Book Description
New 2002 edition-includes updated list of CFR members! James Perloff exposes the subversive roots and global designs of the CFR. Passed off as a think-tank, this group is a key "power behind the throne," with hundreds of top-appointed government officials drawn from its ranks. Traces activity from the Wilson to Reagan administrations.
Customer Reviews:
Thorough, Accurate & Concise.......2007-01-31
I am most impressed with Perloff's research. If you want just one book to gain an understanding of what is left out in most history books concerning the CFR, this is it. Reviews accusing Perloff of engaging in conspiracy-baiting are inaccurate to say the least. I recently used this book extensively in constructing the lecture notes for a unit in my U.S. Gov't. classes. As a teacher committed to telling the truth, as opposed to pushing textbook propaganda, I find Perloff's book to be an extremely valuable resource.
Also recommended:
"Wall Street, Banks & U.S. Foreign Policy" by Murray N. Rothbard
"America: Freedom to Fascism" (DVD)
Just the facts, ma'm........2006-12-15
This little volume doesn't go into batty conspiracy theories--but it DOES cover the works and ideas of the CFR, since it's founding in 1920. And that's scary enough.
The CFR is the foreign policy establishment of this country, and if you like pointless and deadly wars, designed to benefit American corporations and shareholders at the expense of taxpayers, you'll LOVE the CFR. If you don't, you won't.
More like a conspiracy theory rant than a reasoned argument.......2006-10-30
First I am no believer in the good intentions of our political or social elite. I also don't think the powerful get together and conspire to dominate the world for much other than their own personal gain, be that additional wealth or the seeking of more personal power or influence. And thus organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations are born so that the wealthy and powerful can meet with other like minded people and expand their influence and push their ideas onto others. This argument I can accept. However, the author has picked the CFR as some grand body that rules American policy and has done so for years with the evil intent of creating a one-world government. If you were to believe everything in this book you would assume that all American foreign policy, all Presidents and most parts of American government have been ruled by this organization since it's founding in 1921.
The arguments do not ring true, the author has concluded that membership in this organization has somehow made members brain washed zombies of some grand master plan for one-world government. However the author does not really explain why the membership would have such slavish devotion to this principle nor does he really explain why he feels that such a plan is so evil that is must be opposed. Until of course the last two pages of the book when the author finally writes;
" In essence, history is the story of conflict. Those who view history as a series of accidents, it is interesting to note, also usually believe that the universe itself began as an accident and that man resulted from the random molecular collisions....
There are, however, those of us who accept the causality of God. Many centuries ago, the Hebrew Old Testament and the Christian New Testament prophesied that ultimately a beautiful kingdom will prevail.... But they also warned of an evil, one-world government.....
Many notables of the American Establishment have given themselves over to one side in this conflict, and it is not the side the ancient scriptures recommended. Whether or not they are conspirators, whether they are conscious or not of the ultimate consequences of their actions, their powerful influence has helped move the world towards apocalyptic events."
And thus after 220 pages we see that there is no need to argue why the CFR is evil and what it is up to, this is all self evident by reading the Bible. Which then begs the question why buy and then read this book when the argument has already been made in the Bible.
It would have been nice if the author had started with this paragraph rather than waiting to the last page, it may have made his arguments more coherent. At least I would know that this was not to be a well argued scholarly work but an end of the world rant that assumes you have bought into "The End is Near" world view. If you are not of this mind set then this book shows you that people like to get together when they think alike and form clubs that tend to push their ideas and promote their own members. But then I went to college and experienced fraternities so I get the general idea already. Overall this book was a waste of time, true believers will see it as more of the same evidence and skeptics will not be swayed by the weak arguments and faulty reasoning.
Stop the press! Pick up this book. Then read the press........2006-06-25
A 90 Proof mind bender. Fast foward to a #361 Degree news cycle. The extra degree angle plays well as it sweeps away any establishment fodder. But only if you have any semblence of gray cells left. Or right.
U.S. Decline.......2006-03-14
James Perloff states in black and white the state of the nation.
Those who do not know the past are condemned to repeat it.On page 3 there is the following paragraph.The real menace of our Republic is the invisible government which, like a giant OCTOPUS ,sprawls its slimy length over our city,state and nation.At the head is a small group of banking houses generally refered to as international BANKERS.This little caterie of powerful international BANKERS VIRTUALLY run our government for their SELFISH ENDS.On page 3
Page 4 The real truth of the matter is,as you know,that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson.FEDERAL RESERVE IS UNCONSTITUTION.
CFR school for statemans made up of Dominant class of our society.Also those who have potential to serve their ends,but are not from this class,the american way.
The CFR represent the coporat mind which is without conscious or alligence.This organzation and its representnatives are selling the american people out,and they are the ESTABLISHMENT.There are other organizations that do the same???.
The following is for fools only.The congress is not opposing the CFR.They are part of the government,yet they take an oath to uphold the US CONSTITUTION.Some members may not support TREASON ??????.Violating the security of US is treason.
Hitler,Stalin,Pol pot,or anyone else is okay as long as they do WHAT THEY WANT.NO they ARE not DEMOCRACTIC,but use it as PLOY to overthrow nations.Cut off money supply,have insurgents,etc.WHO MULTI NATIONAL COPORATs.Who is 666.
MR.Perloff gives reference in this book to the following.WWI was PROVOKED by the Lusitani incident.WW11 was provoked by peral harbor which was known about 11 days prior too attact.Korea was cut in half in 1945 with agreement of US and Russia.16000 south koreans with small arms were suppose to hold back the north koreans and chines,a setup to draw us into the police action.Viet NAM.GULF of TONKIN provocation without evidence,there was know attact by VEIT NAM SET up by US to cause WAR.2006 war for Isaral,US. England.WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.FALSE INFORMATION.Spanish american war,WHO blew up the US ship in CUBA that cause that 1898war??????????????????????????...................................
There is no end to the JOKE ON YOU,the living and the dead.THomas Paine was a ture american.What did he say about the US and England 30 years after the war of independence.He said we were back with the englisn.SELL OUT,Where are you now.NWO.
In conclusion the 34 percent support the CFR they are the establishment,elites,the congress is their PUPPET.They are one,both parties.There is no hope without throwing out the elected and putting those who serve america and democracy for the american people.A revolution to save america.TAKE AMERICA BACK,SAVE YOURSELF,YOU ARE SELFISH,I ONLY want to satisfy myself you say,then do it,or die as a nation.
US in decline,GASPROM,RUSSIA,SEVEN SISTERs,what now.South AMERICA going democratic socialist.CHINA in Africa for oil.INDIA,PAKistan,nucleur.IRAN has 10 times more oil than EXXON.IS it third in world in oil.Hegal,synthesis,capilist,soviet communist,facist communist toltalitarian NWO,free trade,open borders,backlash,decentergration.DEregulation,state RIGHTS.
