Dizzy Foreigners

This week, I finally finished my latest book. It is one of those that just took me forever to get through. In spite of that, or maybe at the root of it, I found the book truly fascinating. It is American Vertigo by Bernard-Henri Lévy, consisting of the observations of an informed, savvy and well-spoken (if somewhat long-winded) French thinker wandering around the USA, loosely following the model of Alexis de Tocqueville. Never having read more than a few excerpts of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, thus being poorly positioned to comment on the success or failure of this book at filling the legacy it aims for, I will only say that the book is full of insights on American culture and politics that can be seen most clearly from a distance – by a traveler. Being a stranger has its advantages – obviously I would say that! Looking at the bits I found quotable, I realize they are much longer and dryer than most of you want to read and have nothing, really, to do with Vietnam, which is allegedly to topic here… But, if you are interested, click here for excerpts.