Book Description
In this profoundly affecting memoir from the internationally renowned author of The Caged Virgin, Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her astonishing life story, from her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya, to her intellectual awakening and activism in the Netherlands, and her current life under armed guard in the West.
One of today's most admired and controversial political figures, Ayaan Hirsi Ali burst into international headlines following an Islamist's murder of her colleague, Theo van Gogh, with whom she made the movie Submission.
Infidel is the eagerly awaited story of the coming of age of this elegant, distinguished -- and sometimes reviled -- political superstar and champion of free speech. With a gimlet eye and measured, often ironic, voice, Hirsi Ali recounts the evolution of her beliefs, her ironclad will, and her extraordinary resolve to fight injustice done in the name of religion. Raised in a strict Muslim family and extended clan, Hirsi Ali survived civil war, female mutilation, brutal beatings, adolescence as a devout believer during the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and life in four troubled, unstable countries largely ruled by despots. In her early twenties, she escaped from a forced marriage and sought asylum in the Netherlands, where she earned a college degree in political science, tried to help her tragically depressed sister adjust to the West, and fought for the rights of Muslim immigrant women and the reform of Islam as a member of Parliament. Even though she is under constant threat -- demonized by reactionary Islamists and politicians, disowned by her father, and expelled from her family and clan -- she refuses to be silenced.
Ultimately a celebration of triumph over adversity, Hirsi Ali's story tells how a bright little girl evolved out of dutiful obedience to become an outspoken, pioneering freedom fighter. As Western governments struggle to balance democratic ideals with religious pressures, no story could be timelier or more significant.
Customer Reviews:
An Argument for Illiteracy .......2007-10-16
Ayaan Hirsi Ali's parents should blame themselves for her leaving Islam: they allowed her to learn to read and attend school with nonbelievers. Any first-rate fundamentalist knows the quickest way to open a mind is to expose it to an outside influence--in Ali's case, "trashy" novels brought to school. If her parents had home schooled her, she would have become a mother's, father's, brother's, and husband's dream--a good, submissive (hollow) Somali woman.
Ali beautifully traces her conversion, with all its stops and starts, which is the way it happens with most "thinking" people. It's important to note that she does not want to leave her faith; in fact, she struggles to hold on to it. Her life would have been easier, as in predictable (albeit more painful) if she'd failed.
INFIDEL is an influence that will be hard to shake free of, and I'm glad of it.
One of the Saviors of Civilization!.......2007-10-15
In "Infidel," the brilliant and beautiful freethinker Ayaan Hirsi Ali cuts through the irrational rationalization of the world's most brutal and oppressive ideology: Not "radical Islam," but ISLAM, period. And Hirsi Ali should know, because, as she explains in her autobiography, she was for many years a VERY DEVOUT MUSLIM. As an outward expression of her ardent devotion to Islam and its god Allah - even before it became more "fashionable" where she lived in Africa - Hirsi Ali covered herself from head to toe in a baggy cloak so that her femaleness would not be revealed and endanger her to the ubiquitous perils for women in her culture. As we should already recognize from seeing the abuse with our own eyes, the fervent claim that Islam does NOT oppress women - frequently quite violently - represents one of the biggest deceits in the world today, and those who constantly put forth this palpably false assertion dismissing gender-apartheid within Islam should be loudly denounced. But the highly important work of Hirsi Ali goes much farther than simply denouncing the incredibly hideous treatment of women within Islam, as Ayaan undoubtedly represents one of the greatest voices of reason of all time in a battle for the very existence of human civilization.
Horribly mutilated at the age of five at the harsh hands of her stern grandmother and a local barber with a pair of scissors who cut off her genitals like a slab of meat, Ayaan Hirsi Ali speaks out loudly and clearly that such atrocities in her native Somalia are done not only to virtually EVERY female of a certain age, but also IN THE NAME OF ISLAM. In fact, it was surprising for her to discover that there are claims - many quite frantic and unconvincing - that Islam does NOT call for female genital mutilation or "circumcision," as this despicable "cultural tradition" is euphemistically and flaccidly termed. Of course, not only Muslims practice this heinous savagery, but the majority of women and girls with disfigured genitals - an estimated 140 MILLION worldwide at the time of this writing - ARE Muslims, and such oppressive barbarism goes hand in hand with an ideology that without a doubt considers women as second-class subhumans designed mostly for sexual release, baby making and household slavery.
Needless to say, someone with such intelligence and wisdom as Ayaan Hirsi Ali was not content to spend her precious life merely as a piece of meat and slave. Hirsi Ali escaped this oppressive and dreadful future - and found a liberating and exquisite non-Muslim world that she could barely have imagined, based on the virulent infidel-hating dogma she had been taught since childhood. Although she would likely not opine that the non-Muslim world is perfect by any means, Hirsi Ali's vivid and disturbing descriptions of the contrast between what she left behind and what she discovered must give serious pause to the myriad and often trivial complaints against Western civilization. As she has said in interviews, YOU may spit upon the freedoms you were born with, but she cannot be so unappreciative and disrespectul, because she has literally experienced and witnessed REAL hell on Earth, and she is extremely grateful to have gotten out. By contrast, Western values at this current time seem like paradise - this notion is precisely what Hirsi Ali has attempted to impart over and over again in her writings and interviews. In other words, we've got it not just good but GREAT. And this greatness is well worth fighting for - nay, it is ESSENTIAL we fight for it.
Despite the denials and justifications by those who cannot or will not face the horrible truth, the threat against the very survival of Western civilization is real, large and growing. If we do not wake up to this threat quickly, we will very likely find ourselves living in a world of submission and enslavement that we cannot even conceive. Hirsi Ali knows these facts to be true, as she has already lived through such a nightmare - and SHE DOES NOT WANT TO GO BACK. We who are enlightened cannot blame her at all, as we absolutely do not wish such a future for our own children - a perfectly dreadful thought straight out of our worst fears.
Do yourself and the world a favor - buy this book, read it, digest it, pass it along and support the efforts of the handful of individuals such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali in saving human civilization.
Acharya S
Author, "The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold," "Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled," and "Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ"
Fascinating Story--Live.......2007-10-15
I found that when I read this book, I kept on going back to the latest book by Christopher Hitchens _God is not Great_. I'm glad I read his book first, as Ali's book epitomizes what can be so wrong with religious fundamentalism that has gone astray or been misinterpreted.
This book was fascinating from cover to cover. The author's voice was loud and her storytelling was vivid. Each of the sections shed light on different periods and aspects of her life. I was repeatedly struck with how she was able to overcome her circumstances and be so incredibly brave to start her life anew on the run from a mismatched arranged marriage.
I also appreciated her social commentary about her life and the life around her that she witnessed. She wasn't judgemental in a negative or overbearing manner, but she did comment forcefully at times about what she didn't like or didn't fully understand.
This book is worth reading and will help dispel cultural ignorance and eurocentricism. The audience for this is wide--lay audience and academic.
The Muslim world is playing for keeps.......2007-10-14
Don't miss this book!
