Average customer rating:
- Kept my Interest
- What's With the Cartoon Characters??
- "Right now seemed a good time to end her collection of lost chances" (2.5 stars)
- Amateurish
- Go Along For the Ride....
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The Collectors
David Baldacci
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ASIN: 044653109X
Release Date: 2006-10-17 |
Book Description
People are dropping dead in Washington, D.C. First the Speakerof the House falls victim to a hitman in a carefully orchestrated murder infront of dozens of the city's power elite. Next, the director of theLibrary of Congress's Rare Books Room dies in a book vault, but no oneknows how. Caleb Shaw, Camel Club member, nearly falls victim, too. Acrossthe country, a gifted con woman assembles an A-list team to pull off one ofthe most audacious scams ever, against one of the most dangerous men in theworld. When the worlds of Washington and the elite con collide head-on, theCamel Club finds itself teamed with a person they don't really trust butwhose skill helps them unravel a secret that threatens to bring America toits knees.
Customer Reviews:
Kept my Interest.......2007-10-02
A collector of lost chances; a collector of a personal item from each of his murder victims. The Speaker of the House is murdered; the Director of the Library of Congress Rare Books dies suddenly; his neighbor is shot dead; a skilled con artist pulls off a big-time con on an Atlantic City casino owner. The Camel Club guys (yes, this is a sequel of sorts) and others get into big trouble. This skillfully told story comes together neatly and leaves the door wide open for the continuing saga. There's plenty of action, and it's well-written. My review cannot do it justice...buy the book.
What's With the Cartoon Characters??.......2007-10-02
I've read every book Baldacci has published (well, at least the ones that have made it to paperback) and loved them all up until The Camel Club. It struck me while reading The Collectors this past week that the characters in this book are about as well developed as cartoon characters. Too many unbelievable people doing unbelievably stupid things to be taken seriously. Bagger is the worst of these, but all of the characters are extremely flawed. This goes to a large extent for The Camel Club book also, although it is not quite as egregious there. The whole setup of the four main characters strains any semblance of believability.
This has not been the case with the previous books I've read of his, and is very much a disappointment. I understand that fiction is by its very nature not true, but I prefer fiction that has the depth that allows me to believe it could be true. The Camel Club series fails this test miserably.
Hopefully this is not a turn of events that infects his other non-Camel Club output. While I will continue to buy his books in the future, The Camel Club series is off my list.
"Right now seemed a good time to end her collection of lost chances" (2.5 stars).......2007-09-29
I had a great time reading "The Camel Club" and I was looking forward to this new book featuring four unusual but engaging characters. Sadly, this novel's quality does not even come close to most of Baldacci's other efforts. There are two main plots that come together midway through the book, and while one of these is enthralling and fast-paced, the other one bores us to death.
Annabelle is a witty and seasoned con artist, and she is putting together a team to try to pull-off a series of cons that would make them millionaires, and at the same time provide her with a long-expected revenge. This story is fun and engaging, with well-crafted and clever cons that lead us to read non-stop and leave us wanting to know what will come next. Meanwhile, the Camel Club gets involved in a situation consisting of the murder of the Speaker of the House and the head of the rare books division at the Library of Congress. This is where Baldacci goes awry, with a story that drags its feet and characters that do not come even close to being as interesting as they were when we first met them. Sadly, when the two story lines connect, the quality remains at the level of the Camel Club portion of the plot.
A contrived ploy, with spies and complex motives for murder do not salvage this novel. The only reason why it gets 2.5-stars is because of the parts having to do with Annabelle and her team, since the story there is really outstanding. There is one other thing that bothered me. One of the main uncertainties from the story was left unresolved, and the book ended in something resembling a cliff-hanger. Usually, when I read a novel I expect to have the main plot lines come to some sort of conclusion, and Baldacci, in an effort to sell his next book, pulls a trick on us. I would not recommend this book unless you have already read "The Camel Club" and want to know what happened to the characters. But even if you fall into this category, beware: you are not going to find exactly what you seek.
The Camel Club
Amateurish.......2007-09-27
I don't believe I've ever returned a paperback for a refund before, but about half-way through this book, I couldn't force myself to face another page. The writing is about on par with a 1940's cliff-hanger serial, and the characters as believable. I can't imagine what the intended audience might be.
I give it two stars, instead of one, because I hold out some hope that the story might have been interesting if I had been willing to wade through the amateurish writing to the end.
Go Along For the Ride...........2007-09-27
I didn't realize this was a sequel when I picked it up, but it didn't matter. "The Collectors" was supurbly written, the characters fully developed and the plot twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last sentence...what a great book! Baldacci takes the reader on a wild ride, from a fascinating intricately-concocted long con in Atlantic City to a murder/espionage plot in DC, with never a dull moment. (I almost missed my subway stop on more than one occasion, because I was so curious what would happen next and literally could not put the book down).
Thankfully, the next installment -"Stone Cold" - will be available in November, '07!
I HIGHLY recommend this book not only for Baldacci fans, and fans of this genre, but for all readers interested in a great, quick/easy read that is chock full of excitement, intrigue and adventure!
Amazon.com
John Perkins started and stopped writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man four times over 20 years. He says he was threatened and bribed in an effort to kill the project, but after 9/11 he finally decided to go through with this expose of his former professional life. Perkins, a former chief economist at Boston strategic-consulting firm Chas. T. Main, says he was an "economic hit man" for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business. "Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars," Perkins writes. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is an extraordinary and gripping tale of intrigue and dark machinations. Think John Le Carré, except it's a true story.
Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn't afford. The loans were given on condition that construction and engineering contracts went to U.S. companies. Often, the money would simply be transferred from one bank account in Washington, D.C., to another one in New York or San Francisco. The deals were smoothed over with bribes for foreign officials, but it was the taxpayers in the foreign countries who had to pay back the loans. When their governments couldn't do so, as was often the case, the U.S. or its henchmen at the World Bank or International Monetary Fund would step in and essentially place the country in trusteeship, dictating everything from its spending budget to security agreements and even its United Nations votes. It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its "empire" at the expense of Third World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that's not surprising considering the life he's led. --Alex Roslin
Book Description
The runaway bestseller that has generated a major movie deal—and an international dialogue—with over 170,000 copies sold in hardcover and seven weeks on the New York Times list
“Economic hit men,” John Perkins writes,” are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as Empire but one that has taken on terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.”
John Perkins should know—he was an economic hit man for an international consulting firm that worked to convince developing countries to accept enormous loans and to funnel that money to U.S.corporations. Once these countries were saddled with huge debts, the American government and international aid agencies were able to request their “pound of flesh” in favors, including access to natural resources, military cooperation, and political support.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is the story of one man's experiences inside the intrigue, greed, corruption and little-known government and corporate activities that America has been involved in since World War II, and which have dire consequences for the future of democracy and the world.
