Current Events Books

A great introductory guide for those who are intrigued by the subject. It offers no frills or fluff and stands as the bare-bones framework for understinding the International Development enterprise. If you thought you what "international development" is, this book is sure to set you straight. Concise, but informative, this book traces the history of the term to current perspectives on it. It is sure to clear up the most common misconception of the term "international development": which is the notion that there is an agreed definition of it - there isn't.

Short, concise and witty. This book should be on all student essential reading lists, as well as required reading for all international development 'experts'.
Maggie Black has produced a basic guide to the current international development scene and tells us how we got to this chronic state of affairs. There is no panacea or quick fix, but she does make many suggestions on how we could go about undoing some of the harm perpetuated in the name of development.

Anyone who is involved in the "development business" should read this book. As one would expect from this author, it's well-informed, beautifully written, and entirely persuasive. It's also brief enough to read in one session, by the end of which one is devastated by the realization that, whoever "development" benefits, it certainly isn't the poor (or any other currently fashionable "target population"). I wish that I had had the skill, at some point during my 35 years trying to help people in developing countries, to marshall these arguments and try to convince the remote decision-makers that process and buzz-words only take one so far - eventually one has to provide poor people with what they themselves need, want and value. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that the international bureacracy will ever read this book or take its lessons to heart - but they should!

"ACCORDING TO STATISTICS SHE DOES NOT WORK!" That is the caption below a poster with a photograph of an African woman, lugging an enormous bunch of tree branches for firewood on her head, endlessly trailing through the Sahelian bush. The poster is published by what is probably the smallest and, typically, least publicized of all United Nations bodies, INSTRAW, the UN Institute for Research and Training on the Advancement of Women, based in Santo Domingo.

That poster with its caption to this reviewer illustrates one of the many points, well taken and well given, by Maggie Black in the surprisingly small, immensely condensed volume on "International Development".

There certainly is a wealth of literature on this subject out there, as well as journals, such as that of the publisher of this book, The New Internationalist. There seem to be very few documents, though, which in such concise, yet readable form present one of the most complex issues of our time.

First of all, let me state that this book with its handy format should find its place in the pocket of anybody, anywhere in the world, in any professional and/or political camp, with an interest in making our globe more livable for everybody, or at least giving it a good try.

In at least one country you can find in primary school libraries among all the school books and teachers' manuals, nothing less than Clausewitz' oeuvre on how to conduct a war. Without any other comparison, it appears that Maggie Black with this, her latest work, is becoming the Clausewitz of international development.

Fact-loaded sentence by sentence, the reader is given as good a definition of "development" as you could get it. It is followed by an accurate description of the many variations of the theme, as it has unfolded since the end of World War Two, up to the UN Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August 2002 - just a little over two months ago (this being written in mid-November 2002).

Even for those with a long personal experience in development work, this work provides a wonderful overview, not the least in the historical part - witness to the author's academic background as a historian. Despite the small and incredibly fact-rich dimensions of the book, Maggie Black manages to insert human examples with real people exemplifying where some of the ideas came from, and what it took to achieve some results.

"International development" and the "development industry" grown up around this issue have many critics, some even verging on cynicism. This slim volume helps to clarify the issues, giving the truth, the truth, and nothing but the truth. In the same time it avoids the many political pitfalls, in writing such a review, or, really, evaluation. Against the backdrop of so much emotion, frequently violent around the development of humanity and its agents and agencies, rarely does one see such an evenhanded approach as that presented here.

In spite of the many setbacks, the winding way of history, and the continued bleak outlook for the poor half of humanity, Maggie Black ends on a positive note, essentially saying, "Do not give up!" To this reviewer, even if that may sound cynical, although it is not intended to be, it reminds him of one of his favourite sayings, that of the old Swedish farmer taking his young son out into the star-studded night, saying "Sikta mot stjärnorna, min son! Åtminstone kan Du hamna på lagårdstaket!" In other words, in another language: "Aim at the stars, my son! At least it will land you on the roof of the cowshed!"

This book contains the early texts of the founders of the council communist movement. Council Communism is the only true form of communism that contains within it the entire historical movement towards real communism based upon Marx. It started out as a reaction against the statist excesses of the state-capitalist Leninist party worshippers, but grew to become the only real workers opposition to State and Late Capitalism. While I wish that a few extra texts were included this text is a great start. In the meanwhile let us take up the banner of councilism and proclaim a communism based neither on party or state.

