Lynne Russell Books

Russell Crandall's "Driven by Drugs" is an excellent guide to understanding the impact of U.S. policies and the current chaotic situation in Colombia. The author provides background on U.S.-Colombian relations and an overview of Colombian society to help the reader contextualize recent events. While violence in Colombia is rooted in that country's stratified social relations, it is America's "War on Drugs" that now might rip apart what little remains of Colombia's civil society.

Professor Crandall teaches Political Science at Davidson College. Crandall writes in a concise and scholarly manner, and his expertise on the subject matter is readily apparent. The author uses solid research; the numerous footnotes include a number of first-person interviews with knowledgeable sources as well as author translations of Spanish-language sources. The author's arguments are convincing and his conclusions are air-tight as they appear to be based on a rational evaluation of the evidence.

Principally, Crandall argues that Colombian-U.S. relations changed from a mutually-agreeable anti-Communist philosophy to a "narcotized" orientation by the mid 1980s. The narcotized state of affairs, Crandall suggests, is driven by America's multiple addictions; this includes of course the widespread consumption of illicit substances among its population and a congress dependent on defense industry dollars. (To this I might also suggest a peculiarly American need to rationalize its foreign policies in a moralistic manner.)

Perhaps not surprisingly, recent Colombian administrations have had mixed reactions to U.S. policies. Crandall writes that in fact our efforts have only succeeded in undermining Colombia's central government at the same moment when narco-trafficers, paramilitary groups, and guerilla fighters have exploited fear and uncertainty among the populace in order to gain strength. One hopes that Crandall's plea for U.S. policy makers to learn "from past mistakes" and instead implement policies that address Colombia's core socio-economic needs is heeded soon.

With so much of today's news reporting obsessed with other regions of the world, I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the decades-long war that America has been waging in Colombia.

Russell Crandall has broken new ground. His dynamic focus on U.S. policy during the Samper Administration (1994-1998) and the Pastrana Administration (1998-2002) provides a powerful insight as to why Colombia is the third largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid in the world after Israel and Egypt. The author also cautions of the many political landmines in the road ahead. Crandall is a tier-one academic and a polished writer.

Driven By Drugs: U.S. Policy Toward Colombia by Russell Crandall (MacArthur Assistant Professor of Political Science, Davidson College) is a straightforward history of American relations vis-a-vis Colombia with particular emphasis on the last decade. An exhaustively researched, scholarly presentation surveying U.S. drug dependency, and its relationship with the roots of violence and guerilla groups in Colombia, as well as the volatile political situation revolving about who owns the land and what is to be done with it, Driven By Drugs is a fascinating, insightful, revealing, and greatly disturbing account of the troubled interaction between these two nations. Driven By Drugs is an important contribution to academic and community library International Studies supplemental reading lists and reference collections.

Every army prepares for and conducts combat differently, in a way that reflects its own particular traditions and culture as well as the characteristics of the society from which it springs. An army's performance depends upon a multitude of factors, many of which are beyond anyone's ability to control or simply impossible to predict before the shooting starts. In large part an army's success comes from its ability to perceive what is happening on the battlefield, learn the correct lessons from the events, develop new techniques, and train its soldiers to the new standard.

Unraveling the complexities of this process is difficult enough when one looks at one single army. Russell Hart has taken on four: the British, Canadian, American and German. In each case he has examined that army's development in the years after the First World War as well as its performance in the Normandy campaign of 1944. His conclusions will surprise some people. For example, the vaunted German Wehrmacht, which authors have lauded over the years as the best fighting force of the war, comes off a poor second to the U.S. Army in its ability to learn and adapt, while the British and Canadians rank lower still. That is not to say that the Germans were weak opponents or that the Americans never made mistakes; any American veteran of the fighting in Normandy would scoff at the idea. But neither is it true, as many German generals maintained after the war, that the Americans fought without skill and won simply because they had vastly more equipment. By the end of the Normandy fighting, the U.S. Army was clearly better than its opponent.

The strength of Hart's book is in his understanding of the issues involved and in the careful research that backs up his conclusions. This is not a book to pick up if you want guts-and-glory descriptions of the battles on the beaches and in the bocage. But if you want to understand why the battles turned out as they did, this is probably the most important book you could read.

This is an unusual and fascinating book. The author is very open about personal tragedies and then explains how the interaction with the artists at ArtPace has been curative and mind expanding. The art is of the most edgy, but the author is clear about the thinking behind the images and the processes. The photos are beautiful, the book is a treat to look at and to think about. It should appeal to any thoughtful person and give contemporary art scoffers something to ponder.

