Blood on the Border : A Memoir of the Contra War

Book Description

With Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the Contra War, Dunbar-Ortiz presents the third volume in her critically acclaimed memoir. In this long-awaited book, she vividly recounts on-the-ground memories of the contra war in Nicaragua, chronicling the US-sponsored terror inflicted on the people of Nicaragua following their 1981 election of the socialist Sandinistas, ousting Reagan darling and vicious dictator Somoza.

The war's opening salvo was the bombing of a Nicaraguan plane in Mexico City by US-backed contras, the plane Dunbar-Ortiz would have been on were it not for a delay. This disarming closeness to the fraught history of the US/Nicaraguan relationship shapes Dunbar-Ortiz's narrative, bringing uncomfortably present the decade-long dirty war that the Reagan administration pursued in Nicaragua against civilian and soldier alike.

As with her first two memoirs, in Blood on the Border, Dunbar-Ortiz seamlessly connects the dots not only between the personal and the political, but between recent history and our present moment. Unlike the many commentators who view the September 11, 2001, attacks as the start of the so-called "war on terror," Dunbar-Ortiz offers firsthand testimony on battles waged much earlier. While her rich political analysis of this history bears the mark of a trained historian, she also writes from her perspective as an intrepid activist who spent months at a time throughout the 1980s in the war-torn country, especially in the remote Mosquitia region, where the indigenous Miskitu people were viciously assailed and nearly wiped out by CIA-trained contra mercenaries. She makes painfully clear the connections between what many US Americans only remember vaguely as the Iran-Contra "affair" and current US aggression in the Americas, the Middle East, and around the world. Clearly, this will be a book valuable not only for students of Latin American history, but also for anyone who is interested in better understanding the violent turmoil of our world today.

Customer Reviews:

Casts a Light on Indigenous Politics.......2006-06-21

"US officials railed against the Sandinistas for nationalizing property, but they had never criticized the dictator Somoza for personally owning much of the country..."

Blood on the Border is Roxanne Dunbar-Oritz's maddening search for identity amidst the life-or-death Sandinista Revolution and collapsing social movements in the U.S. during the Ronald Reagan `80s.

As a witness to many great crimes against humanity, the author deftly balances between her own struggles with alcohol, humanizing the Nicaraguan people (especially the misunderstood and maligned indigenous Miskitu people) and recounting harrowing run-ins with "the other side" in the form of CIA agents, State Department officials, mercenary guns-for-hire, Christian fundamentalists and Somozistas.

This is a well-written, important contribution to the history of the Sandinista Revolution and the U.S. Left in the 1980s. Specifically, its unique focus on the role of indigenous people in a wider social revolution is invaluable. The misunderstandings with the Sadinistatas and manipulation of the Miskitu and other Atlantic Coast Indians by the U.S./Contras is telling of the present war on Iraq's ethnic conflict.

The author's post-Maoist politics shine through her actions--including her obsession with the United Nations--and leads one to wonder if her tremendous knowledge, talents and convictions might have been more helpful had they not brought her to UN conference after conference?

The better we understand Nicaragua and the United States' dirty war against the Sandinistas, the better we will be poised to confront today's imperialism. After all, the author observes, from then-U.S. Ambassador to Honduras John Negroponte to then-Reagan advisor Donald Rumsfeld, it's a lot of the same cretins running the show today.

great for the college classroom.......2006-06-01

I used this book for my U.S. history course on American Foreign Policy. I loved the book, but more importantly my students enjoyed it. It was a great source for debate within the class. I used it in conjunction with Smedly Butlers "War is a Racket" These two books gave the class a different perspective on U.S. intervention. The importance is that Blood on the Border puts a human toll on U.S. action abroad. Great book for the classroom if you are a teacher and you want to stir critical thinking in your students this is the book for you

