Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Readers of Black Hawk Down know Mark Bowden can tell an exciting story about as well as any writer at work today. Killing Pablo is further proof. It describes the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, a notorious Colombian drug lord who became one of the narcotic trade's first billionaires. Pablo--Bowden refers to him by his first name throughout the book--started out as a petty thief and wound up running a massive smuggling empire. At his height in the 1980s, he owned fleets of boats and planes, plus 19 separate residences in Medellin, each with its own helipad. Violence marked everything he did: "He wasn't an entrepreneur, and he wasn't even an especially talented businessman. He was just ruthless." He bought off police, politicians, and judges throughout his country, and killed many others who wouldn't cooperate. The Colombian government tried to capture him, but without much luck; he evaded them time after time. "Now and then the police achieved enough surprise to catch him, literally, with his pants down. In [1988], about one thousand national police raided one of his mansions," writes Bowden. "Pablo fled in his underwear, avoiding the police cordon on foot." He got away, again, but his days were numbered. He was making powerful enemies in both Colombia and the United States. The final straw probably came when Pablo's men murdered a popular politician and, three months later, planted a bomb on a plane, killing 110 people, including two Americans.
The bulk of Killing Pablo describes what happened when the U.S. government put its resources behind the hunt for Pablo. Bowden describes the search in gripping detail, from the massive electronic-surveillance effort to bureaucratic infighting between rival U.S. agencies. This is an outstanding work of reportorial journalism, too: in the epilogue, Bowden drops tantalizing hints that it was an American--not a Colombian--who delivered the killing shot to Pablo in 1993. Readers looking for a real-life thriller--or any kind of thriller, for that matter--won't do much better than Killing Pablo.
Book Description
A tour de force of investigative journalism-this is the story of the violent rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the head of the Colombian Medellin cocaine cartel. Escobar's criminal empire held a nation of thirty million hostage in a reign of terror that would only end with his death. In an intense, up-close account, award-winning journalist Mark Bowden exposes details never before revealed about the U.S.-led covert sixteen-month manhunt. With unprecedented access to important players-including Colombian president César Gaviria and the incorruptible head of the special police unit that pursued Escobar, Colonel Hugo Martinez-as well as top-secret documents and transcripts of Escobar's intercepted phone conversations, Bowden has produced a gripping narrative that is a stark portrayal of rough justice in the real world.
"The story of how the U.S. Army Intelligence and Delta Force commandos helped Colombian police track down and kill Pablo Escobar is a compelling, almost Shakespearean tale." (Los Angeles Times)
"Absolutely riveting. . . . Mark Bowden has a way of making modern nonfiction read like the best of novels." (The Denver Post)
Book Description
A brilliant analysis and history of the crucial role that German doctors played in Nazi genocide.
Customer Reviews:
"Physician, Heal Thyself" The Nazi Doctor and the Holocaust.......2005-05-24
In this detailed and well-researched account, psychologist Robert J. Lifton chronicles the Holocaust from a unique perspective: the role played by Nazi medical doctors. In doing so he explains the Nazi philosophy that formed the basis for mass murder: the necessity to heal the ills of German society by eliminating all its corrupting influences. Healing was and is the raison d'etre for the medical profession. Doctors were thus compelled to become killers in the application of this all encompassing "cure."
Lifton traces the evolution of the Holocaust beginning with the "euthanasia" projects of the 30's. Anyone incapable of being a productive member of society was consided, "life unworthy of life" and euthanized. Initially this was confined to the mentally challenged and the old/infirmed. Later even severely wounded German soldiers were not spared. Execution technology perfected here formed the basis for the mass executions conducted later.
Lifton interviews many physicians in this work including some former Nazi's and many Jewish doctors forced to work at Auschwitz. Here, the inner conflicts of persons trained to heal but actively involved in killing reached its apex. Reactions varied from the cold, view of inmates as "laboratory rats" and nothing more by Josef Mengele, to the tortured acceptance of the necessity of doing his duty of Eduard Wirths. Coping mechanisms included sending others to do the "dirty work" when possible, excessive use of alcohol, and in some cases, suicide. Still, the work went on, despite any internal contradictions.
This is the first work I have seen that explained the Nazi philosophy and its impact on the Holocaust. Because it was the stated goal of National Socialism to cleanse German society of all its ills, the participation of healers was essential. The Nazi's never wavered in this twisted belief. Would the Holocaust have occurred without the doctor's participation? Undoubtedly, yes! However doe's this excuse their participation? You the reader must decide. A great read. Five stars!!
Harold Y. Grooms
In our own time..........2005-03-14
This book is relevant to our nation and society in the present time. With the Terry Schiavo case in the forefront of the news, one can only reflect on the position of the courts, and the doctors, in Germany in the 1930's. The book carefully shows the slippery slope which can confront a society that fails to protect the least among us. It is not a book about another place and another time. It is a book about us, in our own time. Strongly recommended that one reads this with open eyes and and open heart to the decisions we make today.
Robert W. Smith, MD, MBA
Fascinating.......2005-01-11
This is a fascinating look not only at what the Nazi doctors did during the reign of the Third Reich but also how they perceived what they were doing and the legislative precedents that culminated in the general acceptance of medicalised killing by many German doctors.
The book is easy to read. Whilst it is a factual account, it still flows with the continuity of a novel making it hard to put down.
Informative and fascinating. Well worth a read and makes you realise the importance of global medical ethical debate as its absence in pre-war Germany, most certainly contributed to the precedents that allowed legalised genocide.
Fascinating insight into the darkness of war........2003-12-22
Fascinating looks at the psychological make up of some of the most infamous people who, in absolute hatred of Jews and other so called undesirables, committed unforgivable crimes against humanity during the Second World War. The author gives a good case study of each of these doctors, and attempts to give an explanation as to why they believed their experiments were in the name of medical research. Chilling but real.
Not deep enough.......2003-07-20
This book is based on direct interviews with a number of Nazi Doctors, but rarely quotes from them. It covers a wide range of issues, but delves deeply into few of them.
