Amazon.com
Chronicles of the post-presidential years of America's chief executives aren't generally scintillating reads. With a few exceptions--Jimmy Carter and Herbert Hoover come to mind--the period after presidents vacate the White House tends to be abbreviated, idle, and a little sad. Patricia O'Toole's absorbing account of Theodore Roosevelt's final decade carries some of this pathos, but she also vividly captures the spark and sometimes reckless vigor of the most vibrant of presidents. Possessed of an irrepressible self-confidence and insatiable appetite for power, Roosevelt made an unconvincing show of stepping out of the spotlight when he declined to seek reelection in 1909, bequeathing the presidency to loyal foot soldier William Howard Taft. Over the course of Taft's one rather lackluster term, Roosevelt embarked on an extended African safari (where the trailblazing conservationist slaughtered hundreds of animals), but upon his return he became embroiled in a battle with Taft for the heart of the Republican Party. When he lost that struggle, he turned to the budding Progressive Party. Under their banner, Roosevelt bested Taft in the 1912 election, but Woodrow Wilson, of course, beat them both. Roosevelt's bursting-at-the-seams life has been thoroughly chronicled, but O'Toole wisely focuses on a period when the never-retiring giant of American politics was wounded (both figuratively and literally--he was shot while campaigning and insisted on giving a speech before going to a hospital), but wouldn't, or couldn't, give up the fight. --Steven Stolder
Book Description
From the author of the acclaimed Five of Hearts, this highly praised, spell-binding biography is the definitive account of TR's final decade, the most poignant -- and in some ways, the most heroic -- years of his extraordinary life. Drawn from a wealth of new materials, this is a remarkable portrait of a remarkable man.
Customer Reviews:
Power Corrupts.......2006-08-20
This highly readable book focuses exclusively on Teddy's post-presidential decade, a decade that the author postulates that TR never really settled into the ex-presidency. It's great writing material - it's difficult to make a flavorless biography of any of TR's decades of life. In the flavor of recent biographies of US presidents long past, TR here is portrayed as a brilliant person with firm convictions, yet also a deeply flawed man, who craves being the ultimate man of action and his actions having impact. As his life draws to a close, his actions matter on the US and world stage less and less, but he craved the personal power more and more (he was STILL thinking about running for president in 1920 when he died!)
In regards to O'Toole's approach to the subject, I believe it to be even-handed, factual, and a fairly smooth flow. I had a little difficulty getting myself absorbed into this book, being a tad choppy in the beginning, but once I did I was hooked. Occasionally the concentration of events is a bit strange -for instance, the discussion of TR's initial Africa safari is covered more than extensively, but TR's trip to Brazil (that almost kills him!) gets a mere few pages. However, in a more positive light, the trajectory of TR's relationship with the Taft presidency is covered nicely, which really shows what makes TR tick - he ultimately could not stand and just watch his chosen successor make decisions differently than he would have.
In conclusion I recommend this book for those interested in this period of US history, as it throws a different perspective on a much-respected president than that is seen from Mount Rushmore - I ended up still admiring TR, but became more knowledgeable about his deficiencies.
Greatness Questioned.......2006-04-10
Ms. O'Toole has written a very readable biography of TR's last ten years. I was not ready for her highly critical look at TR. It took some getting used to. Her criticisms, at times, seem to be a bit of a reach. Her pacing and spacing of what she chooses to spend time on seems suspect. She devotes 5 pages to his trip down the River of Doubt and she devotes 5 pages to the libel trial. The book is well written but I eagerly await Morris' third volume.
Little people should not write about great people.......2006-02-24
I really cannot understand why I bought this book. I wrongly thought it was a book written by Theodore Roosevelt. It was not. The title is taken from a quote by Roosevelt and sort of wrongly suggests to the unsuspecting buyer that he wrote it. That was my first mistake.
The second mistake was to continue reading when the author clearly demonstrated early and consistently throughout the book that she has some sort of problem with Roosevelt, leadership in general, and power in particular. I suspect the author has very little experience in public life or any sort of life and death situations or work where one has to put their life on the line. To treat the assassination attempt on Roosevelt's life as a an opportunity for egoism, self aggrandizement and shameless opportunism is itself shameful and a disgrace.