Radical Okie does it again!.......2005-12-11

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz has a remarkable ability to tell her personal story in a broader historical context--the mark, I suppose, of a good memoir. This is her third such volume. The first, RED DIRT: GROWING UP OKIE, is still my favorite, but that may just be in part because I have the experience of trying to be a radical in Oklahoma. That book traces her life from poor, part Native American roots to 60s radicalism (including wonderful stories about her Wobbly--IWW, International Workers of the World--grandfather. The second volume, OUTLAW WOMAN: A MEMOIR OF THE WAR YEARS, 1960-1975, focused on Dunbar-Ortiz's involvement in the anti-Vietnam War movement and the feminist movement.
Now, she has completed the series (but not, hopefully, the peace and justice work she so obviously passionately believes in) with BLOOD ON THE BORDER: A MEMOIR OF THE CONTRA WAR. Dunbar-Ortiz is brutally honest about the problems in her life, including relationships and alcoholism. She is also brutally honest about the role of US imperialism in Latin America. Just one of the revelations for me was the recycling of figures from this era such as Negroponte by the current Bush. This is a very interesting, even important book. Read it. And weep? For Dunbar-Ortiz sounds a bit pessimistic at the end, one might say. "Nicaragua was the last great hope for national liberation movements to succeed in breaking free from imperialism," she writes. But she continues (and concludes the book): "The historical process of nation building that occcurred with the rise of capitalism in Western Europe has reached its limits. Had the West, particularly the United States, nourished the struggles of peoples for the development of authentically independent nations out of the ruins of colonialism in Africa and imperialism in Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean, perhaps the dream of a United Nations could have become a reality. Today, that dream does not appear possible, making indigenous movements ever more fundamental to humanity in reaching a different conclusion than a nuclear war or environmental disaster." Is there hope there? I hope so....

A Little Loose with the Facts.......2005-12-08

Ward Churchill "signed on" to an attempt to discredit Dunbar Ortiz on the basis of her ethnicity? This seems a bit peculiar, given that he's on record as having rather staunchly defended her against attacks on those very grounds by, among others, the Indian Law Resource Center's Steven Tullburg, Wicazo Review's Elizabeth Cook-Lynne, Indian Country Today's Tim Giago, and the inimitable Vernon Bellecourt of "National AIM."

I've gone through everything I can find on this, and have come up with no indication that Churchill ever "signed on" to antything at all in this regard. If Dunbar Ortiz were going to say that he did, and/or Ron Jacobs repeat her statement as fact in his glowing review of her book, it would've been nice if one, the other, or both had bothered to be specific as to where Churchill made his supposed mark.

Alternatively, we have reason to question the accuracy of the "facts" Dunbar Ortiz elects to deploy, and to wonder whether and to what extent she's elected to use her memoirs as a vehicle upon which to continue these ancient secterian squabbles in yet another form (a type of factual impairment with which Jacobs' own history of Weather is much impaired).

News flash, folks: Neither Dunbar Ortiz or Jacobs is doing anyone a favor by playing these games.

Contra-indications.......2005-11-29

A Review of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's Blood on the Border
Contraindications

By RON JACOBS

To many of us in the United States, the US contra war against the Nicaraguan government in the 1980s seems like very long ago. Since the CIA-manufactured defeat of the revolutionary government in Managua--a defeat that included mercenary war, media manipulations, CIA and Special Forces covert ops, drug-running and arms smuggling by people paid by the US government, and a sham election staged by Washington--the US has militarily invaded Iraq twice, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan. A mere three months before that sham election, Washington invaded and overthrew the Panamanian government as if warning Nicaraguans what was in store for them should they vote against the US-sponsored candidates. In addition, Washington has instigated and assisted regime change in El Salvador, several countries in the former Soviet Bloc, and a few nations in Latin America, to name just a few regions of the world that come immediately to mind. Besides these "successes", Washington has failed to overthrow the Bolivarian government in Venezuela or the governments of its eternal enemies--Cuba and northern Korea. One can be certain, however, that these attempts are ongoing. On top of all this, Washington has forced so-called free trade agreements on most countries around the world, especially those in what global capitalists like to call the developing word. These agreements are designed, of course, to maintain Washington and Wall Street's neocolonial hold.

Given all of this, it is good to see Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's latest effort Blood on the Border hit the bookstores. Her memoir of her experience as a leftist indigenous activist during the contra wars in Nicaragua is not only a well-told tale of those times, it is a primer on US intentions in the 21st century. Expansion and control, by whatever means necessary. The manipulation of local distrusts, both ethnic and religious; and the transformation of those mistrusts into armed conflict. All with the only real beneficiary being the economic and political masters in Washington.