It purports to be a pyschological insight into why the Nazi doctors did what they did, and how the psychological mechanisms worked that allowed them to operate. Though Lifton is a Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology, I didn't find his explanations particularly insightful. He repeats a few key ideas often, without going into how these mechanisms work. Instead, he fills the book with detail of what they did.
On balance, it added little to my understanding of the subject. The detail of what the Nazi Doctors did is readily available elsewhere.
I was hoping to find first hand accounts, of which very little was included, and psychological insights. Perhaps it would have been more useful if he had covered fewer people and situations in more depth, with more analysis.
He actually spoke to these people, but the book mostly reads as drily as any history book.
Disappointing.
Amazon.com
Australian scholar Keith Windschuttle is one of the fieriest participants in the debate about the practice of history. In The Killing of History he decries the growth of so-called cultural studies in place of the old-fashioned facts-and-chronologies approach. Windschuttle's passion sometimes carries him a bit too far, but he lands many solid punches, such as when he takes on the heavily published French scholar Michel de Certeau, who has called writing a tool of the power elite. "For someone who thinks writing is a form of oppression," Windschuttle twits, "he has done a lot of writing." Elsewhere Windschuttle attacks efforts to explain away such matters as human sacrifice among the Aztecs, saying that to accept such behavior is akin to "accepting the cultures of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia as equal but different."
Book Description
In The Killing of History, Windschuttle offers a devastating expose of attempts to substitute radically chic theorizing for real knowledge about the past. The result is revolutionary and unprecedented: contemporary historians are increasingly obscuring the facts on which truth about the past is built. Windschuttle offers a devastating expose of these developments. This fascinating narrative leads us into a series of case histories that demonstrate how radical theory has attempted to replace the learning of traditional history with its own political agenda.
Customer Reviews:
The Best critique of the academy written in recent times.......2006-12-27
This is the best critique of the modern academic institution's teaching of history and the humanities to come along in perhaps 20 years or more. In a brilliant way the author confronts what is slowly strangling life out of history, replacing it with all sorts of psuedo-scientific and moral-relativist 'history as theory' and 'history as relative' studies produced since the advent of post-modernism. The idea, which has been presented by some 'historians' like Ilan Pappe, that history is merely propoganda and have then went on to relish dishing out that propoganda without any semblance of accuracy is finally taken to task.
There was a period when history was the record of analls or rathert he record of the deeds of the kings, this is the history roughly found in the Bible and then later in Herodotus, Thucidities and other early pracitioners. Then someone decided that history had neglected the little people, the workers, and that was only a short step to those that claimed history is relative, and therefore there is no 'truth' and thus everything can be fabricated, there must be no judgement.
This book takes all this to task and dares to question why we must accept the idea that history is bunk and that therefore it can be made up and we have to consume it. History today in the acamemy resembles the 'history' produced in Stalin's russia, and yet this is true in free democratic societies. Finally a book that tells us why and challenges all of us to think.
Seth J. Frantzman
Superb work for anyone interested in how history is being rewritten........2006-06-28
Professor Windschuttle exposes the dangers of using structuralism, poststructuralism, postmodernism, cultural relativism and the like as tools for doing history. By quoting extensively from those he takes issue with, taking time to clarify the mumbo-jumbo used by some of these theorists, and explaining his reasoning and conclusions in plain English, the author has made it vastly simpler for the average person to comprehend these radical approaches and why they are so dangerous to truth. One could write more, but it would only be restating much of what has already been said.
Exposing the "emperor's new clothes" of "intellectual" snobs.......2006-04-09
As a student of history, I found mr. Windschuttle's book very useful in understanding how the minds of "intellectual" snobs work, from where they get their bizarre thoughts and why it's important to fight for the maintenance of History as a serious academic discipline. Sure the author may seem too right-wing-orientated for some people as he tends to portray indigenous people as brutal savages and the anglo-saxon culture as inerrant; but mr. Windschuttle's personal thoughts on civilisation is not really the point with this book. Then of course some parts of the book can be difficult to understand as it deals with advanced philosphy and heavy scientific theory, but otherwise it's easy to follow. The emperor has no clothes - the postmodern philosophers writes illogical mumbo-jumbo that even small children can see through...
Loved it.......2006-03-20
I found this book recently in a secondhand store, and couldn't put it down. This book has been reviewed extensively already so I just want to mention a couple of things.
First of all, it speaks volumes that books criticizing anti-realist approaches and philosophies are so frequently accused of being politically conservative, as this book has by a few reviewers here. (Last time I checked, not everything that every political liberal says is pure fantasy; more to the point, it is perfectly possible to feel inclined toward political liberalism while finding problematic the anti-realist/post-modern influence on historiography). While Windschuttle does speak favourably of the work of a few conservative thinkers, it strikes me as a real stretch to say that Windschuttle is here championing political conservatism. Rather, his book deals with the reality of the past and how we might best seek to apprehend it, and how certain philosophies inhibit that quest.
Two, while I find much to admire in the philosophy of Karl Popper (particularly in his political writings), I thought Windschuttle does well to raise questions about the eventual destination of Popper's epistemology. In short, inspired by David Stove's incisive critique, he argues that Popper, along with Kuhn, Feyerabend, and certain other modern philosophers of science, have done much to lay the groundwork for the kind of lunacy he describes elsewhere in the book. I thought this was particularly interesting and thought-provoking, as well as in many respects irrefutable.
Anyway, a very well-written book, and very enlightening.
Did we read the same book?.......2005-10-20
I was disappointed: there's not a word here for or against the Vietnam War, there's nothing at all about the Crusades or the desirability of civilizing 'primative' people by force, while the 'unchanging goodness of America' sadly goes unremarked (the author is an Australian ex-Marxist). There are a lot of other things that the book isn't about. For an imaginative selection, see the review below.
