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What makes this account of the Mafia life and times of Sammy Gravano so seductive is Peter Maas's skillful editing of interview material. From his opening line--"Yeah, you could say I came from a pretty tough neighborhood"--to his final poignant comment on having gotten all his tattoos removed except a head of Christ that resists being eliminated--"I guess God still wants me"--Gravano is nothing if not a compelling storyteller. He talks about his years in a youth gang, his robberies and shylocking, his murders, his lack of remorse (about which he is "not happy"), the ceremony of becoming a "made guy," his mentors, his "crew," his preference for gangsters over racketeers, his fascination with the Godfather films, his many business ventures, and his final years of disillusionment as the Cosa Nostra code he had passionately admired was breaking down, so that he chose to testify against his last boss, John Gotti.
Book Description
Sammy the Bull Gravano is the highest-ranking member of the Mafia in America ever to defeat. In telling Gravano's story, Peter Maas brings us as never before into the innermost sanctums of the Cosa Nostra as if we were there ourselves--a secret underworld of power, lust, greed, betrayal, and deception, with the specter of violent death always waiting in the wings.
Customer Reviews:
the bull.......2007-08-23
book is very good in detailing La Costra Nostra in NYC during early 70"s. mostly 80's- enjoyed it.
As Fascinating A Read As The Subject, Himself.......2007-08-13
I just read the book, "Underboss: Sammy The Bull Gravano's Story Of Life In The Mafia," albeit a decade after it was originally published. I can only imagine the fascinating conversations author, Peter Maas, must have had with Salvatore "Sammy" Gravano in putting together the intriguing piece of work this book turned out to be.
What an interesting man Sammy Gravano is and what a difficult road he took in life. He had wonderful parents, both of whom he obviously loved very much and both of whom loved him, but it seems that there was something inside of him that led him in the direction he went. Maybe he thought there was "glamour" and "power" in being a mobster. But, what "glamour" and "power" is there is giving up your own life to help others gain while you lose?
For a long time, it seems Sammy's very life was in the hands of others (Mafia superiors) whose feelings about him could change on a moment's whim or mood. It must have been like living on a thin, wobbly tightrope strung between skyscrapers without a net - a balancing act. Sammy talks about times he entered meetings with Mafia bosses and members and did not know if he would exit the meetings alive. What kind of life is that? But, it's a game, right? I had the feeling that Sammy thought that the Mafia was a "club" in which the game is played and one's life or death depended on how well one played the game - or luck - or whether or not a person thought you were "loyal" to them. It seems there were strict codes and rules and honor in taking the lives of other people deemed by a person or by people in the "club" to be deserving of death and/or unworthy of the right the exist. Judgments reserved for God were usurped by people who felt it was their right to play God. Sammy carries out the wishes of his bosses because "it was the life I chose," he says.
I do understand the sense of belonging Sammy felt with his fellow mobsters - the blood oath and the loyalty pacts. A sense of belonging is a human need. But, what about Sammy's children and his family? Who is it that truly grieves for a person when he is gone? It is his children and family - the family that ate "pasta and ricotta" all those nights when times were hard and Sammy's family struggled financially -- while his mob bosses lived in opulence.
Having said that, it is evident to me that Sammy is a person with a heart and soul, a flesh and blood human being. There were moments in reading the book that my heart went out to Sammy. There is something very likeable about him. There are moments in which his heart and human vulnerability are evident. There are moments in which his conscience and logic caused him to question certain things. There are moments in which it seems that Sammy feels regret or reservation about carrying out an order.
One of the sickest stories Sammy tells is that of a man who wanted to die with his shoes off...I won't go into details about it because anyone can read it in the book, but I actually lost sleep over this story, it so sickened me. There were many moments that Sammy's choice to carry out the order to take this person's life could have been reversed before the deed was carried out, yet the man was murdered. I literally could not sleep after reading this.
Sammy also tells the story of his good friend who is dying of lung cancer and how his friend said he did not want to die "like a dog." Sammy's friend pled with Sammy to end his life and his suffering. But, Sammy had reservations about taking the life of his friend. Ultimately, Sammy decided to carry out his dying friend's wishes to end his suffering, but God or fate or whatever stepped in and the Sammy's friend died before anything happened. In that moment, Sammy's pain and grief was obvious. But, then, I thought about how other people whose lives were lost at Sammy's hands or at the hands of others in the mafia also had friends and family who felt this same pain and grief over the loss of a loved one whose life was taken. Death has a ripple effect. It is never just the person who has died that suffers. Those who loved and depended on the person also suffer, and sometimes for a lifetime. They will never live in the same way again, including the children in many cases.
Sammy seemed to have a "respect" for "manhood," but I thought his definition of "manhood" flawed. I thought his definition of "manhood" seemed to be based on a narrow scope of tolerance for the rights of other people. It seemed there was "respect" for those whose lives and deaths met the mafia definition of "manhood." But, what is "manhood?" Is it holding a gun on someone or killing someone or causing someone to fear for his life in front of you? Is it really "manhood" if you're always having to try to "prove" your "manhood" or being more loyal to another person than you are to yourself or your family?
