Johnny Got His Gun

Book Description

This was no ordinary war. This was a war to make the world safe for democracy. And if democracy was made safe, then nothing else mattered--not the millions of dead bodies, nor the thousands of ruined lives...This is no ordinary novel. This is a novel that never takes the easy way out: it is shocking, violent, terrifying, horrible, uncompromising, brutal, remorseless and gruesome...but so is war.

Winner of the National Book Award

Customer Reviews:

great book - bad print.......2007-09-09

I was struggling to read this book until I compared it to another paperback. The type is so blurry it makes it very hard to read. Maybe this is a really old copy? Get a copy somewhere else, and look at it first.

A Searing Anti-War Tale........2007-04-12

'Johnny Got His Gun' leaves an awful, foul, and tainted taste in your mouth. That said, this is a book that screams to be read in this day and age as it was during any other time of war. Trumbo truly shows the horror that the aftermath of any war can leave behind. He asks the question of what is victory? I can answer that for him:

Victory is a mirage. A dream. A word we use to shove aside the piles of skulls and rotting flesh that it took to obtain this 'victory'. Upwards of ten million people were killed the world over during The Great War. Tell me, was there any victor? The French Empire suffered 1.3 million dead. Germany suffered 1.7 million dead. Victory is an illusion. Dead is dead.

The most notable component in Trumbo's stlye is the complete lack of punctuation in his novel. It is a very effective literary device he uses to disorient the reader, and it works quite well. At first it is very distracting, but over time you come to admire the courage Trumbo had to release a novel written in such an unconventional manner.

Many stories are told simultaneously, all involving the character of Joe Bonham, during the course of the tale. However, we read them the way that the paralyzed and demolished Joe recalls them: randomly. Stories weave in and out of themselves as Joe wanes in and out of consciousness. The narrative is very unique and you never can tell the chronology of Joe's life.

I honestly cannot say enough about this book. It really put things in prespective for me, especially in these uncertain times we live in. It just seems that we, this world, is on the brink of something very big... and all we need is a spark.

I offer you one guarantee and one warning. The guarantee: Buy this book and you will never forget it. It will open your eyes no matter how hard you try and clasp them shut. The warning: This novel is truth. Truth is scary. You will not be the same after reading this.

A Great Anti War Sttatement .......2007-04-01

Johnny Got His Gun is the most powerful anti-war novel taht I have ever read. It should be reuqired reading for all high school students. the fact that Dalton Trumbo was blacklsited in the 1950's is a tribute to how great this novel is.

In this society, anyone who expresses a strong viewpoint against war and violence is censured. That is what happened to Dalton Trumbo.

Required Reading.......2007-02-22

This book, which was once banned in the US, should be required reading in high school, and mandatory reading for anyone running for public office. It is particularly relevant today as we deal (or fail to deal) with casualties of our military actions.

Two thumbs up! a book written for the past, present, and future.......2007-02-07

I didn't know who Dalton Trumbo was until I read the book, he was accused as a communist, he was an idealist, and he was against war in any possible way. All that you see in TV commercials about joining the army for defending your country and all that bull, they don't prepare you for the things that you have to confront, the losses, the deaths,etc. Ask any veteran if the war was worth it in any way. The most incredible aspect about this book is that you can apply it any given time, for example the war on Iraq. It's heartbreaking how many lives had been lost, how many families have been torn apart, how many men under 25 have died, leaving their wives with their little babies, for what?????? Read the book and you'll see beyond what I'm talking about.

Useful Idiots: How Liberals Got It Wrong in the Cold War and Still Blame America First

Average customer rating:

Refreshing: But Not Surprising.
Idiots Then Idiots Now
Freudian Title
useful misdirection
Think about this

Useful Idiots: How Liberals Got It Wrong in the Cold War and Still Blame America First
Mona Charen
Manufacturer: Regnery Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0895261391

Book Description

This book is a perfect example of how today's liberals have completely rewritten history to cover up their own role on the wrong side of the Cold War.

Customer Reviews:

Refreshing: But Not Surprising........2007-07-16

The author writes crisply without the vitriol of Ann Coulter. The avowed purpose of the book is to serve as an eternal reminder of the malignant gullibility of the American left{as in the blame the USA first crowd}, in dealing with world communism. It is worth the price just for all the verifiable quotes from a huge array of kooks. From Chris Dodd stating that Reagan was going against the tide of history, to the inane Ted Turner fawning over Gorbachev, to William Coffin's claiming that having nuclear weapons is innately sinful. The author also refutes the left's claim that they helped win the "cold war." She shows in detail that they opposed most tactics & strategies used by the free west to win. The only flaws in the book are that it should have come out earlier, & could have been twice as long.

