Do you want a primer on some of the worlds more unsavory regimes. No? How about a cookbook?
The word foreign policy is a presage of a long winded academic rant worthy of an afternoon nap, to most, which is why I suppose most people know so very little about it. It’s hard to get a firm handle on things when your dreaming and it’s all you can do to stop the drool running onto your lips.
Scrolling some anthropology websites, still having that lingering attachment to one of my college majors, and being a grad student in foreign affairs and public policy, I was intrigued when stopping at Culture Matters to see reference to a book by Chris Fair — a Washington, DC-based analyst of South Asian political and military affairs.
The book, from what I can tell is actually a serious attempt to discuss foreign policy related to and of any given (evil) country using the genre of a cookbook — and the dinner party — as the author states on the very amusing video which pops up on her site a few seconds after you arrive there.
The book contains discussion on things such as “crazy states doing some pretty despicable things with our tax dollar”, touches on the starving people of regimes who are dining luxuriously on whatever delicacy any given tyrant might fancy. Better yet it looks like it could make you laugh.
This onE is a laugher and a learner, an entertaining way to talk about issues which are serious “nod offer’s” for most people, but need to be brought to the attention of everyone.
You might enjoy taking her evil cuisines IQ test too.
I got one wrong. I hate when that happens, though the fact that I got the rest correct may be an indication I need to get out more, and by out I don’t mean Miss, if you value your life need to get out of this country like… right now.
I recommend this book based on the creative premise. I haven’t read it yet.
Tags: books
i should get out more. i got only the “drinks” questions correctly. i’ve missed you, dear cooper.
Missing you always, I am there.
It makes me wonder what other topics might become more digestable when couched in cooking book terminology. Hmmm.
I think it would be on the back of the writer.
Sounds funny but I’ll take your recommendation more strongly when you’ve read it.
always such a warm but hard nose.
Interesting.
She certainly looks and sounds like someone who could make a book about foreign policy funny. If the video intro is any indication.
I did poorly on the food quiz.
I worry I did not.
Ok I’m sufficiently disturbed by how well I know the dietary habits of evil dictators. Looks like an interesting book — although I failed to see a quiz question on Rupert Murdoch.
ah well maybe next time.
I lived in Dallas, Texas three months and loved the catfish sandwiches I got there.
Aren’t most catfish opportunistic predators ? What might that say about Texas.…
Sounds like a fun with foreign policy book. ;)
She seems like she’d be pretty funny if you take her video to heart, and her qualifications seem solid enough. Nice to know people have a sense of humor about serious issues, if not it would be too depressing to know the facts. You can see by our news media we don’t like the facts straight out, we like them sugar coated. There ya go food again.
I ordered it so we’ll see. I’m a foreign policy gek anyway so I don’t need a comedy but if my future sil reads it I’ll know it’s a hit.
It was fun. A lot was a weird type of common sense and others – well the answer was in the question. Though quaffing at the blood of virgins – I was so misguided. I almost took it again just to get it right
I wanted somebody to be my favorite commenter at HufPo, but I could do OK on the axis of evil food test and not remember my screennames for my numerous email accounts.
And if axis of food evil tests are my idea of fun.…
yes well there are worse things to be able to guess at and then there are the things we know and don’t have to guess at and that is often worse.
It seems like a good way to get foreign policy across to people who couldn’t or wouldn’t stand it any other way. Like John said there are a lot of people who “don’t like the facts straight out, we like them sugar coated.” Pity most people are not aware of what’s going on in this world, and just don’t care. Some people obviously need force fed the facts. “There ya go food again.”