I think it very shortsighted and weak to read back into history values and norms that we hold today, but that were not yet appreciated or embraced by previous generations such as Roosevelt's hunting or his initial stand on suffrage (his hunting was consistent with the understanding of the times, yet he was the first president that made significant strides toward conservation and the development of national parks, and his view toward suffrage, first considering women's work not in the realm of politics, but then understanding the issue from a deeper vantage point, that women as well as blacks, deserve a full measure of the law, changed his position, embraced and supported the suffrage movement).
Finally, I guess what irks me the most about this book is all the little comments about Roosevelt's motives and character. Its really bad when a little person tries to explain away the character and motives of a much bigger person, they simply do not have an accurate frame of reference to make a proper study;
Little people should not write about great people.
The journey is complete.......2006-02-17
The wonderful thing about reading is that you have the opportunity to spend time with fascinating people. Patricia O'Toole completes the story of Theodore Roosevelt in a masterful manner. The book covers the period of time when Roosevelt out of power attempted to continue to make a difference--succeeded in some areas and failed miserably in others. I highly recommend adding this book to your Roosevelt library.
Interesting book about an interesting man.......2006-01-10
This book gives great insight into this powerful man. He was larger than life, and seemed to remain that way even after the presidency. A great read.
Average customer rating:
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When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt after the White House.(Book review): An article from: Presidential Studies Quarterly
William P. Leeman
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
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ASIN: B000J20AEK
Release Date: 2006-09-25 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Presidential Studies Quarterly, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2006. The length of the article is 945 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: When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt after the White House.(Book review)
Author: William P. Leeman
Publication:
Presidential Studies Quarterly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 36
Issue: 3
Page: 558(2)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Historian, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2006. The length of the article is 724 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: When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt after The White House.(Book review)
Author: Richard D., Jr. White
Publication:
The Historian (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 68
Issue: 3
Page: 595(2)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
As a young gunner, Napoleon Bonaparte was trained in one of Europe’s finest artillery arms. Both the technological sophistication of their weaponry and the skill of their gunners was largely the result of the adoption of the system devised by one man, Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. Gribeauval’s standardised system of parts and calibres allowed a degree of uniformity and sophistication in the French artillery that was unmatched throughout Europe, and allowed Napoleon to inherit and develop an arm that could dominate the battlefield. This volume covers the field artillery pieces of the system: the 4-, 8- and 12-pdr guns; light 1-pdr guns and mountain guns; and later innovations such as the 6-pdr gun.
Customer Reviews:
'Get Up Close and Shoot Fast'.......2003-06-11
This is an excellent volume on the artillery systems used by the French during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The main thrust of the volume is the Gribeauval artillery system which was finally adopted by France in teh 1770s. This was 'perhaps the most important innovation in the history of artillery' surpassing in scope, hitting power, and mobility the Lichtenstein artillery system developed by the Austrians and adopted by them in the 1750s.
Gribeauval's system went further than its Austrian predecessor and encompassed not only guns and artillery vehicles, but organization, uniforms, and tactics of the French artillery arm. Gribeauval had seen the Prussian light guns before the Seven Years' War. He had served with the Austrians during that war and so was intimately familiar with both countries' artillery. Being influenced by both, and taking the best of the older French Valliere system, he developed and fielded his own unique system whose guns would dominate Napoleon's battlefields from 1807 on.
The author covers this unique and utilitarian system quite literally from muzzle to butt plate. He is entirely at home with artillery and artillery terms, and understands the use of artillery, its maintenance, and the technical aspects as well.
Along with artillery, the author also covers the French pontonniers, who were responsible for 'throwing' pontoon bridges over rivers, as well as maintaining the equipment, the hacquets that were used to carry the pontoons, and the pontoons themselves; the artillery train troops, who weren't artillerymen (as the pontonneers were) but were an adjunct organization that drove the horse teams that pulled the artillery's equipment; horse artillery, the new arm for the French artillery that was organized in 1792; and mountain artillery, light guns broken down and, with their ammunition, loaded and carried on pack mules. This study is thorough, accurate, easy to read and use, and it one of the best in the Osprey series.
The technical drawings in color are excellent. They show the range of the Gribeauval system as well as showing the 6-pounder of the System of AN XI (of which there is a full explanantion in the text-the second artillery system covered in the booklet). It is the best explanation of that newer system I have ever read about, and it explains in detail the advantages and shortcomings of that adjunct system to Gribeauval's system of artillery. The only shortcoming of the volume is the last drawing in color which is very poor. It is a print on the gun crew, and the quality of the art work, quite frankly, is not up to the quality of the rest of the booklet. It is inconceivable to me that the author would have voluntarily accepted this for this volume because of his consistent high standards and I do wonder why Osprey published it. It is completely substandard, and is the one blemish in this otherwise superb volume.