This book is invaluable because it has writings from the historic ultra-left/council communists/left communists; Marxist currents which have been overshadowed by the more historically prominent Marxist-Leninist tendencies. More importantly, this book is also an English-language introduction for a US population that probably knows nothing about council/left communism but supposedly knows everything about capital-C "communism" (thanks in no small part to xenophobes such as Joseph McCarthy). Such a development is sad given that the US has been no stranger to class struggle, nor has it not been a home for its very own ultra-left (the Industrial Workers of the World. Red and Black Publishers also has a book of collected IWW writings for sale). May "Non-Leninist Marxism: Writings on the Worker's Councils" contribute to the fight against this ignorance!

Speaking for myself, reading the book has been a salutary experience. I've only begun studying the Marxian critique of political economy, and this compilation has helped me keep in mind *why* I'm opposed to capitalism in its fundamentals.

Ever since the Soviet Union collapsed in disgrace, the Left has been looking for an alternative model of socialism. This book reminds us that even before the Russian Revolution, there already was an alternative, the council communist movement. Instead of a centralized party, the council communists favored decentralized political organization. Instead of a police dictatorship, the council communists favored mass democracy. Instead of centrally planned economics, the council communists favored a voluntary association of self-managed producers. Instead of Russian imperialism, the council communists favored international cooperation.

The council communists, like so many others, were stomped out of existence by the Leninist dictatorships. This book presents, through several works by the most well-known council communists, a view of the alterative model of democratic revolutionary socialism that the Leninists destroyed.

This is an important and well selected of writings by some of the leading figures in the Council Communist tendency of revolutionary Marxism. Most of the writings included in this volume have been largely unavailable in print for some time and their return to publication is an extremely welcome development.

The books leads off with Hermann Gorter's Open Letter to Comrade Lenin, which is a powerful response to Lenin's Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder and also include's Gorter's arguments for the founding of the (original) 4th international, the Communist Workers' International. After Sylvia Pankhurst's primer on the nature of post-revolutionary society, the book concludes with Otto Ruhle's Revolution is Not a Party Affair on the importance of focus on the economic organization of the working class, not merely for reforms of traditional trade unionism, but as a vehicle for revolutionary action and, finally, with the letter from Ruhle to his comrades in the KAPD written from Russia, after deciding to not participate in the third congress of the Comintern. The latter work is an excellent note to end on, providing an inside glimpse into the cynical opportunism into which the Russian Communists were swiftly degenerating, while displaying the unbending revolutionary resolve and tremendous depth of courage the council communists displayed in confronting these developments.

There are two minor disappointments here, however, including the selections offered from Anton Pannekoek. One would have liked to have seen his later work The Workers' Councils, as well as his excellent Lenin As Philosopher. The other disappointment being the lack of any writings from Paul Mattick, who became the leading voice of council communism after the death of Pannekoek for most of the 20th Century.

So very few books could boast truly world-changing ideas like this one. The effects of Ghandi's teachings have of course spread far beyond the struggles in South Africa and India to the civil rights movement in the US and more. Non-violence has never been weighed and found wanting, it has been weighed, found difficult and ignored. But, in the end, the way that looks easier, the way of violence, is the truly hard path to follow. What seems the longest road is not necessarily the most difficult to travel. We all need to review Ghandi from time to time and regain that other path away from self-destruction.

I loved this book from cover to cover. It's an amazing story of one man's non-violent battle against the food-arazzi. Okay, truth be told, I skimmed through the first half but the part where Gandhi went on the hunger strike was a total inspiration to me and my Pro Ana group. Gandhi lived his life just like we do...but he did it first! He knew about the evils of food long before it was popular to say so. He starved so that we may starve too. If you ask me Gandhi was like the American Jesus. I think he wore sandals too!! And that's what make him a REAL American hero!!!

P.S. If you get too hungry you can eat this book. LOL. Kidding. Don't eat ANYTHING! EVER!