Collaboratively compiled and edited by the team of Russell Crandall (Assistant Professor of Political Science, Davidson College and Adjunct Professor, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University), Guadalupe Paz (Assistant Director of the School of the Johns Hopkins University Advanced International Studies Latin American Studies Program), and Riordan Roett (Sarita and Don Johnson Professor of Political Science and Director of the Latin American Studies Program and Western Hemisphere Studies for the John Hopkins University Advanced International Studies), Mexico's Democracy At Work: Political And Economic Dynamics is an anthology of scholarly essays by a variety of learned authors. Topics covered include Mexico's domestic economy, economic ties with Europe, transformations under NAFTA, and much more. A conclusion draws together threads from the contributors to postulate how Mexico's democracy can be made to work more effectively. Thoroughly researched and documented with statistical figures, Mexico's Democracy At Work is a highly recommended overview to better understand the complex workings of a diverse, proud and historic nation.

Three Wise Women, in its simplicity and color, retells the story of the visit by wise persons to the baby Jesus and the bringing of gifts that are human & practical...The gift of bread, of storytelling, and love shared! I am especially touched by this book because my 9 and 11 year old daughters found this book in our local bookstore and decided it was the perfect gift for their mother who is going on sabbatical. They recognized within its short reading that the women of the story are on a shared journey of the spirit. The illustrations,done in beautiful dark mystical colors, also lead you into this journeying. I am always looking for books for my girls and I to read that have strong female characters that look at life wholistically. Three Wise Women continues that collection for us. We also have a collection of Christmas books that have a home under the tree each year. The tradition of pulling them out each year and rereading the memories has made the stories become part of our collected memories of the season! Thanks for an excellent addition!

This book appropriately glosses over Russell's private life and manages to balance professionalism, entertainment, assertion, humor and sometimes sarcasm about life at CNN -- the silly things some viewers or youthful subordinates will say and do, the surprising things a famous anchor will do when stuck in a brutal Atlanta traffic jam during scheduled airtime.

Luckily, Russell's perspective extends well beyond her CNN duties to reflect on her role as a go-getter and as a woman in her numerous other ongoing careers.

While she has no doubt inspired many women over the years to live uncompromisingly for one's goals and dreams, she also has inspired men like me -- from an early age -- to see career women as well-rounded, smart, savvy, and critical to an organization's success. At CNN and in her book, Lynne Russell has helped make professional journalism sexy to a new generation, male and female.

First of all, know that this is not exactly a "self-help" book, and Russell is not really attempting to provide an instruction for life when she offers advice; in fact, the title seems more of an ironic commentary on a life not lived by reading handbooks and following guidelines. That said, this can still be an inspiring read for women and a delight to men who are not afraid of independent, intelligent women. Those who know Russell as a talking head on TV may be taken aback by her off-camera persona, but that's what makes her unique: the woman who enunciates so well on CNN will be putting dents in a heavy bag with her bare feet and peppering her speech with the "f" word after hours. She won't pander to fragile egos: she calls 'em like she sees 'em because she's likely seem 'em all, more than once, as a journalist, a private investigator, and as a woman. No pretense or phony sentimentality like many of her male collagues, folks: this woman tells it like it is. Russell is a refreshing break from the utter pomposity of people like Ted Koppel and Tom Brokaw, and neither of those guys could kick your face in, either. LYNNE RUSSELL RULES!

Lynne Russell is now not only an esteemed journalist, but a wonderful author. Her gusty advice and view of things is very refreshing, and her wonderful personality and spunk shines through every page. This book is really directed toward women, but men seem to enjoy it. Anybody who's a Lynne Russell fan or just wants an extremely wonderful book, should read this.

Russell's slim volume is a jaded, cynical whirlwind of hackneyed metaphors ("Isn't that what Xena would do?") and knee-jerk advice for those who want to reduce people to quick, sound-byte sized definitions. I don't believe that "all women are questioning the very definition of love" (p. 149), just those that have finished reading this book and want to pattern themselves on the author. And can anyone, male or female, take seriously Russell's pigeonholing of personality types? It seems she wants to encourage women to find a deep, lasting relationship by using shallow, witty-for-the-moment quips that will most likely be forgotten faster than last month's headline news.

If the title of this book offends you, do not buy the book because the content is equally earthy. How much did Victoria's Secret pay for this 200 page ad? If you are mildly curious about the various behind the scene exploits of CNN headline news anchor this book satisfies. If you want personal advice there are better sources. One wonders, what will she spend her money on after her hormones change? Have the stories about poor starving opressed people in her news had no impact on her choices? I hope that this is not the last we will hear from Ms. Russell!