A solid history that strips away a lot of traditional whitewash; if the reader didn't already wonder what people were talking about when they called AA solid history that strips away a lot of traditional whitewash; if the reader didn't already wonder what people were talking about when they called America a peace-loving nation, he/she will wonder just that after reading this.
Presented not in a spirit of judgment but rather a simple just-the-facts, "Look, this is how it is and this is what really happened" manner. An eye-opener that should be in the library of any serious student of American history or of geopolitics....more
Good, although the authors didn't tread any really new ground. They point out fundamental errors in thinking, decision-making, and relating to other pGood, although the authors didn't tread any really new ground. They point out fundamental errors in thinking, decision-making, and relating to other powers that led a number of ancient kings and commanders to catastrophic defeats. Anyone reading this will see parallels to modern situations, but also some false parallels, things that appeared similar but turned out differently because of sometimes subtle differences....more
A fascinating and often repellent study in realpolitik - could be titled "The Sociopath's Guide to Success As a Dictator." You will see a lot of the cA fascinating and often repellent study in realpolitik - could be titled "The Sociopath's Guide to Success As a Dictator." You will see a lot of the content of current events in this book....more
A prescient book, looking ahead to the time when humanity starts to explore and settle other parts of the solar system. O'Neill does a great job of exA prescient book, looking ahead to the time when humanity starts to explore and settle other parts of the solar system. O'Neill does a great job of explaining the technological problems and some practical solutions, showing that people could start this expansion from Earth with current technology. As we look at the challenges and issues of global climate change and the damage to the environment produced by a lot of our industries and technologies, I believe it's looking smarter every day for humanity not to have all our eggs in this one basket that we seem to be working hard to wreck. This decades-old book is inspiring, pragmatic, and fascinating....more
The Onion has always reminded me of the National Lampoon, and that's a good thing. Seemingly bottomless reserves of snark and cynicism are a needed baThe Onion has always reminded me of the National Lampoon, and that's a good thing. Seemingly bottomless reserves of snark and cynicism are a needed balance to all the vacuity, pompous hot air and sappy treacle the mainstream media try to shovel down our throats. Keep it up!...more
This is the sequel to Imperial Grunts and rounds out the tour of the cutting edges of the American military begun in that earlier book. Kaplan researcThis is the sequel to Imperial Grunts and rounds out the tour of the cutting edges of the American military begun in that earlier book. Kaplan researches his work exhaustively both in the writings of others and in person, and he seems to have logged enough travel to take him around the world a dozen times in the several-year course of writing these two books.
I appreciated the fact that he avoided oversimplifying or showing unbalanced views of the many issues. Kaplan makes no bones about the fact that at the moment, the US is an imperial power. He sees both the dangers in that and the potential to use that power to benefit the rest of the world. In his travels with the men and women who patrol the edges of that empire his respect and affection for them comes through clearly, without the unquestioning, myopic, jingoism of a Tom Clancy. He is bluntly critical about the blunders of Bush and Rumsfeld in Iraq, as he is of commanders who failed in earlier wars like Westmoreland in Vietnam, even as he spotlights the expertise, dedication, and sacrifices of the troops carrying out the missions decided upon far away by men in suits rather than uniforms.
I also appreciated Kaplan's comprehensive consideration of the sociological and geopolitical implications of today's trends and situations, including his speculation about what the world will look like after the American empire fades from primacy like every superpower before it has.
All in all, an excellent read, dense and informative while managing to flow well, useful in light of current events....more
A great survey of a lot of what our armed forces are like and what they're doing around the world today. The American system is an empire in all but nA great survey of a lot of what our armed forces are like and what they're doing around the world today. The American system is an empire in all but name, and this book recognizes that reality and shows how that empire is being maintained and extended by many means.
A fascinating look into what's going on in many regions where our government has decided it has a stake in events and into the personalities and lives of some of our people in uniform. This is the first book of an intended series reporting on different dimensions of our military activities around the world. As a retired Marine, I found this fascinating and am looking forward to reading the rest of the books Kaplan writes in this series.
