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thomasroche's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed parts of this book, but by the end it read too much like an old guy cramming for heaven. Published posthumously, it covers the author's tenure as CIA Chief of Station in Amman, Jordan, and (by his report) a close confidante and adviser to King Hussein, followed by O'Connell's period of serving as the attorney in the United States for the King and the nation of Jordan. I am a real junkie for international affairs and particularly intelligence and military matters, so there is a lot here to appreciate. However, it doesn't have a thread to pull it all together sufficiently. O'Connell's writing style is reasonably engaging, and he possesses wide-ranging knowledge of the region. The main thing I took away from this book that will be of long-standing value is a sense of just how precarious a position the gov't of Jordan is in given the large percentage of Jordanians of Palestinian descent. The King's well-known conflicts with Israel are given in some useful detail, as is O'Connell's plain-spoken disdain for the way the hard-line Israelis and (some power brokers within) the Palestinians have conducted themselves. As I understand O'Connell's argument, the continuation of an armed occupation without real, meaningful peace served neither the Israeli people nor the Palestinian people, but solidified power within the hands of particular political elements over both populations. I can't really disagree with him. Unfortunately, his arguments are based largely on experiences in the past, and I'm not so sure I took away any useful views on the future.
In short, this is an essential book if you follow the politics of the region, and particularly the US within the region... but I'm not sure it's essential because it's all that good. It's more worthwhile because it's not bad, and it provides a semi-insider view, even if the author's insider status seems, at times, somewhat overstated.
In short, this is an essential book if you follow the politics of the region, and particularly the US within the region... but I'm not sure it's essential because it's all that good. It's more worthwhile because it's not bad, and it provides a semi-insider view, even if the author's insider status seems, at times, somewhat overstated.
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