“[A] gripping tell-all book.”—The Rocky Mountain News
“Astonishing.”—Boston Herald
“This riveting look at a world of intrigue reads like a spy novel . . . Highly recommended.”— Library Journal
“Here are the real-life details—nasty, manipulative, plain evil—of international corporate skullduggery spun into a tale rivaling the darkest espionage thriller.”—Greg Palast, author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Customer Reviews:
A human story about change of heart, not just economics.......2007-10-02
John Perkins, a man who has written mostly about his experiences with shamanism and only eluded to his "dark side", now comes clean in this eye-opening expose of how real people are paid to destroy countries economies in order to create wealth for the elite. But more than anything, this book for me is about one man's conversion experience - from selling his soul to the highest bidder (even while studying with indigenous shamans) to facing the human and environmental consequences of his actions. Eventually, he changed his life and stepped into the full potential of his heart.
Despite the harsh reality Perkin's truth-telling offers, this book is inspirational in that it proves that anyone can change from a life of greed and domination to one of kindness and compassion. I highly recommend his previous books (such as Shapeshifting) which speak to his spiritual awakenings and the role of indigenous people's teachings in leaving the Hit Man life behind.
Viewing America's Global Empire from the Trenches.......2007-10-01
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man presents the experiences of John Perkins, while working as an Economic Hit Man (EHM)- although he was officially titled as an economist, essentially cheerleading foreign loans to third world countires as a means of economic development, although as Perkins claims, is was expected that the third world nations would never actually achieve the growth levels to allow them to pay off the loans.
All of this was done to both line the pockets of multi-national construction firms, primarily U.S.-based, as well as lead to the expansion of the United States "Global Empire".
While I find Perkins' writing a bit preachy, and his views somewhat a "holier-than thou" attitude, as it comes to his statements that he foresaw the ramifications of his work "doctoring" economic forecasts, the book is an interesting book that did make me consider a number of events on the international stage that I had previously considered chance happenings.
I think the time spent reading Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, is time well spent.
Self-Serving Drivel.......2007-09-25
Perkins was an economic hit man, acting as a consultant who helped strong arm less developed countries into being saddled with debt they would be unable to pay. This strategy enriches American companies, and makes indebted countries obligated to serve US interests. In doing so, poor people become more impoverished, sensitive ecosystems are destroyed, and future generations suffer.
All the while Perkins created inflated economic forecasts to justify irresponsible lending by the World Bank and other financial behemoths, he claims to have felt guilty. Guilty all the way to his bank...
To assuage his guilt, he tries to equate how the general population benefits from lower prices based upon the work he has done, making us all his moral equivalent.
[...]
Perkins has a story to tell. His constant whining about his feelings, while getting richer and taking bribes throughout many decades, sickens me.
He should tell his story, and let his actions speak for his feelings. [...]
Economic hit man.......2007-09-21
The book starts out with speciifc strong facts. However, towards the end it becomes significantly weaker and less convincing. Overall wothwhile reading, as long as you do not believe every word.
Over inflated, self-serving memoirs of a mediocre consultant.......2007-09-19
Oh, god. The stories move so slowly. They're watered down with so much description of how pathetic, filthy, sick, poor, but intelligent people are in the third world. The book is a constant iteration of doing work he was paid for, feeling guilty for his actions, then self justifying his work to himself.
He is constantly stating that this neo-colonialism was not a conspiracy, but a fraternity of people working together. What's the difference? At first blush you agree with him, but if you think about it, they are one in the same.
This is a case of someone looking at the glass as half empty. He worked for a company that wanted to maximize its revenues. Now he chooses to see where the revenue was coming from and feel bad. I was a consultant for a long time too. Only I sold my services to the likes of Sallie Mae, AT&T, Credit Suisse, and Wachovia. Do I feel guilty? No, but you could argue I was taking advantage of a need they perceived to have at the time. It is how business works.
Don't get suckered in by the authors claims, they are unsubstantiated and could be debated until the end of time. History serves the interpretation of it's author.
Book Description
Conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, 2001 continue to spread. Now, in a meticulous, scientific and groundbreaking new book, Popular Mechanics puts these rumors to rest. The magazine’s editors analyze the 20 most persistent claims underlying 9/11 conspiracy theories—and conclusively disprove each one. The result is a triumph of hard fact over conspiratorial fantasy.
Customer Reviews:
hey.......2007-09-20
so i haven't read the book, i will tell you that, but i think it's funny how John McCain helped write it. That guy needs to be off the balot and in jail for sure. Not all CT's are crazy either. They are family memebers who didn't get a proper investigation from the gov't. The Gov't doesn't care about them or the investigation and they call it a horrible attack on America. Bin Laden isn't even wanted for it. He i wanted for bombing in 198 or something on an american embassy killing maybe 200.
Anyway, read "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" wesome "truther" book
Propaganda and a waste of money. .......2007-09-20
Buy a copy of Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin before buying this pack of lies. You can save your time and money and learn what Popular Mechanics says and OMITS in building their case against the truth. Hearst Publishing is still in the business of propaganda. Wake Up.
Reads like propaganda.......2007-09-14
I wish just once somebody would publish an objective book or collection of writings about this topic. The afterward is particularly insulting to the millions of concerned citizens with legitimate questions. Anyone can see that this book was written with an agenda. If this book doesn't give you ammo for you hate-spewing debunking arsenal, it might actually convince you that there are suspicious circumstances to consider.
Junk Science.......2007-08-29
This analysis doesn't even rise to the level of being wrong. You don't have to be a structural engineer to know that a steel-framed building cannot "pancake" at free-fall speed. You don't have to be a metallurgist to know that jet fuel won't leave pools of molten metal weeks after the fire is out. If you cherry-pick your "facts" you can make Stalin look like a boy scout or Mother Theresa look like the devil. This book starts with the conclusion and then tries to prove it. If you want an analysis that starts with the facts and works towards a logical conclusion, try any (or all) of David Ray Griffin's books.
Hint: don't drink fluoridated water........2007-08-24
I really wanted to fall for the "Official" fairytale. Sorry. Anyone who read this steaming terd and didn't find it insulting to their intelligence must be jacked up on fluoride. Do you know Prozac is 97% sodium fluoride? Do you know Hitler used it to sterilize and dumb down people? Do you know it is toxic waste from nuke power plants and aluminum production? You DO know your government puts it in YOUR water supply and toothpaste? Tell you what, figure out how MINOR structural damage and jet fuel pulverizes tons of concrete and EVERYTHING inside these giant skyscrapers into a fine dust before it can hit the ground, each with 47 welded and riveted massive core columns (approx 2/3 of its footprint!) Spraying sheitloads of human bone fragments atop the many adjacent buildings only to be discovered and reported years later and I will forget all about the bazillion lies, scandals and "coincidences", the complete failure of NORAD. Better stop, too much too list. Get a frikkin' clue retards, this is a cover-up hit piece AND do some homework to discover who owns Popular Mechanics Magazine. Better yet, buy the books of the great scholar David Ray Griffin instead, he easily destroys these brownshirt bootlickers using simple and sound logic.