Idiots Then Idiots Now.......2007-06-23

Lenin is generally credited with saying that world communism has been aided by well-meaning but gullible useful idiots, most of whom he saw as western leftists who even back in the 1920s saw a kinship with communism. Not much has changed since then and in USEFUL IDIOTS, Mona Charen takes the entire liberal left to task for its decades long adherence to a philosophy that has brought ruin and genocide to millions but still exists in our universities even when it no longer does so in the Soviet state that spawned it. Despite the book's sales blurbs that suggest that leading Hollywood celebrities like Harry Belafonte and Susan Sarandon and MoveOn.Org politicians like Hillary Clinton and Al Gore are directly responsible for the all-pervasive tsunami of secular progressivism, these and others of a similar ilk get remarkably little ink. They emerge more as symbols of rather than originators of the useful idiots syndrome. Most of Charen's animus is directed toward the full spectrum of a liberalism that emerged from the 60s and the fallout from the Vietnam war that galvanized the left into seeing the United States not only as the source of imperialistic excesses but also of all the world's assorted ills. Her most telling chapters detail how "America's role in Vietnam set the tone for every Cold War debate that would follow for the next thirty-five years." (Page 28) Charen notes that while leftist fascination with America as intrinsically evil had existed even early enough for Lenin to offer his (sorry for the pun) left-handed compliment of useful idiots, "in the mid-1960s, leftist anti-Americanism went mainstream." (Page 29)

The bulk of Charen's book deals with liberalism in the aggregate. She notes how post 60s liberals saw Communism through the lens of a half-hearted sympathetic patina that somehow managed to excuse every Communist bloodbath while failing to excuse what it saw as a genocidal equivalent from the United States, even when it was clear that this equivalent existed more in the minds of the left than in the minds of the victims. The deaths of millions due to Stalin's forced collectivization is not only portrayed by the liberals as either non-existent or grossly exaggerated but even if it did happen, the United States was somehow at fault. This then is the core thesis of the left. Evil exists in this world, but where it has been identified, it originates in the capitalistic excesses of America. Mona Charen in USEFUL IDIOTS tells in compelling detail that idiots go through life with self-imposed blinders, the result of which is destructive to those who even now look to the left for help and guidance.

Freudian Title.......2006-12-25

The title of this book inadvertently refers to the author herself. This book is "useful" to the extent that it serves the persistent neo-con tactic of preventing any honest criticism of US foreign policy by hauling out vacuous phrases like "blame America first" or "conspiracy theory" or "moral equivalence" or like nonsense from the Reagan/Kirkpatrick crowd. Skip this book. Notice the 100 or so used copies on sale starting at 1 cent? It's pap.

useful misdirection.......2006-11-19

Ms.Charen bandies about misdirecting terms like "Statist", "Atheist", and "Believers" to frame the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union in terms that do not exist.

The United States is no less a State than the Soviet Union was. We owe our victory over the Soviet Union to our performance as a state. We owe it the industrial strength and prosperity we built up under geographic and economic (relative)isolation. We owe it to the high Progressive Income taxes of FDR, Harry Truman, Ike Eisenhower, Kennedy, and even Richard Nixon.

Not even the Reagan Tax cuts for the rich, raising of social security taxes for the poor and lower middle class, embracing of globalism, and general mindlessness could stop the United States from outlasting the Soviet Union in the global endurance race.

Our European allies in the cold war, Canada, and nearly every other developed nation comparable in prosperity is certainly a State that conservatives would consider socialistic.

America under Globalism, unrestricted free trade, and Reaganomic/Greenspanomics can look forward to more of the same: massive deficits, resource wars, debt, and expanding rotting urban cores.

We've outdone every other developed nation in turning most of our cities into expanding rotting urban cores. In exchange we get the addiction to oil. I can't imagine a corporation engaging in the warfare and nationbuilding necessary to keep the oil imports coming. Nope, it requires a massive state undertaking. Especially that thanks to Globalism, India and China technically have far more to trade for that oil than we do. Basically, we can trade wheat for oil. How many farmers do you know make decent incomes?

Useful Idiots is a great book for those who trying to Misdirect, lie, or are just plain stupid.

Think about this.......2006-11-12

Please. Please give liberals all your arrogant "pity" and contempt. We just swept the House and Senate and made your simpering chimp president a lame duck. We don't hate America or blame it first. We blame cynical republican profiteers, who devise simplistic useless policy and foist it onto an electorate without the awareness to know they're being manipulated. And you'll continue to lose as long as your a bunch of hypocritical moralists, who text-message teen boys from the Senate, rip off Indian tribes over casinos, beat thir wives, pay off their mistresses, offer to save your soul while smoking crystal meth, and stuff deerheads into peoples mailboxes etc. Good Luck coming back from the abyss, losers. Screeds like this aren't going to help. America has wised up to your lame tricks.