This is the best of the new artillery volumes that Osprey is just publishing, though all the artillery volumes are worthwhile. It is highly recommended for any and all enthusiasts of the period and is more than suitable for a reference work. It is well done, reliable, and full of excellent information. If you don't own it, or at least read it, you are missing out on one of the best books on artillery now on the market. Again, if it is written by Rene Chartrand, buy it immediately.
Lots on Gribeauval, Less on Tactics.......2003-04-20
Rene Chartrand, author of so many excellent Osprey volumes, begins his two-volume study of French artillery in the Napoleonic Wars with an examination of French artillery in the period 1792-1815. As usual, Chartrand deftly weaves together historical facts and personal insights to create a cogent overview of the subject at hand. In this case, Chartrand has a lot of ground to cover in less than 48 pages and the Vanguard format appears to have cramped his style. Although this volume is good, it is not great, and size constraints seem to be the culprit. Nevertheless, if you are a Napoleonic enthusiast then this is a good reference volume to have on one's shelf.
Napoleon's Guns 1792-1815 (1) begins with a short section on French artillery in the 18th Century and then rapidly moves into a lengthy discussion of the Gribeauval reforms of 1765. Indeed, a large chunk of the volume focuses on the Gribeauval system and I was surprised to learn just how extensive these reforms were once implemented. Most sources only mention Gribeauval's standardization of French artillery calibers, but he also improved artillery limbers, caissons, and ancillary equipment. Yet the most important Gribeauval reform was the quantitative increases; a typical French field army had its artillery support increased from 60 to 160 medium caliber cannon. Chartrand notes that Napoleon was very lucky to rise to prominence at a point when the French artillery had marked quantitative and qualitative advantages over all its opponents. Indeed, Napoleon recognized the value of the new field artillery and made it the centerpiece of his Grande Armée.
Chartrand does spend some time discussing the horse artillery units and the artillery trains (both interesting sections), as well as the regimental 4-pounder guns. However, there is no real discussion of the organization of different types of French field batteries or how a battery was commanded in combat. Supply issues are sidestepped. Chartrand does have sections on the paint schemes of the artillery, a brief section on ammunition and notes on artillery in the Imperial Period. Although the title suggests that coverage begins in 1792, there is virtually no mention of French artillery before 1800 in this volume. The color illustrations accompanying this volume are quite good: a 12 pounder field gun; a 6-inch howitzer; a caisson; and 8-pounder with limber and tools; a limber; a 6 pounder; and a 4-pounder in action.
Certainly the oddest omission is the almost total lack of information about the performance characteristics of the Gribeauval artillery pieces. There is only a single brief chart that lists typical ranges for ball, canister and grape ammunition, but this chart does not mention charges. Any artillerymen knows that different charges will affect the range that can be achieved, but Chartrand never discusses this important subject in this volume. Essentially, Chartrand used up most of the space in this volume discussing the Gribeauval system and artillery design issues, leaving precious little space for discussing relevant tactical issues. While I did learn a lot of interesting aspects of the Gribeauval system that are not always apparent, this volume is not very useful for understanding how the French employed their artillery in combat.
Book Description
The foundations of World War III are being laid today.
American defeat in Iraq is only a matter of time, but how long it takes matters a lot. The fate of Iraq is a sideshow, the terrorist threat is a red herring, and the radical Islamists' dream of a worldwide jihad against the West is a fantasy, but the attempt to revive Pax Americana is real. No matter what the outcome of the election in November, 2004, the enterprise is likely to continue. It is bound to fail eventually, but we need it to fail soon.
American military power is not limitless, and the other big powers will not stand for US military domination of the world. They don't buy the cover story about the 'terrorist threat,' but they don't want a fight either. They are all on hold for the moment, hoping that America will remember its commitment to the United Nations, the rule of law and multilateralism. If it does not, then the drift back into alliances, balance-of-power politics and military confrontations will begin. Ten years from now, an American-led alliance that includes India and occupies much of the Middle East could be facing a European alliance led by France, Germany and Russia AND a hostile, heavily armed China.
