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Originally Posted by Shek
JAD,
The Ugly American does tell of great achievements by Americans amongst the vignettes of those who don't make a good name for America. It is a balance that shows both what not to do along with what to do. Also, you appear to be forgetting the audience I'm talking about  I'm pretty confident that they are not American haters. |
I wasn't expecting that reply. I thought you might say you did include books about great achievement. But it makes sense. I had second thoughts about my comment. You are in the best position to judge what is best for your students.
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You're misinterpreting what I'm looking to do, much of which I believe stems from the fact that you haven't read the book.
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No, I understood, although you're right. I haven't read the book, except part of the scene setting first chapter. But the thread was dwelling on foreign service deficiencies and American boorish behavior abroad. I understood
that much. Maybe the book isn't about that. Anyway, I like my negative and/or positive telling of current or past events in documentary style. Two hundred some pages in fictional format is overkill IMO. You handled a big chunk of the problem it in one post. If I had to recommend 10 books to West Pointers, that book wouldn't be on the list; it would be a footnote.
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The book clearly demonstrates that the way to win favor is to do within the context of the culture you are operating in, and it does these through a couple of vignettes.
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The book would be good reading in a class about winning hearts and minds. I didn't know that was the class you're teaching.
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Our soldiers are operating as mini-ambassadors everyday in other countries, and if they go about it in a way that comes off as American arrogance, then we won't see success or else it will come at a higher cost, no matter what the intentions are. As the saying goes, good intentions aren't enough.
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I agree, but I would look for real examples to teach that, not a novel, no matter if it does grasp the essential point. Fictional characters create biases in people's minds about certain types of people and how they get on in life. Is the ambassador in the book typical? No, but someone not around many ambassadors might think so.