The One that Got Away: My SAS Mission behind Enemy Lines

Average customer rating:

Great story!
Worth a read
The limit of human endurance...
comparison
good book

The One that Got Away: My SAS Mission behind Enemy Lines
Chris Ryan
Manufacturer: Potomac Books Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1574881566

Book Description

The British Army's Special Air Service is one of the world's premier special operations units. During the Gulf War, deep behind Iraqi lines, an SAS team was compromised. A fierce firefight ensued, and the eight men were forced to run for their lives. Only one, Chris Ryan, escaped capture or death, and he did it by walking nearly 180 miles through the desert for seven days and eight nights. This story features extraordinary courage under fire, narrow escapes, a battle against the most adverse physical conditions, and, above all, of one man's courageous refusal to lie down and die.

Customer Reviews:

Great story!.......2007-07-10

This book is great mainly due to the dangerous background of the mission. Ryan survived for about ten days in a hostile environment while he had to deal with coldness, exhaustion, injuries and starvation. Therefore it is an account of an incredible surviving. Respect for Ryan. His book is a must-read !

Worth a read.......2007-03-27

Not the tale of an inhumanly capable and faultless warrior and all the more compelling for that. Very interesting and informative, a more realistic treatment of events that the McNabb book, or at least more believable.

The limit of human endurance..........2006-01-27

Imagine driving two hundred miles, a long boring journey no doubt. Seems like ages...

Imagine walking it with no food, little water, and freezing temperatures that had already cost the lives of two of the SAS patrol troopers. That's what Ryan did when he journeyed to the Syrian border when the infamous Bravo Two Zero mission fell apart due to bad luck, poor intelligence, and below zero temperatures.

The famous - or infamous - Bravo Two Zero mission was about eight SAS troops that where sent behind enemy lines during the first gulf war. They were compromised early on, and with a fire fight early on, and no communication from headquarters, the men had to evade and escape. Four of the men were captured and tortured in an Iraqi sess-pit of a gaol. Three of the men died, one shot in combat and two died from hypothermia. Only one escaped. "The One That Got Away" is his story...

Ryan had to endure a terrific journey on foot of 200 miles to get to the Syrian border. Along the way, he drills (kills) a few Iraqi soldiers, or guards. He even breaks one's neck, told in squirm-inducing detail:

"When the second man saw me, his eyes widened in terror and he instantly began to run. But somehow, with a surge of adrenalin, I flew after him, jumped on him and brought him down with my legs locked round his hips. I got one arm round his neck in a judo hold and stretched his chin up. There was a muffled crack, and he died instantaneously."

Ryan's spirit comes from a very deep well, and with his SAS training, he pushes on even when he is on the verge of complete exhaustion (towards the end, he starts hallucinating).

Andy NcNab's "Bravo Two Zero" book is about McNab's torture at the hands of his Iraqi captives. Ryan's story is also about brutal pain, but his is self-inflicted as he desperately seeks to escape capture (he loses all his toe nails due to the 200 mile hike, he is on the verge of getting frost bite, he drinks radioactive water, and to finish off bad luck, he nearly gets lynched when he finally gets to Syria).

Ryan comes across as a methodical man. He plays by the book (he doesn't journey during the day - an SAS no-no). His methodical thinking about getting things right sometimes makes the other members of the SAS patrol seem incompetent. That seems a tad unfair (though as the author, and with the slight fact that he was actually there, he may have a right to say what he wants). I think the real incompetence in the Bravo Two Zero mission was the lack of intelligence from the top brass and not the men on the ground (why should you have the cold terrain as the enemy as well as the Iraqis when it needn't be? Shouldn't Intelligence know that the temperatures in Iraqi can drop really low?)

Even if you not a fan of Special Forces you will find this book riveting. People who like endurance will also love this book - for example if you are one of them loons who think climbing Everest in a pair of flip-flops is a great day out, then this book is also for you.

Seriously, I would recommend reading this, especially now when the second Gulf war is still simmering. It gives you a realistic journey on combat that you rarely get with the media. I also recommend McNab's "Bravo Two Zero" as it gives an account of his capture and torture.