Dubia ports,china ports,give it all to ASIA,allow north america,and western europe to be over run with immigrants.China 1.2 billion,India 1 billion,how can west compete without trade regulations.Only business needs to trade,but it does not serve the people.The US congress alowed this insanity to develope because it is bought and sold along with the 34 pecent that benefit from TREASON.VOTE THEM ALL OUT.YOU ARE a FOOL if you do not.THOSE WHO WILL NOT FIGHT WILL DIE,why should they exist.
A toltalitarian system world wide to be controlled by one KING,but their are 2 factions who want to be KING.They are allies and they both have over 200 nukes,nuclear submarines,chemcial weapons,and biological weapons.They also have satilites in space.Ben Franklin said that faction are the result of the settlement of war,etc.Now the new world order fractionalizing and will not stand,of course we can have neclear war.WW111 RUSSIA,CHINA,IRAN,etc. GOOD LUCK ?????????????
The state of Georgia has use state rights to stop elegal immigration.Stand up and save america HR4437.Take back america
Thank HOLLAND and FRANCE for standing up they are not brainwashed.Conntrol the international bankers,regulate the economy,control industry.Democratic socialism for the people not the copoRAT,do not give any more cheese,no tax breaks,etc.
LOOK up the deffinition of democratic socialism,it is not communism.Harvard and YALE you may learn something.SAVE OUR NATION
[..],there is no fuel,energy shortage.
Amazon.com
The past is more than prologue, says bestselling author and Chopra Center for Well Being counselor Debbie Ford. The Secret of the Shadow urges readers to create a fresh meaning about their formative experiences, especially the painful ones, and use them to plan a more purposeful and authentic life. Ford believes that each person is born with unique gifts and a divine purpose, which are lost when we create a "story"--a collection of beliefs--that manufactures a false self and casts a shadow to hide our uniqueness and prevent us from success in work and love. As she explains, "the key is to stop chasing the feel-good moments and make peace with our stories so we can understand, accept and embrace everything in the past that has caused us pain." Once we stop trying to change the painful parts of our story, we will discover the divine plan for our lives.
Writing in the voice of the wounded healer, Ford tells her own story of embracing the wisdom and direction she found in facing family and addiction problems. She skillfully offers examples from participants in her workshops at the Chopra center who have leveraged the lessons of a painful past into a purposeful life. She invites readers to "own their whole story" by asking: What is the secret [about you] that your story conceals? What wisdom can you contribute to the world that you couldn't if the events in your life hadn't happened?"
At times, Ford's approach seems derivative of 12-step programs and ersatz Buddhism. And she mixes metaphors of shadows and light with those of a recipe and ingredients. Readers also know that self-reflection, acceptance of life's mixed blessings, and making lemonade from lemons are not new ideas. Yet Ford's passion and persuasiveness make a fresh case for daring to be yourself, learning from experience, and discovering the divine spark that is beyond our understanding. --Barbara Mackoff
Book Description
In The Secret of the Shadow bestselling author Debbie Ford shows us how to rediscover our true essence, which is hidden in the shadows of our own dramatic life stories. In her blockbuster The Dark Side of the Light Chasers Ford introduced us to our "shadow." Now she uncovers our "Story", the collection of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that prevent us from having all the love, happiness, and success we desire. She guides us to understand that bidden in the shadow of our stories is our magnificence, and our unique gift. The Secret of the Shadow shows that the stories we tell ourselves about our lives do not define who we truly are. In fact, they prevent us from grasping our purpose and potential. When we live in these stories we engage in noisy internal dialogues, self-defeating habits, and abusive behaviors. But once they are understood and processed, our traumas and failures, our pain and our discontent, will take us deep inside and return us to our Divine essence.
Our personal dramas contain important information and wisdom that can help us discover our essential selves and true purpose in life. The process of making peace with our stories requires us to identify, understand, accept, and embrace everything in our past that has caused us pain. In order for us to heal, we must stop chasing what Ford calls "the feel-good moments" and embark on the extraordinary journey of loving and embracing all that we are. The process outlined in this book offers us a way out of the never-ending cycle of pain and discontent. Whether we suffer from depression, ill health, a sense of unworthiness, arrogance, or low self-esteem, the road to heating is the same. This clear process (including action steps and contemplations in each chapter) will help you to discover your unique purpose and realize the fulfillment of your deepest desires.
As we make the inner journey of embracing our story and all its ingredients, we begin to see the life that lies ahead of us, a life that will give us the gift of our eternal selves.
Customer Reviews:
Almost perfect.......2007-07-25
I think what I like most about this book is how succinct it is. If you're having a dark night of the soul, and dealing with the shock of realizing who you really are, as opposed to who you have robotically been in life, this is a definitive book on the subject.
While reading it voraciously, I had many lightbulb moments which touched me in crucial places. I suggest you read the whole book, cover-to-cover, as written. It is valuable even if you might not be ready for all of it, such as putting an end to blaming, or even if you're not currently in a place where you are able to objectively see that whatever happened to you ("your story"), no matter how traumatic or painful, served a purpose in your life; it took you along a path you NEEDED in order to get you from there to here. Even if you cannot see those gifts at this time, even if you are still deeply steeped in that pain, read the book, for it offers hope; you can and will eventually reach "the end."
My only complaint is that the book's themes seem illustrated using oddly weak scenarios. For instance, the traumatic experience that one person could not seem to get over was that her mother forgot to pick her up from school one day. Now, far be it for me to seem unfeeling, but I'm thinking there are much more substantial traumas in life, and if you're drawn to this book, your traumas probably go much deeper than such example. In addition, said victim wrote her mother a letter describing the incident, and the mother supposedly wrote back with a sincere, heartfelt apology. How many of us who have been deeply disturbed at the soul level by our parents/family/loved ones/friends, would actually receive such a response? If you're in a dark place in life, with disturbing memories and traumas to relive, chances are your perpetrators will, rather than apologize and "let the healing begin," defend their actions and make excuses for them. My point is, this poorly-chosen, offensive and unsatisfying illustration sets up an unrealistic expectation for the reader, especially for anyone newish to soul work.
Other suggestions for shadow-themed books are Mandala of Being by Moss and Why Good People Do Bad Things by Hollis.
Brilliant.......2007-02-02
I love this book. Thank you Debbie Ford for being the vessel for this important work. You are a brilliant healer.
Anyone looking for guidance on shining light on the darker secrets of their lives will really benefit from "The Secret of the Shadow." If you're in a recovery program of any kind, this book will clarify some of the more difficult steps and ease the emotional discomfort that arises from working them.
What I love most about this book? Debbie Ford's fearless honesty. She shares details about her life that most people on this planet would never own up to while standing in front of their own mirrors. And her exercise on making amends is assigned with the appropriate amount of tough love. "We want to be careful not to approach this task by asking, 'What's the minimum I can do to get off the hook?'" she says. "Instead, we want to look for the action that restores our own integrity within ourselves."
