Book Description
In August 2003, at the age of thirty, Rory Stewart took a taxi from Jordan to Baghdad. A Farsi-speaking British diplomat, he was soon appointed deputy governor of Amarah and then Nasiriyah, provinces in the remote, impoverished marsh regions of southern Iraq. He spent the next eleven months negotiating hostage releases, holding elections, and splicing together some semblance of an infrastructure for a population of millions teetering on the brink of civil war.
The Prince of the Marshes tells the story of Stewart’s year. As a participant, he takes us inside the occupation and beyond the Green Zone, introducing us to a colorful cast of Iraqis and revealing the complexity and fragility of a society we struggle to understand. By turns funny and harrowing, moving and incisive, this book amounts to a unique portrait of heroism and the tragedy that intervention inevitably courts in the modern age.
Customer Reviews:
Important read for understanding the reality of Iraq today.......2007-10-06
If you feel it is important to understand what is happening in Iraq today, this book needs to be added to your reading list. The author's perspective, that of largely unempowered administrator of a province in Iraq, is both valuable and unique. Rather than the purely political or military viewpoint, you are given a look into the reality of the daily challenges being faced by those charged with trying to make things work on the ground... the implementers, not the policy makers or military men. The view is not a very pleasant or hopeful one.
The style of writing is sometimes dry and some may find it rather boring to read often repetitive accounts of setting up and administering programs, and dealing with constant political infighting among the factions. It can also be frustrating and tedious to read about hard working, well-intentioned people trying to accomplish things against great odds, only to see everything go for naught (again and again and again). But for me at least, it was the information and insights that were buried within the mundane details of Mr. Stewart's day to day accounts, and the reasons for the many failures that were the most revealing and added most to my understanding of what we are up against in Iraq.
My conclusion after reading the book was that the quote from Milton, "It is better to rule in hell than serve in Heaven," seems to perfectly sum up the attitude of the leaders of the various factions there. Until that attitude changes, the hope for a functioning democracy in Iraq appears to be mostly wishful thinking at best.
WHERE HAVE AL THE QAEDA GONE?.......2007-08-28
In the absence of an index, I can't easily verify whether Al Qaeda get only one solitary mention (and that as just one of a list of suspects) in all the 400-odd pages of this book. They are conspicuous by their absence throughout, and that strikes me as being one of the most significant aspects of the story. To this day I am hearing about the need to defeat Al Qaeda in Iraq, and to this day I am puzzled as to what makes that so important. If we want to find their local operatives who actually plan the bombings in America and Europe we ought to be searching in Europe; and if we want to find their main leadership we should look in Afghanistan or Pakistan. However if the Al Qaeda presence in Iraq is as insignificant as it might seem from Stewart's narrative then it adds to the sense of confusion regarding the coalition's objectives.
Stewart served for a year as Deputy Governorate Coordinator in two provinces, often being left in effective charge. He was no more than a freelance contractor, but his previous experience ensured that his job-application was gratefully snapped up by HM Foreign Office, doubtless short of volunteers from within its own ranks. He restricts his narrative to what he saw at first-hand. He took up his post in a genuine attempt to make the ostensible coalition objective of a democratic and peaceful Iraq work, and he does not analyse or evaluate that and the other supposed objectives. However his direct involvement included reporting periodically to Bremer in Baghdad, and anyone able to put 2 and 2 together in such a manner as to make 4 and not 22 can easily read between the lines. Imagine the following pronouncement from the colonel in charge of strategic planning, for instance. 'What we are hoping to do is to lay out some philosophical underpinnings of a plan...to begin a journey of discovery for building a more cohesive implementation of plans and policies in the five core areas.' A fine time to be getting round to that in April 2004, Stewart seems to say. Elsewhere he notes Bremer's MBA from Harvard and it's not hard to read into what he says his exasperation at the know-all fatuity of Bremer's 7-point plans for privatisation and such like and at the ghastly gobbledegook ('best practice gaps analysis' etc) in which language seems to function not as a vehicle for thought but as a substitute for thought.
Back at the ranch Stewart was having to confront the realities of the situation. There were, he says and I believe him, some genuine successes before and independent of Gen Petraeus. The trouble was -- few if any Iraqis believed in the successes; or if they did it was not for long. Any seeds of improvement the coalition was sowing had roots too shallow to have much hope of permanence. Stewart's own despairing conclusion comes in his last sentence - however bad the native Iraqi movers and shakers might be, local loyalties always revert to one or other of these, and foreign-imposed improvements, some of them real others just speculative and hopeful, do not stand a chance in this culture. He was trying to make order out of chaos, but they preferred the chaos. He was trying to win hearts and minds, but the minds never stayed with him for long because the various men of power and influence had their own fluid and shifting agendas and alliances, and whether anyone's heart was ever with him is anyone's guess.
It stands to elementary reason that Stewart was in no way opposed to the occupation of Iraq. He went there at all because he believed that some good could come of it. As I read his account, he sees no prospect of success for it now, although he is not explicit about whether a totally different approach might have fared better. He was battling with bureaucracy, incompetence, ignorance, infighting, grandstanding and pretence from Bremer's outfit in Baghdad, opposition to his own role from his own coalition military let alone from the populace he was trying to help, and near-ludicrous ineptitude from the Italian component of such military day in and day out. He was improvising most of the time, and while he has no illusions that his snap decisions were always or even mainly right, the real truth of the matter seems to me to have been that in most cases he didn't rightly know whether he had been right or wrong, because there was no real criterion for judging of that.
The book has been put together from such notes as the author managed to take and retain, but in conditions of such pressure some of the material depends on his memory. I have no reason to suppose that any of these are unreliable, and mental honesty is shiningly apparent throughout, not least in his candour about the minor lies he felt he had better tell from time to time. Whether his own bravery was apparent to him I can't tell, but it's apparent to me. There is much quiet tongue-in-cheek humour, and the tongue comes right out of the cheek in his account of the exploits of the Italians, who were, in the homely Lancashire phrase, as much use as a one-legged man in an arse-kicking competition. His particular angle on the events is one that we don't often see recorded, let alone recorded as well as this. It does not purport to give the wider picture, but he is free of the temptation to blow his own trumpet, and I expect future historians will derive more solid benefit from Stewart than from, say, the memoirs of Gen Franks. He stayed his year's course, he had nothing more to stay for, and he leaves me wondering what the rest of them, even the admirable Gen Petraeus, can possibly hope to achieve. There were successes before and independent of him, they put down no roots, and it looks as if lasting successes will require divine intervention rather than human generalship.