What we do find here are well-documented case studies of the nonsense produced by half-baked theory (Paul Carter's 'spatial history' of Australia inspired by Derrida is a gem), a painstaking analysis of how this sort of thing came to pass as scholarship, and a plea to preserve empirical history and social sciences generally from pseudo-intellectual claptrap. The fact that an educated reader can dismiss this out of hand as self-evidently outrageous is a reflection of the bankruptcy of 'education' (or possibly 'studies') in at least part of the humanities. And that IS what the book is about.
This isn't a right-wing rant, it isn't all easy reading but it is worth the effort.
Book Description
"The best damned book from the point of view of the infantrymen who fought there."—Army Times
Among the best books ever written about men in combat, The Killing Zone tells the story of the platoon of Delta One-six, capturing what it meant to face lethal danger, to follow orders, and to search for the conviction and then the hope that this war was worth the sacrifice. The book includes a new chapter on what happened to the platoon members when they came home.
Customer Reviews:
Written as Remembered. That's Important.......2007-08-26
Like most who have written books about their Vietnam experience, I believe Mr. Downs has told his story as he remembered it. There are several books out about the war where it's obvious that the authors are trying their best to paint a picture he or she thinks book buyers want to see and movie producers want to produce. Mr. Downs was very kind to the children when he described them giving the GIs the finger. Explaining that they were just greeting the soldiers as they had seen the GIs do to each other. That could be true in his case, but children are not dumb, they learn quickly. In aviation, we, too, had to learn quickly. Several air crews left this world after a child threw a grenade into the aircraft. This happened to me twice. I was lucky. Anyway, this is an interesting read and I'll describe it as "lucid and compelling". It's unlike my book, "Kill me If You Can, You SOB". It is by no means a rah-rah account of the war or the sociopaths who did their best to perpetuate it. Don't rush off to buy it. Most people hate it, especially Vietnam veterans. In my opinion, a Vietnam veteran who cursed Jane Fonda and then turned around and voted for George W. Bush is not fit to eat Jane Fonda's garbage. While these hypocrites were whining about this woman who was doing exactly what Jesus preached, two American heroes, Robert McNamara and Henry Kissinger were getting our troops killed by the thousands. I guess this little 110-pound woman made a much easier target for these damn hypocrites than McNamara and Kissinger. At least Kissinger didn't pretend he cared about these kids he was getting slaughtered. "Military Men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy." -Henry Kissinger
Really interesting book........2007-07-07
This book was really good, it started a little slow, and it climaxed really fast. It was like I started reading it and then all of a sudden it was over. It was definitly a good book though, all kinds of cool little stories.
Action.......2007-06-27
This is a great action book with ambushes, attacks, etc. The Killing Zone shows what it was like to live and fight in Vietnam. This was a very great read, it kept me reading it every night as much as I could.
vietnam.......2007-06-12
this book is such a waste of time, it tells you only the point of view of one's man ego and his denial of america's defeat by the north vietnamese. throughout the whole war,the u.s miltary only rely on body counts for there victory ,hoping the north vietnamese would fear the u.s army and surrender ,but in the end ,they were wrong ,the nva and viet cong were determine to fight to the death.
face it,even though the u.s military won many battles,the united states lost the war and retreated . the whole world is aware of this defeat but only some american citizen like this author denies this.
many of the vc casualty are infact innocent civilians ,that the u.s military has covered up by placing nva /vc uniforms and weapons on dead civilians ,then taking photographic pictures of it.
the united states gain nothing from the war ,with 60,000 + dead u.s soldiers ,thousands m.i.a (s) ,150,000 billion dollars down the drain ,over 100,000 seriously injured soldiers including amputees (missing legs,arms , body parts) ,and handicaps ,torn the country apart during the 60's and 70's ,fail to stop communism,fail to protect south vietnam,fail to stop an army that is 10 time smaller then u.s army,and fail to justified the war in rightious context,basically the united states gave up and retreated.
the north vietnamese suffered high casualty by fighting u.s army,australian army ,arvn army,south korean army,and new zealand all by them self ,but fighting to regain there country for a better vietnam in the future was a well justified reason to die just like anyother civil war (compared this to american civil war casualties).
so one's man ego and his obsession of denial will not change the world's view on why people should think who really won the war,everybody knows who won this war,and media wasnt wrong at all.
5 Stars........2007-03-12
This effort is one of the better accounts of the Vietnam War. It's interesting, well-written, and the accounts are plausible and intelligently reported.
Book Description
The glorious saga of the most celebrated legion of the early Roman Empire
In Nero's Killing Machine, the second in the author's definitive histories of the legions of ancient Rome, Stephen Dando-Collins brings the 14th Legion to vivid life. Drawing upon thirty-two years of research, he traces the legion's steps as they were wiped out while in the army of Julius Caesar, then reformed only to be savaged again. For decades the men of the 14th would struggle to regain their lost status, slowly climbing back to glory and eventually making a legendary stand against Britain's Queen Boudicca, vastly outnumbered but determined to go down fighting with honor. Uncovering new information about the legionnaires' lives and Roman military practices, Nero's Killing Machine is military history at its finest.
Praise for Caesar's Legion
"A unique and splendidly researched story, following the trials and triumphs of Julius Caesar's Legio X--arguably the most famous legion of its day--from its activation to the slogging battle of Munda and from Thapsus, Caesar's tactical masterpiece, to the grim siege of the Jewish fortress of Masada. More than a mere unit account, it incorporates the history of Rome and the Roman army at the height of their power and gory glory. Many military historians consider Caesar's legions the world's most efficient infantry before the arrival of gunpowder. This book shows why. Written in readable, popular style, Caesar's Legion is a must for military buffs and anyone interested in Roman history at a critical point in European civilization."
--T. R. Fehrenbach, author of This Kind of War, Lone Star, and Comanches
Customer Reviews:
It could have been good, BUT...........2007-06-14
But I was very annoyed by author's decision to use modern American military ranks instead of Roman ones. What prompted it I have no idea. Did he think it would make it more understandable for readers? Except which readers? I mean, don't you have to be at least somewhat interested in Roman history to decide to go and read a whole book on one particular legion? And if you are somewhat interested, I am fairly certain that terms - centurion, legate, legion, cohort, etc. do not confuse you!