I learned a great deal from Mahatma Gandhiji (1869-1948) by reading NON-VIOLENT RESISTANCE. This book is a collection of articles written at the hand of Gandhiji for the magazines "Young India" and "Harijan". In addition, there are some interviews. The term Satyagraha was authored by Gandhiji to describe the process of non-violent resistance. Satyagraha has as its goal reform. It requires a great deal of discipline on the part of the participants. It also requires an opponent that is capable of reform. I have been applying what I have learned from this book in an attempt to reform myself. If you are interested in the life of Mahatma Gandhiji, or in the process of non-violent resistance, this book will be interesting to you.

I liked this book because it makes Gandhi's ideas concrete and specific. He talks about how to handle specific situations, and explains his thinking - for example, his view of picketing. Specific examples of how to handle specific situations give you more insight into what non-violent resistence and non-cooperation really mean as applied to real life situations. After reading this book, you have a much better sense of how to apply Gandhi's ideas, versus just an overview of his ideas as abstraction.

Prof Paige as a Korea War veteran had killed but in repentance has taken it upon himself to campaign for nonkilling, hoping that his soft voice of experience would speak louder than the thundering voice of arrogance...
...the book could have gained a wider appeal if it was titled Nonkilling Global Politics instead of Nonkilling Global Political Science because while many are interested in politics, few see political science as a field that is struggling to survive in the face of the litany of "unthinkables" in human socio-political and economic organisation. But Paige was writing mainly for political scientists and other social scientists, a number of whom are in dire need of liberation from the bondage of those unthinkables.
...It is certainly not a "fast food" book written to give the author a sense of belonging in the publish or perish world but one meticulously crafted to challenge humanity, not just political scientists in ivory towers, to turn the captivity of human lethality. Little wonder it has received favourable comments from Nobel laureates, leading peace activists and notable academics. The cover is beautiful, with a "Take up and read" appeal.

Glenn Paige's book, "Nonkilling Global Political Science" is one of the most thought-provoking works I have read in recent years. It makes a strong argument for an urgently needed paradigm-shift in political science. Paige shows that both violence-accepting politics and political science in the
twentieth century have failed to supress violence by violent means. He lays out a new theoretical and methodlogical framework which is both humanist and practical. Brilliantly reasoned, the book charts out a wide range of actions in global problem-solving and institution building through the
power of non violence. A profoundly original work and wonderful tonic. Strongly recommended.

Nonkilling Global Political Science offers a new dimension to the study of the discipline. Clear and comprehensive, the discussion is readily accessible to the general reader and resonant for the specialist in social science, as an indispensable reference for courses in political theory and strategic nonviolence.
Michael True
Emeritus Professor of English, Assumption College
and
President, International Peace Research Association Foundation

In this exceptional book, lucid and well-written, Professor Paige brings to bear both his exceptional abilities as social and political scientist and his passionate concerns about violence in the human condition.
The net result is a powerful critique of political science as a discipline, and a detailed road-map for the pursuit of a seemingly impossible goal: a nonkilling world. Paige thinks that it is possible and makes a powerful case in support of that view.

If you are interested in the history of the American Left or are a militant trying to understand some of the past lessons of our history concerning the socialist response to various social and labor questions this book is for you. This book is part of a continuing series of the writings of James P. Cannon that was published by the organization he founded, the Socialist Workers Party, in the 1970's. Look in this space for other related reviews of this series of documents on and by an important American Communist.

In the introduction the editors motivate the purpose for the publication of the book by stating the Cannon was the finest Communist leader that America had ever produced. This an intriguing question. The editors trace their political lineage back to Cannon's leadership of the early Communist Party and later after his expulsion to the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party so their perspective is obvious. What does the documentation provided here show? This certainly is the period of Cannon's political maturation, especially after his long collaboration working with Trotsky. The period under discussion- from the 1920's when he was a leader of the American Communist Party to the red-baiting years after World War II- started with his leadership of the fight against the degeneration of the Russian Revolution and then later against those who no longer wanted to defend the gains of the Russian Revolution despite the Stalinist degeneration of that revolution. Cannon won his spurs in those fights and in his struggle to orient those organizations toward a revolutionary path. One thing is sure- in his prime which includes this period- Cannon had the instincts to want to lead a revolution and had the evident capacity to do so. That he never had an opportunity to lead a revolution is his personal tragedy and ours as well.