Book Description
By virtue of his previous four books on the subject, David Ray Griffin is widely recognized as one of the leading spokespersons of the 9/11 truth movement, which rejects the official conspiracy theory about 9/11. Although this movement was long ignored by the US government and the mainstream media, recent polls have shown that (as Time magazine has acknowledged) the rejection of the official theory has become "a mainstream political phenomenon." It is not surprising, therefore, that the government and the corporately controlled media have shifted tactics. No longer ignoring the 9/11 truth movement, they have released a flurry of stories and reports aimed at debunking it.
In the present book, David Ray Griffin shows that these attempts can themselves be easily debunked. Besides demonstrating the pitiful failure of Debunking 9/11 Myths (published by Popular Mechanics and endorsed by Senator John McCain), Griffin riddles recent reports and stories put out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Time magazine as well as a new book by the chairmen of the 9/11 Commission. He also responds to criticisms of the 9/11 truth movement by left-leaning and Christian publications--which one might have expected to be supportive.
Throughout these critiques, Griffin shows that the charge that is regularly leveled against critics of the official theory-that they employ irrational and unscientific methods to defend conclusions based on faith-actually applies more fully to those who defend the official theory.
This book, by debunking the most prevalent attempts to refute the evidence cited by the 9/11 truth movement, shows that this movement's central claim-that 9/11 was an inside job-remains the only explanation that fits the facts.
Customer Reviews:
Not a great book.......2007-10-02
Having read the book in full, I must admit that Griffin does poke several holes and highlights some inconsistencies in the four documents he challenges. However, despite his critiques, the four documents still appear more scientifically and statistically sound than what Griffin offers as an alternative theory.
Too often, Griffin dwells on the semantics of "conspiracy theory" vs. "alternative conspiracy theory", while making far-fetched claims involving "voice-morphing technology", on the extreme end.
As a book, it simply drags. Griffin is too wordy and repetitive with his arguments. He could have put forth the same claims with half the verbiage. Either way, though, most of the claims are indeed bogus.
An Absolutely Undebunkable Rebuttal to the Official Theory Pushers.......2007-10-01
As a philosopher and epistomologist, Dr. Griffin examines all subjects dispassionately and with pure intellect and reason. Here is a fact. It is indeed correct that "conspiracy theorists," in the pejorative sense of the term, do indeed cherry-pick random facts to bolster their case. They also omit data that doesn't fit their case.
Another fact is that a conspiracy is simply an agreement between two or more people in secret to do something illegal and/or immoral. A conspiracy theory is a hypothesis as to who is responsible for the act. The officially historically sanctioned version of what happened is itself a conspiracy theory: The idea that 19 Muslim extremists conspired to attack America, their motive being they hated our freedoms (or, in an another interpretation, out of "blow back" for decades of aggressive U.S. imperial-style foreign policy) is itself a conspiracy theory.
Throughout Griffin's latest excellent volume, he shows how the champions of the official theory are guilty of precisely what they accuse the alternative theorists of doing: cherry-picking, omitting and distorting.
The NORAD tapes likely involve distortion, as their version is corroborated by no one but themselves. All news reports and personal anecdotes from the time run to the contrary of what the tapes allegedly reveal.
Popular Mechanics engages in all of the negative traits. Here is but one example: Omission. They claim that no one could have imagined what would happen if a large jetliner slammed into the building. They omit the crucial words of one of the chief architects of the towers. He said: "There would be a huge fire, and massive damage, and a lot of people would be killed, but in the end, the structure would still be there."
The above is just one of countless omissions and distortions in the Popular Mechanics book. Griffin's latest volume is especially important for balance in libraries and the like, because many major institutions, such as the BBC and the History Channel, not to mention the U.S. Government's own State Department website page, continue to cite Popular Mechanics as the final answer to debunking "9/11 conspiracy theories." This book is the REAL conspiracy theory debunker.
Excellent Read.......2007-09-26
I loved this book. David Ray Griffin has a lot to say and every bit of it is presented cogently and clearly. He sticks to the facts and adheres to the scientific method. In defending himself and other "conspiracy theorists," he presents an excellent case showing that documents presented to the American public as the "official story of 9/11" rely on two main methods to present their cases: cherry picking of evidence that bolsters the official story, and complete omission of evidence that doesn't.
The backers of the official story would like you to believe that people who believe in conspiracy theories are nut cases. But David Ray Griffin points out that the official story itself is a conspiracy theory. Therefore, the only real question is this: Who were the participants in the conspiracy? This book presents a very strong case that participants included top American officials and members of the Big Business elite. But that's only the case presented by the facts. There's also the case presented by a few of the "really good looking facts." Take your pick.
Logical, rational, and undeniable.......2007-09-17
Griffin's book is a devastating critique not only of the government's story regarding the events of 9/11, but also of the official defenders of that story. It it this book that finally convinced me beyond all doubt that the official story isn't only suspicious, but utterly absurd. I would strongly encourage anyone with even a mild interest in the events of 9/11 to read this book. Dr. Griffin cites strong evidence (with mountains of useful and accessible references) and uses basic logic and fundamental physics to dismantle the (as Griffin terms it) "official conspiracy theory". While there still may not be any solid proof about precisely what DID happen on that day, Griffin succeeds spectacularly in proving what did not. I would without any hesitation recommend this book to anyone, especially those who do not understand what reasons there are to question the government's version of events. Griffin's articulate, dispassionate, and intelligent arguments are very difficult to dismiss.
Sufficient text, but must be understood in context.......2007-09-11
There has been no trial to bring justice to the victims of September 11, but there have been public inquiries and an official commission that have sought the whole story surrounding the acts which took 3,000 lives on that criminal day. As a result of the publication of the 9/11 Commission Report, counter-claims have been formulated which seek to deconstruct the veracity of the "official conspiracy theory" which the US government has promulgated in this document and elsewhere.
The 9/11 Truth Movement is a decentralized and grassroots organization spanning the United States which has been at the forefront of public arguments that the plans for 9/11 were, by and large, known in advance by the top brass of the Executive//Intelligence leadership of the United States. Beyond that, the movement argues that American high-ups were complicit with the hijackers, since they materially aided the plans of Osama Bin Laden by various means in a preplanned manner. The author of "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" is a central member (although not a singular figure-head) of what is loosely called the 9/11 Truth Movement. And he insists that his group's claims deserve to be more cogently addressed, since the government's "irrational conspiracy theory" does not hold water against his evidence.
