Events Books

The comments provided by the other reviewers are fair and accurate, I agree with them, so I would only point out that this book does not merely describe what happened but above all it explains why it happened. I hold it as a masterful work that can be savored by the professional historian and educated layperson alike. My rate is between 5 (content) and 4 (pleasure, sometimes falling to 3, sometimes raising to 5). I highly recommend it.

Other books on war that I would recommend would be "War before Civilization. The Myth of the Peaceful Savage", by Lawrence Keeley; "How War Began" by Keith F. Otterbein; and "War and Peace and War: The Rise and Fall of Empires" by Peter Turchin.

Additionally, as a complement to "War on Human Civilization", I would also suggest reading the following works, whose scope is as amazingly global as Gat's: 1. Agrarian cultures: "Pre-industrial societies" by Patricia Crone; 2. Economy: "The world economy. A millennial perspective" (2001) plus "The world economy: Historical Statistics" (2003) by Angus Maddison (a combined edition of these two volumes is to appear on December 2007); 3. Government: "The History of Government" by S.E. Finer; 4. Ideas: "Ideas, a History from Fire to Freud", by Peter Watson; 5. Religion: "The Phenomenon of Religion: A Thematic Approach" by Moojan Momen.

This book actually contains all of the complete details necessary for a comprehesive 2-semester interdiciplinary course on war - at the graduate level. And even if you are a "war college" graduate from any military service - you've never read about war the way Azar Gat presents War. Reading Azar Gat requires one to study and reflect upon the massive amount of supporting comprehesive details that he so skillfully presents -as well as the overall perspective he supports. In this particular case, Gat presents a very detailed perspective of War based upon a cogent argument of complex bio-cultural interaction. He starts at the very beginning of primitive wars (primates/Homo Erectus), and works all the way on up to modern war as we know it. (And don't be fooled - because it's not Darwin's brand of evolutionary theory anymore either.) It is a very complex in presentation - but necessarily so in order to professionally justify a rather basic argument built upon well documented facts, propensities, predispositions and trends of human nature/nuture as they affect the phenomenon of war. It is an argument that is anything but mere opinion. This is an excellent 'insightful' book for mandatory reading at the highest levels of government or military - in any government or military. Surprisingly despite the complexities, it is quite understandable, for you often walk away with many thoughts like - "Well that's what I suspected all along." The price is a mere pittance vis-a-vis the facinating and illuminating content of this book. Anyone who reads "War in Civilization" will never look at War the same way again - including the current wars that are going on right now. You WILL have to read this book at least twice! It's a Keeper!

This is truly a "shock and awe" book! Once again, Azar Gat will stun and amaze you with 800 pages of pure intellect to the Nth degree! I was always very impressed by his other books on war. Yet, with 28+ years of active duty military service and a personal library of 1000+ books on various military subjects - I have NEVER been more impressed by such a comprehensive interdisciplinary treatment on the "enigma of Warre". This book seamlessly blends psychology, sociology, archeology, anthropology, and history, along with a myriad of other relevant disciplines to provide the most extensive examination on the general theme of war that I have ever experienced. I am now totally convinced that all senior military officers should only study the broad scope of war from such a well-informed interdisciplinary approach {long before they delve into any details with the devil). This book is anything but a `same-old-same-old' standard perspective of war. This book will force a truly open-minded reader to reassess every facet of war - and every predisposition encountered about war. I believe that this book is "the" seminal document to begin a reeducation and reassessment of our all of our so-called `modern-day' beliefs, motives, policies, strategies, operations and tactics about war. This book should be a mandatory read for all senior officials at the Whitehouse, DOD, DoS,DNI, NSA, CIA, FBI, and ALL intelligence agencies. This book should be a mandatory read at every service staff college and war college. Get it - read it - read it again and again - and you will ponder new perspectives about the riddle of war for years to come.

I had a bit of time over the holidays so I read two new massive tomes on warfare, Gat's and one by Max Boot. Gat's stunningly comprehensive work is so good that it manages to make other 500+ page books seem positively lightweight and journalistic in comparison. This treatment of the history of war and warfare, or 'human belligerency' as Gat puts it, would overwhelm the non-specialist (it clocks in at about 820 pages), if it weren't for the author's ability to synthesize material, sum up scholarship and, last but not least, write some of the clearest and most lucid prose I've seen in the social sciences in ages. He makes forays into evolutionary theory, state formation, antiquity, technology and the rise of science, prehistory, the transition to agriculture, democratic peace theory, etc. The chapter on tribal warfare (in Agraria and Pastoralia, as Gat puts it) is -- as the saying has it -- worth the price of admission alone. His careful demolition of radical Rousseauist idealism is equally fascinating, but he is no simplistic, knee-jerk Hobbesian.

Gat is philosophically astute as well as deep; he knows history as well as theory; and he even treats, if briefly, the question of the causes of war. Above all, the book is animated by his personality: one can surmise that, yes, he's quite intellectual, but his is a mind that is always probing, curious and interesting. (There's a picture of the author on the back flap. He is youngish but he has bags under his eyes. He must read and write around the clock. I for one am grateful.) This is my book of the year.