I don't know about other readers, but personally for me this "replacement" made impossible to enjoy what otherwise would have been a very interesting read... I had read and liked Collins' book on Legio X (where author used proper terminology!), that's why I bought this book. I considered purchasing the next installment (about Legio VI), but decided against it. I just know, it will nug me again every time I'll read about brigadier general or lieutenant colonel walking around in crested helmets...
Other comments: worse book than previous one, though certainly this one is as good (maybe better) read.
very good read because has good and vivid descriptions of battles (Rebellion in Britain under Queen Baudicca being especially interesting).
Worse book because on more than few occasions when there is a gap in historical data about Legio XIIII, author fills us in what was going on in Rome in general, or tells us about exploits of other legions and makes assumption how Legio XIIII would have reacted to the news... There are probably thousands of books about Roman history - if your niche is to tell the story of one legion (BTW: great idea!), stick to it! I don't need to learn from this book a wikipedia version of Roman history of several decades...
The XX Legion would be jealous........2007-01-13
Mister Collins has done a very good job at telling the full history of the famous XIV Legion. Anyone can write a detailed history, with a little research and some discipline, but to use grave stones and other remains as a flash back into the personal lives of the participants, is extraordinary. The Roman's lived in such a remarkable, we should study them more to make ours better. This book is a must for the serious reader on Roman history.
Nero's Killing Machine.......2006-11-05
He makes the usual American mistake of calling the Roman legionaries as Legionares. Legionares serve in the French Foreign Legion.
A Roman Legion Comes to Life.......2006-04-11
Once again, author Stephen Dando-Collins demonstrates his exceptional writing talents. This book is his second account of a Roman legion; in this case, the 14th. He follows this Legion through its long and glorious history. Along the way, he describes in vivid detail its participation in battles against "Herman" the German and Queen Boudicca. These include the famous Battle of Watling Street where the Legion succeeded in defeating a British force that outnumbered it 23 t o 1. In addition to these many battles, the book also provides insight into the day to day life of a Roman soldier. The mundane administrative facts of running an army, such as recruitment, pay, retention, and discharge, are discussed in both a clear and entertaining fashion.
The greatest asset of this book, however, is the author's ability to tell history in a manner that is entertaining. This book is an easy read. The pace is quick and the reader will not want to put it down. The author provides the detail necessary to understand the story without getting bogged down in minutia. The more scholarly readers will be glad to see that the author lists all his sources in an appendix. The book also contain a handy glossary of well recognized Roman terms. Bottom line: This is an historically accurate work of non-fiction. Nevertheless, it reads like a fast paced novel. Good writing is difficult but Dando-Collins makes it look easy.
14th Legion.......2006-03-16
A very readable well researched book. A must read for anyone interested in Roman history.
Book Description
Is the United States a force for democracy? In this classic and unique volume that answers this question, William Blum serves up a forensic overview of U.S. foreign policy spanning sixty years. Remarks from the previous edition: "Far and away the best book on the topic."-Noam Chomsky "A valuable reference for anyone interested in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy."- Choice "I enjoyed it immensely."-Gore Vidal "The single most useful summary of CIA history."-John Stockwell "Each chapter I read makes me more and more angry."-Helen Caldicott "A very useful piece of work, daunting in scope, important."-Thomas Powers, author and Pulitzer Prize--winning journalist "A very valuable book. The research and organization are extremely impressive."-A.J. Langguth, author and former New York Times bureau chief For those who want the details on our most famous -actions (Chile, Cuba, Vietnam, to name a few), and for those who want to learn about our lesser-known efforts (France, China, Bolivia, Brazil, for example), this book provides a window on what our foreign policy goals really are. William Blum is the author of Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower .
Customer Reviews:
The Best Reference Out.......2007-08-13
The book does a great job showing the irony in the double-standards the US has used in its foreign policy since WWII, as State department officials confessed to (shown in the last chapter). This also makes for a more entertaining read than most other books on the topic. All together though, the book's use of these contradictions are just used to propel a central idea the author has, as stated in his introduction - that the communist threat was largely imagined, either intenionally at times or unintentionally, and that the US media failed to rationalize the discrepancies of state doctrines. So, if you believe this, you'll enjoy the book, otherwise, you'll find it a "worthless left-wing propanganda."
The book does take for granted a large degree of knowledge by the reader. That is, the author only explains US activities (as the book's title plainly states) in particular regions, but general history between time periods and other nations' influences are usually omitted. So if your history isn't up to par it may be a little confusing keeping track of changing foreign attitudes and policies.
Worthless Left-Wing Propaganda.......2007-04-09
I'm sorry to say that I actually spent money on this! I had thought of returning it but I didn't want to allow these misconstrued fantasies to be further spread so I destroyed it. It's sad that the author used biased references and half truths to support his position. As a retired USAF military member I'm ashamed to think that I protected his rights for over twenty years. If he's so against the U.S why doesn't he leave this country and go peddle his stories somewhere else.
Essential Reference, Some Warts.......2007-02-18
Over-all, this is a very precious book, and an essential reference on the history of US intervention, both military and clandestine or covert.
As a former Marine Corps infantry office and former clandestine services case officer, and as an avid reader of non-fiction, I will gladly state on the record that this author has it largely right.
I took off one star because the book has NOT been properly updated. The list of U.S. military interventions still ends in 1945, only the the CIA assassination plot list has been updated.
There are other books that complement this one--everything by Noam Chomspky, Derek Leebaert's "The Fifty-Year Wound," Chalmers Johnson on "Sorrows of Empire," Robert McNamara et al, "Wilson's Ghost," the DVD "Why We Fight," Ambassador Palmer's "The Real Axis of Evil" (on the 45 dictators we SUPPORT), and--with respect to the ignorance of America about reality, the two books, "Fog Facts," and "Lost History." See also Marine General Smedley Butler's short but hard-hitting work, "War is a Racket."
While I take the author with a grain of salt and do not appreciate his collaboration with Phil Agee, who betrayed his oaths to the US, whatever his reasons, on balance this book is an essential reference for anyone who wishes to understand why the rest of the world is beginning to conclude that we are the worst of all evils in our foreign policy behavior and misbehavior.
Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy
The Fifty-Year Wound: How America's Cold War Victory Has Shaped Our World
The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project)
Wilson's Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing, and Catastrophe in the 21st Century
Why We Fight
Breaking the Real Axis of Evil: How to Oust the World's Last Dictators by 2025
War Is a Racket: The Anti-War Classic by America's Most Decorated General, Two Other Anti=Interventionist Tracts, and Photographs from the Horror of It
Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth'
Fog Facts : Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin (Nation Books)
Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq
What every American should know about reality.......2006-11-13
"The greatest purveyor of violence on Earth is my own government." Martin Luther King Jr.
This is still true in 2006.
Killing Hope has nothing to do with wacko conspiracy theories. It's history. Untold, untaught history--but fact, not fiction.
"Read the history of the place where you're living/and stop letting corporate news teach lies to your children." Immortal Technique
This book is an encyclopedia of the terrorism, assassinations, and covert wars the US government has committed around the world since WWII. Other reviewers will undoubtedly deny this books factuality. In fact, Mr. Blum. a former CIA station chief, fought an extensive legal battle with the CIA over his right to publish it. The court's decision was to allow publishing, but that the proceeds of all sales would be given to the CIA! So, as Mr. Blum says, don't buy this book, borrow it from a friend or a library.
WHY DOES THE REST OF THE WORLD HATE US (except for the world's wealthy elite)? This book helps dispell the myths of "islamic fascism," "anti-americanism," and other lies that perport to explain those that oppose the US government and the corporations it serves. Unlike what you hear on FOX News, those who oppose US global dominance DO have good reasons. Usually it's because our government tortures and murders their families.
What HOPE is the US Govt. and the world's wealthy elite trying to KILL? The threat of a good example alternative to unbridled capitalism (iow nothing in life has value unless a dollar amount can be attached to it). Ever wondered what Washington has against poor, unthreatening Cuba? Or why the US supports brutal dictatorships around the world (Columbia, Saudia Arabia, Pakistan etc.), and opposes genuine democracies (Venezuela, France). Or how about why Americans have been taught to oppose universal health care, or free university education (hint, these ideas make people more important than profit).
For those who claim to be history buffs, I challenge you to read this. You don't know squat about modern history unless you understand the episodes described in this book.
Read this to understand why the population of the US must learn to think for themselves, before "our" government destroys the world for profit. Make no mistake, the survival of humanity, and certainly our prospects for peace and happiness depend upon the American public not continuing down the road first trod by the "good Germans."
The giant should remain strong no matter what........2006-09-26
I read this book and it confirmed my feelings that USA, as the only super power, should ALWAYS remain STRONG.
The book is composed of some 400 pages full of critiques as if the author wanted America to be the haven of saints when the world has been full of crocodiles, for instance the introduction brings about a fair resume of the author's intentions
How!
In the Introduction I came across a passage which I hereby quote `''It was in the early days of the Vietnam War that a Vietcong officer said to his American prisoner _' You were our heroes after the war, and a common phrase in those days was `'to be as rich and as wise as an American'' - What happened `''.
The title `Killing Hope' - updated edition 2004 - by William Blum, and many of the contents are indeed offensive to the USA because it speaks about U.S military and C.I.A 'interventions' since World War II and endeavours to portray them as the bad guys.
C.I.A (USA) intervensions?
Didn't such 'intervension' save many countries that now live under the 'shades' of democracies, in Europe and the Far East (Japan) enjoying unprecedented richness and prosperity, with a high standard of living for their nationals.
As one individual out of six billion living on this planet, do I blame the USA for protecting the interest of its citizens.
USA is The World Giant and one has to learn how to convince them of one's view points , rather than garrulously defy them with boring speeches and empty written words.
Amazon.com
Dith Pran, the Cambodian photojournalist portrayed by Haing S. Ngor in The Killing Fields, compiled this collection of eyewitness accounts to the genocide perpetrated by Pol Pot's regime from 1975 to 1979. All of the survivors who recount their stories here were children when the Khmer Rouge took power, and the horrific images from a time when an estimated third of the Cambodian population died of disease, starvation, and execution remain fixed in their minds to this day.
The bleakness of evil made commonplace permeates these testaments. "There was a man who was friends with a woman, and they had a friendly chat under a tree," one woman writes. "Pol Pot saw them and accused them of having an affair... Pol Pot tied them up on a cross and then told everyone to watch the couple being questioned and hit. The lady was pregnant and was hit until she lost the baby and died. The man was also beaten to death." As Cambodians struggle to rebuild their lives and nation, books such as this make sure that they--and we--will never forget the depths from which they have been forced to rise.
Customer Reviews:
How did the world let this happen?.......2006-05-01
This is one of the most powerful books I have read. The writing may not be the greatest. After all it is not a novel; it is a composition of the stories of Cambodians that have survived horrendous atrocities. Before we blame the U.S. we must realize that The U.N. and the rest of the world failed to take action as well. Would the public have supported sending troops into a situation similar to Vietnam? Is Burma the next killing field? We still ignore similar circumstances that are occurring as I type this review.
Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields: Memoirs by Survivors.......2004-01-21
This book of memoirs is deeply moving with one eulogy to a mother which I will never forget. It brought me to tears and crying out loud. Books such as these should be read by our youth before they enlist in the armed services. Naive Americans such as Jessica Lynch might not be so swept up by the manipulative promises of military recruiters if they became more informed before they enlist.
Excellent.......2003-03-31
This is a good introduction for anyone who wants to learn about life under the Khmer Rouge. The stories may be different, but they all provide a vivid detail of children struggling to survive Pol Pot's regime.
Stories of the soul.......2003-01-19
I read a lot of books Cambodia. This is yet another collection of stories about people who survived the holocaust. My heart is always touched by such stories. These types of books are always similar even though the stories are specific to individuals there are common themes. If you are interested in more personal accounts there are 2 others which I would recommend. "When Broken Glass Floats," and "First They Killed My Father."