Admittedly, I'm still getting to that point. But I know if Debbie and the people she interviews in her book can do it, I can too. A reassuring read and beautifully written.
Spectacular!.......2007-01-10
This book is amazing! If you lack motivation or direction in your life, you will most definitely find it here. This is one of the best motivational and inspirational books I've read so far. It was so great in fact that I keep it handy so that I can refer to it as often as possible. Read it, you won't regret it!
One of the best books ever.......2005-07-24
i love this book, i'm 26 years old, and i have been doing alot of soul searching, this book has open my eyes about myself, how i am holding myself back because of all the stories i tell myself
I highly recommend this book to you
Disappointed.......2005-07-23
After reading "The Dark Side of the Light Chasers," I expected the same level of insight in this volume. Instead, I found a smorgasbord of various religions that didn't really seem to do justice to any particular one. I realize this book is more self-help and self-discovery oriented, but the spiritual overtones were too strong and too garbled to be of any real help. Ford is a good writer, and she does have some helpful insights on personal care habits, so I give this one two stars.
Customer Reviews:
How to move in God's supernatural power.......2007-09-12
Wow! This book really satisfies a true hunger for God. If you are looking for truth, even if it hurts, read this book. What an awesome work. This book truly is a manual for moving in God's supernatural power. The power written about in these pages are for people seeking true change, and are willing to lay everything down to bring the Kingdom of God to earth though relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Becomming spiritual power brokers.......2006-12-05
This book really is chewey. Lots of people who are looking for another Christian MacBook, a quick read full of filler, will fail to take time to understand it. The book contains interviews with leaders who talk to leaders about the importance of discerning the times we live in and how the Church faces a huge clash between the powers of darkness and the power of light. The whole point seems to be this - if we Christians do not bask in the light of God's love, then radiate His love to all they meet and take His anointing into the streets, all that will be left is a vast spiritual wasteland, a habitation of the enemy. We need a global warming of our hearts towards the lost. We need to take our focus off our egos and greed and immediate self-gratification in order to move out in the love and power of God.
What is really of God, what is soulish power and what originates in the demonic is addressed in this book in a way that no other Christian writer has dared to expose. Many people are still confused by the abuses of charlatans in both the Church and in the world who scream flashy prophecies and tout miraculous healings. The book talks about a coming showdown between the prophets of Baal in the World - those who adhere to occult sources of power - and prophets of Baal in the Church...something no one really seeks to really identify or confront. It will take the Manifest Presence of God and the power of God's true anointing to confront modern Baalism. And that power is being seen as thousands of Charismatic believers are taking the healing and prophetic gifts of the Holy Spirit to the streets and winning thousands of unbelievers to Christ.
The book forces leaders to think about where they are going with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Are the gifts of healing and prophetic revelation meant for their glory or for God's glory? Should they be reserved for believers or do unbelievers need to see a demonstration of Spirit in order to accept the Word? Who is leading the way and showing us how to really seek and save the lost?
The book is for serious readers who want answers about where this present move of God is taking us, where we have come from and where we are going. It is less about the occult origins of the New Age and more about the glory and power of God to transform the world than most readers suspect until they get deeper into the book.
I am really challenged by it and I am the author. It makes me want to become one who radiates the Love of Christ and seeks to release the gifts of the spirit to everyone I meet. Those I write about in this book, not only tell me how - but model it for me so I know that it can be done.
a bit disappointed..........2006-11-10
I bought this book because Bill Johnson's name was on it...I wasn't aware that Mahesh Chavda and Bill only contributed a chapter each until after getting the book.
Much of the book had a darker tone to it and then patted the backs of several of the bigger names in the spirit-filled ministerial world. Because I've been so hungry to "learn" more about being "spirit-filled", I was hoping to find good nuggets in this book.
I think if you've encountered people who were involved with witchcraft or other "magic arts" so-to-speak, this book will really appeal to you (which i believe is somewhat prevalent in the Pacific northwest). I haven't personally encountered that so this book wasn't really for me.
Book Description
Legends of the Guardian King Book 3- Karen Hancock has created a beautiful and powerful fantasy series that continues to win new readers and remind them of who holds their hopes and victories in His hands. In Abramm's world, God is close to his followers, evil takes many forms, and one must believe in the light to see the darkness. While Abramm's coronation is still underway, rival leaders are already plotting their return to power.Worse yet, as the hour approaches for Abramm's marriage to the Chesedhan crown princess-required to seal the desperately needed alliance between their two countries-he finds himself deeply attracted to her younger sister. Will Eidon give Abramm ultimate victory, or will his enemies succeed in destroying him and his beloved realm?
Customer Reviews:
Wow!.......2007-05-14
This is one of the books by Karen Hancock in a four part series. I didn't think it could get any better after the other one but I was wrong. I couldn't seem to put this book down.
Shadow over Kiriath.......2007-03-14
This was excellent! LOVED the allegory and have applied insights to my own life (for instance, that Satan will work at discouraging us and destroying us, if we don't focus on the Lord). Wish there were more writers like Karen Hancock. Kathy Tyers is another good author. MORE, MORE PLEASE!
My New Favorite Author.......2007-03-01
Just adding my 5 stars to the average. Enjoyed this series more than Lord of the Rings, and at least as much as Dune and Ender's Game. Karen Hancock is now at the very top of my list.
A wonderful addtion to an amazing series.......2006-12-20
These books keep getting better and better. Both the characters and the plot continue to improve. It is getting a lot harder to put these books down. compared to the others this one is better with a whole lot more romance for the ladies and some great action sequences for us boys. While I usually do not fall for romance, I found myself enjoying some of it just because the way Karen Hancock writes her romance in a way that glorifies god, the type of romance that is hard to find in a world where romance is displayed in such a gross nature. I especially love it when Mrs. Hancock describes how you know when you have found the perfect one when both if put together form a perfect bond creating one being, this is definitely something not displayed in most of American culture. The only problem is I will now have to wait 4 months till the new one. What a hard wait for the ending leaves you wanting more of this fantastic series. Good job Karen Hancock! Keep it up!
Frustration!!.......2006-11-17
This series of books is ranked among the best allegorical fantasy in Christian fiction today. Karen Hancock has employed excellent plot and character development throughout the series.
The only frustration is that I have to wait till April '07 for the next book! Arrgg!! :)
Average customer rating:
- Super Reader
- Not bad and certainly not Gemmell's best
- Jon Shannow -- Mal Reynolds long displaced brother
- A heroic fantasy western done by one of the greats!
- Wolf in Shadow
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Wolf in Shadow (The Stones of Power)
David Gemmell
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Gemmell, David | ( G ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Last Guardian (The Stones of Power, Book Four)
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Last Sword of Power (Stones of Power)
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ASIN: 0345379039
Release Date: 1996-12-28 |
Book Description
"Gemmell . . . keeps the mythic currents crackling."