What a wonderful story.......2007-07-06
Rory Stewart is a gifted story teller. I started this book one morning to "check it out" and had a hard time putting it down. His recollections of his year in Iraq, from August 2003 to June 2004 are some of the most non-partisan, honest and heart-wretching stories I've yet to read on this war. His youthful naivete, his non-military outtakes on Iraq in parts make his story all the more readable as it could have been told by any outsider looking in.
He doesn't put the blame on one person, but on everyone, from the US, British, Italian military and the Iraqis themselves. (Although I had a feeling the British forces in Nasiriyah were disgusted with the Italians in their area...) He doesn't boast about his accomplishments like a former military officer would, and he does mention his own faults at not being aggressive enough with some local sheikhs. But it's all obvious that dealing with tribal warfare takes more than blunt negotiations or quick reaction forces. What the Coalition failed to do from the beginning was win the "hearts and minds of the Iraqis."
A civil war was looming already in 2003, with the Sadrists and Badr gang finger-pointed as the big evil doers. Three, four years later nothing much has changed in that respect.
From dealing with corrupt sheikhs, police chiefs and huligans in the streets, Rory had to get reconstruction project started and kept getting held back by dissatisfied locals wanting their share of the corrupt pie. Rory also gave out praise for some people he met then who are big players today: Generals Petraeus and Odierno.
This book is an honest portrayal of life in a war zone. From sudden, incoming mortar rounds to kidnappings and gunshots found on corpses later on. Rory held back his emotions when recalling his story, which makes this so much more interesting than the many other books that want to blame the war's failures on just Bush, the military generals, or the Iraqis. This book is not about who is to blame, but rather why success as westerners see is so hard to come by in this part of the world.
Rory shows that the Iraqi culture is not an easy culture to live with. Its people are friends one minute, and deadly archrivals the next when it comes to tribal mentality and its focus on revenge. His stories make one realize why success in Iraq for the Coalition will come slowly and at a great cost.
The easy-to-follow verbage, the laymen's terms of military tactics and the in-your-face descriptions of daily events make this book a must-read for anyone interested in Today's Iraq. This book should be translated into Arabic so that the Iraqis can read about themselves and how juvenile they come across to all non-Iraqis.
I am definitely going to keep my eyes open for any more works by Rory Stewart.
An Insightful Account of the Futile Quest for Democracy in Iraq.......2007-07-01
Rory Stewart, a 30-year old British diplomat, pulls no punches in this fascinating account of futility in south-eastern Iraq. Despite the best-laid plans of mice and men (Rory is definitely in the later category), the avarice, cunning, deceit, and outright skullduggery of the typical Iraqi leader (at least in Amara) threatens to undo every good thing that Stewart and the Coalition attempt to do in Iraq. Small wonder - a people that have been repressed for over half a century are suddenly encouraged to vote, demonstrate, choose their own police chief, etc. Rory shows quite clearly why democracy is both impossible and alive and well in post-invasion Iraq. Impossible because the CPA envisions "democracy" as a pro-Western government, while Iraqis clearly don't want women to be seen or heard (Sadrists murder a quiet but educated doctor in the streets), nor are they willing to accept the leadership of anyone not from their own tribe or clan. And yet democracy is clearly thriving as long pent-up emotions, leadership, and social norms well to the surface as every group tries to get their leader in power in order to collect the perquisites of office. In the last chapters, Rory makes a nice indictment of the utter incompetence and cowardice of the Italian military contingent that took more than 7 hours to react to Sadr mortaring as well as failure to do anything as snipers closed in on the CPA compond. With friends like these...
Stewart starts out believing in the basic good of all mankind, but after being labeled "Hitler", mortared by politicians that he helped earn a voice at the table, deserted by the same leaders that he helped install, etc. he comes to the realization that the liberal perspective just doesn't work.
Although not necessarily an indictment of the invasion of Iraq, Stewart points out the incredible challenges of putting a broken society back together after war, in particular when one culture (Western) intends to pose its values on another (Iraqi). The real winner in all this - Iran.
Upbeat and hopeless about Iraq.......2007-06-27
I love this book! If there's any book that seductively explains why our adventure in Iraq is mostly doomed, it's this one. Rory Stewart writes so well, with spot-on black, observational humor about his experiences as part of the coalition government's effort in a remote part of Iraq. It's funny, but in that rueful way that nudges the reader to understand that the issues in Iraq have much to do with us and the other outsiders, but even more to do with longstanding cutlrual rifts and rivalries. The problems were tehre before us and will remain long after we are gone. Maybe every american taxpayer could have a copy of this book?
Average customer rating:
- I am in awe
- It doesn't matter how it ended
- Highly imaginative historical novel -- should be marketed to adults not teens
- Challenge your perceptions
- An Astonishing Novel/Puzzle
|
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party
M.T. Anderson
Manufacturer: Candlewick
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General | Fiction | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Other | Fiction | United States | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
African-American | Multicultural Stories | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Abuse | Social Issues | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Dysfunctional Relationships | Social Issues | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Historical Fiction | History & Historical Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books
Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books
Anderson, M.T. | ( A ) | Authors, A-Z | Teens | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
-
The Book Thief (Readers Circle)
-
American Born Chinese
-
An Abundance of Katherines
-
The Rules of Survival
-
The Higher Power of Lucky
ASIN: 0763624020
Release Date: 2006-09-12 |
Book Description
A gothic tale becomes all too shockingly real in this mesmerizing magnum opus by the acclaimed author of FEED.
It sounds like a fairy tale. He is a boy dressed in silks and white wigs and given the finest of classical educations. Raised by a group of rational philosophers known only by numbers, the boy and his mother — a princess in exile from a faraway land — are the only persons in their household assigned names. As the boy's regal mother, Cassiopeia, entertains the house scholars with her beauty and wit, young Octavian begins to question the purpose behind his guardians' fanatical studies. Only after he dares to open a forbidden door does he learn the hideous nature of their experiments — and his own chilling role in them. Set against the disquiet of Revolutionary Boston, M. T. Anderson's extraordinary novel takes place at a time when American Patriots rioted and battled to win liberty while African slaves were entreated to risk their lives for a freedom they would never claim. The first of two parts, this deeply provocative novel reimagines the past as an eerie place that has startling resonance for readers today.
Customer Reviews:
I am in awe.......2007-09-23
This book was profoundly disturbing to me on so many levels. At various points in the book, I almost had to put it down because I was so heartsick. (Before I begin my praise of this amazing work - I do have to ask...this is a work for young adults? Seriously?)
When I added this book to my list - I tagged it as Fiction and Science Fiction. When I started the book - I was sure I was reading some sort of Gothic, maybe post-apocalyptic cautionary tale. When I found out the book was set in pre-Revolutionary Boston - I was shocked.