In today's world a solid understanding of Islam is essential. Many people claim that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Ms. Ali makes it clear that nothing could be farther from the truth. This has always been true in Islam. For more on this, I would suggest the book "Why I Am Not a Muslim" by Ibn Warraq, which describes the miserable fates of both Islamic heretics and non-Muslims in Islamic countries since the time of Muhammad. Why I Am Not a Muslim
In the West we take it for granted that religion is largely a personal matter. This is a relatively recent development, even in Europe. Not too many centuries ago people whether or not you were Catholic or Protestant was a life or death matter in the West. Wars were fought over it, with huge death tolls. The idea of secularism and religious freedom came about not because people wanted religious disunity, but because the wars were inconclusive and people got tired of killing each other over something that could never be proven. No matter how many people you kill, you can never achieve agreement on religion, because the main differences between one religion and another are in the supernatural realm. Is Heaven populated by Catholics? Protestants? Someone else? How can we ever know?
The Muslim world has never made this transition. They really believe that conversion to Islam--by force if necessary--is the best hope for mankind. These people are not playing games. To Islamic countries, the whole concept of tolerance is nothing more than a sign of weakness.
Ms. Ali fails to draw some conclusions that I think are obvious from her story. In my opinion, the Western world needs to think very seriously about blocking further immigration from Islamic countries. This is a matter of some urgency. Many Islamic nations are already falling apart, the result of poor government, exploding populations, and environmental degradation. This trend is likely to accelerate with the passing of Hubbert's oil peak. For Western countries to accept large numbers of Muslim refugees in such times amounts to harboring a fifth column. It is cultural suicide.
phenomenal!.......2007-10-13
I love this book. This amazing lady chronicals a life which is representative of a culture that most Westerners know nothing about and consequently fear. It is an intimate insiders view of what its like to grow up as a girl in the Muslim world. To me it made absolutly clear why militant Muslims are the way they are and how we can have compassion for a group of people who seem to hate us. It may even prompt some of us to scrutinize our own beliefs and prejudices. She is a hero.
Amazon.com
Updated Edition: Thomas L. Friedman is not so much a futurist, which he is sometimes called, as a presentist. His aim in The World Is Flat, as in his earlier, influential Lexus and the Olive Tree, is not to give you a speculative preview of the wonders that are sure to come in your lifetime, but rather to get you caught up on the wonders that are already here. The world isn't going to be flat, it is flat, which gives Friedman's breathless narrative much of its urgency, and which also saves it from the Epcot-style polyester sheen that futurists--the optimistic ones at least--are inevitably prey to.
What Friedman means by "flat" is "connected": the lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution that have made it possible to do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. This in itself should not be news to anyone. But the news that Friedman has to deliver is that just when we stopped paying attention to these developments--when the dot-com bust turned interest away from the business and technology pages and when 9/11 and the Iraq War turned all eyes toward the Middle East--is when they actually began to accelerate. Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven not by major corporations or giant trade organizations like the World Bank, but by individuals: desktop freelancers and innovative startups all over the world (but especially in India and China) who can compete--and win--not just for low-wage manufacturing and information labor but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well. (He doesn't forget the "mutant supply chains" like Al-Qaeda that let the small act big in more destructive ways.)
Friedman has embraced this flat world in his own work, continuing to report on his story after his book's release and releasing an unprecedented hardcover update of the book a year later with 100 pages of revised and expanded material. What's changed in a year? Some of the sections that opened eyes in the first edition--on China and India, for example, and the global supply chain--are largely unaltered. Instead, Friedman has more to say about what he now calls "uploading," the direct-from-the-bottom creation of culture, knowledge, and innovation through blogging, podcasts, and open-source software. And in response to the pleas of many of his readers about how to survive the new flat world, he makes specific recommendations about the technical and creative training he thinks will be required to compete in the "New Middle" class. As before, Friedman tells his story with the catchy slogans and globe-hopping anecdotes that readers of his earlier books and his New York Times columns know well, and he holds to a stern sort of optimism. He wants to tell you how exciting this new world is, but he also wants you to know you're going to be trampled if you don't keep up with it. A year later, one can sense his rising impatience that our popular culture, and our political leaders, are not helping us keep pace. --Tom Nissley
Where Were You When the World Went Flat?
Thomas L. Friedman's reporter's curiosity and his ability to recognize the patterns behind the most complex global developments have made him one of the most entertaining and authoritative sources for information about the wider world we live in, both as the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and as the author of landmark books like From Beirut to Jerusalem and The Lexus and the Olive Tree. They also make him an endlessly fascinating conversation partner, and we've now had the chance to talk to him about The World Is Flat twice. Read our original interview with him following the publication of the first edition of The World Is Flat to learn why there's almost no one from Washington, D.C., listed in the index of a book about the global economy, and what his one-plank platform for president would be. (Hint: his bumper stickers would say, "Can You Hear Me Now?")
And now you can listen to our second interview, in which he talks about the updates he's made in "The World Is Flat 2.0," including his response to parents who said to him, "Great, Mr. Friedman, I'm glad you told us the world is flat. Now what do I tell my kids?"
The Essential Tom Friedman
From Beirut to Jerusalem |
The Lexus and the Olive Tree |
Longitudes and Attitudes |
More on Globalization and Development
China, Inc. by Ted Fishman |
Three Billion New Capitalists by Clyde Prestowitz |
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs |
Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz |
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli |
The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto |
Book Description
The World Is Flat is Thomas L. Friedman’s account of the great changes taking place in our time, as lightning-swift advances in technology and communications put people all over the globe in touch as never before—creating an explosion of wealth in India and China, and challenging the rest of us to run even faster just to stay in place. This updated and expanded edition features more than a hundred pages of fresh reporting and commentary, drawn from Friedman’s travels around the world and across the American heartland—from anyplace where the flattening of the world is being felt.
In The World Is Flat, Friedman at once shows “how and why globalization has now shifted into warp drive” (Robert Wright, Slate) and brilliantly demystifies the new flat world for readers, allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, he explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; how governments and societies can, and must, adapt; and why terrorists want to stand in the way. More than ever, The World Is Flat is an essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.
Download Description
The Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist gives a bold, timely, and surprising picture of the state of globalization in the twenty-first century
Customer Reviews:
...and so is this book.......2007-10-10
Though it has become an immensely popular book, Friedman's work is fairly shallow and simplistic. It is important to remember that this is a world analysis written by a journalist, not by a political economist or any type of economist or political scientist. His views are oversimplified and his support relies heavily on anecdote, making his 600-pager about 400 pages too long. We read it for a poli sci class and proceeded to tear it apart intellectually.
Ranks up there with Common Sense, Uncle Toms Cabin, The Femine Mystique.......2007-10-10
One of the greatest books ever written. Everyone in America should read this book. Every teacher in America should read and teach Frieman's lessons. Every parent should read and help prepare their children for the world that is coming. Every student should read and begin to prepare for the world they are going to face. This is the most important book of our times, bar none.