--Publishers Weekly
John Shannow, The Jerusalem Man, lived in a world that had toppled on its axis. Civilization had been replaced by ruthlessness and savagery. Relentless in his quest for peace, Shannow followed a path that led only to bloodshed and sorrow.
Abaddon, the Lord of the Pit, sought to plunge mankind into a new Satanic era. His Hellborn army spewed forth from the Plague Lands with an unholy force stemming from human sacrifice. For it was the blood of innocents that fueled the corrupted Sipstrassi Stones of Power--the source of Abaddon's might.
But the Hellborn made a fatal mistake--they took the woman who had stolen Shannow's heart. He would move Heaven and Earth to save her or he would die trying.
Customer Reviews:
Super Reader.......2007-08-26
The setting for this series is a post apocalyptic type old West, based on the premise that very bad things happened when the planet shifted its axis, causing devastation.
A satanic cult of Hellborn is out to rule, using bloodstone sacrifices and other nasty power tricks.
They shouldn't have sacrified Jon Shannow's woman, though, because now they have the deadliest of enemies : The Jerusalem Man.
Not bad and certainly not Gemmell's best.......2007-03-23
There are some series that leave you tired at the end from all the mental twists and turns that you have to do to follow the plot. The Jon Shannow series, which begins with this book, is like that. The way the series ends is enough to keep you awake for awhile. Gemmell was juuuust author enough at this point in his career to pull this series off. Had he waited a few more years for his skills to develop, this might have been an incredible series. As it is, it is good, and the plot twists really imaginative, but the writing is just up to the level needed. Gemmell's Rigante series is, IMHO, the best he wrote with the Drenai series a close, close second. In Shannow you can see the traits he would try to develop in Waylander and Skilgannon. Shannow is sort of a prototype for them, I think. Anyway, the series is good on its own and essential for Gemmell-ophiles, but if you have read other Gemmell books, don't expect the quality to be quite up to par.
Jon Shannow -- Mal Reynolds long displaced brother.......2006-11-16
This is the book where the Stones of Power series makes a shift from Fantasy to Sci-Fi. It's a fluid, smooth motion that Gemmell does perfectly. We're introduced to a future where the past doesn't exist (or does it?) giant fish bones clutter the desert like a misplaced dinosaur, and there's no wood in the ark.
Jon Shannow is to a novel what Captain Mal Reynolds (of Firefly) is to TV/DVD. Strong, mysterious, a little sexy and more than a little dangerous if crossed. His six shooters are always clean and ready to be fired (and often are!) He reigns the space around him with an unforgivable iron fist. He shows no hesitation. But like all good main characters, he's imperfect. He has scars. He bleeds, he becomes unconscious, he loves and loses and is a character you love to love. He provides thought that continues well after the last page is turned... for that reason alone, this is a book worth buying.
A heroic fantasy western done by one of the greats!.......2001-03-09
I became an instant David Gemmell fan after reading the last book in his 'Stones of Power' series, and have not looked back since. Every single book he has written has more or less been fantastic. None however overshadow this classic book which I highly suggest to all who read this.
'Wolf in Shadow' takes place in the far-flung future where an accident has toppled the earth, nearly destroying life and turning most of the world into a wastland. It has also released the magical Sipstraasi stones back into the world. Civilisation has worked it's way up to horse and buggies, but there exists a great evil who has built a satanic army thirsting for dominance.
There also exists The Jerusalem Man, a noble gunslinger who walks the world searching for the city of the Bible. This is Jon Shannow, one of Gemmell's greatest creations. He is a good man, but a hardened violent one who's morality is edged with a murderous quickdraw. And when he meets with Abaddon, lord of Hell and the mysterious gaurdians of the Sipstraasi, it creates one of sci-fi's under-appreciated jewel's.
Gemmel, as he is known to do, writes a strong adventure book but lines it with deep philosophical debates on the nature of evil and morality, one of those rare books that'll keep you turning pages and thinking as well.
Just a great novel from a great writer.
Wolf in Shadow.......2001-01-12
Jon Shannow, The Jerusalem Man, lived in a world that had toppled on its axis. Civilization had been replaced by ruthlessness and savagery. The vile Lord of the Pit, seeking to plunge mankind into a new satanic era, had unleashed his Hellborn army. But when they took the woman Shannow loved, he vowed to save her or die trying.
Gemmell is perfect again. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Do yourself a favor and buy this book.
Book Description
In this provocative and compelling examination of the deep politics of war, Carolyn Nordstrom takes us from the immediacy of war-zone survival, through the offices of power brokers, to vast extra-legal networks that fuel war and international profiteering. She captures the human face of the front lines, revealing both the visible and the hidden realities of war in the twenty-first century. Shadows of War is grounded in ethnographic research carried out at the epicenters of political violence on several continents. Its pages are populated not only with the perpetrators and victims of war but also with the scoundrels, silent heroes, and average families who live their lives in the midst of explosive violence. War reconfigures our most basic notions of humanity, Nordstrom demonstrates. This book, of crucial importance at the present moment, shows that war is enmeshed in struggles over the very foundations of the sovereign state, the crafting of economic empires both legal and illegal, and innovative searches for peace.
Nordstrom describes the multi-trillion-dollar international financial networks that support warfare. She traces the entangled routes by which illegal drugs, precious gems, weapons, basic food supplies, and pharmaceuticals are moved by an international cast of businesspeople, profiteers, and black-market operators. Shadows of War demonstrates how the experiences of both the architects of war and of ordinary people are deleted from media accounts and replaced with stories about soldiers, weapons, and territory. For the first time, this book retrieves from the shadows the faces of those whose stories seldom reach the light of international recognition.
Customer Reviews:
Another great work from Nordstrom.......2006-08-19
Dr. Nordstrom consistently goes where most of us never will, both physically and intellectually. Another great work.
A tremendously rich work, a revelation........2004-11-24
This book reveals aspects of war normally "in the shadows"--the vast profits to be made from conflicts in resource-rich regions; the informal systems through which the resources move north to the "peaceful" developed countries and the weapons, medicines, technology of the north move south to fuel the wars and also sometimes to help heal them. This is wonderful anthropology, rich in quotes and stories from the winners and losers in war--from UN officials, profiteers, development bankers to resourceful homeless children of the streets. Shadows of War will change the way you see the world. It has tremendous implicatons for the future of all of us in the 21st century, who live amongst the realities of extra-state power (like bin Laden's) that we are hardly beginning to understand.
Good Storyteller, Poor Academic.......2004-09-18
Attempting to do research in the field of war and developing, I have mixed feelings about the utility of this book. As a collection of first-hand stories about conflict in Mozambique, the book does an admirable job, and I suspect that anyone who treats it as a adventure travel book with some political overtones will enjoy it. Treat it like early Robert Kaplan, and it will be worth your while.
