America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It

Book Description

In this, his first major book, Mark Steyn--probably the most widely read, and wittiest, columnist in the English-speaking world--takes on the great poison of the twenty-first century: the anti-Americanism that fuels both Old Europe and radical Islam. America, Steyn argues, will have to stand alone. The world will be divided between America and the rest; and for our sake America had better win.

Customer Reviews:

America Alone is Excellent.......2007-10-04

This book gives a lot of attention to fertility rates in Europe, Scandanavia and the United States. Many other good observations and opinions are included as well. It will give you some insights into what may occur in various countries in the future vis-a-vis the Muslims and non Muslims.

What a sad worldview.......2007-10-01

I can't even begin to describe the serious flaws in this book...

But I gave it one star instead of zero because, if you want to study logic and how to detect subtly and not so subtly flawed arguments, buy this book.

What's sad is he's done actual research (but distorts everything to fit his way of thinking), and some muslims, like some christians, some jews, some whatever, really are dangerous and want to hurt America, but he makes his side of the controversy look like a bunch of, what's a nice word... 'baffoons'.

I think he seriously believes the things he writes in his book, which means he's stressing himselfand others out for nothing, and ultimately, pushing away the moderates that might listen to a more logical argument against religious extremism

Excellent.......2007-09-21

With the many positive reviews already posted, there isn't much more for me to say, so I will just say, "Read a few of the reviews, then, most definitely, read this book."

great wake up!!!!!!!.......2007-09-20

This a wake up to the world. Got to hang in through the beginning, but after that try to get all the details.

An interesting, powerful book.......2007-09-18

I found the book to be well written, even light enough in spots to be humorous. It presents a point of view for
Americans to consider

Average customer rating:

A "HOW-TO" for citizenship and political leadership
excellent
Call to Greatness
Current state of affairs for the middle class
Long-winded and Confusing Story

The New American Story
Bill Bradley
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1400065070
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Book Description

“Politics is stuck,” writes Bill Bradley, in this insightful, informative, and provocative book about America at a crossroads, but “idealism isn’t dead. It can be reawakened.”

What will it take to make America a better, stronger, truer country? asks the bestselling author, former Knicks star, and onetime presidential candidate. Bill Bradley believes that America is at a teachable moment when we are compelled to reevaluate our political system, our leadership, our agenda as a nation, and ourselves as citizens. With clarity and urgency, Bradley shows why the story we are being told now about who we are as a people is not true. He then offers a new story about our nation, based on America’s rich heritage and his belief in the character of the American people. Bradley explores what changes need to be made in our parties, in our politics, and in citizen activism to ensure America’s future. He asserts that the American people are ready for the truth and suggests that the party that chooses to embrace this new story will be in power for a generation.

Writing from his own experience in politics and drawing on his knowledge of history, Bradley shows how the Republican Party has built a solid pyramid structure since the 1970s, at the base of which are money, ideas, and media, whereas the Democratic Party’s structure is an inverted pyramid, with too much emphasis put on the need for a charismatic leader to hold the pyramid up. Each party, for different reasons, fails to deal with the real issues that now confront America.

This informed and inspiring call to action is addressed not only to the parties and elected leaders, but to citizens as well. Bradley proposes things every American can do to shape our nation’s future. He points out that if eighty percent of the electorate voted, instead of fifty percent, it would be the most important change in American politics since women got the vote. Now more than ever, he says, we need to embrace an “ethic of connectedness,” a combination of collective action and individual responsibility, to solve our nation’s most pressing problems, and he argues that the fate of all countries is bound together as never before. Writing today with the freedom of a private citizen, Bradley provides this transformative and eye-opening book about the danger and the promise of America’s choice at this crucial moment in the nation’s history.

Customer Reviews:

A "HOW-TO" for citizenship and political leadership.......2007-09-29

Why should you read this?

- If you care about our democracy and want to help make it strong again

- If you want to understand the big domestic challenges we face today

- If you want thoughtful proposals to addresses those challenges

- If you want to better the understand the Democratic and Republican parties; what makes them function, what makes them DYSFUNCTIONAL

- If you want to hear an insider's take on what makes our democracy tick, what makes it great, and what threatens its survival

This is a terrific book. If I had the money, I'd buy one for every member of Congress.

I listened to this book unabridged on audio, narrated by Michael Prichard. He does a good job capturing Bill Bradley's dignity, but to my ear doesn't quite capture his enthusiasm and passion for good government.

excellent.......2007-08-28

bradley is a truly brilliant man. the book is filled with hundreds of good ideas. hopefully he will stay involved in politics. the problem is that the people who need to read this book will not. our government is controlled by big business and greedy men with their own agendas. how soon is that going to change? i highly reccomend this book.

Call to Greatness.......2007-08-20

You'd swear Bill Bradley was running for office or dashing down court for a breakaway three-pointer. This one-time presidential contender and New York Knicks superstar writes with the energy and urgency of a man on a mission.

Read his book, The New American Story, and you'll be tempted to join him. Bradley has issued a powerful call to action--one that promises to rescue our nation from political infighting and restore America's leadership role in the world.

His is not a story of military might and moral superiority; it is the story of our nation's founding principles, written by the men and women whose active engagement at pivotal points in history assured the country lived up to its highest ideals.

We have a choice before us that could transcend our current state of affairs, says Bradley. A choice that puts country over political party, the common good over the distracting issues that divide us.

One of our nation's most admired leaders--Abraham Lincoln--knew a thing or two about bringing a divided nation together. When he was president, Lincoln would often sneak out of the White House on Wednesday nights to hear sermons of a well-known preacher at the New York Presbyterian Church. One night, an aide asked Lincoln what he had thought of the sermon. "The content was excellent. The minister had a strong voice and a good delivery," said Lincoln, pausing. "But he forgot the most important part. He didn't ask us to do something great."

Bill Bradley is asking us to do something great.

"The answers to our problems rest in our hearts as well as in our heads," Bradley says in the introduction to his book, "and until we understand that, we'll make marginal improvements, but we won't make the quantum leaps that our Founders made and hoped we would continue."

I am drawn to stories of ordinary Americans who overcame obstacles to achieve great things. Freedom fighters on the Underground Railroad. Journalists who exposed unethical business practices at the turn of the 20th century. The immigrants who built our transcontinental railroad. A country lawyer who became a United States Supreme Court Justice, America's chief prosecutor of Nazi War criminals, and the founder of international law. These are the stories I want people around the world to know about when they think of America and its unique contributions to the world. That's why my husband and I make historical documentaries for a living.

Bill Bradley's book had me from hello, or at least from the moment I read the book jacket blurbs written by David McCullough, David Halberstam, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Robert A. Caro, all Pulitzer Prize winners. Because I love history, and because I believe in the strength of our nation's collective character, I kept on reading.

There is no question the bold policies outlined in Bill Bradley's book will be hotly debated in the coming weeks. He takes both political parties to task, taking aim at the current administration's policies with the finesse of a seasoned athlete and senator. And while I don't agree with every single one of Bradley's strategies on health care, education, environment, tax reform, and national defense, if this American story is to have a happy ending, I, like all other Americans, will have to look for common ground, and make sacrifices for the greater good.

Bill Bradley has faith that, given the right information--the true American story--we will do the right thing.

Current state of affairs for the middle class .......2007-08-07

I confess I have read many other books on the current status quo and state of politics in our country before reading this book. If you have too, this may be a bit repetitive as most issues have been discussed before. What I do like about Bill Bradley's book is it is not simply a laundry list of complaints. He offers at the end of each chapter (designated to each issue) some thought out solutions. This is a good book for eye-opening for our major issues - health care, education, energy... and would recommend it to readers who want to learn more about the who, what and why our social issues are being ignored by government. I also recommend "War on the Middle Class" by Lou Dobbs or "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class -- And What We Can Do About It" by Thom Hartmann. I enjoyed reading those a little more.