I note here that among socialists, particularly the non-Stalinist socialists of those days, there was controversy on what to do and, more importantly, what forces socialists should support. If you want to find a more profound response initiated by revolutionary socialists to the social and labor problems of those days than is evident in today's leftist responses to such issues Cannon's writings here will assist you. I draw your attention to the early part of the book when Cannon led the Communist-initiated International Labor Defense (ILD) most famously around the fight to save the anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti here in Massachusetts. That campaign put the Communist Party on the map for many workers and others unfamiliar with the party's work. For my perspective the early class-war prisoner defense work was exemplary.

The issue of class-war prisoners is one that is close to my heart. I support the work of the Partisan Defense Committee, Box 99 Canal Street Station, New York, N.Y 10013, an organization which traces its roots and policy to Cannon's ILD. That policy is based on an old labor slogan- `An injury to one is an injury to all' therefore I would like to write a few words here on Cannon's conception of the nature of the work. As noted above, Cannon (along with Max Shachtman and Martin Abern and Cannon's long time companion Rose Karsner who would later be expelled from American Communist Party for Trotskyism with him and who helped him form what would eventually become the Socialist Workers Party) was assigned by the party in 1925 to set up the American section of the International Red Aid known here as the International Labor Defense.

It is important to note here that Cannon's selection as leader of the ILD was insisted on by the International Workers of the World (IWW) because of his pre-war association with that organization and with the prodding of "Big Bill' Haywood, the famous labor organizer exiled in Moscow. Since many of the militants still languishing in prison were anarchists or syndicalists this selection was important. The ILD's most famous early case was that of the heroic anarchist workers, Sacco and Vanzetti. The lessons learned in that campaign show the way forward in class-war prisoner defense.

I believe it was Trotsky who noted that, except in the immediate pre-revolutionary and during revolutionary periods the tasks of militants revolve around the struggle to win democratic and other partial demands. The case of class-war legal defense falls in that category with the added impetus of getting the prisoners back into the battle as quickly as possible. The task then is to get them out of prison by mass action for their release. Without going into the details of the Sacco and Vanzetti case the two workers had been awaiting execution for a number of years and had been languishing in jail. As is the nature of death penalty cases various appeals on various grounds were tried and failed and they were then in imminent danger of execution.

Other forces outside the labor movement were also interested in the case based on obtaining clemency, reduction of sentence to life imprisonment or a new trial. The ILD's position was to try to win their release by mass action- demonstrations and strikes and other forms of mass mobilization. This strategy obviously also included in a subordinate position any legal strategies such as the above which might be helpful to win their freedom. In this effort the stated goal of the organization was to organize non-sectarian class defense but also not to rely on the legal system alone portraying it as a simple miscarriage of justice. The organization publicized the case worldwide, held conferences, demonstrations and strikes on behalf of Sacco and Vanzetti. Although the campaign was not successful and the pair were executed in 1927 it stands as a model for class war prisoner defense. Needless to say, the names Sacco and Vanzetti continue to be honored to this day wherever militants fight against this system.

I also suggest a close look at Cannon's articles in the early 1950's. Some of them are solely of historical interest around the effects of the red purges on the organized labor movement at the start of the Cold War. Others, however, around health insurance, labor standards, the role of the media and the separation of church and state read as if they were written in 2006. That's a sorry statement to have to make today any way one looks at it.

This is a wonderful collection of articles written for the socialist press over more than thirty years, and masterful examples of sharp writing that clarifies, educates and inspires.

Cannon writes from the midst of workers' struggles, from the international defense campaigns to defend victims of capitalist frame-ups, to the powerful strikes of truck drivers, seamen and other workers in the 1930s, from the bloody upheaval of World War II to the subsequent wars of colonial conquest Washington waged in Korea and Southeast Asia. Some of his pieces are biting exposes of the hypocrisy and brutality of capitalist society; others take on big questions of leadership and organization posed to working class activists striving to form militant trade unions and revolutionary political parties.

I found particularly compelling Cannon's observations on the character and lives of the many militants and leaders of workers struggles he knew and worked with over decades, including Eugene Debs, Big Bill Haywood, Frank Little, Sacco and Vanzetti. And as a counterpart, his biting analysis of labor bureaucrats, and the cops, courts, politicians and bosses of the capitalist class who strive so hard to keep workers enslaved in their profit-driven society.