Once I got over that...I was then shocked to find out that Octavian and his mother were slaves. I kept having to change my mindset as I went through the book...one of the reasons I think I was so affected by it. I was just starting to wrap my mind around the "knowledge for knowledge's sake - consequences be damned" philosophy of the "college" when the sickening reality of Octavian and his mother's imprisonment set in. The frills and finery were torn away to reveal the true inhumanity of their situation.
Again - this book was disturbing on so many levels. Was I more bothered by Octavian's defense mechanisms when confronted by despicable acts" "...after I saw the philosophers of this college acquire a docile child deprived of reason and speech...beat her to the point of gagging and swooning; after such experiments as these, I became most wondrous observant, and often stared unmoving at a wall for some hours together." (Reading that passage again turns my stomach.)
Or was I more disturbed by the complete lack of hope that permeates the book: "Do you feel it child?" he asked. "The wall is gone. Space is gone from behind us." I could feel nothing. "He said, "All that is there now is the eye of God." He shivered. "The pupil is black, and as large as a world." And later, "At long last, you may no longer distinguish what binds you from what is you."
Or was I most saddened by the hideous irony that the men who gave Octavian freedom of the mind were the ones that denied him the freedom of his body. "They gave me a tongue; and the stopped it up, so they would not have to hear it crying." And "...they told me of color, that it was an illusion of the eye, an event in the perceiver's mind, not in the object, they told me that color had no reality...And then they imprisoned me in darkness; and though there was no color there, I still was black, and they still were white; and for that, they bound and gagged me."
And I don't even have the words to address the powerful juxtaposition of the colonists struggle and cries for "Freedom from tyranny!" against the silent reality of slavery.
The way that Anderson phrases the most hideous of realities in the most matter of fact ways is by turns, startling and beautiful. It makes me think that there are no other ways these words could be put together - that the way they are set upon the page is the only way they can exist together.
"What have you observed?"
"The solidity of shackles. They increase the solidity of the body. When I walk free, I am not conscious of my solidity."
"Yes. Shackles, like all matter, are defined by resistance."
"Do not tell me," I said to them, "what is defined by resistance."
As I start into the above paragraph, I am observing as Octavian does. Then I am considering the truth of what he observes - that one does not FEEL freedom until one loses it. That it is difficult to experience a positive without knowing the negative. And then - with a killing blow - my eyes absorb that final sentence...and I feel ridiculous for not mourning Octavian's shackles with him...and then I feel a fierce admiration of his spirit and his refusal to accept shackles of the mind along with shackles of the body. All this - in under 50 words.
I am in awe.
This book made me feel like I do when watching movies like "Schindler's List" or "Saving Private Ryan". Every molecule in my body and soul rebels against the horror I am a witness to. All I can think about is turning my eyes away, making it stop, which is the one thing I am not allowed to do. These atrocities existed, they were real. Humans were and are capable of such evil, such cruelty, such viciousness. It is important to me that every once in a while, I remind myself of this. I am so incredibly lucky to have been born in the circumstances I was, and to have been given the privileges I have, and to have lived in the time an place I do. The least I can do is to acknowledge the pain of those who are not as lucky as I.
This book, like those movies, is one where the reader cannot put aside after finishing and think, "It was just a movie/book." These times and events were real. These things happened, even if details have been changed.
Octavian, and those real people he is representative of, experienced horrors I hope I never do. Horrors that most of our world would say happened in the past..and yet we all know are happening every day - somewhere, to someone. My soul aches for those who are robbed of their humanity by beings inhuman themselves.
Because I am who I am, I must end this review with a beautiful and tragic set of passages - mirror images of the same truth:
"I lifted up the first, blank, page, and surveyed those beneath, to see, as Bono quoth, what the man on the street was wearing. It was a catalogue of horrors. Page after page of Negroes in bridles, strapped to walls,...masks of iron with metal mouth bits...razored necklaces...collars of spikes that supported the head..."
"...Mr. Gitney burned Bono's fashion catallogue an hour later."
"Let us rid ourselves," he said, "of this noisome object."
"But I could not rid myself of it. It was the common property of us all."
Previous to this - there was one of the few glimmers of hope in the book:
"Music hath its land of origin; and yet it is also its own country, its own sovereign power, and all make take refuge there, and all, once settled, may claim it as their own, and all may meet there in amity; and these instruments, as surely as instruments of torture, belong to all of us."
Octavian and his story belongs to all of us. Though not as fully to those who experience such events in their lifetime...it belongs to those of us who must make sure that the realities contained within the fiction become less and less prevalent. We need these "noisome objects" today more than ever.
Any time I find myself feeling complacent about our world? I need only look at the cover of this book.
It doesn't matter how it ended.......2007-08-20
Okay... here's the deal, I love to read. I love to read good books. Our librarian, excuse me, media specialist whatever, at school suggested this book to me. "I don't have time to read it, and I need an opinion. It seems like something you would like. Take as much time as you need."
Believe me, I was extremely excited to read this book. It was different than anything I've ever really read before. So I took it on with great enthusiasm.
At first, I was very intrigued with Octavian and his situation. I really did think that the story was good. But only the story. I was so bored with the book, it seemed to drag on forever. Pages of writing, and I only needed a paragraph. But I persevered because it was so interesting, only bits at a time though, because I could only handle so much.
Then I talked with my friend Katie who was also reading this book. Pretty much in the same situation I was in only a little farther along in the book. She said it didn't get any better and gave up. And that's not like Katie, she reads A LOT and EVERYTHING so I was surprised. But I liked the story so I continued. Farther than Katie had read and farther than I wish I would have read. It never became worth it. NEVER! It sat in my locker for possibly two months because I was determined to finish it no matter how much I hated it. But in the end I couldn't do it. I had moved on to other books and I have trouble reading more than one novel at a time, if I really like one.
So in the end, I say you can try BUT if it doesn't satisfy you within the first couple chapters... don't put yourself through it.
Highly imaginative historical novel -- should be marketed to adults not teens.......2007-07-28
This is a well-written, well-plotted historical novel with an unusually imaginative premise. It takes place in the late 18th century.
I have no idea why it is marketed as a "teen" novel -- it is not a fantasy, nor is it light reading, and it has a number of very disturbing sequences. This is not to say that a well-read, intelligent teen with mature tastes would not enjoy the book -- but the book should be marketed to adults, who are far more likely to appreciate it.
I won't spoil the book by giving a synopsis -- it has a number of surprises, so I advise potential readers to read the book without too much foreknowledge.
I am very much looking forward to the sequel.