Dunbar-Ortiz places the struggle of the Miskito people on Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast firmly in the greater context of the struggles of all the western hemisphere's indigenous nations to determine their own destinies and maintain their own cultures and ways of life. As she details in Blood on the Border, her acknowledgment of her own native heritage and its relationship to her involvement in leftist revolutionary movements in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s put her in a unique position to understand the situation faced by both sides in the debate in Nicaragua between the revolutionary Sandinista government and the indigenous nations within Nicaragua's borders. In addition, her role lobbying various United Nations commissions dealing with indigenous issues gave her a mobility and a degree of independence that enabled her to hear from many sides of the debate. This information then allowed her to use her understanding of imperialism to work for a solution that would benefit the people in the regions where she was working, not those in Washington, DC or, sometimes, those in Managua.

Part history text and part personal narrative, Blood on the Border briefly discusses the history of US intervention in Nicaragua, always reminding the reader that Washington never cared about the people of Nicaragua, no matter what their ethnicity. Likewise, Dunbar-Ortiz's historical summary of Washington's relations with its own indigenous peoples makes a similar point. The role of Christian missionaries in creating the cultural climate for US imperial rule is also discussed, especially in relation to the Miskito peoples, who were "Christianized" by the Moravian Church. This relationship would, like so many other places where a Christian church has left its mark, work against the Sandinista (and in favor of Washington) in their attempts to work out some kind of agreement for Miskito autonomy.

Unfortunately, Dunbar-Ortiz was, along with the Sandinistas, up against the forces of the US military machine--a machine reinvigorated by the rise to power of the most hawkish wing of the US establishment. This wing, represented by Ronald Reagan on television and Ollie North in the field, was determined to defeat the popular revolutions of 1980s Central America. Their determination would put them on a path that eventually involved running cocaine into Los Angeles neighborhoods, missile parts through Israel to Iran in trade for US hostages being held by various militant cells in Lebanon, and cold cash back to the mercenary armies being trained and controlled by various members of the US State department, Defense Department, and intelligence agencies. Back home in the States, these mercenaries were recruited by various members of the indigenous rights movement who had been convinced by the CIA propaganda that the Sandinistas were a worse enemy of indigenous nations in the Americas than the US Cavalry. Of course, the money some of these so-called representatives received from CIA front groups (like Reverend Moon's, Unification Church) helped in the convincing, as well.

Dunbar-Ortiz writes about this aspect of the US contra war, too. She details the attempts by various elements of the American Indian Movement (AIM) to discredit her by repeating propaganda contrived in the CIA counterintelligence offices or just by calling her a leftist. Other attempts, including one signed on to (rather ironically) by Ward Churchill that called into question her "Indianness," and another by Nation writer Penny Lernoux that attacked the Sandinistas with as much vehemence as Ronald Reagan ever mustered, kept her in a state of regular re-examination. This would usually express itself in excessive alcohol consumption--a demon with which Dunbar-Ortiz had battled before.

As a person who attended multiple protests, a few sit-ins, and numerous meetings opposing the contra war in Nicaragua, I found Blood on the Border a revealing report on what was occurring on a completely different level of the movement against US imperialism. While I was attending meetings at La Pena in Berkeley or at a public library in Olympia, WA, Ortiz was riding canoes upriver in the Miskito nation. While she met with human rights activists in Geneva or Managua, I was sitting in at the Federal Building in Seattle. The struggle that hundreds of thousands of people were involved in around the world was waged on multiple levels and all of them complemented the other, even when we weren't aware of that fact.

While reading Blood on the Border, I was alternately reminded of the whiskey priest in revolutionary Mexico from Graham Greene's novel The Power and the Glory and his CIA man Pyle in The Quiet American. This isn't because the author was reminiscent of either one of these characters, but because they represent what she was up against. Occasionally depressing, but never hopeless; instructional, but never tedious; Blood on the Border is further proof from the pen of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz that memoir can be more than navel-gazing and self-flattery. In this instance it is history and political education.

Ron Jacobs is author of The Way the Wind Blew: a history of the Weather Underground.

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Long the stuff of historical, literary, and cinematic legend, the United States Marine Corps maintains arguably the most fervent cult of devotion of any branch of the Armed Services. Yet despite the colorful Corps traditions and clichés that have long since become a part of American culture, the crucial human dimensions of what drives a man to become a Marine have remained largely unexplored. Buzz Williams bravely stakes out his turf in this insightful memoir of his years as a Marine reservist and tour of duty in the first Gulf War of 1991.