For anyone interested in geopolitics and/or the military, this is a must-read....more
A very brief, but devastatingly powerful, demand that people who advocate war consider all the ramifications. This book should be read aloud and then A very brief, but devastatingly powerful, demand that people who advocate war consider all the ramifications. This book should be read aloud and then discussed in a joint session of Congress every time there is a decision to be made about whether to go to war - if it had been, our country would have been in many fewer wars - probably a handful instead of the dozens that history actually records.
Twain's tone in this is angry, sad, and finally bleak. His view of the situation and most people's thinking and attitudes going into many wars was accurate and realistic.
This is a strong counter to the sanitized and romanticized depiction of war that is most common in popular entertainment and culture....more
A scathing condemnation of the corporate-military complex by a quirky retired general who was one of the biggest legends and role models in the U.S. MA scathing condemnation of the corporate-military complex by a quirky retired general who was one of the biggest legends and role models in the U.S. Marine Corps; Smedley Butler, nicknamed "Old Gimlet Eye," had a tattoo of the USMC emblem that covered his chest and was the only Marine officer to win the Medal of Honor twice, America's highest decoration for both effectiveness and outrageous courage in combat (a high percentage of Medals of Honor must be awarded posthumously; you can't do something that will win this medal and have any realistic expectation of living through it even once.)
However, after retiring, he came to the conclusion that much of the fighting he had done had ultimately served the interests not of the American people or the people of the countries where he fought, but those of big businesses such as the United Fruit Company. He refers to it as a racket in the sense that the corporate world that pulls the strings of the U.S. government uses the American military as muscle essentially the same way as organized crime uses its low-ranking members.
Butler was not a pacifist - he advocated a true department of defense, staffed, organized, stationed, and equipped so as to protect America but not to create or maintain an empire.
He showed his integrity once again in retirement, when a group of industrialists, concerned by the Depression and outraged by FDR's New Deal programs, planned to carry out a coup, overthrow the government, and put a puppet "president" in office. They asked Butler to lead their coup and be that puppet president. Instead, he immediately turned them in, pointing out that he had sworn a lifelong oath to support and defend the Constitution. One of my heroes.
I encourage anyone contemplating military service to read this, to see another side than they've probably been shown - we do need armed forces, so the right thing to do may indeed be to enter or stay in the military. But it should be an informed decision....more
Absolutely brilliant - Colonel Nagl should have been a senior general, and I hoped that one day he would be, but he wound up retiring as a lieutenant Absolutely brilliant - Colonel Nagl should have been a senior general, and I hoped that one day he would be, but he wound up retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He would be a valuable choice as a national security advisor, too.
The gist of the book is a heavily researched and deeply insightful analysis of the factors that govern an army's success or failure in learning as an organization. In that respect, it will be a worthwhile study for leaders and managers in organizations of any kind. The author offers checklists for self-review by an organization; he focuses on openness to new ideas and experimentation, actively seeking the learned wisdom of the junior folks - privates, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, or assembly line and warehouse workers, line managers, or their equivalent in any other organization - and then spreading the things that work throughout the organization, and not mistaking the 'how ' for the 'what', i.e. keeping the ultimate desired end state in mind and not being locked into one particular way to achieve it.