Regardless, who knows what it is in all of us that leads us down the paths we go down in life? Each person will answer for himself or herself before God or whatever entity it is that gave us this life. So, I do not sit in judgment of Sammy or anyone for his or her deeds. I think that people are influenced and indoctrinated with the values of the society with which they associate and identify be it a society of nobility or criminality.
I thought it sad that Sammy wasted so much of his life by essentially signing his rights to his own life away when he became a member of the mafia and that he did not seem to see the futility in such a lifestyle. I have never understood why people do this - sign their lives away to other people - because there are very few outcomes to a mob lifestyle: prison, hiding and isolation, or death. Sammy had so much potential for better things. He could have done anything. He knew business. He knew construction and he was as good, if not better, at it than construction moguls living in wealth and luxury today. He could have been legitimate and lived a very nice life had he chosen to do so. But, he is now in prison for things he did after he was given a second chance - things he did after he gave his testimony that led to the imprisonment of 37 mobsters.
I will not be surprised, though, if time and his age allow, to see Sammy leave prison one day and actually live a legitimate life for once. I think he has it in him. I think he is a survivor and a man with very good instincts for survival.
I wish him well.
Excellent Rat book.......2007-05-07
The Rat of Rat's tells a great book. If your a mob freak like me any mob book is a great buy. This doesn't dissapoint. buy it, you won't be sorry.
Great insight into a little known world.......2007-04-01
This is a very interesting look at the Cosa Nostra. I've read The Valachi Papers and Wiseguy, both great accounts of organized crime. In a way Underboss is just as interesting if not more so than the other two! The other two are very interesting for their uniqueness, but Underboss stands on its own because of the status of Gravano as well as the frankness and direct approach he relayed what he knew.
At first you wonder if the book is worth reading. It seems as though Gravano is just tooting his own horn. He constantly mentions how well everyone thought of him, how great he was in everyone's eyes. After a while you get used to it and you begin to see that that is who he is. He is very direct in accounting various murders and crimes he has done; we know straight away that he is not just shooting from the hip.
Add to this Maas' ability to connect what Gravano is saying to what the police records and investigations had shown and you have a verification of truth. This makes for a fascinating read. Don't read if you think this is nothing more than a thugs way of trying to make himself look better. Look at it as an insight into a world that we know very little about. I would definitely recommend.
4 stars.
One FINE read !.......2007-03-22
My comment is: Peter Maas wrote a book here that I could not put down. If fine story writing is something to appreciate, then this book accomplishes that. If there are any type of slants of view in this book towards Gravano by the author - "such is life." You can either believe Maas's bias - or - you can believe some reviewer's bias. Anyway - it was one VERY entertaining book. I gave it to a co-worker after I finnished it. He said he had never bothered to read a book before in his life. He's anything but - an un-intelligent person. He told me HE could not put it down.
Book Description
Now in an updated and revised edition, the definitive book on the Boston Mafia, by the authors of the bestselling, Edgar Award-winning true crime thriller Black Mass.
On February 26, 1986, Mafia underboss Gennaro Angiulo was convicted of racketeering and sentenced to forty-five years in prison. In The Underboss, bestselling authors Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill tell the story of the fall of the house of Angiulo.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, aided in part by the Irish Mob's Whitey Bulger, entered the Boston Mafia's headquarters in Boston's North End early one morning in 1981 and began to compile the evidence that would lead to the entire upper tier of one of the most profitable and ruthless criminal enterprises in America.
Originally published in hardback by St. Martin's in 1989, The Underboss became a national bestseller. Information uncovered during the course of Lehr and O'Neill's Black Mass investigations adds new dimensions to the story and the authors include this new material-including Whitey Bulger's cagey manipulation of the FBI-in The Underboss's revised text and in a new preface and afterword.
Customer Reviews:
A good read, but very incomplete and questionable........2007-09-03
This book is good fact/fiction with a lot of things (especially most of the illegal shenanigans of the FBI) completely left out. We should never forget that although the goals might seem noble, the means used by this government are sometimes just as, or even more illegal than the crimes being targeted. I think using a known mass murderer like Whitey Bulger as an informant "rat" and murderous FBI "agents" would fall into the unforgiveable column. Before anyone praises the government in general or the FBI in particular, take a close look at just how they really operate to bring down the "bad guys". This book is a perfect example of this type of behavior. Is it right for the FBI to overlook the terrible crimes of one man or a few men to gather evidence on others, especially when some of those crimes are comitted by FBI "agents" who personally kill and order hits on "mobsters"? It's an ok book, but only covers things that make it read like a good guy/bad guy tale with the "bad guys" losing in the end. The "good guys" didn't really exist in this instance except in their own eyes.
Good mob book.......2007-05-07
I love mob books and this one doesn't dissappoint. Must have for the mob book lover.
One of the better Mafia books, I've read........2006-08-10
New stories about the Cosa Nostra in New England. Not the same old rehashing of the transitions of the New York families.
Interesting reading!