However, if you're looking for some substantial insight into the living conditions of a ravaged permament conflict-ridden region of the world, I find it lacks academic rigour. Prof Nordstrom begins to chart economic relationships that both fuel and rape the region, yet does so half-heartedly. She discusses the societal strain that the conflict has caused, yet again does so as a storyteller rather than an academic. Although there were a few interesting anecdotes, I felt like I was reading "Chicken Soup for the Soul".
The bottom line is, if you're looking for academic insight, look elsewhere. As a description of life in Mozambique, the book is fine.
I won't even go into the fact that little is given in the way of solution at the end of the book. Regardless what you feel your role is as an academic, I would have thought rational due diligence would have at least inspired you to write guidance on potential solutions. Otherwise, why read the book?
As a postscript, if you've spent any time yourself in developing nations and are looking for this to supplement your experience, you'll find nothing new here.
Lessons and realities of life in shadows of armed conflict.......2004-07-23
This is a wonderful book to understand what is ?normality? outside the vision of the Media but the essence of our century for much of the world. Simplistic phrases like ?failed state? don?t cut it and their use by diplomats, policy makers, or pundits merely proves their ignorance and/or superficiality. It is usually also evidence that they don?t really care a bit so long as raw materials from these areas make it to world markets.
Many people and a very significant part of the world economy is in this ?unofficial? and shadowlike area. Many depend upon it without even knowing that it exists. (Violent ?terrorism? is our present obsession but not the only storyline to understand much of the world.)
The author is an Anthropologist who has spent considerable time in various no-man?s lands especially in Southern Africa and explains some of the illicit ?order? that keeps things going in war, borderlands, and general chaos. There are brief comparative references to Latin America as well. The analysis and description is the best I have ever seen in print (much deeper than Kaplan?s Coming Anarchy which might be the nearest comparison although very different in style and with little real analysis).
Perhaps a fifth of the book is telling anecdotes that humanize the book and are relevant but which could be skipped if a reader had little time (these are clearly identified in small print and spacing.) Other readers will find these the most approachable part of the book.
Crime, violence, child soldiers, smuggling, viciousness are here. But so are some means of continuing trade and human relations, some sparks of peace and order and even some hopeful examples of places gradually finding their path back to more civil society. From children living in ?clean? storm drains as family, to unrecognized states formed in areas of noted violence, to gradual reconciliation after war and violence ? there are lessons to be learned and some small ray of hope.
Average customer rating:
- Dull?
- shadows of power
- Fast Action
- Lots of action! But it's no Tom Clancy
- Hornets and stingers at 20 paces.
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The Shadows of Power: A Novel
James W. Huston
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0060008350
Release Date: 2002-06-04 |
Book Description
Lieutenant Ed Stovic, an F/A-18 pilot, is vectored to intercept Algerians who are defending their newly claimed two-hundred-mile territorial limit. During a dramatic, high-stakes dogfight, the Algerians open fire and Stovic shoots down one of the Algerians' MiGs, its pilot tumbling to a fiery death in the Mediterranean. Stovic is hailed as a hero, and he sees this as the perfect moment to help him achieve his life-long dream -- flying with the world-famous Blue Angels, the Navy's elite flight demonstration team.Ismael Nezzar, the brother of the deceased Algerian pilot, is in the U.S. on a student visa. He sees the boastful Stovic on the Today show and is enraged by his glibness. While attending his brother's funeral -- the biggest event in Algeria in a decade -- Ismael is coerced by a group of Islamic radicals to seek revenge for his brother's death. Though he withdrew from the powerful group years before, Ismael is filled with fury and will stop at nothing to destroy Stovic.Unknown to either of these two men, Kent Rathman has been assigned by a highly placed government official to watch them. Working in the shadows, Rat moves easily among government agencies and is ordered by his White House contacts -- including the President and the NSA director, who has plans to bring about a change of power on her own -- to stop the Algerian. To save his country and his friend, Rat must devise a brilliant counterstrike -- a mission in which failure means certain death.Packed with deadly intrigue, Beltway power plays, and high-flying adventure, The Shadows of Power is Huston's most exciting novel yet. Combining his knowledge of how things work in Washington with his expertise on military hardware, Huston has written an electrifyingly realistic tale of international terrorism and American triumph.
Customer Reviews:
Dull?.......2005-10-16
THE SHADOWS OF POWER begins with a quick air battle between two MiGs from Algeria, and two F/A-18 aircraft, escorting an E-3 reconnaissance plane in Algerian airspace. One of the MiG's gets shot down under apparently confusing circumstances, killing the Algerian pilot. The Algerian brother of the pilot, living and studying in the USA, decides to take revenge by trying to kill the US pilot responsible for his brother's death. The ultimate end of the novel is obvious from this point on. Along the way, we bump into the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of Defense plotting against one another, and we get (to my mind) a bit to much detail on the Blue Angels, effectively a flying show. Also along the way, the mandatory cloak-and-dagger element in the form of Ken (Rat) Rathman, who, much like Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp, confuses patriotism with revenge, and is capable of little else but mindless, gratuitous violence, which detracts from, rather than adds to, the story.
I found this read a little dull. The author is clearly most comfortable writing about flying and describing flying scenes. He should perhaps stick to that. Unfortunately, this background (for that is what it is, flying is the foreground here) of an Arab terrorist plot is common in popular fiction today, and needs some skillful handling to make it competetive with the plethora of other works that abound on this subject. It didn't get the skillful handling it needed in this book. Several stories were running together in this book. Political intrigue and manipulation, primarily between the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of Defense. But this sub-theme didn't really add to the story, and the reader is left wondering if perhaps something essential got edited out. I would have edited it all out!
I guess when you see "New York Times Bestselling Author" written on the spine of all places, you know that the publishers have their doubts....... My recommendation: Unless you love flying scenes, give this one a miss.
shadows of power .......2005-08-24
This book is a thriller! it will send your adreniline racing. With a nearly heartstopping ending!
Fast Action.......2004-08-16
The EP-3E Aries reconnaissance plane makes a cameo appearance in this book, as the instigator of the entire plot line. The action picks up with two F/A-18 Hornets hiding under its wings, and barely slows down for the rest of the 400 pages. The Blue Angel flying details seem plausible enough, but that kind of plane isn't my specialty. I didn't have any trouble suspending my disbelief through most of the story. We see inter-agency distrust and squabbling; we see power struggles at all levels of bureaucracy; we see special forces members saving the day nearly single-handedly. I found the action and plot quite engaging and will definitely pick up a few other books by this author.
Lots of action! But it's no Tom Clancy.......2003-08-22
This book had a lot of action and reminded me of your average military type thriller movie. The author starts off trying to portray the Algerians objectively but quickly falls into using the middle eastern stereotype. I guess it works OK for this book but I found it a little predictable and definintely un-original. If you're interested in the Blue Angels you'll definitely enjoy this book, some of the flying scenes are cool. Otherwise, it's OK...not the best ever but reasonably entertaining.