Challenge your perceptions.......2007-07-10
Octavian Nothing a historical fiction set in 18th century America illuminates society, politics, education, philosophy and science including a very controversial human experiment. I found it truly thought provoking and look forward to the sequel.
This is rated for grades 9 and up. The writing style and concepts are not lightweight by any means. I think adults will appreciate it as much as teens who are looking for challenging literature.
An Astonishing Novel/Puzzle.......2007-06-22
The bad news is, since you are reading this in the Customer Review section, you have probably read enough about the setting and plot of this excellent novel to have spoiled the carefully crafted setup chapters. (Fortunately, the book's dust jacket contains no spoilers.) One of the central themes follows the boy Octavian's process of solving the mystery of who he is and how he is being raised and, reflecting this process, M. T. Anderson skillfully constructs the opening so that the reader at first can't tell when or where the book takes place. Clues about the characters are gradually revealed, all true and all misleading - nothing is ever quite what it seems, and both the narrator and the reader navigate deeper and deeper levels of understanding as the story progresses.
I have no idea why this is reviewed and marketed as a young readers' book, except that (a) Anderson's prior books were YA, (b) the narrator is a boy, and (c) there is no explicit sex. Anyone who expects this to be delightful and engaging light reading for teenagers will be disappointed. This book is deep, clever, moving, darkly funny and fascinating. The Booklist comment "it demands rereading" is right - it's even better the second time through, because you can see how much foreshadowing there was, and how beautifully everything ties together.
Book Description
At the dawn of a new century, a newly elected U.S. president was forced to confront an escalating series of unprovoked attacks on Americans by Muslim terrorists sworn to carry out jihad against all Western powers. As timely and familiar as these events may seem, they occurred more than two centuries ago. The president was Thomas Jefferson, and the terrorists were the Barbary pirates. Victory in Tripoli recounts the untold story of one of the defining challenges overcome by the young U.S. republic. This fast-moving and dramatic tale examines the events that gave birth to the Navy and the Marines and re-creates the startling political, diplomatic, and military battles that were central to the conflict. This highly interesting and informative history offers deep insight into issues that remain fundamental to U.S. foreign policy decisions to this day.
Customer Reviews:
A good history of how little has changed in 200 years.......2007-08-25
Josh London has written a pretty good book about the challenges that the newly formed United States of America faced when it decided to move out from the wing of its mother country and strike out on its own. One of those challenges being the band of criminals who essentially controlled access to the Mediterranean Sea along the Barbary Coast.
While he is not a writer who knows how to turn a very interesting piece of history into a page-turner as Wright does with his book The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage) it is fine when compared to many other rather dull writers of history. At least he seems to get his facts straight and does not have some political agenda get in the way of an interesting story.
The most interesting part of the book is actually not something in it, but the fact that little has changed in two hundred years. Pirates still threaten the seas all over the world, politicians debate and deflect about serious issues concerning national security and national interests, and the consequences of being on the wrong side of history are soon forgotten as a new generation of voters and politicians who are ignorant of history get a chance to relive it again at great expense.
Neo-Con Rubbish.......2007-07-29
I actually enjoyed the history portion of the book. Unfortunately, London's conclusion -- Arabs are greedy, untrustworthy and only understand force so America was right to invade Iraq and we must stay the course -- is horse poop.
According to London -- who's written articles on his book's relevance to Iraq at the National Review and the Heritage Foundation -- Jefferson (the father of the Democratic Party) was a vacillating appeaser and was wrong to end the war with Tripoli without toppling the Pasha and grinding the city beneath the heels of American military might.
This ignores, of course, the fact that America had no subsequent serious problems with Tripoli.
London conflates James Madison's war against Algeria -- a decade later -- with the war against Tripoli and credits the "strong and resolute" Madison (a conservative, of course) with leading the charge against the North African Muslim evil-doers which culminated in France and Italy's colonial occupation and subjugation of the region. Mission accomplished. Hah!
It's easy to convince yourself that the simple-minded direct action and occupation of annoying nations that London advocates in this book is the best course of action in any situation -- diplomacy and negotiation really is hard and complex -- until you remember that France was brutally forced out of Algiers and our own occupation in Iraq has left America worse off in the region than before.
This book is nothing but a shameless plug for the neo-conservative notion that America must use its military might to reshape the world in our own image. We now see how far that got us.
Great read.......2007-07-03
Compared to other books on the subject of the Tripolitan War published around the same time Victory in Tripoli is a superior read. The author strikes a great balance between providing penetrating detail and keeping the story moving along. In other words, it's engaging, insightful, and detailed but, not boring.
Fascinating story marred by amateurish writing.......2007-06-12
While the history of a young America's naval adventures in the Mediterranean is clearly a fascinating one (and largely unknown, at least to me) it is done a terrible disservice by author Joshua E. London.
As much respect as I have for what appears to be his painstaking research in pulling together the events and happenings of those days, and placing them in the proper historical context, the telling of the tale suffers from his pedestrian, high-school text book writing style of the sort in which "this happened, then this happened, then this happened."
You need look no further for an example of the decline of the once-valued craft of book editing.
Poorly written and, overall, very disappointing.......2007-05-29
I'd been waiting to read this book for a long time, ever since I'd read London's brief piece "America's Earliest Terrorists: Lessons from America's first war against Islamic terror" -- obviously drawn from this book -- at National Review Online. (Google on "Joshua London" and "National Review Online" and you'll find it.) While I highly recommend that brief National Review Online article, anyone with the same motive as mine is probably going to be disappointed with the book.
Instead of fleshing out the points about the heritage of Islamic terror (how it's part of mainstream Islam and far antedates American involvement in the mideast and the existence of Israel), the book says hardly more on this subject than the brief article I cite.
Plus, reading the book was like having a stick poked in my eye, because the writing is so bad. (I'm not sure what book these other commenters reviewed!) Best to give some examples (and please remember, I **wanted** to like the book):
* On pages 16 and 17, Bernard Lewis is introduced **twice** (as "the historian Bernard Lewis")
* On page 41, the USS Chesapeake is introduced in one sentence as a "forty-four-gun frigate" and in the next sentence as a "thirty-six-gun frigate."
* Prominent character James Leander Cathcart is introduced on page 54, quasi-introduced again on page 56, and effectively introduced **again** (including his middle name) on page 109.
* On page 108, whle detailing the lineage of one of Jefferson's naval appointments, Captain Richard Valentine Morris, author London mentions one of Morris's uncles, "Governor Morris." He means, of course, **Gouverneur** Morris.