In response, Popular Mechanics, a mainstream science and technology magazine, has taken up the task of debunking the claims made by those they consider to be "conspiracy nuts" (i.e., those aligned with the 9/11 Truth Movement and others who don't believe the government's 9/11 story). However, Popular Mechanics was at the forefront of counterclaims made in response to the original (9/11 truth Movement-lead) conspiracy allegations regarding 9/11. If it gets confusing, it is.
According to an objective, dictionary definition of "conspiracy theory", both sides are conspiracy theorists. The real question, as author David Ray Griffin puts it is: Who are the "rational conspiracy theorists" getting matters of space, time, and intelligence correct; and who are the "irrational conspiracy theorists" who obfuscate truth and justice? The official conspiracy timeline the US leadership has formulated may be the closest thing there will ever be to a public trial of Osama Bin Laden, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, and others who allegedly perpetrated the attacks. This is unfortunate no matter who is to blame for 9/11.
The problem is: The Bush Administration cannot even apprehend those whom that are trying to convict in the court of international public opinion. So of course, the suspects cannot defend themselves, and the US government's version of events is left murky.
As far as the objective truth to 9/11, we may never know. Both sides certainly poke holes well in each others version of events.
Mind you, the 9/11 Truth Movement, which raises philosophical questions which may ultimately relate to the fate of our so-called democracy, does not necessarily insist Al Qaeda is innocent. Many inside and out of the "Truth Movement" tend to argue that Al Qaeda was made a scapegoat by the Bush Administrations, which enabled the terrorist plan to unfold by making sure that the best military and intelligence system in the world failed to stop 4 hijacked planes, and one big conspiracy to commit first degree murder on a mass scale inside the US..
A problem which makes the book non-definitive is that it only pokes holes in the hole poking which was done by Popular Mechanics magazine. In succeeds on many points but fails to prove anything definitively on others. It definitively does not construct a complete time line of what happened on 9/11 (as does "The Terror Timeline" by Paul Thompson).
As a connoisseur of 9/11-related conspiracy books and propaganda, I would say there are more impressive books if you are looking to expose yourself to alternative press on the subject of 9/11 "conspiracy theories". Nonetheless, no anthology on the subject would be complete without copies of David Ray Griffin's writings.
In short, Debunking 9/11 Debunking is a must have for libraries which seek to inform on the subject of economic conspiracies, political conspiracies, global conspiracies, and "9/11 Conspiricies". If you are looking to shorten your shelves however, you might want to consider getting a hold of Griffin's early works such as "The 9/11 Comission Report: Omissions and Distortions" or "9/11: The New Pearl Harbor" which were more ground-breaking and movement-building. "Crossing the Rubicon" by Michael Ruppert is also a must have, as it is has also served as a movement-building work of investigative research.
Book Description
John Perkins's sensational New York Times bestseller Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (more than 300,000 sold) revealed just the tip of the iceberg of the secret world of economic hit men and the web of global corruption. Now more economic hit men and investigators tell the whole shocking story.
Customer Reviews:
A Context the Opposite of What We're Told .......2007-08-17
As an ex-international banker who quit banking for the same reasons John Perkins quit being an Economic Hit Man, I can vouch for the truth of every essay in this fine book. The underlying truth is: the world is increasingly run by the corporatocracy, and it has negligible concern for either the poor countries it purports to help nor the environment in which it functions. The truth is the opposite of what we would like and pretend to be true. And the corporatocracy doesn't just behave as it does in foreign, underdeveloped countries, it behaves the exact same way here at home. The mortgage scandle is the same kind of hustle - selling bad debt to unsophisticated borrowers and investors. The only difference is that the poor people who default on their mortgages don't have natural resources the lenders can now take. Fascism redux.
This is a brilliant book. One can already see how the corporatocracy is ignoring it. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
The Dark Underbelly of International Economics.......2007-06-27
In CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN, John Perkins outlined his 20-year career as agent of the government and multinational corporations as they attempted to (and succeeded in) exploiting lesser-developed countries. That book, published by Berrett-Koehler in 2004, painted a rather gloomy picture of the dark side of globalization - in theory, a worthy endeavor.
A GAME AS OLD AS EMPIRE, edited by Steven Hiatt with an introduction by Mr. Perkins, continues the story of this exploitation, abuse, and waste in the name of "globalization." Let me say - as an aside - that I remain a proponent of globalization within the context of responsible stewardship. Removing barriers to trade, offering educational, vocational, and economic opportunities to men and women of all nations, is a good thing. Done properly, economic development and stewardship offers the possibility of true societal progress, ennobling humanity, enriching lives, nurturing the environment and increasing business activity and profits.
Unfortunately, the reality is far different from the ideal. The shortsightedness and greed of political and leaders - focused only on personal enrichment or the next quarter's operating results - leads to a culture of global exploitation. The pattern is familiar: special interests descend like locusts, consume everything in their path, and then move on, leaving a wake of destruction, degradation, and despair.
The book presents a compelling exploration of these economic and human abuses through other voices, most of those voices from men and women that participated for a time in the dance of exploitation for their temporal masters. The individual essays focus on a number of issues ranging from the stranglehold of foreign debt, the culture of ineptitude and corruption in many aspects of international banking, and the unconscionable extraction of natural resources (as in the Congo) at the high cost of human life and economic prosperity.
A GAME AS OLD AS EMPIRE is expectedly one-sided in that it shows only the abuse and corruption of international economics. There are many businesses that operate with high-principles and integrity (while maintaining high earnings for both its management as well as other constituents). However, the book serves an important purpose in that it shows that all is not sunshine and roses in the global economy. There is corruption, waste, incompetence, and short-sightedness that is unacceptable from not only a human standpoint, but from a business valuation perspective as well. I would recommend this book to anyone who seeks to undertake an intelligent study of the state of international economics in the real world.
A revealing survey.......2007-05-10
A GAME AS OLD AS EMPIRE: THE SECRET WORLD OF ECONOMIC HIT MEN AND THE WEB OF GLOBAL CORRUPTION comes from the author of the best-selling CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN and expands upon the prior book's theme. Where CONFESSIONS was fueled by the author's revelations of economic secrets, A GAME AS OLD AS EMPIRE is joined by other journalists and investigators who tell their own stories of a world-wide web of deliberate corruption, even narrowing topics down to specific countries and how they've been subverted. The result is a revealing survey which expands well upon the popular theme of CONFESSIONS and which deserves a spot in any academic or community library's business, economics, or social issues collection.
