Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse

Inside the Collapse of Venezuela

By: William Neuman

Narrated by: Michael Manuel, William Neuman

“Richly reported…a thorough and important history.” —Tim Padgett, The New York Times

The award-winning, richly nuanced account of the collapse of Venezuela and what it could mean for the rest of the world.

Venezuela has been mired in crisis for over a decade—characterized by economic collapse, political polarization, mass emigration, and widespread hardship—even as the country sits atop some of the world’s largest oil reserves. In Things Are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse, William Neuman provides a vivid, granular chronicle of that descent. Drawing on his experience as The New York Times Andes Region Bureau Chief and years of reporting from Caracas, Neuman explores the interplay of charismatic populism, economic mismanagement, corruption, and the international forces that have shaped Venezuela’s fate.

The audiobook traces how once-abundant oil wealth became a source of distortion rather than development, how political power concentrated around Hugo Chávez and later Nicolás Maduro, and how everyday Venezuelans endured rolling blackouts, hyperinflation, shortages of food and medicine, and threats to personal safety. Neuman blends history, journalism, and personal narrative into a clear-eyed account of how a petro-rich nation imploded, displacing millions and disrupting the region.

Winner of Best Books of the Year from Foreign Affairs, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Overseas Press Club of America, the audiobook’s historical context provides listeners indispensable insight into how decades of policy choices, institutional breakdown, and external pressures set the stage for the crises of today. Rather than offering simple answers, Things Are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse equips listeners with the historical grounding needed to understand both Venezuela’s past and the complexities shaping its future.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.

Profound storytelling, anti-conservative bias

The descriptions of how dramatically life has changed for ordinary Venezuelans is a poignant warning about creeping totalitarianism. It’s a surprisingly honest on-the-scene account from a New York Times journalist in that respect. The chapters on the blackouts and the neglect of the grid that led to them are phenomenal. But Neuman's bias becomes evident, and eventually strains comprehension. It starts with criticism of Trump's stumbling efforts to exert pressure after decades of shoulder-shrugging. That is somehow spun into an unlikely narrative about how the horrific collapse of the economy and society actually culminates in the Republican ideal of having no government or public services. Then comes the feeble and predictable "it's not REALLY socialism" trope. Yeah, it never is.

A very informative insight on Venezuela

The book is a very sad reality 😢 of Venezuela
there's is a couple of biased opinions and comments but they are in mi opinión only 3 to 5 percent of the book outside of that super great information of the situation of this Latin American country as a hispanic man myself my heart goes out to all Venezuelans that are living through that horrible situation

Great book. Not so great narration

Does a great job explaining why Venezuela collapsed. I have family in Venezuela and I knew some of the story but still learned a lot.

Unfortunately the narrator is not bilingual— he reads the English portions fine, and would do fine with another book (but not this one). This book had many Spanish names for people, cities, companies, etc — he struggled with those words throughout and did a terrible job pronouncing them. As a Spanish speaker it was painful to hear and really detracted from the audio book. It’s a shame that the publisher dropped the ball on this and didn’t use someone that had decent pronunciation (there are many bilingual narrators available who speak both languages perfectly and could have done a better job).

Worth the listen, interesting insights.

I learned a lot during the listen of this book. I'm glad accounts like this exist.

You can tell which way the authors political bias leans. Some of his political assertions seemed rather uncalled for, however I came to respect his views.

In the performance, the narrator's poor Spanish accent made some parts a bit distracting. A better bilingual narrator would further strengthen the important message and story of this book.

Excellent Review of Venezuela’s Sad Recent History

Great narrator and captivating description of recent Venezuelan history along with historical context. Unfortunately, the author convincingly paints a bleak prognosis. This does not bode well for Venezuela and will have major repercussions in South America and the US.