Events Books

This is an interesting book with serviceable writing that will leave you uneasy about the state of our intelligence gathering and security. The 3 stars are more for writing style but there is a lot of merit in the content.

The author relays, at first, many good stories from what sounds like an honorable career with the FBI. Even as he wades more deeply into the swamp of corruption in the state of Arkansas these episodes have an almost folksy travelogue-esque style with a report-writing quality that is still readable enough to do the job. I had to remind myself that his manuscript was scrubbed through a sanitizing process by at least FBI and CIA agency reviews before publication.

Still we see interagency rivalries, incompetent bureaucrats, inappropriate political interventions, the ever-dysfunctional state department along with internal agency problems. He closes with some sobering observations on crisis of leadership and the FBI's drift away from its mission and missteps that made it a less than stellar player in the road to 9/11 and after. I found the last chapters most worth the read for this.

Taken in conjunction with the excellent (and highly recommended works) Terrorist Hunter, and the Third Terrorist, this book completes a picture of an agency in trouble.

I recommend these latter 2 books first for more info on the war with terrorists, but if you have time, Mr. Smith's memoirs are a nice read. And his book does, indeed, have a treasure trove of insights into the headlines of the 90's and bureaucratic bungling that will drive you crazy.

Not often does a career FBI manager write his uninhibited expose of the FBI. Street agents will stand up and applaud loudly. FBI deskjockeys will cringe behind their desks preferring to believe FBIHQ press releases. I so enjoyed the book I attempted to get my copy autographed but the author's email address is no longer in use. Nota bene: SAC Smith's comments on the Squiggly Box (aka polygraph) is alone worth the price of the book-----and is a chilling caveat to those who might even consider having their lies detected by wires, waves and wiggly lines. Suggest a followup: the 9/11 books by Peter Lance.

Smith's autobiography of his career with the FBI provides an outstanding view of many faces of the FBI. Smith captures the good, the bad and the ugly. Reading the book helps the reader to understand some of the Bureau's great achievements and failures.

The book provides a useful look into the culture of the FBI, a culture that has both great achievements and failures. Like so many other governmental and private organizations as more information is passed to headquarters through the information highways, micromanagement increases and leadership decreases. Clearly this was the case at the FBI.

Published after 9-11 the author offers some very insightful comments on what could have been done and what should be done in the future. Smith also traces the debacles at Waco and Ruby Ridge to leadership failures at the FBI headquarters and the appointment of a HRT leader with no experience in the area of hostage rescues or swat operations.

Sadly these same institutional deficiencies would later prove to be part of the fabric of failure which allowed 9-11 to happen. The Marines stress a culture where the opinions and experience of the senior NCO's are respected and nourished. Sadly the FBI evolved to an organization that failed to maintain high ethical standards and leadership in its headquarters and in doing so betrayed the Nation and the great people in the field.

Smith wanders in and out of international intrigue and then returns to handling high profile domestic cases.

It is not a true history of the bureau, but, rather one agent's journey through a distinguished career at the FBI at a time when its leadership was not up to the quality of the men and women in the field and the challenges it faced.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspects of the book are the allegations that top management of the FBI lied to Congress and others on the issue of critical matters relating the 9-11. Perhaps this is part of the culture that grew after the Bureau promoted senior leadership that had lied under oath about Ruby Ridge and had destroyed documents relating the the issue. Smith points out that the FBI was warned years well in advance about the number of Muslim fundamentalist students taking flight training in the US and after the fact claimed not to have had the resources to have conducted an investigation. With warning from multiple offices, Smith believes that an average analyst would have concluded that there was a real threat. Hence the claim by Freh that there were no signals was simply false. Smith also asserts that the FBI never concluded a complete review of the many documents captured in Manila years earlier. Not only did these documents related to Al Qaeda plots to bomb American aircraft but they also had the potential to relate to the Murad office building bombing.

Highly recommended.

UPDATE
The recent release of a book by the agent in charge of the Oklahoma bombing incident in which he seeks to put to rest any claim of a broader conspiracy has the look and feel of that which IC Smith fought against. Arriving just as Hillary would be vulnerable to any disclosure that the investigation was flawed, the book has the look and feel of another favor to the Clinton administration of which there were far too many.

Great Book. Anyone who's followed history and current events for any length of time must be aware of the FBI's arrogance, public failings, and history of horrible decision making (overall, in general terms..certainly not everyone in the oranization). Much (or most) of it through horrible management. It's documented nearly every day. I.C. Smith details just a few of these instances in his book (along with, of course, the ubiquitus political, white house, and DOJ interferrences). It's no wonder he left the FBI soured.

Interestingly, he even mentions the FBI's trend towards a paramilitary dress code and mentality. Apparently many individuals in the FBI feel cool wearing paramilitary clothing and brandishing automatic weapons. He says the FBI has changed a lot since he began...much of it not being for the better. As an aside, I'd like to hear his opinion on these "national security letters" and their publicized
abuses.

Great book for those who want a better understanding of the FBI and why they do the things they do.

If there's one thing that can be said about the FBI it is that they try to keep a spotless image with the public. What exactly goes on inside the FBI? I. C. Smith comes forward with this account of his personal experiences as a Special Agent in Charge. Mr. Smith takes the reader on an autobiographical tour around the world including diplomatic experiences, terrorism, and the many times the FBI ignored mounting internal evidence that could have prevented tragedies. This is the inside story told from his point of view. It not only exposes bungling within the FBI but also examines some of the corrupt systems in which the FBI must work. As Special Agent in Charge of the Arkansas office he had unique insight into and a lot of problems dealing with the corrupt political system through which Bill Clinton rose to become governor and then president. Mr. Smith pulls no punches and includes lots of names in the book including Janet Reno, Rafael del Pino, the Clintons, and Kenneth Starr. Inside: A Top G-Man Exposes Spies, Lies, and Bureaucratic Bungling Inside the FBI is highly recommended, entertaining, and enlightening.

