Bush Books

I liked the way the author included photos of the presidents' wives and described which popular music and books were enjoyed by people during each president's term in office. The speeches in the back by Al Gore and George W. Bush that talk about the Florida recount during the 2000 election kind of make this book a collector's item for political history buffs.

This book is a combination of a postal directory of County Tipperary,Ireland in 1889 and local history. The book was originally published as "A manual and directory for manufacturers,merchants,traders,professional men,land-owners,farmers,tourists, anglers and sportsmen generally".
Approximately half of the book consists of pictures and advertisements from businesses. The remainder of the book is divided between a postal directory of 1889 and local and county history. There is an overall index for merchants,but "Farmers & Residents" must be looked up at their postal directory listing. This book is of great interest for the genealogist looking for anyone circa 1889 in Tipperary. The directory also can give a person an idea of the number of individuals of a particular surname that stayed behind in post-famine Ireland. The listing of names appears to be comprehensive for any person that owned or leased land in Tipperary. Persons living in a hotel or working as a laborer for others on a farm may not be listed. I was able to locate all of my many ancestors (head of houshold) who lived in Tipperary at this time. In one case I found an ancestor whose postal address was different than his acutal Townsland address. The book provides not only reference material, but also reads like a local Tipperary newspaper from the late 1800s. If you have an interest in genealogy or history in 1889 Tipperary you will find yourself reading more of the book/directory than you intended.

This book is a must-read for all Americans. A real eye-opener on what you wish you had always known was going on behind the doors of the Bush Administration. Well-researched, and told from a somewhat unbiased point of view. This book doesn't hate on republicans or democrats, and should appeal to both because it gives not only environmental arguments against ridiculous policies, but economic and social ones as well. Buy this book, and pass it on to all your friends.

If you want to know about the real bigfoot, this is the book for you. This is not about mythical creatures living in the woods, rather about the man who lived in the 1800's and had a bit of a growth hormone problem. Based on fact, this book takes you through the life and death of a misunderstood man. A good read!

The Bush presidency still has almost a year to go, and already the stream of "definitive" books on his presidency has already started to trickle down.

In "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush" (480 pages; hardcover), author Robert Draper paints a very closely researched picture of the Bush presidency. It appears that Draper had unprecedented access to the President and those around him. Draper spends very little time on what it is that brought Bush to the presidency, his previous life as governor of Texas and owner of the Texas Rangers are being dealt with in a couple of pages. Even more questionable is why the 2004 general election and its aftermath, leading to the Supreme Court's decision in Gore vs. Bush, is taken care of in 1 paragraph! In contrast to that, the author brings in great details the brutal 2000 Republican primaries, in which McCain unexpectedly won New Hampshire (when the day before the election the Bush entourage found itself with an extra hour or two on its hands, they decide to go bob-sledding on the spur of the moment!). The author doesn't hide his criticism of the war in Iraq. The 4400 Project (which was to restore up to pre-war levels of electricity with 4,400 megawatts of electricity by Oct. 1, 2003) was one of the many failures, and later $18.4 billion emergency funding was requested to get supply up to 6,000 megawatts. The author notes dryly: "The money came. But the 6,000 megawatts never did. Not by June 2004.Or by 2005. Or 2006. Or 2007."

In all, this is a pleasant read. The author has done his home work even if for some reason he is selective in what episodes to cover or not to cover. But the book finishes in an open-ended way, not surprising since this book came out 16 months before the end of Bush's presidency.

This book by French journalist Laurent is very informative. It gives a detailed description of the ties between the Bushes and Bin Ladens, but not in the funny and slanted Michael Moore way or the sometimes overpopular style of Kitty Kelley.

Besides the gruesome ties between the oilmen in Texas and the Middle East there are some chapters on the Bush government and its hawks. It's now quite old so some members of cabinet have already left, but their role is still clear.

I've seen this book in French, German and Dutch. Good read

This is one of the most illuminating books I've read in a long time. I'm almost grateful Gore didn't make it to the presidency in 2000 because he got to use his time in better endeavors. He's really one of the great minds of our time and I'm sure his influence will get to change our society for better.
Gore's informed points of view about the Bush administration are frightening to say the least. One can only wish we'd be able to fix all the things that got wrong in this past 8 years but, as Gore very well points out, it's not only the politicians responsability, but of all of us. Without active participation and information there's little that can be done.
Of course his criticism to Bush and Co. and to US society in general lacks a constructive criticism to the Democratic Party. I'd wish to hear what he has to say about his own party, but I guess we'll have to wait another ten or so years before that happens.
I bought this book in Spanish because I enjoy reading in my native language, and to support publications in Spanish at the same time. Wrong! The translation is not only a disgrace, it is an embarrassment to all of us who speak the language. I'm assuming that they wanted to have the Spanish version available shortly after they released the original version in English (October 06 for English, Nov 06 for Spanish), which is a great strategy. The problem is that the result is incredibly bad. If you want to read this book, don't bother buying it in Spanish, go for the English version directly!

This far-sighted examination of global politics identifies a new axis of evil rising in opposition to the West, based on rejection of democracy and the rule of law. Kagan predicts the return of nationalism and confrontation between the forces of democracy and autocracy. He believes that a nation's type of government instead of its culture, religion or geographic location will determine its global alignment. While not dismissing the terrorist threat, he does not consider it a primary menace as history proves that modernity has never lost against the traditionalism represented by the Islamists. That is true, but acts of terror might have unintended consequences in the development of state structures & the formation of alliances.

