| THE UGLY AMERICAN William J. Lederer Eugene Burdick New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1958 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-0-393-08461-0 | ||||
| ISBN-10 0-393-08461-2 | 285pp. | HC | $4.95 | |
"Stories of a certain group of Americans in Southeast Asia—their failures and heroism, their humors and passions, their dramas in a land of tumult." (That is what I think the text at the bottom of the front cover image says. I had to guess at the last bit, pulling up the protective cover and trying to see underneath.) Land of tumult? Ha! Many of the American characters think it's the "Land of 1,000 Dances." I said uh nah, nah nah nah nah...
The book, of course, is famous, and rightly so, for it is fictional only in the narrow sense that the character names, and the country in which it takes place, are invented.2 In the larger sense it is an accurate portrayal of the failure of American policy in Southeast Asia during the twentieth century, and especially during America's War in Viet Nam. That failure was due to a persistent mindset, one to which both generals (Westmoreland) and politicians (Allen Dulles) clung tenaciously. Lederer and Burdick both served in the military before or during that time, and they saw instances of the sort of behavior they describe so well in the novel. To put it as briefly as possible, American leaders abroad tended to become arrogant and supercilious. They lived in luxury, associating only with wealthy elites and high-ranking government officials in the countries where they were stationed. As a result, they actually damaged America's interests and lowered its reputation in the countries where they were posted.
The novel dramatizes this failure by contrasting the diplomats — often political appointees who sought the overseas position after losing an election at home — with practical types who spend most of their time out in the field, learn something of the local language and customs, and actually achieve something of benefit to the people they work among. If their individual efforts are small in scale, not fodder for the nightly news back in the states ("back in the world," as we described CONUS when I served in the Air Force in the Philippines), that does not mean they are small in value. Except of course to the chairwarmers whose reputations depend on megaprojects comparable to Boulder Dam. It usually comes to pass that the diplomats cannot understand the point of view of the practical men and women, and end up frustrating their efforts.
The authors expand on this point in a note that follows the story:
"Most American technicians abroad are involved in the planning and execution of 'big' projects: dams, highways, irrigation systems. The result is that we often develop huge technical complexes which some day may pay dividends but which at this moment in Asian development are neither needed nor wanted except by a few local politicians who see such projects as a means to power and wealth. Technicians who want to work on smaller and more manageable projects are not encouraged. The authors of this book gathered statements from native economists of what projects were 'most urgently needed' in various Asian countries. These included improvement of chicken and pig breeding, small pumps which did not need expensive replacement parts, knowledge on commercial fishing, canning of food, improvement of seeds, small village-size papermaking plants (illiteracy in many countries is perpetrated by the fact that no one can afford paper), sanitary use of night-soil, and the development of small industries. These are the projects which would not only make friends, while costing little, but are also prerequisite to industrialization and economic independence for Asia. They must be realized before Communism can lose its appeal. We pay for huge highways through jungles in Asian lands where there is no transport except bicycle and foot. We finance dams where the greatest immediate need is a portable pump. We provide many millions of dollars' worth of military equipment which wins no wars and raises no standard of living. This is what we meant by the story of the ugly engineer, Homer Atkins. He again is a fiction, but the authors knew just such a man working among the back-country people." – Pages 281-2 |
Now think of the present: of Iraq, which American forces have occupied for eight years, and where there is less electricity than during the undeniably brutal reign of Saddam Hussein, even in the capital city of Baghdad — except in the Green Zone where our diplomats and their support staff live, aptly described by Rajiv Chandrasekaran as Imperial Life in the Emerald City.
I should have read this book 40 years ago. (But better late than never.) You should read it ASAP, and follow up by reading Our Own Worst Enemy, a non-fiction work by William Lederer.
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