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Notes on a Foreign Country
Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-American World | Suzy Hansen
15 posts | 15 read | 25 to read
Suzy Hansen left her country and moved to Istanbul and discovered America In the wake of the September 11 attacks and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Suzy Hansen, who grew up in an insular conservative town in New Jersey, was enjoying early success as a journalist for a high-profile New York newspaper. Increasingly, though, the disconnect between the chaos of world events and the response at home took on pressing urgency for her. Seeking to understand the Muslim world that had been reduced to scaremongering headlines, she moved to Istanbul. Hansen arrived in Istanbul with romantic ideas about a mythical city perched between East and West, and with a naïve sense of the Islamic world beyond. Over the course of her many years of living in Turkey and traveling in Greece, Egypt, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran, she learned a great deal about these countries and their cultures and histories and politics. But the greatest, most unsettling surprise would be what she learned about her own country—and herself, an American abroad in the era of American decline. It would take leaving her home to discover what she came to think of as the two Americas: the country and its people, and the experience of American power around the world. She came to understand that anti-Americanism is not a violent pathology. It is, Hansen writes, “a broken heart . . . A one-hundred-year-old relationship.” Blending memoir, journalism, and history, and deeply attuned to the voices of those she met on her travels, Notes on a Foreign Country is a moving reflection on America’s place in the world. It is a powerful journey of self-discovery and revelation—a profound reckoning with what it means to be American in a moment of grave national and global turmoil.
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aartichapati
Pickpick

Really enjoyed this one and the author‘s awakening to her own biases. So eye-opening and an excellent work to understand the impact America has on the world and other people.

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ReadingEnvy
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Book club tonight, with Turkish guests and Turkish food

BookNAround We went to Turkey for our honeymoon and I‘ve never eaten as well since. The food was fresh and amazing! 6y
ReadingEnvy @BookNAround I took a few Turkish cooking classes from some Turkish women here and I was impressed how they do everything from scratch! 6y
Amiable My husband and I traveled around Turkey about 7 years ago --it was one of the best vacations we've ever had. Wonderful food, wonderful people, gorgeous scenery. (edited) 6y
ReadingEnvy @Amiable it's on my shortlist for places I want to go 6y
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ReadingEnvy
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Pickpick

Suzy Hansen moved to Istanbul and found she had a lot of work to do to confront what it means to be a white American in the world. I found it thought provoking although I did get a little bogged down in the Iran-Egypt-Afghanistan parts at the end, just too much information to absorb. Tomorrow, my book club discusses it.

Leftcoastzen I really admired this book, can agree she dug deep in sections, but I like how she was ready to hear about the flaws in American exceptionalism. 6y
ReadingEnvy @Leftcoastzen absolutely... And the idea that blew me away most was the brainwashing of "freedom" as fascism... 6y
67 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Lchnessmnstr
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We have a way of separating us and them but when we really take the time to see the human experience, we aren‘t that different after all.

I feel a lot of fellow Appalachians can relate to stories from the 2014 Soma mining disaster in Turkey. If only they knew that it happened...

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sherrynuts
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I seem to be the only one who doesn't love this book. I don't think I'm going to be able to finish before it's due back. I don't like the author and I'm struggling to get past her to the ideas that made me pick up the book.

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ShannonOffDuty
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Wow! A very revealing look at American exceptionalism. The history we were taught in school paints a pretty picture for us. This is a book that will remove the filter. Although I must criticize how there is no enough acknowledgment of gender discrimination through this dark history (from either side) but otherwise this was totally enlightening. Definitely a must read.

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Leftcoastzen
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Curious as to why James Baldwin said he was more comfortable in Turkey than in Paris and New York,and her drive to better understand the world , Suzy Hansen moves to Istanbul.While learning about Turkey, Greece, and Iran the young journalist gets an education in US exceptionalism and a history of interference in other countries and cultures,that often has had disastrous results . Coming home for a visit, she is made keenly aware of U.S. decline.

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Kelleymbak
Pickpick

Wonderful will read anything about turkey now! And have also picked up James Baldwin. First review on Litsy so I am still practicing on how to write reviews.

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Melliocity

I read this recently and it is, in part, why I‘m reading James Baldwin now. I hadn‘t realized that Baldwin lived in Turkey for a time and Hansen talks about how this influenced her thinking about Baldwin and the Middle East. Hansen‘s book is a great read for our time!

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Leftcoastzen
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Hate it when this happens, disc 7 of 9 would not work! Took it back , we discovered the disc is blank! Got back in line for the audio .Heard enough to know this is an important read .Ms. Hansen‘s only disquiet over her own country comes from reading James Baldwin. When she moves abroad she‘s longing to learn about other countries & cultures.What she finds is American exceptionalism & U.S. interference in world affairs often with tragic results.

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Markblum
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A distressing view of the U.S.A.'s involvement in world politics which documents the ways in which our government has meddled and influenced other nations.

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Nitpickyabouttrains
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Pickpick

This book was full of history. Extremely well informed and well written. The author lived abroad and learned truths about America that are shared here.

tomes4gnomes This sounds amazing. Stacked. 7y
23 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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lauralovesbooks1
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Pickpick

Suzy Hansen grew up in a small town in New Jersey. At around the age of 30, she got a fellowship to live abroad and moved to Istanbul. There she realizes how little she knows about the rest of the world and how much of what she does know is influenced by ideas of American exceptionalism that she didn't realize she had. This book really made me stop, question, and reflect. Large parts of this should be required reading in American high schools.

JaclynW I love books like this! I need to look into this one. Thanks for your review. 7y
Anna40 Sounds great! 7y
24 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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chlobee
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All the #cursive books in my collection, plus one library book that I am #currentlyreading (and loving)! Happy September!
#fallintobooks

Nat_Reads Calvino! What a weird and wonderful mind!! 7y
chlobee @Nat_Reads I haven't gotten to him yet, but am looking forward to it! 7y
RealLifeReading Very pretty! 7y
19 likes3 comments