Cannon paints vivid pictures of people like his friend Frank Little'a Native American who was lynched after World War I for being an anti-imperialist and a labor organizer. After reading Cannon's tribute, Little became one of my heroes. He is a good hero, too--especially today when racist thugs (often with a badge) are targeting Blacks, immigrants and others. These brief journalistic glimpses show that Cannon knew how to write as well as he knew how to fight. Sacco and Vanzetti, Charlie Chaplin, Hiroshima and Jim Crow are among the many topics. But the moral courage of working class fighters in a capitalist world--some fighters, well-known, others totally obscure--this is Cannon's primary theme

This is an expanded collection of the popular journalistic writing of James P. Cannon the founding leader of the American communist movement who stood up to Stalinism and founded the movement that became the Socialist Workers Party. These articles span the pre W.W.I struggles of the International Workers of the World, the revolutionary trade unionism of the Minneapolis Strikes of the 1930s, to the struggle against the 1950s McCarthyism. What shines in this collection is both Cannon's wit, and his wisdom, as well as his ability to communicate on the level of pure human feeling as well as objective politics in his "smaller" pieces like his movie reviews, reaction to the death of a fighter, reactions to advances in science. This is a the kind of book to put at your beside and read an article every day for the joy of reading it, as well as the political lessons.

Dr. Caravelli is most certainly an expert in understanding the seriousness and complexity of the nuclear threat we face. His candid and forthright style further increases the book's credibility. The structure and flow of the book allow the reader to fully grasp the overall severity of the situation while understanding the multifaceted contributing elements. It is also eminently readable.

Notably the book goes beyond filling the need to understand the events that lead us to today's threats in its many dimensions. It sets the context of the critical challenges to contain and control nuclear stockpiles and nuclear proliferation and offers a realistic multistep solution to best mitigate the nuclear threat. This book is certainly an eye opener.

The author's expertise offers a clear understanding of the history and challenges facing the United States, as well as the world, in this age of "nuclear insecurity". His experience in the CIA, National Security Agency and Department of Energy certainly enables him to provide in-depth and comprehensive insights into this most pressing problem. More heed needs to be paid to both the analysis and insights presented.

As a current US Government employee, it's uplifting to see how Caravelli and other dedicated senior managers could navigate the bureaucratic barriers to "do the right thing". The chapters unfold to tell the story of forging policies to meet the nuclear insecurity challenges in the face of shortsighted decisions and managerial incompetence that are so often counterproductive to long-term solutions.

The book carries lessons that are clearly contemporary as inadequate control and the lack of effective security of nuclear materials compound the real and actual dangers of nuclear proliferation today. I recommend this book to those concerned with one of the greatest enduring threats to America, as well as Western civilization.

From a current US Government employee.

This book offers a combination of personal experiences and case studies related to nuclear and radiological proliferation. The insights that Jack Caravelli provides of the interactions, harmonious and acrimonious, of the various US agencies tasked with non-proliferation duties, illustrate how critical both personal and professional relationships are to progress. The description of the oversight of the US Department of Energy, by the Government Accountability Office, shows how carefully arranged mechanisms can be thwarted by obstruction and ineptitude. The two case studies address Pakistan and Iran, and are detailed and timely. They afford an historic overview and cover contemporary developments up to the point of publication. In addition, the case study of the critical international confrontation with Iran includes suggested solutions to ending the nuclear threat. This book is a useful addition to the literature on the risk of all forms of nuclear proliferation. It should be read by interested parties in both the US and Europe.

A thoughtful and well-researched effort, Dr. Caravelli presents an insider's view of the nonproliferation issues we currently face. Drawing on his years of service at the highlest levels of government, he paints a disturbing picture of what the future may hold. This book should be required reading for anyone interested in homeland security, counter-terrorism, and world politics.

The author takes a very systematic approach to the analysis of the task of obtaining and delivering a nuclear weapon and then looks at the vulnerabilities of the process which are the opportunities of the defender.

Sadly too much of what makes the press on the subject amounts to a keyhole view of a single element of the offensive or defensive process. In contrast, the book looks at the complexity of the process and the impact on the overall opportunity for success of a "layered" defense. The conclusion is that it is not a single impenetrable layer that offers the opportunity for reducing the threat but rather multiple layers.

