Parts one and two of this book were interesting and we'll written. However part three lost me. The author devolved into political opinion. If I had stopped at the end of part two, it would have been a five star book. Since I read some of part three, it significantly dropped my overall rating.

Things Are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse by William Neuman #StMartinsPress#NetGalley

Mr. Neuman has done his homework in this excellent, comprehensive book on the many things that may have led to the near demise of Venezuela. This book covers the years of the 1970s to the present.

There are many interesting first-hand interviews with Venezuelans in the know. Same for many who have left their fatherland for greener pastures, having finally given up any hope for change in the land they love.

Who’s to blame? Hugo Chávez? Nicolás Maduro? Juan Guaidó? Perhaps they share an equal portion of blame for their greed, negligence and incompetence. Citizens are starving, in poor health and living in hovels while their lives completely fall apart. Leaders are never hungry and carry on doing nothing to help as the country goes bankrupt.

It doesn’t matter who gets elected, as nothing changes. Life only gets more violent and scarier as the years roll on and promises are broken. Mr. Neuman tells all in this well written, well told story of the sad demise of Venezuela.

Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela by William Neuman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
On Sale: March 15, 2022

We had a rental property in Pittsburgh years ago and our first tenants were a wealthy family from Venezuela. The parents were doctors. I've always been curious about what their country was like.

Author William Neuman writes about the decline of Venezuela from the days of overwhelming riches to the depths of extraordinary poverty. An alarming number of people have fled to other countries.

Having lived in Caracas while he served as the New York Times Andes Region Bureau Chief, Neuman has combined journalism, memoir, history, politics, and interviews into an accessible book for anyone wanting more in-depth understanding of Venezuela.

It's clear that the author has great empathy for the people. His interviews range from the the people who bear the brunt of the damage by the country's leaders to those who surrounded and protected the wealthy. The involvement of the United States of America is also considered. It's hard not to see disturbing patterns between the two countries.

Highly recommended.

My thanks to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

If you have any interest in Venezuela at all, you have to read this book. I’ve been following news from this country for a few years (they were more and more bizarre, my favorite was a story from the Economist how the Venezuelan government gave its starving citizens little rabbits to provide them a source of fresh meat but they fell in love with their bunnies and decided to treat them as pets instead) but I often felt that I am missing the context.

This book provided it and more: the author takes a deep dive into the history and politics, showing how a land of milk and honey turned into an apocalyptic wasteland. He has a knack for explaining complicated political and economic issues in a very simple and easy to understand way.

But above all it is a fascinating, very well written work of narrative nonfiction. William Neuman, as a New York Times correspondent, combines the panoramic view with engaging on-the-ground reporting. He has deep empathy and an eye for detail, which he utilizes to show us how the geopolitical turmoil changes the fates of ordinary people.

Many thanks to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.