A Story that Deserves to be Told.......2007-05-08
This book should be mandatory reading for college students. Through the various essays--written by real people involved in the various aspects of modern empire--the reader gains an understanding of the real work (and damage) done by multilateral development agencies,offshore banks, and global trade organizations. If we want to build a better world and a better future for our children, it is critical we all understand how these various institutions of the global elite affect the global poor.
Weighty, serious reading.......2007-04-29
Well, I certainly can't add more to the details of the book than what C. Middleton said, but I would like to say a few words comparing this to the first book, since in many ways it is the successor to John Perkins' entertaining first-person tale, "Economic Hitman".
"Old As Empire" is a collection of stories reporting on the global economic condition that are not far from the type of writing you might see read in Foreign Affairs magazine or Noam Chomsky's books. The tales, which are told in the third-person as often as the first, have little entertainment value; they're almost pure information, revelations of capitalist corruption and warlord dominance that are contemporary and all too relevant in exposing how the world actually works.
If "EHM" felt a bit light and historic, this collection of stories is weighty and newsworthy - but don't go looking for a spy angle on this one. If you're a serious foreign newshound, this is good stuff - but for all the talk of revealing personal stories about "other EHM's", there really aren't many - it's mostly about corruption at the company and government level, rather than a collection of James Bonds doing the bidding of their corporate masters like EHM was.
Book Description
Filled with headline-making revelations, this explosive account by two award-winning investigative reporters tracks the behind-the-scenes story of the forged intelligence document that the Bush administration used to push the nation into war with Iraq
Like Barbara Tuchman’s 1958 classic, The Zimmerman Telegram, about the decoded German wire that drew the United States into World War I, or the recent bestseller Cobra II, The Italian Letter traces the road to war by following the scandal surrounding the Italian Letter, a fraudulent intelligence document that cooked up proof that the African country of Niger was prepared to supply Saddam Hussein with uranium for nuclear weapons.
What is the real story that led to President Bush’s 16 famous words in his 2003 State of the Union address, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."? In the first book to uncover the details of the scandal that has already led to the indictment of one administration official—a scandal bigger than the Iran-Contra affair—the authors have drawn on their unique access to a large group of CIA, FBI, and international sources as well as whistle-blowers.
As frustration over the increasing deaths in Iraq continues to mount, this timely, page-turning narrative provides fresh insights for a nation hungry for greater understanding of the Iraq War and the manipulated intelligence document that altered the course of contemporary history.
Customer Reviews:
In the lives of the American people it was the end of Innocence.......2007-08-31
1. The Italian letter indirectly supplied by Laura Montini to Rocco Martino and introduced to Elisabetta Burba was not concretely proven. Montini, an employee at Nigerian embassy, in Rome produced the excerpt from the Italian letter: "The government of the republic of Niger and The Govrnment of Iraq by their respective official delegated representatives. Said provision equaling 500 tons of pure uranium per year will be delivered in 2 phases."
2. Michael Ledeen, fellow of the American Enterprise Institute was thought to have had a hand in the Italian letter development from forgery to intelligence because his ties with Italian intelligence services. Ledeen alleged Iranian intelligence agents, and noted Iranian Intelligence fabricator, Manucher Ghorbanifar. AEI fellows include Cheney, Shultz, Kirkpatrick, and Ledeen.
3. Burba was convinced that Niger did not have the capability of shipping yellowcake to Iraq, secretly or openly. Yellowcake was store in 880 barrel filled half way, to control weight and safety. Burba estimated to ship the barrels would have required a 100 truck convey and tractor trailers were rarely seen in West Africa. Each truck would have to travel hundreds of miles from the mining sites in Niger to Cotonou, a major port city in neighboring Benin, where the uranium would be loaded on ships. The risk to sell uranium to Iraq would have been disasterous to Niger, if discovered, because the country receives financial aid from the US and Europe. It wouldn't make sense to make the deal.
4. Burba left copies of the Italian letter with US intelligence and inspired the Bush 16 words scenario. The intelligence community was stunned by the statement not knowing where the statement came from or the source of the information. The policy office was out of the loop and was unaware of a rogue operation in the African country. The intelligence community case was the Iraq was rearming with chemical and biological weapons and when the State department discounted the Niger claim, the director of WINPAC said it was possible. The difference of opinion had more to do with politics than analysis of intelligence.
5. Wolfowitz as his from Christopher DeMuth, president of the American Enterprise Institute, to put together a small team of scholars to assess the dynamics inside the Middle East that had produced the Sep 11 hijackers. The twelve man team concluded that Saadam Hussein had to be removed from power to transform the region into a stable and less threaten part of the world. Neoconservatives were also attracted to the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs with the advisory board consisting of Kirkpatrick, Ledeen, Perle, and Woolsey and Feith as chairman.
6. Wolfowitz hope that Ahmad Chalabi would preside over Iraq after the US invasion. Chalabi received $30 million by the Defense Department in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, payment inpart for providing intelligence, most turned out to be worthless. Chalabi "attempted to influence United States policy on Iraq by providing false information through defectors directed at convincing the United States that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and had links to terrorist." In Oct 2002, the Defense Intelligence Agency cautioned that the Iraq National Congress was pentrated by Iranian hostile intelligence services and would use the relationship to promote its agenda. A similar warning came from the CIA. Chalabi introduced Mohammed Harith, to the Pentagon and the DIA found much of the WMD reporting questionable and his descriptions of alleged nuclear facilities demonstrably incorrect.
7. Under the approval of Rumsfeld, Feith and Wolfowitz create a supersecret team called Team B. Team B provided Cheney and Rumsfeld the evidence that Saadam had created an unholy alliance with Osama Bin Laden. The CIA never said such a thing and did not believe it was true. Team B told Cheney, "Mohammed Atta had met with an Iraqi intelligence officer several months before 9/11 attacks" and Cheney repeated it to the public. As a result 70 percent of Americans polled said Hussein had something to do with the toppling of the Twin Towers.
8. The Office of Special Plans for the new Iraq initiative was a secret matter. The Joint Chief of Staff was not in the loop. Chalabi was a frequent visitor to the NESA and Special Plans office and often broth along Iraqi defectors. DIA reported the information Chalabi and his defectors provided was virtually worthless. "Chalabi stock fell after the invasion, when new accounts dislosed that his intelligence chief was a long time senior officer in Iran's espionage service. US authorities, meanwhile, investigated Chalabi for allegedly passing secrets to Iran.
A Thorough Examination.......2007-07-03
At the core of the disaster of the Bush presidency lies a fabricated "intelligence" document used to justify pre-emptive military invasion.
You wouldn't know it by watching the mainstream press.
