Synopses & Reviews
From award-winning novelist and journalist Omar El Akkad comes a
powerful reckoning with what it means to live in the heart of an empire
that doesn't consider you fully human.
On October 25th, 2023, after just three weeks of the
bombardment of Gaza, Omar El Akkad put out a tweet: "One day, when it's
safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is,
when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always
been against this." This tweet was viewed more than ten million times.
One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This chronicles
the deep fracture that has occurred for Black, brown, Indigenous
Americans, as well as the upcoming generation, many of whom had clung to
a thread of faith in Western ideals, in the idea that their countries,
or the countries of their adoption, actually attempted to live up to the
values they espouse.
This book is a reckoning with what it means to live in the West, and
what it means to live in a world run by a small group of
countries--America, the UK, France, and Germany. It will be
The Fire Next Time for a generation that understands we're
undergoing a shift in the so-called "rules-based order," a generation
that understands the West can no longer be trusted to police and guide
the world, or its own cities and campuses. It draws on intimate details
of Omar's own story as an emigrant who grew up believing in the Western
project, who was catapulted into journalism by the rupture of 9/11.
This book is El Akkad's heartsick breakup letter with the West. It
is a breakup we are watching all over the United States, on college
campuses, on city streets, and the consequences of this rupture will be
felt by all of us. His book is for all the people who want something
better than what the West has served up. This is the book for our time.
Review
“I can’t think of a more important piece of writing to read right now. Doom and gloom and unspeakable horror abound and overwhelm these days, but it remains important to understand what we already know is happening now and how it will be understood in the future. It helps when we feel helpless to give our time and attention, our hearts and consideration to a voice like this, a book like this, from our particular time and for it. There is so much power in language here, where it is difficult to find words, such heart in a world that feels has lost its way. I found hope here, and help, to face what the world is now, all that it isn’t anymore. Please read this. I promise you won’t regret it. I honestly don’t know how you could.” Tommy Orange
Review
“Is this the most urgent book you can read right now? Yes, it is.
Is this the most moral book you can read right now? It sure is.
Is this the most eye-opening book right now? Yep.
Is this the most needed book for our times? Absolutely.”
Rabih Alameddine
Review
“In this powerful indictment of Western complicity in the genocide of Palestinians, Omar El Akkad asks: how are we supposed to go on living in this world? He looks for his answer to the worlds colonized and oppressed, who have always lived according to a love that ‘cannot be acknowledged by the empire because it’s a people’s love for one another.” Isabella Hammad
Review
“If we, as humans, are lucky enough, we will someday be ashamed of ourselves for what is happening in the world today before our eyes. Some of us can already see that day and are deeply disgusted by the collective hypocrisy that waits until it is safe to shout out the crimes. It is not easy to write or talk when you feel that disgust; it chokes you and breaks your faith in humanity. One can hear that all-too-human disgust in Omar El Akkad's words. However, what is more audible in his words is his determination to keep his faith in humans. Only those who can write with such rage and love will give a heart to a heartless world. His poetic voice, with its elegant power, can only come from those who are one with the world, with its joy and pain.” Ece Temelkuran
Review
“Omar El Akkad’s devastating new book lays bare the deliberately distorted twists of language and logic that have allowed us to sustain a politics of extermination. The care, grief, anger and intimacy that Akkad brings to every page implicates all of us and is a testament to the moral and intellectual courage that make this desperately needed book absolutely necessary.” Dinaw Mengestu
About the Author
Omar El Akkad is an author and journalist. He was born in Egypt, grew up
in Qatar, moved to Canada as a teenager and now lives in the United
States. He is a two-time winner of both the Pacific Northwest
Booksellers' Award and the Oregon Book Award. His books have been
translated into 13 languages. His debut novel,
American War, was named by the BBC as one of 100 novels that shaped our world.