The Good American
The Epic Life and Adventures of Bob Gersony, the U.S. Government's Greatest Humanitarian
New York : Random House, [2021]
Format: Book
Edition: First edition.
Description: xviii, 521 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
"The Good American is a story about courage, intense loneliness, and the State Department's golden age during the late Cold War and post-Cold War. It is also a celebration of ground level reporting and getting a worm's eye view of crisis zones. Robert Gersony, a high-school dropout later awarded a bronze star in Vietnam, spent over four decades on the ground in virtually every war and natural disaster zone in the world. Interviewing hundreds of refugees and displaced persons in each place to assess humanitarian crises, Gersony's research and thorough reports had an immense, underappreciated impact on US foreign policy across the globe. In every case, his recommendations made it smarter and more humane, often dramatically so. In his career as a journalist, Robert D. Kaplan often crossed paths with Gersony while covering the "hot" moments of the Cold War and its aftermath. Even as a biography, this is Kaplan's most personal book to date, and through Gersony's story, he makes a poignant case for how American diplomacy should be conducted--with a clear eye toward facts on the ground--at a time when diplomacy is too often being left behind."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects:
Gersony, Robert.
United States. Agency for International Development -- Officials and employees -- Biography.
United States. Department of State -- Officials and employees -- Biography.
Humanitarian assistance, American.
Refuge (Humanitarian assistance) -- United States.
Philanthropists -- United States -- Biography.
Gersony, Robert.
United States. Agency for International Development -- Officials and employees -- Biography.
United States. Department of State -- Officials and employees -- Biography.
Humanitarian assistance, American.
Refuge (Humanitarian assistance) -- United States.
Philanthropists -- United States -- Biography.
ISBN:
9780525512301
Availability | |||
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Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
BIOGRAPHY Gersony, Robert | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Biography | In |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 475-490) and index.