Long-winded and Confusing Story.......2007-07-29

I'll confess right up front that I haven't finished the book yet, and I'll update this review when I do. I'm still slogging through lengthy, wandering passages that fail to make any points. I keep waiting for any kind of "here's a solution" or "here's what we should do" sentence, but I have yet to find one. He spends a lot of pages in the first 25% of the book telling the reader about the "story" that he says we're being told -- by whom? On every issue he seems to pick the most extreme right-wing position as representative of this "story" rather than the positions that the majority of Republicans and conservatives hold. And thus far all he's offered for his "new story" is idealistic pie-in-the-sky notions with no plan to get there. I trust that he gets there in the second half of the book.

Just one example of the poor writing and editing: In the section titled "Inequality" in chapter on The Economy, he goes on for quite a while about financial inequality, then about globalization and technological change, finally claiming that you can no longer get ahead by working hard. He then admits that that there is no way around benefiting the wealthy if you want to encourage investment. And then this sentence:
"But there is no excuse for failing to conduct rigorous oversight of and increase resources to education ... which in the long run will result in ... greater equality."
Okay, he tied it back into equality, but how did he suddenly switch from tax cuts and investing and unions to education in the middle of the same paragraph? Where did this out-of-the-blue accusation come from that someone isn't overseeing and funding education? I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with that accusation, just pointing out that it's completely out of place in any kind of logical or narrative flow.

And so goes this story so far. I'll keep at it and hope the writing and presentation of ideas tightens up. Maybe his publisher paid him by the word...

Average customer rating:

interesting read
Bill's strawman
I would love to have Bill as a dad
I Enjoyed This so much
The Hobo Philosopher

Culture Warrior
Bill O'Reilly
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Mr. & Mrs. Happy Handbook: Everything I Know About Love and Marriage (with corrections by Mrs. Doocy)
Godless: The Church of Liberalism
State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America
Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History
Who's Looking Out for You?

ASIN: 0767920929
Release Date: 2006-09-25

Book Description

Bill O’Reilly is the very embodiment of the idea of a Culture Warrior—and in this book he lives up to the title brilliantly, with all the brashness and forthrightness at his command. He sees that America is in the midst of a fierce culture war between those who embrace traditional values and those who want to change America into a “secular-progressive” country. This is a conflict that differs in many ways from the usual liberal/conservative divide, but it is no less heated, and the stakes are even higher.

In Culture Warrior, Bill O’Reilly defines this war and analyzes the competing philosophies of the traditionalist and secular-progressive camps. He examines why the nation’s motto “E Pluribus Unum” (“From Many, One”) might change to “What About Me?”; dissects the forces driving the secular-progressive agenda in the media and behind the scenes, including George Soros, George Lakoff, and the ACLU; and dives into matters of race, education, and the war on terror. He also shows how the culture war has played out in such high-profile instances as The Passion of the Christ, Fahrenheit 9/11, the abuse epidemic (child and otherwise), and the embattled place of religion in public life—with special emphasis on the war against Christmas. Whatever controversies are roiling the nation, he fearlessly confronts them—and no one will be in the dark about which side he’s on.

Culture Warrior showcases Bill O’Reilly at his most eloquent and impassioned. He is an unrelenting fighter for the soul of America, and in this book he fights the good fight for the traditional values that have served this country so well for so long.

Customer Reviews:

interesting read.......2007-09-27

Well written book. I'm not sure of the validity of all the things he talks about because he is often defending himself, but I think he makes some very smart points. I can see some of the effects of the sp movement that Bill mentions in his book almost everyday.

Bill's strawman.......2007-09-25

Mr O'Reilly is somewhat of an enigma to me. I find his show entertaining. He sometimes speaks very rationally about current issues and presents his point of view very reasonably. But there are times when he appears to let his emotions completely overrule his logic, and then he looks foolish and petty. So it is with "Culture Warrior."

Bill blames nearly all of America's ills on secular progressives. The S-P movement (according to O'Reilly) wants to completely dismantle all that is good and replace it with atheistic, socialist programs that would undermine America's moral fiber and promote malaise and complacency.

Pure bunk! The truth of the matter is that Bill's Republican Party has held the White House for all but 12 years since 1968. In all this time, the party of "family values" and "personal responsibility" has done little, if anything, to improve our nation's social problems. A good argument could be made that many of those problems have actually gotten worse. And yet, here's Bill trying to shift the blame to some small minority of the population with practically no political power.

Of course, he's preaching to the choir with his simplistic scapegoating. If you're a Fox news fan and an O'Reilly-phile, you'll no doubt be blind to his flaws in logic and his stretching of the facts.

I would love to have Bill as a dad .......2007-09-16

My grandma read me this book.I thought it was good and it's fun too.It never gets boring and I feel like he is the greatest guy in the world.My grandma says she will read all the books he writes to me and that will make me real happy and I'm looking forward to that.

I Enjoyed This so much.......2007-09-16

This book is great from cover to cover.Bill has so many ideas and he should be making lots of money with this wonderful book.I also would like you to know about the great book he wrote just for kids.It should be on everybody's list for a birthday comming up or A present to some special kid.So far all of his books have been a joy reading.

The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-02

Bill has discovered a conspiracy. Now I'm a true believer in conspiracies so I can't knock him on that one. It seems that there are a group of people, living right here within the borders of the United States who are presently involved in the overthrow of "our" government. They are not doing this by means of a revolution or violent overthrow. They are too cleaver to come right out and fight like men. They are doing it by guile and persuasion and trying to sway voters and by real sneaky, underhanded, dirty methods like using their money to twist the media and the "truth". Bill has a lot of terrible names for these people but overall he benignly refers to them as Secular Progressives or S-Ps.
These S-Ps are a very cleaver group of evil and vile people and they have a horrible anti-American agenda; wait until I tell you about it, you won't believe it. It is truly beyond your widest dreams.
First and foremost these S-Ps do not believe in God; they are very anti-Judeo/Christian. They want to take all the money from the rich people and use it to make their version of a "better world". For example they want everybody to have their own home - with no mortgage; they want all children to have an education - for free! And that includes college; they think that everybody should make a living wage - whether they deserve to be alive or not! (my God! these people are horrible); they want businesses and corporations to act and conduct themselves in the world market place with a moral conscience (what a pernicious method for undermining capitalism and the American way); they want prisons to be reformed and drug crimes to be looked upon as an addiction to be treated as a sickness and not simply incarceration; they want any and all sick and even healthy people to have access to health care - even if they don't have a penny!; they actually want the United States to be attacked before the United States attacks anybody else; and one can only conclude from all of the above that these S-Ps would probably try to outlaw war if they could get away with it.
This book is powerful on emotion but very short on thought. If your ideas are on the far right you will love this. I was told by a friend that Bill is actually not on the far right but is really only moderately right. Since I didn't find much of what he had to say "right" in any way and many things very "wrong", I can't really find all that much to recommend . But Bill seems to be doing very well without me as a backer.

Average customer rating:

Boorish!
Great Ideas Presented In An Entertaining Style
Talk show style of writing
Mildly Amusing from a pea brain with a big mouth
Interesting

Somebody's Gotta Say It
Neal Boortz
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Outrage: How Illegal Immigration, the United Nations, Congressional Ripoffs, Student Loan Overcharges, Tobacco Companies, Trade Protection, and Drug Companies Are Ripping Us Off . . . And

ASIN: 0060878207
Release Date: 2007-02-20

Book Description

With its outrageous brand of conservative talk, The Neal Boortz Show has been one of talk radio's hottest commodities for more than twenty–five years. Known as the Talkmaster and the High Priest of the Church of the Painful Truth, Boortz has been entertaining his rabid followers with his commentary on everything from corruption in Washington to the troops overseas.

