Whispering in the Giants Ear: A Frontline Chronicle from Bolivias War on Globalization by William Powers

Whispering in the Giants Ear: A Frontline Chronicle from Bolivias War on Globalization Reviews

• 
  Alonzo

  There are some books that grab me and don't let go. William Powers's Whispering in the Giant's Ear is such a book. It has something I can't quite point to, which gives it barbs that perfectly match hooking places in my mind. It's the star-shaped block, star-shaped hole idea. It reminds me of the idea that you sometimes meet someone you feel like you knew in a former life. Déjà vu-ish. Déjà voodoo.
  
  As I read, Rod Serling's voice echoed up from the past. Twilight Zone music gently wafting on the breeze blowing in one ear and out the other. What is it about this book that feels so ... me?
  
  I've never been to Bolivia, or even South America, but I have a strong desire to go. Not as an eco-tourist, or any other kind of tourist, but to ... I don't know what. The Tranquilo idea Powers mentions so many times sounds like my own mindset. Maybe I was born in the wrong place. Because in the US if you're not working, working, working like an insane ant ramped up on speed, then there's something wrong with you.
  
  Yes, there is something wrong with me. I need a transplant stat! A transplant from here to La Paz (The Peace). I'm not romanticizing; but I am dreaming! I know the indigenous Bolivians aren't all living in grass huts in 100% harmony with Nature. But, even many of the city dwellers live by the idea of Tranquilo, according to Powers.
  
  My life hasn't been particularly hectic, but I get uptight about all the uptightness around me. Powers shows me a different drummer to march to. Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Edward Abbey, Ed Buryn, Annie Dillard, all marched to a similar drumbeat. Or maybe they just chilled in the shade of whatever tree they happened to be under and enjoyed the rhythm of life as it came.
  
  A friend of mine used to say, "Go slow and things will go fast. Go fast and things will go slow." His meaning was that when we hurry we screw up and have to start over. Or, we start fumbling and tripping over our own feet. Or, we get a speeding ticket, which entails being stopped. So, you see, you get stopped and you're even later than you would've been if you had been driving the speed limit. A lot of wisdom in that idea.
  
  From my ramblings so far, you may get the impression that Whispering in the Giant's Ear is only about Tranquilo. It's not. But unless you get that concept, some of the rest of what Powers discusses won't have the impact that it should. The Indians getting angry and doing things (which most norteamericanos would have expected from the outset) is in stark contrast to their normally laid back, peaceful ways. They had to learn to play by the giant's rules and, similar to Odysseus in the cave of the cyclops, use the giant's strength to save their lives and land.
  
  This book makes me want to be a part of the things happening in other parts of the world. Places where big powerful rich countries try to tell small weak poor countries how life ought to be lived, how they ought to use and abuse the natural resources. Because, yeah, it has worked out great for the big countries hasn't it?
  
  Not so much, to use a well-worn phrase. And cliché is exactly the role the big countries are playing. I want to join los indios and tell the big countries to go drill themselves! When will people learn that the whole friggin world does NOT belong to them?
  
  I know, probably never. But, those of us who already think that way can keep raising our voices, our pens, our roadblocking bodies, our money and time. I may sound like I'm part of a cause, or like I'm part of a revolution. I'm not. I'm just a man who wants some beauty and oxygen and livable temperatures on this planet for future generations. Whether they are my blood relatives or not, we are related. We are all Earthlings.
• 
  Jo Deurbrouck

  I'm not done with this one yet but I'm starting to think I won't ever be. I feel a bit like I'm on a dangerous expedition with a guide I just caught nipping off the bottle. On the word/craft level this is a fine book: little fluff or self indulgence, nicely tuned sentences, interesting images. But sorry Bill, there's something about the way you tell your tale that makes me distrust your vision. It feels as though, if there are divergent perspectives that would help me understand the issue better, I'm not the only one who doesn't know what they are: neither do you. And since this book is all about your journey through the complicated world of Bolivian politics/environmentalism, that leaves me unsure where I stand as the reader, or what my takeaway should be. The only thing I'm sure of is that I know what you think you are sure of.
  
  On finishing:
  
  I like Bill Powers best when he's recounting cool observations, like this one...
  
  "'You touch these plants and they go to sleep,' Daniel says. He's led me into his lush gardens, where we are standing in front of a raised flower bed. It's a leafy plant with small thorns, a variety of which I've seen many times in Central and South American jungles. He touches one, and it's hundreds of fernlike leaflets fold in against its woody stem.
  
  "'The thing is that they sleep for different amounts of time. I've watched them. It's like they have individual personalities, different levels of fear. Some wake up in a few minutes, others take hours. This one,' he says, pointing out a shriveled plant toward the back, 'never work up after I touched it.'"
  