Very good!!.......2004-02-20
There is a man referred to obliquely in the prior reviews who has been seriously affected by all of this and essentially left for dead if you will. The man was bounced around as a child overseen by state authorities contracting to nonprofit firms employing former federal officials. One of the state officials charged with guardianship of the boy went by the same name as a female FBI agent listed in Black Mass by O'Neill and Lehr. Another woman charged with guardianship of the boy ran a hard labor camp for juveniles in trouble with the law, where breaking granite boulders with sledgehammers was the norm as was poor food,inadequate rest and mandatory employment where this woman demanding oversight of the teen's paychecks.At the hard labor camp, which was tacitly approved by state social workers and caretakers,local police and allegedly state police, the boy was forced to work 12-15 hour days, often 7-14 days without showers, little sleep and poor quality meals in addition to constant threats of violence, being locked up by state officials or state police and having all of his personal belongings confiscated-- the boy had been sent to this program simply because he had no family or other supports and had NO trouble with the law prior to being put there. The woman in charge of the program possessed the same name as a major manufacturing firm located in southern New Hampshire. This placement was overseen by the state official bearing the same name as the female FBI agent. Some 15-20 years later, this woman re-emerged in the man's life as a girlfriend of a coworker.
This same man was befriended as a boy by a couple with indirect alleged links to George Cashman and former Governor Cellucci. When this case broke, the couple disavowed the man.
Susan Kelly in her book also discussed the possibility that the early stages of the Boston Strangler murders may have been linked to gangland violence in the wars around which Flemmi emerged. A woman is said to have survived the Strangler but was never interviewed. Is it possible the Boston Strangler in turn is linked to this case ,got a woman pregnant, and the child was used as some sort of collateral for cooperation of the real Strangler?
At the same time, Jonathan Harr released his book 'A Civil Action' just after Whitey fled town. When the book came out, the man worked for Grace Co.,unaware of his past as a very young,sick and handicapped boy growing up in the chaos of an environmental tragedy in Woburn,Mass. The fervor surrounding Harr's work appeared in sync with the tepid waters of the Bulger case, and during the early phases of the hearings, Robert Redford and Sylvester Stallone appeared in a Somerville court for ambiguous reasons regarding the Bulger case. Prior to Harr's work, the man had written an autobiographical work of his own which touched upon memories of a sick child in Woburn during the emergence of the cancer epidemic.As the Bulger case broiled, Barry Mawn, native of Woburn, was assigned to the Boston FBI office in pursuit of Bulger- Mawn, Teddy Roosevelt to Cuba, Mawn to Woburn. Many of the Bulger case principals had indirect ties to Woburn and surrounding communities.
In addition to all of this, the man's medical records began disappearing, and employment became all but impossible as he was destroyed financially, just as the state trooper who stopped Whitey at Logan airport.Evidence of phone tampering emerged possibly using off premise extensions linked to major companies the man worked for which also did business with the federal government. The man's bank records and video rentals have been scrupulously monitored and broad evidence of a long term evidence gathering investigation of an individual with no history of criminal activity or breaking the law. It seems feasible the man is linked to the Bulger case and has been watched by various agencies who feel threatened by his father, a man unknown to the boy growing up or as an adult.
One thing a government oversight or other committee might investigate is the possibility that one of the principals in the Bulger case on either side had a son who was immediately flagged and watched all of his life and used as surety without his knowledge by the government or perhaps even organized crime. The committee might offer protection and encourage that individual to come forward and disclose all they know.
GOOD PLACE TO START.......2003-06-26
Interested in the New England mob? Go no further - THE UNDERBOSS is well researched and you walk away from it with a very good understanding of the events that occurred and the key players behind it. Worthy of any mafia book collection. I also recommend BLACK MASS, ALL SOULS, and STREET SOLDIER.
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- The Entire Daredevil Mythos Pivots On This Excellent Arc
- An addictive story
- Bendis and Maleev excel.
- Daredevil at its grittiest, most entertaining
- My first DareDevil, and I liked it!
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Daredevil Vol. 4: Underboss
Brian Michael Bendis
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Daredevil Vol. 5: Out
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Daredevil Vol. 9: King of Hell's Kitchen
ASIN: 0785110240 |
Customer Reviews:
The Entire Daredevil Mythos Pivots On This Excellent Arc.......2006-02-28
This writeup contains spoilers about the events that happened in the couple of years of Daredevil prior to the issues (Vol. 2 #s 26-31) reprinted here, so if you haven't read the earlier issues and are planning to, you may want to skip this review; the first issues of Volume 2 are reprinted in the Trade Paperback "Guardian Devil".
The Kingpin knows that Matt Murdock and Daredevil are one and the same, and has for quite some time (okay, everybody probably knows that one; it goes back quite a ways). But it, although the Kingpin's organization and Daredevil are constantly at war with one another, it's been a long time since Kingpin attempted to strike out at the Matt Murdock side of the DD/Murdock double identity. Quite a complicated relationship has developed between these two enemies over the years, and the Kingpin seems to have reached the point where he feels it's some kind of matter of honor to strike only against the Daredevil aspect of his nemesis; this in fact goes along quite faithfully with his character: the Kingpin is a ruthless, murderous individual, but he has his own code of honor that makes sense to him, and he prides himself and not violating it even when it would make his life a lot easier.