Embracing Business Globalization's Irreversibility.......2007-10-10
This is easily the most relevant book written on the new realities of business globalization, its irreversibility, and the practical consequences to our future. Friedman does an excellent job describing the numerous factors that led up to our current global economy including the ongoing fall of communism, the advent of the personal computer, and the ubiquity of the Internet. His historical review and assessment is fascinating and it sets up the reader to understand the context for his theories and practical applications. Friedman delves into numerous industries, businesses, personalities, case studies, technologies, psychological factors, and sociological factors. Although he covers numerous business, technological, and economic concepts, his writing style is very engaging and entertaining, using many personal examples and narratives, thereby holding the reader's interest. Rather than bemoaning some of the common perceived negative consequences of a global economy (such as US auto workers losing jobs to overseas cheaper labor) Friedman helps the reader to understand business globalization's irreversibility. In so doing, he describes many personal, practical, and business strategies for thriving in this new environment. Friedman is realistic and compassionate concerning the changes and the challenges. He states, "the great challenge for our time will be to absorb these changes in ways that do not overwhelm people but also do not leave them behind. None of this will be easy. But this is our task. It is inevitable and unavoidable" (pp. 46-47). As Friedman unfolds his strategies, he gives the reader a broader, global perspective that is filled with hope and excitement. Whether as a CEO, a business student, or a brand new professional embarking upon a career, this book is insightful, practical, and essential reading.
What a good boy am I.......2007-10-06
Reading this book is like watching someone else's kids open their Christmas presents from relatives they don't really know. I'm not sure how the author can possibly be so fascinated by technology and yet know absolutely nothing about it at the same time, but his endless diatribes about the miracles of PayPal and Microsoft Word are beyond laughable, and I was pretty much in shock when he started citing howstuffworks-dot-com as a technical reference on fiber optics and SOAP. What editor told him that this was OK?
So enamored with his own cleverness is he that Mr. Friedman dedicates several pages to explaining the book's title, even though a single sentence would have sufficed. Unfortunately, this doesn't stop after the first chapter; rather than make a point and move on, he has to point out the fact that he just made a point and tell you what a wonderful point it was just in case you missed the point. It's like hanging out with that one friend who sits around smiling and pointing to his hindquarters after he rips one off at the dinner table.
If you want to learn about globalization and are not old enough to remember the first light bulb, go read "No Logo" instead. This is horrible, irrelevant geriatric babbling.
My opinion is flat.......2007-10-03
When a book has had over a thousand reviews, what can I possibly say that hasn't already been said? So I will keep it short and not so sweet.
No one will read this book, or any of the updates, for "fun." Do you NEED to read it? Yes, it contains some important economic concepts and realities, but it's a bit overlong. I'd say it could be cut in half, so skim through some of the numerous "interviews," repetition of central points, and endless advice and encouragement. The global pie is getting bigger and better, but the competition for piecies of that pie is heating up. Smart, ambitious, creative people will thrive; slow, lazy, dull people will languish, and everything inbetween. For too long many Americans have been sitting on their laurels and the day of reckoning is near. Heed this warning: Put down your TV remotes, game controllers, and iPods, and start working like your life (or lifestyle) depended on it. Get your rear into some serious gear, and don't balk at the notion that you should be an "expert" in at least three different, unrelated fields. Does this scare or excite you?
In so many interviews with foreign entrepreneurs, we are told (or reassured) that no matter how much of the "mundane" work is performed by countries other than the U.S., America's creative and innovative spark is still unsurpassed: All the world looks to America to lead the way into the future. I'm not sure. A lot of that "mundane" work was high level and highly paid, and why should we expect that America will continue to dominate in creativity and innovation? The truth is, we're in for a flattening of living standards, and from the perspective of the relatively high American standard of living, it will seem like a drop in standards until we reach another equilibrium (who knows how long that will take?). In any case, the reassurances about the talents and abilities of Americans seem at odds with other parts of the book, such as Bill Gates feeling "terrified at the American work force of tomorrow."
If you're already working hard at becoming an expert in three fields, then you probably don't need to read this book. Indeed, you probably don't have time to read it, or to read and write Amazon reviews, for that matter.
Book Description
An inspiring celebration of courageous American innovators who are transforming the way we protect and care for the world we live in.
The environment, and the movement that grew up to protect it, is under attack--concerted and purposeful. Yet the need for solutions to pressing environmental problems grows more urgent each day. Teresa Heinz Kerry and Senator John Kerry traveled across the country in a national campaign to see at first hand how these issues unite people across party and ideological lines. From the San Juan Basin to the Gulf of Mexico to the South Bronx, from mothers on Cape Cod to Colorado ranchers, they found a vibrant coalition of people and communities deploying ingenuity, technology, and sheer will power to save the world they know and love. Now, in this passionate and personal book, Senator John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry shine the spotlight on an inspiring crosssection of these new environmental pioneers.
The book combines intensive research with keenly observed personal experiences to present a portrait of Americans devoted to the natural diversity and spectacular uniqueness of our country. It also includes an extensive guide on where and how readers can get involved.
Customer Reviews:
May A Republican Say Something?.......2007-10-06
Senator Kerry, this is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and I read a lot of books. The common sense, lack of passion, and optimism did my old heart good. Since I'm not as optimistic as you, I believe if we're to come out of this tailspin that my party has put us in, your approach, not mine, is the key. As a Vietnam veteran who was shot down twice in Vietnam 1968-69, I hope you understand that the Swift Boat guys were exploited by sociopaths. The weak minded simply cannot refuse even the briefest moment in the limelight. They well forsake God and country without hesitation. Supporting you in 2004 has turned out to be one of the smartest things I have ever done. Believe me, it wasn't easy. It temporarily cost me the goodwill of friends and family. Thousands of Americans are still cheering Bush and Cheney not even aware that all their savings may be wiped out before these two leave office. Saudi Arabia on this very day--10/06/2007--has refused to cut interest rates in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve for the first time, signaling that the oil-rich Gulf kingdom is preparing to break the dollar currency peg in a move that risks setting off a stampede out of the dollar across the Middle East. As you know, Israel has already refused aid (free money) in Dollars. When Americans turned their backs on International laws, they turned their backs on God's laws as well. The price for doing so will be incomprehensible for most. Another book, please.
Required Reading.......2007-08-08
The material in this book should be put in the public's face daily via media, billboards, etc. It should be required reading. Every mother should understand that a disposable diaper takes 500 years to biodegrade (and as those chemicals in the diaper biodegrade, they pollute and cause potential carcinogens).
I would not call the book "bipartisan" as per some of the other reviews, and I think its bashing of the Bush administration (even though I am not a fan) detracted from the overall book. However, it is important reading; it had an impact on my behavior.
Stories of Hope.......2007-08-02
I was a little skeptical with this book being written by John Kerry. I wasn't sure what to expect. It gives some really good stories of everyday people who just wanted to make a change for the better. They weren't any sort of extremists or hippies. Just people with common sense and the determination to stand up for their right to live in a clean world.
KERRY gETS IT RIGHT.......2007-06-18
Kerry analyzes today;s environmental experts and gets it right. The book is passionate, well researched, spot on and well written. I was pleasantly surprised.
I think Kerry was at his best early in the book when he evaluated some of the current plans for saving the Earth. He got a little off track as the book progressed, then veered back on track in the last 100 pages.
I highly recommend this book for anybody who cares about the planet. Also recommended: "Earth In The Balance" by Al Gore. Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit
Encouragement for activism.......2007-06-09
This book is both inspiring and upsetting. Inspiring for the stories of success in opposing pollution and degradation of the environment and restoration to a more healthy one. It is upsetting to read of the abuses and pollution creating dangerous places to live.