The first line of Azar Gat's tome, War in Human Civilization, asks a seemingly innocuous question, "Is war grounded, perhaps inescapably, in human nature?" By examining a daunting array of fields--cultural and biological evolution, psychology, archeology, history, political science, sociology, and ethology--Gat constructs a comprehensive analysis of war unprecedented in scope and brilliance.
War in Human Civilization is split into three parts, "Warfare in the First Two Million Years: Environment, Genes, and Culture," "Agriculture, Civilization, and War," and "Modernity: the Dual Face of Janus." Gat begins by examining the fundamental motivations for violent conflict in nature. Adhering to the tenets of biological evolution, violent encounters were the product of competition for reproductive success--access to females and the resources necessary to attract and support them--and somatic resources, food. Gat proposes an "evolutionary calculus" in which the motivations for violent conflict are the direct or subsequent necessity of fitness. The evolutionarily selected behaviors that lead to violent conflict are (1) competition (2) retaliation to injure the enemy and/or reestablish deterrence, and (3) kin-based altruism, dictating that one's willingness for self-sacrifice decreases as the cost-benefit of genetic similarity decreases. Simply, the fight for survival and the protection of offspring, siblings, cousins, and so on, are innate.
Gat utilizes the ideologies of Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In drawing a distinction between hunter-gathers and pre-state agriculturalists, he finds that the Hobbesian view of intrinsic violence "closer to the truth," but not entirely dominating. He examines archaeological and historical data and reveals that state-based warfare is actually less lethal than pre-state violence, contrary to the Rousseauite thesis of a naturally peaceful man coerced into conflict over state-imposed materialism. In other words, civilization has, by coercive power, enforced (internal) peace, the reality of violent conflict more manifest in the dominating fear of it than its actual practice. However, Gat also recognizes the potential for error in using archaeological evidence that may neither be comprehensive nor representative. The sheer scale of state-based warfare renders it more "spectacular" while the mortality rate (among a much larger population) decreases. From this foundation Gat analyzes the relationship between cultural and biological evolution. Both are reproductive, restrained, and unendingly competitive systems, though cultural reproduction occurs far faster as transmission is possible horizontally from any mind to another. Culture, according to Gat, is largely restrained by biological predispositions that, in turn, affect the selection of biological traits. This, importantly, can even be harmful to our biological fitness, as selection against these traits--such as a taste for sugary foods that previously served to favor ripe, and thereby nutritionally valuable, fruit--is weak. Gat identifies the advent of agriculture and animal husbandry and the development of the state and civilization as the two most influential "'take off' transitions" in human culture.
Production in the form of agriculture and animal husbandry led to population increases and the concentration of peoples and resources. This concentration allowed resource monopolization as well as the differential concentration and appropriation of the limited surpluses. Here the Rousseauite notion comes into play, proposing that "existing natural differences between people were enormously magnified and objectified by accumulated resources." This, in kind, reinforced stratification by creating dependence on a few monopolizers necessary for subsistence. Coercive mobilization of peoples, resources, and the growth of scale increased the size of violent conflicts. Professional fighting forces were established along pseudo-kin lines (soldier brotherhood), dictating that "us" is cohesive against "them." This practice also led to sedentary fortification of settlements and the state-created distinction between murder and feud, and war.
Modern war between nations takes its definitional origins from Prussian military philosopher Carl von Clausewitz. According to Clausewitz war is a political act involving prolonged instances of conflict utilizing violent force or the threat of force to make unfavorable the conditions of resistance to one's will. According to Gat this definition is inadequate, explaining only large-scale war, and ignores the fact that the greater magnitude of state-based warfare is actually less lethal than pre-state violence. Nevertheless, despite his broad and thorough analysis, Gat's loose and implicit definition of war as any form of violent conflict reduces all motivations--political, spiritual, and material--to nothing more than complex manifestations of a desire for sex and survival.
At its most basic, civilization increased the material cost of fighting by harming people and their productivity while adding considerable complexity to the innate motivations of reproductive and somatic resources. Prestige, honor, and power were developed as channels of resource monopolization, demonstrated by rulers' coffers and harems. Cultural links created by language, custom, and even ethnicity and nationalism formed communities similar to kin groups, making defense of these practices and similarities akin to the protection of one's genetic family. Gat views these cultural bonds, religion in particular, as the product of man's biological ability for extreme intellectual adaptation and curiosity: "We are compulsive meaning seekers." The development of written language created another means of connection while permitting the storage and transmission of vast amounts of knowledge, religion and mythology included. Interestingly enough, Gat points out that despite the peaceful creeds of both Christianity and Islam, both structurally accepted war, were utilized in its pursuit, and have been unable to "eradicate the motivations and realities that generated war." War has been a part of human existence for hundreds of thousands of years, but what of its role in the modern world?
In the last section of War in Human Civilization Gat looks to the development of nation-states, the peculiarity of Western success, the impact of technological innovation, and the role of affluent liberal democracies. Immanuel Kant proposed in Perpetual Peace that liberal democracies, particularly constitutional republics, would not war with one another because of the price members of those republics would have to pay to do so. Gat quickly recognizes that some historic republics have been militant and successful contrary to this thesis, but also that quantitative analysis of wars in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries show that very few conflicts were between two democratic states. Gat thoroughly examines the prospect of a democratic peace and delves extensively into the relevant literature and contemporary arguments, pointing out significant exceptions (like India and Pakistan) and errors (oversimplification, assumption, and vague definitions of "war" and "democracy"). In its original form, Gat rejects the democratic peace theory, framing his own in a complex and intricate examination of the organization and operation of modern affluent liberal democracies.
Gat recognizes the significance of globalized commerce, economic interdependence, and the pacifistic tendencies of these societies, and proposes that economic development renders the benefits of peace, and not the costs of war, prohibitive. He supports this claim with evidence of an overall decline in war in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries independent of democratic governments. This suggests that the existence of powerful liberal democracies produces benefits that affect peace globally. The citizens in these democracies, for example, have difficulty justifying killing, conquering, or taking territory. The tolerant democratic process can even be seen as making more palatable and readily practiced negotiation and compromise. Gat's view in this case is highly optimistic, asserting that the tenets of liberal democracy (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) make war unacceptable in all but the most drastic and threatening situations, "sometimes barely even then." In this complex ideological system, Gat is careful to mention a variety of related factors--the sexual revolution, decreasing birth rates, wealth, the shrinking size of the modern family, women's vote, and the advent of unprecedented destructive force in the nuclear age. Gat's affluent liberal democratic peace reconstruction, while more inclusive and explanatory, still remains assailable, if not only for its complexity and admitted exceptions.
In a modern sense, war can be symmetrical or asymmetrical, the force and advantage heavily in favor of one participant. The growing use of terrorism and guerilla tactics, combined with the replacement of the nation by the ideological sect as the center of gravity, has historically proved insurmountable for even the most powerful liberal democracies. Vietnam, Korea, Malaya, Algeria, Afghanistan, and Iraq are prominent examples. Gat's examination of insurgency, terrorism, deterrence, weapons of mass destruction, and the particular character of modern asymmetrical war are provocative. If deterrence, countermeasures, and prevention all fall short of effectively countering assault, then what?
War in Human Civilization is undoubtedly an exhausting and impressive work. "Is war grounded, perhaps inescapably, in human nature?" Gat says yes--and it is natural, explainable, and most importantly exceptional from other forms of conflict in nature because of human culture and the development of civilization through agriculture and animal husbandry, not any quality of its intrinsic character. The motivations and realities are the same. "That `war' is customarily defined as large-scale organized violence is merely a reflection of the fact that human societies have become large and organized." The ultimate causes of war are deeply rooted in our evolutionary history. War is a political act, but the politics that underlie its assumption were created in pursuit of the same elementary biological ends. The same evolutionary calculus that pushes us to crave candy and sex encompasses the array of variables necessary (though not always sufficient) that bring us to war. Gat, using a colossal reservoir of interdisciplinary knowledge, has forever changed our interpretation of war, violence, and our very nature.

