Summary of Anand Giridharadas's The True American

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 Raisuddin worked at a mini-mart in Dallas, selling Americans three tamales for a dollar. The economy around the store was desolate, and it wasn’t the economy of the legendary firms where third-world boys like him fantasized about working.

#2 Raisuddin grew up with America on his television screen, and thought of the place as a land of opportunity. But when he first arrived in Dallas, he was shocked by the poverty he saw around him.

#3 One night, Rais saw two young men huddled in the corner of his store, stealing condoms. He approached them and insisted they pay for what they’d taken. They told him to back off. He threatened to call the police, and they fled.

#4 Rais’s father was an engineer for Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph. He rose steadily through the bureaucracy, and the family was able to live a comfortable, gated life. Rais’s conception of his father was of a man who was more than just his day job.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822512863

IRB Media

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Insights on Anand Giridharadas's The True American

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Raisuddin worked at a mini-mart in Dallas, selling Americans three tamales for a dollar. The economy around the store was desolate, and it wasn’t the economy of the legendary firms where third-world boys like him fantasized about working.

#2

Raisuddin grew up with America on his television screen, and thought of the place as a land of opportunity. But when he first arrived in Dallas, he was shocked by the poverty he saw around him.

#3

One night, Rais saw two young men huddled in the corner of his store, stealing condoms. He approached them and insisted they pay for what they’d taken. They told him to back off. He threatened to call the police, and they fled.

#4

Rais’s father was an engineer for Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph. He rose steadily through the bureaucracy, and the family was able to live a comfortable, gated life. Rais’s conception of his father was of a man who was more than just his day job.

#5

The Bhuiyans were a pious family who lived in relative privilege. They sought to please God and ward off envy through constant charity that reached beyond the walls of their house.

#6

Rais grew up on a Gregorian calendar heavily punctuated by special days from the lunar Islamic one. He liked to emphasize that many of these days involved charity, and especially the giving of food.

#7

Rais’s devotion to achieving something could be extremely distracting. He would spend hours, days, and sometimes weeks chasing a goal, and would not consider what the thing he was so obsessed with would be like once he got it.

#8

Rais learned that running his fastest kept his house from winning. If he ran slower, he could stick with the team and galvanize them toward the finish line. He often chose to run slower, and this helped his house win.

#9

Rais was able to enter the Air Force Academy, and after two and a half years there, he decided to leave. He couldn’t explain what had come over him,