It is a call to action that we all need to consider. I got many good ideas about issues I hadn't thought about and it made me think about my local situation. It's good to know people have won battles and corrected abuses.
Book Description
In this, his first major book, Mark Steyn--probably the most widely read, and wittiest, columnist in the English-speaking world--takes on the great poison of the twenty-first century: the anti-Americanism that fuels both Old Europe and radical Islam. America, Steyn argues, will have to stand alone. The world will be divided between America and the rest; and for our sake America had better win.
Customer Reviews:
Unfortunately True.......2007-10-14
Every single American should read this book! He explains exactly how the Muslims are conquering the world. More wives = more babies = more Muslims = more terrorism. This is a religion that should nor even exist in the 21st century. They are commanded to murder everyone that refuses to convert to Islam. Most Americans do not understand that the greatest threat to the future of the world (especially America) is the Muslim religion.
America Alone.......2007-10-11
Every person in the USA should read this book. Today in the Dallas Morning news(10/10/07)there is an editorial by Anne Applebaum verifing one of the facts stated it this book. Ms. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who is under death threat because of her comments about the mistreatment of women in the Dutch Muslin community had to move to the US because the Dutch say it is too expensive to protect her and she will not shut up. No free speech for her. Mohammed Bouyeri murdered the Dutch writer, Theo Van Gohg, because he made a film about the oppression of Muslim women.
Funny, but also an important message........2007-10-11
While I cannot say that anybody reading this should have more kids just out of the guilt this book might give you, it is an important message about the sad effects of low birthrates. Mark Steyn has a quick wit and funny tone that is clearly not politically correct (good for him). Anybody who enjoys a good laugh or is concerned about terrorism should read this.
A Must-Read!.......2007-10-10
This book was every bit as good as I had heard. I've always enjoyed Mark Steyn, but hadn't gotten a chance to read this yet because I had a stack of books in front of it. That's my loss, because this was one of the most profound and eye-opening books I've ever read. To be honest, I pay pretty close attention to this conflict we find ourselves in, so most of the individual facts in this book weren't exactly foreign to me. But Steyn pulls all this together and presents it in such a concise, clear and entertaining way that I was able to put the pieces together in a way I hadn't even imagined. His demographic data alone is shocking, and should make every person in Europe and Canada sit up and take serious note - I'll be paying very close attention to what happens over the next few years "across the pond", as they say, for how goes Europe, so will eventually go America. I plan to buy several more copies of this book and hand them out to friends and family. I highly suggest it.
Excelent book. Really crunches the numbers like no other book........2007-10-05
This book really lays out the problems with hard numbers and facts in a way I have never seen and is easy to understand. I recomend this book to anyone who is worried about the muslim issue. People in Europe better read it asap!
Book Description
Meet BLACKWATER USA, the world's most secretive and powerful mercenary firm. Based in the wilderness of North Carolina, it is the fastest-growing private army on the planet with forces capable of carrying out regime change throughout the world. Blackwater protects the top US officials in Iraq and yet we know almost nothing about the firm's quasi-military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and inside the US. Blackwater was founded by an extreme right-wing fundamentalist Christian mega-millionaire ex- Navy Seal named Erik Prince, the scion of a wealthy conservative family that bankrolls far-right-wing causes.
Blackwater is the dark story of the rise of a powerful mercenary army, ranging from the blood-soaked streets of Fallujah to rooftop firefights in Najaf to the hurricane-ravaged US gulf to Washington DC, where Blackwater executives are hailed as new heroes in the war on terror. This is an extraordinary exposé by one of America's most exciting young radical journalists.
Customer Reviews:
Left Wing Lunacy.......2007-10-16
If you agree with the autors' description of Islamic jihadist that are shot while amushing American personnel as "victims", then you'll love this crapball of a book. Bin Laden probably loves Scahill almost as much as he does the moronic Michael Moore. Please recycle :)
Not about blackwater but what the author thinka about blackwater........2007-10-15
I bought the book even after hearing it was an attack peice towards Conservatives and blackwater hoping to find out more about the goup but sad to say it was ntohing more than a rhetoric filled hack job about what the author feels about the right and not what blackwater does or is truly about.
Check out licensed to kill if you want a more in depth and non biased look into the world of security operators.
American Journalism At Its Best.......2007-10-15
A book that every self respecting American should read. This is absolutely the best book I've read in months.
Lazy hippie critizes American hero!!!! .......2007-10-08
How to describe Erik Prince? A man who grew up with tons of money and still decided to serve this country, in the Navy SEALs no less, risking his life in serveral engagements. Continuing his father's legacy of putting Americans to work and building this country by providing security and support to our military which Clinton gracefully gutted for us. A true American to the core!!!!
How dare Jeremy Scahill bash this man????!!!!! What has Jeremy Scahill done for this country lately??? Must be that liberal sense of "if you don't do anything, nobody can critize you since nothing is almost impossible to screw up". Blackwater employees have held out against terrorist with our conventional military, has a spotless record in regards to never loosing a person they had to protect under contract, and only lost less than 30 employees during the entirely of the Iraq War. Liberals like Jeremy Scahill want nothing more than Blackwater employees to be subjected to lynch mobs and ridicuolous RoEs (Rules of Engagement). Liberals love nothing more than court martialing our troops for performing their duties while watching from afar.
Jeremy Scahill seems to think New Orleans after the Hurricane was just daisies until Blackwater showed up. Does he critize the looting, rapes, murders, or any other of the horrid behavior that occurred in the aftermath of Katrina? No he is more concerned that Blackwater is not "accountable".
News flash!!! Blackwater is a private company meaning it is always accountable to their customers. They arn't the government who can take you money away through force. Long live Erik Price!!! This country needs more men like him.
Personal agenda wastes a potentially fantastic scoop.......2007-10-08
I just finished reading Blackwater:The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, and I am still reeling from how disappointing it was. Maybe I'm an action junkie, the stem cells of my attention span tinkered with by the cocktails of impulse that video games provide. I went in expecting to read about Blackwater and how it operated, its tactics, training, its harrowing hidden stories of what evils unregulated private armies commit.
What I got instead was a few pages of the good stuff, and four hundred remaining pages of anti-neo-con, anti-right-wing, anti-religious-right, anti-any-religious-con diatribe. What could have been a sharp tale about a frightening, unregulated cult of ex-special forces types selling their warfaring skills fizzled and drowned itself out. Instead, we got a tale about something bad that every person ever connected to anyone remotely related to Blackwater has ever done. The amount of implicit condemnation isn't just infuriating or unfair, it's just plain boring to read. Skeletons can be dug up in anyone's closet. Scahill had plenty of material for Blackwater alone, but each page just got more and more personal, attacking every politician or figure he's hated, until I closed the book, read the back cover, and discovered, to no surprise, praise form Michael Moore, who pioneered these very techniques.
What techniques? Why, the one where first you imply someone is a bad boy because someone else he knows has done something bad at some point in his life. Then, you simultaneously praise and criticize the same people, using them as you see fit. The favorite Moorian target is the soldier, who is described as a dumb lunk of American arrogance sometimes, and as a sensitive family man at others. It just depends on which heartstring they wanna pull. Scahill is a journalist, and should be above this kind of liberal manipulation. Read it yourself, and see how many scandalous things mentioned have anything to do with Blackwater itself.