This book fills an important role, similar to the 9/11 commission report or the Iraq Study Group. It fills in many of the details necessary to understand how and why such a colossal and embarrassing "intelligence failure" could find it's way into the most important State of the Union address in decades.
It doesn't answer every question, but it answers enough to make it a very worthwhile read, and it does so with just the right touch of humor and lighter prose.
Faked out?.......2007-07-03
Blow by blow account of how to construct a lie and get it delivered to the public by a president. Very well written account of the infamous `sixteen words' in Bush's 2003 state of the union address. This is the way the Mafia would use our intelligence agencies.
It also includes a quick reference time line of events for those amount us who do not posses great faculties of memory.
Fairly thin on the purported topic.......2007-06-14
I have read most of the books on how and why the US went into Iraq and how badly we botched it up once we got there. I found this book interesting and there was some valuable new information, but I came away knowing little about the Italian letter I hadn't already read elsewhere. The central question of who wrote it and why went unanswered, beyond the belief that it originated within SISMI. It's an interesting book if you don't know the story, but unsatisfying if you do and desire to know more.
Whoa...........2007-06-06
This book really opens your eyes to what exactly this administration has done to push the war in Iraq. It is very indepth and very accurate. While I was reading this book, at times, I would forget that I am reading about something that is going on right at this moment because the crap they have pulled sounded like something in a movie. It's frightening that this is real. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what the hell is going on.
Product Description
Ana Montes appeared to be a model employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Known to her coworkers as the Queen of Cuba, she was an overachiever who advanced quickly through the ranks of Latin American specialists to become the intelligence community's top analyst on Cuban affairs. But throughout her sixteen-year career at DIA, Montes sent Castro some of America's most closely guarded secrets and at the same time influenced what the United States thought it knew about Cuba. When she was finally arrested in September 2001, she became the most senior American intelligence official ever accused of operating as a Cuban spy from within the federal government. Unrepentant as she serves out her time in a federal prison in Texas, Montes remains the only member of the intelligence community ever convicted of espionage on behalf of the Cuban government.
This inside account of the investigation that led to her arrest was written by Scott W. Carmichael, the DIA's senior counterintelligence investigator who persuaded the FBI to delve deeper into Montes activities. Although Montes did not fit the FBI's profile of a spy and easily managed to defeat the agency's polygraph exam, Carmichael became suspicious of her activities and, with the FBI, over a period of several years developed a solid case against her. Here he tells the story of that long and ultimately successful spy hunt. Carmichael reveals the details of their efforts to bring her to justice, offering readers a front-row seat for the first major U.S. espionage case of the twenty-first century. She was arrested less than twenty-four hours before learning details of the U.S. plan to invade Afghanistan post-September 11. Motivated by ideology and not money, Montes was one of the last "true believers" of the Communist era. Because her arrest came just ten days after 9/11, it went largely unnoticed by the American public. This book calls attention to the grave damage Montes inflicted on U.S. security--Carmichael even implicates her in the death of a Green Beret fighting Cuban-backed insurgent in El Salvador and the damage she would have continued to inflict had she not been caught.
Customer Reviews:
An eye opener!.......2007-09-26
Before reading True Believer, I never understood the impact of the spy on the country which employs him/her and its sons and daughters fighting on foreign soil to protect their country. It's hard to believe that someone so intelligent and so well educated as Anna Montes could be so loathsome as to pass military secrets to Fidel Castro's followers, not to mention all of the countries with which these followers share their secrets-- Iran, Venezuala, etc. The writer's style is unique, more like a day-to-day diary of how Ms. Montes activities barely scratched Michael Carmichael's comfort zone for years. I want my friends to read it so we can discuss it together. Everyone owes it to their own knowledge base to read this true story.
Good Title Deceptived Book .......2007-09-20
If this is the way US agencies operates no wonder we are in so bad chape to act before things happens... The author only fills out pages without saying anything of value including Ana's investigation, trial or life... It does not offer anything relevant about who or why... The book acomplish a message: creating doubts about how many Ana's might exist in government agencies...
The search for Cuba's master spy........2007-09-14
Ana Montes was Cuba's most highly placed spy inside the American intelligence community. For 16 years she burrowed her way into the DIA rising to become that Agencies leading expert on all matters related to Cuba. This is the story of how she was eventually caught by the author Scott Carmichael and a team of FBI agents. He describes how her treason contributed to the death of at least one American Special Forces advisor, Greg Fronnius, in El Salvador in 1986. Finally, he describes that he wrote this book in part to alert the American public and the rest of the intelligence community to his strongly held suspicion that there are other Cuban moles like Montes who have yet to be discovered.
How could a leftist be hired in the first place?.......2007-09-03
Ana Montes pretended to be the perfect intelligence employee. She eventually became perhaps the number one analyst in our entire country to study and recommend polices dealing with the Cuban Communist government. Scott W. Carmichael was a lead investigator who eventually gathered enough evidence to send her to prison. You will have a hard time putting this book down until it is finished. The author has indeed written an engaging book---and I am highly recommending it. Still, he ignores a crucial question: why was she ever hired in the first place? Montes was known to be someone possessing very left-wing views long before her employment begin. How in heavens name did she ever pass a simple background check? I read the book a few days ago and only now are the questions coming to the surface. I am flabbergasted that Montes was not under suspicion long before her arrest. Didn't it strike anyone odd that she was unmarried and childless? Also, why the reluctance to spend her free time with her working associates? Were there never any give-and-take conversations concerning politics? I am just not getting it. There is a possibility that I'm deluding myself, but it is my guess that I would have sensed something wrong within the first few months working alongside Ana Montes.
You should also read Rowan Scarborough's Sabotage: America's Enemies Within the CIA. Our intelligence agencies are filled with employees who would have been considered traitors in an earlier area. Another book that must be read is Aid And Comfort: Jane Fonda in North Vietnam by Henry Mark Holzer and Erika Holzer. A lot of confusion has resulted because Jane Fonda was never tried for treason. If she is not a traitor---who is? What constitutes legitimate dissent from that of outright treason? Are we no longer able to make a clear distinction in a postmodernist cultural milieu? Scott W. Carmichael may want to tackle this dilemma in his next book.
Unexpected great book on Cuban affairs.......2007-07-17
Amazon recommended this book after looking for Che books. I bought it and I was locked into it even at the Prologue stage. It is a quick read, and very interesting. I highly recommend it.
Average customer rating:
- Behold a Pale Horse
- Behold a pale horse
- Too much chaff, not enough wheat
- Informative
- IN THE COLD
|
Behold a Pale Horse
William Cooper , and
Milton William Cooper
Manufacturer: Light Technology Publications
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Book Description
The author, former U.S. Naval Intelligence Briefing Team Member, reveals information kept secret by our government since the 1940s. UFOs, the J.F.K.. assassination, the Secret Government, the war on drugs and more by the world's leading expert on UFOs.