The book is only 105 pages long, but it explains the US/British foreign policies that wanted the war, how the evidence necessary to invade was manufactured, and also the misreporting of the war by the media. It's extremely concise and valueable. The author even manages to squeeze in some semi-tangents that are important. My favorite one is the discussion of the Democratic Party and their belligerence - I just get tired of hearing that the Democratic Party is an anti-war party.

A third of the book is devoted to explaining why the invasion was sought after (as well as the occupation of Afghanistan). Then the book moves to focus on the realities of the war's fighting, and how it is covered. After the end of all "major combat operations" in May 2003 the continued attacks on US troops was blamed on Hussein, who was captured in December 2003. After the fighting continued, it was blamed on foreign interference. The administration said a provisional Iraqi government was needed. After the "free" elections on January 2005 the fighting continued. Since then, the administration has been blaming it on al-Qaeda and other foreigners, which Arnove shows not to be the case. These steps of blaming a domestic resistance to other causes is strikingly similar to that of Vietnam. After facing continued resistance, our policies changed to describe and fight those false causes (strategic-hamlet program-->search-and-destroy operations-->pacification program-->Operation Phoenix-->Vietnamization (which was only initiated after the Tet Offensive of 1968 awakened people to the grim truth of the war). Also discussed in this portion of the book (what's really going on over there) is the liberalization of Iraq's economy - It's straight from the IMF/World Bank playbook. The last section of the book argues, after looking at why the invasion occured and what's happening there now, that we should leave Iraq and provide aid until they're back on their feet.

I'd also recommend that an interested reader look into Bush in Babylon: The Recolinisation of Iraq and America's confrontation with revolutionary change in the Middle East, 1948-83.

Q: How many pages does it take to make a compelling case for immediate withdrawal from Iraq? A: Apparently not many when you have logic on your side!

It is a myth that Bush & Co.--though misguided--had the best of intentions at heart when they ordered the military invasion of Iraq in March of 2003. And this unfortunate myth prostrates the antiwar movement when it deludes itself into believing that a bloody occupation stemming from an illegal war can somehow be salvaged into something beneficial for anybody besides Halliburton.

Anthony Arnove's book explains the real roots of the Iraq war in the context of power and profit (not misguided humanitarianism), summarizes for the reader three years of blood-spattered occupation history, provides eight excellent reasons for immediate withdrawal and then discusses the ABC's of anti-imperialist struggle drawn from the history of the Vietnam War.

This isn't a catchall antiwar book to give to your chicken hawk uncle at the next family reunion. This is a book for the 50 million Americans who already consider themselves part of the antiwar movement and want some real answers about stopping the blood-letting. Or as the author puts it, "...the U.S. left in particular needs far greater clarity about the reasons for the war, the political context of the war, and an effective strategy for ending it." (page 98)

This is the most articulate, politically sophisticated yet easy-to-read appeal to bring our loved ones home now that I've read since the war began.

But don't trust this synopsis--read the book.

This outstanding book makes the case for the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq. This would meet the democratic demands of the Iraqi people, and also of the American and British peoples. In a September 2005 New York Times-CBS News poll, 52% supported the immediate withdrawal of US troops.

Arnove sums up, "Every single argument the Bush administration made to justify the invasion of Iraq has turned out to be false. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, posed no imminent threat to the United States, and had no connection to al-Qaeda or to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Iraq was attacked not because it had weapons of mass destruction, but because it did not (a fact that has not been lost on other potential targets of U. S. intervention). U. S. soldiers were not greeted as liberators, and the occupation has not paid for itself, or required few troops, or been quickly concluded. Nor has the occupation made the world safer or reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Indeed, it has made Iraq, the Middle East, and the world far more dangerous."

From the start, the war on Iraq was a huge lie. As Arnove writes, "The attacks of September 11, 2001, provided the pretext the Bush administration needed to portray an offensive war to reshape the Middle East as a defensive measure to protect the people of the United States."

Everything we are told about the war is untrue. For example, we are told that the occupation troops conduct a humanitarian war on the ground. In reality, the USA is waging war largely by massive, unreported, bombing: the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing alone dropped more than 500,000 tons of bombs on Iraq between May 2003 and December 2005. We are told that there is no national resistance attacking the foreign occupier, just terrorists attacking civilians. In reality, for every attack against civilians, there are a hundred against the occupying forces.

British governments have always lied to us about matters of war and peace, of security and the national interest. This Labour government is different only because its lies have been more stupid, so that we have rumbled it more quickly.

Arnove's book lays out, in a pretty straight-forward manner (105 pages, not counting the foreword, afterword, appendix, acknowledgement, and notes) the case for pulling all U.S. troops out of Iraq immediately. I read a few other books about Iraq before reading this one, and I would suggest that to any reader, just so they have a frame of reference while reading it. Arnove tries to use well-known quotes and facts to support his argument, and this helps, but there is still so much information on such a complex issue, that I think it would be difficult to read this and fully comprehend it with no prior knowledge of Iraq.

Arnove makes a very compelling case. What's sad is that he's using readily available information to make it, and yet we're now sending more troops to Iraq.

I think the only fault of the book is expecting that it will drive people to action. Arnove isn't really presenting anything new, just laying all the facts out for us in a very clean, logical way, almost like he's writing his thesis. While this style might work if Arnove were a lawyer convicting Bush of war crimes, it just serves to further highlight how this administration works above the law and gets away with it. Even with this much clear evidence against the war it continues on.

This should be mandatory reading for anyone who has bought into the lie filled Bush regime change rhetoric regarding Iraq. A Neocon filled US administration which has been proven wrong in virtually every single one its Iraq pre-war and current engagement contentions.