Now, with Somebody's Gotta Say It, Neal gives us his biggest book yet–a hilarious but serious–as–taxes screed covering all the issues that get Neal and his millions of listeners hot under the collar on a daily basis. Among his subjects:

•The Tyranny of the Children: How we've ceded control to our bratty little runts . . . and how to take it back

•They're Government Schools, Not "Public" Schools . . . and they're killing us.

•The Dumb Masses: Say that really fast–and then have a look in the mirror!

•Socialized Medicine: Get ready for free crappy health care for all–Now, with Extra Taxes!

•Soccer Moms: The leaders of a culture where every precaution has been taken to make sure your son may never actually get hit! The wussification of America continues...

Full of irresistible wisecracks and irrefutable libertarian wisdom, Somebody's Gotta Say It is the next big conservative talk–radio bestseller.

Customer Reviews:

Boorish!.......2007-09-26

I could hardly get past the first chapter. I found this to be almost "tabloid" in nature and ordered it originally thinking I would be reading some intellectual quips, quotes, etc. I found instead that it is more basic and elementary than I wish to spend time on. Couldn't get through the entire book - sorry!

Great Ideas Presented In An Entertaining Style.......2007-09-09

This is a thought provoking and highly interesting book.

Neal Boortz does a superb job of outlining many of the numerous problems our nation faces. He also presents great suggestions which, if enacted, would make life much better for all Americans (except career politicians) and their children and grandchildren.

The author does not beat around the bush. He gets right to the heart of issues. It is sure to infuriate many readers. Those who are open minded will be challenged with some things that they would probably prefer to ignore.

Some of the issues that he addresses are as follows:

Education - "There is no greater long-term threat to our continued prosperity, economic liberty, freedom, and quality of life in the United States than that presented by teachers' unions. And that includes Islamic terrorists." Although I suspect he will not be invited to the NEA convention, he makes a great case for the tremendous problems we have in education. Of course anyone who has watched a clerk trying to make change (with the cash register's calculator not working) or watched Jay Leno's 'Jaywalking' is well aware of the scary level of ignorance being cranked out by the government school system. Fortunately, Boortz not only points out the problems, he gives workable solutions. He also provides an awesome list of things that should be taught in the public schools.

Voting - 'Instead of trying to increase that stock of knowledge, why not decrease the number of ignorant voters! Private businesses don't let ignorant employees decide company policy. Why should we allow ignorant voters to set public policy?' Not only would he limit who votes (the ignorant and tax consumers), but Boortz also presents a very radical proposal to change presidential selection. It is a revolutionary concept.

Boortz combines the best parts of libertarianism (liberty) with reality (terrorism, borders) to present a comprehensive plan for improving life in the United States. I highly recommend this book and also another book by Boorz, 'The Fair Tax Book' for anyone who desires to return America to its best.

Talk show style of writing.......2007-09-01

Neal Boortz is a libertarian, not a conservative, talk show host. He's in agreement with the economic conservatives on issues such as education, taxes and the minimum wage, but generally disagrees with the moral conservatives on concerns such as abortion, homosexuality, creationism and school prayer. (However, he's against totally removing religious symbolism from public life....) He uses a lot of energy bashing public education, calling schools "government indoctrination centers" and recounting horror stories of kids being required to pool their own school supplies.

He is very pro-individual, and generally against government regulation of business. Some of his positions are a little strange. For example, he is in favor of legalizing drugs, but then goes nuts over people smoking tobacco. The last chapter "No Way In Hell", is a synopsis of his political positions, some workable, some probably not, some kind of silly....

Although I've never listened to Boortz' show (to my knowledge, it is not played in Southern California). I do listen to a lot of talk shows, and this book seems to be written in an in-your-face, loud talk show host style. While that might be fun while sitting in traffic, when I'm actually reading, I prefer the more academic style of writing, with citations, a bibliography, etc.

Mildly Amusing from a pea brain with a big mouth.......2007-08-29

If your a thinking person - intellectual, academic, progressive, you will probably look at this book as if were written by a highly opinionated eight grader. Boortz thinks he "drives liberals crazy" as his trademark jingle says, however he leaves me thinking that I just bought a book consisting of nothing but opinion without reason, logic, or rationale. This book is not analytical, coherent, convincing, discerning, inferential, perceptive, relevant, or even sensible. However IT IS entertaining.

Interesting.......2007-08-27

This book was very enjoyable and informative. Neal Boortz is a very entertaining author. He seems to be refreshingly unconcerned with what anyone else thinks, yet presented even the subjects on which I disagree with him in a way that didn't make me want to throw the book across the room. I particularly liked his solutions, placed at the end of the book and styled as a political platform, albeit not a likely one, due to the modern political atmosphere.

The only reason that I docked it a star was his "Reasons not to vote for..." section, in which the points are far too brief, and also not well thought out. As a brief example, he cited "Stem cell research" as a reason to not vote Republican. This is confusing, as it paints the issue far too broadly. There are different types of stem-cell research, most of which, as far as I know, Republicans have not openly or secretly opposed. In my opinion, therefore, the "Reasons not to vote for..." section should have been left out, and perhaps further researched for another book, in which the points could have been covered with at least a little more depth.

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America

Average customer rating:

RAISES QUESTIONS AND SHEDS LIGHT
Corporate Christo-Fascism's minds (and able-bodies) snatching
Very interesting reading.
STORM WARNING RED
Scary

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America
Chris Hedges
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743284437

Book Description

Twenty-five years ago, when Pat Robertson and other radio and televangelists first spoke of the United States becoming a Christian nation that would build a global Christian empire, it was hard to take such hyperbolic rhetoric seriously. Today, such language no longer sounds like hyperbole but poses, instead, a very real threat to our freedom and our way of life. In American Fascists, Chris Hedges, veteran journalist and author of the National Book Award finalist War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, challenges the Christian Right's religious legitimacy and argues that at its core it is a mass movement fueled by unbridled nationalism and a hatred for the open society.

Hedges, who grew up in rural parishes in upstate New York where his father was a Presbyterian pastor, attacks the movement as someone steeped in the Bible and Christian tradition. He points to the hundreds of senators and members of Congress who have earned between 80 and 100 percent approval ratings from the three most influential Christian Right advocacy groups as one of many signs that the movement is burrowing deep inside the American government to subvert it. The movement's call to dismantle the wall between church and state and the intolerance it preaches against all who do not conform to its warped vision of a Christian America are pumped into tens of millions of American homes through Christian television and radio stations, as well as reinforced through the curriculum in Christian schools. The movement's yearning for apocalyptic violence and its assault on dispassionate, intellectual inquiry are laying the foundation for a new, frightening America.

American Fascists, which includes interviews and coverage of events such as pro-life rallies and weeklong classes on conversion techniques, examines the movement's origins, its driving motivations and its dark ideological underpinnings. Hedges argues that the movement currently resembles the young fascist movements in Italy and Germany in the 1920s and '30s, movements that often masked the full extent of their drive for totalitarianism and were willing to make concessions until they achieved unrivaled power. The Christian Right, like these early fascist movements, does not openly call for dictatorship, nor does it use

physical violence to suppress opposition. In short, the movement is not yet revolutionary. But the ideological architecture of a Christian fascism is being cemented in place. The movement has roused its followers to a fever pitch of despair and fury. All it will take, Hedges writes, is one more national crisis on the order of September 11 for the Christian Right to make a concerted drive to destroy American democracy. The movement awaits a crisis. At that moment they will reveal themselves for what they truly are -- the American heirs to fascism. Hedges issues a potent, impassioned warning. We face an imminent threat. His book reminds us of the dangers liberal, democratic societies face when they tolerate the intolerant.