* Another howler is this passage from page 117: " ... but stormy whether forced them to the Bay of Tunis. They arrived on February 22, 1803. Their arrival had little affect on the Tunisians ..." [precise transcription]
There's lots more where those came from. But maybe those seem too picayune for you to agree that the quality of thought that went into writing the book leaves something to be desired? There's bigger stuff, too.
For example, after awhile, I was dying to see a map that would give the relative placement of Tangiers, Algiers, Tripoli, Tunis, Malta, and Syracuse, among other ports of call. Then I discovered there **is** a map among the clutch of illustrations near the center of the book, but labels on it smaller than "Mediterranean" are too blurry to read.
The welter of individuals' names really calls for a "dramatis personae" at the start of the book, so one has a hope of keeping track of the characters. Go fish!
And the description of all the comings and goings of various ships and people doesn't add up to anything useful. It's similar to reading an airline's schedules for entertainment.
In short, the book reads like a first draft, or perhaps even a zeroth draft. The author acknowledges two editors at Wiley, but it's hard to believe either had more than a nodding acquaintance with the book. At least a couple hundred hours of [additional?] editing would be needed to whip this mess into shape.
So I give it two stars because it **does** contain interesting material that could be the basis for a vastly better book (and one star would suggest I have an axe to grind on the subject of the book) . Very disappointing.
Book Description
A classic collection of essays providing an excellent introduction to the many different narrations of the 'nation'. Contributors include Gillian Beer, Homi Bhabha, introduction to the many different narrations of the
Customer Reviews:
Nation and Narration.......2007-07-16
Great book! Very insightful concerning relationships with 'the other' (other cultures, other people, etc.).
Homi K. Bhabha.......2002-03-20
How unfortunate that the previous reviewer had to resort to questioning a fellow reader's intellect and ability to read what is undoubtedly a complicately structured text. This type of comment epitimises the elitism that Bhabha is himself charged with. The inaccessability of this text to the wide majority of readers(and that is not due to a need for reading classes) has left Bhabha's 'liminal space' an area of discussion accessible only to a handful of individuals whose academic capital apparently surpasses that of their humility. There is no attempt made at any point in this book to explain what are undoubdtedly fascinating concepts in laymans terms, thereby excluding the vast majority of readers of all social strata for whom reading is a pleasure and not a struggle .
Enriching Experience.......2001-10-21
I was mystified by the ignorance of a previous reviewer whose implications that Bhabha could not write clearly showed not only his stupidity, but perhaps also a marked LACK of reading classes. could i perhaps suggest to this gentleman that he take a reading class so that he is better equipped to deal with the prose, poetry and magic that abounds within this most important and significant of post-colonial discourses.
The polemic usefulness.......2001-02-19
I don't like Homi Bhabha and I deeply dislike poscolonialist approaches. I think, as a passionate for literature that these theories have lead to forget the aesthetics of reading. I agree that Europe has crushed the periphery and all those ideas but I also don't believe that the solution is to create dangerous identities as totalizing as the European impositions. Nonetheless, I recognize that this book is very useful for anybody trying to understand the concept of nation. Bhabha articulates not very convincingly Fanon and Derrida, but the essays of Brennan and Sommer are excellent and the recovery of Renan's concept provides an excellent counterpoint. The book is a must for anybody interested in the topic, but still does not substite the reading of Said, Fanon and Benedict Anderson.
articulating postcolonial experience.......2000-05-02
If there's one thing that this book offers it is the articulation of gaps and fissures that have been long denied and silenced by the grand narratives of history operating in the hegemonic code of linear western imperialism. This book speaks to us in a special way by virtue of our colonial experience which allows us to question the very foundation of most historical discourses that have been in our curricula and educational system. Reading Bhabha's article DissemiNation, enlightens one in the boundaries and margins of the discourses together with their historical contingencies. Along with The Location of Culture one cannot truly understand postcolonial experience without referring to these books by Homi K. Bhabha.
Average customer rating:
- Pathbreaking work on race and revolution
|
Insurgent Cuba: Race, Nation, and Revolution, 1868-1898
Ada Ferrer
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Cuba | Caribbean & West Indies | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Caribbean & West Indies | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
Revolutionary | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
Discrimination & Racism | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Ethnic Studies | Special Groups | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:
-
A Nation for All: Race, Inequality, and Politics in Twentieth-Century Cuba (Envisioning Cuba)
-
The Blood of Guatemala: A History of Race and Nation (Latin America Otherwise)
-
On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture
-
Imposing Decency: The Politics of Sexuality and Race in Puerto Rico, 1870-1920 (American Encounters/Global Interactions)
-
Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico
ASIN: 0807847836
Release Date: 1999-09-29 |
Book Description
In the late nineteenth century, in an age of ascendant racism and imperial expansion, there emerged in Cuba a movement that unified black, mulatto, and white men in an attack on Europe's oldest empire, with the goal of creating a nation explicitly defined as antiracist. This book tells the story of the thirty-year unfolding and undoing of that movement.
Ada Ferrer examines the participation of black and mulatto Cubans in nationalist insurgency from 1868, when a slaveholder began the revolution by freeing his slaves, until the intervention of racially segregated American forces in 1898. In so doing, she uncovers the struggles over the boundaries of citizenship and nationality that their participation brought to the fore, and she shows that even as black participation helped sustain the movement ideologically and militarily, it simultaneously prompted accusations of race war and fed the forces of counterinsurgency.
Carefully examining the tensions between racism and antiracism contained within Cuban nationalism, Ferrer paints a dynamic portrait of a movement built upon the coexistence of an ideology of racial fraternity and the persistence of presumptions of hierarchy.
Customer Reviews:
Pathbreaking work on race and revolution.......2000-01-20
Insurgent Cuba tracks the transformation of racial and gendered narratives of the revolution from the abolition of slavery to the war of independence. In this fascinating and pathbreaking book, Professor Ferrer reveals that, with the emergence of late 19th century Cuban nationalism, narratives of race, slavery, and the place of black people in the revolution shift dramatically. Through the voices of leaders like Jose Marti, black insurgents were constructed as color-blind patriots committed to the liberation of Cuba, not slaves and ex-slaves attempting to overthrow the regime of slavery and demand equal rights. Black people were transformed in these three decades from a problem and threat to the republic to the symbols of Cuban nationalism's commitment to multiracial democracy. Anti-racism became a weapon in the hands of Cuban revolutionaries in their battle against Spain, which changed the status of black insurgents, put them on a pedestal in a way, and made their stories fundamental to the narrative of the new republic--one that is colorblind and willing to incorporate everyone as long as they are patriots. For blacks and mulattoes, this discourse gave them a platform to complain about racism in the ranks of the army, in everyday life, everywhere. On the other hand, the ellision of racism in the discourse of Cuban nationalism and the celebration of multiracial republicanism was often used against critics of racism in Cuba. "To speak of race, then," Ferrer writes, "was to challenge the depth of racial and national unity." Any attempts to mobilize on the basis of racial solidarity was then dismissed as divisive and unpatriotic. By reconstructing these different narratives in the context of specific revolts and campaigns, Ferrer offers us a stunning alternative narrative of the struggle for Cuban Independence. Insurgent Cuba is perhaps the best book available on race and Cuba.
