Book Description
New York Times columnist Frank Rich examines the trail of fictions manufactured by the Bush administration from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina, exposing the most brilliant spin campaign ever waged.
When America was attacked on 9/11, its citizens almost unanimously rallied behind its new, untested president as he went to war. What they didn't know at the time was that the Bush administration's highest priority was not to vanquish Al Qaeda but to consolidate its own power at any cost. It was a mission that could be accomplished only by a propaganda presidency in which reality was steadily replaced by a scenario of the White House's own invention-and such was that scenario's devious brilliance that it fashioned a second war against an enemy that did not attack America on 9/11, intimidated the Democrats into incoherence and impotence, and turned a presidential election into an irrelevant referendum on macho imagery and same-sex marriage.
As only he can, acclaimed New York Times columnist Frank Rich delivers a step-by-step chronicle of how skillfully the White House built its house of cards and how the institutions that should have exposed these fictions, the mainstream news media, were too often left powerless by the administration's relentless attack machine, their own post-9/11 timidity, and an unending parade of self-inflicted scandals (typified by those at The New York Times). Demonstrating the candor and conviction that have made him one of our most trusted and incisive public voices, Rich brilliantly and meticulously illuminates the White House's disturbing love affair with "truthiness," and the ways in which a bungled war, a seemingly obscure Washington leak, and a devastating hurricane at long last revealed the man-behind-the-curtain and the story that had so effectively been sold to the nation, as god-given patriotic fact.
Customer Reviews:
Too much sarcasm.......2007-09-10
Too much sarcasm from start to finish. It's a far-left view of the Bush administration where author Frank Rich seems to be visibly upset at any Republican administration. He uses references to Jon Stewart's, The Daily Show along with Saturday Night Live numerous times to back his opinions on current political events. In my view, an author of his age background and experience should not have written this farcical, liberal montage of jabs at the office of the President of the United States. Better luck next time Frank.
BRAVO!! Succinct yet complete, and thoroughly absorbing........2007-08-23
By his piece-by-piece dismantling of the façade that is the Bush administration, Rich offers the most plausible and perhaps definitive explanation of Bush-Cheney-Rove & Co.'s rush to war, leaving an unparalleled trail of destruction - Manhattan, New Orleans, Iraq, our constitution and civil liberties, our treasury, our international prestige, and perhaps our way of life - so massive in scope we may never recover from the hubris, deception, cynicism, incompetence, and lawlessness wrought by this gang of crooks.
Approximately since LBJ, television has had the effect of focusing then magnifying the character flaws of our presidents, until, appropriately, professional actor Reagan came along and made the camera work for him. With personal guru Rove behind the curtain directing Bush's every move, word, and decision, W. shamelessly honed this skill to big-brother perfection, until the façade could no longer outpace the complete lack of substance - character, wisdom, intellect, ability - beneath. The consequences of Bush being so exceptionally unqualified for the ultimate responsibility he so unlikely attained became too much for even the Wizard to keep up the ruse. And it all came crashing down.
Rich also pays attention to the cultural context - our infinite indulgence for infotainment, the Enron values - that allowed these charlatans to lead us not just into temptation (endless wars, tax cuts and debt that will break us) but infernal damnation.
There's a case for impeachment and conviction on nearly every page. We can sit it out and pray that W. doesn't wreak more devastation before it's all over, or we can impeach him and Cheney now. That's assuming we can evict them both without them taking us down with them. More than Nixon and all the crooks before or since, these guys belong in prison.
Kudos to Rich for a thorough chronicle of our national nightmare since September 2001. Read it and weep for our country and all we've lost.
Hubris Without Limits.......2007-07-22
There can be little doubt that George W Bush is a lightweight. I can say this from a distance as I am not an American but simply an observer of events. It is a great shame that so many people judge America by his actions. This is most unfair. America is so much more than this simpleton.
I read "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" with keen expectations of gaining some insight to the machinations of American political life. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case. This book is very superficial. Even with the benefit of hindsight where we can see events with greater clarity than when they are actually unfolding, Frank Rich sheds little light on matters. This is unfortunate. He was working with such potentially great material.
We all know what a monumental error it was for Bush to land on an aircraft carrier with a "Mission Accomplished" sign in the background. This was hubris of immense proportions. A wiser head would never have been involved in such stupidity. I'm certain earlier presidents would have at least thought twice before going ahead. But not this man. His naivety is without bounds.
