Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela

這是一部獲獎無數、細節詳盡的紀實作品，深刻記錄了委內瑞拉的崩潰，以及這場災難對全球的啟示。
即便坐擁全球最大的石油儲量，委內瑞拉卻已深陷危機超過十年。其特徵包括經濟崩潰、政治極化、大規模移民潮以及普遍的民生疾苦。在《沒有最糟，只有更糟》(暫譯)一書中，威廉．紐曼（William Neuman）為這場崩毀提供了生動且細膩的編年史。紐曼憑藉其擔任《紐約時報》安地斯分局局長的經驗，以及在加拉加斯（Caracas）多年的報導生涯，深入探討了魅力型民粹主義、經濟管理不善、貪腐，以及塑造委內瑞拉命運的國際力量之間如何相互交織。
本書追溯了曾經豐厚的石油財富如何淪為扭曲發展的根源，而非進步的動力；政治權力如何向烏戈．查維茲（Hugo Chávez）及其繼任者尼古拉斯．馬杜洛（Nicolás Maduro）高度集中；以及委內瑞拉平民如何忍受頻繁斷電、惡性通貨膨脹、糧食與藥品短缺，以及對個人安全的威脅。紐曼將歷史、新聞報導與個人敘事融為一體，冷靜而透徹地記錄了這個石油大國如何自我崩毀，導致數百萬人流離失所並動盪了整個地區。
本書榮獲《外交事務》（Foreign Affairs）、國家民主基金會（NED）及海外記者俱樂部（OPC）評選為年度最佳圖書。其詳盡的歷史背景為讀者提供了不可或缺的洞察，讓我們理解數十年的政策選擇、體制崩潰與外部壓力，如何共同構成了今日的危機。本書不提供簡單的答案，而是為讀者裝備必要的歷史根基，以理解委內瑞拉的過去，以及塑造其未來的複雜力量。
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 book 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 book’s historical context provides readers 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 readers with the historical grounding needed to understand both Venezuela’s past and the complexities shaping its future.