Average customer rating:
|
Modern Irish Autobiography: Self, Nation and Society
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
20th Century | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Irish | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Classics | Comic | Contemporary | Literary
General | Criticism & Theory | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1403912688
Release Date: 2007-06-26 |
Book Description
Modern Irish Autobiography provides the first comprehensive overview of the Irish autobiographical tradition as it has received expression in both Irish and English from the nineteenth-century to the present day. Featuring original essays by leading Irish, British and American critics, the book combines historically grounded analyses of key trends and themes with theoretically informed readings of canonical and non-canonical texts. Focusing mainly on written autobiography, the volume locates Ireland's autobiographers in their historical, literary and ideological contexts and surveys the rich diversity of their achievement.
Amazon.com
"I am a Scotsman," Sir Walter Scott famously wrote, "therefore I had to fight my way into the world." So did any number of his compatriots over a period of just a few centuries, leaving their native country and traveling to every continent, carving out livelihoods and bringing ideas of freedom, self-reliance, moral discipline, and technological mastery with them, among other key assumptions of what historian Arthur Herman calls the "Scottish mentality."
It is only natural, Herman suggests, that a country that once ranked among Europe's poorest, if most literate, would prize the ideal of progress, measured "by how far we have come from where we once were." Forged in the Scottish Enlightenment, that ideal would inform the political theories of Francis Hutcheson, Adam Smith, and David Hume, and other Scottish thinkers who viewed "man as a product of history," and whose collective enterprise involved "nothing less than a massive reordering of human knowledge" (yielding, among other things, the Encyclopaedia Britannica, first published in Edinburgh in 1768, and the Declaration of Independence, published in Philadelphia just a few years later). On a more immediately practical front, but no less bound to that notion of progress, Scotland also fielded inventors, warriors, administrators, and diplomats such as Alexander Graham Bell, Andrew Carnegie, Simon MacTavish, and Charles James Napier, who created empires and great fortunes, extending Scotland's reach into every corner of the world.
Herman examines the lives and work of these and many more eminent Scots, capably defending his thesis and arguing, with both skill and good cheer, that the Scots "have by and large made the world a better place rather than a worse place." --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Who formed the first modern nation?
Who created the first literate society?
Who invented our modern ideas of democracy and free market capitalism?
The Scots.
Mention of Scotland and the Scots usually conjures up images of kilts, bagpipes, Scotch whisky, and golf. But as historian and author Arthur Herman demonstrates, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Scotland earned the respect of the rest of the world for its crucial contributions to science, philosophy, literature, education, medicine, commerce, and politics—contributions that have formed and nurtured the modern West ever since.
Arthur Herman has charted a fascinating journey across the centuries of Scottish history. He lucidly summarizes the ideas, discoveries, and achievements that made this small country facing on the North Atlantic an inspiration and driving force in world history. Here is the untold story of how John Knox and the Church of Scotland laid the foundation for our modern idea of democracy; how the Scottish Enlightenment helped to inspire both the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution; and how thousands of Scottish immigrants left their homes to create the American frontier, the Australian outback, and the British Empire in India and Hong Kong.
How the Scots Invented the Modern World reveals how Scottish genius for creating the basic ideas and institutions of modern life stamped the lives of a series of remarkable historical figures, from James Watt and Adam Smith to Andrew Carnegie and Arthur Conan Doyle, and how Scottish heroes continue to inspire our contemporary culture, from William “Braveheart” Wallace to James Bond.
Victorian historian John Anthony Froude once proclaimed, “No people so few in number have scored so deep a mark in the world’s history as the Scots have done.” And no one who has taken this incredible historical trek, from the Highland glens and the factories and slums of Glasgow to the California Gold Rush and the search for the source of the Nile, will ever view Scotland and the Scots—or the modern West—in the same way again. For this is a story not just about Scotland: it is an exciting account of the origins of the modern world and its consequences.
“The point of this book is that being Scottish turns out to be more than just a matter of nationality or place of origin or clan or even culture. It is also a state of mind, a way of viewing the world and our place in it. . . . This is the story of how the Scots created the basic idea of modernity. It will show how that idea transformed their own culture and society in the eighteenth century, and how they carried it with them wherever they went. Obviously, the Scots did not do everything by themselves: other nations—Germans, French, English, Italians, Russians, and many others—have their place in the making of the modern world. But it is the Scots more than anyone else who have created the lens through which we see the final product. When we gaze out on a contemporary world shaped by technology, capitalism, and modern democracy, and struggle to find our place as individuals in it, we are in effect viewing the world as the Scots did. . . . The story of Scotland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is one of hard-earned triumph and heart-rending tragedy, spilled blood and ruined lives, as well as of great achievement.”
—FROM THE PREFACE
Customer Reviews:
A must-read!.......2007-09-26
An absolute must-read for anyone interested in how the principles and values that America was founded on came to be...I couldn't help but wonder after reading this inspiring book, why there isn't some type of national recognition for the Scots like those that exist for other cultures (St. Patrick's Day for the Irish, Columbus Day for the Italians, etc.).
Excellent Book.......2007-08-23
I was lent a copy of this book and liked it so much that I bought one for myself. It gives a very good background on the Scottish culture and the development of the philosophy that underlies it. It covers a very broad area and the way it is written, makes for very good reading.
Excellent.......2007-08-15
This book was a Christmas gift and I recently finished reading it. I had fairly low expectations going in, but my interest was held all the way through. Mr. Herman does indeed make a strong case for Scots leading the way in many aspects of modern society, although I would say that declaring that Scots invented the modern world is rather speculative. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book and was especially interested in how Scots helped shape the United States and Canada with highlanders generally siding with the monarchy and migrating to Canada as Loyalists after the War of Independence and lowlanders siding with the revolutionaries. An excellent read if you are interested in Scottish or New World history.
The Miracle of the Scottish Enlightenment.......2007-04-20
How did it come about that between 1700 and 1800 a small undeveloped European country transformed itself into a modern capitalist democracy? The title is obviously pretentious and used as a marketing gimmick. It worked on me because it convinced me to buy this book. Historian Arthur Herman is not Scottish or of Scottish descent, but he has written a very compelling chronicle of the miracle of the Scottish Enlightenment.