  I like least the way he blends memoir into his observations. Memoir works best, I think, when the memoirist makes a journey and ends in a different place. If that happens in this book I can't see it, because Bill chooses to keep most of his personal life out of view. But he inserts himself just often enough that the book is as much about him as about Bolivia. He's trying to walk a thin and very interesting line here and I think that, generally and despite very cool moments, he fails.
  
  
• 
  Cornelia

  I knew nil about Bolivian history, development, indigenous tribes in the Amazon and many of the topics discussed in this book before I read it. Now, having just finished it, I feel like I learned a bit about all those things in a very digestible and enjoyable way.
  
  Whispering in the Giant's Ear broke through my latest reading funk. It was instantly captivating and consistently compelling, well-paced, entertaining and thought-provoking. By turns beautiful, intriguing, exciting and heart-breaking.
  
  Powers deftly captures the variety and complexity of issues and people/organizations that interplay in Bolivia's struggle for its own brand of sustainability. Though he is personally and professionally passionate about protecting the rainforest, he does not wear blinders. He understands, supports and becomes embedded in the struggle of the indigenous tribes to gain more representation in the national political arena, even though it sometimes threatens his greater purposes. He paints the gray area that most people don't see when they think of hot button issues like globalization, the environment, etc, showing them to be more akin to the 20-sided die in Scattegories than a 2-sided coin. He offers up lucid visions of possibility amid the murkiness, but without making anything sound super-easy. And he does most of this with a great deal of restraint and little over-sentimentality. He observes, comments, participates, but without the level of preachiness and self-righteousness that would be easy to either launch or slip into here.
  
  I'd recommend this to memoir-lovers, environmentalists, Latin American history/culture/politics enthusiasts and/or anyone who wants to broaden their view beyond their own shores a bit.
• 
  Michael

  I read this for book club and had no idea what to expect when it was chosen. I was happily surprised. Given my interest in international relations, political science, economics, etc. I found this to be a very enjoyable book. The discussion of development projects and what works and what doesn’t really was the best part. The author has a holier than thou attitude at times about groups that really work with the locals compared to those (like USAID) that take a more bureaucratic approach. As one who is fascinated by ideas of how countries have developed and how they are “instructed” to develop by developed nations, economists, and leftist theorists, this book was a great case study, and well written. It’s not an academic book and includes many interesting stories and struggles. But in the end, it seems that the problem is the elite (whether local or international) will always have a hard time imposing their vision of what development should be on the “locals” who have to live with it. In many ways, it seems that development has to be organic and not imposed or directed by anyone, no matter how well intentioned. Even then, culture may be the most important element in determining whether a project succeeds or fails.
• 
  Andrea

  This book is a very accurate picture of what it's like to try and save the rainforest when you have to fight and overcome cultural boundaries, foreign politics, corruption, civil unrest and lawlessness. I liked that the author doesn't give up hope as he tells the struggle he has experienced as a foreign aid worker. I liked the reality on the ground of the local players strengths, weaknesses, motives and aspirations. I didn't like the profanity (to put it mildly) of the australian business tycoon who was funding some of the projects in the area but he is not a main character. I would recommend this to anyone who thinks service or any kind of aid project would be easy in a third-world country for it's realism and snail-paced timeline of progress.
• 
  Scott

  I really enjoyed this memoir of Powers' time in Bolivia. His story of how he began to work for the small Bolivian NGO, FAN, after realizing what a mess Big-Aid can be was really cool, as was his descriptions of how the Kyoto treaty is so important to Bolivia's environment and economy. I also really identified with the value he places on the wilderness and enjoyed his thoughts on how it is important to human needs, especially here in Bolivia.
• 
  Mike

  I had never heard of William Powers before reading this book, but he's a very good writer. And this is a very interesting account of his time spent working with indigenous peoples of Bolivia to save the Amazon.
• 
  Erin

  I love the memoir/current events style of of his writing. This book reeeeally makes me want to go to Bolivia.
• 
  Rosanna

  For anyone who is interested in environmental initiatives in South America.
• 
  Wendy

  I couldn't make it past page 50 of this book. Don't we already know what a mess the Development Set is, and has created?
• 
  Gene

  Excellent for overview from the ground of current Bolivian political situation.
• 
  Ashley

  oh oblivia... a great read and perspective on development in this crazy place.
• 
  Ellie

  So far he's a very good writer who's kept me engaged in what he's doing in Bolivia.
• 
  Ritodhi

  powerful. Beautiful amalgamation of the human and institutional dimensions of climate change and globalization.
• 
  Rebecca

  I am excited to meet this author in two weeks! He will be a speaker at the student conference I am attending in Lima, Peru. Will take my copy of the book for an author signature.
• 
  Alessandra

  One of the best development books I've read. He manages to paint a picture of the Mende complexities of development work through one project, but doesn't get boring or condescending.