Where to now? Iraq seems like a giant vortex. Civil war has been unleashed and outsiders seem to hold no sway. Perhaps it is best to just stand back and let time determine an outcome.
Overall, Frank Rich's book has value only in so far as we are reminded of Bush's mendacity. But do we really need reminding? How could we forget?
Best Yet on Iraq and Bush.......2007-07-14
I've read one book after another in my effort to understand how America has gone so wrong so fast. This is the best, right up there with Fiasco and One Percent Doctrine. I look forward to Rich's next foray of book length and hope he will attack the most important and as yet unanswered question of this era --- in the face of a cheerleading national press corps, how did the American people nevertheless reject this war and its leaders even before Katrina,etc. had disclosed their utter incompetence, stupidity, and disdain for us all.....in the answer to this question lies the future of all that is decent in our nation.....
A Soldier is Surprised When He Wakes Up One Morning.......2007-06-20
Imagine if you were one of several soldiers wounded in the Iraqi war who woke up one morning to find that there was a letter to the editor in your newspaper that supported the war and had your signature on it, but you didn't write that letter, and knew nothing about it.. The letter was written by the PR team in your federal government. Or picture this: President Bush is standing at night in the now brilliantly lit Jackson square in New Orleans talking optimistically about the city. Well at least the square seems lit up nicely so we guess the electricity is back on. The speech ends, the flood lights go off, and the square is plunged into total darkness.
This is a book detailing how the government lied and created propaganda to further their cause in both the war, and in the aftermath of Katrina. It's a fascinating book because it follows a time line that shows clearly how the public comments made by public officials changed over time. In fact there is a 78 page time line appendix in the book that details these morphing statements date by date. The book tells about the fake reporters at press conferences, the fake news columnists, and the fake "news" articles that the government distributed to gullible media. As one government person stated, "we create our own reality." When Specialist Wilson asked Rumsfeld why he and his men didn't have adequate armor Rumsfeld said it was a matter of production and capability. That was a lie that was outed quickly when it was revealed that one supplier, ArmorWorks said it could quickly increase production by 100%. During the battle in Falluja we were told that there were 3000 Iraqi soldiers fighting the battle. Reporters on the scene said that the Iraqi soldiers showed up after the fighting was over, posed in their neat, clean uniforms and departed. Certainly you remember the frequent comments about the thousands of Iraqis that have been trained or are almost completely trained. Somehow they never seem to materialize.
You've probably heard a lot of this stuff, but Mr. Rich brings out the deceit of all the Washington shapeshifters in wonderful - or perhaps the word should be horrible - detail. You see the action flow, and learn about a lot of governmental skullduggery that will make you cringe. It's spellbinding reading.
Book Description
March 2003: The United States invades Iraq.
October 2006: The world finds out why.
What was really behind the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq? As George W. Bush steered the nation to war, who spoke the truth and who tried to hide it? Hubris takes us behind the scenes at the Bush White House, the CIA, the Pentagon, the State Department, and Congress to answer all the vital questions about how the Bush administration came to invade Iraq.
Filled with new revelations, Hubris is a gripping narrative of intrigue that connects the dots between George W. Bush’s expletive-laden outbursts at Saddam Hussein, the bitter battles between the CIA and the White House, the fights within the intelligence community over Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, the startling influence of an obscure academic on top government officials, the real reason Valerie Plame was outed, and a top reporter’s ties to wily Iraqi exiles trying to start a war. Written by veteran reporters Michael Isikoff and David Corn, this is the inside story of how President Bush took the nation to war using faulty and fraudulent intelligence. It is a news-making account of conspiracy, backstabbing, bureaucratic ineptitude, journalistic malfeasance, and, especially, arrogance.
Customer Reviews:
The disastrous results of self-assuredness and deficient critical thinking.......2007-10-03
Michael Isikoff and David Cron have put together a compelling, detailed report of the faulty case for going to war with Iraq. If you want to know the story behind the various pieces of faulty intelligence that the Bush administration used to sell the war, this is the book for you.
This is a great case study for what happens when arrogant self-assuredness is married to deficient critical thinking.
It may very well have turned out that we would have eventually had to go to war with Iraq. But there was no compelling reason to do it at the time we did, and the reasons the Bush administration cited for going to war were all faulty and the information to suggest it was faulty was available all along, just ignored.