Inspired by the USMC service of an older brother who died a tragic, early death, Williams' initial attraction to the Corps is almost cult-like in its intensity (his adopted nickname stems from the close-cropped military haircut he'd worn since childhood). As a way to balance his drive for service with the desire for a college education, Williams joined the USMC Reserves, and quickly found himself a second-class citizen in his cherished institution--when the Marines' "Green Machine" breaks down, they call for "Spare Parts," the Corps' derogatory term for reservists. But, when Iraq invaded Kuwait on the eve of his graduation from armor training at Camp Pendleton, new warrior Williams quickly found himself headed inexorably towards desert warfare in which American forces were often their own worst enemy.

What is striking about Williams' tale is its attentive, persistent psychoanalyses of both his fellow warriors and himself--an examination that finds many a conflicted hero with feet of clay. His unflinching observations about a venerable institution hobbled by bureaucracy, recruitment compromises, woefully inadequate training, and a chronic shortage of supplies seem especially timely in light of the contemporary military quagmire in Iraq. Yet through all his doubts and travails, Williams' dedication to the Corps emerges stubbornly Semper Fi. --Jerry McCulley

Book Description

A compelling look into the world of reservists--more than just the "spare parts" of our nation's military--as seen through one manís transformation from weekend warrior to combat marine

In 1989, Buzz Williams walked into a marine recruiting office to follow in the footsteps of the deceased older brother he grew up idolizing by signing up to join the Marine Reserves. Over the course of the next year, he would earn money to pay his college tuition by devoting one weekend a month and two full weeks in the summer to the grueling and often dangerous rigors of military training, while enduring the jarring readjustment that occurred each time he returned to civilian life.

But Williams had no idea that even the newest reservists could find themselves on the frontlines of a battlefield in a matter of weeks. On August 2, 1990--the day that he graduated from Light Armored Vehicle School--Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait, and Williams' life would change forever.

Spare Parts tells the story of Williams' harrowing deployment to the Persian Gulf, where he would be thrust into battle only 38 days after being called up. Enduring both the condescension of full-time Marines and the danger of his limited training, he managed to form a core group that the struggles to gain respect from a military machine that viewed them as mere "spare parts." In gripping, you-are-there detail, Williams brings to life the physical and emotional trials he would face on the killing fields of Kuwait--where some of the woefully underprepared Marines are able to rise to the challenge and others are broken by the horrors of battle.

A powerful portrait of one man's experience in battle--and of the reservists who stand ready to leave civilian life to defend our nation at a moment's notice--SPARE PARTS adds a moving new perspective to the literature of war.

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"A compelling look into the world of reservists--more than just the ""spare parts"" of our nation's military--as seen through one manís transformation from weekend warrior to combat marine In 1989, Buzz Williams walked into a marine recruiting office to follow in the footsteps of the deceased older brother he grew up idolizing by signing up to join the Marine Reserves. Over the course of the next year, he would earn money to pay his college tuition by devoting one weekend a month and two full weeks in the summer to the grueling and often dangerous rigors of military training, while enduring the jarring readjustment that occurred each time he returned to civilian life. But Williams had no idea that even the newest reservists could find themselves on the frontlines of a battlefield in a matter of weeks. On August 2, 1990--the day that he graduated from Light Armored Vehicle School--Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait, and Williams' life would change forever. Spare Parts tells the story of Williams' harrowing deployment to the Persian Gulf, where he would be thrust into battle only 38 days after being called up. Enduring both the condescension of full-time Marines and the danger of his limited training, he managed to form a core group that the struggles to gain respect from a military machine that viewed them as mere ""spare parts."" In gripping, you-are-there detail, Williams brings to life the physical and emotional trials he would face on the killing fields of Kuwait--where some of the woefully underprepared Marines are able to rise to the challenge and others are broken by the horrors of battle. A powerful portrait of one man's experience in battle--and of the reservists who stand ready to leave civilian life to defend our nation at a moment's notice--SPARE PARTS adds a moving new perspective to the literature of war."

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book.......2007-02-09

As a Marine Vietnam vet, who served four years in the regular Marine Corps, and later another six in the reserves, I appreciated Buzz Williams's honesty. Here you will get the good and the bad. He's still a Gung Ho Marine, but he doesn't gloss over the frustrations and SANFUs of military life. Well worth reading.