Anyone interested in military history, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, counterinsurgency in general, or organizational systems theory will find this one of the most enlightening and useful books he or she will ever read....more
Excellent job by the author, Linda R. Monk; she has written a clear and useful explanation of the U.S. Constitution, clause by clause, and actually maExcellent job by the author, Linda R. Monk; she has written a clear and useful explanation of the U.S. Constitution, clause by clause, and actually made it flow nicely as an interesting read as well as being a useful reference. My quibble is that she skimmed over some controversies that I wish she'd covered in more depth, particularly that of the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and the meaning in its context of the phrase "the people," as this is likely to be one of the biggest political storms of the coming decade....more
**spoiler alert** A somber, thoroughly researched and tightly reasoned, and sometimes angry indictment of the current administration's policies, and t**spoiler alert** A somber, thoroughly researched and tightly reasoned, and sometimes angry indictment of the current administration's policies, and to lesser extents of the Reagan and Bush Sr. administrations, the fundamentalist religious subculture, and the financial and energy industries in America. The author is a former Republican strategist who believes that the party he believed in has been hijacked, corrupted, and shamed. He makes very strong cases that America is the locomotive pulling the rest of the world into a combination economic, natural resource, and military train wreck that will be worse than the Great Depression and the two World Wars rolled into one. It brings to mind that supposed old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times" - the next few decades look likely to be entirely too interesting, especially for the U.S. Buckle in, this ride is going to be rough. And it is vital that as soon as possible, which means with whoever wins the 2008 election, that the government and citizenry go into overdrive working to reverse the trends of overconsumption of energy, reckless borrowing and living beyond our means, and most of all the drift toward anti-democratic, anti-scientific, anti-rational religious fanaticism that if it continues will make the other changes impossible....more
A sort of traveling expose, debunking many of the instances in which history texts and classes have systematically censored history or twisted it intoA sort of traveling expose, debunking many of the instances in which history texts and classes have systematically censored history or twisted it into propaganda, both by telling lies and by leaving out significant events - putting image management ahead of honesty, apparently in the belief it is necessary to ensure students are properly patriotic. My daughter read parts of this book in junior high, and when she tried to share some of what she'd found out with one of her teachers, the teacher called her a liar (the story the teacher insisted was false was the true and well documented account of the induction of a sitting President, Warren G. Harding, into the KKK in a public ceremony at the White House.) A great counterweight to all the sanitized, often just plain lying picture of our country's history that most of our kids' schools offer in place of history taught honestly and appropriately....more
**spoiler alert** An articulate, passionate, detailed and organized indictment and warning. The people who want to set aside our Constitution, make th**spoiler alert** An articulate, passionate, detailed and organized indictment and warning. The people who want to set aside our Constitution, make the president and executive branch all-powerful and unaccountable, and carry out a corporate and fundamentalist Christian takeover of our country, are enemies of the American culture and way of life. If we look the other way and don't get involved in advocating and defending for what we believe in - freedom to worship, or not, as we choose; checks and balances ensuring the people in our government obey the law; health care, education, the environment, and other concerns - we'll lose those things....more
Wow! Concentrated essence of critique. This book is passionate, and tightly reasoned and put together. It catalogues some of the problems organized reWow! Concentrated essence of critique. This book is passionate, and tightly reasoned and put together. It catalogues some of the problems organized religions have inflicted on humanity, past and present, ranging from causing division, hatred and war to putting the brakes on truly free scientific and intellectual inquiry.
Harris takes a number of common arguments in favor of the existence of God and/or the validity of various bodies or tenets of dogma, and shows that under logical consideration they just don't stand up. As in his book The End of Faith, he argues that even though liberal and moderate religious communities may not advocate actions that hurt society or other individuals, by providing religiosity with a cloak of respectability they create a niche, immune to logic, where fundamentalists can operate, whereas if all human movements were expected to meet the test of providing some objective evidence to support their beliefs, they'd have nowhere to go. For that matter, he classes totalitarian political systems that aren't overtly religious, such as fascism or communism, as being similar to religion in that dogma is held higher than rational questioning and following the rules is more important than relieving human (or animal) suffering.
For myself, I differ with Harris in that although I do not subscribe to any organized religion I am not an atheist; but I believe his criticisms of religion are valid and agree that spiritual belief systems should be able to stand up to the same kind of analysis as any other belief systems.
Together with his other book, The End of Faith, this is must reading for anyone exploring spiritual questions....more
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