Synopses & Reviews
tells the story of Raisuddin Bhuiyan, a Bangladesh Air Force officer who dreams of immigrating to America and working in technology. But days after 9/11, an avowed "American terrorist" named Mark Stroman, seeking revenge, walks into the Dallas minimart where Bhuiyan has found temporary work and shoots him, maiming and nearly killing him. Two other victims, at other gas stations, aren't so lucky, dying at once.
Review
"An enthralling real-life tale of murder and forgiveness and what it means to be an American. Brilliantly reported and powerfully told, this Texas drama personalizes the ethnic diversity that has always been the source of our nation's strength and many of its tensions. It's also a breathtaking account of how a crazed murderer came to know a Muslim immigrant he tried to kill." Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs
Review
"Exhilarating and deeply affecting, Giridharadas's book is not only a captivating narrative; it reminds us of the immigrant's journey at the heart of the American story and how, in the wake of violent tragedy, one new to our country can help us to see through to the best in ourselves, even when the law requires far less." Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University
Review
"Simply impossible to put down. Just when we thought that we had read everything we could possibly absorb about 9/11, finds a new and compelling perspective, one that explores two sharply opposed dimensions of the American experience in a style that neither celebrates nor condemns. We readers become the jury, weighing what it means to be a true American today." Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO of the New America Foundation
Review
"Competing visions of the American Dream clash in this rich account of a hate crime and its unlikely reverberations....Giridharadas's evocative reportage captures the starkly contrasting, but complementary struggles of these men with sympathy and insight, setting them in a Texas landscape of strip malls and gas stations that is at once a moonscape of social anomie and a welcoming blank slate for a newcomer seeking to assimilate. The result is a classic story of arrival with a fresh and absorbing twist." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"An unforgettable story about two men caught in the jaws of history. In this compassionate, tenacious, and deeply intelligent book, Giridharadas casts brilliant new illumination on what we mean by 'American.'" Teju Cole, author of Open City
Review
"Eloquent... From murder to execution, forgiveness, personal responsibility, governmental intervention and more, there are enough dichotomies here to fuel heated book-club discussions for years." Booklist
Review
"Moving and indelible... manifestly inspirational... a finely textured portrait of lower-class despair." Laura Miller
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"The suspense in this book runs deeper than whether Stroman will live or die. Mr. Giridharadas is most interested in examining the viability of the American dream... an enterprising and clear-eyed reporter.
Review
"A riveting tale, dense with detail, from Giridharadas' unflinching descriptions of the struggling neighborhoods on the eastern edge of Dallas, to Stroman's troubled and brutal childhood, to the ebullient optimism of these new Americans determined to create better lives." Eboo Patel Washington Post
Review
"A compelling narrative of crime, forgiveness and redemption." Michael E. Young Dallas Morning News
Review
"A truly fine book." Catherine Hollis BookPage
Review
"Gives you new eyes on your nation, makes you wonder about both the recent South Asian immigrant behind the counter at the food mart and the tattooed white man behind you in line. It reminds you that there are some Americas where mercy flows freely, and other Americas where it has turned to ice." Wall Street Journal
Synopsis
"Remarkable a richly detailed, affecting account Giridharadas seeks less to uplift than illuminate Which of these men is the '"true American'" of the title? That there is no simple answer to that question is Giridharadas's finest accomplishment." Ayad Akhtar, New York Times Book Review"
Synopsis
Days after 9/11, an avowed "American terrorist" named Mark Stroman, seeking revenge, walks into a Dallas minimart and shoots Raisuddin Bhuiyan, a Bangladeshi immigrant, maiming and nearly killing him. Ten years after the shooting, Bhuiyan wages a campaign against the State of Texas to have his attacker spared from the death penalty. The True American is a rich, colorful, profoundly moving exploration of the American dream in its many dimensions.
Winner of the NYPL Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism and named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times, Boston Globe, NPR, and Publishers Weekly.
Synopsis
Winner of the 2015 NYPL Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. "Remarkable...a richly detailed, affecting account...Giridharadas seeks less to uplift than illuminate...Which of these men is the '"true American'" of the title? That there is no simple answer to that question is Giridharadas's finest accomplishment." --Ayad Akhtar,
About the Author
Anand Giridharadas writes the Admit One column for the New York Times's arts pages and the Currents column for its global edition. He is the author of India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of A Nation's Remaking. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.