What we fail to grasp on terrorist issues we intuitively understand every fall weekend as we watch football. When it comes down to the end of the game and time for one or two plays the defense has multiple opportunities to reduce the overall probability of of offensive success. A coach would be foolish to rush 11 players or have 11 players deep while giving the quarterback the flexibility to select tie time and place of attack. Instead the defenders balance the defense to defend at multiple points as a strategy which reduces the overall probability of offensive success.

Like American football success in combating doomsday terrorist threats comes from not only multiple levels but also from surprise, communication, deception and hard work.

In defending against nuclear terrorism multiple, independently managed efforts from threat analysis to intelligence to field intervention to defending the attempted delivery can reduce the probability of success to a level that makes the effort "non profitable" from the terrorist standpoint.

Terrorists understand that detection of a seriously developed nuclear attack effort will change the rules of the game, forever. A high probability of success is needed to make the effort worth the risks to the cause ( assuming for the moment that the top leadership is willing to die as a consequence of the effort) . This is in stark contrast to the dispatch of suicide bombers who do not generate the massive change in the rules of the game.

Overall the book is excellent for both its content and its impact on changing the way most of us think about defending against the unthinkable. Highly recommended

This book sets forth what a finite band of non-supermen would have to do to mount an attack of nuclear terrorism. From this, it derives a systematic approach to making such an effort more difficult. The bottom line is that we can't make such an attack impossible, but most likely we can make it hard enough that they will try something else. After all, they have trade-offs, too. For example, the more skills they assemble, the harder it is to keep the operation secret. Not the final word, but a first class beginning, and a major contribution to the debate over the level of effort that should be expended to ward off a nuclear attack as opposed to other forms of terrorism.

Michael Levi offers a unique perspective on the fear that drives the American psyche and political process these days-----nuclear weapons in the hands of a terrorist. While many experts exploit that fear to support expensive programs to counter nuclear terrorism, Levi takes an analytical perspective which describes in detail the series of difficult challenges which terrorists must overcome in order to accomplish the ultimate nightmare. His perspective as a physicist provides technological information not often found in policy pundits' consideration of this critical national and international security issue. Levi presents such technical information in a readable, but sophisticated form which enlightens those who seek to know more about the types of nuclear materials and weapons that a terrorist might seek. Additional technical information about detection and characterization technologies is also incorporated into this highly informative study. Casual readers will also benefit from Levi's unique approach-----looking at nuclear terrorism through the eyes of a terrorist planner. His message is a realistic, but hopeful one-----that nuclear terrorism is not inevitable, particularly if policy makers allocate resources to the obstacles that could make the ultimate nightmare only a figment of the imagination. Very Highly Recommended

I bought this book after hearing the author on the radio. His perspective on nuclear terrorism is unexpected: we normally think that the terrorists must only succeed once, while security services must be effective every time.

But while that may be true in the broadest sense, the author points out that the terrorists have to succeed at every stage of the incredibly difficult process, while the police only need to catch them once. It's hard for terrorists to be good at everything they need to do: though they may procure bomb-making materials, they may not be very good at planting bombs (e.g. - the doctors who attempted to blow up Glasgow Airport, but left their car bombs parked in a no-parking zone.) On the other hand, it's possible for the police to be effective at every level, from monitoring so-called "loose nukes" to detecting radiation in ports to tracking suspicious movements in cities.

It was a revelation to read this book, because the analysis is far more reasoned and realistic than what's typically found in the media.

This Arendt's classical work speaks for itself. It's a fundamental book for any studious of the processes linked to any structural rupture on the basis of organized societies.

This book got rave reviews, ("Neo-Marxists beware!") so it must be filled with a baffling number of provocative realizations. Too bad its condition was so pristine I could not but gaze upon it.

Oh, Amazon.


*sigh*

On Revolution by Hannah Arendt is a philosophical study of the nature of revolutions, mainly focusing on the French and American revolutions. A big portion of her analysis involves the "Social Question" involved in revolutions. How do revolutions start? Even though her writing style can be convoluted and overly verbose at times, eventually the reader will acclimate to her not so accessible prose. This is not a light read. If you want a book to stimulate internal dialogue, however, this is the book to buy.