Customer Reviews:
Behold a Pale Horse.......2007-09-15
Behold a Pale Horse is a book that will stop and make you think about much that is going on in the world today. You will never look at our political leaders the same again.
Behold a pale horse.......2007-08-29
i didnt like it. it was a bunch of nonsence. i dont even want to give it a star.
Too much chaff, not enough wheat.......2007-08-17
This is the kind of book that gives historical revisionists and truthseekers a bad name--specifically the "conspiracy nut" slur. While the author may or may not be sincere, a look at the cover is enough to give you a sense of how serious or not serious a presentation is contained within. Certainly there is much about history and society that we are routinely lied to about and historical facts that are suppressed so as to protect those with the power to pull the invisible strings fettering the world. This book documents much of that, but unfortunately delves into much disinformation and in the end will leave people confused--perhaps aware of several legitimate issues they had not known about before but also distracted by a series of unfounded claims muddying the waters. I put this in the same category as the works of David Icke, of reptilian shape-shifter fame...
Informative.......2007-08-13
William Cooper did an outstand job in writing this book. He has a wealth of knowledge that will assist the reader in researching other books that supports his claims.
IN THE COLD.......2007-07-21
Not a read for anyone who doesn't know or does know what others claim or wish to know. But if you read this book and it confirms what you did know or didn't know it may be worth the time reading. However, when you do buy this unknown known it will lead others to watch you over to see what else you know and what your planing to do with what you now know.....be careful buying it, the book will lead a cloud over you.
Book Description
March 2003: The United States invades Iraq.
October 2006: The world finds out why.
What was really behind the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq? As George W. Bush steered the nation to war, who spoke the truth and who tried to hide it? Hubris takes us behind the scenes at the Bush White House, the CIA, the Pentagon, the State Department, and Congress to answer all the vital questions about how the Bush administration came to invade Iraq.
Filled with new revelations, Hubris is a gripping narrative of intrigue that connects the dots between George W. Bush’s expletive-laden outbursts at Saddam Hussein, the bitter battles between the CIA and the White House, the fights within the intelligence community over Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, the startling influence of an obscure academic on top government officials, the real reason Valerie Plame was outed, and a top reporter’s ties to wily Iraqi exiles trying to start a war. Written by veteran reporters Michael Isikoff and David Corn, this is the inside story of how President Bush took the nation to war using faulty and fraudulent intelligence. It is a news-making account of conspiracy, backstabbing, bureaucratic ineptitude, journalistic malfeasance, and, especially, arrogance.
Customer Reviews:
The disastrous results of self-assuredness and deficient critical thinking.......2007-10-03
Michael Isikoff and David Cron have put together a compelling, detailed report of the faulty case for going to war with Iraq. If you want to know the story behind the various pieces of faulty intelligence that the Bush administration used to sell the war, this is the book for you.
This is a great case study for what happens when arrogant self-assuredness is married to deficient critical thinking.
It may very well have turned out that we would have eventually had to go to war with Iraq. But there was no compelling reason to do it at the time we did, and the reasons the Bush administration cited for going to war were all faulty and the information to suggest it was faulty was available all along, just ignored.
A news story rehash.......2007-09-11
Unless you haven't read the newspapers for the last 4 years or so, this book is not worth the effort. A rehash of their and others work.
Bloated book with nothing new to offer.......2007-09-06
This title presents the reader with a basic rehash of public reported on stories regarding the administrations rush to war. After reading it, there was hardly anything new, rather there was a summary of all the events that took place regarding the WMD case and the subsequent investigations.
I have to say that the book made no compelling characters stand out, nor did it make anyone, aside from perhaps Karl Rove seem the bad guy. In fact it's annoying habit of making everyone seem equally guilty serves to cut hard edge out of the book. All in all I kept on reading expecting something new to come up or some succinct revelation to appear yet in the end all we saw was a rebroadcast of old news.
Important Stuff Missing.......2007-08-22
I see this is a best-selling book by two prominent journalists. It is shocking, then, that there is no mention in the book of either the "Downing Street Memo" from July 2002 which documents the fact that Bush, at least as far back is middle of 2002 (and many contend even earlier - when the Bushies came into office in January 2001 - wanting war with Iraq), had decided to go to war with the small details like the "cause" or "justification" for the war to be left up to the spin-meisters and Karl Rove.
Neither is the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) mentioned in the book. The PNAC is the Neo-Con, war-mongering think-tank which had advocated war with Iraq as far back as 1997-98.
It is sad that the Mainstream Media and the journalistic establishment has almost completely ignored the Downing Street Memo and the Project for a New American Century in their coverage and analysis of the Iraq war and the Bush administration. An even better book in this regard is Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild
Atlas Shrugged.......2007-08-15
Whatever you think of Mike Isikoff's ultimate contentions & analysis regarding the adventures of Team Bush in the Middle East, you gotta admit the title is just killer.
Isn't it? HUBRIS. Wow. Just---wow.
No, stay with me on this: think of your worst, most hated Enemy (no silly, I admire your partisanship you Kos-Sack you, but it can't be Bush---at least not for *this* little mind-exercise).
Now imagine that Enemy getting you fired at work, sneaking into your house & introducing the sneaky snake to your wife (or the Great Oscillating Cavern of Tempation to your hubby), then killing your cat, burning your house down, & dancing up and down on the ashes.
Got that in mind? Good: now consider the word you would come up with to describe your Enemy's actions. Got that word in mind? Yes? Now: honestly, would it be 'Hubris'?
Yes? Great! Keep reading.
Isikoff has cobbled together an unsurprising critique of Bush war policy, which centers in on the primary flaw of BUSHIDO: the Bush guys, unlike the Clinton guys, did something against Saddam Hussein and Islamic terrorists. Doing something in America these days---whatever it is---is dangerous. Risky.
This isn't really a nation of big tough he-men risking it all to make the world safe for big-D Democracy anymore: it's more like a bunch of trousered knats spending lotsa time flaunting their Lance Armstrong 'livestrong' love bracelets, cycling around in their girly-girly little tightpants, and jogging.
So as you can see, in the New America(tm), the old-fashioned BUSHIDO was doomed from the start. Isikoff's book is lovingly, brutally detailed, & pretty much supports the contention that Bush should have done absolutely nothing. Maybe lobbed a cruise missile or two 'over there', but that's about it. It's also boring.
