Readers United Book Reviews | Born a Crime and To End a War

Imad Rizvi '18 shares some more riveting, informational reads in his newest batch of book reviews today.

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

In Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah, Noah describes his experiences as a child of mixed race in South Africa in the midst of apartheid, an institutionalized system of racial segregation prominent throughout his country during the late twentieth century. As a comedian, Trevor Noah is able to seamlessly infuse comedy into the book to create the engaging stories he shares with the reader. Overall, the book not only explains Noah’s upbringing and how it led him to where he is today as a world-renowned comedian, but also offers a critique into certain elements of societies, such as racism and poverty.

Trevor Noah was born to a white father and black mother in a time where interracial marriages were illegal in South Africa. He describes some of the difficulties his mother faced in raising a child of mixed race and the strength she showed throughout her life when facing these struggles. Though many of the stories detail high-risk situations in which Noah and his mother feared arrest or violence, Noah alleviates the tension through his comedy. The book is an enjoyable read because each chapter functions as its own story, showing a certain stage in Noah’s life and how it impacted him.

Through the story, though Trevor focuses largely on his childhood and upbringing, he offers perceptive comments on larger societal trends that have impacts around the world. He discusses how illogical the idea of racism is and the role religion plays in people’s lives. He also critiques how society is divided among such arbitrary lines as race, language, and religion when all humans face the same problems and struggles. Overall, not only is Trevor Noah’s book entertaining to read, but it also offers insight into larger trends and problems affecting millions around the world.   

Verdict: I would highly recommend this book to anybody. It is not only an autobiography for fans of Trevor Noah, but it also offers stories and insight that everybody should experience.

To End a War by Richard Holbrooke

Richard Holbrooke, an American diplomat from the 1990s, describes his experiences negotiating during the Bosnia war in his book, To End a War. The conflict among Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians resulted in thousands of deaths and millions of people displaced. Holbrooke examines some of the policy failures of the United States and other countries in the conflict and looks at how the course of the war shifted when the U.S. finally became involved.

Holbrooke crafts an interesting novel by describing the course of the war and U.S. policy through his own experiences negotiating in the region. In the beginning of the conflict, the U.S. and other countries remained on the sidelines, hesitating to make any serious efforts to intervene and stop the violence. However, U.S. policy shifted towards being more involved once it became clear that the war would be a violent and lengthy conflict without intervention, and Holbrooke describes his role in mediating those discussions in the region. 

The book features a blend between thrilling passages where Holbrooke describes escaping gunfire and violence and parts where he explains his mindset through negotiations with foreign diplomats. There is also a balance in terms of his writing style — some passages describe personal experiences, while others give a summary of important contextual events that he was not involved in. Additionally, he creates several profoundly powerful moments in the novel, such as when he describes the massacre that occurred as Bosnians were slaughtered at Srebrenica even though United Nations peacekeepers were supposed to be monitoring the situation. 

Overall, the book highlights the significance of the Bosnia war, which is often overlooked, and it also provides an insightful examination of U.S. policy before and after intervening. Its relevance extends beyond this individual conflict and offers an insightful analysis on when U.S. involvement in foreign countries is justified and how to form an appropriate response to global events.

Verdict: I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in politics or international relations.