A news story rehash.......2007-09-11
Unless you haven't read the newspapers for the last 4 years or so, this book is not worth the effort. A rehash of their and others work.
Bloated book with nothing new to offer.......2007-09-06
This title presents the reader with a basic rehash of public reported on stories regarding the administrations rush to war. After reading it, there was hardly anything new, rather there was a summary of all the events that took place regarding the WMD case and the subsequent investigations.
I have to say that the book made no compelling characters stand out, nor did it make anyone, aside from perhaps Karl Rove seem the bad guy. In fact it's annoying habit of making everyone seem equally guilty serves to cut hard edge out of the book. All in all I kept on reading expecting something new to come up or some succinct revelation to appear yet in the end all we saw was a rebroadcast of old news.
Important Stuff Missing.......2007-08-22
I see this is a best-selling book by two prominent journalists. It is shocking, then, that there is no mention in the book of either the "Downing Street Memo" from July 2002 which documents the fact that Bush, at least as far back is middle of 2002 (and many contend even earlier - when the Bushies came into office in January 2001 - wanting war with Iraq), had decided to go to war with the small details like the "cause" or "justification" for the war to be left up to the spin-meisters and Karl Rove.
Neither is the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) mentioned in the book. The PNAC is the Neo-Con, war-mongering think-tank which had advocated war with Iraq as far back as 1997-98.
It is sad that the Mainstream Media and the journalistic establishment has almost completely ignored the Downing Street Memo and the Project for a New American Century in their coverage and analysis of the Iraq war and the Bush administration. An even better book in this regard is Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild
Atlas Shrugged.......2007-08-15
Whatever you think of Mike Isikoff's ultimate contentions & analysis regarding the adventures of Team Bush in the Middle East, you gotta admit the title is just killer.
Isn't it? HUBRIS. Wow. Just---wow.
No, stay with me on this: think of your worst, most hated Enemy (no silly, I admire your partisanship you Kos-Sack you, but it can't be Bush---at least not for *this* little mind-exercise).
Now imagine that Enemy getting you fired at work, sneaking into your house & introducing the sneaky snake to your wife (or the Great Oscillating Cavern of Tempation to your hubby), then killing your cat, burning your house down, & dancing up and down on the ashes.
Got that in mind? Good: now consider the word you would come up with to describe your Enemy's actions. Got that word in mind? Yes? Now: honestly, would it be 'Hubris'?
Yes? Great! Keep reading.
Isikoff has cobbled together an unsurprising critique of Bush war policy, which centers in on the primary flaw of BUSHIDO: the Bush guys, unlike the Clinton guys, did something against Saddam Hussein and Islamic terrorists. Doing something in America these days---whatever it is---is dangerous. Risky.
This isn't really a nation of big tough he-men risking it all to make the world safe for big-D Democracy anymore: it's more like a bunch of trousered knats spending lotsa time flaunting their Lance Armstrong 'livestrong' love bracelets, cycling around in their girly-girly little tightpants, and jogging.
So as you can see, in the New America(tm), the old-fashioned BUSHIDO was doomed from the start. Isikoff's book is lovingly, brutally detailed, & pretty much supports the contention that Bush should have done absolutely nothing. Maybe lobbed a cruise missile or two 'over there', but that's about it. It's also boring.
But never mind that: if you don't groove on the title, you'll really be down with the cover art. Yeah, buy it for Reservoir Dogs-esque cover art. Dig it. Quentin Tarnantino couldn't have crafted a better shot of the BUSHIDO team ambling down a stretch of Dark Territory into the next big gunfight. You can just about hear the strains of "Little Green Bag" as Condi, W., Rummy, & 'Shotgun Dick' Cheney stride down the Road to pull off that one last Job, or to face down that Bad, Bad Man.
HUBRIS! The old Greek tragic flaw that brought down great heroes, like Oedipus, or Agisthus, or Agamemnon, or Jimmy the Greek.
HUBRIS! Fortunately Curious George's case of hubris isn't quite as nasty as, say, Oedipus, whose version of the old greek disease impelled him to whack Dad, nail Mom, and gouge his eyeballs out.
HUBRIS! But it's bad, evidently, really bad, because now we're mired in the much and quicksand and blood and sludge of Iraq, and the world really hates us, a stark turnaround from the morning of 9/11, when the Nasty Cowboy hadn't invaded anybody and the world loved us all.