Robert A. Hall
Author of "The Good Bits."

Serious Page Turner!.......2006-02-09

Buzz Williams has written an impressive and highly readable account detailing his life as a Marine Reservist. Williams is definitely a fantastic writer, and I was totally impressed with his skill to communicate and articulate so well.

The entire book is great, and I especially liked his account of boot-camp and his personal feelings about the Marine Corps. He does an excellent job at portraying emotion and thought. It's funny to hear about some of the dysfunctions and frustrations of the unit, and his reserve life in general. Some of the best writing dealt with the conflict with the Marines in the unit. It's also helpful Williams articulated so well the difficulty of transitioning from Marine to civilian so often.

My brother is a Marine Reservist whose unit has been to Iraq for combat several times, which is probably why I wanted to read the book. I am glad Williams has told his story and updated us so well with his life at the conclusion of his time in the Marines. In conclusion this book is probably the best publication I have read this year and would encourage others to delve into his account.

Excellent .. a very enjoyable book.......2005-05-05

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought the author's writing style was excellent and I was never bored at any point. I really thought it gave a complete picture . . . from Buzz's childhood fantasies of being a marine to his relecting on the experience as a veteran of the '91 gulf war (while watching the recent Iraq war unfold).
I thought Buzz did a good job telling the good, the bad and the ugly of his entire experience. I love that he gave praise where it seems to have been deserved, and chastised the nimrods he met.

Excellent Memoir of Reserve Life.......2005-01-05

Spare Parts is a first-rate book on life in the Marine Corps Reserves as well as life in a modern war environment.

This book intrigued me as I had great interest in joining a military reserve unit. The book is a memoir of Corporal Buzz Williams, a Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) operator/gunner in the Marine Corps Reserves. The book is a thorough summary of Cpl. Williams' experience in the Marine Corps reserves, mostly covering boot camp, MOS training, weekend drills, and deployment in Operation Desert Storm.

The book gives a high level overview of Cpl. Williams' boot camp experience. I found this section neat, but I have seen much more thorough accounts of boot camp in other places. I thought the book really picked up after boot camp. I had found few if any accounts of reservist life and life in modern warfare. Cpl. Williams discusses the experience of MOS training, including the shortcomings of the training the military provided in LAV school. The chapters on the weekend drills I thought were invaluable to a potential reservist. This book is the first place I found an excellent, written account of what a training weekend is like. Finally, the end of the book discussed what life during a modern war is like and what it is like to come home afterward. The writing of Cpl. Williams is frank and discusses both the positives and negatives of military life and military procedures.

The book is a quick and an easy read. I would highly recommend this book to people considering potentially enlisting in the military reserves. The book sheds a sobering light on reservist life that I thought really helped me see the military from another perspective. I would also highly recommend this book to persons interested in military memoirs or life in the military.

Towgunner Chimes In.......2004-12-27

As a member of D Company, during its Desert Storm/Shield deployment, this book brought back a lot of memories, good and bad. I enjoyed it very much and thank Buzz for writing it.

What astounds me is the bashing that Buzz has endured as a result of committing his memories to paper. Obviously some people who weren't portrayed as Chesty Pullers in the book now feel somewhat marginalized. Not everyone was a Force Recon operator guys. We were a reserve company attached to a battalion whose commanding officer didn't really have much time for reservists. We did the best job we could with the equipment we had and in the end we brought everyone home. Not everyone liked everyone else. There were conflicts and politics and everyone will remember it in a different and unique way. Why denigrate a fellow marine simply because his recollection of events does not exactly match yours? I personally don't understand all the uproar from other company members such as the self proclaimed "Delta Marine" among others. Anyone who served in the Corps and spent time at "Leguene" is somewhat suspect in my opinion. Crawl back into Capt P.'s turret. You should've written your own book.

Good job Buzz. It took courage to do this and I commend you. Well written and highly recommended.

S/F
0352 Out.