From "Mission Accomplished", to "Bring It On", to "...the insurgency is in its last throes..." to lies about active WMD programs, lies about Yellow Cake material from Niger, lies about Saddams mythical connections to Al Qaida and 911, this book helps unearth many of the utterly false, and utterly illogical claims told by the current Bush Administration in D.C. regarding their oil based, "Project for the New American Century" military actions in Iraq.

Another reviewer above stated the following, "Suppose the US pulls out and Mr. Arnove is proven wrong. A civil war breaks out."

Hello, a civil war had already broken out in Iraq in case you missed the last 3 years of activity over there!!! That's what the insurgency is, it is a Civil War action! A civil war initiated solely, 100% by the Bush Neocon doctrine in Iraq beginning in April 2003. As far as the war spreading further in the Middle East, there was no war in Iraq prior to the US military illegally attacking that country in 2003. Again, there was no war there! And there is nothing to indicate that our continued military presence in Iraq is reducing the insurgency after 3+ years of occupation. In fact, all logical signs are that it is merely fueling futher insurgency recruits and fueling further deaths in that civil war.

And what happens if the Iraq Shiite cleric Al Sadr, an extremely anti-US fundamentalist, is eventually elected the majority leader of Iraq, which could easily happen given that he's in the majority Shiite sect. Do we then remove him from power because Iraq elected him in a "democratic" fashion, but we now disagree with whom they elected?

The attempt at analogy between US highway deaths versus military deaths is comparable to believing that "Fox News" is "fair and balanced" reporting. If you believe that you probably also believe that there is no civil war yet being waged in Iraq too, LOL.

Very good read, and if you want further information on the real motives behind the Bush Administrations Iraq regime change, do a google search on "The Project For a New American Century" and read up on the true motives behind this illegal war of Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz and other Neocons whom Bush has surrounded himself with.

Want to know what happened to Larry Kane after he got off the Beatles tour? Check out "Larry Kane's Philadelphia". Here's a great yarn by a great newsman, a look at one of America's oldest and most colorful cities as seen by arguably the best local newscaster in America. I'd only visited Philly once before reading this, but learned a lot about everything from its hardball politicos to the tough-but-caring quality of its people.
Larry was there to meet, talk to and report on just about everything and everyone in the area for 35 years- and on three stations. Filled with a bottomless supply of anecdotes both gritty and witty, the book not only takes you to "Rocky"'s turf but far afield- did you know he went all the way to Anchorage, of all places, for a papal audience? (He had one in the Vatican too.) Larry's open-hearted, warm personality worked well for him in front of one of the toughest audiences around- ask anyone who's seen those raucous Philly sports crowds- for many years, and it works here too. In short, Larry Kane's a class act, and Philadelphians are incredibly lucky to have him. I'd have been proud to watch him myself- even if I wasn't raised on "Rocky", cheesesteaks, and "da Iggles"!

Larry Kane retired from KYW 3 in December 2002 after 40 years of broadcasting.

I really enjoyed reading _Larry Kane's Philadelphia_ by Larry Kane. I really liked Larry Kane. When I was in high school, I was up until 11:30 almost every weeknight watching Larry Kane on KYW-TV 3 (also known as CBS 3) at 11.

In April 1994, when Bruce Hamilton and Jennifer Ward were the co-anchors of the station's newscasts weeknights at 6 and 11, things weren't going good for KYW 3. So, they got Larry Kane to replace both of them and be the sole anchor weeknights at 11.

It was really fun seeing Larry being the sole anchor weeknights at 11. I really liked his reporting and how he signed off. I really liked the fact that he WAS the newsman in Philadelphia. He was better than Ken Matz (his successor at WCAU-TV 10 when Kane went to KYW-3, and also his predecessor when dealing with affiliates, because when Kane came to KYW, it was then NBC. Because the station's parent company then, Group W Westinghouse, bought CBS, the station became CBS, WCAU became NBC. Thus, Matz was his successor at NBC's local affiliate in Philadelphia, because he was the lead anchor at WCAU) or even Larry Mendte, his successor at KYW (and even Matz's at WCAU).

I feel that after reading th book, Larry Kane showed excellence in broadcasting in Philadelphia, more than Ken Matz, Larry Mendte (Mendte has lived in the Philadelphia area most of his life), or even Tim Lake, Mendte's successor at WCAU.

Being from the Philadelphia area, I was pretty intrested in what Larry Kane would write about. Larry tells good stories and helped me fill in what little details on stories that were reported when I was a kid.You almost have to cheer on a guy who went back to Phildephia to report news despite it being a "smaller market" than New York.If you don't really know the Philadelphia area you my be lost reading this but if you know Philadelphia , you'll be pleasantly suprised at how detailed this is and even laugh out loud at a good Ed Rendell anticdote

A great book for those interested in recent Philadelphia history and culture, or those just looking for an insight into major market TV news. The book seems to reflect Larry's on screen persona: fast paced, open, sometimes cloying, but never dull. Larry's seen a lot of history in his career, and relates it in a highly entertaining book.

Larry Kane, a Philadelphia fixture for 35 years, has outdone himself with this book. It's really well written, and takes you on an unusual ride through the tv business. So far, I understand in its fifth printing, and no wonder. This book should be read by anyone interested in improving the quality of tv news.

I especially enjoyed Kane's self deprecating sense of humor, and his description of Philadelphia. It makes me want to get to know Philadelphia.

Liars, Cheaters and Evil doers helps us chart a course for civil debate...not a polyanna treatise, but the importance of real debate,
calling things the way you see them based on information, reason and justice, not hysteria in which relative truth is subjected to the acid tongoue and the basist instincs, but one that tries to articulate points of view in which people of good intent can forcefully disagree in a way that promotes truth rather than inflames the worst in us. It is an ancient desire and De
Luca and Buell should be commended for risking to take up this mantel in these dangerous times.