Hornets and stingers at 20 paces........2003-06-02
Ed Stovic, a Navy pilot on patrol in the Med is confronted with a situation when two Algerian MiG-25s try to bounce an Hawkeye Intel plane. A missile is accidently fired and the Americans respond in kind downing one MiG and sending the other running for Momma.
Now the brother of the dead Algerian pilot wants revenge and he goes gunning for Stovic. It turns out Stovic gets a spot on the elite Blue Anegls flight team and the ticked off Algerian (with a little help from his friends) decides the best way to avenge his brother is to shoot down the entire Blue Angel team during the prestigous Paris Air Show.
Kent Rathman (Rat) is a one time SEAL, now a quasi private/government agent is assigned to keep Stovic in one piece and get the Algerians.
The story is analogous to an old west gunfight at noon. The flying scenes and action segments are obviously where Huston is most comfortable. There is an entire subplot taking place between the National Security Advisor and the SECDEF. Personally, I would have fired the NSA. While there is a need for executive level decisions for the plot, this entire sub-plot detracted rather than added to the story.
A good read from an up and coming writer.
Book Description
War--or the threat of war--usually strengthens states as governments tax, draft soldiers, exert control over industrial production, and dampen internal dissent in order to build military might. The United States, however, was founded on the suspicion of state power, a suspicion that continued to gird its institutional architecture and inform the sentiments of many of its politicians and citizens through the twentieth century. In this comprehensive rethinking of postwar political history, Aaron Friedberg convincingly argues that such anti-statist inclinations prevented Cold War anxieties from transforming the United States into the garrison state it might have become in their absence. Drawing on an array of primary and secondary sources, including newly available archival materials, Friedberg concludes that the "weakness" of the American state served as a profound source of national strength that allowed the United States to outperform and outlast its supremely centralized and statist rival: the Soviet Union.
Friedberg's analysis of the U. S. government's approach to taxation, conscription, industrial planning, scientific research and development, and armaments manufacturing reveals that the American state did expand during the early Cold War period. But domestic constraints on its expansion--including those stemming from mean self-interest as well as those guided by a principled belief in the virtues of limiting federal power--protected economic vitality, technological superiority, and public support for Cold War activities. The strategic synthesis that emerged by the early 1960s was functional as well as stable, enabling the United States to deter, contain, and ultimately outlive the Soviet Union precisely because the American state did not limit unduly the political, personal, and economic freedom of its citizens.
Political scientists, historians, and general readers interested in Cold War history will value this thoroughly researched volume. Friedberg's insightful scholarship will also inspire future policy by contributing to our understanding of how liberal democracy's inherent qualities nurture its survival and spread.
Customer Reviews:
Hope for America in Iraq that militarism will fade . . . .......2005-03-15
Harold Lasswell developed the idea of the garrison state in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He proposed that "under conditions of continual crisis and perpetual preparedness for total war, every aspect of life would eventually come under state control." In 1947, Hanson Baldwin, the military correspondent for The New York Times asked whether the United States could "prepare for the next, truly total war...without becoming a garrison state." George Orwell popularized the notion with his 1949 release of 1984, a harrowing view of totalitarian control by the garrison state. To a large extent, these arguments fuel Aaron Friedberger's premise that "war and the threat of war required the creation of military power, and, over time, the creation of military power led to the construction of strong, modern states." (3)
From this premise Friedberg contends that the growth of the American state was held in check during the Cold War by a tradition and ideology of anti-statism. The Cold War produced pressures for the permanent construction of a powerful central state. "In the American case," Friedberg argues, "these pressures came comparatively late in the process of political development... they were met and, to a degree, counterbalanced, by the strong anti-statist influences that were deeply rooted in the circumstances of the nation's founding. (3-4) Friedberg identifies the mechanisms for state growth between 1945 and 1960 as "the product of a collision between these two sets of conflicting forces." (4) He effectively demonstrates that the apparatus of the American state grew less during the early years of the Cold War than might have been have been expected.
Friedberg examines "five main mechanisms of power creation: those intended to extract money and manpower and those designed to direct national resources toward arms production, military research, and defense-supporting industries." (5) In each of these areas he finds anti-statist influences holding state-building in check. "Mounting popular and congressional resistance to taxes and controls compelled the Truman administration to lower its sights and to accept the necessity of a slower and, in the end, smaller military buildup." (121) Friedberg concludes "Eisenhower's commitment to holding down defense spending was a logical outgrowth of his essentially anti-statist philosophy of political economy." (127) Friedberg finds that "in the absence of sustained public opposition, the pressures for universal military training would probably have proved overwhelming," except that it raised doubts over legitimacy. (167) Like the rejection of universal military training, Friedberg also identifies the demise of centralized defense industrialization policy as "at least as much a product of domestic anti-statist influences" as a "logical, inevitable response to the advent of nuclear weapons." (199) Anti-statist influence not only resisted centralized planning and industrial dispersal, but it also strengthened the hand of privatizers, discrediting "those who advocated anything that savored of socialism." (247) Finally, Friedberg maintains that "each of the essential structural characteristics of the American Cold War research and development system was strongly influenced by ideological considerations and by the workings of American domestic political institutions [both identified as anti-statist forces]." (296) Friedberg identifies the strengthening of civilian rule in the Department of Defense, resistance to centralization, heavy reliance on private contracting and government sponsorship of domestic vice purely military technology as anti-statist influences that reduced the size, scope and effect of America's garrison state. With remarkable clarity Friedberg is able to conclude that domestic constraints on state expansion--including those stemming from mean self-interest as well as those guided by a principled belief in the virtues of limiting federal power--protected economic vitality, technological superiority, and public support for Cold War activities. He identifies the strategic synthesis that emerged by the early 1960s from this collision between anti-statist ideology and security imperative as functional and stable; it enabled the United States to deter, contain, and ultimately outlive the Soviet Union precisely because the American state did not limit political, personal, and economic freedom.
Friedberg is not a historian, and at times his lack of attention to culture, race, gender and class make this abundantly clear. Several broad assertions, while supported in the text, lack specificity. For example, Friedberg describes American business's post-war ideology in their own simplistic terms, "Free enterprise was good; too much government was not only bad for the economy, it was a profound threat to traditional American liberties," (50) without putting those statements in an anti-New Deal context.
In Friedberg's well documented 351-page text synthesis, one sees Samuel Huntington's influence (The Soldier and the State, 1957). Friedberg provides a nice tonic for Huntington's pessimism and places the entire civil-military, liberal-statist conflict in perspective. He takes a much more positive view of American liberalism's retardation of military professionalism and other state influences. Essentially agreeing with Huntington, Friedberg comes to a different conclusion: that this was not a bad thing. Of course, Friedberg has the luxury of viewing the Cold War from its successful conclusion whereas Huntington contemplated its ominous beginnings. Because it gives us insight into our current reaction to September 11, 2001, and hope that militaristic trends as expressed in the current war in Iraq will not leave permanent scars on the American state, In the Shadow of the Garrison State deserves attention at all levels in the collegiate setting.
