Obama Does Globalistan (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: new great game, south stream, global financial crisis, Latin America, Central Asia, Middle East (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This essay is a companion to my own Globalistan, published in early 2007, which I defined as a warped geopolitical travel book. I argued then that in a context of re-medievalization - the world fragmented into "stans" - we are now living an intestinal war, an undeclared global civil war. Borrowing from Zygmunt Bauman's concept of liquid modernity, I called it Liquid War - and not only because of the global scramble for "black gold" oil and "blue gold" gas.

Globalistan was essentially a long reportage crisscrossing the world. This text reflects the fact that I spent most of 2008 in the U.S. following the presidential campaign. As far as New Rome is concerned I'm usually outside looking in - the point of view of my dying profession, the foreign correspondent. In this text I'm most of the time inside looking out. Globalistan can be read as an on the ground - and underground - report on the Bush administration wasteland. This text could be something of a last chapter - out of the belly of the beast.

2009 is the Mother of all celebratory years. The 20 years of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The 30 years of the Iranian Islamic revolution. The 50 years of the Cuban revolution. The 60 years of NATO. The 70 years of World War II. The 80 years of the Great Depression. The 90 years of the Versailles Treaty. It's as if the world was turning on its gyre as in a psychedelic kaleidoscope reviving modern history in high-speed. And which figure comes out of the kaleidoscope, grinning his cool, calm and collected best to deal with a 1929-style crisis, the new Cold War or perhaps to conduct Versailles-style diplomacy? Barack Hussein Obama.

Product Details

• Paperback: 116 pages
• Publisher: Nimble Books (January 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934840831
• ISBN-13: 978-1934840832
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #373,165 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear sighted, April 18, 2009

By	Rita Sydney (Walnut Creek, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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Most of this slim volume just brings up to date the geopolitics of oil and gas that the author develops at length in the earlier book, Globalistan.

However, it's worth a read because the first section sums up vividly the reality confronting Obama. There's an itemization of what voters who backed him want from the Obama presidency: a dandy list handy for check-off come 2012.

Mr. Escobar points out that the Obama promise of "change" turned quickly to "experience" once he was elected and started to place people in positions.

The author asks at the beginning of the book if perhaps the Obama administration is going to be just a way to tamp down the rage of progressives to keep them from true change-making activism.

The book concludes with an extensive observation by David Harvey who says we will have to wait and see if Obama merely perpetuates a kinder, gentler version of the neo-liberalism of the past three decades.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Benchmark Book?, May 21, 2009

By	Alexey Braguine author of Kingmaker - See all my reviews

Mr. Escobar likes to call himself The Roving Eye. This description might be off as it implies a wide, ambling view. There is nothing ambling about Escobar's stiletto-sharp observations, which, I'm sure make, many people in power nervous. In Obama Does Globalistan, the author, a frequent critic of U.S. foreign policy, reveals his optimism about Obama and gives the new president the benefit of the doubt. I wonder if Escobar plans to use this essay as a measuring benchmark in a year or so.

For anyone interested in foreign affairs and the U.S. position in the world, Obama Does Globalistan is a must read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For geopolitics junkies, September 30, 2009

By	Patrick Perdu (Costa Rica) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Once again Pepe Escobar, one of the most astute observers of the world scene, signs here a reference guide on our crazy world.
Except for the format of the book (large and thin) it could be a travel phrasebook for the news navigator.
No litterature here, just different shades of light on facts, facts, facts.
As far as intelligence means making connections (inter lego), this is a pretty pure: you will not find detailed meeting reports in here, or day by day analysis of the Russia-Georgian war, but for the avid reader of news Pepe Escobar makes the connections between seemingly non-related events. His forte: looking at the same situation from the different points of view, backed up by a life devoted to meeting the actors to get their first hand interpretation.
For those who have read Pepe Escobar's Pipelinistan, the ceter part of this book is essentially an update on the subject - just great.
This is not a book for the casual reader. Actually it is best read close to Google, Wikipedia or CIA world fact book as Pepe does not detail much the facts beyond mentioning them.
Every paragraph, nearly each sentence is meaningful to a point that would render the reading tedious were it not for the humor and light style.
All in all one of the most enlightening books you could get on geopolitics / geostrategy provided you are alerady somewhat versed in the subject. Certainly not a Christmas present for your average 16 something Beyonce-loving niece.
For me a clear killer - a well deserved five stars.