Why not just say what you want to say, Isikoff? Why not just call your book "Axxholes"? Why 'Hubris'? Why weaken the whiskey? Why not just come out and say what you think, guys? How about "Dumbaxxes"? Or better still, "Lying Nazi Pigs"? Or better still, "Big Ugly Poopyheads"?
Isikoff brings the same eye for detail found in his book "Uncovering Clinton", back in the day when Isikoff was famous for rooting around in Bill Clinton's underwear drawer and saving fluid samples.
Fortunately, we don't get any stained blue dresses here, but we do get the usual whack-a-Bush talking points: basically 1) the Bush administration either manufactured evidence claiming Saddam had a WMD program; 2) All the Kings Men were either too sycophantic or too incompetent to investigate such claims and 3) consequently, we now find ourselves embroiled in the GREATEST MILITARY DISASTER OF ALL TIME! Yeah.
Anyhoo, though, there are a few mysteries raised by all of this Sturm Und Drang, signifying NICHT. Among them:
1)Alright, Isikoff skirts the line of calling Bush a liar, but only barely: the whole point of "Hubris" is that the Administration knew better---so if it wasn't mendacity they were guilty of, it was close to it. So Bush lied, fine.
But if you accept that---that Bush positively *knew* there were no WMDs in Iraq, and pushed for invasion anyway---then didn't he know the later revelation that Saddam didn't have a WMD program would make him look silly, or mendacious, or both? I mean, if he's gonna lie about the WMD program to begin with, why not have a couple of trusty guys in the black helicopters plant a few nukes on the scene, after the fact?
2)If the yardstick by which our success is measured is largely temporal---that is, our troops are still *there* dangit---then why are we still in Europe, Japan, & Korea? God knows Europe is a total basket-case, Japan is cranking out manga---have you seen that stuff, especially with the tentacles?---and they have Video-gamers Anonymous in Korea, so let's bring AlL the boys home, now!
3)Isn't it a bit of a stretch to contend that Saddam was a WMD virgin, given all the NOOK-lear proms in the region he'd gone too?
I guess that's one mystery too many for me. Poor planning, sure. But Greek Tragedy? I don't think so. I'm for readability, credibility, a touch of nerdability, and truth in advertising: a wonkish analysis would have been just fine in my book.
But from its stupid title, to its mind-bendingly dull writing, to its even duller thesis, to its complete lack of strategic imagination, "Hubris" gets a big fat "F". Or better yet, in the Greek spirit, "P." For Polymachus, Python, or Prometheus, you ask?
None of the above. For "Poop".
JSG
Book Description
Bill O’Reilly is even madder today than when he wrote his last book, The O’Reilly Factor, and his fans love him even more. He’s mad because things have gone from bad to worse in politics, in Hollywood, in every social stratum of the nation. True to its title, The No Spin Zone cuts through all the rhetoric that some of O’Reilly’s most infamous guests have spewed to expose what’s really on their minds, while sharing plenty of his own emphatic counterpoints along the way.
Shining a searing spotlight on public figures from President George W. Bush and Senator Hillary Clinton to the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to his former CBS News colleague Dan Rather, The No Spin Zone is laced with the kind of straight-shooting commentary that has made O’Reilly the voice of middle America’s disenfranchised.
Download Description
On the heels of his runaway New York Times bestseller (more than one million copies in print) Bill O'Reilly delivers another strong dose of no-holds-barred advice for America.
Bill O'Reilly is even madder than when he wrote his mega-bestseller The O'Reilly Factor—and his fans love him even more. He's mad because things have gone from bad to worse, in politics, in Hollywood, in every social stratum in the nation. True to its title, The No Spin Zone cuts through all the rhetoric that some of O'Reilly's most infamous guests have spewed to expose what's really on their minds, while sharing plenty of his own emphatic counterpoints along the way.
Shining a searing spotlight on everyone from Dubya to Susan Sarandon to Chyna to Dick Morris, The No Spin Zone is laced with the kind of straight-shooting commentary that has made O'Reilly the voice of middle America's disenfranchised. Examining Medicare with the same feistiness as the death penalty (which he opposes), The No Spin Zone delivers not only O'Reilly's opinion, but the documented attitudes of the country's movers and shakers as well. It demonstrates just why O'Reilly has become the most successful, the most controversial, the most beloved (by some), and the most disliked (by others) figure in television news today—and a culture hero to tens of millions of everyday Americans. And that's fact, not spin.