Before reading Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers! I was certainly conscious that the tone of our political discourse has always left much to be desired. In the back of my mind, until the last few years when the demonization deepened, I assumed this was to be expected in adversarial situations like politics and we had to live with it. The last few years, though, has only left me feeling hopeless that the situation has progressed beyond the possibility of it ever being civilized.
Since reading Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers! I have become aware that there are so many facets that contribute to the current climate than I ever dreamed of. It is like trickles of water washing down from the melting snows of the mountains. A trickle here, a trickle there, and soon it unites and a mighty river flows. We seem to be in that might river now feeling a force that seems beyond our control.
That is not necessarily so. Reading the thorough and deep analysis of political demonization by Tom De Luca and John Buell will educate on all of the ways in which this situation came about. You can't solve a problem unless you first understand it. This book does that and more. It offers insightful solutions.
This is a must-read book for anyone who cares about having a country that does right by all of its citizens. We can't have serious debate over issues that affect all of us if we can't learn to be civilized, respectful of differing opinions and, most of all, to listen to each other with an open heart. Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers! is a first, and major, step toward that end.

Although I agree with other reviewers that this is a much-needed and thoughtful study of a serious problem in American political discourse, I found the text tough going. I suspect that previous reviewers might have some background in Political Science that I lack. Although I have a PhD from the University of Chicago, it's in a Humanities field, and not Social Sciences.

The title suggests a lively, down-to-earth volume, with a lot of specific examples, but instead the book turns out to be dry, abstract, highly theoretical, and filled with the kind of jargon academics use in communicating with one another, while shutting out the general public.

Despite this problem, the book does have many interesting insights to offer, particularly on the role president Bush's religious fundamentalism plays in his political behavior. But that's old news. Anybody who's been paying attention in the years since Bush became president knows that he and his circle are determined to turn the United States into a fundamentalist theocracy, and are succeeding at a terrifying rate.

In a televised speech, co-author Tom De Luca noted: "It's not demonization when you have the goods on somebody." De Luca's book did not succeed in changing my opinion that America is now in the hands of the most absolutely and irredeemably evil people ever to hold power in the entire history of this country-- and we DO "have the goods" on them. But the opposition (the spineless and cowering Democrats) lacks the courage to do anything with the edivence.

This book rewards close reading but be warned-- you're going to have to work to get the message!

In "Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers!" authors Tom De Luca and John Buell admirably examine the corrosive phenomena of "demonization" in American politics and the harm it has done to our civic discourse and democratic institutions. The scope of their work is breathtaking as they trace the trajectory of "political demonology" in America from its infancy as a clash between puritan conservatism and hedonistic liberalism, to its contemporary manifestation in the virulent culture wars of recent decades as "culture warriors" on both sides of the political divide disparage and demonize their foes. Delving deeper, De Luca and Buell uncover a "moral paradox" inherent in our national character that appears to fuel our need to transform political opponents into enemies. The authors contend that our political culture has now reached a zero-sum impasse engendered by the approximate parity of the two political parties as each seeks victory through mobilizing their core constituencies by exploiting wedge issues and engaging in character-driven politics. Liberals, conservatives, and moderates have all been guilty of this, while those victimized and demonized are very often the most vulnerable among us. De Luca and Buell offer a thoughtful antidote to the polarized partisanship that has seized hold of us. Their goal, a "more generous democratic politics" forged out of a new political covenant based upon true equity and opportunity, is a noble one. This well-crafted and insightful book should be read by everyone who feels strongly that our political discourse must match our best ideals.

"Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers!" by Tom DeLuca and John Buell is a welcome antidote to the shrill ideological slugfests that fill the airwaves disguised as political discourse. Their simple formula, "proper condemnation requires appropriate distinctions," is a call to end the simplistic retreat to demonization in civil debate, and demands that we aspire to, and require, a higher standard of discourse from ourselves, colleagues, elected officials and the media. This book offers valuable analysis and a hopeful conclusion to so many of us who despair of the current political climate.

This is a clear and concise overview of Marxism. It breaks down the major thoughts of the ideology and presents them in an understandable manner.

This is fantastic book for college students, particularly those who will be presenting research or essays that include Marxism as a topic or thesis. The most difficult concepts of Marxism, such as dichotomy, are easily understood by the manner in which D'Amato has presented them.

In truth, the ideas within this book, as they are presented, has made this book a citation treasure trove for presenting key arguments within several of my essays. The logic that is laid out can be used to analyze a number of historical, cultural, and socio-political topics in a relative manner.

Paul D'amato takes the classical works of Marx and Engels (Capital, Communist Manifesto, The German Ideology, and others) and selectively quotes the trenchant passages and then parses and elaborates their meaning with simple (but not simplistic) explanations. For an example early in the book:

"Greed and selfishness are not the result of bad individual choice, but are engendered by the competitive and profit driven nature of capitalism. A capitalist who is not greedy for profit is a capitalist who will lose out to his more greedy competitors. The problem with the notion that it is only necessary to change people's ideas in order to change society is that this leaves the social structure of society intact. `This demand to change consciousness amounts to a demand to interpret the existing world in a different way, i.e., to recognize it by means of a different interpretation,' Marx wrote of some German idealists of his day. In doing this `they are in no way combating the real existing world,' but are `combating solely the phrases of this world.' The materialist view is exactly the opposite. Morals are derived from particular forms of human social organization. Capitalism breeds greed, not vice versa. In societies that foraged for food and shared it as a collective, greed was frowned upon because it disrupted the functioning of the group." [Page 26]

That short paragraph explained Marx's views arguably better than did Marx himself! Marx's explanation of the same phenomenon takes up thirteen pages in the original text. I truly wish that the political science professors and graduate assistants who taught me Marxist political economy in college had had D'amato's book on their reading list or even used it as the principal text; it's that good.