A sad story........2002-01-14
These are the collected accounts of children who suffered untold atrocities under the Pol Pot regime such as torture, rape, starvation, beating, and killing. People were buried alive or thrown into a pot and cooked like fish or poultry. Others had their gallbladders and liver removed to serve as meals for the Khmer Rouge.
This is the story of a revolution going haywire and of ruthless men who, in the name of distorted and senseless ideologies, inflicted pain, fear, terror, and death on their countrymen.
Power not backed by strong moral values could only lead to barbarism.
Book Description
When certified nutritionist Janet Hull became gravely ill, she discovered aspartame poisioning was to blame for her life threatening sickness. Her investigation revealed disturbing facts about aspartame hidden from the public since the 1970's — including documents contradicting product safety and the fact that aspartame was originally approved as a drug — not a food additive. She tells her story and the experiences of others and unveils startling evidence of a cover-up.
Customer Reviews:
It's really true!.......2007-03-16
I changed over to diet Coke and diet Dr. Pepper about a year ago to try and loose weight.
At first I continued to loose weight and all was well...
But then my weight loss stopped, and I started having a hard time concentrating. I thought I was just getting older when I started having trouble seeing at night. Then I noticed I started dropping things and bumping into walls etc. And I started having headaches.
I didn't think it could have anything to do with the aspartame in the soft drinks I was consuming even though I was up to about two liters of soda a day.
Then I talked with our Pastors wife who had almost died from aspartame poisioning and she said you need to stop right away.
I felt really bad the first two days of not drinking or consuming any aspartame products. Plus I wasn't consuming any cafeeine either. I was going to bed and sleeping for 16 hours.
But in the next three days I started feeling clearer headed and just better all around. My night vision is coming back every day and I no longer drop things.
Must Read Book!.......2007-03-08
Everyone should read this book and understand the dangers of aspertame. It is far worse than people realize. I have stopped using any foods or drinks with it in, and I know I feel better, and have less headaches. A book for everyone!
Very helpful, worth the read........2006-08-03
I was having thryoid problems after my second daughter was born. I was drinking Diet Dr. Pepper for an energy boost every day. This book caught my attention because of the author's thryoid disfunction. I read the book and stopped using aspartame.
My hair is no longer falling out, and my engergy and thryoid levels are back to normal.
My 3 year old daughter is epileptic, and several months before reading this book her seizures took a sudden turn for the worst. She started having 15-30 seizures a day, and even had 2 grand mal seizures. I was terrified by the increase in seizure activity and wondered what had caused the change.
Reading about how aspartame can cause seizures/grand mal seizures, I checked the vitamins I was giving my daughter.
Because it was fall, and I wanted her to be healthy during cold and flu season,I had started giving her several fruit flavored vitamin c chewables and 1 chewable multi vitamin. Checking the labels I discovered they all had aspartame as an ingredient.
It was hardly coincidence when I realized the increase in seizures was around the same time I started these vitamins. I threw out both bottles. It has been 6 months and my daughter has not had another grand mal seizure, and her seizures dropped from 15-30 a day down to 0-3 on a typical day. I was also able to drop 2 of her 3 seizure medications.
Aspartame is very dangerous, I had no idea.
Aspartame: The Poison They Don't Want You To Know About.......2006-01-07
For the past 2 years or so I had been feeling worse and worse as time went on. Headaches, neurological symptoms such as losing feeling in my arm and face, and the scariest of all, I was having trouble thinking straight. I really was beginning to feel like a different person and there were times that I felt like I was going insane.
Am I exaggerating?? I really wish I was, but sadly that was not the case. After speaking with my primary care doctor several times and having had tests done, I noticed that my symptoms improved at times, but nothing significant. I tried to put my finger on what the problem was, and one day while doing a search online, I found that some people who chewed Orbit gum were complaining of symptoms similar to mine. I had been chewing sugarless gum for years, and I never thought twice that what I was chewing could be hurting my body, potentially for the long term. After reading more, I immediately stopped using all products with aspartame/Nutrasweet/Equal and within a few short weeks I started feeling better.
During my initial research regarding the link between aspartame and the symptoms I was experiencing, I stumbled upon the book "Sweet Poison" by Janet Starr Hull, the story of how she found out that aspartame was the cause of her very own health problems and her research behind how this original ulcer drug got into nearly every type of food we eat every day.
Hull's story is very interesting, and anyone that wants to find out more about the story of how aspartame got into the United States food supply would be able to probably pick some bit of relevant information from this text, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out how sloppy the writing is. It's really a shame, because you get the point that the author really does care about educating the masses, but she would have been so better off if she had more people edit this book before it was published.
My favorite parts of this book relate to the story of the shady way in which aspartame got on the shelves of supermarkets around the country and how it probably should have been stopped long, long ago. It's just a sad realization that the corporations control America and it's not a new trend. The original fights to get aspartame FDA approved date back to the 1970s, and through loopholes and political tricks that is exactly what happened in the 1980s.
If you want to learn more about the history of aspartame and the story of an individual that had an adverse reaction to this drug, this is a nice read but it's very sloppy. Sometimes you will get done reading a paragraph and just say to yourself that the writing is outright POOR.
Some people will read this book and just say it's a bunch of hogwash and they have never had a bad reaction to a diet soda, but I can tell you from personal experience that this chemical CAN cause major problems so buyer beware.
In the battle between calories and chemicals, I'll take the calories, at least I can pronounce sugar more easily than many of the chemicals you see when you turn the label over of far too many foods that are purchased every single day.
*** RECOMMENDED
Here's a thought..........2005-10-24
Hmmmm- just as a wild off the cuff idea before you get too wrapped up in the author's opinions, why not just drink water? I haven't heard of too many people becoming ill from it - unless they're drowning, of course.