comparison.......2006-01-13

this is a fantastic book. the SAS are phenominal. this mission was flawed, and this book is a testiment to the hardcore training and personnel of the SAS. however, to address another reviewer's comments, i fully disagree with the assessement that the SAS are vastly superior to Delta Force. firstly, for a number of years ive had close affiliations with the special operations world, and personally know a great number of both Delta operators and SAS soldiers and have conversed with them greatly on training, tactics, and so forth. no arguement that both are superior to the SEALs, who have always been overrated and hollywood. but the fact is, it is a complete and utter fallacy to state that Delta dont have the training to survive the way this SAS team did. thats absurd. first, delta's founder, charlie beckwith, a green beret who spent time with the SAS, used the SAS unit structure and training criteria as a template for Delta. second, Delta and the SAS are two of the most closely aligned units in the world, with frequent exchanges, putting Delta operators through SAS training and vice versa, as well as executing missions together from time to time. bottom line, Delta is the US military's MOST elite, MOST well trained, and MOST combat experienced unit of the last 25 years. Delta operators and SAS soldiers dont bother with the comparison themselves, because they're of the same caliber and embrace each other. further, the reason Delta has never done what mcnab's team did is because they've never been in the situation, which by the way was caused by MISTAKES. now im not bashing the SAS, even the most elite units make mistakes, Delta has as well. ultimately, these men survived through a undominable will, and escape, evasion and survival tactics, and to assume that Delta does not have this training is ludicrous, not to mention wholly untrue.

good book.......2005-06-14

i think this book is very good.

Book Description

“I no longer care what Madonna had for breakfast.”
–Boopsie

The irreverent wit of Doonesbury takes on 9/11 and the war years, traveling from Ground Zero to the Middle East. Here are two Doonesbury books–Peace Out, Dawg! and Got War?–together in one must-have volume full of G. B. Trudeau's wry, ironic, and keen observations. This collection is perfect for Doonesbury fans, political junkies, and anyone with a taste for biting humor and insightful satire.

Got War?: A Doonesbury Book (Trudeau, G. B., Doonesbury Book.)

Average customer rating:

Yup, still got it as of 2007
Political cartooning at its best
bad bad bad bad bad...
Another great year with Doonesbury!
Typical Tudeau

Got War?: A Doonesbury Book (Trudeau, G. B., Doonesbury Book.)
G. B. Trudeau
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0740738178

Book Description

As Doonesbury shifts to a wartime footing, the strip"s major players find themselves pre-positioned for the coming cakewalk. Weekend warrior B.D. leaves the Fighting Swooshes of Walden in the care of acting Coach Boopstein, returning to the sands of Kuwait as Camp Blowback"s Public Affairs Officer. Among his charges: Roland Hedley, veteran of a grueling combat training program designed to keep media folk from getting capped. Offshore, the irrepressible Morale Officer Lieutenant. Tripler goes live ("Good MORNING, regime-changers!") to lift the shipbound spirits of his pre-swarthy charges, while offstage, Viceroy-in-Waiting Duke prepares to answer empire"s call.Stateside, Mike takes up a flanking position on the sofa to log some serious CNN time, while the Reverend Sloan girds his loins for peace: "Look for us on TV"we"ll be a million strong." Marching to the beat of a different cause, Zonker's old surfing mentor tries to enlist Z in a desperate fight to liberate Left Coastal access. Protests Zonk, "What can I do' I am but one dude!" Meanwhile, Jeff Redfern is but one CIA intern, yet he manages to launch a Predator drone and, using basic Nintendo training, knock out an Al-Q ammo dump. Also taking a hit, Trent Lott, busted for giving props to segregation. "I was trying to say I was down with the hood!" he backpedals, realizing too late that Mr. James Crow has finally left the house.With Alex declaring eco-jihad on SUVs, and Elmont launching a daily assault on coherence as on-line blogger "Jenny McTagart, Girl Pirate," it"s hard to see a peaceful world ahead. But Jimmy Thudpucker can. Waging war on the recording industry, he and other filesharers have a vision of ultimate change de regime: "The suits die off, and Pepperland will be free again."

Customer Reviews:

Yup, still got it as of 2007.......2007-09-29

Trudeau continues his ongoing commentary on America in this volume. This time, it's the 2002-2003 era, leading up to the Iraqi invasion that opened the second Gulf war.

Amusing, touching, infuriating - it's all you expect of the Doonesbury world. Zonker is off to defend the freedom of the beaches, B.D. is off to defend the free press embedded with the American forces, and our CIA intern is off to defend free time activities like the annual post-game riot. The soap opera continues, as it has for so many decades now, about the way MST3K would if it commented on the news. A lot of the humor is so topical that it ages fast; on the other hand it's instant nostalgia and a look back at recent history as it was being made.

Carry on, Gary - you provide a real service.

-- wiredweird

Political cartooning at its best.......2006-01-12

This is the latest in a series that is both a long story of a bunch of kids growing up in the tumultuous last quarter of the 20th century(and THEIR kids)... and a politically charged history of that era.
This collection covers the Bush II wars. It does so with humor AND "sharp knife" criticism. I like the way that the "book of cartoon strips" tells me a story (even with the political undertones). This set of cartoons (and the even harder charging one covering today's events to come soon)is often better at telling the story than many history books that spend 300 pages trying to examine the same issues. Don't be afraid to read it (whether red or blue). Trudeau is a master.

bad bad bad bad bad..........2005-06-27

I have not bought the colection but reading the comics I have figured out that while it claims to be so cynical,it's actually more politically correct than funky winkerbean...if that's possible.