In Future Tense, Gwynne Dyer's brilliant follow up to last year's bestselling Ignorant Armies, he analyzes how the world made its way to the brink of disaster, and describes how we may all slide over the edge. It was fringe groups of extremists - Islamist fanatics and American neo-conservatives - who set the process in motion, but it has gone well beyond that now. It is not too late, but the clock is running.
Customer Reviews:
Incredibly Informative ..........2007-06-11
I have always been a fan of Dyer's columns in our newspaper that we get on the weekend (our little town doesn't even carry decent columnists, so we have to get our "real" news from a bigger newspaper from a bigger town an hour away from us). I have been reading Dyer since I was a young girl. My dad and husband are fans of his writings too. In fact, my dad lent us this book and throughout this entire book, I kept telling my husband that he really really needs to read this.
Just recently, Bush announces his intentions in keeping a military base in Iraq. Dyer mentioned this in this book written three years ago. Just recently, there are a series of actions and speeches that was "predicted" in this book three years ago. It is eerie to read something that resonates in today's series of events and realize that Dyer had foreseen some of this years ago. I am not making Dyer out to be a prophet or anything like that ~~ but he seems to be the most clear-sighted journalist out there right now (especially more so since Molly Ivins have passed on). When I read this book, there was a lot of "a ha!" moments that I very rarely get while reading about current affairs. Usually, I end up feeling more confused than I did when I first read a book. Not this time.
Dyer explains a lot in this little book that is just chock-full of information, quotes, instances and ideologies. First, he explains what Islamist is and how similar it is to the Fundamentalists in Christianity ~~ except Muslims don't have the same word for Fundamentalists that we have in our language. He then explains the Islamist viewpoint (which most Muslims do not share). He explains bin Laden's goals. He explains the neo-conservatives' goals. He goes over the history of the world in the last 60 years. He explains briefly the history of civilization of the last 6,000+ years and how it changed the course of the world.
Like a lot of the reviewers, I had a hard time buying the neoconservatives' explanations for attacking Iraq. I thought at first maybe it was for the oil, but it just didn't jive with everything else. I knew it wasn't going after Saddam because of "what he said about my daddy" ~~ it was too juvenile. (Then again, anything can go nowadays, I guess.) When Dyer explains the Reagan administration, the first Bush administration and the current administration ~~ it all started to make sense. Combine that with the history of the previous world wars and the United Nations formation ~~ it is all starting to make sense.
I am not sure why this book isn't touted more in the public view. Dyer isn't writing like a madman spouting off things ~~ in fact, his book is very reasonable. He writes with precision and with a world view that not necessarily is anti-American, but just with a much different perspective and a much clearer foresight than we Americans are getting from our own media and government. I didn't get the impression that the world thinks we're dumb Americans ~~ there is just a perplexed viewpoint of why we're heading down this path and why the rest of us aren't seeing it. It's also a dangerous path we're on and finally, after four years, other people are starting to raise the alarm.
Just don't forget, Dyer was one of the first ones to sound the alarm when he wrote this book.
6-10-07
Not perfect, but essential reading.......2006-08-14
I've been a big fan of Mr. Dyer since his documentary days on CBC, so this book is pretty self-recommending. The only question is, why did it take me so long to get around to it? Perhaps it has something to do with no American publisher having the brains, or the guts, to bring it out over here?
At this point there's nothing I can add to the reviews below about why you should read this book, so let me enter a few caveats.
I was most struck by Mr. Dyer's bizarre handling of the whole "9/11 conspiracy" issue, or rather his rather revealing non-handling. Dyer believes that "neo-conservatives in the administration deliberately and consciously hijack[ed] the national panic over the 9/11 attacks in order to impose their own quire different agenda on US foreign policy, starting with the invasion of Iraq." [p. 169] He then sees that he has to distance himself from two more radical views, that "the neo-conservatives who dominated the Bush administration ...must have either (a) planned it or (b) deliberately ignored prior knowledge about it." [ibid].
These are what others have called MIHOP (make it happen on purpose) and LIHOP (let it happen on purpose). Mr. Dyer's entire response to MIHOP is: Muslims believe it, so it must be false, and it is "frequently buttressed by the outright lie...that Jews working in the Twin Towers were warned not to go to work" [and therefore, must be some kind of anti-Semitic slur]. That's it, quite literally: two, completely irrelevant sentences! Read it yourself: last paragraph of page 169.
