified to report on the subject as someone who was part of the African aid-mafia before seeing it for what it really is. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2004 by Seb M
I don't even know what to say about this book because
it doesn't make any sense what so ever
Published on 12 July 1999
Eye-opening!
If you've ever felt a twinge of guilt when you turn the page on a starving child in one of those Save the Children ads, this book is must reading. Read more
Published on 2 July 1999
More important and relevant than ever
With the Balkan humanitarian crisis shaping U.S. military and foreign policies, it is important to understand that humanitarians comprise a lobby and interest group as much as any... Read more
Published on 7 Jun 1999
Interesting reading, emotional hype, faulty reasoning
Mr. Maren provides an interesting look into the impact of aid in Somalia and into the operation of Save the Children (subjects not obviously related). Read more
Published on 11 May 1999
A Stunning Achievement
Beyond the shocking information this book provides about the state of charity, the quality of mercy, and the contradictions of human nature, it is a stunning literary achievement. Read more
Published on 15 Jun 1998
Inciteful and Informative
I really liked this book. It gives alot of first hand accounts of the problems with international aid. Read more
Published on 24 April 1998
The Truth Hurts
This tale of misguided and misapplied aid is a definite eye-opener. Its veracity is undeniable. The cases cited are convincingly presented, and the author gives a fair picture... Read more
Published on 18 Mar 1998
Recommended Reading!
This book has changed the way I think about foreign aid. Maren shows how much of our so-called help is really the effort to control other cultures or make a little money. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 1998
Too much Sensationalism Just to Sell A book
While some of of the arguments made against international relief by Mr. Maren in his book are correct, he goes a bit too far in damning the whole aid sector just by using a few,... Read more
Published on 1 Mar 1998
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