Written by James R. Mancham (the founding President of the Republic of Seychelles, a small island nation in the Pacific), War On America: Seen From The Indian Ocean is a cold, hard, factual look at American foreign policy and its ramifications since the 1960s, from this island nation's point of view. Covering events up to and including the September 11 terrorist attacks, War On America is a straightforward, candid, outside perspective that reveals the sometimes arbitrary and self-serving aspect of America's view toward the world, and its repercussions. Informed and informative, War On America is strongly recommended as a very insightful book and important, timely reading for students of contemporary international studies in general, and the non-specialist general reader wanting background information on how we as a nation became embroiled in a long term war upon "stateless" terrorism.

In a letter dated 31st March addressed to the author President Chirac of France wrote " It is with great interest that I have noted your analysis of the international situation against the background of your experience and wisdom. Like you I aspire that be built, from day to day, a world which is more balanced, equitable and peacful. In this way, France contribute, where ever she can, to promote priciples essential to peace and to the well being of our humanity."
Weekend Nation Seychelles 4th May 2002.

I loved your book!

It is a masterpiece of inspiration, historical relevance, and the candid reality of post modern politics.

War on America As Seen from the Indian Ocean is a must read and must be discussed handbook for every Academic Honors Program student and demands its own course within America's High Schools and Universities as a study of Global Politics, Global Economy, Global Human Rights, and the Global cry of a people through her founding President and impassioned leader...my friend, HE Sir James Mancham.

At times I cried as I walked through the pages of your experience...

Unless our nation's Honors Students comprehend the complexity of a visionary's role in making history with desirable outcomes for the greater good, and step into that role, even to make a brief wrinkle in the fabric of time, our students are destined to repeat small town thinking, small town politics, small town isolation...and end up somewhere that is called nowhere with no one to care...

The major themes in 'War on America seen for the Indian Ocean' are woven around two key themes: 'Seychelles' strategic location and the naivete of US foreign policy. It describes the recent past of the country at the height of the Cold War and the enormous sacrifice paid by the First President, Sir James Mancham, who was forced into exile following a Marxist-inspired coup that could have been prevented in the first place had the then US Administration paid a little more attention to its smaller allies. The author believes that Seychelles can serve as a model for other countries that are grappling with post-colonial divisions amid a unipolar world. More than simply a political statement and argument on a flawed US foreign policy, this book is also an affirmation of Sir James' love for the people of Seychelles in its quest for peace, stability and reconciliation. Small island countries should take note. An excellent publication.

This timely book is written by a former president with personal experience with the projection of US interests overseas. It looks at America's capability to lead the world in a campaign against terrorism after September 11. He uses sources friendly to America, or Americans themselves--including Henry Kissinger's "Does America Need a Foreign Policy?" to show why America needs to ground the use of its power in a consistent moral policy, promoting peace and human rights not by caprice but by willing acceptance in a world desperate for true leadership.

I consider myself a moderate in social issues and conservative on economic issues. This is a very relevant book. The author really understands how our government, at all levels, occasionally anoints itself with greater power than provided by the Constitution, to the detriment of regular citizens. It seems that this occurs more regularly in the West, where government controlled land abounds and political power falls below that of both coasts. The author, and the Foundation he heads, appear to have both the skills and mindset to stand up to the government and champion the rights of the rest of us. Good for them. Read and learn, and spread the word.

A thought provoking and revealing study on some of most significant and successful legal challenges to the Federal Government's ever-expanding reach into the lives and land uses of those uniquely American Westerner.
Who better than William Perry Pendly, a true "western warrior" in every sense of the phrase, to bring us these inspiring stories of the men and women he has led and the court battles they have waged in their noble yet unsung effort to preserve true Republican ideals and the Western way of living.

The United States is fortunate to have Perry Pendley and his Mountain State Legal Foundation. Pendley's most recent book, Warriors for the West, is one of those accounts that law students should read as Introduction to Legal Reality 101 and internalize as illustrating some of the problems that an ordinary citizen can encounter.

It is not that the federal government is deliberately malicious in dealing with its citizens; to so think would be paranoia. It is more that vast bureaucracies have their rules and guidelines, and for the well-meaning innocent caught up in the process, it often appears that even with the best of good will, the citizen will be wrong/wrong/wrong. And, if (s)he has the temerity to suggest the USG is wrong, it will be a painfully expensive and humiliating experience--and "common sense" is highly unlikely to be part of that process.