This book is written by a dedicated Marxist-Leninist. I am most definitely not one (though I have sympathy for the Marxist critique of capitalism). However, not being one to judge a person by her or his political convictions, I gave this book a look when I saw it in a university library bookstore. It was actually quite well-written, and I ended up buying it. I'm about 100 pages in, and I have to say, it's not a bad book at all for introducing the thought of Marx and Engels (plus some Lenin, but not TOO much). The author also quotes several non-Marxist anthropologists, sociologists and economists to make his points, so he's definitely a well-read guy. Although I'm not done with the book, I'd recommend it. There isn't a whole lot of emotional rhetoric, as you might fear; there's only a clear, straightforward, sophisticated (yet easy-to-understand) presentation of Marxist ideas. So if you are interested in understanding the ideas of classic social thinkers like Marx, but don't have the time or inclination to suffer through their dense original works, then for Marx I'd say this book is not a bad choice for an intro.

If you want some original Marx, a very good place to start is Karl Marx on Society and Social Change: With Selections by Friedrich Engels (Heritage of Sociology Series), edited by Neil Smelser.

This book truly blew my mind. What did I know about Marxism before reading this? Not a lot. Now I feel ready to take on the world

There are plenty of philosophical and political guides to the ideals of Marx, but few which draw the connections between ideals, politics and social issues as does The Meaning of Marxism. It's a blend of explanation of philosophy and politics with links to contemporary issues, and provides a survey of just how Marxism was to transform the world. Chapters provide the perfect introduction for students from high school to college levels who are new to Marxist thinking and who wish to relate Marxism with contemporary social and political perspectives.

I wonder why this book did not come to my notice little earlier! I have read this book only recently and have greatly admired the writer. The writer, Professor Emeritus Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri, of the University of London, has done an oustanding work that should be appreciated by we all. It is a work of a commendable magnitude accomplish by an oustanding scholar. I fully agree with Professor Mitchell Reiss that books on international relations are many, but I am yet to come across a book that may be found comparable with Professor Rai Chowdhuri's "Nuclear Politics: Towards A Safer World".

This book should be read by everyone who are concerned about world security.

Hats off to Professor Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri !!!

Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri has done a great job. The book is really brilliant, with a very enriching history of the nuclear weapons and related power-play of the last five decades.

A worthy book. Everybody should read it.

I was just spellbound when I started reading this book. The Prologue is so philosophical! I have not come across a similar book in International Affairs in recent days!

This books covers from Plato and Aristotle to President George Bush Senior. A masterpiece of work for newcomers in the fields of Politics and International Relations, in order to have a thorough conceptualisation of what is going on ... in nuclear politics.

This work deals with the destructive potential of the `ultimate weapons' and at the same time the ways of dealing with the problems these weapons might pose to international peace and security. The book helps both generalists and the specialists understand how the policies of nuclear-weapon states affect our lives. The book covers the period from 1945 to 2003 and examines essential parts that both political acts and actors must play before any negotiation process can begin, if the objective is to end proliferation and eventually bring about abolition of nuclear weapons.

The book is a considerably good piece of literature. I enjoyed reading it and have reasons to believe that others will enjoy this book too.

I have gone through every details of this book and, I recommend this book all persons who look beyond themselves. I believe this book will be liked by all. Emeritus Professor Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri deserves kudos for doing such a wonderful work.

Me and my Mother loved this book. It really opened our eyes to whats happening out there.

Larry Everest does a great job of making the "big picture" of the hidden Bush agenda in Iraq and the Middle East obvious and clear. This book will open your eyes, and will make you angry when you understand and realize how unethical, immoral and illegal our agressions against Iraq and the entire Middle East.

I saw Mr. Everest on Book TV (C-SPAN) today (May 23)--would love to have him lecture at my college. He's done his homework on this one. He brought up two other topics that I researched during the last two semesters and he hit the mark on both (gay marriage and women's rights). After watching him, I went to Barne & Nobles to purchase this book. They did not have one copy. Needless to say, I'm ordering from Amazon.

I just saw Larry Everest on CSpan as well. This man is no nutcase-- he makes the kind of sense that gives a chilling credibility to one's worst suspicions and fears about what is going on in this country right now. I knew nothing about him or his book but I'm about to buy it innediately!

Good briefing on run-up to Iraq war. Now a bit dated (Sept. 2003), so doesn't include much on rise of Iraqi resistance. Still, the history sections on colonialism in Mesopotamia make for an informative background to current quagmire. Noteworthy also for detailed account of horrendous effects of US-UN sponsored sanctions, surely one of the great crimes of recent history. Book's thrust fits well with US's strategic drive to dominate planet, using oil as key control lever.Though not an "in depth" treatment, all the relevant bases are covered, particularly the deceptions used to cover the criminal invasion. There's also a handy appendix capsulizing the salient deceits for quick reference. Those expecting a strong ideological denunciation from Mr. Everest may be disappointed. Although his characterization of imperialist designs is straightforward, I think it's fair to say that the book could have been written by a muck-raking liberal. Recommended for ease of access and breadth of coverage.