In 1707, the Union Act united the kingdoms of Scotland and England. Prior to this, the two antagonists living on opposite sides of Hadrian's Wall wanted nothing to do with each other. Scotland consisted mainly of primitive clans living in the highlands and slightly more advanced lowlanders living mainly in the cities of Glascow and Edinburgh. The parliament in Edinburgh was controlled by groups of noblemen who in turn were dominated by the rigid and inquisitorial Presbyterian Kirk (church) of Scotland.
After 1707, there were two developments that were crucial to Scotland's rise to modernity. The first was the opening up to the economic free trade zone of the British Empire. At first the Scottish fretted about either being swallowed-up by their world-class English competitors or becoming pauperized like the Irish. Their fears were misplaced, neither happened. Instead, the Scottish became, Herman argues, the most significant player in the the empire's economic and intellectual sphere.
The second big reason for Scottish success was their public education system - the first in Europe. This was the work of the Presbyterian Kirk. They maintained that political power, ordained by God, was vested in the people, not the monarchy or the church. The Kirk believed that all people should be able to read the Bible, and as a consequence they achieved a 75% literacy rate - unprecedented in 1750.
Near-universal education produced in this tiny country a disproportionate number of world-class thinkers - David Hume, Francis Hutchison, and Adam Smith, to name a few. They transformed the fields of philosophy, history, economics, education, commerce, architecture, and many more. Due to their mutual animosity toward the English, the Scots found inspiration from the great thinkers of the French Enlightenment, and vice versa. It was Voltaire who said that, "We look to Scotland for all of our ideas of civilization."
As for Herman's claim that the Scots invented the modern world, it should be taken with a grain of salt. In the free trade zone of the British Empire, commerce and ideas flowed both ways. It can be said that the Scots did much to improve or make new existing ideas, and in some cases invent; but they did not singlehandedly invent the modern world.
The Scottish Enlightenment was not without its dark side. The modernizing of the Scottish Highlands was anything but civilized. Before the Scots exported the ideas of goverment and commerce abroad, it had to brutally convert some of its own population. Herman also sidesteps the ugly fact that the Scots were deeply involved in the slave trade and the Klu Klux Klan in the US, and in the opium trade in China - recall the trading companies of Jardine Matheson and Hutchison Whampoa originally spoke with a Scottish burr. Not to say that they invented either of these unseemly businesses, but they certainly flourished in them.
Nevertheless, Professor Herman is a gifted writer and he is exceptionally good at explaining the many geniuses that populated this tiny country during the 18th century.
The richt wey o't .......2007-04-16
This is the true tale! At least the facts presented all pretty convincing.
Book Description
This book is the most acute, informed, and insightful account of Ukraine and its people available today. Andrew Wilson focuses on the complex relations between Ukraine and Russia and explains the different versions of the past propagated by Ukrainians and Russians. He also examines the continuing debates over identity, culture, and religion in Ukraine since its independence in 1991. For this new edition, Wilson has brought the text fully up to date to include coverage of the Yushchenko government and the "Gongadze affair."
Customer Reviews:
A divide steeped in history.......2007-04-14
This book goes a long way towards explaining the complexity of Ukraine, a nation that is divided in accepting or rejecting the different identities the world knows of it. Is it the craddle of Russian civilization that includes present day Ukraine, Russia and Belarus or is it the frontier(eastern Ukraine in particular) where eastern slavs (progenitors of Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusiians) escaped to from suppresive powers of overloards (Poland and Russian princes, or is it the center where a new set of Russians-western Ukriane (Ukrainians or Ruthenians or Little Russians) came into being from the amalgamation of foreign influnces (Polish, Lithanian, Slovakian, Austria,Hungaria etc)?
From Gogol's work-Taras Bulba, one can get a picture of how easterners view themselves as Ukrainians (orthodox,eastern slavonic who fraternalise with their other eastern slavonic brothers) and who have been prominent in Russian or east slavic history(Yermak, Krushchev, Breshnev etc). Moujik as a story gives a clearer picture of the divide. Two brothers in the same house with one brother stressing on their roots and those they share common roots with(east), and the other brother attaching importance to the influences picked up in the past(west)
Topic best done by an outsider.......2006-10-21
Wilson covers a lot of ground and gives a good sense of the historical background and issues surrounding "what is a Ukrainian" without taking sides - something tough for a Russian, Ukrainian, or Pole to do.
The current politics is really nicely covered - I had the opportunity to watch the Orange revolution first hand - and its interesting to see the pangs of democracy's birth - and wondering where it will go.
Recent Historical Perspective.......2006-02-12
Although the book spans a long period of time, it provides the most useful detail on the post independence period that has had the most impact on the US and the world post Soviet Union.
In that regard, the author does capture some of the challenges in the current situation and the importance of the battle of a westward looking nation that is the second largest in Europe. But in Ukraine in the post Orange Revolution, one does hear Ukrainian spoken more whereas under the Soviets, jail time for doing so was possible.
The book doesn't provide the detail on some of the controversial aspects such as the battle for survivial against collectivization and the Soviet man made famine that Robert Conquest documented in his book "Harvest of Sorrow." The impact of the Soviet murder of SEVEN to TEN million people, 25% of the nation's population, has left a scar on the nation that is only being discussed openly for the first time. A small memorial in the center of Kiev has been erected and certainly is less costly than any US based memorial to the victims of Stalinism.
Although the country has achieved its independence there are many problems in addressing its history as its had to fight external and internal enemies who have often sided with invaders. In the case of Western Ukraine, WWII brought about the first opportunity to rise up against the slaughter and genocide of millions of their countrymen in 1933. The NKVD, and its secret police predecessors was comprised largely of local Jewish nonprofessionals. There was no mercy shown to their neighbors in imposing communism and the following genocidal famine that followed. The story of the NKVD and of the communists secret police has never been told in Ukraine. Someday it will.
During WWII, Jewish doctors joined the Ukrainian partisan army to fight against the Soviets and Germans. As a country fighting the two biggest enemies of freedom in the 20th century, it wasn't an easy task but lasted into the 1950s.
As the accounting for the Soviet mass murder has hardly even started. It's unfortunate that the desire to build a memorial to its victims in the US would meet opposition. Particularly when the story of those who enforced and were complicit in the genocide on behalf of the Soviet evil have yet to be brought to account.
Only one flaw, but an important one.......2005-11-30
This book is remarkable in that it avoided taking sides in the great nationalistic battle between Ukrainians, Russians, and Poles. It presents all the different theories about who the Ukrainians might be, whether they are or are not a typc of Russian, and whether their national aspirations are credible or not.