Pendley illustrates this reality in a series of highly readable case studies ranging from the grisly fate of those who encounter grizzly bears to why racecar driver Bobby Unser is a criminal. These stories would be funny, if they were not so infuriating. Over and over in the reading, one cries out for the official who would say, "Wait a minute; this is really too silly to continue." But you end with the impression that stopping the grinding mill before you are finely ground, is more a matter of luck (and good lawyers) than not. We need more Perry Pendleys; it is not only the West that requires warriors.

This is a book that goes to the heart of the struggle for America as the founding fathers envisioned it. This book attacks the lies that radical left wing groups have been using for over a generation to scare the American people into inaction. This book shows us the real story behind the hype and media attention on environmental policy, affirmative action and public use. Mountain States Legal Foundation is the voice of the silent majority in America today.

This book is filled with interesting but very disturbing true stories of westerners (and others) who must fight in the courtroom to protect their liberties and rights guaranteed by federal law. Although the author is an attorney, he writes for lay audiences and makes a very compelling case that government is much too big and powerful and its lawyers do not care about justice. The willingness of ordinary Americans to go to court for years and years is inspiring. All of the book is very well documented. I recommend it most highly!

I can't tell you how great this book is for someone who feels the government is not as much for the people as it for the rich and powerful. Let us take action!

In We the Purple, seasoned journalist Marcia Ford employs sass, spirituality and statistics to expose the failings of our current two party system that blocks independent voters from having a viable voice in the political arena. Using her piercing wit and keen research skills, she shines a light on both the failings of the Religious Right and the Progressive Left, when they align themselves with a given political party instead of following the teachings of the risen Christ. In particular, I pray that religious leaders will heed her clarion call to be pastors and preachers not politicos.

Marcia Ford has really hit the nail on the head in this smart and important call to action for independent voters -- and all Americans -- as we make our way through the murky partisan waters of today's politics. In addition to being chock-full of the ordinary folks around the country who are carrying out the fight for non-partisan and independent politics, Marcia brings her own personal story of transformation to the pages of this book. A delightful read! -- Nancy Hanks (The Hankster)

With all the political jabber that has been repeated over and over for the past year, this book is a truly refreshing look at politics today. I, for one, am fed up with constantly hearing about "looking past political lines," yet only seeing slams against opposite parties or candidates. Although Ford's book does have faith-based messages, she tells the view of the independent voter in a way that can be related to any sensible voter, independent or not. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get back to the true American values of democracy and freedom.

Marcia Ford's book titled "We the Purple" is a refreshing account for the independent, faith-based voter. I found myself relating to many of the instances that Ford describes. With a real sense of emotion she details that just because she has faith, does not mean she is an automatic Republican. With this in mind she reaches to readers who believe in God, but find themselves all over the political spectrum.

With an intense upcoming election in 2008, I would recommend this title to readers with an independent mindset.

This book is remarkable in its power and simplicity. Indeed the reactionary H.L. Mencken was moved to write in the mid-20's that though he had a distaste for their political ideas Berkman and Emma Goldman were very good prose stylists, showed a great deal of intelligent and clear thinking and that the United States sorely needed Berkman's contribution to the debate on national problems.

Of course, Goldman and Berkman were among the many hundreds of non-naturalized Americans who were deported during the Mitchell Palmer Red Scare of 1919 for actively speaking out against American participation in World War I. Berkman himself was a terribly reviled figure. He served prison time for attempting to murder Henry Clay Frick while the latter was killing strikers and successfully crushing the union movement at Andrew Carnegie's steel plants in Homestead Pennsylvania in 1892.In this book Berkman gives a history of some of the martyrs in the struggle for the dignity of labor in the United States. He notes the case of the militant union activist Tom Mooney. An investigator from the Department of Labor concluded that the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce had been actively trying to frame Mooney for a variety of crimes. Mooney kept getting arrested and released but during a preparedness day parade in San Francisco in 1916 a bomb went off and Mooney, along with Warren Billings, was charged with having personally set off the bomb. Berkman notes that after Mooney's conviction many police witnesses came forward ( they were backed in this by the sworn testimony of three police officials) and said that they had been bribed and threatened so that they would perjure themselves. However Mooney's death sentence was only commuted to life imprisonment and he remained in prison until 1938.

From reading Goldman's and Pateman's introductory notes to this book I thought that the book might be a little patronizing when it was said that it was intentionally constructed with the most simplicity possible in order that the general worker might comprehend anarchism. But it is anything but patronizing. In this book Berkman exhorts the worker to understand how foolish she is to believe that she has the same interests as her bosses and how workers are duped into fighting wars for imperialism and profit.

He exhorts the working class to understand that it is the laborers who create the wealth of society not the bosses who shuffle papers, speculate on the stock market and figure out how to squeeze more work out of laborers while maximizing profits. It is the workers who should manage business enterprises themselves. He outlines his industrial syndicalist method which he believes provides the best chance to bring this society about. Workers should form councils in their individual workplaces made up of workers of all skill levels and crafts. These councils especially need to attract professionals like engineers. Industries of course need managers trained in technical matters but these managers are merely administrators of the industrial plans laid out for them by the workers of an individual firm and offer advice but certainly do not have any authority over the workers. All the workers need to acquire the basic outline of the sciences and methods of operation required to run their industries according to Berkman. The worker's council in one firm federates with other worker's councils at the local, regional and national levels.

Berkman explains that incentives to workers are pretty irrelevant. When one sees a lazy worker it is evidence that they are being forced into a line of work that is not stimulating to them. Under anarchism everyone will have the ability to be educated and trained for a line of work of their own choosing, to explore the possibilities of their own intellects, unhindered by the need to survive by enrolling in wage slavery for some job you don't like.