LIHOP is then dealt with for two page, 170-71, and initially dismissed as "a myth [like] the conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination," by which I assume he does not mean, "will eventually be endorsed by the Congressional committee investigating it decades from now," as the "Kennedy conspiracy" was. After some more blather, his argument is given, again in two sentences, on page 171: the odds are "approximately zero" that a conspiracy so vast could keep quiet, and the odds that any senior office would risk the death penalty for treason are "absolutely zero." Case closed.
Mr. Dyer is so concerned to prevent any association with these kooks that he even turns his back on his Canadian heritage, and endorses the death penalty! Apparently, the threat of a death sentence makes the risk of a crime being committed "absolutely zero"! And what a ringing endorsement of our American government officials, no one of whom could possibly commit treason!
Mr. Dyer's case is so weak that even he can't keep it up: on page 213, he blithely asserts that "the United States went to the trouble of manufacturing a fake North Vietnamese naval attack on U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin before starting the bombing of North Vietnam." Well, I guess that one did get out, but where are the treason trials? After all, this fake attack resulted in far more American deaths than 9/11 and Iraq combined.
This is not the place to argue the case for either MIHOP or LIHOP, so I would refer you to any number of books with a rather more nuanced idea of how things happen in the world of moles, patsies, dupes, such as Webster Tarpley's 9/11 Synthetic Terror or David Griffin's Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11, which does an especially good job exploding the myths that government conspiracies don`t exist, or not in America, or at least not against our own people.
.
One thing you will notice, however, is that both books are just filled with references and notes, like most books on 9/11. Mr. Dyer, however, has given us a book with no notes, no index and no bibliography. Apparently we are to just take everything on his say-so. Ask yourself, which kind of book is more likely to be myth, and which scholarship?
The whole thing is so shoddily done, that one can only assume that Mr. Dyer is simply trying to keep on the good side of the establishment. Perhaps he is worried about what happens to those who let on in public what they know?
Again, Mr. Dyer is eager to maintain his establishment credentials by distinguishing the "good" intervention in Bosnia from the "bad" intervention in Iraq. So he presents the myth of Milosevic, the "vicious sponsor of ethnic cleansing and mass murder," [p. 225] although in the next paragraph he is already backtracking, where Milosevic give only "tacit approval" (eliminating that pesky need to actually prove evidence of intent). Unfortunately, Mr. Dyer's record of lying about Bosnia is preserved on the web for all to see: http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m051503.html
On page 153, Mr. Dyer, after appropriating material, in that non-footnoting way of his, from Rise of the Vulcans, perpetuates the myth that the Vulcans pressed Cheney on Bush. Actually, Mr. Cheney nominated himself, unaided, as documented by John Nicols essential book, Dick.
Finally, Mr. Dyer likes to cozy up to America, or at least hedge his bets for the future, by making a show of acknowledging that America, after all, did "invent" democracy [p. 151 and elsewhere]. The idea that America was, or was even intended to be, a democracy is an absurd and outdated myth needs to be put to rest, perhaps by a reading of Daniel Lazare's Velvet Revolution, which though dealing with the Bush Coup, gives along the way a concise version of his earlier book, The Frozen Republic.
Despite these flaws, Mr. Dyer's book is probably the best one out there for getting an understanding of the mess we're in today, and where we're likely to go (hint: it's not pretty).
Persuasive and troubling.......2006-03-04
A longtime expert in military and international affairs sketches a plausible and unhappy prognosis for international relations in the 21st century.
As a Canadian, I was in the minority among people I knew in supporting the U.S. invasion of Iraq. I was influenced by reading "The Economist", which endorsed the invasion on the grounds that Saddam had flouted numerous UN resolutions and had attacked three or four neighboring countries, and by reading Khidhir Hamza's "Saddam's Bombmaker", an account of Iraq's nuclear-weapons program by the man responsible for running it. I fully expected the invaders to find "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq.
None has been. Nor was there ever any plausible connection between Saddam and Al Qaeda. Those of us who thought the invasion made sense have been made to look increasingly foolish. Our only excuse is ignorance--but what is the excuse of the U.S. and British administrations, whose military intelligence must surely have been better than mine?