Customer Reviews:

RAISES QUESTIONS AND SHEDS LIGHT.......2007-10-03

This rather incredible piece of scholarship raised some interesting questions:

What created the Fundamentalist Movement, and from where did it derive it followers?
What created the NRA, and to what Christian sects do its members belong?
Why did a government "by the people and for the people" give itself a Constitutional Right to Bear Arms"? And who will decide when and where those arms will be used?
Can now extinct religious strife be incited among the American Christian sects, or will they turn on those who are inciting them to religious strife?
To what ideological categories do those who have progressively secularlized the laws and schools belong?
Did the Christian God ever give His followers the right to practice Human sacrifice?
Did this author deliberately confuse his fantasies with reality?
Why is an excellent education so often not a cure for ingraind ideological prejudices?
Why is the Human the only species that is religious?
Who is afraid of Christian cultures?
Why do scare mongering books sell more copies?
What finally turns cultural wars into civil wars?

For thoughtful Americans who are unfamiliarity with this kind of fascist-baiting by elements in some of the popular press and schools, that has been going for at least 40 years, it sheds light on the fascist-baiting mentality. Historically, fascist-baiting is much older than this: it goes on everytime there is a new Christian revivalist movement.

Corporate Christo-Fascism's minds (and able-bodies) snatching.......2007-10-02

Upon finishing authoritative Chris Hedges's book (it's true: his credentials are impeccable), I think of a vision: arson fire set to a huge cinema theatre crowded with people distraught with sitcoms and "American Idol" and the like. Someone cries "Fire! Get out of here! but nobody seem to move, or grasp the full significance of the words, or the menace that now is full real. I sincerely hope the audience wakes up in time, that they render this a mere fantasy of the WASP Fundamentalists, and the American Christian right is not snatching minds and wills to such an alarming extent through false prophets and a false warrior Christ.
I knew W. Bush was their born-again Christian. I didn't know he had created by decree... (well, you'll see in the notes). From the innards Hedges exposes the connivance between corporate America and the powerful Dominionist leaders who in turn have their people's hands into the US Constitution to accommodate it to their own ends. For decades they've had the Economic and Political means. Now they're bent on really winning the hearts and minds of an intellectually challenged population so they'll be useful in the war against nonbelievers, who are us all who do not, and will not, share their distorted views or approve their robbing reality from under the feet of so many unwitting people.
Among the impressive images there is the gathering in a desert resort of the New Class, the rich who will be raptured into Heaven (the poor are condemned, they're nonbelievers), and how they consort with the Catholic right and especially with Israeli representatives. Of course they have a racist hatred of Arabs, who they count as the main nonbelievers to righteously destroy. Really, if they read their Bibles literally, they would see that Arabs are descended from Ishmael, son of Abraham and Hagar, both of them thrown into the desert by Sarah's hurt pride so Isaac will be the heir. They will read also that God talks to Hagar, pledges protection for them and Ishmael's descendants. Therefore per the Bible and other sources, both peoples -Jews and Arabs- are semitic, having Abraham as their ultimate father, and anyone hating Arabs is also being anti-semitic. It woudl seem that Jews -who've had their huge portion of suffering themselves, especially poor Jews- have appropriated the name "semite" for themselves. Especially in "The New Class" is evident the upside down reality the American Fascists have created for their followers to live in, as compared to what the authentic Jesus Christ really taught as His doctrine. Never mind that the true Jesus, though a rabbi by right, made Himself one of the poorest in his homeland, and never had the refinement to pronounce "thou" or "thine", surely speaking in Aramaic as the language of the fishermen and peasants in Judea. Never mind that what Jesus taught in Judea was "A new commandment I give unto thee, that thou lovest..." (aw shucks). Again: "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love your neighbor just as you love yourselves." Christ never qualified what kind of neighbor, whether they should be white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, Black, yellow, brown, whatever. He just said the word translated into Latin and Spanish as "the one right next to you", i.e., "próximo" or "prójimo".
Using the tactics of a refined Scientology (I know, I lost a friend to that greedy "church" here in Mexico), only now taking advantage of deeper religious roots, the American Christian Right aspire to resurrect Lord God of Hosts in the mind of anyone having the disgrace to be approached in a moment of despair, and aspire to prepare them to aide in the ultimate Apocalypse, which they will have one way or the other. Unlike Scientology, darker and more evil goals are at play. They masterly bide their time in accordance to US's rulers' bellicous schemes, say an attack on the Middle East, and uncannily coordinate it with the race toward nuclear war. For this purpose they use every resource, even "museums" that, lacking sound scientific bases, are more like childish theme parks so that followers can feel they've had a spiritual "coming-of-age".
As for Mr. D. James Kenndy totally false notion (which I doubt even he believes) that Catholicism is no more than a "cult", please note that the true Christ taught first to the Jews to fulfill the prophecies, then to the Gentiles so that salvation could reach the most hidden corners of the Earth. Upon the creation of Christianity the Catholic church became its visible representative, it is from Catholicism's mother lode that Protestantism was born, and it is both faiths' teachings that now Messrs. Kennedy, Dobson, Robertson and the like take unashamed advantage of to create their lying, lucrative dogmas. Then they seek total war on unbelievers to boot. Having never witnessed war, I think how stupidly glib must be comments on war from people who've never been in a battlefield or a massacre, never have seen or touched dead bodies, felt or smelled fresh blood, or witnessed the authentic despair of the survivors, who for the rest of their lives will be encroached by the most extreme post-traumatic stress which will go untreated for as long as Empire-minded Christian right persists in their dreams of Rapture and Political and Religious supremacy. Has anyone reader even have a war nightmare? Being under sniper fire in Oaxaca? Being in the middle of the nastiest massacre in a hospital-school in a field in a Central-American impoverished country? May God wake up decent Americans that they may join forces of reason to revive the true prestige of the United States of America, that is, not being the Ultimate Imperialist Force, but the Philosophical and Ethical Beacon the US was once considered to be. Keep in mind that the authentic Christ came as a watershed separating Israeli primitive tribes' Lord God of Hosts from the Authentic Superior God of Love; love to your neighbor: the one right next to you, anyplace, anytime.
What's my vested interest in this as a Mexican and an American (as I live in the American continent)? With Benedict XVI as Pope, Catholicism is grossly regressing into the right with all the resulting injustice. The American Christian Right use Catholics as allies and despise them. As a semi-preserved Catholic who read her Bible since she was ten, I knew of the massacres that the people of Israel justified as mandated by the God Lord of Hosts, I witnessed how Christ sent His Apostles to go and teach; he didn't specify who to teach or not. He just said Go and Teach. Poor (nonbelievers) in my country are poorer than ever in large part due to US-advocated policies; foreign priests are sent our way to urge the poor to accept their plight and wait for Heaven. I'm sure they'll go right into Heaven as they have lived for so long in Hell. Even the richer classes should see the convenience of not letting the lower classes (in their own country or otherwise) fall lower. The former slave Frederick Douglass once said, " Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe." I doubt Bush know who Douglass was, but any USAmerican who dares go out of his/her bubble will see this is a reality wherever the American supremacists have trodden on justice on this Earth.
I for one would argue that religions divide; if the true Christ is one with God, then only the authentic God unites. And that is precisely what Fascists do not want.

Very interesting reading........2007-09-27

I heard Mr. Hedges on C-Span the first time I ever heard of him. I cannot remember if it was a review or reading of the book. But what he said made me interested enough to read the book. I found it was very interesting and solid writing.

STORM WARNING RED.......2007-09-22

Everyone concerned with the rising tide of fascism in America under the guise of Christian religious fervor should read this book. People who kill in the name of Jesus Christ are beyond the pale -- devoid of truth and reason. Hedges nails them to the cross they burden others with. The only caveat is that Hedges seems to be as befuddled about Christianity as the ersatz Christians he excoriates. Perhaps he spent too much time in theological cemeteries. Nonetheless, his warning is timely and should be well heeded.

Scary.......2007-09-12

The connection between the far religious right and the spector of authoritarian rule is made very clear in this book. The possibility of a "Christian" takeover in the name of God should be on everyone's list of worries, and yet it seems hard to imagine. At least before you read this book.