When workers have a direct ability to manage their own affairs in voluntary cooperation with their fellows, it exercises their intellects and gives them self-respect. It is quite the opposite in capitalism of course where the worker is directed and bullied and squeezed by the boss day in and day out.. It was this idea that inspired the Russian revolution, Berkman observes. The Bolsheviks on the contrary believed in a hierarchal one party dictatorship but in the several months before November 1917 they embraced anarchist ideas and rode to power on them. However within six months the soviets (workers councils) of the Russian soldiers, workers and peasants were emasculated, becoming only tools of a centralized dictatorship. The spirit of voluntarism and sacrifice evaporated which had motivated many poor and miserable Russians to defend their cities against the White armies and help get the factories and farms moving again. The philosophy of the Bolsheviks, as Berkman quotes Bukharin, was to make socialists out of Russians by making them undergo compulsory labor and executing anyone who objected. Having no say in how their country was governed, Russian workers and peasants lost enthusiasm for work. Workers started to desert their factors for rural areas. Bolshevik hoodlums came around to villages and terrorized people and requisitioned entire villages' agricultural produce. Then famine came along. Bolshevik commissars received the best rations of all and lived in decent comfort while the rest of the population starved. No one gave more fuel to the fire of counterrevolution than the Bolsheviks' own policies.

Berkman was a very courageous man. He could have been a good soldier and kept quiet about what was going on in Russia and hoped that things would get better. The refuge he and Emma Goldman found in Russia after 1919 was now closed to them and for the rest of his life he lived in France on a very precarious passport, deported a number of times but always managing to get some strings pulled to get back in. He committed suicide in 1936, too soon for him to see the anarchist revolution in Spain.

His discussion of the bourgeois criminal justice system and the proper treatment of counterrevolutionaries is interesting and thoughtful.

This is a very straightforward, accurate introduction to the political philosophy of anarchism. Berkman wrote this book so the "anglo-saxon american working class would understand and relate to it". In other words, the book is very easy to read, unlike a lot of other anarchist literature of the era. He divides quite a few topics into short separate chapters. He speaks about war, labor, capitalism, etc. I suggest this to those who are anarchists, or those who just want information on REAL anarchism. (not mindless "chaos" or "disorder" as some people believe this philosophy to be about)

Hands down one the best books I've read about Anarchism. Very inspiring. Easy to read, hard to put down. Definitely check this book out!

I first heard of Anarchism, in high school, in politics class. Our teacher gave us a paper, with a table of different political theories such as Conservatism, Socialism, Anarchism, etc., etc. We as a class had to go through the table making notes together, and when we were finished, we didn't have anything for Anarchism. A student was curious and asked the teacher what Anarchism was, and the teacher said: "It's probably people running around killing each other" etc., etc. That's what I thought Anarchism was ever since, until I somehow stumbled on this book. Don't believe the capitalist claptrap, of what Anarchism supposedly is in history books. A thing you notice among many Anarchists is their idealism, which I admire, and their vision of the perfect future which I think is very unrealistic. An example is Émile Henry. He has good ideas but he goes on to say something along the lines of there will be no more murder out of jealous passion anymore. That is just silly. You see this with Orthodox Anarchists and Fascists, which are the two extremes of governance. They both have the idea that their ideas are infallible. Two Anarchists that I think have good ideas that can be applied and are very realistic include César De Paepe and James Guillaume. Find a copy of "No Gods No Masters" by Daniel Guérin for those Anarchists I mentioned above, including Henry. "What is Anarchism?" focuses on Anarcho-Communism. A lot of the arguments against Capitalism are very useful. They cover many of the questions ordinary people ask about Anarchism and even Socialism. If you want to know what Anarchism is all about, this book should help you greatly.

Emma Goldman records in her autobiography that Berkman found *What is Anarchism* a difficult book to write. He wanted to write a book that would explain anarchism to the average American. Given that the average American misunderstood anarchism to be about throwing bombs, Berkman had to begin on a basic introductory level.

He pulled it off masterfully. Berkman takes a commonsense and conversational tone throughout the book, and he covers considerable ground. He explains to readers how the capitalism is basically a system of wage slavery and he discusses the other great social harms it produces. He differentiates left anarchism from western European socialism (a system of reformist capitalism) and from Marxist socialism. In fact, Berkman often discusses the Bolsheviks in the USSR, who imposed an oppressive system of, effectively, state-capitalism that he witnessed first hand. Other topics include trade unions, war, religion, violence, revolution and others. Berkman is particularly effective in discussing how an anarchist revolution would not be one given to wanton destruction, that it would try to preserve as much life and infrastructure as possible. And he sketches how an anarchist society would operate.

Those who are completely unfamiliar with anarchism will find this book worthwhile. Anarchists will also find this book helpful because Berkman shows how to explain anarchism on an intuitive level.

This book is a quick read with short chapters. Very logical and intelligently expressed. Ingersoll was a man ahead of his time. After readig this, I will certainly look for more of his writings.

If only more people had the guts to put the defense of the constitution ahead of their personal desires this country would be great forever. Robert Ingersoll is one of the greatest Americans of all time, and his words should be studied in every history class in America. Why aren't they? I will let you figure that out.

At only 130 pages or so - and short ones at that, this is not some massive tome by a guy who wrote 120 years years ago in flowery 19th century language that will sit on your shelf gathering dust.

You can chew this up in an afternoon - or a few afternoons, if you'd like to savor it more. And it's completely readable prose - no archaic Victorian language here.

In fact, the main thing that makes one realize that this book isn't contemporary writing is the lack of cynicism and snarkiness aimed at the other side; religious zealots that want to insert God into public policy, law, education and so on.

There's no bitterness here, no anger at what has been lost or could be lost in our society if we overthrow rational thought, enlightenment and science over for any 2000 year old magic book.