Another great year with Doonesbury!.......2004-12-18

Trudeau continues to entertain us with his exceptional satire and cartooning.I have been a fan of his work for many years.His political observation never leaves a stone unturned;even when it should be.His artwork continues to advance the benchmark of drawing comics.The greatest thing we all lost with Kerry losing the 2004 Presidental Election,was what Trudeau had in mind for his character representation--oh,well.
This book is very well sumarized in the editorical review,so I won't repeat.In this, one the strip is covered from Jul.1,2002 to Jul.19,2003.The book has 152 pages,of which 48 are in color.Too bad all were not in color because color adds a lot to the strip.In Toronto ,it is in color every day and I
I feel sorry for those who must be satisfied with black and white.That may be OK for Crossword Puzzles,but passe for comics.
By the way,Check out the feature article on Doonesbury in the Aug 4,2004 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine.

Typical Tudeau.......2003-11-01

Love it or leave it. As usual Trudeau as at its best when he makes you think before you laugh.

Toward a New Cold War: Essays on the Current Crisis and How We Got There

Average customer rating:

Very strong alternative views but there are ethical assumptions underlying the book that affect the evidence and presentation.
A different prospective
An outdated collection of essays
US foreign policy in the 1970s

Toward a New Cold War: Essays on the Current Crisis and How We Got There
Noam Chomsky , and John Pilger
Manufacturer: New Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1565848594

Book Description

A sobering assessment of American foreign policy from the end of the Vietnam era to Ronald Reagan.

With the same uncompromising style that characterized his breakthrough, Vietnam-era writings, Toward a New Cold War extends Chomsky's critique of US foreign policy through the early 1970s to Ronald Reagan's first term. Expanding on themes such as the cozy relationship of intellectuals to the state, and American adventurism after World War II, Chomsky goes on to exaamine the way that US policymakers set about the task of rewriting the horrible history of involvement in Indochina and turned their attention more squarely on the Middle East and Central America. He assesses US oil strategy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, dissects the first volume of Henry Kissinger's memoirs, issues an urgent call to stem the bloodshed in then-unknown East Timor and, in the title essay, marks the increased posture of confrontation and rearmament under presidents Carter and Reagan that signaled the end of détente with the Soviet Union.

Featuring a new introduction by internationally acclaimed journalist John Pilger, this is the latest in the New Press series of Noam Chomsky's early political works.

Customer Reviews:

Very strong alternative views but there are ethical assumptions underlying the book that affect the evidence and presentation........2005-08-23

I am not sure why one reviewer thought this was a Soviet apologist. This book argues that America, and Russia, interceded in essentially indigenous conflicts for non-ideological reasons. Business interests are the main culprit, so Chomsky says, though this book is not about tracing the strategies of specific corporations. There is bias however. As a typical example, the sections dealing with Israel in 1956-76 fails to properly credit participation from external forces; France and Britain are marginalized in the book and Russia is a rare mention. Accordingly, the business motivation thesis is not balanced against other motivations such as fear of Communism, or a desire for a stable world order that benefits America.

This book, however, is still worth getting for its examination of American intellectuals and for its corrections against mainstream notions that today are taken for granted. And unlike many authors, Chomsky does not hide his bias and his underlying moralities are honestly expressed.

By the way, this is a heavily annotated book so even if you disagree with him you will be able to disagree substantively.

A different prospective.......2004-07-22

This book gives alternative interpretation of causes and effects of US foreign policy in contrast to a popular held view. Author's research in general is very thorough and in many cases followed up first hand. Nonetheless the arguments are not constructed in a way to "convince a non believer" or to refute popular view point by point. The arguments are constructed to present author's view with ample references to start you off on verifying his facts on your own if you wish to do so. Paraphrasing author, he does not tend to convince, but rather help open up reader's mind to alternate possibilities in contrast to populist opinions.

With regard to the contents of the book, I have to say, it is critical of US foreign policy to say the least. He is far from being "an apologist for communist regimes" as his harshest critics attribute to him. Rather he holds a view that means that US uses to achieve its foreign policy goals could be much less violent and considerate of foreign country?s population?s will. He also exposes and questions the moral validity of certain US goals that are not commonly in a public view.

An outdated collection of essays.......2003-12-22

When I picked this up I thought it was a book explaining how America's war on terror was bringing it into a `new cold war' with Islam. Unfortunately that was not the case. This book is a collection of essays from times gone by, from the greatest of the critique's, Mr. Chomsky. This book details a myriad of subjects, boldly among them the steamship like memorandum on why Mr. Carter and Mr. Reagan were creating a `new cold war.' The essay was written in the 80s. Days after the essay was written the Soviet Union collapsed and the cold war ended, forever. That fact alone should doom this book to obscurity but the other essays are more fascinating, including the interest in East Timor, which would not grace the American media for more then a decade and other essays on a vast array of Subjects. An interesting volume but the work is heavily outdated. For a soldier of Chomskyism this book will be another wind in the willows to add to the library and it is a must buy, in fact it will make a wonderful gift for any Chomsky lover. For those interested in Chomsky's take on the current geopolitical struggle, this book will be very disappointing.