Here's the hook for the story: the Kingpin's men also know, with a fair degree of certainty, that Murdock is Daredevil, but they know their employer's general feelings on the matter and play ignorant. Into this scenario comes a breash, ambitious young up-and-comer in the world of organized crime, a new lietenant to the Kingpin named Sammy Silke. When Silke, who's got a deep resentment of all the costumed characters involved in the organized crime business or involved in opposing it, learns of what the others know, he's appalled and launches a two-fold plan: destroy Murdock/Daredevil on his own; and try to convince others in the Kingpin's crime empire to join him in a coup attempt against the now-blind Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin.
"Underboss" may be the single best 6-issue run of Daredevil out there, and brings in some of the most shocking changes in the status qwuo to hit the Marvel Universe in the last few years. Truly outstanding.
An addictive story.......2005-09-02
I never really liked Daredevil but this changed when I read "Underboss" by Bendis. Bendis' talent lies in making super heroes like Daredevil seem realistic and as if he could exist in our world. Underboss is a story about Sammy Silke, a traditional mobster who is trying to become the new Kingpin. It is reminescent of the Godfather by Mario Puzo but there are no ripoffs of line (Unlike another book called Dark Victory published by Marvel's competitor.) Sammy wants to be the new Kingpin by taking out Daredevil the traditional way:using traditional hitmens form the mob. He doesn't want to hire colorful villians such as bullseyes or boomerang. Just take out Daredevil like the mob would do it. Does he succeed? Buy the book and find out.
Bendis and Maleev excel........2003-03-28
I was never a huge Daredevil fan, for no reason in particular. With the recent attention from the feature film, and my appreciation for the writing of Brian Michael Bendis, I enthusiastically dove right into "Underboss". Bendis is remarkable, bringing the reader right in with Daredevil/Matt Murdock's thoughts and feelings. Maleev's art is perfect for the portrayal of the darkness and seedier side of Hell's Kitchen. The city lives and breathes around us as we follow Matt through his trials and tribulations.
As much as I enjoy traditional superhero stories, I'm even more impressed with Bendis' intention of making sure the reader knows all about the man behind the mask. By making us aware of Dardevil's internal struggles and imperfections, I was identifying and empathizing with him all the way. After a certain point, some costumed crusaders can lose the reader by being too invinceable, too invulnerable, too perfect. Matt Murdock is a human being, whether he's in costume or not.
Bendis and Maleev also give us a well developed plot and a diverse cast of supporting characters. It's easy to envision "Underboss" as a gripping thriller of a movie, or a page turner of a novel. Congratulations to Bendis and Maleev for giving us such enjoyable reading. I look forward to reading the next collection.
Daredevil at its grittiest, most entertaining.......2003-02-20
Daredevil is a book at its best when the lead character is pitted against real danger and Brian Michael Bendis puts him there. In the Underboss storyarc, a criminal named Mr. Silke has stepped in on the Kingpin's territory and is attempting to root it out from the inside. Convincing his own henchmen that Wilson Fisk's reign needs to end, he manages a coup of epic proportions, with Matt Murdock caught in the midst of the whirlwind. The ramifications of this storyline are still rocking Daredevil's world now.
With Bendis penning the book and Alex Maleev depicting the dark world of Hell's Kitchen, Underboss is an amazing read. These two talents have established a unique style for the book that puts it among the Frank Miller, Kevin Smith and David Mazzuchelli runs of Daredevil perfection.
The trade paperback format does all of the art justice, compiling several issues of intensity into one amazing read.
My first DareDevil, and I liked it!.......2002-12-29
Being drawn by the name of Mr. Bendis, and having heard good things about the character lately, I decided to pick this baby up and be ahead of the movie rush. I was glad I did! Mr. Bendis's DareDevil rates right up there with his Ultimate Spider-Man, although in a different genre. I'll also be looking for Mr. Bendis's previous DareDevil book, and the follow-up to Underboss, "DareDevil: Out". And if Mr. Bendis produces anymore DareDevil trades, I'll get them as well. :D
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Underboss
Peter Maas
Manufacturer: Harper Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Criminology
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ASIN: 0002558904 |
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The Underboss
Otto A. Levy
Manufacturer: Authorhouse
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1418443220 |
Product Description
With his prize-winning talents, best-selling author Peter Maas dramatically reveals the shocking story of Salvatore Gravanoone of the most powerful leaders of modern organized crime. Underboss vividly portrays Sammys disturbing rise in the Mafia from his first wary contact as a child with mobsters, to his phenomenal promotion to second-in-command of the much feared Gambino crime family. In his southwestern Brooklyn neighborhood, Sammys father taught him to avoid certain men and never question their actions. But when those men helped the nine-year-old retrieve his stolen bicycle, he longed to be like them. Soon Sammy was adopting the Mafias methods of intimidation and violence. His efforts culminated in the thrilling day when he took the solemn blood vow to join their Honored Society. After lengthy interviews with Sammy the Bull, Peter Maas chronicles the riveting storymuch of it in Gravanos own voiceof a wasted life and unalterable choices. Narrator Richard M. Davidson ushers you into the shadowy inner sanctum of organized crime where betrayal mingles with honor, and the spectre of violent death always threatens.