what joy to read galaxian epics, large in their characters, profound in their language, jumbo-gigantic in their theme! for this work concerns nothing more than the salvation of mankind, the source of all our toxica, the origins of reality's thrash of contradiction, decapitation of sense, the justice of God's infinite bewilderment and a host of other themes, some limpid, some latent. yet the true irony of this story, although milton eventually loses interest in him after his hallow triumph is greeted in inferno with the hiss of snakes, is that the author's sympathies, obsessions and fascination lies most in the character of satan! for did not milton jail-suffer at the hands of the restoration of the house of stuart? the blind english word-smith thus explores in depth this cosmic character of rebellion! for he himself most likely also from time to time longed to attack authority, shirk government decrees and restore to power the creed that he thought would best help mankind rose-flourish and ivory-prosper! here we witness satan's frustration, his nails of soul, his menace of catastrophe! here we read of satan's inappeasable torrent of rats as he witnesses adam in the garden, content, at ease, pax surrounding him and satan thus languishes, yearning for the former splendo-times he passed in celestium. and when adam does finally eat of the apple and is thus exiled from eden's rapture - what hiròshimum! what blight! for he laments his fall from grace in a torrent of mental cacophony and quickly sets about to blame eve for his slither among adders! but the work's most rubylicious feature is its language! how rarely do we encounter whole stories written in iambic pentameter verse! and milton embellishes his cosmic tale with all sorts of unexpected syntax, rioting images and flaxen parallels!

author of Lorelei Pursued and Wrestles with God

a riveting book for the philosophy of good and evil

Milton's "Paradise Lost" is the best work of literature in the English language, bar none. Christians and non-Christians alike should marvel at the vision presented by Milton. He is not a Satanist, as the Romantics would have you believe. Indeed, he is a devout Christian. This is what makes the work so extraordinary. Milton's vision of the astral world invokes various responses from the reader, all of them genuine and some contradictory. No matter who you are or what you believe, you will thoroughly enjoy this imaginary look into the events surrounding the fall of Lucifer and the beginnings of man in the Garden of Eden.

Of Man's first disobedience and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till on greater Man
Restore us and regain the blissful seat
Sing, Heavenly Muse...
Not a lot people know that 'Paradise Lost' has as a much lesser known companion piece 'Paradise Regained'; of course, it was true during Milton's time as it is today that the more harrowing and juicy the story, the better it will likely be remembered and received.

This is not to cast any aspersion on this great poem, however. It has been called, with some justification, the greatest English epic poem. The line above, the first lines of the first book of the poem, is typical of the style throughout the epic, in vocabulary and syntax, in allusiveness. The word order tends toward the Latinate, with the object coming first and the verb coming after.

Milton follows many classical examples by personifying characters such as Death, Chaos, Mammon, and Sin. These characters interact with the more traditional Christian characters of Adam, Eve, Satan, various angels, and God. He takes as his basis the basic biblical text of the creation and fall of humanity (thus, 'Paradise Lost'), which has taken such hold in the English-speaking world that many images have attained in the popular mind an almost biblical truth to them (in much the same way that popular images of Hell owe much to Dante's Inferno). The text of Genesis was very much in vogue in the mid-1600s (much as it is today) and Paradise Lost attained an almost instant acclaim.

John Milton was an English cleric, a protestant who nonetheless had a great affinity for catholic Italy, and this duality of interests shows in much of his creative writing as well as his religious tracts. Milton was nicknamed 'the divorcer' in his early career for writing a pamphlet that supported various civil liberties, including the right to obtain a civil divorce on the grounds of incompatibility, a very unpopular view for the day. Milton held a diplomatic post under the Commonwealth, and wrote defenses of the governments action, including the right of people to depose and dispose of a bad king.

Paradise Lost has a certain oral-epic quality to it, and for good reason. Milton lost his eyesight in 1652, and thus had to dictate the poem to several different assistants. Though influenced heavily by the likes of Virgil, Homer, and Dante, he differentiated himself in style and substance by concentrating on more humanist elements.

Say first -- for Heaven hides nothing from thy view,
Nor the deep tract of Hell -- say first what cause
Moved our grand Parents, in that happy state,
Favoured of Heaven so highly, to fall off
From their Creator and transgress his will,
For one restraint, lords of the world besides?

Milton drops us from the beginning into the midst of the action, for the story is well known already, and proceeds during the course of the books (Milton's original had 10, but the traditional epic had 12 books, so some editions broke books VII and X into two books each) to both push the action forward and to give developing background -- how Satan came to be in Hell, after the war in heaven a description that includes perhaps the currently-most-famous line:

Here we may reign secure, and in my choice
To reign is worth ambition though in hell:
Better to reign in hell, that serve in heav'n.

(Impress your friends by knowing that this comes from Book I, lines 261-263 of Paradise Lost, rather than a Star Trek episode!)

The imagery of warfare and ambition in the angels, God's wisdom and power and wrath, the very human characterisations of Adam and Eve, and the development beyond Eden make a very compelling story, done with such grace of language that makes this a true classic for the ages. The magnificence of creation, the darkness and empty despair of hell, the manipulativeness of evil and the corruptible innocence of humanity all come through as classic themes. The final books of the epic recount a history of humanity, now sinful, as Paradise has been lost, a history in tune with typical Renaissance renderings, which also, in Milton's religious convictions, will lead to the eventual destruction of this world and a new creation.

A great work that takes some effort to comprehend, but yields great rewards for those who stay the course.

This edition includes more than 50 pages of Milton's other poetry, including sonnets; there are also extensive sections of the KJV biblical text that directly relates to themes in Paradise Lost. Dozens of essays of literary criticism, from the likes of Voltaire, Dryden, Blake, Keats and Wordsworth as well as contemporary commentators such as Bloom, Frye and Adams complete this critical Norton edition.

I was assigned to read Paradise Lost on my own over the summer and I am so glad that I chose the Norton Critical edition. Obviously, reading Paradise Lost is a daunting task for anyone who isn't a religious historian and without the Norton Critical edition, I might not have finished the epic at all (which would be much of a loss, not only in my grades.)

This edition has a vast array of extremely helpful footnotes (have a Bible at hand for all those cross-references) and it has large margins for taking plenty of notes of your own. More than half of the book is a collection of various literature, excerpts and explanations that are also quite helpful.