"[O'Reilly] is the Real McCoy. He's the best reporter I've seen in years . . . He is smart, well-read, has good values . . . and he is fearless in picking targets."
NEWSDAY
"This explosive anchor can be articulate, bombastic, scornful, witty, iconoclastic, passionate, persuasive, and sarcastic."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"[O'Reilly's] brand of hard-nosed, regular-guy TV talk is here to stay."
NEWSWEEK
"[The No Spin Zone] vibrates with O'Reilly's gruff Irish wit and elbows-on-the-bar social criticism."
ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Customer Reviews:
O'Reilly's Enhanced Transcript,.......2007-10-10
Bill O'Reilly, a television Commentator, shares his criticism of American society today. In this book he includes sixteen different topics where he shares two sides, his views and those of an individual who is deeply involved with the pertinent issue at hand. Thereby leaving us to decide which side of the debate we agree with. Though he does set up each of the topics with commentary. If you have watched Mr. O'Reilly's television show you will recognize all of these debates. Among the relevant issues debated in this book include or are with George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Jesse Jackson, pedophiles, sex, violence, capital punishment, taxes, drugs, and more. Each chapter stands alone, so you do not need to read this book sequentially. Chose a topic that interest you and keep your own score on who won the debate. The book does have some strong language. I bumped it up to 4 stars from three for this is a quick and easy read. So read it and make up your own mind.
no spin zone.......2007-09-20
Bill wrote a great book.No Spine Zone was terrific.My grandma read it to me and explained and answered my questions.
Thanks Bill for a great book.
Tells it like it is!.......2007-07-28
Nothing to do with politics people, just look at what he says. He tells it how it is, not trying to produce well crafted lies in order to make you think he knows what is best for you (libtards) yeah. So if you do not like living here then hop on a raft and paddle to CUBA!! Seriously, if you hate America so much, get to paddling! Bill does not say it is perfect, he just shows how stupid some of these powerful and famous people are. I wish someone would sneeze in Rosie's soup though she is getting annoyed.
YAY! More condescending tones and hipocracy please!.......2007-04-09
I absolutely loved Bill's use of alcohol to aid his research for this book! I think that Mr.O'Reilly is an icon of our time: a working class man who fights for the people. And by people I mean other $2000-suit-wearing, hypocritical conservatives who phone in lewd messages to their co-workers and who somehow still manage to have a show that attracts millions of other sheep every day. He truly has helped me see the light such as informing me about how hip-hop is the worst part of America, even though my original thought was that it might be overpaid douchebags who need to stop complaining about the constitutional cornerstones such as freedom of speech while declaring themselves patriots who fight for the people. Thanks for clearing that up once again Bill. O'Reilly in '08!
Another A+ for O-Reilly.......2007-03-23
Full of insightful information. Even when his critics are quite harsh, he shares positive statements about them as well as offering his perspective on the matter. Highly recommended, but only conservatives will enjoy it. Secular progressives will use it to take quotes out of context and spin them to use against him. Typical M.O. of S-P's.
Amazon.com
In her debut novel, the terrific thriller Spin State, Chris Moriarty melds cutting-edge science with post-cyberpunk fiction and neo-noir suspense to create a complex, believable future inhabited by one of the most intriguing characters in modern science fiction.
Major Catherine Li is a veteran United Nations Peacekeeper in a future of world-nations. Humanity has spread across interstellar space by "jumping": teleportation enabled by quantum physics and a bizarre crystal found only on Compson's World. The jumps destroy memory, so jumpers back up their memories on computer. Despite this precaution, frequent jumpers still lose some memories, a fact that poses a far greater problem for Catherine Li than it does for other Peacekeepers. For Li has a dangerous, potentially deadly secret: she's an illegal clone.
When a UN mission goes awry, Li finds herself shipped on solo duty to Compson's World--her home world, to which she'd vowed never to return. Her mission initially seems simple: to determine if the death of brilliant physicist Hannah Sharifi was a crystal-mining accident or cold-blooded murder. Like Li, Sharifi is a clone--in fact, she's Li's genetic twin. Li swiftly finds herself enmeshed in the intertangled politics of the UN, the multiplanetary corporations, the miners, and the human-created Artificial Intelligences, who have enigmatic agendas of their own. --Cynthia Ward
Book Description
From a stunning new voice in hard science fiction comes the thrilling story of one woman’s quest to wrest truth from chaos, love from violence, and reality from illusion in a post-human universe of emergent AIs, genetic constructs, and illegal wetware...