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Boy Colonel of the Confederacy: The Life and Times of Henry King Burgwyn, Jr.
Archie K. Davis
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
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Binding: Paperback
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United States Civil War
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ASIN: 0807847097
Release Date: 1998-02-04 |
Book Description
Henry King Burgwyn, Jr. (1841-63), one of the youngest colonels in the Confederate Army, died at the age of twenty-one while leading the twenty-sixth North Carolina regiment into action at the battle of Gettysburg. In this sensitive biography, originally published by UNC Press in 1985, Archie Davis provides a revealing portrait of the young man's character and a striking example of a soldier who selflessly fulfilled his duty. Drawing on Burgwyn's own letters and diary, Davis also offers a fascinating glimpse into North Carolina society during the antebellum period and the Civil War.
Customer Reviews:
The Boy Colonel.......2000-10-03
I am a direct descendent of Henry King Burgwyn Jr, with the exact same last name. I know all about my great great uncle and this book is a very good describer of him, his family, and life and times. I have lent this book too many Civil War buffs and it always comes back with a raving review.
BUY IT!!!
Customer Reviews:
Resisting the idea of the clash of civilizations.......2004-02-09
This is an easy to read book that contains interesting ideas about the role of political islamic movements. However it puts advances different notions than most books on the subject that ahve been published in the aftermath (and before, if we think of Huntington). This book suggests that Islam is not necessarily heading for a major confrontation or clash with the West. Some have suggested and criticized that the WTC attack proves otherwise; however, the the full story on that event and its aftermath have yet to be written and despite its horror, the evnt has worked far more in favoring an attack from the West to Islam than the other way around.
Olivier Roy, in the tendency of another French scholar Gilles Kepel, challenges the clash of civilizations concept and suggests that Political islam has failed because it has proven itself incapable of bringing about desirable changes in the poltical and socio-economic spheres in the Islamic world. Indeed, the very fact it has to resort to violent means (after the many years that muslim politics have existed in one form or another) is a sign of its failure to make attract sufficient followers. More significantly, Roy points out the various divisions theological and sectarian (eg. Shi'a vs. Sunni)national that have impeded the succesful formation of a universal and monolythic Islam capable of challenging the supposed antagonistic civilization of the West. he provides examples from all over the Islamic World including Algeria, Afghanistan and Iran. Some of the comments made by the more critical reviewers here are also worth noting, notwithstanding the fact this booo remians an importnat book, perhaps more so today than at the time it was written.
He Might Be Right In the Long Term.......2003-09-18
Unlike Orientalists like Bernard Lewis, Olivier Roy's book sees Islamist movements as sharing only a spurious connection with traditional religious texts, law and culture. Instead of arising out of an Islamic religious specificity, for Roy, Islamist movements are direct products of the political sociology of the modern, nation-state era.
Other scholars, like Burgat, also make this argument, but Roy departs from Burgat's conclusions in one major area, which is his evaluation of the logic of the Islamists' mission, and its likely political fate. This evaluation forms the major argument of his book; the so-called "failure" of Islamism because of its necessary reliance on the very modernity that it seeks to counter. For Roy, Islamism will fail because it contains internal contradictions that will be the seeds of its own downfall. These contradictions are in the relationship of Islam to politics. Roy claims that Islamism rejects political philosophy, since it sees no separation between religion and politics (unlike traditional Islamic culture, he is careful to point out, differentiating himself from the Orientalists), it sees no role for institutions, and sees "virtue" as the only necessary leadership quality. Thus, Islamism, by self-definition, writes itself out of the very political arena it seeks to enter. "The magical appeal to virtue masks the impossibility of defining the Islamist political program in terms of the social reality" (71). In other words, there can be no Islamic state without virtuous Muslims, but there can be no virtuous Muslims without an Islamic state. Islamist ideas, because they do not match social reality, end up in self-negation, since the arise from and rely upon this social reality.
Empirically, Roy sees this social reality as mainly an urban one, which bears little or no resemblance to traditional Muslim village culture. Not only do Islamists come from urban, educated and non-traditional backgrounds, but they also seek to "construct a new urban space, in which relationships would no longer be mediated solely by family or guild bonds" (59). Thus, those who see Islamists as wanting to return to a medieval or traditional society are misreading the movement's program, which differs from traditional Muslim culture in many areas, such as the acceptance of social differentiation in society, including conceptions of political parties, and new roles for groups such as women and ulamas. However, Roy sees this acceptance of social differentiation as an internal contradiction in the logic of Islamism, since the ideal of Islamist movements is a wholly egalitarian society, without classes or political parties.
Politically, Islamists depart from their own traditions in replacing the concept of the caliph (a religious ruler, of the tribe of the Prophet) with that of the amir, who can of course spring from a new (modern) social elite. This provides evidence against a traditionalist, orientalist reading of the Islamist program, since the amir is elevated to a position above even the ulamas, who are religiously sanctioned interpreters of the holy text. Thus, if the Islamic religion were the causal factor, then we might see the ulama or a neo-caliph touted as leader, instead of an amir that can be adapted to modernity. In fact, Roy claims that Islamists compromise with modernity by departing from the positions of the ulama on three issues: political revolution (they favor it), the role of sharia (they favor it less than the ulama does, and want to go beyond its limited reach), and the role of women (they are more emancipatory).