Amazon.com
Reinhard Heydrich was one of Hitler's most ruthless Nazis. In addition to heading the occupation of Czechoslovakia, he was a leading architect of the Holocaust. There was even talk of his one day succeeding Hitler. For these reasons and others, he became a target--and ultimately the victim--of Allied special operations. This compelling book by English author Callum MacDonald is a skillful, journalistic retelling of a story that would make a solid espionage novel. It begins with a brief sketch of Heydrich--a handsome, violin-playing villain. His fierce anti-Semitism apparently was an emblem of self-hatred; all his life he was bewitched by the knowledge that some of his ancestors may have been Jewish. The bulk of the book turns to the assassination itself, from its planning stages in Britain, to the nighttime airdrop of the conspirators, to their arrangements in Prague, to the nearly botched event itself. Following Heydrich's death, which Hitler compared to losing a battle, the assassins eluded a massive manhunt. Sympathetic priests had hidden them in a Greek Orthodox Church. Despite the success of their mission, their story does not have a happy ending--the Nazis eventually learned of their whereabouts, and the book climaxes with their bloody last stand in the church crypt. This is an outstanding tale of evil, intrigue, and heroism. --John J. Miller
Customer Reviews:
Assassination of Heydrich.......2007-01-24
Very detailed and thorough with a good overview of the events leading to the assassination. Too repetitious of the political motivations of Benes, et al in London. Terminology is confusing for the reader new to this material, but helpful index in the back to all the abbreviations. Overall very interesting read. To those traveling to Prague the church crypt is open to the public for a small fee with small museum and self-guided tour, complete with machine gun bullet holes on outside of church.
The killing of a monster........2005-08-17
If there was ever a face of evil, then it had to be Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Hitler. Hitler once said about Heydrich that he had a heart of iron. Reinhard was sadistic and was the architect of the Final Solution. This was no man with a humane touch, he was in short a monster. The Czech government in exile and the British sent this man to where he belonged at a terrible cost.
The book details the plot to kill Heydrich. Surprisely, the murder and details took up perhaps three to four chapters, with the rest of the book dealing with internal Czech politics and how the government balanced between the English and Soviets. There was some good information on the wartime policies of Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic) and the government in exile under Benes in England.
The world was a better place without Heydrich. A short biography is included in the writing, and it shows Heydrich in all his bloody lust. His own killing was because he had so much contempt for the Czechs. He and his driver were the only ones on the road, and the killers had a big target, especially when Heydrich told the driver to stop when he saw the guerillas. This was truly an evil man.
The book is a nice read. It details the bio of Reinhard, plus the detail of plot and murder, and finally the end of those who killed Heydrich. A good book.
The Assassination of Heydrich recounted in detail.......2005-07-25
Reinhard Heydrich was a horrible Nazi. Tall. Blonde. Amoral.A killer whose convening of the Wannssee Conference in early 1942 began the implementation of the plan to destroy European Jewry;
the Butcher Boy of Czechoslovakia who ruled from a castle in
Prague. This repulsive human being was assassinated in May,
1942 by daring Czech patriots who attacked his car with a bomb
and a sten gun!
Reprisals following Heydrich's death were horrific leading
to mass arrests and the wiping off the map of the village of
Lidice.
The brave men who plotted the murder of Heydrich were martyrs to Czech freedom whose names as sons of liberty should never be forgotten.
The late author Macdonald examines how the assassination was planned among Czech exiles in London; the politcal and strategic repercussions of the assassination and the fate of the families of those responsible for the assassination are reported.
The book would make a marvelous thriller espionage motion picture with its picture of parachutists landing in occupied
Czech,; daring escapes; the final showdown to the death in a large Prague church and the daring daytime attack on Hedyrich's
car.
In the unholy pantheon of Nazi monsters the name of Heydrich is today little known among the general public. This chief lt. to Himmler is however emblematic of the Nordic evil incarnate of fascism.
This book will prove interesting to the World War II buff and
the general reader interested in the period. Good!
A gripping story about bravery.......2005-06-24
I suppose MacDonald has written the ultimate book on Heydrich's assassination because there's not much more to tell. The book covers the German entrance into Czechoslovakia, Heydrich rise to the SS-top and the ideas of the Czech government in exile. Only in the final part the actual assault takes place, but by this time the reader has good knowledge of all the circumstances.
This gripping story never let's go and is a tribute to all of those who stood up against Nazi evil, personified in Heydrich, and especially to the brave Czechs carrying this action out. The only option to improve this read is to publish it in a more worthy edition: the font looks a bit old and the pictures, which seem to show a lot, are blurred. But don't let this prevent you from reading it!
excellent book.......2003-09-24
This is an excellent book for people exploring the dedicated and intelligent Nazi known as the "Butcher of Prague." It looks at Heydrich and his career through the German military and the Nazi ranks and eventually leading up to his assassination. This is a small book but a very good one. I recommend it to anyone interested in exploring the monster and "ideal Nazi" Reinhard Heydrich.
Book Description
Is the United States a Force for Democracy? From China in the 1940s to Guatemala today, William Blum provides the most comprehensive study of the ongoing American holocaust. Covering U.S. intervention in more than 50 countries, KILLING HOPE describes the grim role played by the U.S. in overthrowing governments, perverting elections, assassinating leaders, suppressing revolutions, manipulating trade unions and manufacturing "news."
Customer Reviews:
William Blum: Killing Hope.......2007-03-20
I was very skeptical about this book, but it was the only comprehensive thing I could find on the topic of American interventionism/imperialism, so I bought it. It turns out I was right to be skeptical: the book is more than a little biased. The author's emotional rhetoric is extremely annoying (one chapter is titled, "'F*** Your Laws and Your Constitution' Said the President of the United States"....but when you read the chapter it becomes clear that this isn't a real quote, just the author's attempt at summarizing what he believes is the attitude of the U.S. toward other countries.) Don't get me wrong, I definitely believe there is a moral dimension to America's interventionist policies. However, I'd like to draw those conclusions on my own, rather than letting the author of a book draw them for me. So on that note, here are a couple of more scholarly/less biased alternatives for studying this crucial (but neglected) topic:
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
by Stephen Kinzer (Author)
American Adventurism Abroad: 30 Invasions, Interventions, and Regime Changes since World War II (Hardcover)
by Michael J. Sullivan
Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA (Hardcover)
by Prados John (Author)
And for a historical perspective that goes back a little further:
Dangerous Nation (Hardcover)
by Robert Kagan
Manifest Destiny's Underworld: Filibustering in Antebellum America (Paperback)
by Robert E. May
If you like Chomsky..........2006-01-24
...You'll love this guy, because he's obviously a student and will continue the Chomsky tradition. Like Chomsky, he ignores anything good that comes of America policy (when he admits it he implies that it was an accident) and ignores anything bad that anyone else does - including Communist governments and other totalitarian governments or dictatorships.