But never mind that: if you don't groove on the title, you'll really be down with the cover art. Yeah, buy it for Reservoir Dogs-esque cover art. Dig it. Quentin Tarnantino couldn't have crafted a better shot of the BUSHIDO team ambling down a stretch of Dark Territory into the next big gunfight. You can just about hear the strains of "Little Green Bag" as Condi, W., Rummy, & 'Shotgun Dick' Cheney stride down the Road to pull off that one last Job, or to face down that Bad, Bad Man.
HUBRIS! The old Greek tragic flaw that brought down great heroes, like Oedipus, or Agisthus, or Agamemnon, or Jimmy the Greek.
HUBRIS! Fortunately Curious George's case of hubris isn't quite as nasty as, say, Oedipus, whose version of the old greek disease impelled him to whack Dad, nail Mom, and gouge his eyeballs out.
HUBRIS! But it's bad, evidently, really bad, because now we're mired in the much and quicksand and blood and sludge of Iraq, and the world really hates us, a stark turnaround from the morning of 9/11, when the Nasty Cowboy hadn't invaded anybody and the world loved us all.
Why not just say what you want to say, Isikoff? Why not just call your book "Axxholes"? Why 'Hubris'? Why weaken the whiskey? Why not just come out and say what you think, guys? How about "Dumbaxxes"? Or better still, "Lying Nazi Pigs"? Or better still, "Big Ugly Poopyheads"?
Isikoff brings the same eye for detail found in his book "Uncovering Clinton", back in the day when Isikoff was famous for rooting around in Bill Clinton's underwear drawer and saving fluid samples.
Fortunately, we don't get any stained blue dresses here, but we do get the usual whack-a-Bush talking points: basically 1) the Bush administration either manufactured evidence claiming Saddam had a WMD program; 2) All the Kings Men were either too sycophantic or too incompetent to investigate such claims and 3) consequently, we now find ourselves embroiled in the GREATEST MILITARY DISASTER OF ALL TIME! Yeah.
Anyhoo, though, there are a few mysteries raised by all of this Sturm Und Drang, signifying NICHT. Among them:
1)Alright, Isikoff skirts the line of calling Bush a liar, but only barely: the whole point of "Hubris" is that the Administration knew better---so if it wasn't mendacity they were guilty of, it was close to it. So Bush lied, fine.
But if you accept that---that Bush positively *knew* there were no WMDs in Iraq, and pushed for invasion anyway---then didn't he know the later revelation that Saddam didn't have a WMD program would make him look silly, or mendacious, or both? I mean, if he's gonna lie about the WMD program to begin with, why not have a couple of trusty guys in the black helicopters plant a few nukes on the scene, after the fact?
2)If the yardstick by which our success is measured is largely temporal---that is, our troops are still *there* dangit---then why are we still in Europe, Japan, & Korea? God knows Europe is a total basket-case, Japan is cranking out manga---have you seen that stuff, especially with the tentacles?---and they have Video-gamers Anonymous in Korea, so let's bring AlL the boys home, now!
3)Isn't it a bit of a stretch to contend that Saddam was a WMD virgin, given all the NOOK-lear proms in the region he'd gone too?
I guess that's one mystery too many for me. Poor planning, sure. But Greek Tragedy? I don't think so. I'm for readability, credibility, a touch of nerdability, and truth in advertising: a wonkish analysis would have been just fine in my book.
But from its stupid title, to its mind-bendingly dull writing, to its even duller thesis, to its complete lack of strategic imagination, "Hubris" gets a big fat "F". Or better yet, in the Greek spirit, "P." For Polymachus, Python, or Prometheus, you ask?
None of the above. For "Poop".
JSG
Book Description
For the first time ever, over five dozen top-secret military,government, intelligence and corporate witnesses to secret projects tell their true stories which disclose the greatest covert program in world history. This explosive testimony by actual government insiders proves that UFOs are real, that some are of extraterrestrial origin and that super-secret programs have energy and propulsion technologies that will enable humanity to begin a new civilization - a civilization without pollution, without poverty - a civilization capable of traveling among the stars. This is not just a story about UFOs, ETs and secret projects: It is the story of how 50 years of human evolution have been deferred and how these secret projects contain the real solution to the world energy crisis, the environmental crisis and world poverty.
Customer Reviews:
a lot we're not being told about!!.......2007-09-09
this book is a must for anybody interested in this sort of thing,generally speaking 5 stars,however,some reservations about the accuracy of some things,some people I know,"in the know" say isn't true
regarding space weapons..but they do exist!!Overall a very interesting book and I love it!!
Great Book...lot's of information and keeps you engaged........2007-09-06
I really enjoyed this book. I read Dr. Greer's newer book Hidden Truth Forbidden Knowledge, and thought that was a good book too. The difference is that this book is more testimony and credible eye witness accounts. This was more entertaining and engaging than the other books by Dr. Greer. I honestly read though this book very quickly. If you had to choose between the two books I would choose this one first...then hit his other books. The reason I gave this 4 stars as opposed to 5 is that I really wish there was a follow-up to this material. The book was written in 2001 and there has been a lot of time since then. If I read this book in 2001, I would of gave it a 5. Although his newer book hits upon some "update" material, Hidden Truth Forbidden Knowledge is much more spiritual as opposed to disclosing real evidence like this book. Since it's 2007, I am left with questions like...so what's happened since then? I tried to check the website and it really isn't updated with new material. So a follow-up book to this would be great...or even an updated version. Overall...a very entertaining read and a must if you are even remotely interested in UFOs.
If you think there is no proof............2007-09-02
Steven Greer's book Disclosure should go a long way to convince most people that the government has ample evidence of UFO activity. This book shows us that we are like ostriches with our heads in the sand if we believe otherwise. It also, through the testimonies of many courageous and competent individuals, indicates why we are being kept in the dark. The fact that even as we pollute ourselves into oblivion that in some strata of government officialdom we have the technology for pollution-free energy, is therefore obscene.
Perhaps if enough people read this book, this situation will change.
Verified witnesses...what else can you ask for?.........2007-08-24
Pages and pages of verified witnesses accounts. Just a taste to get you going. Now I want to know more. Please keep them coming.
Excellent Documention of the UFO issue.......2007-08-18
I am higley impressed with this book. The documentation and sources that Dr. Greer uses is highley impressive. I enjoyed this book and would say its the best book out there on the UFO phenemonom. I bought his other book of Extraterrestrial Contact: The Evidence and Implications based upon recommendation from a friend and how much I like this book. Its the best source book out there and must for any UFO Seeker. A+++++++++++++++++++++++
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- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ballroom Dancing, 2nd Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to)
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- The Evolution of Cooperation
- The Game Maker's Apprentice: Game Development for Beginners
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- The Maker's Diet: The 40 Day Health Experience That Will Change Your Life Forever
- The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary
- The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
- The Road (Oprah's Book Club)
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