More generally, Roy argues that there has historically been a de facto autonomous public space in the Muslim world, a separation between religion and politics, with the ulama and the sharia on one side, and the ruler on the other. This goes against cultural arguments that see "despotism" as inherent to Islam throughout history. But the paradox, for modern Islamists, is that in seeking a Muslim state, they break this tradition. By concerning themselves with politics, they reject the autonomous space of politics that the ulama accepted, "specifically, the possibility for the state to elaborate a positive law to legislate in areas not covered by the sharia" (64). Thus, they revive politics even as they seek to negate it. For Roy, "no matter what the actors say, any political action amounts to the automatic creation of a secular space or a return to traditional segmentation" (23). In order to destroy secular space, the Islamists are required to create it.
There are many different ways to phrase these contradictions and paradoxes, which show that Roy has identified some inherent tensions in the logic of political Islam. However, the most pressing critique that can be made of his book is that logical inconsistencies in the ideas of a political movement do not automatically translate into a death sentence for that movement's practice, as Roy seems to want us to believe. One only need think of the contradictions inherent in democracy, i.e. between liberty and equality, or between majoritarianism and minority rights. Would democracy be called a failure because it contains these contradictions? No. Political movements are pragmatic and synthetic, and they often endure despite problematic ideational underpinnings. Followers make compromises and adapt to social realities, while attempting to stay in touch with ideational inspirations as well. Roy seems to hold Islamists to unrealistically high standards, chastising them for failing to rapidly create new societies and states, and even to redraw world borders. If the bar were set lower, Roy might acknowledge that Islamists have achieved substantial political change despite their supposedly contradictory relationship with modernity and the realm of politics.
Small on Content, Big on Hype.......2003-05-26
Olivier Roy is basically the founder of the francophone position that Islamism is basically a failure and its nastier incarnations are the result of this failures rather than its successes. Mostly, however, this work is a poorly written book with a novel thesis that has been adapted and put in a much more rigorous scholarly study by Gilles Kepel.
Admittedly, there is something `catchy' about his writing. Roy assures us that the inner contradictions of this movement will collapse in on itself and inadvertently cause the secularism that all of the bourgeoisies have come to enjoy.
The weaknesses of this work as a piece of scholarship are many, but I'll the two principle ones. For one, it is methodologically contradictory. As is customary today in Mid East scholarship, he disavows Orientalist sins by claiming there is no such thing as a monolithic Islam only a plurality of Islams, then he goes on to state that political Islam is one of these "Islams". Oddly enough, though spanning multiple continents and a multitude of countries, he seems that he believes political Islam IS a monolith. By the end, the picture that results is that of monolithic, triumphant modernity mocking an impotent, fanatic, and frustrated nativist politics.
Secondly, any glance at the bibliography would reveal that Roy's work is more or less a hodge-podge of secondary source material-not even a wide spectrum of sources are used and many are journalistic in nature. A lack of knowledge of requisite languages is apparent as he makes the classic mistakes of doubling Arabic plurals, butchering Arabic phrases, and outright mis-translating words.
Though oddly famous, this work is mostly a waste of time. For francophone scholarship, there are much more worthwhile scholars such as François Burgat and Gilles Kepel.
Don't misunderstand the book's title.......2003-05-20
[many people] seem to have latched on to the book's title and misinterpreted his thesis. They have declared Roy completely wrong because political Islam is still with us and often manifests itself violently. (By the way, "Fundamentalist" Islam is a misnomer. Roy explains why. "Islamism" or "political Islam" is more accurate to say.)
Roy is not saying political Islam is "dead;" he is saying it has "failed." Failed to deliver on its promise of a just government. Failed to provide a prosperous society. Failed to foster a flourishing culture. In this sense, it has failed. Not in the sense that those who believed in it have abandoned it. On the contrary, of course. (There are remarkable parallels to Communism's failure here. I wonder if anyone has written a good comparison...)
In the wake of a failed ideology, we are left with murderous extremists who will not be convinced the failure was internal, despite Roy's excellent piece of scholarship... Every killing in the name of Allah and Sharia is further proof Roy was right.
WHOSE FAILURE?.......2001-10-17
Has Islamic fundamentalism really failed?
Well, in September 2001 it struck at the heart of New York and Washington and is now at war with the United States in Afghanistan.
No need to travel to any Muslim country. Just have a look at the streets in any major Western city, New York itself for example. You will see women wearing the " hijab", thekind off headgear that symbolsies Islamic fundamentalism. This kind of headgear did not exist in Islam until a few years ago when the fundamentalists began to impose themselves on Muslim communities, first in Iran, then in the whole of the Middle East, and eventually even in Europe and the United States. Also lok for the beards that are specially designed to indicate the owner's attachment to the radical fundamentalist version of Islam.