Mr. Hedges paints a picture of congregations that are well meaning, but manipulated politically by preachers and pastors who have a very strong committment to destroying any plurality of culture in America. By using their own words and appearances, the author presents us with the very real possibility that these people could take over the government and, by extention, our lives. Many of his examples of calls for a more authoratarian, Christian rule are from direct contacts at meetings and rallies.

Strident and seemingly angry, Hedges can be repetitive in places. But the theme of the book is too important to worry about these minor stylistic issues. They certainly didn't get in the way of my reading of the book.

If you believe the conservative movement could be taken over by the religious right or not, this is an important book to read. It presents a truely scary image of what might be and what we might do to protect our liberties, Christian or otherwise.

Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public

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VERY INTERESTING BOOK
What's going on in Washington DC?
A misleading title on a journalistic memoir
rambling, disjointed, biasd, personal, fun
Neither focused nor organized

Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public
Helen Thomas
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743267818

Book Description

In the course of more than sixty years spent covering Washington politics, Helen Thomas has witnessed a raft of fundamental changes in the way news is gathered and reported. Gone are the days of frequent firsthand contact with the president. Now, the press sees the president only at tightly controlled and orchestrated press conferences. In addition, Thomas sees a growing -- and alarming -- reluctance among reporters to question government spokesmen and probe for the truth. The result has been a wholesale failure by journalists to fulfill what is arguably their most vital role in contemporary American life -- to be the watchdogs of democracy. Today's journalists, according to Thomas, have become subdued, compromised lapdogs.

Here, the legendary journalist and bestselling author delivers a hard-hitting manifesto on the precipitous decline in the quality and ethics of political reportage -- and issues a clarion call for change. Thomas confronts some of the most significant issues of the day, including the jailing of reporters, the conservative swing in television news coverage, and the administration's increased insistence on "managed" news. But she is most emphatic about reporters' failure to adequately question President George W. Bush and White House spokesmen about the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, and on subjects ranging from homeland security to the economy. This, she insists, was a dire lapse.

Drawing on her peerless knowledge of journalism, Washington politics, and nine presidential administrations, as well as frank interviews with leading journalists past and present, Thomas provides readers with a rich historical perspective on the roots of American journalism, the circumstances attending the rise and fall of its golden age, and the nature and consequences of its current shortcomings. The result is a powerful, eye-opening discourse on the state of political reportage -- as well as a welcome and inspiring demand for meaningful and lasting reform.

Customer Reviews:

VERY INTERESTING BOOK.......2007-08-23

Helen Thomas has covered the White House since JFK and her insight into how the media has failed in the recent years to cover the White House and be the Watchdogs of Democracy is "Right on Point." There are very few "Real" Journalists like hardworking Helen Thomas around anymore!!

What's going on in Washington DC?.......2007-05-13

The lady in the red suit scores again with this cogent comment on the Washington press corps. Ms. Thomas, who pitches hardball questions during press conferences if she is allowed to do so, has very coherently and successfully produced a well-reasoned text about why the press corps failed the American people by not investigating the shenanigans surrounding the present administration. This is a necessary read for journalism students and probably for those interested history and political science.

A misleading title on a journalistic memoir.......2007-04-26

This book sorely disappointed me for two reasons. I strongly agree with the thesis of the title, that the media largely abandoned their important duty as watchdogs of democracy in the run-up to the War in Iraq, HOWEVER, this issue amounts to a grand total of ONE chapter in her entire book. The rest is a bunch of anecdotes tied loosely together. In fact, it reads more like an anthology than a unified work.

The second thing that disappointed me was also something of a shock: Helen Thomas, Grand Dame, Dean of the Washington Press Corps, is a lousy writer! I am serious. I read on average one or two political/nonfiction books a month, and this is one of the most poorly written I have read yet. Some of the books I have read are by "regular" people, some by pundits, and some by politicians. Nearly all of them write in a more interesting and engaging style than Mrs. Thomas. Her tone is often conversational at best, and her stories seem to be told as much to discuss presidents' interactions with the media as to tell you what an interesting career she has had.

I could not in good faith give it one star. It isn't horrible. It is just extremely disappointing.

rambling, disjointed, biasd, personal, fun.......2007-02-08

This is a rambling, disjointed, biased, personal account
of what should be an important public issue. The title
has a question mark, and the subtitle identifies the
culprit and makes an accusation. So how does "Watchdogs
of Democracy? The Waning Washington Press Corps and How
It Has Failed the Public" measure up? Not very well on
the subject, but better as a collection of snippets.

The foreword drones on and on for ten pages. Chapter 1
tells us Journalism is an honorable profession in
spite of Jayson Blair and a few others.
Chapter 2 mentions several scandals uncovered by the
press. Chapter 3 has anecdotes about presidents with
the press. Chapter 4 is about press secretaries.
Chapter 5 is about spinning the news.
Chapter 6 is about leakers and whistle blowers.
Chapter 7 admits that the news business is a business.
Chapter 8 complains about the FCC. Chapter 9 is
the subject of the book, the press as lapdogs.
Chapter 10 covers war correspondents, Iraq wars,
and Vietnam. Chapter 11 covers her choice of the
greatest American journalists. There is over 11
pages of closely spaced, double column index,
but no references.

Thomas seems to think there is little in Washington
except the White House. The other branches, and the
bureaus and departments are seldom mentioned.

Some Republicans will be bothered by some of her
attacks, and some Democrats will be delighted.
There are attacks, and both Democrats and Republicans
are the targets, perhaps in equal numbers, but they
are treated differently. Democrats tend to get the
passive voice and quirky little adjectives.
Republicans tend to get the active voice and
malicious adjectives. Bush 43 gets the worst
treatment.

Still, it is an entertaining book. The only time
I was tempted to put it down was Thomas quoting
herself giving a speech disguised as a question at
a White House Press Conference.

Neither focused nor organized.......2007-01-14

This book was clearly written for profit. Many sections of the book are only weakly connected back to the main theme and nowhere does Helen Thomas make her case-in-chief directly. Instead, the reader is treated to a series of vignettes which all too frequently bear only a tenuous relationship to one another and which make no effort to maintain continuity. While each chapter has a reasonably strong cohesion (though those boundaries frequently intersect in a way which would make any Venn diagram lover proud), they work together not as a fine Swiss watch, but instead more like a Rube Goldberg machine.
There is one theme which appears time-and-again: the idea that an objective and vigorous free press is a necessary part of democracy. This point is made consistently throughout the book from a cornucopia of different, albeit predicable, angles, and is artfully shown both implicitly and explicitly through excellent and enjoyable anecdotes accumulated during the author's sixty years as a White House correspondent. Unfortunately for the reader, her anecdotes frequently seem to be included for their value as self-platitudes rather than for intrinsic value or thematic attenuation. Also unfortunate is the inconvenient truth that Helen Thomas is no longer the type of reporter she praises, but the type she opines against: an opinion columnist.
There are certainly gems in the rough scattered throughout the 201 pages, but the author's tendency both to ramble and babble makes them difficult to find and detracts from their value. With regard to Thomas' periodic attempts a historical organization, her comments at the conclusion of chapter four are revealing: "There were other press secretaries and other spokespersons. I have mentioned only a few who stand out in my mind, for better or worse." Indeed, it seems she deemed fit to simply write down a train of thought as it occurred to her in the shower; that is to say, while not devoid of organization, the linking up of subjects is tenuous at best. Perhaps the most interesting and enjoyable aspect of Helen Thomas' writing style in this book is her robust use of vocabulary, which includes a scattering of excellent words on every page (some of which I even had to look up).