Gwynne Dyer, Canadian-born soldier and military analyst, explains why, in his view, the U.S. is in Iraq, and more importantly, what the implications of that invasion are for the future of global peace and security. His previous book, "Ignorant Armies", was a clear, brief account of how the Iraq war unfolded, but left me unsatisfied as to its true motivation. Here Dyer addresses that question, and has pretty much succeeded in persuading me that he has found the answer.
I never bought the "oil" argument, much less the "revenge on behalf of dad" argument--and neither does Dyer. But in some ways I found Dyer's argument even harder to swallow: that the U.S. invaded as a pure expression of readiness to use military power to subdue those who defy it, to send a signal to national governments that the world is now effectively under a Pax Americana, enforced by the military might of its sole surviving superpower. The days of multilateralism and international law, mediated through the United Nations, are over. There's a new sheriff in town, and you'd better not get him riled.
Dyer, with his knowledge of military history and his background in exploring the causes of the world wars (he created highly respected radio and TV documentary series on these in Canada), makes the case that the invasion of Iraq is not simply one more illegal military action in a long series that the UN has been unable to prevent, but a decisive moment of paradigm-shift in international relations. He spends time explaining how the rise of multilateralism, through its agencies the League of Nations and later the UN, in response to the unprecedented horrors of World Wars 1 and 2, was a unique and precious advance by humanity in reining in nations' militarism in the face of progress in the technology of killing. After World War 2, world leaders understood clearly that a nuclear-armed World War 3 must be avoided at almost any cost. Therefore even the mighty U.S. submitted to multilateral checks and balances and the authority of international law, however imperfect.
According to Dyer, with the invasion of Iraq--a project hatched and planned by American "neoconservative" ideologues in the 1990s--the U.S. administration is seeking to push the UN and international law into irrelevance, and take over the roles of world cop, judge, and jury. In Dyer's view, the failure of this project is inevitable, as indeed is the U.S.'s defeat in Iraq, where it will be beaten as it was in Vietnam and as the USSR was in Afghanistan--and for the same reasons: no invading occupying army has ever beaten a homegrown guerrilla force on its own soil.
But in the meantime, irreparable harm can and will be done to the international multilateral order. Countries, frightened of the "new sheriff" who no longer acknowledges the authority of the UN, will band together in bilateral alliances--exactly as they did in the years before World War 1 and , after the demise of the League of Nations, World War 2. Dyer has long held that these systems of bilateral alliances were the direct cause of the world wars. With a new system of bilateral alliances in place, the tinder for World War 3 will be set. And of course, the technology for killing has advanced tremendously since 1945--advanced and also spread.
The book's authority is eroded a bit by the lack of footnotes, index, and bibliography. We must rely on Dyer's personal authority, which, to be sure, is considerable. Also, no doubt due to the dark tone of his prognosis, Dyer's characteristic low-key wit and irreverence are less in evidence here than they are in his personal interviews and columns.
But if you're looking for a brief, penetrating, authoritative look at the global implications of the current U.S. occupation of Iraq, written from outside the Punch-and-Judy arena of American domestic political debate, this is your book.
It takes a non-American to understand America.......2005-12-23
I had known of Dyer from his marvelous documentaries from years ago and bought this book as soon as I saw that it was available and the insitefullness that he displayed in his documentaries was repeated in this knowing volumn.
Essentially, Dyer wrote a 254 page essay with no index or footnotes relying on his mammoth understanding of the workings of the world to slice through all the obfuscation and deceit being spread by the media managers. The bottom paragraph on page 25 and carried over the page onto 26 presents the clearest most perfect reason why the United States won't win and cannot win the conflict in Iraq. He wrote earlier, in the first paragraph of Chapter One, why the US must lose that war for the sake of the world. His thoughts are an absolutely brilliant analysis of the post-Soviet Union world!
Dyer goes beyond other political analysts by saying why America must lose this Iraqian adventure. This acute analysis points out the extreme importance of maintaining a world-institution constituting a forum beyond the old pre-World War I alliances that plunged the world into the pit of total war. Without this overriding international law represented by the UN, the world will have no alternative to these national alliances and therefore the road to total destruction weill again be wide open.
In Chapter Two, The Islamist Project, Dyer explains clearly what the Islamists are doing and more importantly why they are doing it. As I said earlier, after all the obfuscation and false information purposely fed to the world, Dyer's practical analysis comes as a sobering insight to the realities of the true international situation rather than the scare mongering of the media.