SPIN STATE
UN Peacekeeper Major Catherine Li has made thirty-seven faster-than-light jumps in her lifetime—and has probably forgotten more than most people remember. But that’s what backup hard drives are for. And Li should know; she’s been hacking her memory for fifteen years in order to pass as human. But no memory upgrade can prepare Li for what she finds on Compson’s World: a mining colony she once called home and to which she is sent after a botched raid puts her on the bad side of the powers that be. A dead physicist who just happens to be her cloned twin. A missing dataset that could change the interstellar balance of power and turn a cold war hot. And a mining “accident” that is starting to look more and more like murder...
Suddenly Li is chasing a killer in an alien world miles underground where everyone has a secret. And one wrong turn in streamspace, one misstep in the dark alleys of blackmarket tech and interstellar espionage, one risky hookup with an AI could literally blow her mind.
Download Description
From a stunning new voice in hard science fiction comes the thrilling story of one woman's quest to wrest truth from chaos, love from violence, and reality from illusion in a post-human universe of emergent AIs, genetic constructs, and illegal wetware...
UN Peacekeeper Major Catherine Li has made thirty-seven faster-than-light jumps in her lifetime -- and has probably forgotten more than most people remember. But that's what backup hard drives are for. And Li should know; she's been hacking her memory for fifteen years in order to pass as human. But no memory upgrade can prepare Li for what she finds on Compson's World: a mining colony she once called home and to which she is sent after a botched raid puts her on the bad side of the powers that be. A dead physicist who just happens to be her cloned twin. A missing dataset that could change the interstellar balance of power and turn a cold war hot. And a mining "accident" that is starting to look more and more like murder...
Suddenly Li is chasing a killer in an alien world miles underground where everyone has a secret. And one wrong turn in streamspace, one misstep in the dark alleys of blackmarket tech and interstellar espionage, one risky hookup with an AI could literally blow her mind.
Customer Reviews:
...But Willing to Give This Author a Chance.......2007-09-30
"Spin State" is a very thought-provoking book about a very possible--indeed probable--future. Set some 400 years ahead, I suspect that much of the technological, sociological, and anthropological settings in the book will occur quite a bit sooner than that. Homo sap will evolve in concert with technology rather than as a consequence of natural history, and I find Chris Moriarty's vision of that future to be both believable and realistic. There are "old humans" in the universe, but there are also gene-selected and technologically-enhanced humans, gene-line crèche-bred humans, and emergent artificial intelligences as well.
How will all of these cognitive entities interact? Probably much as Chris Moriarty describes. Bringing these entities into interaction with each other during the course of a murder investigation was an excellent method of maintaining a present-day human connection while exploring some often dizzying science. I disagree with those reviewers who complained that the characters were flat--I did not sense this at all, and centering the action on a gene-selected-and-technologically-enhanced main character helped bridge the conceptual differences between all of the entities involved. Since each arose from humanity, the essence of humanity remains, interpreted for the reader through subtle gestures and the longings of the highly-modified main character.
So why only three stars? Because the story was very difficult to follow. Moriarty uses simile abundantly, probes deeply into the motivations of the characters, and defines settings in exacting detail, demonstrating a mastery of the art of storytelling. But in weaving technology into the story, Moriarty takes conceptual leaps akin to asking a painter to describe his composition before a single brush stroke has been applied to canvas. And then there were some holes in the greater plot, references to a "dead Earth" when that locale is described to feature prominently in the next book, and the failure to define why a human would allow an artificial intelligence to "shunt" through his body or where that human goes while the "shunting" is taking place.
Nevertheless, I found this to be a compelling story and will give the author a chance to refine these issues in future books.
Good story.......2007-09-17
This is good old fashioned science fiction, by which I mean it introduces new ideas and causes the reader to think. The book is a little too long and some of the secondary characters aren't that well developed. But the main characters are good and the book contains all the twists and plots within plots one could desire.
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-08-12
Too posthuman for you? Tough. All your Bose belong to us.
Firstly, imagine an equilateral triangle, with its base on a flat surface. The top vertex is labelled Greg Egan. The bottom left is Elizabeth Bear. The bottom right is Richard Morgan. Draw a straight line from the top Egan vertex to the base, bisecting it. Travel one third of the way up that line directly towards the top vertex, and that would be about where Chris Moriarty appears to fit in. Fans of that sort of thing should definitely give it a look.