But, it manages to avoid entirely an important fact: the western Ukrainians (long under Polish, Hungarian and Austrian rule, but never Russian rule until after WWII) -- those very Ukrainians Americans like to favor as pro-western -- these are the ones who helped with glee to slaughter countless Jews in their midst during WWII and many thousands of Poles in Volhyhnia and eastern Galicia at the close of WWII and shortly thereafter. One any only conclude that the author and his Ukrainian clients have something very big to hide.
I remember with some bitterness that before a memorial to massacred Jews could be erected in Nassau County, NY, another memorial had to be erected as a show of "equal time" to the Ukrainian victims of Stalinism. This is hard to take since those very Ukrainians so remembered were among those who slaughtered Jews for the German occupiers.
Read this to understand the Orange Revolution.......2004-12-17
Readers wanting to understand recent events in Ukraine will find this book indispensable.
Book Description
A step-by-step guide to performing the death-defying stunts you thought were only possible in the movies.
For the millions of armchair daredevils who made Worst Case Scenario a mega bestzseller, Hunter Fulghum offers an even more hair-raising handbook. The result of persistent probing, diligent research, and outrageous phone calls to institutions like Fort Knox and the Pentagon, Don't Try This at Home gives thrill seekers everywhere the insider information they crave to show them how to perform feats such as:
*Conduct a SWAT Team hostage
*Rappel off the Eiffel Tower
*Borrow the Mona Lisa
*Form an independent nation
*Break into Buckingham Palace
*Catch a great white shark
*Meet aliens at Area 51
Filled with step-by-step instructions, including lists of necessary tools, timing tips, and helpful illustrations, Don't Try This at Home provides the ultimate guide to doing the impossible.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting and goofy.......2007-02-22
Some are more realistic than others, but all are entertaining. I'll certainly allow this book when I start my own nation off the coast of Africa.
Need Something Amusing to Read?.......2006-03-22
I've found Don't Try This At Home to be lighthearted and fun. It's also impractical and seems to be based largely on complete fantasy. What is it about you ask? Think of it as a 264 page Do-It-Yourself guide for the armchair adventurer.
Megalomaniacs will want to skip right to "Form an Independent Nation". In just 8 short pages, Fulghum describes the steps you'd need to complete. Like most of the items in the book, Forming an Independent Nation does have a large number of prerequisites. For example you will need "hard currency", especially if you choose to acquire your nation through peaceful means. Well no worries, just check out Fulghum's section on stealing gold from Fort Knox.
Thrill seekers, there's plenty of material here for you too. Good starting points are "Fly Through the Eye of a Hurricane" or "Guide and Surface a Nuclear Sub through Ice". My personal favorite is "Drive a Tank through a Tornado". Fulghum says the tank is "available from the US Army, contact the Pentagon to arrange purchase or lease". Does anyone have a phone number?
This stuff might work!.......2005-10-18
So help me, a lot of this stuff might actually work... Of course most of their ideas would take more time, money and resources than i'll ever have, but they're fun to think about!
All you need to know about things you don't need to know.......2004-05-12
Imagine calling Fort Knox and asking the best way to break in and steal the gold. Don't have the guts for it? Don't worry, because Hunter Fulghum has done it for you. He has contacted everyone from the U.S. Dept. of Energy to his local alien experts to find out how you would do everything from Swim the English Channel to Borrow the Mona Lisa to Start an Independant Nation.
Aside from being funny and quite interesting, the book is very well written; I highly recommend it.
Good book.......2004-03-18
Great fun to read, though some of it is a bit obvious... By the way I am starting an independant nation, got this book because I figured I might as well. I was already planning on starting it before I got the book. Getting an island from Nicaragua to make it. Anyways good book. Get it.
Book Description
Short stories and fiction excerpts from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Sudan, and other countries from whom the government would rather we didn't hear.
"Not knowing what the rest of the world is thinking and writing is both dangerous and boring."—Alane Mason, founding editor, Words Without Borders
During the Cold War, writers behind the Iron Curtain—Solzhenitsyn, Kundera, Milosz—were translated and published in the United States, providing an invaluable window on the Soviet regime's effects on daily life and humanizing the individuals living under its conditions.
Yet U.S. Treasury Department regulations made it almost impossible for Americans to gain access to writings from "evil" countries such as Iran and Cuba until recently. Penalties for translating such works or for "enhancing their value" by editing them included stiff fines and potential jail time for the publisher. With relaxation in 2005 of the Treasury regulations (in response to pressure from the literary and scientific publishing communities that culminated in a lawsuit), it is now possible, for the first time in many years, to read in English works from these disfavored nations.
The New Press and Words Without Borders are proud to be among the first to offer American readers contemporary literature of "enemy nations." Literature from the Axis of Evil includes thirty-five works of fiction from seven countries, most of which have never before been translated into English.
Customer Reviews:
censorship is worse in the u.s.......2007-08-05
I call this literature light and I do not believe that many writers backed out due to fear of reprisal. Writers right here at "home" in the U.S who are nationals live in fear and are silenced. And it's good to look into the lives of editors and publishers of books, see what their husbands do for a living, let's say, to see how honest these books really are. Nothing in this book addresss the current genocide against muslims, not in any real concrete way...this is bullshiite without borders.
Censorship.......2007-05-01
Put together by Writers without Borders, I was sad to read of authors who backed out of this project out of fear of reprisal. Even the first short story of the Vice Principal reflects this fear alive in our world today. Censorship in the US of this misnommer of cultures (Axis of Evil) has encouraged me to read these verses, excerpts and short stories and want to pass the book on to another reader.
College textbook needed.......2007-01-19
My son needed this book for college. Fast shipping and better price than local store.
Books:
- The Seraphim and Other Poems (Collected Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
- The Spirit Stone: The Silver Wyrm, Book Two (The Silver Wyrm)
- The Stolen Child: A Novel
- The Tomb (Adversary Cycle/Repairman Jack)
- The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy's Dossier on Hillary Clinton
- The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World
- The Widow's Son Volume 2 (The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles)
- The Winter King (The Arthur Books #1)
- The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
- Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison?
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Time Traveler's Wife
- No Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight
- Criminal Minded: A Novel
- Four and Twenty Blackbirds
- History: Fiction or Science
- Handbook of Immunohistochemistry and in Situ Hybridization of Human Carcinomas, Volume 1: Molecular
- Life of Tom Horn, Government Scout and Interpreter
- Devi: The Great Goddess : Female Divinity in South Asian Art
- Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific
- Freedom Hill: The Alpha and Omega
The Places In Between
Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone (Vintage)
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq
The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage)
The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future