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900

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Water For Elephants
It's about dang time
Roberts updates Churchill, masterfully
Excellent Book
A well-meaning letdown

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900
Andrew Roberts
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060875984
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

In 1900, where Churchill ended the fourth volume of his History of the English-Speaking Peoples, the United States had not yet emerged onto the world scene as a great power. Meanwhile, the British Empire was in decline but did not yet know it. Any number of other powers might have won primacy in the twentieth century and beyond, including Germany, Russia, possibly even France. Yet the coming century was to belong to the English-speaking peoples, who successively and successfully fought the Kaiser's Germany, Axis aggression and Soviet Communism, and who are now struggling against Islamic fundamentalist terrorism.

Andrew Roberts brilliantly reveals what made the English-speaking people the preeminent political culture since 1900, and how they have defended their primacy from the many assaults upon them. What connects those countries where the majority of the population speaks English as a first language—the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies and Ireland—is far greater than what separates them, and the development of their history since 1900 has been a phenomenal success story.

Authoritative and engrossing, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900 is an enthralling account of the century in which the political culture of one linguistic world-grouping comprehensively triumphed over all others. Roberts's History proves especially invaluable as the United States today looks to other parts of the English-speaking world as its best, closest and most dependable allies.

Customer Reviews:

Water For Elephants.......2007-09-09

This 648 page book is a synopsis of historical events which have had impact by the English speaking peoples of America, Great Britian, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand from 1900 to present. Major events include WWI, WWII, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, The War on Terror, and the Iraq War. Andrew Roberts is a Londonite and neoconcervative apologist who gives a fresh perspective of these historical events that, unlike liberal revisionist history, portrays the the English speaking people in a light they deserve with recognition of their accomplishments, their sacrifices, their fortitude, their benevolence, and their leadership in protecting the world from fascism, communism, and Islamic radicalism. This refreshing perspective, which is a rare find amongst history books, along with an enticing writing style and brilliant diction made this book very enjoyable. I will frequently reference this work and re-read portions of it. Looking forward to more from this author.

It's about dang time.......2007-07-24

I finally got my hands on this book, and I will tell you all that it is glorious. None of the wishy-washy anti-British hollywood diatribe that was force fed to the globe in the nineteen nineties by Hollywood's anti-Protestant elite. If you want a book that tries to justify Irish nationalist baby murderers in Ulster or sympathizes with the claims of the openly fascist Argentine government of the early nineteen eighties, than look somewhere else. It's about time somebody stood up for John Bull and Uncle Sam, and I for one am proud to say this book lays a giant red, white and blue smackdown on all the nay-sayers, or anglophobes who would like to shoot it down.
Furthermore, many of the critics of this book love hyping on the fact that many Americans aren't of English or Scottish or Welsh decent. Well, no, many are not, but I am. My ancestry is Southern, and they got here from England four hundred years ago. This may not be the case for ALL Americans, but it is for those of us who were here making a country before all sorts of Johnny-come-latelies decided to show up and slander the Mother Country with all of their stereotyping and leftist bashing of England's international acheivements. This book does not gloss over the glory of any of the the Sister Nations to which it refers, it does not make apologies or exceptions, and frankly, it is about dang time that a book like this came out. God Bless America and God Bless England.

Roberts updates Churchill, masterfully.......2007-06-19

The conception of this book, Roberts tells us, was born from a desire to see Churchill's H.O.T.E.S.P's updated. Roberts haughtily delegated the task to himself, then improbably pulled it off with consummate skill.

One of the things I tend to dislike about big general histories--lovable things in themselves--is that they skimp on analysis and thus, notwithstanding their lovely narratives, fail to explode those specious counter-narratives that give all who care about historical accuracy and sound judgment the shakes. This book has both the proper narrative and the analytical explosiveness, making it a ripping read as well as a veritable artillery barrage of insight, a new weapon for sane souls and a new devastation for adversaries. Willmoore Kendall, after reading Richard Weaver's Ideas Have Consequences, nominated him for "the captaincy of the anti-liberal team." In this age of obsessions with minutiae, where arguments tend to boil down to fabricating ingenious connections between detail-dots, it is very important to have another captain who can play the detail game and play it better and more honorably. Roberts is hereby nominated for captaincy of the anti-barbarism team.

Many people will be fooled by the stridency of people like myself and those opposite me who loudly hail or denounce this book. Don't let either of us confuse you. Roberts is no demagogue, and he is eminently fair to people who deserve fairness--for example, he concludes of FDR's social experimentation, "the New Deal worked;" and his re-interpretation of Wilson as not-half-as-deluded-as-Paul-Johnson-and-most-other-conservatives-would-have-us-think should be refreshing to anyone; his evaluation of the Churchill-could-have-stopped-Hitler-had-the-appeasers-not-bollocksed-it-up line is unsettling but eye-opening, as is his measured judgment of Chamberlain; his unwillingness to bow to rabid anti-imperialism could be said to be merely a willingness to examine the facts, and he is not, despite what his critics sometimes charge, a risible "triumphalist;" and alas, his reading of the policies that got us into the (now proverbial) "Situation-In-Iraq" as rooted in old traditions is not a fanatical "neocon" chestnut, as Josef Joffe (realist) and John Lewis Gaddis (liberal), among others, have made substantially the same case. Overall, Roberts' argument is simple and modest: that the English-Speaking Peoples have, taken as a collective whole, done better (not PERFECTLY, not FLAWLESSLY, not BLAMELESSLY) for the world than any other great power, and that this is demonstrable so far as such things can be demonstrated. It is up to the reader whether he wants to apply a normative criterion as goofy as Chomsky's quasi-Kantianism or Zinn's (let's be honest) inept Marxism to the study of history, but Roberts applies a more tangible standard: material improvements coupled with preservation of and respect for, as Thomas Sowell likes to say, "the intangibles without which the tangibles don't work" (virtue, freedom, honor, prestige, etc.). Truth is not always stranger than fiction--Zinn's "People's Histories" are surely way-out-there compared to real histories--nonetheless, truth is often more exciting and bracing than fiction. Thus Roberts' book blows your hair back; Zinn's is a sedative by comparison.

It ought to be said, in conclusion, that there is nothing "triumphalist" about not obsessively citing ten debits for every one credit given to the English speaking peoples, which method of moral accounting is today called "balance." Orwell would have a field day with this nonsense, but Roberts holds his own and handles it with grace and not a shred of bitterness. That used to be called magnanimity. Churchill had it. Roberts has it. The English speaking peoples have it, oftener than not. With this book, we continue to ensure that it stays that way.

Excellent Book.......2007-06-17

This is an excellent book. I also bought a copy for a friend, something that I do less often anymore. If you like history and want a good synopsis of the 20th century, try this. Yes, it is somewhat opinionated, but it isn't blatant about it. It is a larger book than it might appear to be -- it might take some time to finish. Although it does have some more difficult words, it is easy to gather their meaning from the context. It certainly generates an enlightened appreciation for those that protect us. Worth reading.

A well-meaning letdown.......2007-06-16

A previous Amazon reviewer compared this book to Paul Johnson's classic "Modern Times", to which I respond: we should only have been so lucky. Roberts' robust defense of the English-speaking nations' actions during the 20th century is refreshingly free of the "guilt complexes" that befoul many trendy historical narratives, but it sorely lacks the narrative "spine" of Johnson's seminal work. Roberts freely admits that his book is more of a grab-bag of anecdotes than a continuous narrative, but he fails to follow the first rule of anyone engaged in such selective cherry-picking: GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT. A multitude of mistakes, both large and small, tend to undercut Roberts' arguments (such as they are). The book is also inconsistent in its treatment of the English-speaking peoples. The U.S., Britain, the Anzac nations, and even Ireland get plenty of attention, but Roberts seems to have forgotten about Canada along the way, saying very little about postwar Canadian politics and culture. Roberts is a needed voice of reason and intellectual honesty, and I hope that he will follow up this disappointing work with a more coherent version covering the same basic material, but I'm afraid that this was an opportunity missed.