Ingersoll's points about why God is not mentioned in the US Constitution and why that was such a bold important step in the evolution of society is something that I wish every fundamentalist in America would read and consider.

Tim Page's non-sycophantic intro to Ingersoll is also well-done, pointing out how remarkable he was, even if his writings never produced the single polished gem that might have kept his works known a little more in the early 21st century.

It's a valuable book for any freethinker in America today; cheap, and well put together. Highly recommended.

This brief selection of Robert Ingersoll's writing is one which I would repeatedly pick up to read an essay, put it down and walk away, and read some more the following day. No, it was not that bad, it was, in fact, that good. I felt the need to read it over a week's time rather than finish it in one sitting on a quiet afternoon, which easily could be done, so that the words had time to soak in. Ingersoll, though he wrote over a century ago, gives modern readers a great deal to think about. Truly, it is easy to forget that these works are not contemporary, as the issues he speaks about are still relevant, and perhaps even more so now. It is not until he mentions things such as workers earning three dollars a day that we are reminded of our distance in time, if not in character and predicament. It also reminds us of how desperately our country needs an Ingersoll today.

Ingersoll was a pragmatic agnostic and an incredible moral thinker. Then, as now, his skepticism kept him from reaching high political office. Readers will find that his reasoning is sound and powerfully convincing while his language remains approachable but still with its own inspirational beauty:

"You cannot be so poor that you cannot help somebody. Good nature is the cheapest commodity in the world; and love is the only thing that will pay ten per cent to borrower and lender both. Do not tell me that you have got to be rich! We have a false standard of greatness in the United States. We think here that a man must be great, that he must be notorious; that he must be extremely wealthy, or that his name must be upon the putrid lips of rumor. It is all a mistake. It is not necessary to be rich or to be great, or to be powerful, to be happy. The happy man is the successful man. Happiness is the legal tender of the soul. Joy is wealth." (Ingersoll 1877)

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough to anyone who is concerned with the state of America and its constitution, church and state relations, child abuse, and various other issues. Ingersoll reveals even the ridiculousness of today's political debates, where a candidate's faith is often more important than their political platform. Tim Page's introduction is informative and places Ingersoll's works in their historical and modern context. Also, Page has edited some of Ingersoll's essays, but not to their detriment. And really, at ten dollars (almost four days pay in Ingersoll's time, but probably less than an hours work for you), how can you go wrong?

So wrote editor Tim Page of Robert G. Ingersoll in the introduction to this short, easy to read book. Ingersoll was one of the intellectual giants of the second half of the 19th century. Sadly and tragically he is now all but forgotten. Known as The Great Agnostic, he spent his life pointing out hypocrisy, railing against injustice and ridiculing superstitious beliefs. As America's foremost practitioner of rational thought, he had the ear of many a President. Yet he remained always modest and never deviated from living a life characterized by kindness, love of humanity and generosity in all things.

Any writing or speech attributable to Robert Ingersoll is worth reading and rereading. And those contained in What's God Got to Do with It? are no exceptions. This collection consists of a number of short works on a wide range of subjects. Like his admiration for Robert Burns and Thomas Paine. The unfairness of tax exempt status for churches. The ugliness of corporeal punishment of children. The futility of prayer and fasting. Women's rights and much, much more.

For those unfamiliar with the humanistic philosophy of Robert Ingersoll, this book would be a fine place to start. America sorely needs another Ingersoll now more than ever. He was one of the greats.

This is the story of Fred Holly, growing up in Omaha in the 1960s and 1970s; and the Holly family--Fred, Sarah, Laurence, who has Down's syndrome, and Charlotte, the youngest.

The Holly family gets to know neighbor James Day well, as he takes dance lessons at the same studio along with Sarah. Their parents, Morgan and Eileen and Serena and Ronald, become close friends. The children grow up in an almost idyllic world--with performances for the parents and friends in the attic that is their space, and art and dance classes, and a special school for Laurence.

Fred early on realizes he longs to live in the ivory tower that is the Joslyn Museum. He he takes classes there, volunteers, and dreams of being a museum director and leaving Omaha. As he gets older, he and his best friend James are exposed to the world of rock and roll, and first loves. Fred loves from afar, and helps his beloved though a rocky relationship with another boy. He is also angered by James' attraction to his debate coach, Neil; and does not quite understand his anger.

As they near age 18, the Vietnam War is raging. Suddenly Charlotte is ill--the annoying 11-year-old little sister who wanted to always hang out with the teenagers, who borrowed records and stole change--and their lives change forever.

This is Maureen Millea Smith's first novel, and it is a true gem. Intriguing and well-defined characters, a talent for depicting an era and a place, and a wonderful story combine to make this book nearly perfect.

Armchair Interviews: This would make a great book for a book club.

Rarely does one book encompass all of the finest elements of fiction-- well-developed, intriguing characters; a heart-warming and seamless plot; and most importantly, an authentic, crystal-clear voice. "When Charlotte Comes Home" is such a book. In her first novel, Millea Smith creates the well-detailed universe of Omaha in the 1960s and 1970s, and the results are breathtaking. As a lover of contemporary American fiction, I place her among the likes of Anne Tyler and Barbara Kingsolver. YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!

The novel opens in a compelling way, as before we begin, we know that Charlotte will not come home. Until and after we get to that point, we are treated to a wealth of interesting characters who, like us all, do the best they can in a time, the 60s, and place, Omaha, that limit them. Smith writes with truthful candor about untimely death and its impact on the Holly family and their friends. The novel portrays all its varying characters with generosity, compassion, and understanding.

I was profoundly affected by Smith's precision in writing but most importantly by the novel's story. It is brilliant!

