Culture November 4, 2009

George Packer, a staff writer for the New Yorker since 2003, is plainly a master of his craft. The eight years’ worth of reporting collected in his new anthology, Interesting Times—culled from the New Yorker as well as several other general-interest magazines—showcases his eye for the telling detail: “The children’s legs swelled for lack of salt,” he notes in recounting the plight of a family from Sierra Leone chased into the bush by marauding rebels. The anthology also nicely points up his ear for the cutting and memorable quote: “We’re like a frigging organ transplant that’s rejected,” an army officer