World Issues in a Global Notebook
February 18th 2007 23:20
I’ve suffered a small case of fiction overload lately. One league of characters after another marching through my head and out again with no one staying long enough to make an impression. When this happens I need a good non-fiction to clear the head and bring me back to earth.
And as quite often happens, a great little book passed through my hands and supplied me with just that. 50 Things You Want to Know About World Issues: but were too afraid to ask by Keith Suter not only puts you back on earth, it explains a lot of the issues that are turning it today (from an Australian perspective). He calls it a ‘Global Notebook’, which is a fair description. Yes, there are 50 issues covered, but in layman’s terms, not political double-speak, and in short concise chapters that can be read consecutively or in your own order of preference.
Chapter topics cover those such as globalisation, terrorism, blow-backs, rogue states, oil shortages, free trade – all the stuff you hear of but know little about them or their effects on your life. There are also some more specific topics like – What else could the US have done after September 11? (I found that one particularly interesting) and Should world debt be forgiven? Of course there is more than one answer to some of these questions, depending on your own views, but Suter does a good job of explaining the issues and giving his opinion without trying to convince you one way or another. He is a foreign affairs editor and analyst for a variety of Australian media - government, free-to-air and pay, so he knows how to communicate with the public and is not restricted to one media empire’s view point (an important factor).
Ok, it’s not reading enjoyment in the usual sense and I’ll admit it can be a little depressing in some ways. It becomes quite clear as you plow through the chapters that the world is on a runaway train and we, as passengers, have no hand on the controls. But there is some encouraging news. Suter sorts out the complex workings of the UN and shows us that contrary to what the media likes to cover, (doom and gloom of the UN’s power) there is wonderful work being done behind the spotlight by UN specialised agencies such as UNESCO, WHO and FAO. He also highlights the work by non-government organisations (NGOs) in health (Medicins Sans Frontieres – Doctors Without Borders), and Antarctica (Antarctic and South Oceans Coalition – ASOC), which gives us all hope that we do not have to depend on governments to fix our world’s many problems. There are many ordinary people (extraordinary, I like to think) who are willing to get off their butts and do something constructive and pro-active about world issues. Heaven forbid if we should have to wait for our politicians to act. Only an up coming election is likely to make that happen!
I love books like these because they bring you up to speed on important matters without bogging you down with statistics and figures - camouflaging the real issues. And whether we like it or not, the world is becoming a smaller place and hiding away on our island paradise is no longer an option. We need a pro-active approach to world issues and knowledge is the first step toward some solutions.
Image: shop.abc.net.au
Chapter topics cover those such as globalisation, terrorism, blow-backs, rogue states, oil shortages, free trade – all the stuff you hear of but know little about them or their effects on your life. There are also some more specific topics like – What else could the US have done after September 11? (I found that one particularly interesting) and Should world debt be forgiven? Of course there is more than one answer to some of these questions, depending on your own views, but Suter does a good job of explaining the issues and giving his opinion without trying to convince you one way or another. He is a foreign affairs editor and analyst for a variety of Australian media - government, free-to-air and pay, so he knows how to communicate with the public and is not restricted to one media empire’s view point (an important factor).
Ok, it’s not reading enjoyment in the usual sense and I’ll admit it can be a little depressing in some ways. It becomes quite clear as you plow through the chapters that the world is on a runaway train and we, as passengers, have no hand on the controls. But there is some encouraging news. Suter sorts out the complex workings of the UN and shows us that contrary to what the media likes to cover, (doom and gloom of the UN’s power) there is wonderful work being done behind the spotlight by UN specialised agencies such as UNESCO, WHO and FAO. He also highlights the work by non-government organisations (NGOs) in health (Medicins Sans Frontieres – Doctors Without Borders), and Antarctica (Antarctic and South Oceans Coalition – ASOC), which gives us all hope that we do not have to depend on governments to fix our world’s many problems. There are many ordinary people (extraordinary, I like to think) who are willing to get off their butts and do something constructive and pro-active about world issues. Heaven forbid if we should have to wait for our politicians to act. Only an up coming election is likely to make that happen!
I love books like these because they bring you up to speed on important matters without bogging you down with statistics and figures - camouflaging the real issues. And whether we like it or not, the world is becoming a smaller place and hiding away on our island paradise is no longer an option. We need a pro-active approach to world issues and knowledge is the first step toward some solutions.
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