Even with his personal agenda splattered on top, which would only bother conservatives like me, the book still lacks a good narrative. There are constant detours that leave me wondering what any of it has to do with Blackwater. There's way too much repetitious foreshadowing, and much of the "facts" could have been left in endnotes. I say "facts" because they are facts, but that doesn't make this an impartial book. If he wanted to say privatization of the army was a disaster, I'd wholeheartedly agree, free-market capitalist that I am. But if he was trying to tell a riveting tale of conspiracy, a soapbox was not the best place to spin an engaging yarn.
Book Description
From the most highly respected analyst of foreign policy writing today, a story of wasted opportunity and squandered prestige: a critique of the last three U.S. presidents' foreign policy.
America's most distinguished commentator on foreign policy, former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, offers a reasoned but unsparing assessment of the last three presidential administrations' foreign policy. Though spanning less than two decades, these administrations cover a vitally important turning point in world history: the period in which the United States, having emerged from the Cold War with unprecedented power and prestige, managed to squander both in a remarkably short time. This is a tale of decline: from the competent but conventional thinking of the first Bush administration, to the well-intentioned self-indulgence of the Clinton administration, to the mortgaging of America's future by the "suicidal statecraft" of the second Bush administration. Brzezinski concludes with a chapter on how America can regain its lost prestige. This scholarly yet highly opinionated book is sure to be both controversial and influential.
Customer Reviews:
The idealism is better than the realism .......2007-08-29
Intelligence is no substitute for integrity. In surveying the world - situation and the role three U.S. Presidents had after the fall of the Soviet Union Brezinski fails to give prominent place to one major development he himself had considerable responsibility for i.e. the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. It was he who as Carter's foreign policy chief - advisor supervised the fall of the Shah in Iran, and did nothing to prevent the rise of the radical Islamic regime there. He also helped put into place the Mujadeen in Afghanistan, and they have been a key element in the rise of Global Islam worldwide.
In this book he focuses on what he considers the missed opportunities of the U.S. after the fall of the Soviet Union. He is especially critical of the current President.
Brezinski does have interesting things to say about current American weaknesses including the balance of payments problem, the problem of a loss of kind of moral discipline.
His idea of the United States leading mankind to a new era of dignity and freedom is a good one. And for his 'idealism' expressed most fully in the final chapter the book is worth reading.
DR. BRZEZINSKI SHOULD BE RUNNING THIS COUNTRY.......2007-07-25
I feel strongly, that this book says what most rational people in the "world!" are thinking. It is pure and clear truth. It could have been a lot less disasterous for our country, if Dr. Brzezinski could have tutored bush/cheney/rice, on how to lead a great nation with "integrity, honor and some backbone." Can we find a way for a man like Dr. Brzezinski,(who was born in Europe/Poland), to run for President?! Fantastic book! I read it in one sitting.
Second Chance: 3 presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower.......2007-07-21
Grim yet fairly non-biased assessment of the administrations since the fall of the wall. There is some hope at the end of the book, but it will take an extraordinary turn of events to keep America from losing its place in global stature.
His critical eye on the current administration is no nonsense and, sadly, accurate.
J'Accuse.......2007-07-08
This is nothing more than a scathing indictment on eight years of GWB misrule.
To distinguish his indictment from other partisan rhetoric, ZB has placed his argument in a much wider and rational perspective. He has reviewed also the missteps of the previous two US Presidents in the foreign policy arena, and the lost chances of securing and cementing a true global leadership position for USA.
What is so different with the current regime is of course not just a matter of lost chances but colossal cost to US interests abroad. Not to mention lack of any significant progress in any key domestic agenda issues to balance it all.
ZB tries to make the argument at the end that all is not lost, and US still has a chance to regain its leadership position following certain steps.
His argument is not very credible though. He ignores the fact that US, as a nation, thinks and feels very differently than the one of 50s and 60s which put US on a moral path to global leadership. Things are indeed different, and second chance seems to be wishful thinking mostly.
Writing is excellent as expected, delivery and reasoning forceful and complete. Interesting reading for those of us contemplating the next chapter.
Brilliant. A must read as we approach the future election they are boring us with ..........2007-06-28
I happen to hear this guy on Charlie Rose the other night and went out and bought his book. The book isnt as interesting as he is in an interview live but its well worth the read.
His analysis of the past three administrations is superb. It is balanced and I think offers great insight into the hits and misses of our leaders. He goes on to explain his views on the world post Russia and our missed opportunites. His close of post 2008 I would love to hear discussed by him and others.
An important book for this country. Get it and read it and act.
Amazon.com
Barack Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, was a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community. With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people. We had the opportunity to ask Senator Obama a few questions about writing, reading, and politics--see his responses below. --Daphne Durham
20 Second Interview: A Few Words with Barack Obama
Q: How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by so many compare to writing your first book, when few people knew who you were?
A: In many ways, Dreams from My Father was harder to write. At that point, I wasn't even sure that I could write a book. And writing the first book really was a process of self-discovery, since it touched on my family and my childhood in a much more intimate way. On the other hand, writing The Audacity of Hope paralleled the work that I do every day--trying to give shape to all the issues that we face as a country, and providing my own personal stamp on them.
Q: What is your writing process like? You have such a busy schedule, how did you find time to write?
A: I'm a night owl, so I usually wrote at night after my Senate day was over, and after my family was asleep--from 9:30 p.m. or so until 1 a.m. I would work off an outline--certain themes or stories that I wanted to tell--and get them down in longhand on a yellow pad. Then I'd edit while typing in what I'd written.
Q: If readers are to come away from The Audacity of Hope with one action item (a New Year's Resolution for 2007, perhaps?), what should it be?
A: Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about. It almost doesn't matter what it is--improving the school system, developing strategies to wean ourselves off foreign oil, expanding health care for kids. We give too much of our power away, to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result.
Q: You're known for being able to work with people across ideological lines. Is that possible in today's polarized Washington?
A: It is possible. There are a lot of well-meaning people in both political parties. Unfortunately, the political culture tends to emphasize conflict, the media emphasizes conflict, and the structure of our campaigns rewards the negative. I write about these obstacles in chapter 4 of my book, "Politics." When you focus on solving problems instead of scoring political points, and emphasize common sense over ideology, you'd be surprised what can be accomplished. It also helps if you're willing to give other people credit--something politicians have a hard time doing sometimes.
Q: How do you make people passionate about moderate and complex ideas?
A: I think the country recognizes that the challenges we face aren't amenable to sound-bite solutions. People are looking for serious solutions to complex problems. I don't think we need more moderation per se--I think we should be bolder in promoting universal health care, or dealing with global warming. We just need to understand that actually solving these problems won't be easy, and that whatever solutions we come up with will require consensus among groups with divergent interests. That means everybody has to listen, and everybody has to give a little. That's not easy to do.
Q: What has surprised you most about the way Washington works?
A: How little serious debate and deliberation takes place on the floor of the House or the Senate.
Q: You talk about how we have a personal responsibility to educate our children. What small thing can the average parent (or person) do to help improve the educational system in America? What small thing can make a big impact?