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future

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If You Care for the Earth
Useful Inefficiencies
Turbines and Prayer Wheels
Quite a scary future
Growing Smaller

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
Bill McKibben
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0805076263
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Book Description

In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. For the first time in human history, he observes, more is no longer synonymous with better -- indeed, for many of us, they have become almost opposites. McKibben puts forward a new way to think about the things we buy, the food we eat, the energy we use, and the money that pays for it all. Our purchases, he says, need not be at odds with the things we truly value. McKibbens animating idea is that we need to move beyond growth as the paramount economic ideal and pursue prosperity in a more local direction, with cities, suburbs, and regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. He shows this concept blossoming around the world with striking results, from the burgeoning economies of India and China to the more mature societies of Europe and New England. For those who worry about environmental threats, he offers a route out of the worst of those problems; for those who wonder if there isnt something more to life than buying, he provides the insight to think about ones life as an individual and as a member of a larger community. McKibben offers a realistic, if challenging, scenario for a hopeful future. As he so eloquently shows, the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.

Customer Reviews:

If You Care for the Earth.......2007-09-29

This book is a must for anyone who wants to make a change to save the earth. The author has insight and experience about how our present course of living will lead to the destruction of the world as we know it. It's real, but there is hope and Mr McKibben shares that hope with the reader.

Useful Inefficiencies.......2007-08-29

McKibben is one of our best modern thinkers on environmentalism and conservation, ever since debuting with his classic "The End of Nature" in 1989. In this new book he has largely tackled mainstream economic theory and how it has inflicted worldwide damage on the environment and on human communities. Standard development economics suffers from an unyielding focus on efficiencies and consumption, but this more often than not leads to widespread damage and unhappiness. Planners and politicians focus obsessively on per capita utility and efficiency, and vehemently disdain anything that may reduce efficiency for some individuals but may very well improve communities and the planet. McKibben's great contribution here is his coverage of new studies of human happiness. Especially in America, we have passed the point of gaining any more happiness from increased consumption of things, and we have become largely unhappy over the ensuing loss of community and nature. A new worldwide understanding of how economics really works has become imperative - more is no longer better.

McKibben has located many useful examples around the world of communities practicing new sustainable development strategies with demonstrated benefits for all involved. Unfortunately, the areas in which such great things are happening have particular political and economic conditions that make such experiments beneficial (including the American location McKibben covers most often - politically distinctive rural Vermont). The underlying flaw in this book is that McKibben must resort to pretty wishful idealism when applying these local success stories to the world economic system. A related problem is that the second half of the book, where the rubber should be meeting the road in realistically applying the local to the global, largely degenerates into repetitive descriptions of benefits in lieu of real prescriptions for change. However, McKibben definitely deserves credit for explaining in an accessible way all the tragic flaws of mainstream economic theory (see the books and articles he cites for the real lowdown), and it's about time us regular folks resisted the power players - for the benefit of ourselves and our larger community. [~doomsdayer520~]

Turbines and Prayer Wheels.......2007-08-06

This is a wonderful book that swings your emotions from despair to joy and back. I marveled over the story of the village of Gorasin in Bangladesh where the people said no to pesticides after living with their devastating effects and the village has become an organic oases. That is the theme of the book, communities with members from near or far working together to make lives better.

McKibben mentions Heifer International, one of my favorite organizations, and their impact on one man in China with the donation of 48 rabbits and lots of technical advice and the wave of change in his community because of his successful rabbit enterprise.

A group called Future Generations trained some villagers in Tibet and the villagers devised and installed a system that carried water "through a series of split-bamboo pipes, and then through a turbine that used the dynamo from a junked car. A hydrology expert could have helped them build a more efficient system, but all the locals knew how to repair this setup."".....(Also, the hydrology expert might not have thought to use the water pouring out of the turbine to spin a prayer wheel.)"

World community - helping local people meld the old and the new.

But, McKibben asserts, it is time for the haves of the world to share more than knowledge, it is time to cut back on what we use. "Most obviously, if the rich world began making less extreme demands on the planet, poor countries would have more physical margin to work with - a little slack. ...If we Americans can use less coal and gas and oil, we'll in effect free some of the atmosphere to absorb the carbon that the poor world must emit to meet basic needs."

There is so much more in this book to ponder and act on, put it high on your reading list.

Quite a scary future.......2007-07-23

Wow, makes me want to move to Vermont and become an organic farmer. I found this book to bring up some very good points about our current unsustainable economic situation. Over the past 300 years we have created an economic "machine" based on efficiency and production that will be very hard to change intentionally. McKibben offers some ideas on what the new New Deal will need to be if we want to continue a sustainable economy, which includes taking everything back to a local scale. Food, work, consumer goods need to develop inside the community where one lives. Less efficiency, more community and "neighborliness". It's a great idea. I just wonder if people will choose this before the collapse of our current system or try to figure something out after it's too late. I pesimistically think the latter.

Growing Smaller.......2007-07-11

The main premise of this book is that the local economy is the deeper economy. Thus the healthier and wealthier community. Bill McKibben hardly ever deals in the abstract, rather he is constantly giving examples and providing illustrations of how this type of economy gets practiced locally. He describes the little experiments of living locally . . . such as one winter how he canned all of his food ahead of time and only ate things within a local radius. His goal is to make a connection between the local community and the economy. He spends a good portion of his time sharing about the relationships he has formed in his quest to shop and consume on a local scale. Consequently, the value of relationships in driving and sustaining a healthy economy are focused on a lot. It's not some over-romanticized look back into the past and the way things used to be. Rather it's an imaginative redreaming of how one can exist both in urban and suburban settings at a local level, valuing relationships and health over fast and easy. The book is extremely insightful and a moderately easy read. And well worth it.

A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every American Should Know about Mitt Romney

Average customer rating:

A Mormon in the White House
A Mormon in the White House
A Political Advertisement - Nothing More
I LUV THE GOV.
good book about great candidate

A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every American Should Know about Mitt Romney
Hugh Hewitt
Manufacturer: Regnery Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Mormon Way of Doing Business: Leadership and Success Through Faith and Family
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ASIN: 159698502X

Book Description

A Mormon in the White House? is the first book on Mitt Romney, his unusual faith story, and his viability as a Republican presidential nominee. Inside are exclusive interviews with the governor, his family, and closest associates, mixed with candid conversations with some of the country's shrewdest political observers and Christian leaders. Radio host and blogger Hugh Hewitt sets out to explain Romney, his faith, and the importance of that debate in a headline-making and election-shaping opening shot in the campaign before the campaign.

Customer Reviews:

A Mormon in the White House.......2007-09-16

This is one of the best books I have ever read since I have been studying about the candidates for 2008 President. Mitt's qualifications are excellent except the concern of his religious background. This book helps me to recognize him as a human being-- a noble citizen, just like anyone else in the country. I love this book. It gives a very specific explanations about Mitt. I highly recommend every American read this book if he/she really cares about the future of his/her country.

A Mormon in the White House.......2007-09-04

An excellent insight into the man running for President, his character and his qualifications. It is very positive presentation. Before discounting this candidate, every voter should read this book.

A Political Advertisement - Nothing More.......2007-08-30

A far more interesting book would be the Top Ten political issues Mitt has flip-flopped on to win the Republican nomination (granted, it may be difficult to narrow the list down to 10!).

A smart and slick politician, Mitt Romney is.
A man of principles and integrity, Mitt Romney ain't.

I LUV THE GOV........2007-08-29

Absolutely! And so does my mom.

I once said, I don't love the Gov, when I lived in Massachusetts for 13 years. I have since changed my views 180 degrees. The transformation has come about gradually and no one has tried to change my previous affiliation through argument. When Romney says Massachusetts is a blue state, I can verify that he is telling you the absolute truth!