This book is yet another deep, original and controversial contribution of Hannah Arendt to twentieth century political theory. In this book, Arendt analyzes the phenomenon of revolution by focusing almost exclusively on the great XVIIIth century revolutions, the American and the French. Arendt's deep insights allow her to compare, both on a theoretical and a practical level, the similarities and differences between the two and on how and why the American Revolution allowed the foundation of freedom while the French failed miserably in this attempt almost from the beginning. The great themes in this book are the social question (necessity) in its relation to politics (the realm of freedom) and the ever-present distinction between liberation and freedom properly speaking. Thus, constitutions and their significance, the problem of secular law in relation to its need for an Absolute with which to provide a foundation for it, the problem of hypocrisy and Robespierre's Terror, and insightful interpretations of some of the Founding Fathers' political thought (though in my opinion a bit too far reaching in her inferences thereof), are all issues with which she deals with in this book and which are rounded up in a great closing chapter. Deep, powerful, perceptive, intense: like most of Arendt's writings, a must read for anyone interested in political thought and theory.

This is a classic, both for it's clarity and for its brevity(110 pages!). Strayer was a professor at Princeton and worked for the CIA on the side. In his book, "the invention of the middle ages", Norman Cantor describes his life as a graduate student at Princeton under Strayer. Apparently he was always running off to advise the government on one thing or another. It's an amusing thought.

Strayer's analysis is heavy on the bureaucratic development of france and england, light on everything else. Basically, he contrasts the centralist state of England with the "mosaic" state of France, and demonstrates how the heavy bureaucracy of france (and other contiental states of europe) can be attributed to the need of a weak central government to integrate provinces with their own "national" identities. This goal was accomplished by layering different sorts of councils and administrators on top of one another, with the King at the top.

This is contrasted with England, which functioned, in Strayer's mind as a "large french province", with the King at the top of an abbreviated hierarchy.

His institutional focus is on the development of law courts and the finance ministry- these were the first departments to come of age in the west. The law courts because the king's original power was as court of last resort, the finance ministry because... well, every prince needs money.

As the title says, this is a book about the state, not the nation. There is no mention of culture in here, so don't look for it.

This book, as is well known, is a small classic among history books on Medieval Europe since its publication in the early 19seventies. There is a clear and distinct approach of rational government building in 11-14th century England and France, and how the modern state has roots shaped by the lessons and experiences of that time. Although the treatise is short, it is very clearly and concisely written. Obviously, the writer has deep knowledge of what he is talking about, and reading the book gives a stong impression that there is much more behind the analysis that he gives. The idea of more-or-less rational institutional building of government functions in middle-to late Medieval times does leave out a lot of other human elements shaping human governance at that time, while i got a distinct impression of the smoothness of the whole process overall. This seems certainly very debatable. Nevertheless, perhaps the sharp focus is what makes the book so very clear, informative and enjoyable to read. A definite must for any serious Medieval history buff...

Strayer's depth of knowledge and simplicity of thought are seldom combined in books with a challenging thesis that is still debated today. For example, the recent President of the American Historical Associate(James J. Sheehan) presented a Presidential Address(AHR Feb.2006) that challenges Strayer's analysis of the origins of sovereignty in Western Europe and more than a few recent historians have criticized Strayer's Anglophile framework for analyzing the evolving types of governing entities found in France and England in the 1300's. Not bad for a book that is a little over 100 pages long and written nearly 40 years ago. A suberb example of concise and erudite scholarship!

The true mark of a genius is in developing an idea that, when put forth seems obvious, yet is an original idea. This book is Strayer's work of genius. Being so short, Strayer's book should be mandatory reading in the public school system. No one else has come close to explaining the unique origin of the state system in the modern West.

I was impressed with a pace that Jason Burke established in reporting his decade or more of travel through Southwest Asia (Pakistan/Afghanistan) and Middle East. His optimism and hope stays alive throughout his various first hand encounters with horrific events. His book provides a very different viewpoint compared to the ones that I was able to follow through the USA based newspapers and magazines reports for the two post 9/11 wars (USA/Aghan War or USA/Iraq War II). He does not pretend to be a scholar and is certainly not biased in his analysis. I would recommend this book for folks who want to get a better insight of the Islamic World and all the precieved and real dangers surrounding it.

I read Jason Burke's Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror, and found it the most factual book on the events surrounding 9/11. So, I had high expectations and was hopeful for further updates from his previous 2004 publication. As other reviewers have noted, this book is a travelogue and personal memoir of Mr.Burke's travels around the world, rather then an analysis of the Middle East.