Certainly, there is no doubt that Paradise Lost is an excellent work, but the Norton Critical edition is invaluable for any average person (like me) who wants to truly appreciate it. I highly recommend this.

I just recieved this book some days ago and I just cannot put it down (well you know what I mean). It is VERY well constructed, and previous knowledge of the "Gemstone Files" and connected theories (I see them as truths) need not be a requirement for this reading. This is in NO way to undermind/understate this superb book. I have shown it to people who know little or nothing of the Onassis-Kennedy connection conspiracy, how even just reading the introduction sparked intrest in some of the most non-believers I know (or have talked to about these subjects). This is a true 5 star book... If any of the subject matter makes you wonder, question or as I said just spark some interest. Get this book! Other popular books on the Gemstone Files are also worthy reading... The full Gemstone Files will be released soon, and all the skeptics that still believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone will be in for a BIG surprise. The Kennedys were right on, dismantle the CIA, crack down on mob activity (well infused within the CIA) and get the United States of America back on a rightous track. Something we are suffering from since the "cold-war" and the "arms-race"...to today with the Bush (let's kill more people and lie to the American public) USA I feel so ashamed to be a part of. But I am only a man, a civilian, who feels he deserves to know the truth like the rest of the America and the world should. I am not a patriot at all (at least not in the right-wing way), I do love the USA and our country. This is why these books that reveal how corrupt our government is, and globally connected to other countries for well, POWER SUPREME are SO important. The couragious people who revealed these hidden truths, are primarily dead and from "suspicious circumstances" are no conincidence... Read for yourself. Be Aware, beware and be a "true" American. Big Brother is upon us and growing day by day. Project Seek is a great starting point for those seeking to piece the "Global Puzzle" together...piece by piece it will come out.

Peace everyone and I wish it was as simple as that...

Gerald A. Carroll spent years researching the Gemstone File history, and produced the best volume of documentation and analysis yet available. Well written and great reading, reads like an excellent mystery story but it's all true.

Gerald Carroll did a marvelous job of seeking out the truth behind the "Skeleton Key to the Gemstone File." With several hundred pages from Bruce Porter Roberts' original Gemstone papers published in "The Gemstone File - A Memoir", "Project Seek" is still an excellent, well-written and well-researched supplement for people who want to understand more about what has happened to our world over the last 50 years.

I worked for Hughes during the time of the event described as his "kidnapping." At the time, the entire Staff on Romaine street was in a major uproar, ostensibly because of a "falling out" between Hughes and Noah Detrich. However, the behavior of some members of the staff subsequent to this event have convinced me that a great degree of truth is contained in Gemstone.

This thick new volume on the famous Gemstone Files is complete with additional research and photos. An extremely valuable book that looks into the roles of Howard Hughes, (Aristotle) Onassis, World War II conspiracies and the Kennedy assassinations in the light of a mysterious document known as the "Gemstone File."

I never thought reading about garbage would be interesting - well, okay, actually I did, otherwise I would have never read this book. I mean that I didn't suspect the book would be so darn interesting. Garbage really sheds a strong light on the culture that generates it. Just think, your garbage tells us a lot about who you are. Future archaeologists are going to love digging through our old garbage in a few thousand years. Oh, what a story it will tell.

This is a fascinating overview of the world of garbology, the science of garbage. The authors begin by describing how the Garbage Project came to be, when students in a 1971 anthropology class at the University of Arizona hit upon studying garbage as a way to study people and culture. The Garbage Project has grown to become one of the leading scientific explorations into garbage, where it comes from, where it goes, and what it does when it gets there. Published results from the Garbage Project have covered such varied topics as changing patterns of meat consumption, using garbage volume to estimate population, and the relative quantities of diapers, newspapers, and plastics in landfills.

One of the most valuable contributions of the book is that it provides historical data to put garbage in perspective. Contrary to many people's beliefs, the authors argue that garbage and where to put it is not a new problem at all. They point out that one of the characteristics that make us human is that we create garbage, and we always have, back to the very first time a humanoid discovered how to create tools by chipping flint. To those who worry about our non-biodegradable trash, the authors remind us that the pottery shards of ancient archeological sites are nothing more than the indestructible refuse of yesteryear. And yet others worry about burying our trash in landfills which doesn't allow normal biodegradation to occur, but the authors point out that this also isn't new, describing an archeological dig of a putrid 2,000-year-old buried dump in Italy. Of course, the main message that the authors express is not that garbage is benign, but that the problem isn't new, and that garbage issues have been a concern since the dawn of civilization. They also point out that sanitation issues are even getting better. They give an overview of the history of garbage treatment in the US, from burying it under the kitchen floor, to building dumps, incinerators, and sanitary landfills. They point out that cities in the past weren't as clean as they are now. Cities used to produce mountains of coal dust and horse manure, and garbage would often simply sit on the corner, waiting to be dispersed by scavengers or pigs. They point out that "...ever since governments began facing up to their responsibilities, the story of the garbage problem in the industrialized world has been one of steady amelioration, of bad giving way to less bad and eventually to not quite so bad."

Scientists as well as ordinary people have very inaccurate ideas of what's in landfills today and how landfills work. Until the Garbage Project actually studied landfills, many landfill planners believed that trash would biodegrade somehow once it went into the landfill, and that the trash would eventually settle, producing large quantities of methane gas. By drilling into landfills and studying their contents, Garbage Project scientists have found that very little biodegradation actually occurs in landfills at all- -basically, only food scraps and perhaps a few lawn clippings break down. Since food scraps make up only a small portion of landfill volume, then settling and methane gas production is much less than expected.