A few years before I moved to Georgia, I met with others in my community about a local business that I had had dealings and was terribly upset, wanted to join others in speaking out, etc. The business was in Belmont, the town where Mitt Romney and his family live. I said something negative about him and a gentleman who was sympathetic to my grievances said simply that he was a good man and that he had done a lot for the community, the schools, one of his children knew one of his kids, but he didn't try to coerce me or argue and the subject was changed. That sort of response had a big impact on my thinking. I think back on that a lot. I could 'count the ways' for you of how I have come to the conclusion that I will not vote for a Democrat for President in 2008, but the real icing on the cake has happened since I moved to Georgia. Frankly, the Democrats scare me these days what with Jimmy Carter's racially provocative book titled Peace, Not Aparteid implying the embattled, bloodied jews are racist, etc. etc. and finally Nancy Pelosi getting cozy with the most rabid terrorist regimes in the Mideast. Those two let fly the foulest, foul balls, that any truly American umpire would not only end the inning, but end the game.

The world is too dangerous right now to have such delicate matters as terrorism and peace be influenced by people whose motivation is political power and front page photos and news interviews. The Hank Aaron home run for me for the Republicans and Mitt Romney in particular was a few years back when I either heard or read that Mitt Romney was good friends with Benjamin Netanyahu. I thought they went to school together, but actually Romney was studying at Harvard getting his MBA/JD degree while Netanyahu was at MIT studying architecture.

This book is written by a christian friend of Romney's and, of course, is written to influence votes and so is biased in that regard. However, my mother and myself have not really heard anything out of Romney's mouth to make us uneasy, and the more we hear and see him speak, the more impressed we are of him. He is quietly confident and is inspiring. He has made his millions turning companies around and getting them to succeed financially and not by playing the stock market and thereby forcing companies to fold.

I was surprised and pleased by the interviews the author had with two doctorate in theology students who reasoned why a christian could vote for a Mormon who's theology is a bit off. To me, he has lived what he believes, and in my mind, has lived the christian life as Christ taught. His record is spotless, and I'm convinced he could handle the Presidency. My mother always has commented on how that job takes a toll on whoever has it. You can see how they age so much in four years, and Bush these days looks pretty bushed. He's had a rough time with this congress.

Anyway, I do love the Gov and do your homework. I'm going to this time around and expect to see some more reviews from me about Giuliani and McCain and maybe Thompson. I consider myself now an independent!

good book about great candidate.......2007-08-29

Hewitt if fair and balanced in his analysis of Mitt Romney's candidacy. The book is about more than just Mormonism, it addresses many of Romney's strengths and weaknesses as we approach these upcoming elections. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about Mitt Romney

No Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight

Average customer rating:

Slogan Slinging Slop
Zero Stars is more likely!
The side of the story you don't hear
Delay retreated AND surrendered
No Retreat, No Surrender

No Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight
Tom DeLay , and Stephen Mansfield
Manufacturer: Sentinel HC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1595230343
Release Date: 2007-03-14

Book Description

The candid memoir of one of the most effective, controversial figures in modern politics

Very few people are on the fence about Tom DeLay, who was nicknamed "the Hammer" for his hard-charging, take-no-prisoners style of leadership. Liberals despise him, but for conservatives he's a hero—one of the architects of the 1994 Republican revolution. For twelve years afterward, he was the driving force of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

In this eagerly awaited memoir, DeLay will share fascinating stories from his entire career, starting with his early, raucous days in Texas; his personal conversion to Christ and how that changed his personal and political life; his work with other rebels to sow the seeds of the shocking 1994 takeover; and his ascension to the top leadership in the House. He offers a behind-the-scenes view of the most talked-about stories of the past decade, involving George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and many others.

DeLay will also discuss his victories against the odds with the slimmest of margins; his passionate dedication to abused and neglected children; and his battle to fend off a ten-year barrage of malicious and frivolous allegations of wrongdoing, which ultimately led to his decision to resign from Congress.

Perhaps most importantly, DeLay will unveil a blueprint agenda for the country's next group of elected leaders, and show conservatives how to make it a reality.

Customer Reviews:

Slogan Slinging Slop.......2007-09-30

I picked this book up on a whim at my local library. I had read a couple of politically oriented books at that time, one from a moderate republican's perspective and another from a more liberal perspective, so I thought it would be interesting to get insight into the thinking of the modern conservative.

I'm sure there are good intellectual arguments for the core principles of the modern conservative movement (on a surface level I tend to agree with a good number of them), but don't look for them in this book--they aren't there. While Mr. DeLay does list the core principles of the conservative movement from his perspective, he doesn't discuss them on an intellectual level. Instead, he resorts to the type of sloganeering that infects so much of our modern political discourse (convervatives and liberals alike).

Mr. DeLay starts by sharing his experience on a layover in Havana in 1959. He attributes the nasty treatment his family endured as leftist tyranny and asserts that liberalism in the US is just a precursor to the same thing. From there DeLay states what seem to be at the core of his belief system: "There is a God and...there is absolute moral truth" followed by "Human life is not about the state but about God and his unfolding will for every individual."

In the second chapter Mr. DeLay lists his political manifesto. It starts with his religious beliefs followed with some issue-specific agendas (e.g. abortion should be illegal, we should abolish certain government agencies, Congress should be able to overule the Supreme Court, etc). There wasn't any discussion, just a list.

Like many politicians at both extremes, Mr. DeLay's actions in congress at times violated his own principles when the outcome of an issue didn't suit him. For example, on page 5 Mr. DeLay says that state and local governments that are closest to the people have the greatest authority to shape their lives. In the case of Terri Shiavo, however, Mr. DeLay was eager to usurp the authority of the state government when the court upheld, after years and years of appeals, that the feeding tube should be removed from Terri Shiavo. A look at Mr. DeLay's voting record shows many instances of him voting on legislation in ways to contradict his stated core principles. Mr. DeLay seems to be a "the end justifies the means" kind of thinker.

Mr. DeLay makes some self-assessments in his book that I think were pretty accurate. He says that he isn't particularly introspective, he says he isn't an "idea" person, he states that he isn't very articulate, and he indicates he is a slow learner. I found myself agreeing with all of those statements when I finished the book.

The best part of this book was Mr. DeLay's description of how he worked the system to get legislation passed. Unfortunately it wasn't very detailed. I followed up my reading of the book with some wikipedia reading on the subject and got much more useful information.

The rest of the book rarely rises above sloganeering: liberals are evil people who want to take away our freedoms and destroy America. I can't recommend this book to liberals who are interested in understanding the intellectual underpinnings of modern conservative thought, and I can't recommend the book for conservatives either--they've heard the slogans before just like everyone else. I can, however, recommend the book as an example of the way shallow thinking and use selective evidence has distorted our political system. While this book is an example from the Right, there are plenty of examples from the Left too.

In the end, I'm glad I didn't spend money on it, but I'm disappointed I wasted time on it.

Zero Stars is more likely!.......2007-09-23

What a piece of worthless flotsum. Those that would part with the money to read this are probably of the mindset to enjoy it but for the rest it is simplistic, mind-numbing gibberish written by a man adept in pandering to the defective. I picked it up at a local library, curious if he had any insights- he doesn't!

The side of the story you don't hear.......2007-08-27

This book is an interesting read, detailing DeLay's life and accomplishments. Naturally there are those who hate him, but very few seem willing to give him the same benefit of the doubt that Democrats regularly seem to receive. Whether you like him or not, whether you think he is guilty or not, I would at least recommend taking the time to read his side of the story. For those who are really interested in knowing the WHOLE story, this book is for you.

Delay retreated AND surrendered.......2007-08-14

This book from the guy who RESIGNED his office in disgrace, handed his leadership post to the democrats, and ran away from Texas.

No Retreat, No Surrender.......2007-08-11

Tom Delay truly explains how washington works--for better and, unfortunately, for the worst. It's really a shame that going to D.C. seems to ruin even the best people.

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