The Good Son by Michael Gruber Published by Blackstone Audiobooks on May 11th 2010
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Synopsis
Somewhere in Pakistan, Sonia Laghari and eight fellow members of a symposium on peace are being held captive by armed terrorists. Laghari, a deeply religious woman as well as a Jungian psychologist, has become the de facto leader of the kidnapped group. While her son, Theo, an ex-Delta soldier, uses his military connections to find and free the victims, Sonia Laghari tries to keep them all alive by working her way into the kidnappers' psyches and interpreting their dreams. With her knowledge of their language, her familiarity with their religion, and her Jungian training, she confounds her captors with her insights and beliefs. When the kidnappers decide to kill their captives one by one in retaliation for perceived crimes against their country, Theo races against the clock to try and save their lives. Combining masterful storytelling with a deeply thoughtful and provocative attention to the truth in all its permutations, The Good Son is a stellar achievement that expands the thriller genre into something wholly new and unexpected. This is a taut, multilayered, riveting novel of suspense.
The Good Son came as a recommendation on a national security podcast I listen to. I was able to find an audio version of the book from Audible. I don’t understand much about the Middle East. I think that I understand enough to know that the United States is responsible for a lot of the animosity that comes from that area of the world. We have
The premise of the story is rather outlandish, despite that it provides a point of view for both west and east. There is so much propaganda about the middle-east that is hard for a person like myself to know what is truth or fiction. We forget that Pakistan and Afghanistan is the cradle of civilization. Their civilization is very different from ours – we tend to look down upon it, as we do not consider these countries to be modern.
Indus Valley Civilization
Civilization Name: Indus Valley Civilization
Period: 2600 BC -1900 BC
Originated Location: Around the basins of the Indus River
Current Location: Northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India
Major Highlights: One of the most widespread civilization, covering 1.25 km
Indus Valley Civilization
One of the oldest civilizations in this list, the Indus valley civilization lies at the very cradle of subsequent civilization that arose in the region of the Indus valley. This civilization flourished in areas extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early civilizations of the Old World, and of the three the most widespread, covering an area of 1.25 million km. Entire populations of people were settled around the basins of the Indus River, one of the major rivers in Asia, and another river named Ghaggar-Hakra which once used to course through northeast India and eastern Pakistan.
Also known as the Harappan civilization and the Mohenjo-Daro civilization – named after the excavation sites where the remains of the civilization were found, the peak phase of this civilization is said to have lasted from 2600 BC to around 1900 BC. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilization making them the first urban centers in the region. The people of the Indus Civilization achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass, and time. And based on the artifacts found in excavations, it is evident the culture was rather rich in arts and crafts. [1. 10 Oldest Ancient Civilizations ever]
As the book says, “There was no Afghanistan the way there was a France or a Canada, there were onl individuals and families and clans, and the Americans trying to make it different was like assembling a fighter plane out of wet toilet paper.”
About Michael Gruber
Michael Gruber is an author living in Seattle, Washington. He attended Columbia University and received his Ph.D. in biology from the University of Miami. He worked as a cook, a marine biologist, a speech writer, a policy advisor for the Jimmy Carter White House, and a bureaucrat for the EPA before becoming a novelist.
He is generally acknowledged to be the ghostwriter of the popular Robert K. Tanenbaum series of Butch Karp novels starting with No Lesser Plea and ending with Resolved. After the partnership with Tanenbaum ended, Gruber began publishing his own novels under William Morrow and HarperCollins.
Gruber's "Jimmy Paz" trilogy, while critically acclaimed, did not sell at the same levels as the Butch Karp series in the United States. The Book of Air and Shadows became a national bestseller shortly after its release in March of 2007, however.