Admittedly, I'm impressed with what has kept Mr.Burke busy the last 2 decades. But, there was nothing ground breaking or amazing here. The entire book comes off a bit flat, and shallow. If you're looking for a fun(relatively speaking), walk through the Middle East since 1990, then this book may entertain you. I was looking for more info on the "War on Terror", and didn't find much in here.

A much better travelogue through Afghanistan (albeit, without the political analysis), is Jason Elliot's An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan.

ON THE ROAD TO KANDAHAR: TRAVELS THROUGH CONFLICT IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD could have been featured in our Travel Shelf section - but it's so much more, and shouldn't be limited to a leisure travel-reading audience alone. Jason Burke spent a decade among Muslim people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Thailand and other areas: his guide explores their culture and concerns, blending first-person experiences and encounters with interviews with a wide range of people, from Taliban officials and a former torturer for Husseun's intelligence service to a suicide bomber and an American sniper in Iraq. It's these varied encounters from different cultures in the area which offer eye-opening insights and cultural revelations not to be missed. Any collection serious about Middle East issues needs ON THE ROAD TO KANDAHAR.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is an excellent and informative book that's also a joy to read. Burke reports for Britain's "Observer" and he spent a decade covering stories in places such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Algeria, and Turkey. He often found himself in the middle of complex acts of violence, and this book is part travel memoir and part intellectual memoir as he struggles to understand what it all means.

I look for a few specific things in a good piece of travel writing. First, it needs to be well written, and Burke crafts strong, clear, concise, fast-flowing writing. He writes like a journalist, which means he trades flowery metaphors for sharp, direct statements. His descriptions of characters and places capture both the details and the mood, which ends up being vital to the points he wants to make. I also want a writer with insight. The author certainly needs to show insight into the cultures he encounters, but if self-exploration is also a goal, he or she also needs to show personal insight. Without insight I'd rather read a Lonely Planet guidebook. I liked Burke's approach. He is honest about his knowledge of other cultures, and he admits what he thinks while also staying aware of his lack of understanding. He describes violent acts and acknowledges that the deeper conflicts often prove to be too old and twisted for him to fully grasp. As for personal insight, Burke goes looking for that only in order to understand the conflicts he experiences. He might explore his own reactions under enemy fire, but it's only to better understand the nature of violence. This isn't a work of "spiritual travel" or a man's search for meaning, but it recognizes that any questions about the nature of violence require an understanding of your own nature. Finally, I have to like the author. Reading a travel book is like sharing a journey, and Burke seems like a cool guy--impressed with his travels without becoming arrogant, tough without going macho on the reader, and knowledgeable without needing to be an expert. He never once annoyed me, which is a bit of a rarity in travel writing (and in real travel).

As for the ideas in "On the Road to Kandahar," I think it's fair to say that Burke ends up with more questions than answers. More accurately, he ends up with the same deep questions and only some preliminary answers, but he also learns how complex and troubling the original questions were. He wants to understand what motivates violence in the parts of the Islamic world he has visited, and what the end result of it all will be. The travel writing helps collect information for the first question. He talks to would-be suicide bombers, Kurdish resistance fighters, and Taliban sympathizers--many of them unlikable and unsavory characters--and tries to get at their motivations. He tries to piece it all together into a coherent understanding. He brings up the stress of change, and how the clash with modernity causes conflict in previously peaceful cultures. He discusses al-Qaeda's philosophies and how satellite television and the internet have allowed these philosophies to modify the grievances of local cultures. He explores how cultures react after they accept violence as an answer, and after they see the results of that violence on other cultures and on their own culture. He realizes that 99% of the world simply wants to get by and live life--to raise children and enjoy friendships and have enough to eat and drink each day.

And, finally, he sort-of comes to an optimistic conclusion--that cultures end up turning against violence. He sees much of the conflict in the Islamic world as a short-term answer (even if "short-term" means one hundred years), a trial attempt to solve problems with suicide bombers and violent revolution, and sees it all fading away once the cultures turn against it. I say "sort-of" because Burke is far from convinced, especially after experiencing the closeness of the London bombings. In the end, it's the best answer he has right now. And, in the end, it's this combination of intellectual honesty and optimism--and its telling in an exciting and engaging way--that helps make this such an outstanding book.