US foreign policy in the 1970s.......2003-11-19

This is a reprint of a book from 1982. It's a collection of essays and articles dating from 1973 to 1981. After a lengthy introduction (which could be published as a short book all by itself), Chomsky uses the first four chapters to examine the way the media covers up US imperialism. Picking up after his famous essay, "The Responsibility of Intellectuals," he examines the complicity of journalists, editorialists, and other writers in making excuses for a murderous foreign policy. His remarks mention dozens of specific cases, naming names and quoting their morally repugnant words. You'll either laugh or cry when you see how war crimes such as the bombing of Cambodia were "explained" by the most prestigious writers in the country.

But his focus is also generalized --- he compares these people to the commisars of the Soviet Union, showing that in any country (democratic or otherwise), serving state policy is the only way to rise to the top. After reading the first four chapters, you'll feel a sense of recognition. I guess we always suspected that this is how the media *really* works.

Chapter 5 is co-authored with Edward S. Herman. Herman is the principal author of one of Chomsky's best-known books, Manufacturing Consent. (They teamed up together in 1979 to write The Political Economy of Human Rights, in two volumes. He's written a few important books himself, including The Real Terror Network.) This chapter continues in the vein of the first four, concentrating on the way the media and scholars rewrote the history of the Vietnam war. As with the previous chapters, dozens of specific examples are given, creating a broad picture of modern propaganda techniques.

From there, Chomsky goes on to review Henry Kissinger's memoirs, conflict in the Middle East, the role of the US in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and (finally) a brilliant chapter on East Timor (written after the Indonesian invasion was in full swing).

I urge you to read this book. It paints a detailed portrait of consistency in US foreign policy. Intellectuals will insist that each invasion of each country is a unique moment in history, but Chomsky's meticuluous study shows the common threads. This book can be overwhelming at times in its endless parade of facts, but the effect is liberating. When you're done reading it, you'll feel that some light has been shed on what's really going on in the world.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful story

Timely

Magic, wonder, and a text written entirely on stone

Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up in a War: An Epic Tale From Ancient Iraq
Kathy Henderson
Manufacturer: Candlewick
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The White Elephant

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards))

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom (Caldecott Honor Book)

Rules (Newbery Honor Book)

The Higher Power of Lucky

ASIN: 0763627828
Release Date: 2006-04-11

Book Description

Found in Iraq and older than the Bible, the Koran, or the Torah, this stirring epic - the world's oldest written story - now becomes available to a general readership for the very first time.

Lugalbanda woke with a jolt. He opened his eyes and what did he see but the terrible Anzu bird beating its wings in its nest high above. . . . Did he quake? Did he quail? No. Lugalbanda the Brave sat and stared, and into his head came a brilliant idea.

Before the Bible and the Koran, before even the Greek and Roman myths, there came a story from the land we now call Iraq. Speaking across five thousand years, in a voice so fresh and timeless it could have been written yesterday, this tale tells of an extraordinary journey, of a magical bird, of a battle that wouldn't end, and of wisdom gained. It is the story of Lugalbanda, a boy in a time of war.

Etched on clay tablets in cuneiform, lost underground for thousands of years, and rediscovered just 150 years ago, this account of the epic adventures of a loyal, resourceful boy is renarrated in lyrical prose by Kathy Henderson and set against Jane Ray's glorious images glinting with gold.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful story.......2006-12-02

The ancient story of a young boy named Lugalbanda, is told in this beautiful book. Taken from Sumerian cuneiform tablets just translated in the 1970's, Lugalbanda's epic adventure from 5000 years ago takes place in what is now southern Iraq. War, a giant bird with shark-like teeth, sickness, and triumph make this an exciting story for readers and listeners alike. Jane Ray enhances the work with her watercolor, ink and collage illustrations. Excellent notes before and after the story are included.

Timely.......2006-11-04

Timely story about a courageous prince in ancient Iraq, an unprovoked war, and a ruler that needed help ending the war. Someone should send this book to President Bush, although he probably wouldn't get the meaning of it. Beautiful illustrations and wonderful story for kids and adults.

