Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States: A Dinner Party Approach To International Relations

When I was in Afghanistan, in 2007, I was introduced to one of the most amazing women I've ever met. She was there as a consultant in her capacity as a political scientist focused on counter-terrorism and South Asian topics.We met at the top floor restaurant of the hotel where we were all staying. A hotel that would later be bombed, but that is another story entirely.The first thing I noticed was that she was concentrated on work I'd assumed was work-related for her stint with the UN there in Kabul, but, in fact, she was editing her book. Her cookbook.Once we started chatting, she explained that she wanted to make expert commentary on the myriad of countries being labeled by the US government (in 2007) as parts of the Axis of Evil but that doing so was proving very difficult. So, she cleverly devised a cookbook wherein she could give the reader a better understanding of the geopolitical situation relating to each given country and then extend the chapter to include a series of recipes - appetizers through to dessert - to couch the hard-hitting, meaty, juicy introductions.What resulted was a fabulous book on international relations and a quirky, wonderful cookbook on some delicious cuisines. Specifically, she covers North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Israel, India, Pakistan, Cuba, Burma, China, and the United States.Fair's dedication reads as follows:To everyone who is hungry for justice, peace, and security.And, really, that's all you need to know. In these troubled times, this book is a work of art. It was published in 2008 but remains relevant today.Bon politique! I mean, bon appétit!

This book, recommended in the Foreign Service Journal, manages to combine insightful political commentary with great international recipes. The author has lived in the countries included which gives credibility. Her sense of humor and ability to laugh at the absurd make her political commentary worthwhile. The only problem is that I was so absorbed with turning pages that I could not get up to cook the recipes in each section (Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, India, Pakistan, Israel, Cuba, Burma, China and even the US)...

The recipes are good, but the acerbic concise analysis of the region still holds true and will get even the least news interested person laughing and then arguing.Wonderful book. And the recipes are really good.

I am still reading it. What a great book. Besides having a lot of food info, it really gets into the political climate of each country.

I really wanted to like this book. I share the author's sentiment that the food of nation is key to understanding it. But I just could not get past the abysmal writing style. The author seems to have a good grasp of the politics of each country, but her writing style could at best be labeled "trying to hard." It was reminiscent of what I myself might have written as a sophomore in college, when I was eager to prove what I knew to anyone who would listen. (I was an international politics major, so many of these subjects are things I would have written about then.) She went out of her way to use the most complicated words possible, and bonus points if she could string several "big words" together. This, combined with her odd fondness for alliteration and other too-cute turns of phrase, and her condescension towards pretty much everyone on the planet, made the book well nigh unreadable. It left one with the feeling that the author needs to be seen as the smartest person in the room, and that she believes syllable count and level of disdain somehow correlate to intellect.I give the book two stars because she clearly knows her food, and I enjoyed reading about the cuisine of each country. Having worked with many of the nationalities she lists, I was happy to see some new dishes, which I've added to my repertoire, alongside some old favorites. If you buy the book, skip the narrative and head straight to the recipes.

I just loved this cookbook! The author is a hoot, and the recipes are great, too. I'm having an Axis of Evil dinner party next semester using this book!

Gave this as a gift to my son and he loves it.

Love cook books with history of the foods and history of the cultures.

This is full of text where I expected to find recipes. The anti-Bush rhetoric now feels very dated. The recipes are difficult or impossible to disentangle from the rants and there are zero pictures of what the dishes might actually look like. Very disappointing.

This book has a lot of interesting information about each country included in the Axis of Evil and Non-Proliferation +3 groups of countries. I've already tried some of the food ideas from the recipes.

Very entertaining - bought two copies, one for my daughter as well. Loved it and the recipes are not and either.