Go also to mosques, including in New York and Washington, and listen to the Friday sermons to find out how fundamnetalism has imposed itself, through a mixture of terror and bribery, driving out the traditional, moderate versions of the faith.
Is fundamentalism dead when it cuts the throats of an average of 10 Algerians each day? Has fundamentalism failed when it has managed to silence everyone in the Muslim world?
To understand the real situation the reader would do well to find a copy of Amir Taheri's " Holy Terror: Inside the World of Islamic Terrorism" which tells us all we need to know about the background of the recent tragedies, and from a Muslim's point of view. I also recommend Anthony J. Dennis's book " The Rise of the Islamic Empire and The Threat to the West" which studies the issue from a Western point of view. A READER IN LONDON
Book Description
During the late twentieth century, many authoritarian states underwent a dramatic transition to democracy. This book examines the process of democratic reform in Muslim countries, the problems it throws up and the cultural ideas and practices that prevail. Concentrating in particular on Algeria, and using extensive on-the-ground research, Frédéric Volpi offers a unique insight into the political history of the Algerian conflict and raises serious questions about the relationship between Islam and democracy on an international level. Addressing the problem of the radicalization of political Islam in the region, he suggests possible solutions to the security and foreign policy dilemmas linked to international terrorism.
A bitter battle has been fought between the secular state and the Islamic fundamentalists in Algeria since the 1980s. It's a paradigmatic "clash of civilizations" for some, while for others it is a distorted and local crisis in which "democratization" was introduced in a deeply authoritarian civil context. Looking in particular at the role of oil resources, which give Algeria great international geo-strategic and economic importance, Volpi explores Algeria's political transition -- a story that continues to have immense potential significance for other non-democratic Muslim countries.
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The Great Divide: The Failure of Islam and the Triumph of the West.(Book Review): An article from: Journal of Church and State
Richard T. Antoun
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
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ASIN: B000BGK3W8
Release Date: 2005-09-15 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Church and State, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 1580 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: The Great Divide: The Failure of Islam and the Triumph of the West.(Book Review)
Author: Richard T. Antoun
Publication:
Journal of Church and State (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 47
Issue: 3
Page: 621(3)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from APS Diplomat News Service, published by Pam Stein/Input Solutions on July 30, 2001. The length of the article is 1241 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: Militant Islam Set To Rear Up Amid Peace Failure & US Policy Review For Afghanistan.
Publication:
APS Diplomat News Service (Newsletter)
Date: July 30, 2001
Publisher: Pam Stein/Input Solutions
Volume: 55
Issue: 5
Page: NA
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
- A let down but worth adding to your library collection
- Not Much for Price
- ....better flurry!
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Ducks, Geese, and Swans: 2-Volume Set (Bird Families of the World)
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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ASIN: 0198546459 |
Book Description
Wildfowl and screamers belong to a highly diverse family of birds, confined to watery habitats. They are amongst the most attractive of birds and are very well-known to man, who has domesticated them, used their feathers for warm clothing and ornamentation, admired their flight, courtship and migration, caught them for food, maintained them in captivity for pleasure, and written about their doings in delightful children's stories, from Mother Goose to Jemima Puddleduck and Donald Duck. They occur throughout the world except Antarctica. Some are faithful to the same partner for life, others for only the few minutes of copulation. In some species, male and female make devoted parents, and yet there is one within the group whose female lays her eggs in the nests of others and never incubates. Diving as a method of obtaining food has evolved many times within the family. Most nest in the open but others in the tree-hole nests of woodpeckers and some in the ground burrows of rabbits or aardvarks. They may be highly social or solitary, defending a large territory. Ducks, Geese and Swans begins with eight chapters giving an overview of the family, their taxonomy and evolution, feeding ecology, breeding strategies, social behaviour, movements and migrations, population dynamics, and conservation and management, followed by accounts of 165 species, written by a team of expert wildfowl specialists, describing each bird in its natural state and summarizing the published literature and recent research. Complementing the accounts are thirty specially commissioned colour plates by Mark Hulme, along with numerous black and white drawings illustrating behaviours, plus distribution maps for each species.
Customer Reviews:
A let down but worth adding to your library collection.......2006-04-30
With great anticipation I glanced through a copy of this two vol. tome.
I believe only two libraries in all of Texas have purchased the book.
The book gets mixed reviews. I believe its better than the outdated
Johnsgard. More time contacting regional biologist and going through the journals would have made the book better. Many species have information only as current as the late 1980s.
I consider the book a required addition to anyone's library if one is serious about waterfowl (other than the species in the United States where the BNA series and the soon to be released Bellrose would be better) but suggest you wait a year and purchase a used copy. It simply is not worth the current price
Not Much for Price.......2005-10-22
It was with great anticipation that I received the rather expensive (~280$)two volume "Ducks, Geese, and Swans" published by Oxford Univ Press as part of their Bird Families of the World series.
Seeing the Canada and Cackling Goose standing next to each other on the cover of vol. 1 only heightened my glee.
Alas.