A: Nothing has a bigger impact than reading to children early in life. Obviously we all have a personal obligation to turn off the TV and read to our own children; but beyond that, participating in a literacy program, working with parents who themselves may have difficulty reading, helping their children with their literacy skills, can make a huge difference in a child's life.
Q: Do you ever find time to read? What kinds of books do you try to make time for? What is on your nightstand now?
A: Unfortunately, I had very little time to read while I was writing. I'm trying to make up for lost time now. My tastes are pretty eclectic. I just finished Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, a wonderful book. The language just shimmers. I've started Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which is a great study of Lincoln as a political strategist. I read just about anything by Toni Morrison, E.L. Doctorow, or Philip Roth. And I've got a soft spot for John le Carre.
Q: What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?
A: I'm inspired by the people I meet in my travels--hearing their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism and decency. I'm inspired by the love people have for their children. And I'm inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man.
Book Description
“A government that truly represents these Americans–that truly serves these Americans–will require a different kind of politics. That politics will need to reflect our lives as they are actually lived. It won’t be pre-packaged, ready to pull off the shelf. It will have to be constructed from the best of our traditions and will have to account for the darker aspects of our past. We will need to understand just how we got to this place, this land of warring factions and tribal hatreds. And we’ll need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break.”
–from
The Audacity of Hope
In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama called “the audacity of hope.”
Now, in
The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics–a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the “endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces–from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media–that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment.
At the heart of this book is Senator Obama’s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats–from terrorism to pandemic–that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy–where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories about family, friends, members of the Senate, even the president, is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus.
A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes–“waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.”
Customer Reviews:
A must read!.......2007-10-10
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I read this book a while back, and I re-read it just last week now that Obama is a major Presidential contender. This book is very well written in terms of style and syntax, plus it takes us on a journey of man grappling serioulsy with issues of hope, worth, justice, patriotism and social obligation. It seems that whatever the outcome of the election, Obama believes in decency and hope and has pledged to do his part to make this a better society. It reads well, makes you think and makes you actually glimpse an American living closer to its ideal. This is a must read!
awesome.......2007-10-10
This was am amazing book by an amazing man. Really unique viewpoint and an interesting perspective with which to view American politics. Obama is obviously brilliant and is an American political historian...love that aspect, especially. His passion for this country and making the lives of the American people better shines through on every page. His humility, honesty and humanity are refreshing. He's idealistic, but no doormat. The man has drive and ambition...wonderful qualities for someone looking to make the lives of others better. He's smart, genuine and sees the big picture...what's best for America as a whole. He gives the reader not just his opinions or snippets of American history, but also a candid look at his own personal journey. He's obviously a Democrat, but shows appreciation and admiration for some individual Repbulicans, too. Wonderfully refreshing change from the usual hatemongering between parties that has become the ugly norm in America in recent years.
Obama Stakes Out Centrist Ground.......2007-10-09
I routinely give history books five stars, but I am compelled to limit this one to four. The political manifesto is limited as a genre, and I was not quite ready after Obama's last book to be brought back down to earth. The stories in this book, while by turns sad and funny, are no longer told for their own sakes like the ones in "Dreams from my Father," but to illustrate a point. Still, Obama manages to be polemical without being strident. When they deserve it in his view, he bestows credit and even praise on individual Republicans, and quotes the sage advice that President Bush once gave him -- that he was rising so spectacularly that people on his own side might come to see him as a threat. He also has a lot of praise for his staff members, listing the more senior ones by name and telling stories of things he and they discovered at the same time.
The leading characteristic of this book is that Obama strives to be Informed about every issue he comments on. Accordingly, he attacks those on the extreme poles of the debate on all these issues for encouraging their constituents not to be informed. He will frequently say, in so many words, that while Republicans need to acknowledge X, Democrats equally need to acknowledge Y. The eighth chapter, "The World Beyond Our Borders," indicates even if his more recent rhetoric did not that if you are looking for a candidate who will get our troops out of Iraq quickly, Barack Obama is probably not your man. He reminds me of no one, in fact, so much as Bill Clinton in his knowledgeable approach to the issues, bolstered frequently by statistics.
My favorite chapters were the third chapter -- in which Obama sets forth his view of the Constitution, and talks of his respectful meeting with onetime Klansman Sen. Robert Byrd -- and the sixth chapter, where he talks about religion and his race against Alan Keyes (having discussed most of his other political opponents in the previous four chapters). While he beat Keyes handily, Keyes made him more uncomfortable than the others for his implicit charge that Obama's faith is insincere or "adulterated," the word Obama uses. From this chapter, however, I gleaned that Obama's faith is hard-won. He had higher expectations of religion perhaps than most, a higher threshhold that he insisted it meet before he would embrace it; but he is sincere. Keyes has now entered the Presidential race (his third try for his party's nomination); I suspect that more than anything he wants another crack at Obama. In the last chapter before the epilogue, we see Obama as a family man, a side of him which didn't make it into his first book.
Obama writes far more readable and entertaining books than the Clintons do -- which doesn't necessarily mean he would make a better President than either of them. But I am glad he exists. He is one of those singular people who seek to prove we as a nation are who we say we are. If I was teaching American history in an inner-city school, and was not compelled to use the same books as everyone else in the state, Obama would be one of five or so authors I would assign. (Did I mention his insights on the need to completely restructure public education, shared in the fifth chapter, "Opportunity"? He's a bit short on details of his solution here, however.) As mentioned above, I give this book four stars.
Hope and Compromise.......2007-10-04
I am particularly struck by the contrast of Obama and George W. Bush. Obama stays in touch with the masses by talking in air terminals and wherever he finds them in public. Jim Wallis (author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It") comments from his meeting the President:
"And he (George W. Bush) really did listen, more than presidents often do. He also asked questions. One sounded lofty, yet it resonated with those of us seated around the room: 'How do I speak to the soul of America?' My answer to that was simple: Focus on the children. Their plight is our shame, I told him, and their promise is our future. Reach them and you reach our soul. Bush nodded in agreement. The conversation was rich and deep for more than an hour and a half.
When the discussion officially ended, Bush moved around the room, talking with us individually or in small groups for another hour. I could see that his staff was anxious to whisk him away (cabinet appointments were being made that week and there were key departments yet to fill). Yet he lingered and continued to ask questions. At one point, he turned to me and said, with what I could only read as complete sincerity, 'Jim, I don't understand poor people. I've never lived with poor people or been around poor people much. I don't understand what they think and feel about a lot of things. I'm just a white Republican guy who doesn't get it. How do I get it?'"
Here, in Obama's book, Obama is an ordinary American who has entered a lofty position in Washington, but he has not forgotten the people, not only the people of America, but of Indonesia and Kenya as well.
Obama's style is assertive, with a stunning line or two for each chapter.
Still, I believe Obama isn't spot on. When he speaks of hope, for example, the word opportunity would be more exacting and prospective. While Obama speaks of compromise, it would be appropriate to examine areas of agreement, but work towards independent solutions rather than compromise.
A New Kind of Politics.......2007-09-30
"They are out there, I think to myself, those ordinary citizens who have grown up in the midst of all the political and cultural battles.....They are out there, waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them".