This book takes the reader deliciously back to the decades of the 60s and 70s. I laughed out loud when reading the author's description of the children's view of their parent's adult nights out. TheRolling Stones, Kent State, the Ed Sullivan Show, the draft and Vietnam are all captured delicately and beautifully, within the pages of Smith's book. I hurt and laughed and cried right along with the Holly family. This is a sensitive, funny and heartwarming book. Definitely destined to be a classic!

WHEN CHARLOTTE COMES HOME is a beautifully written story. Fred was a sensitive young man growing up in a Catholic family in Omaha when the death of his spunky younger sister caused a deep and far-reaching affect on his entire family and broader community. With the bleak backdrop of the 60's and 70's, Fred looks back on his early, formative years and his own sexual awakening and coming of age as a young gay man. Beautifully written, evocative of a definitive time and place, this story of one family's loss will resonate for anyone who has ever lost someone they love. And young people deciding who and how to love will find solace here too.

This book is an underrated classic and it's truly a damn shame that it's no longer in print! Essentially, this is Martin Luther King's blueprint plans for a post Civil-Rights movement America. He speaks of multiethnic coalitions, against the less positive aspects of Black nationalism, and he speaks of ways to "turn the streetcorners of the ghettos from dens of iniquity to miniature schools." Much of what he says here is quite practical also. Read this and you will be happy that, although Dr. King is no longer with us, his message has been preserved.

This book is simply amazing. Even though it was written 45 years ago, it has a terrific insight into the problems of America. Even though I am not Christian, I find that Martin Luther's ideas really apply to all people, no matter who they are. Its a pity that more Americans don't read his books. Anyhow, if you can find it, I highly recommend that you read it! :)

The beauty and depth of this book is that it tells us about human political relations today even though it was written over 30 years ago!

I also like that it is Martin Luther King in his own words (not some opportunistic interpretation of his ideas) on subjects like:
Black Power
Affirmative Action
Poverty
Love

It also makes it painfully clear the Martin Luther King Jr. was far more extraordinary in his leadership than we give him credit for being today. He thought deeply, connected the dots, and put his life behind his ideals. This is a must read for anyone who hasn't already connected the dots between justice, religion and love.

As a reader one often searches for a book that will inspire, and yet, teach. Martin Luther King has done just this. His prose educates and inspires passion. As an avatar for civil rights Martin Luther King Jr's story is as compelling as any figure in history-white or black. And if any reader wants to get a true measure of this brilliant man, look not just to the words of others, but to the words of the man himself. Allow Martin to transport you with his pithy, unpretentious prose to an area of higher consciousness.

Truly remarkable. A worthy read for any generation and for any interest-whether your interest be in history or in education, in a lesson in passion or well-written prose. Martin's words asks us the difficult questions that we are so afraid to ask ourselves. A reading of this Classic treatise can certainly raise one above the chaos that still exists and inspire us to build a community of human beings.

A read worthy of a 9 for content and for force.

Dr. King's penultimate book provides a snapshot of where we were in 1967. Two turning points had been reached.

First, his program of nonviolent direct action was clearly winning the struggle against old fashioned southern segregation, and Dr. King was looking toward the next step. He believed that the next logical step toward setting people free was a massive government program addressing the problem of poverty.

Second, within the civil rights movement, a "black power" mentality was gaining prominence. Some argued that whites should be excluded from the civil rights movement, and that nonviolence should be abandoned. Dr. King insisted that this approach would only balkanize our country, having disastrous effect, especially on blacks.

As with his other books, the author's brilliance, his scholarship, and his Christian love all come through.

It would be best to read "Stride Toward Freedom" and "Why We Can't Wait" before reading this one.

Compiled, edited, and with an introduction by poet, novelist, editor, literary critic, and social activist Daniela Gioseffi, Women On War: An International Anthology Of Writings From Antiquity To The Present showcases women's observations predicting war, suffering its toll, finding the courage to resist, surviving against impossible odds, and so much more. A powerful and unforgettable work transcending eras and borders, Women On War is recommended for Women's Studies, Military Studies, and Social Issues reading lists.

The first edition of this anthology, published in 1988, was subtitled Essential Voices for the Nuclear Age and won an American Book Award. This second edition is certainly well timed. While it still addresses issues of the nuclear age and the further past it seems to speak directly to today's conflicts. Ranging widely in time and place, the over 150 women featured here (e.g., Anna Akmatova, Marguerite Duras, Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, and Emily Dickinson) include professional writers in several areas as well as activists (such as members of RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of Women) and "ordinary" women. Well-known names such as Indian writer Arundhati Roy might jump out, but readers may be most affected by some of the first-person accounts which can, however, be difficult to read--both for their graphic descriptions and for their sheer heartrending poignancy. Editor Gioseffi's introduction nicely contextualizes the wide-range contributions.

WOMEN ON WAR, edited with an introduction by Daniela Gioseffi--American Book Award winning poet and non-violent peace activist for many years--is "an eloquent response to global violence that sweeps through time and across national boundaries," said Doris Jean Austin, Reviewer in THE NEW YORK TIMES, of the first edition. Austin added. "This is a book one hopes will be translated into all languages of humankind." This all new edition contains such illustrious contributors as Jane Addams, Anna Akhmatova, Daisy al-Amir, Fadwa Tuqan, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Gace Paley, Claribel Alegria, Isaabel Allende, Maya Angelou, Simone de Beauvoir, Helen Caldicott, Rosalie Bertell, Carolyn Forche, Emma Goldman, Nadine Gordimer, Kimiko Hahn, Molly Peacock, Rochelle Ratner, Pwu Jean Lee, Tsai Wen Ji, Ch'iu Chin, Robin Morgan, Gabriela Mistral, Linda Hogan, Adrienne Rich, Denise Levertov, Vandana Shiva, Arundhati Roy, Wislawa Symborska, Luisa Valenzuela, Christa Wolf, Muriel Rukeyser, June Jordan and 100 others including Daniela Gioseffi herself who writes an insiteful and politically astute overview, as well as contributing a moving poem and an apt story. There is an extensive bibliography for further reading on this vital subject, as well, and extensive headnotes on all the authors. An immensely rich collection for a nominal price! And from a not-for-profit press, The Feminist Press with N.G.O. status at the United Nations--a press with the expressed mission of getting women's voices from all cultures out into the wide world in order to improve the status of women in all walks of life and endeavors.