INSTANT CLASSIC.......2003-05-13
Friedberg has written the best book on international relations since John Gaddis' "Strategies of Containment". Like Gaddis, Friedberg is one of a handful of authors who possess a sophisticated knowledge of both American diplomatic history and modern theories of international relations.
With the aid of his groundbreaking archival research, Friedberg shatters existing paradigms by showing that American culture played a leading, perhaps dominant role in the forging of the United States' Cold War grand strategy.
Friedberg's book is indispensable reading for every scholar and student of international relations. It is a classic that will be read and reread for generations.
The Cold War as the Engine of American State-Building.......2000-07-08
In 1947, Hanson Baldwin, the military correspondent for The New York Times asked whether the United States could "prepare for the next, truly total war...without becoming a `garrison state.'" According to Princeton Professor Aaron Friedberg, by the middle of the 20th, "the imminent threat of war produced pressures for the permanent construction of a powerful central state." Friedberg argues, however, that the size and scope of the federal government was held in check during the Cold War by a tradition and ideology of anti-statism. Although this book merely synthesizes previously- published works, it effectively argues that the apparatus of the American state grew less during the Cold War than might have been have been expected.
Friedberg examines "five main mechanisms of power creation: those intended to extract money and manpower and those designed to direct national resources toward arms production, military research, and defense-supporting industries." Friedberg explains: "In the span of only two decades the United States was engulfed in three waves of crisis as depression, world war, and cold war followed each other in rapid succession. The onset of each emergency produced a powerful impetus toward state-building." The early-Cold War debate about defense spending demonstrates Friedberg's point. He writes that "the American people wanted a state that was strong enough to defend them against their foreign enemies but not strong enough to threaten their domestic liberties," defending the country was expensive. In 1949, when President Truman wanted to hold defense spending for the next fiscal year, to $14.4 billion, the Secretary of Defense instructed the service chiefs to base their estimates "on military considerations alone," which resulted in a "wish list with a staggering $30 billion price tag." Truman's final budget message estimated the annual cost of sustaining his planned long-term force posture to be $35 to $40 billion. According to Friedberg, President Eisenhower's "commitment to holding down defense spending was a logical outgrowth of his essentially anti-statist philosophy of political economy," and, in June 1954, he warned that a massive new buildup would involving transformation of the United States into "a garrison state." In 1960, John Kennedy asserted that Eisenhower's "excessive attention to the budget" had "resulted in a serious weakening of the nation's defenses." Compulsory military service also generated intense debate. Senator Robert Taft warned that the adoption of universal military training would transform the United States into a "militaristic and totalitarian country." According to Friedberg, "the strongest and most consistent congressional opposition to came from the Republican party, and in particular from its conservative midwestern wing. It was in this part of the country that principled anticompulsion arguments struck their most responsive chord." According to Friedberg: "The widespread animosity to statism that characterized the early post-war period...played a critical role in blocking the creation of new, powerful governmental industrial planning institutions." Friedberg explains: "Even in the face of an enemy, and to a remarkable degree even in wartime, the American system has proven itself to be highly resistant to centralized industrial planning." Friedberg writes: "[T]he push for privatization, and the ideological language in which it was couched, also raised troubling questions about the legitimacy of the military's large-scale industrial activities, even those with long traditions. In the context of a worldwide contest with communism, private ownership of the means of production came to be regarded...as morally superior to any alternative form of economic organization." According to Friedberg: "The postwar privatization of American arms production was the end result of a protracted process of debate and political struggle...At the most general ideological level the burgeoning anti-statist sentiments in the 1940s and 1950s tended to strengthen the hands of the privatizers and to discredit those who advocated anything that savored of socialism." In discussing the structure of the U.S. research and development system and its performance during the Cold War, Friedberg asserts that the "large, open, and loose-limbed American system was well suited for promoting innovation, and it tended over time to outperform its more rigid, closed, and hierarchical Soviet counterpart." According to Friedberg: "[F]or nearly a half century, the pursuit of qualitative superiority [in military technology] was a central, persistent feature of the entire American defense effort." Friedberg explains: "Before the Second World War had ended and the Cold war began, senior American scientists and top military planners were already agreed that the preservation of a `preeminent position' in weapons technology must be a central goal of peacetime defense policy." "The clear emergence of the Soviet Union as the most likely enemy in any future war added urgency and a clear focus to the discussion of the role of technology in American strategy." Friedberg reports: "`Atomic weapons used tactically are the natural armaments of numerically inferior but technologically superior nations,' declared one congressional enthusiast in 1951." He explains: "The Eisenhower administration elevated the substitution of firepower for manpower to the position of key organizing principle of national strategy. Atomic and thermonuclear weapons of every conceivable yield were...at the heart of Western defenses;" and "For the West, by the mid-1950s, preserving technological supremacy had become even more essential and urgent than it had appeared only a few years before." According to Friedberg: "Critics and enthusiasts alike agree that the American research and development system was highly productive of technological advances, that it tended over time to outpace its Soviet counterpart, and that the superior performance of the American system was connected in some way to its structure."
Was there ever a real likelihood that Cold War America would turn into a "garrison state?" The clear answer is: No. References to the garrison state were rhetorical devices used most often by congressional opponents of the concentration of power in the executive branch in Washington, D.C. But Friedberg is absolutely correct that anti- statist rhetoric had powerful antecedents in American history and, therefore, resonated deeply with the public. The specter of creating a garrison state was ominous, even when it was intentionally exaggerated.
Shedding light on the Cold War Milieu.......2000-05-06
For those interested in the dynamics and interplay of domestic and national security issues, this book is fantastic. Friedberg frames and then details key power transforming institutions and elements such arms, technology, supporting industrial complex, money and manpower, and how they formed the basis of both a powerful deterrence and a relative stable, non-garrison state that excelled economically.
Not a book for all readers, but for those pundits and novices of national security or Cold War history, this is a must have book. Sure to become required reading for top notice public policy and political science departments in leading universities.