That statement sets the tone for Senator Obama's refreshingly honest look at policy and politics. In this book, you'll find Obama as open to pointing out flaws in conventional liberal thinking as he is to criticizing his opponents on the right. Likewise, he praises certain aspects of Reagan's policy as openly as he criticizes other parts of it, or as openly as he applauds Bill Clinton's policies. Obama's ability to empathize with a differing point of view, yet maintaining a firm belief in his own position is very endearing.
The most interesting aspect of the book, perhaps, is its ability to see today's issues in a historical context. When examining U.S. foreign policy, Obama first walks the reader through the positions taken by Washington, Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, Nixon, Reagan and others in trying to preserve America's national interests through interventions abroad. Likewise, when looking at the role of faith in American politics, Obama starts by giving the readers a glimpse of the how America's founding fathers thought about these issues, and how the cultural and social changes in the sixties eventually led the religious right to start playing a more active role in politics.
Obama also talks openly about his family, and his experiences while growing up, that have shaped him as a person. While talking about racial issues, he is comfortable talking about personal experiences that offer him hope. He's equally comfortable talking about his initiation into faith, having been brought up by a mother who wasn't religious.
If you're looking to understand the details of policy that Obama would champion if elected President, this book doesn't offer you a lot. However, what it gives you is the framework of beliefs which shape how Obama thinks about politics and policy. It lives true to its title, and offers hope for a new kind of politics, one that would help us all get closer to the American Dream. All in all, a very enjoyable read, and highly recommended.
Book Description
“Politics is stuck,” writes Bill Bradley, in this insightful, informative, and provocative book about America at a crossroads, but “idealism isn’t dead. It can be reawakened.”
What will it take to make America a better, stronger, truer country? asks the bestselling author, former Knicks star, and onetime presidential candidate. Bill Bradley believes that America is at a teachable moment when we are compelled to reevaluate our political system, our leadership, our agenda as a nation, and ourselves as citizens. With clarity and urgency, Bradley shows why the story we are being told now about who we are as a people is not true. He then offers a new story about our nation, based on America’s rich heritage and his belief in the character of the American people. Bradley explores what changes need to be made in our parties, in our politics, and in citizen activism to ensure America’s future. He asserts that the American people are ready for the truth and suggests that the party that chooses to embrace this new story will be in power for a generation.
Writing from his own experience in politics and drawing on his knowledge of history, Bradley shows how the Republican Party has built a solid pyramid structure since the 1970s, at the base of which are money, ideas, and media, whereas the Democratic Party’s structure is an inverted pyramid, with too much emphasis put on the need for a charismatic leader to hold the pyramid up. Each party, for different reasons, fails to deal with the real issues that now confront America.
This informed and inspiring call to action is addressed not only to the parties and elected leaders, but to citizens as well. Bradley proposes things every American can do to shape our nation’s future. He points out that if eighty percent of the electorate voted, instead of fifty percent, it would be the most important change in American politics since women got the vote. Now more than ever, he says, we need to embrace an “ethic of connectedness,” a combination of
collective action and individual responsibility, to solve our nation’s most pressing
problems, and he argues that the fate of all countries is bound together as never before. Writing today with the freedom of a private citizen, Bradley provides this transformative and eye-opening book about the danger and the promise of America’s choice at this crucial moment in the nation’s history.
Customer Reviews:
A "HOW-TO" for citizenship and political leadership.......2007-09-29
Why should you read this?
- If you care about our democracy and want to help make it strong again
- If you want to understand the big domestic challenges we face today
- If you want thoughtful proposals to addresses those challenges
- If you want to better the understand the Democratic and Republican parties; what makes them function, what makes them DYSFUNCTIONAL
- If you want to hear an insider's take on what makes our democracy tick, what makes it great, and what threatens its survival
This is a terrific book. If I had the money, I'd buy one for every member of Congress.
I listened to this book unabridged on audio, narrated by Michael Prichard. He does a good job capturing Bill Bradley's dignity, but to my ear doesn't quite capture his enthusiasm and passion for good government.
excellent.......2007-08-28
bradley is a truly brilliant man. the book is filled with hundreds of good ideas. hopefully he will stay involved in politics. the problem is that the people who need to read this book will not. our government is controlled by big business and greedy men with their own agendas. how soon is that going to change? i highly reccomend this book.
Call to Greatness.......2007-08-20
You'd swear Bill Bradley was running for office or dashing down court for a breakaway three-pointer. This one-time presidential contender and New York Knicks superstar writes with the energy and urgency of a man on a mission.
Read his book, The New American Story, and you'll be tempted to join him. Bradley has issued a powerful call to action--one that promises to rescue our nation from political infighting and restore America's leadership role in the world.
His is not a story of military might and moral superiority; it is the story of our nation's founding principles, written by the men and women whose active engagement at pivotal points in history assured the country lived up to its highest ideals.
We have a choice before us that could transcend our current state of affairs, says Bradley. A choice that puts country over political party, the common good over the distracting issues that divide us.
One of our nation's most admired leaders--Abraham Lincoln--knew a thing or two about bringing a divided nation together. When he was president, Lincoln would often sneak out of the White House on Wednesday nights to hear sermons of a well-known preacher at the New York Presbyterian Church. One night, an aide asked Lincoln what he had thought of the sermon. "The content was excellent. The minister had a strong voice and a good delivery," said Lincoln, pausing. "But he forgot the most important part. He didn't ask us to do something great."
Bill Bradley is asking us to do something great.
"The answers to our problems rest in our hearts as well as in our heads," Bradley says in the introduction to his book, "and until we understand that, we'll make marginal improvements, but we won't make the quantum leaps that our Founders made and hoped we would continue."
I am drawn to stories of ordinary Americans who overcame obstacles to achieve great things. Freedom fighters on the Underground Railroad. Journalists who exposed unethical business practices at the turn of the 20th century. The immigrants who built our transcontinental railroad. A country lawyer who became a United States Supreme Court Justice, America's chief prosecutor of Nazi War criminals, and the founder of international law. These are the stories I want people around the world to know about when they think of America and its unique contributions to the world. That's why my husband and I make historical documentaries for a living.
Bill Bradley's book had me from hello, or at least from the moment I read the book jacket blurbs written by David McCullough, David Halberstam, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Robert A. Caro, all Pulitzer Prize winners. Because I love history, and because I believe in the strength of our nation's collective character, I kept on reading.
There is no question the bold policies outlined in Bill Bradley's book will be hotly debated in the coming weeks. He takes both political parties to task, taking aim at the current administration's policies with the finesse of a seasoned athlete and senator. And while I don't agree with every single one of Bradley's strategies on health care, education, environment, tax reform, and national defense, if this American story is to have a happy ending, I, like all other Americans, will have to look for common ground, and make sacrifices for the greater good.
Bill Bradley has faith that, given the right information--the true American story--we will do the right thing.
Current state of affairs for the middle class .......2007-08-07
I confess I have read many other books on the current status quo and state of politics in our country before reading this book. If you have too, this may be a bit repetitive as most issues have been discussed before. What I do like about Bill Bradley's book is it is not simply a laundry list of complaints. He offers at the end of each chapter (designated to each issue) some thought out solutions. This is a good book for eye-opening for our major issues - health care, education, energy... and would recommend it to readers who want to learn more about the who, what and why our social issues are being ignored by government. I also recommend "War on the Middle Class" by Lou Dobbs or "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class -- And What We Can Do About It" by Thom Hartmann. I enjoyed reading those a little more.