If you think garbage is a problem, then an obvious way to address the problem is to reduce garbage volume. So what items take up the most space in our landfills? Many environmentalists would guess disposable diapers and plastics. But by meticulously analyzing landfill samples, Garbage Project scientists have determined that diapers comprise less than 2% of landfill volume and all plastics less than 20%. Paper, on the other hand, especially newspaper, doesn't compress well, doesn't biodegrade in landfill any better than plastic, and takes up 40% of landfill volume on average. Think of that next time you need to answer "Paper or plastic?" at the supermarket. By studying what's in our landfills and what actually happens to the stuff once it's been down there for a few decades, we can get better ideas about what the real garbage problems are and how to address them.

The authors suggest that the best solutions to garbage problems may be to ensure that there are economic incentives to garbage reduction. They point out that the weight and volume of packaging plastics has decreased dramatically since the 1960s- - plastic beverage bottles now weigh much less than they used to- -because it's cheaper for companies to pack and ship their items in lighter weight packaging. One of the persistent problems for garbage reduction is cities that charge a flat rate for garbage removal, rather than a per-can rate. In localities where residents pay a nominal fee for each bag of garbage to be disposed of, recycling participation rates are much higher, and garbage volume is less. The worst thing a city can do is to adopt uniform large containers for mechanized garbage collection, since garbage production magically increases to fill the space allotted to it.

After reading this book, I have a new-found respect for the Styrofoam cup and disposable diapers. I better understand why newspapers are so hard to get rid of, even through recycling. But there is one fishy result that leaves me a little suspicious- -at one point the authors argue that processed food creates less garbage than fresh food. The basis for this claim is a cross-cultural study they did in Mexico City and Arizona. They found that Mexican households produce a lot more garbage than American households, and that the larger volume is mostly attributable to the fact that Americans use processed foods where Mexicans use fresh foods. But wait, didn't the authors find in a different study that it was precisely food wastes that biodegrade in landfills, so in the end, isn't it better to produce more food scrap waste than packaging waste? This odd loose end leaves a bit of doubt in my mind that the book is entirely unbiased. But overall, I found the book incredibly informative and quite well written.

This is an overview of the University of Arizona's continuing trash sorting project started in 1972 to document the lifestyle habits of the American public through observing what we eat, what we use in household goods, etc., and then throw out. Socio, political and economic behaviors become evident while recording the fascinating finds in daily trash digging, probing, and quantifying.

This project also included studies at the now closed Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island in New York City where holes were bored all the way to the bottom of the fill and where the studies then took on a more ominous dimension of environmental impact discoveries such as: that the breakdown of trash, even over years, is a myth. The research showed that there is little biodegradation occurring due to compaction and lack of bacterial decomposition, so the researchers found completely intact and recognizable items from food to readable newsprint- even at the bottom of the heap where it was at least 50 years old- same type discoveries of intact trash heaps discovered in ancient Rome, Greece, etc.

Most distressing of the discoveries in the landfill was the discovery of the huge quantity of "leachate"- a toxic liquid stew, that is leaking at the rate of a million gallons a day into New York Harbor.

The book concludes with recommendations on alternatives to landfill as a means to dispose of trash plus recycling and lifestyle changes.

For another enlightening read on all things trash, there is Elizabeth Royte's "Garbage Land"- a personal story of discovery of what her family's trash footprint is and where everything including recyclables ends up- a real eye-opener and an entertaining read!

"Rubbish" is a highly academic book about "The Garbage Project" at the University of Arizona's Anthropology Department. The main idea behind "The Garbage Project" is to gain information about society by analyzing garbage patterns in various locations.

Despite being a book about garbage, the contents of the book are quite diverse. The book is divided into 4 parts. The first section, An Introduction to the Garbage Project, gives the background of "The Garbage Project", why it started, what they do, and what they hope to accomplish. This section also discusses how anthropologists use garbage to learn about ancient civilizations. The second section, The Landfill Excavations, discuss the basic theories of landfills, how the team takes samples from landfills, and discusses why biodegradation does not work in landfills. The third section, Interlude: Diapers and Demographics, I found to be highly entertaining. This section has a fascinating chapter on estimating the population of a neighborhood (as well as sex and age) based on the garbage collected from this neighborhood (a study done to initially help the Census Bureau). This section is also filled with useless information such as "There is a link between owning a cat and reading "The National Enquirer"". There is also a detailed discussion about disposable diapers in landfills. The final section, Garbage and the Future, was the most educational by far. This part discusses the serious shortcomings of citywide recycling programs and side effects people never hear about. There are also discussions on alternate garbage disposal methods, such as high tech incinerators used to generate electricity, as well as several other attempts at using technology to turn garbage into a useful product. The section and the book end with a chapter on reducing and addressing garbage disposal.

I think this book will not be for everyone. The book reads like a Master's Thesis at times, rather long and seems to ramble. However, some parts of the book are exceptional (such as the chapter on recycling or "Closing the Loop") and are really an eye opener.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Environmental Sciences. Also, if you can manage to wade through pages of various scientific theories and facts, I'd highly recommend picking this book up! While a little slow reading at times, it is quite informative and I think a real eye opener.

As someone from a a profession where problem solving is a core ability, I was amazed from chapter to chapter how the members of the Garbage Project went about their endeavors to successful results. They truly show how something so ubiquitous(garbage) can contain so much information about our lives and our behaviors.

The men and women involved in this research project open the bag on the realities of this human behavior to shed light on how we act as consumers and as members of society in general. Our political tendencies are also exposed in investigating how groups endeavor to address the issue of solid waste disposal, often to unbelievable results, totally contrary to the desired end goal.

I wholeheartedly agree with some other reviewers in that this should be required reading for anyone interested in environmental issues, from the simplest aluminum can collector to the most active environmentalists.

This is billed as an archaeology book, but I would call it more accurately an environmental/psycological/science read, never very technical, often entertaining and always eye-opening.