In the next chapter on page 143 you will find the best reason why this current stupidity [the Iraq invasion] is happening. Dyer writes in simple words that Iraq happened because "... the rules have changed and now the United States is in sole charge". I get mad when I think of all the words printed in an attempt to explain why this war is happening-I get angry because the reason is so simple.
If one must pick the best chapter, I nominate Chapter Three, The Neo-Conservative Project, as Dyer's most insiteful. The world is being led [duped!] by a group of over-eduacted fools and Dyer lays on beautifully what is going on and why it is happening. He writes on page 120 that there was "... in the early 1990s a desperate rational to sustain the pattern of military spending that had become normal during the forty years of Cold War". Well, the neocons sure found it in the guise of rogue states and the terrorism they were supposed to be supporting throughout the world.
Throw out all your other books attempting to explain the situation the world finds itself in at the dawn of the 21st centurey and just keep rereading this wonderful book. It will blow away the smokescreen laid down by the neo-conservatives to mislead and eventually destroy the world's capacity to make meaningful judgemants about American world actions. I am happy to say that the smoke was blown away for me by Dyer's marvellous book.
Thoughtful and Concise.......2005-06-25
This is a thought-provoking analysis of the current world political situation in which the US has decided to go their own way and claim that the UN is slipping into "irrelevance". Even if you don't believe or agree with all the ideas in this book, it is very effective at opening one's mind to the possibilities.
Unfortunately, the conclusions are rather frightening and depressing and I don't see much hope coming from the present US government or popular opinion. But this book helps explain what is happening now with historical context that you simply won't find in the mass media.
Highly recommended.
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Futures, published by Elsevier in 2007. 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.
Description:
Book Description
Finalist for the 2006 Pen Center USA Western award in creative nonfiction.
Customer Reviews:
I was offended.......2007-09-29
Instead of restating (much more poorly) Bill Marsano's review (1 star) below, I will just recommend you go there.
I read a ton of adventure and kayaking books, and this one was 90% bad. It didn't have to be, but Kim is on a mission to lambaste anyone who has ever driven a car, or anyone who isn't living in a cabin deep in the wilderness. He does more damage to his ideals than good.
For better kayaking books, try these:
Celtic Tides (nice prose, not much real adventure)
Running the Amazon (wow, lots of action)
Keep Australia to your Left ( funny disfunctional team try to kayak around Australia)
One of my favorites !!!.......2007-07-08
I loved this book! It is now one of my all time favorite adventure books. Very well written. A very interesting Alaskan adventure true life story.
If you like this type of book you may also enjoy:
Arctic Homestead: The True Story of One Family's Survival and Courage in the Alaskan Wilds by Norma Cobb
Coming of age in Alaska.......2007-03-19
Kim Heacox writes a thought-provoking book about environmental issues affecting mostly Glacier Bay, Alaska using an eclectic mixture of personal stories, quotes from literature (such as from "The Great Gatsby"), and discussion of environmental issues to weave a story about Alaska. How does one share the wonder of a place such as Alaska without innundating it with tourists? Not everyone can kayak through the wildness. But if only those fit enough to hike and kayak in a remote place such as Alaska can enjoy its beauty, who will speak to protect it from commercial exploitation? The personal stories and photos keep this from being just another ecologic treatise.
Better than five stars!.......2006-10-18
This book struck me deeply. I laughed out loud because it was so unexpectedly funny. Mostly though it is gracefully written about beautiful places - in Alaska and in the heart and mind. It is lovely to read but painful also. I loved the frequent quotes (Muir, Abbey, Leopold and many others); the snatches of conversation from history (Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir); and funny lyrical present day conversations. It isn't cheating to use so many quotes from others - it is a gesture of great respect and this book makes me want to seek out those other writers and photographers to reread or open for the first time. Heacox probably doesn't realize that within his own writing are many excellent lines that will be quoted by future generations. He brings Michio to life in a wonderful way. Heacox has an incredible gift of putting life, friendship, love, the essence of wilderness, and deep inner thoughts into words. This review written by Cecily Fritz (Paul's wife). He would die if this was attributed to him! Thank you Kim for making me think.
A real treasure.......2006-07-25
This book is a "must-read" for anyone who loves kayaking and/or the rugged outdoors. Not only will you learn some history, you will soar with the eagles, hear about a land that is wild, and the people who love it.
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