The first couple hundred pages offer a nice overview of waterfowl biology. I have yet to read this section in its entirety, but I could not find a reference to a potentially interesting topic in waterfowl biology: that is, the default plumage is male. So, a bird lacking sex hormones (estrogen, testosterone) will look more like a male than a female. Females low on estrogen will look like odd males, perhaps prompting the report of hybrids, and have been loosely termed "intersex ducks" in birding circles. Anyway, this point, perhaps somewhat
trivial but of some potential importance to field ID, seems to have been omitted.
Much more important to most everyone reading this are the species accounts and how well they cover ID, distribution, and subspecies.
The short answer is horrid, okay, and highly variable.
Identification (examples):
Looking at wigeon, the discussion of ID of adults is extremely basic (not better than the old Golden Guide) and for immatures, states that "both sexes [of American] appear much like immature Eurasian Wigeon." Lots of help there. They do manage to spend almost as much time telling you how to separate American
Wigeon from Chiloe Wigeon, however, as "escaped birds often occur." Though no mention of Eurasian x American Wigeon is made, we are warned about hybrids with Chiloes. Indeed, a great fault re: ID is that mention of hybrids is rarely made, and for some ID quandaries, such as wigeon, awareness of these and their
appearance is critical.
Another example: Under scaup, head color and wing stripe are emphasized. A brief and misleading reference to head and bill shape differences is made. And so on. The illustrations are pretty, but not terribly useful re: ID. Some chicks are shown, but only for a few species.
Distribution:
The maps are often incorrect. A quick thumbing through the book revealed that Barrow's Goldeneye is shown as wintering in the lower Great Lakes, where they are vagrants, whereas Lesser Scaup are not shown wintering in the interior anywhere (and they are not rare on the Great Lakes, except when frozen). Barrow's Goldeneye are shown as being resident in the High Cascades, where they breed but would freeze to death during winter but are not shown as wintering on Washington's n. Olympic Coast, where common. Long-tailed Ducks, apparently, don't winter s. of central Vancouver Island, but Black Scoters winter all the way into Mexico. For some species, such as RB Merg, a "Polar View" is used for the map, making the bird's precise range difficult to interpret; in any case, it certainly is shown in broad strokes when compared with species limited to one continent, where an attempt is made to show the range in great detail.
Then there is the peculiar selection of terms for these maps: "Migrant breeding" and "Migrant non-breeding." The use of "migrant" is baffling for these labels mean "breeding" and "wintering" respectively. I realize that ducks do move about during the "winter" or "resting" season depending on open water
and other factors, and there's the issue of whose winter (n. hemisphere vs s. hemisphere) one's talking about. However, the use of "migrant" is extremely misleading because the ranges NEVER display migration range, which is left undepicted in all maps.
The text offers a better description of ranges, sometimes not
containing the same errors shown in the maps. And the text gives valuable info on population levels, sometimes in great detail (though to some extent this can be obtained from Wetlands International's "Waterfowl Population Estimates" -- an excellent tome recommended to all). So, for population issues, these books are quite useful. However, range errors exist here, too. The wintering of Black Scoter to Mexico is repeated. And, they mention the regular occurrence of Eur Wigeon in North America, but state that it is particularly numerous in the Aleutians and Mexico. Yes, Mexico. I guess we've been missing the large flocks in Baja.
Subspecies
In the Brant account, subspecific range and numbers is extremely well covered, including "Gray-bellied Brant." Also, the author notes that "Lawrence's Brant" may not be GB Brant at all, but a now extirpated darker e. North American population of Brant. However, the account gives little help on ID of these races.
The Canada Goose account is a disaster. Canada and Cackling aren't split, though the AOUs decision is alluded to. No where does this account suggest which races will be put with which species. A vague attempt at discussing subspecific ID is made, so much so as to make one wonder why they wasted the space. The maps are a hodgepodge of Fish and Wildlife Service defined "populations" (which contain several races) to specific maps for several (Aleutian, minima, Dusky). A map labelled "Lesser" I suspect contains parvipes and taverneri
ranges, though the text earlier defines these as separate subspecies. In any case, if you are interested in Canada and Cackling Goose racial ID and range, this book is nearly worthless. The BNA account, which is several years old, is far
better. For that matter, so is Bellrose's book and Johnsgard's from the 1970s (or is it early 80s -- too lazy to get up and drag down the volumes).
On the other hand, the discussion of range and subspecific ID on Common Eider is far more detailed and useful, probably exceeding that which can be obtained from most other sources.
As for food, displays, breeding and life cycle, much of this is interesting, but outside of any area of expertise I have. For some species, a detailed account of molt cycle is given, which is quite nice, but for many species this information is not provided.
In reality, for North America, access to the BNA accounts and Sibley (especially if you can access Dave himself :o) will do you far more good than this extremely expensive set. For outside North America, there are many sources which would easily replace this set, depending on where you're going; and in many respects, the much less-expensive Madge and Burn book on Waterfowl is equal or superior.
....better flurry!.......2005-09-29
Geese and ducks and hens better flurry. This elegant (and expensive) two volums tome contains all you would ever need to know about geese, ducks and swans. The prose style is so easy to read that you are lured away from your original enquiry most seductively. Illustrations magnificent
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