Magic, wonder, and a text written entirely on stone.......2006-04-30

The oldest written story in the world. Name it. I'm talking older than the Bible, older than the Koran, and older than the Torah. I hear someone mentioning, "The Epic of Gilgamesh". You're very close. Now just go a mere three hundred years older than that. Did you get it? If you said, "Lugalbanda", then you are correct! Discovered a mere 150 years ago on ancient Sumerian tablets, author Kathy Henderson has pieced together this book out of the poems "Lugalbanda" and "Lugalbanda In the Mountain Cave". The result? An incredibly readable and beautiful book that tells the story of a war in ancient Iraq. Timely, no? The mere fact that Henderson has been able to piece an infinitely interesting tale out of academic line-by-line translations (with some help as well from oral storyteller Fran Hazelton) and combine such a story with the breathtaking art of Jane Ray is reason enough to take a gander at this title. And as the book itself says, "So here, for the first time ever in our days of paper and print, is the story of Lugalbanda told for a new generation".

There once was a boy named Lugalbanda who lived with his seven brothers in the great city of Uruk. Uruk was ruled by King Enmerkar who had built it in honor of the goddess of love and war, Inana. One day, Enmerkar noticed that the faraway city of Aratta had far more impressive treasures and works of art than Uruk. Without further ado then, Enmerkar declared war on Aratta and set off to plunder its booty with his men. Amongst his men came the seven brothers and Lugalbanda. While en route to war, however, Lugalbanda became deathly ill and his brothers were forced to leave him with plenty of good food and drink in a warm cave, praying for his survival. After two days, Lugalbanda awoke and by appealing to the Sun God, the goddess Inana, and the Moon God, the boy was made strong enough to follow his brothers. The tale then recounts Lugalbanda's encounter with the great and terrible Anzu bird, how he got some pretty cool pre-biblical super powers, and the course Enmerkar's war eventually takes. In the end, Lugalbanda is king and his son becomes the great Gilgamesh of lore.

You might ask yourself how interesting a 5,000 year old story (that wasn't even translated until the 1970s) would be to kids today. In this way, Candlewick has been incredibly clever. The book is written with words of a rather large font and then filled to brimming with lush illustrations by Jane Ray. Themes of magic, war, and a boy befriending a great and terrible sky monster... well you might as well be describing the latest, "Chronicles of Droon" adventure. The difference is in the importance of the tale itself. Henderson's care in rendering this tale as accurately and interestingly as possible is to be commended. In the original text it isn't exactly clear if Lugalbanda is the son of King Enmerkar or is just referred to as a prince for another reason. There are lots of questions like that, all handled in an exceedingly deft manner. And as Henderson says of this tale in her "Notes On This Story" at the end of the book, "This was much too important to be left to the world of adults".

Don't go thinking that it was just Kathy Henderson who did all the research on this book, though. Artist Jane Ray studied up on her Sumerian artifacts with visits to the British Museum. This shows in the art. Done in watercolor, ink, and collage, the pictures in this book both reflect the art of the time period while also looking fresh and colorful enough to engage kids today. I was especially impressed with Ray's attention to close details. The baby Anzu bird that Lugalbanda feeds and decorates is spotted with a multitude of tiny flowers and you can make out every barb, calamus, and rachis on the bird's feathered body. It's nice to hold a book in your hands once in a while that can honestly be called beautiful.

Kudos, by the way, to the Sumerians who had the brains to come up with a goddess who was in charge of love AND war. That they could see the connection so directly makes me smile. The story told here about a war fought for the sake of plunder (though in an odd twist, the goddess won't let Enmerkar win until he promises only to take the art and artists and not destroy the town) is slightly odd. Especially when you consider that the hero is on the side of the aggressor. But the struggle for power in the Middle East is an ancient story and here we find the oldest telling of it yet. If you should wish to give this as a gift to a child, I suggest that you talk up the superpowers, battle scenes, and cool monsters as you hand it to them. Children aren't going to find the whole oldest-written-story thing all that cool. But a rainbow colored bird giant with, "the teeth of a shark"? Far better. A surprisingly great read and a wonderfully researched tale. A necessary purchase for all libraries everywhere.

History of the Tenth Texas Cavalry Dismounted Regiment, 1861-1865: "If We Ever Got Whipped, I Don't Recollect It"

Average customer rating:

Genealogical Value

History of the Tenth Texas Cavalry Dismounted Regiment, 1861-1865: "If We Ever Got Whipped, I Don't Recollect It"
Chuck Carlock , and V. M. Owens
Manufacturer: Smithfield Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

jp-unknown3 | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 1930566069

Book Description

The author of the best-selling Firebirds, the account of his experiences as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, gives us the history of a different era as he tells the true story of a cavalry regiment with no horses, full of wild and reckless Texas boys who were hard to manage, but good in a fight.

Customer Reviews:

Genealogical Value.......2002-01-28

Chuck Carlock has produced an excellent resource for genealogical research on the men who served in the Tenth Texas Cavalry. Mr. Carlock has included information from letters, casualty reports, and other sources in addition to the information available in the National Archives.
The book contains a detailed account, frequently described in letters from the actual participants, of each battle. Perhaps more interesting are the descriptions of conditions between engagements, and of the travels to various localities.
I recommend the book to anyone with an interest in Civil War history and/or an interest in the men who served.