Book Description

The recent resignation of CIA boss George Tenet has only highlighted what is for many the greatest political scandal of a generation: the failure of the U.S. intelligence community to combat the threat poised by Islamic fundamentalists and prevent the 9/11 attacks. Melissa Boyle Mahle risked her life working as an undercover CIA field operative in the Middle East until her departure in 2002. She therefore has a unique vantage point from which to view the political and operational culture of the agency in the post–Cold War climate. From Reagan to Bush Jr., Mahle provides a vivid personal and historical narrative on how the CIA became an anorexic organization, lost in the post–Cold War world. Afraid to take risks that might offend Washington politicos and European allies, gutted of the clandestine operators who knew how to run secret wars, exhausted from reform whiplash, and demoralized by demonization and poor performance, the CIA simply became unable and unwilling “to get down and dirty to do the hard part to fight a real war on terrorism.” Denial and Deception describes the last generation of the CIA and is a unique contribution to our understanding of the secret world of intelligence.

Customer Reviews:

True and honest account of CIA.......2007-06-10

Unlike alot of books, this author doesn't seem to be writing to grind an ax. Well written and provides great insight on some of the most recent terrorist events.

Denial and Deception.......2007-02-22

Denial and Deception is the story of the CIA from 1987 to 2004 as seen through the eyes of a former CIA spy. Although she was eventually forced out due to some admitted error on her part (now classified), she was generally supportive of the agency though often very critical of its leadership. The book is divided by the various CIA directors, Webster, Gates, Woolsey, Deutch, and Tenet, and provides a fascinating account of the unintended dismantling of our intelligence capabilities and the demoralizing of our intelligence personnel at the hands of Congress, numerous bureaucrats, various reformers and a few directors. Although reform was badly needed because the agency had gotten out of control, the endless reforms had the effect of paralyzing the agency, making CIA leaders and officers afraid of taking risks for fear of political repercussions. Rigid CIA leaders made matters worse by failing to come to grips with the new dangers of a post-Soviet Union world. Although the author acknowledges supporting Bill Clinton for president she admits that most of this took place on his watch and that between his distrust of the CIA, his preoccupation with the Lewinski scandal, and his focus on domestic issues (It's the economy stupid)--he greatly compounded the problem. Just before 911, the CIA was apparently so dysfunctional and afraid to take risks (for fear of political repercussions) that it is no wonder they were unable to predict 911 and messed up on the WMD call in Iraq. It's hard to know how accurate the author's version of this history is, but I found the book fascinating and hard to put down.

Just an Okay Book.......2006-11-09

It frustrates me to read books lately that have many grammar and spelling mistakes. This book is full of misspelled words, improper grammar and sentences that have no meaning at all. I'm not sure if it is the editor's fault or the writer's fault. But, a simple proof-read would have caught most of these errors.

As far as the book goes, it's just okay. If I had to read it all over again-I wouldn't.

Superb Insider's Account.......2006-02-28

This book isn't meant to be a memoir about her personal experiences; instead, it's the author's perception of current/world events and related personalities during her tenure with her employer.

The beginning of the book is a little dry, perhaps not so much for those that aren't familiar with the Intelligence Community. This would only be about the first 10% of the book.

Once you're past this section of the book, it reads much faster and smoother. The author's "insider" views and interpretation of world events are intriguing.

It's worth your time to read to this book.

Help Wanted: Editor.......2006-02-18

This book could use a good editor and a good re-write. While the small part of the book I actually read was OK in content, there seemed to be a lot of repetition, and a scattershot approach to the presentation. After just under a hundred pages, I gave up.

Perhaps some would call the following nitpicky. OK, that's fine. However, when I see a glaring error in the text of a book, I tend to question the entire book. Was this the only error? Or is the entire book filled with such errors? At one point the author says something to the effect of it being midnight in Washington DC, but 3 pm in the Middle East. Well, that may be, but one place or the other would have to have changed time zones for this to be so.

I'd like to read an edited version of this sometime. As a former spook, of sorts, back during the Stone Age, I greatly enjoy reading good books on this subject.

It took me nearly three weeks to make it through the short portion of the book that I did. Constantly putting it down in frustration, then picking it up again due to my great interest in the subject matter. The content of the remainder of the book might warrant a thorough reading, but I apologize: I'll have to leave that to another reader.