Long-winded and Confusing Story.......2007-07-29
I'll confess right up front that I haven't finished the book yet, and I'll update this review when I do. I'm still slogging through lengthy, wandering passages that fail to make any points. I keep waiting for any kind of "here's a solution" or "here's what we should do" sentence, but I have yet to find one. He spends a lot of pages in the first 25% of the book telling the reader about the "story" that he says we're being told -- by whom? On every issue he seems to pick the most extreme right-wing position as representative of this "story" rather than the positions that the majority of Republicans and conservatives hold. And thus far all he's offered for his "new story" is idealistic pie-in-the-sky notions with no plan to get there. I trust that he gets there in the second half of the book.
Just one example of the poor writing and editing: In the section titled "Inequality" in chapter on The Economy, he goes on for quite a while about financial inequality, then about globalization and technological change, finally claiming that you can no longer get ahead by working hard. He then admits that that there is no way around benefiting the wealthy if you want to encourage investment. And then this sentence:
"But there is no excuse for failing to conduct rigorous oversight of and increase resources to education ... which in the long run will result in ... greater equality."
Okay, he tied it back into equality, but how did he suddenly switch from tax cuts and investing and unions to education in the middle of the same paragraph? Where did this out-of-the-blue accusation come from that someone isn't overseeing and funding education? I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with that accusation, just pointing out that it's completely out of place in any kind of logical or narrative flow.
And so goes this story so far. I'll keep at it and hope the writing and presentation of ideas tightens up. Maybe his publisher paid him by the word...
Book Description
With his characteristic investigative eye and Menckenesque prose,
R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. sheds new light on Bill Clinton's post-presidential emotional depression, globe trotting and international deal-making, financial ties to China and the United Arab Emirates, ongoing womanizing, vital support role in Hillary Clinton's anticipated run for the White House, and possible role as America's first "First Man."
Customer Reviews:
Tyrell: American Sphincter.......2007-09-19
Moron Tyrell is yet another wingnut who can't accept that Clinton is gone. They must all have a secret yearning for Hillary in '08 to make their pathetic lives seem worthwhile. Maybe they're all in denial after seven years of G. W. Dumbass and the weekly scandals of his crooks and cronies.
Clinton Crackup.......2007-09-19
While I hated to see Clinton move into the presidency, and, of course, hated his actions even more following Lewinsky, it's a wonder that we still have a country at all. I most certainly would not buy anything that might give him (or her, for that matter) any type of grace, and only scanned the pages at a local bookstore. That was quite enough for me, thank you very much. Now, unfortunately, it looks as though Miseries Clinton might be our next president. Hold onto your wallets, people!
Well done - Emmett needs a thesaurus though.......2007-09-07
No secret that Tyrrell does not like the Clintons. Somehow, those supporting Clinton have a big problem with a book like this and have NO problem with books claiming Bush knew about 9/11, Bush is in tight with the Saudis, etc.
If nothing else, this book is VERY thorough. There were times when I was reading it that I thought "How did the editor let THAT stay in the book?"
Tyrrell has a habit of writing to an MBA level. Which I guess is ok but there are those of us who, while having a complete control of the English language, we don't feel the need to try to impress people with it.
So many times, I read this thinking the author could have used a different word to mean the same thing and not come across as high-brow. Bill Buckley can get away with - he's about the only one.
Bottom line - the book is solid reading, powerful, and damning to Bill and Hillary.
Too Much of the Clintons is Never Enough.......2007-08-30
Sure, the title is hyperbolic, the writing has little of that flinty incisiveness of muckrakers like Tarbell and Sinclair, a good deal of the material is old news, the editing could have been better, but, oh, what fun! For political junkies like me, Our Bill and his lovely Life Partner are simply the gifts that keep on giving. As the wide diversity and vigor of reviewers' reactions demonstrate, love 'em or hate 'em, they are simply fascinating.
Now, one can't expect the shenanigans of Post-Prez Bill to be as interesting as his time in the Oval Office if only because, for instance, there has bobbed to the surface no stained women's clothing--yet. Nonetheless, the mind reels and the spirit soars as Tyrrell not only revisits the low crimes and misde-wieners of the Clintons' time in the Arkansas governor's mansion and the White House, but takes us on a poignant tour of Our Bill's meanderings in the real world, i.e., the world where his only power derives from political suasion and the relentless pursuit of greater wealth. If nothing else, Tyrrell's listing of the President's last-minute pardons and commutations, complete with the crimes committed by those receiving those astonishing absolutions, is worth the price of admission. No one, least of all Bill himself, has ever explained or rationalized how these low-lives deserved legal reclamation, justifying the inevitable conclusion of critics then and now that they were exchanged for past, present, or future consideration, much of it brokered by the Clinton and Rodham siblings.
And then there's Hillary. Just as I conclude my reading, what breaks but another campaign contribution imbroglio involving The Hill. Turns out that Norman Hsu, one of the Mrs.'s large contributors for the last several years, is a wanted fugitive from California justice and is somehow related to the Paw family of Daly City, several members of whom have made contributions coincident with those of Mr. Hsu which may or may not have been illegally funded by the latter. Mr. Paw, also Chinese, is a mail carrier, and yet the family has somehow found 45 G's to give to The Hill. The eyes tear and the throat constricts with mirth as one of the Paw family members turns out to be named Winkle. (Does the Supreme Being stay up at night devising names for those involved in Clinton scandals, you know the rich Marc Rich, et al? Does Winkle have siblings named Blinkle and Nod? But I digress.)
Astute readers will recall that Our Bill had some problems with Chinese contributors during his reign. One might have thought that those painful experiences would have convinced the Clintons they should limit their Chinese contacts to calling for take-out, but I guess not.
I'm not saying your life won't be complete if you don't read this book, but I found it a very enjoyable meander through these troubled lives. Think of it as a between-meal snack as we await The Hill's nomination for the presidency. Then it can serve as a reference point for the inevitable--and entirely justified--dredging up of the Clinton scandals by the Hillary Haters. Pray with me to the political gods that all this comes to pass: it will be a great 2008!
The Clinton Crackup.......2007-08-23
I have read the book. Tyrell is a gifted writer who records the continuing docu-drama of Bill Clinton's life. Coming away from this book there is the sense of flawed personality aspects outweighing good ones. I,too, wonder why people continue to find Clinton viable, attractive and charming. He is much to be pitied. Are Bill and Hillary a sign of the times - the narcissistic epitome of anything goes?
What Bill does fascinates us all - some love him, some don't. He "is" a national security leak and the continuing saga confirms it. One thing the book makes clear - if you set your sights on a particular goal and then
work towards it you will achieve it. Bill and Hillary had been working a long time to achieve their ambition. Though he did not win by a majority, other forces helped in the achievement of Bill's amibition.
These 2 people are very focused individuals. The truth of their lives is appallingly clear. If we are a product of our times, what does that say
about the kind of people we elect to high office. And how did we get to this cultural state of affairs.
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