In a situation that is a little similar to that in Dune, one planet is incredibly important to human communication and transportation, as an organic reef-life entity actually grows Bose-Einstein condensates. The Great Barrier Reef is mentioned in comparison in the novel. They are used for some of that handy really quick communication and travel, and are also a non-renewable resource.
The main character here gets in the middle of a lot of vicious competing interests, much like one of Richard Morgan's, and is an outsider woman looked at as a bit of a freak, because she has genetic modifications.
The book is maybe a little long, but the end I think is enough to just scrape it in to 4 territory, especially given the interesting bibliography that she has put together on quantum theory for us.
Certainly a writer to keep an eye on if this is only a first book.
Tedious.......2007-06-23
The book promises a lot, but is really just a Company Town Murder Mystery with a sci-fi setting.
A Little More Character Development.......2007-06-16
This book is well-written, original, and worth any SF fan's time. The main character is in the Cherryh mold--a hard-headed survivor. Tough women are an emerging theme in Sci-Fi, and this is definitely a contribution in that vein, though there *are* a few tender moments and even some sexy ones...though these latter are so intertwined with AI/Other Identity that--for me, at least--passion seems more techno-choreographed than anything else. It is also discreetly presented, in an "R-rated" sort of way.
There *is* a fair amount of ambiguity in some of the interaction and relationships--especially in her crucial relationship to the AI, Cohen. This is simply part of the writer's style and the reality she is presenting; not all is wrapped up and clear...but that in itself makes the story more realistic, as not all in life is tied down and complete.
There are many twists and turns in the plot, so many in fact, that they threaten to become cliches; still, there's no lack of action, and the story line is well-executed, in the main.
Average customer rating:
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Introduction to the Replica Theory of Disordered Statistical Systems (Collection Alea-Saclay: Monographs and Texts in Statistical Physics)
Viktor Dotsenko
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521773407 |
Book Description
This text describes the statistical mechanics of classical spin systems with quenched disorder. The first part covers the physics of spin-glass states using results obtained within the framework of the mean field theory of spin glasses. The second part is devoted to the theory of critical phenomena in the presence of weak quenched disorder. This includes a systematic derivation of the traditional renormalization group theory. In the third part Dotsenko describes other types of disordered systems, relating them to new results at the frontiers of modern research. The book is suitable for graduate students and researchers in the field of statistical mechanics of disordered systems.
Book Description
Nancy Snow, a former USIA employee, examines how American propaganda efforts and covert operations are expanding more rapidly today than at any time in U.S. history, as the Bush administration attempts to increase U.S. dominance by curbing dissent and controlling opinion.
Customer Reviews:
A collection of leftist cliches. Thank God I bought this used........2007-08-31
What a piece of work Ms. Snow is. On one one hand, she trumpets Freedom of the Press as part of her "favorite psalm (page 12)," and on the other harkens the deregulation of the media that took place in 2003 (page 15) as some sort of plot to institute mind control. Does it take a mere three pages for liberal doublethink to occur? For Ms. Snow, apparently it does.
Snow attempts to wax eloquently about a post-911 antiwar speech given by Howard Zinn (whom she calls a "rock star" and whom I call "a Marxist who never met a communist dictatorship he didn't like") and then goes on with some drivel about "street-taking protests." All this before she even begins to address propaganda, which is the stated purpose of the book.
As far as I can tell (what with Snow's muddled thinking and admiration for French marxists) China, the former USSR and the United States were all big propaganda blocs prior to our victory over Communism. Now that the USSR is gone (and I'm sure leftists like Snow are still mourning the fall of the Wall) the U.S. and China are the only propagandists on the bloc... and she's not sure about China. Apparently because the mass media actually on occasion repeats the President's statements in a non-critical way and fails to be hypercritical at every turn (which I would argue is no longer the case at the moment) then it must be considered to be the same as a state-run media. the fact that the media is not daily screaming at the top of its lungs that we are involved in an unjust war and we should pull out now, today even, bothers Snow quite a bit. She wants the media to put out HER brand of propaganda!
Disagreeing with the Left, by the way, is interfering with the free speech rights. I get that all the time. Dissent is only good when leftists are the dissenters. She particularly took to task the freedom to call someone a "traitor" who is, in fact, working against the interests on the United States of America.