This new edition of Daniels Gioseffi's unique and splendid collection is urgently needed now. Framed by Gioseffi's brilliant overview of the world's crisis, these vivid and visionary writings--poetry, history, politics and prose--inspire and galvanize. This book offers the great gift of hope and understanding on every page.

Blanche Wiesen Cook, author of ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

In his recent book "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning," Chris Hedges argues that many of us find war alluring because it gives our otherwise humdrum and centerless existences a sense of meaning. We feel part of something greater than ourselves, and as a consequence feel larger than life. Of course, this sense of deep meaning is illusory, but it does account in part for why so many men find themselves attracted to something as terrible as war.

One of the great merits of Daniela Gioseffi's multi-merited "Women on War" is its documentation of the other side. In our obsession with battlefield glory and stories of combat heroics, we too often forget that women and children are the forgotten victims of war. Already extremely vulnerable, they become even more so when societies are ripped asunder by the mayhem of armed conflict. In listening to their voices, we are reminded that the allure of war too frequently blinds us to what it does to those who can least afford its violence.

Gioseffi's book collects women's perspectives on war from all corners of the globe and from ancient to contemporary times. The book is divided into four thematic sections: "Prophecies and Warnings," "Violence and Mourning," "Courage and Resistance," and "Hope and Survival." The entire collection is prefaced with a superb introductory essay, "Cassandra's Daughters." As suggested by the thematic section titles, the selections go beyond expressing the suffering and torment experienced by women in wartime. Just as importantly, the selections also include women's voices of resistance and women's voices that offer alternatives to the madness of war. Some of the selections are heart-breaking, others are inspiring, none are superfluous or redundant. if war in part arises, as Hedges maintains, because of our alienated need for meaning, one solution to the problem of war is to figure out how to live nonalienated existences. The selections in this collection, especially in the final two sections, offer either direct or indirect suggestions for celebrating rather than destroying life. One of my favorites is the "I Have All the Passion of Life" by Puerto Rican poet Lolita Lebron:

"...Whoever denies life its joy,
the wealth of its complexity,
its rainbow-like countenance,
its downpour and its universe
of beauty, its generous giving,
the caress, the grain
with fruit and delicacies,
the bud, the flower, pain and
laughter;
those who deny life its measure
of joy
are the unseeing ones." (p. 300)

In short, a superb resource for anyone concerned about creating an alternative to the war system. Highly recommended for both individual and group reading. Would be an ideal text in any peace studies course.

I majored in history in college, but this series (read over a 6-month period) gave me a better understanding of the European viewpoint of modern history than I got from any of my college classes. From the beginning of World War I until the Cold War of the 1950's, Sinclair provides a perspective from each of the participants in the conflicts, not simply "our" side. Lanny Budd is clearly a fantastical character with unlimited access to decision makers (and to funds) but he allows the reader to see history from multiple scenes.
Clearly, Sinclair has his own political perspective (which is most visible in the last volumes as Lanny spends more time in the United States) but it doesn't detract from the scope of the novels. I wish I had read these while I was in college.. and wish that everyone responsible for foreign policy today had read them, too.

although fictionally Upton Sinclair unorthodoxly or unaccademically pictures the main conflict of a conflictuous XXth century. I've read it in my youth, and now again, and it is always a help to undersatnd what is going on in the world, even from a peripherical point of view. It's overflowing, verboragic and not literaly commendable; it's not history, but it is surely didactical. It's outdated, perhaps oldfashioned, but it is a work on its own merits that deserves to be read, and an interested reader will find enlightining and useful.

If you want to know what's going on with George Bush junior's fascination with Iraq, read this book. Quite clearly it shows how shortly after the turn of the century, Britain and France wanted to make sure they got access to oil ahead of Germany, despite the German's industrial base growing faster than that in Britain in France. The target: Mesopotamia. And what is Mesopotamia? Modern day Iraq. Also of interest was the explanation that Germany's superior air power during WWI was in part attributed to French industrialists who sold the materials necessary to Switzerland who in turn sold to Germany, which Germany used to attack France: all in the name of profit.

Beyond the historical references, the story is wonderfully told, and Lanny Budd's character is extraordinarily and realistically portrayed with true emotion and depth, quite an achievement for that period of time.

This series of books is exceptional and I hope to read all of them.

Master Craftsman! His command over language, the construction of sentences are nothing short of being stupendous. Whilst classics of Shakespeare or Dickens are still available - Upton's brilliant gems are hidden in depths of anonymity. What a crime! Whoever reads this review relegate Dan Brown to garbage, make origami of Steele's books and use Sidney Sheldon as toilet paper. Shockingly funny this Lanny Budd series is a class act. Students of English Language must look treat this
series as their Bible!

The Lanny Budd series of novels, starting with Worlds End, originally printed in the days of WW2, give the reader a greater understanding of the world events.

While the main character Lanny Budd is fictional, the historical figures are fairly true to life. You have to remember that Upton Sinclair has a socialist/left wing bias or perspective, but he is fairly even handed and that should not discourage the right wing reader.

I think one of the most valuable thing you get is a perspecive on how things were viewed by the different sides as the events transpired.

The plot starts in pre WW1 Europe, and the following books takes you thru WW2.

The books have been out of print for years, so I have been buying these books at used/rare shops to get the whole series. I am glad to see they are being reprinted - long at last.