In <i> Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela</i>, William Neuman details the collapse of Venezuela over the last few decades. So many Venezuelans face extreme poverty despite the abundance of oil in the country, unable to get sufficient food or proper medical care, even dealing with rolling blackouts. Twenty percent of the population has fled the country. Interspersed with the history of the country, Neuman includes stories from those he has interviewed during his trips to Venezeula.

Prior to reading this book, I knew that the living conditions in Venezuela were terrible for so many, but I didn’t know the details of how it had become this way. Neuman broke it down into easily understandable bits and made the story engaging by including the personal stories from interviews. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in politics or the world.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.