Book Description
The first complete and balanced history of the Black Panther Party
Customer Reviews:
SHADOWS AND FIBS...........2007-08-04
After reading The Shadow of the Panther I realized that it was simplifying and demonizing Huey P. Newton and the Black Panther Party. The information gathered is conflicting and at best contradicting. This may be due to Hugh Pearson's questionable "inside" sources. More critically reliable reading on the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton can be found in Panther on the Prowl by Elbert "Bigman" Howard and We Want Freedom: a Life in the Black Panther Party by Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Both these titles are thoroughly concise and supported by personal experience and all former Party members.
don't look for objectivity here.......2007-07-20
This "expose" of the Black Panther Party and Huey Newton attempts to pass itself off as a sobering, objective view of the Party that counterbalances overly positive accounts. It is far from objective. Hugh Pearson seems determined to gloss over the positive aspects of the Party programs and fairly relishes detailing the negative, destructive aspects of the Party and Newton's behavior. It is a scholarly piece; well referenced and well written. But the author's thesis comes through loud and clear: the BPP and Huey Newton were more responsible for their downfall than any government conspiracy, and that Blacks who admired them were duped. He ends his book concluding that the Party was a temporary "media phenomenon". Oh really? Most inner city school breakfast programs, health fairs in the Black community with blood pressure, sickle cell, and cholesterol screening programs, and Black run charter schools can be said to have been influenced by the BPP. Hugh Pearson seems to be the kind of Black man that would view the videotaped beating of Rodney King and write an essay about King's criminal past, implying that he somehow deserved it. Although this book is valuable reading for those interested in the BPP and Newton, please read it only after you have read at least 3 or 4 other books about the party, for balance. You will need it.
Decent book, although it is missed the mark sometimes........2006-10-24
First off let me state that I am not implying that Pearson's research or what he stated in the book is untrue. I must say that of all the books I read on the BPP this book is very meticulous in citing sources. I also realize that some people Pearson sought to interview for the book who could have provided some insight into the different areas Huey Newton's life refused to be interviewed which is why the book is the way that it is.
I think Pearson's claim that Newton couldn't change his life toward the positive is based one the fact that he didn't want to change is flawed because we have to take into account that Newton was a full blown drug addict. Unless you understand the complex nature of addiction you won't understand why some people (like David Hillard) can get clean or turn their life around and why others have a hard time doing so, or just flat out fail. I should also add that no mention was made of Newton's attempts to get clean either-Richard Pryor actually paid for Newton's stint in rehab. Maybe this was not known information when the book was published but either way the author never mentions it. It appears that he is implying that Newton enjoyed being a criminal and an addict. Even the chapter detailing Newton getting his PhD, is plagued by the negative. I don't believe that people who enjoy the criminal/drug lifestyle would go to back to school for a PhD unless they were trying to fight their personal demons.
Also if one could figure out when Newton started heavily abusing drugs one can see the turns for the worse that the party kept taking. Although I do not excuse Newton's or anyone elses negative behavior in the party, we do have to take into account that heavy drug use does impare common sense and makes people fearless. I just get the impression that the author did not really understand the influence drugs had on Newton's situation and insane choices.
Pearson also mentions SNCC and the Black Power movement a lot stating how they were flawed theology but it would have been nice to get a final anaylsis from people like Kwame Toure, who was apart of the movement, or other historian's take on the movement. Pearson just seems to assert that the movement was flawed and nothing else. I didn't see any positive writings that the movement could have had. He did spend a lot of time showing how the terminology was confusing and the people who were using it seemed to be confused as to what "Black Power" was all about, which is good but I was looking for more of a follow-up to the problems that the terminology presented. Perhaps a historian would have been better equipped to make a final anaylsis?
The book spends a lot of time detailing the BPP underworld activities and the illegal things the party did but not enough was spent on other areas of the party and when they are mentioned we always see the corrupt part of the action. I am not saying that they did not happen, but I was hoping to see a little more balance. Some social programs instituted by the party did have positive effects in the community to some extend but the author does not really present that.
Pearson also asserts that the party was nothing more of a "media phenomena" at the end of his book, which is a disappointing assessment and far to0 simple for such a complex cast of characters.
Lastly Pearson stated that he was looking for more men to interview at first because he wanted positive info from men, when doing his research. He stated that when finding men willing to come forward was hard to find he finally added the women. I understand his reasoning behind this but I think (if he didn't try, which I don't know since he never mentioned it) he should have sought out women such as Newton's ex wives and other well known women in the party for additional commentary. I just thing the women may have some of the missing keys to understanding the party and Huey Newton. (Actually this assuption of mine has been proven already-Fredricka Newton has a chapter she wrote in David Hillard's book "In the Spirit of the Panther" about Huey's final years that was never publicized before)
All in all this is a great book, especially if you want to see why the party disintegrated. I recommend it, but I don't think a person unfamiliar with the party's history should read it before familiarizing themselves with the party's history and main characters. The history is so complex that other material is needed so that one can get a balanced feel of the history. This book only shows one side of Newton and the party when it seems clear that there was a whole host of issues going on.
Wonderful Book!.......2005-09-07
A great in-dept analysis on the rise and fall of the Panther Party and how Heuy Newton was responsible for both. I would recommend this book to any history buff.
Great book about the Black Panthers!.......2004-04-23
I have read a few books on the Panthers, and have always been drowned in my own romantacism that I never questioned anything that came from the movement. This book sheds light on so many things; which may at times make readers uncomfortable. At one point you feel greatful for such an organization, while at others your disapointment may sadden you.
That is what makes this a good book; objectivity. He lays the positives out, but does not ignore the negatives; in fact, a good percentage of this book is explaining so many of the negatives within the party. Still, at the same time, you get a feeling that the author truly appreciates the positive aspects of the BPP, but appreciates it without ignoring the blemishes within the party's past.
Anyway, it's a good book. I have known a few Panthers, and one in particular I made a coment about how I looked up to Huey Newton. He started making some statments and I asked him to stop because I didn't want to have a tarnished image of the man. Now, after reading this book, I see both sides of the issue; which makes things all the more clearer. This book has left me both disapointed and greatful. Disapointed because some things in Panther past were not as I expected; and greatful that I got to see another side of the BPP.
Average customer rating:
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Shadows of Power: An Allegory of Prudence in Land-Use Planning (Rtpi Library Series)
Jean Hillier
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0415256313 |
Book Description
This book examines issues of decision-making, communication and power in the planning process. The author explores the politics and power-plays which planning practitioners face and engage in, using real examples from planning practice. The book explores planning but in the context of practice, i.e. how it is actually encountered in the worlds of planning officers and elected representatives. It will shed light on the subtleties of power so that student and practitioners will better understand the circumstances in which they will find themselves and will able to act more effectively in what is in reality a messy, highly-politicized, planning decision-making process.
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Recommended Books
- Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woma
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
- Trichoderma And Gliocladium
- A Smile in the Mind
- Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
- First Amendment Law
- Dog Health & Nutrition for Dummies
- Aging, Autonomy, and Architecture: Advances in Assisted Living
- Villa: Italian Country Style
- A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers from Northern Arizona and New Mexico to British Columbia
How The World Really Works
Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History That Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons, and the Great Pyramids
Who's Who of the Elite : Members of the Bilderbergs, Council on Foreign Relations, & Trilateral Commission
Tragedy & Hope: A History of the World in Our Time
None Dare Call It Conspiracy
![The Black Panther Party [Reconsidered]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0933121970.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