Like Chomsky he insinuates a lot and twists the truth around, leaving things out and implicating rather than stating things upfront as a good historian would. This way he doesn't have to back anything up directly or prove any point or any assumption. Like Chomsky, he implies that because one American administration worked with another government during a certain period (eg during WWII) and then another fought against that administration (eg the Soviet Union or its allies) once the war was over, this must mean that the US is either hypocritical and untrustworthy or must have alternative motives. Neither Blum nor Chomsky could spell this out and expect very many readers to agree, but they can certainly insinuate and hope to convince the reader that he should be more skeptical of such a two-faced government as that of the US.
Like Chomsky, Blum leaves out any potentially moral reason for the US to fight an enemy. If the reason is to fight communism, he makes clear that he sees no morality and no security reason connected to it. For example, regarding US involvement in Vietnam Blum says:
"To the Truman administration, the prospect of another Communist government in Asia was intolerable."
But does he ever say why? Does he mention the millions killed by Communism? Does he mention the expansionist (really Imperialist) policies of the Soviet Union? The repression, famines and brutal governance, the spread of oppression, the threat that these Communist governments presented? He does not.
There may be some truth to some of the facts cited, many are twisted but some may be true; however no historian would take the book seriously because it is very clear that the author is not only biased as an individual writer, but he has biased his research to the point of being willing to leave out vast evidence that directly undermines many of his assertions and he has not outlined his assertions or assumptions in such a way as to allow others to test them, counter them or even quote and question them.
If you are looking for a polemic against America, this book will do. If you are looking for a rant full of assertions that you can research yourself and expose as lies, this is a great choice. If you are looking for serious, well researched historical reading, this is not your book. By the way, Osama Bin Laden just recommended a William Blum book to his followers! Talk about your scholarly reviews.
Great Book, Even if you Disagree.......2005-09-18
What conservatives and liberals are categorically guilty of is not reading literature that doesn't agree with their political opinions, that doesn't get mentioned in their political circles, in short; that isn't politically 'hip' to read. I wish more conservatives would read this book and ones like it, I for one actually read the literature of their movement. This book is especially good for young students who wish to have a companion document to their biased history textbooks.
The reader from Idaho..........2003-08-18
...is infuriating until it becomes clear that he/she is being ironic. It seems 18 people either realize that or agree with some deliberately outrageous beliefs.
Not a Conspiracy Theorist.......2003-07-24
A fact cannot be modified, but it can be
problematised--that is, put under analysis.
William Blum's "Killing Hope" takes the Cold-
War foreign policy of the US and upends
conventional apologies and justifications
for a rather ruthless campaign to stamp
out the ideology that most threatened
American dominance in the world: communism.
Though I met Blum and can attest that he
is no communist, like any decent American he
hates liars. His book exposes lies. Once
an idealistic career servant at the State
Department, Blum turned whistle-blower
after becoming morally nauseated at the
bagful of lies that launched the country
on its disastrous adventure in Vietnam.
"Killing Hope" is an encyclopedic catalogue
of Washington's lies, misdeeds, and subversions
of democracy all over the globe--mostly
carried out in complete secrecy from the
American people. From Chile to China,
Blum shows that "freedom and democracy"
in foreign lands were never primary goals
of US foreign policy but the propaganda
cover for domination and control. Were
this a required book in all US high-school
history books, American youth could
hardly be lining up to serve in wars
that are carried out for exactly
the opposite motives from the stated ones.
In Iraq today, 145,000 soldiers, who went
to fight to liberate Iraq, are finding
out that Iraqis do not thank them for their
sacrifice. Lied to and misused, they often
find this out at the end of a bullet that
strikes them down. To historians like
Blum, this manipulation of American trust is
a crime. His book is, among other things,
a passionate dedication to truth--
and he's not making it up, either.
Declassified government documents are the major
source of his thesis!
Books:
- Knight in Shining Armor: Discovering Your Lifelong Love
- Legends of Dune Trilogy [Box Set] - (The Butlerian Jihad/The Machine Crusade/The Battle of Corrin)
- Life, the Universe and Everything (Hitchhiker's Trilogy)
- LL Cool J's Platinum Workout: Sculpt Your Best Body Ever with Hollywood's Fittest Star
- Magic's Price (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 3)
- Magic Tree House Boxed Set 2, Books 5-8: Night of the Ninjas, Afternoon on the Amazon, Sunset of the Sabertooth, and Midnight on the Moon
- Mastering Elliot Wave: Presenting the Neely Method: The First Scientific, Objective Approach to Market Forecasting with the Elliott Wave Theory (version 2)
- Me Talk Pretty One Day
- Old Man's War
- Pimsleur Portuguese (Brazilian) I, II and III (Comprehensive) with Audiofy USB Reader (Audiofy Digital Audiobook Chips)
Books Index
Books Home
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- 500 Greatest Albums of All Times, The
- Design for Six Sigma : A Roadmap for Product Development
- Arguing About War
- Toasts with the Inca: Andean Abstraction and Colonial Images on Quero Vessels
- Their Blood Runs Cold: Adventures With Reptiles and Amphibians
- Tver Oblast Investment & Business Guide
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Doctor Dealer: The Rise and Fall of an All-American Boy and His Multimillion-Dollar Cocaine Empire
Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
Drug Lords: The Rise And Fall Of The Cali Cartel, the World's Richest Crime Syndicate
BLOW: How a Small-Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All