Denial and Deception: An Insider's View of the CIA from Iran-Contra to 9/11.(Book Review) : An article from: Middle East Policy

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Denial and Deception: An Insider's View of the CIA from Iran-Contra to 9/11.(Book Review) : An article from: Middle East Policy
Robert Dreyfuss
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000E5KS3A
Release Date: 2006-01-09

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This digital document is an article from Middle East Policy, published by Thomson Gale on December 22, 2005. The length of the article is 1430 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Denial and Deception: An Insider's View of the CIA from Iran-Contra to 9/11.(Book Review)
Author: Robert Dreyfuss
Publication: Middle East Policy (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 12 Issue: 4 Page: 164(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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The Pied Flycatcher
Arne Lundberg
Manufacturer: T. & A. D. Poyser Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Birds | Field Guides | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Ornithology | Zoology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0856610720

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Territorial aggression, circulating levels of testosterone, and brain aromatase activity in free-living pied flycatchers [An article from: Hormones and Behavior]
B. Silverin , M. Baillien , and J. Balthazart
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR0ANI

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Hormones and Behavior, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Testosterone (T) is a critical endocrine factor for the activation of many aspects of reproductive behavior in vertebrates. Castration completely eliminates the display of aggressive and sexual behaviors that are restored to intact level by a treatment with exogenous T. There is usually a tight correlation between the temporal changes in plasma T and the frequency of reproductive behaviors during the annual cycle. In contrast, individual levels of behavioral activity are often not related to plasma T concentration at the peak of the reproductive season suggesting that T is available in quantities larger than necessary to activate behavior and that other factors limit the expression of behavior. There is some indication from work in rodents that individual levels of brain aromatase activity (AA) may be a key factor that limits the expression of aggressive behavior, and in agreement with this idea, many studies indicate that estrogens produced in the brain by the aromatization of T may contribute to the activation of reproductive behavior, including aggression. We investigated here in pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) the relationships among territorial aggression, plasma T, and brain AA at the peak of the reproductive season. In a first experiment, blood samples were collected from unpaired males holding a primary territory and, 1 or 2 days later, their aggressive behavior was quantified during standardized simulated territorial intrusions. No relationship was found between individual differences in aggressive behavior and plasma T or dihydrotestosterone levels but a significant negative correlation was observed between number of attacks and plasma corticosterone. In a second experiment, aggressive behavior was measured during a simulated territorial intrusion in 22 unpaired males holding primary territories. They were then immediately captured and AA was measured in their anterior and posterior diencephalon and in the entire telencephalon. Five males that had attracted a female (who had started egg-laying) were also studied. The paired males were less aggressive and correlatively had a lower AA in the anterior diencephalon but not in the posterior diencephalon and telencephalon than the 22 birds holding a territory before arrival of a female. In these 22 birds, a significant correlation was observed between number of attacks/min displayed during the simulated territorial intrusion and AA in the anterior diencephalon but no correlation was found between these variables in the two other brain areas. Taken together, these data indicate that the level of aggression displayed by males defending their primary territory may be limited by the activity of the preoptic aromatase, but plasma T is not playing an important role in establishing individual differences in aggression. Alternatively, it is also possible that brain AA is rapidly affected by agonistic interactions and additional work should be carried out to determine whether the correlation observed between brain AA and aggressive behavior is the result of an effect of the enzyme on behavior or vice versa. In any case, the present data show that preoptic AA can change quite rapidly during the reproductive cycle (within a few days after arrival of the female) indicating that this enzymatic activity is able to regulate rapid behavioral transitions during the reproductive cycle in this species.

The functional organization of anti-predator behaviour in the pied flycatcher: A study of avian visual perception (Animal behaviour. [Offprint])

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The functional organization of anti-predator behaviour in the pied flycatcher: A study of avian visual perception (Animal behaviour. [Offprint])
Eberhard Curio
Manufacturer: [s.n.]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Ophthalmology | Specialties | Medicine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007CB7JY

The proximate orientation of the pied flycatcher, Muscicapa hypoleuca (Pall.), studies by the multiple choice method (Societas Scientiarum Fennica. Commentationes biologicae)

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The proximate orientation of the pied flycatcher, Muscicapa hypoleuca (Pall.), studies by the multiple choice method (Societas Scientiarum Fennica. Commentationes biologicae)
Lars von Haartman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007JLO5O

Reproductive success in relation to breeding density in pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca (Pallas), (Acta zoologica Fennica)

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Reproductive success in relation to breeding density in pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca (Pallas), (Acta zoologica Fennica)
Frank S Tompa
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006C5X9A

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