I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked

Average customer rating:

Surprising and Enjoyable

I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked
Upton Sinclair
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Elections | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0520081986

Book Description

Here, reprinted for the first time since its original publication, is muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair's lively, caustic account of the 1934 election campaign that turned California upside down and almost won him the governor's mansion.
Using his "End Poverty in California" movement (more commonly called EPIC) as a springboard, Sinclair ran for governor as a Democrat, equipped with a bold plan to end the Depression in California by taking over idle land and factories and turning them into cooperative ventures for the unemployed. To his surprise, thousands rallied to the idea, converting what he had assumed would be another of his utopian schemes into a mass political movement of extraordinary dimensions. With a loosely knit organization of hundreds of local EPIC clubs, Sinclair overwhelmed the moderate Democratic opposition to capture the primary election. When it came to the general election, however, his opposition employed highly effective campaign tactics: overwhelming media hostility, vicious red-baiting and voter intimidation, high-priced dirty tricks. The result was a resounding defeat in November.
I, Candidate tells the story of Sinclair's campaign while also capturing the turbulent political mood of the 1930s. Employing his trademark muckraking style, Sinclair exposes the conspiracies of power that ensured big-money control over the media and other powerful institutions.

Customer Reviews:

Surprising and Enjoyable.......1999-04-13

This excellant account of the race for governor in California offers unique insight into the tactics and motivations of the canidates and their supporters with a wry but rarely bitter pen. Written by Sinclair almost imediately after the conclusion of the race, this journal of sorts sheds first hand light on the California of 1934. A California that disturbingly resembles the America of today. The connection I made with the author's deepest values allows me to accept Upton Sinclair as worthy of my emulation. Read this.

ONE THAT GOT AWAY, THE (Pen & Sword Military Classics)

Average customer rating:

Excellent movie, interesting book, fascinating man
A good read
A great adventure
An intriguing tale of escape from the other side

ONE THAT GOT AWAY, THE (Pen & Sword Military Classics)
Kendal Burt
Manufacturer: Pen and Sword
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1844154378

Book Description

From The Great Escape to The Colditz Story, readers have become familiar with the many stories of British wartime escapes. But what of German prisoners in British hands? Did they try as persistently as their British counterparts to escape? Did they bait their guards with similar ironic humor and with horseplay often carried to dangerous extremes? Were similar epics of courage and endurance enacted unknown to us on our own soil and on the surrounding seas? How were our prisoners fed, interrogated, guarded? In other words, how did we treat them?

These questions are all answered in the first book to tell the full story of Franz von Werra, a Luftwaffe officer escaping in England, set against the background of our own familiar countryside, and with our own countrymen-police, soldiers, home guards, shepherds, bus conductors and booking clerks playing the unfamiliar roles of pursuer and sometimes unconscious abettor of one of the most ingenious and brazen of all escapers. Based on von Werra's own account, this exciting story provides a fascinating insight to the war from the German point of view.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent movie, interesting book, fascinating man.......2003-10-13

Many years ago I saw the film of the same title about von Werra
on TV and I never forgot it. Hardy Kruger gave a wonderful performance of the complex German pilot von Werra. I finally found the book that the film was based on and very glad I did as it expands on the film and tells far more of what happened to von Werra after he escaped from Canada. I definately recommend this book (and the film too) to everyone.

A good read.......2001-10-25

A very good story of escape from a Germans point of view. Von Werra is obviously a man who likes to expand on his version of events but the authors research into what really took place puts a more credible light on it. I finished the book in 2 days.

A great adventure.......1999-10-01

I always enjoy reading war stories,but detest ones that are fake and just unbelivable.This book while with the author taking you through a documentry at the same time did a great job in keeping the reader going.I obtained my copy from a local market stall for $2.00 last saturday and i finished it by Wednesday in the same week,it just wouldn't let me go. The Authors did justice for Von Werra in presenting an biased view of his exploites,you can feel Von Werra's undying determination,his bottomless energy is awe inspiring. The authors made you feel like you were there digging the tunnel or in the cockpit of the Hurricane hoping the mechanic would hurry up with the Accumulator trolley(used to start the aeroplanes).It was just a pity the book has only 286 pages for i would have kept on reading if it had one thousand.It just drew u in and kept you interested all the way.

Bill Pearce

An intriguing tale of escape from the other side.......1998-08-22

Although there are many books about allied escapees from Colditz and other camps, the story of German prisoners in World War Two is rarely heard. This book gives us that opportunity. Von Werra's story is both heroic as it is exciting. Well worth a read.

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