I have very mixed feelings about this book. The range of subjects was very interesting, the essays were well-written and decently researched as far as I could tell. However, the tone of the essays (if you read them in order, without the context of the last one) was irritating. It felt like the author was oscillating between white saviourism, hopelessness (in the tone of we tried, it didn't work, we should give up) and some rational portrayal of the situation. Only after reading the last essay it became clear to me that the reason for that were differences of opinion on specific projects and the humanitarian aid overall. If I skipped last chapter, I would have left the book with the impression of the author not understanding colonialism, white saviour complex or hit and run type of aid and that would be a false impression.