It's irresistible to compare Kagan's analysis with Margaret Thatcher's 2002 book Statecraft, in which she assessed the state of the globe and possible future trajectories. In chapters 3 and 4 Thatcher looks at Russia and China and India. Rogue states, religion and terrorism are discussed in chapter 6 with the emphasis on North Korea, Islam, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Iran. Another relevant work, The New Cold War by Edward Lucas, corroborates Kagan's view. Russia is pursuing policies detrimental to its own citizens, neighboring states and the world at large. Lucas scrutinizes the ruling elite which emerged from the ranks of the old KGB. This dominant class harbors resentment against the West as a whole in an interesting parallel to the hostility of the Brussels Eurocracy towards the USA and Israel. The Russian government now openly competes with the West on the economic and political fronts.

Freedom of expression and the rule of law exist in name only; the state controls all the economic activity, political institutions and media that matter. Putin's term "managed" or "sovereign" democracy really means a revived Czarism. Despite Russia's demographic implosion, pervasive corruption and widespread lawlessness, it wages a new cold war through criminal actions against Ukraine, Moldova, Estonia, Georgia and the UK (in the Litvinenko case) and by supplying arms to rogue states Iran and Syria and their terrorist proxies Hamas and Hezbollah.

The Putin gang eagerly befriends all enemies of the West and it's becoming clear that Russia seeks an alliance with the Islamic world and a partial restoration of the Warsaw Pact through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) of which China is a member. The Kremlin ignores the long-term threat from China despite the particularly drastic demographic and infrastructural implosion in Russia's Far East. Russia's rejection of Western values promises to make it more barbaric internally and considerably more dangerous on the global stage. One may confidently expect it to supply Iran with nuclear weapons technology and to support every oppressive regime that pollutes the planet.

It is pursuing an energy policy aimed at squeezing the liberal democracies through a gas cartel. An enlarged SCO that includes Iran, other Middle Eastern and African states like Libya and Sudan, plus Venezuela is a real possibility. The SCO will lock the Turkic speaking states of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (plus Persian Tajikistan) firmly in the bear's embrace. The future role of Turkey will be crucial; it remains to be seen how its current pro-religious government will adapt its foreign policy in response to the country's certain exclusion from the European inner core. Economic ties to Europe are of course assured but it might significantly upgrade relations with the Central Asian states.

Kagan considers closer ties between the USA, India and Japan more important than a larger NATO role. Affirming the ideal expressed by Anne Bayefsky amongst others, Kagan calls for an international organization of democratic states. Perhaps he underestimates the ambition of the Eurocrats and their resentment of Israel and the US. Prospects for the closer union of a core group that includes Germany, France, the Benelux countries, Italy, Spain and a few others look promising. Such a restructuring could be triggered by various factors such as the refusal of current member states to relinquish further sovereignty, severe economic problems or security concerns caused by terrorism or the behavior of Russia. Such a central Superstate will undoubtedly dictate the foreign policy of all Europe. By remaining a member, the UK will diminish the Anglosphere. A US alliance with India and Japan, on the other hand, might formidably enhance its influence and assure its strategic advantage of continued dominance over three of the world's oceans.

Isolationism is not an option anymore. Kagan's conclusions are markedly distinguished from those disproved notions of the 90s - Fukuyama's fatuous futurology and Huntington's culturally based theory. The paranoid and the resentful that demonized the "Hyperpower" will look back on the era of American "hegemony" with yearning and remorse once the dynamics of the new multipolar world become clear. How comfortable the decade of the Clintons now appears in the light of ominous contemporary trends. Alarming as it may be, Kagan's message is the right medicine for identifying the formidable challenges of the future.

Como todo lo que escribe Noam Chomsky, está muy documentado, quizá en exceso. Independientemente de que se esté de acuerdo o no con los argumentos expuestos, lo que no se puede negar es que es un libro que invita a la reflexión.

`Final Judgment' is the kind of book that simply sweeps you along -it tugs at your conscience, makes you smile, makes you sad, makes you think. This compelling book kept me up all night, and the second I finished it I couldn't wait to put it into the hands of a friend.
The author uses the plot to depict various American stances towards the Iraq war - from the blandly indifferent to the passionately concerned - and while he makes no bones about his own disillusionments with the government, he manages to make the story both enjoyable and thought-provoking.
The novel is set in a university town near Boston and the protagonist is Professor Kenneth Flear, whose charming, insightful voice - laced with cynicism and a dry sense of humor -beautifully offsets the earnestness and intensity of the haunting young heroine, a student called Anne Miner.
The book delves into the Flear family dynamics (especially the poignant father-son relationship) and also offers a behind-the-scenes peek into the workings of the publishing industry - from a title's initial commissioning to its publicity campaign. (Look out for some interesting guest appearances in the climax, including one from Barack Obama!) But more than anything else, this book is about how the paths of the two central characters cross, and how it changes both their lives irrevocably.
"Only dead men can tell the truth in this world," said Mark Twain of his anti-war short story `The War Prayer'. `Final Judgment', too, is a scathing indictment on war, and while its author is no more, I know that the truths he tells in this book will continue to live on in the minds of readers like me.