A hologram for the King by Dave Eggers

One of the best books on the very complex love hate relationship between Americans and the Saudi Arabians. Is the era of unmitigated favouritism for all things American finally receding in Saudi Arabia? Have the Saudis decided to remove the middle man? Has the American policy of outsourcing manufacturing to Asia backfired? This very small but explosive book deals with such complex and far reaching questions in an extremely captivating manner, as you take a ride along with the protagonist going through his daily life as a very American salesman in Saudi Arabia, trying to get some business and deal with his impotency, literally. What I really loved was the unique style of prose filled with sarcasm giving me plenty of laughs. I listened to an audio version win a strong American accent which I am sure enhanced the experience. The other fact which may have contributed could be the age of the protagonist which is around the same sort of ball park as mine, as well as the dire personal financial circumstances which are also very similar. Lately I have been thinking as an economic immigrant striving as a consultant on a day to day basis in the capitalist culture, how does the working class retire here? Will they ever retire in the wake of this recent recession?