Aside from this rather poor reasoning Snow's twist on the nature of the 911 attackers is rather sickening, as is any attempted justification of those infamous mass murderers. I no more care about their warped view of the world than I do Mengele's, Himmler's, Stalin's or Idi Amin's.
If you want to see how convoluted post-Cold War and post-911 marxist thinking can be, then knock yourself out. Buy this book.
"Information War" illuminates failure within the system.......2005-02-04
"Information War" illuminates the Bush administration's control of information in the post-9/11 era. Though it has been over three years since that event, the propaganda machine is still in full swing. Snow highlights the attack on people's intelligence via scare tactics, the vilification of anyone who disagrees with Bush policies, and the unqualified folks put in charge of selling America and its policies to the world.
There is also a history of propaganda to show how a pacifist United States was drummed into a warmongering and blood-thirsty country during World War I. In other words, what Bush and his cronies do isn't new, it's part of a grand American tradition. Empires need propaganda to keep free thought at bay. Just look at Nazi Germany. Snow does.
The comparison is frightening. So, what do we do when the ad manager for Uncle Ben's rice tries to sell America to Arab countries? And what do we do when even the mainstream media is pressured to censor itself? We cannot trust the mainstream anymore (if we ever could), especially when it is so conservatively skewed. Nancy Snow provides the clarion call for all with a mind to speak up.
At this time, perhaps more than ever since this is a nuclear age, it is important to have research out there that tells it like it is about the policies of this country. Information control is not a good thing, especially for the so-called leader of the free world. The truth must be hard to take, but considering the non-stop lies of the Bush administration, Snow knows it will be difficult to understand. Give "Information War" a spin with an open mind, and find yourself edified.
Then take some action.
Self-Referential work.......2004-12-23
Ms Snow quotes J Goebbels to the effect that the intellectual content of propaganda need not be high, then continues to demonstrate the same concerning books about propaganda. Her opus
is a sketchy collection of ultra-left agitprop, and is published by the same people who bring us N. Chomsky and Angela Davis. I give
two stars since the book has merit as an object for study. The
editing of the book is amateurish, with misspellings, mispunctuations and contains the very odd word "lookyloo".
A caustic, keen-eyed, and highly recommended "must-read".......2004-08-10
Information War: American Propaganda, Free Speech, And Opinion Control Since 9-11 is a candid and disturbing look at how government and media have used spin control and propaganda to shape popular opinion and guide the nation toward a specific political agenda regardless of dissent since the September 11th attacks. Identifying common propaganda techniques such as card-stacking (selectively quoting facts in order to build a case against an opponent that ignores the whole truth of situations the facts refer to), labelling, bandwagon appeal (building support for an idea by perpetuating the sentiment that "everybody" is in favor of it) and much more, it goes on to spot these techniques used in recent quotes from individuals and spokespeople in the turbulent and often militaristic speeches since the attacks. A caustic, keen-eyed, and highly recommended "must-read" for anyone seeking to understand what is really going on underneath recent American rhetoric.
Uneven work shows the propaganda machine at work.......2004-08-02
A VERY short, extremely partisan and ultimately focusless collection of essays by a veteran of the United States Information Agency, the propaganda arm of the government during the Cold War. The USIA is now defunct, subsumed into other departments during the federal restructuring that saw the birth of the Dept. of Homeland Security. Snow is strongest when she is explaining the role and history of propaganda in international affairs. There is also a moving portrait of Rep. Barbara Lee, the sole Representative to try to hold onto Congressional control of War Powers after the Sept. 11 attacks. Congressional War Powers have been a joke since before I was born, but it's nice to see one person stand up for them. There are many other issues addressed here, but it's like a bag of potato chips; three days later, you don't remember them.
Average customer rating:
- A Great Read
- a compelling and unexpected biography
- the father of spin:edward l bernays & the birth of PR
- Fascinating Biography of an Amoral Man
- okay but not great
|
The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and The Birth of Public Relations
Larry Tye
Manufacturer: Holt Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0805067892 |
Amazon.com
Biographer Larry Tye can't help but be entertained by his subject's professional antics. Edward L. Bernays (1892-1995), a pioneering practitioner of public relations, zestfully ballyhooed his clients, utilizing a shrewd blend of publicity stunts, careful cultivation of the press, and solicited endorsements from "experts." Yet journalist Tye is also aware of the moral ambiguities inherent in the career of a man who vigorously promoted cigarette smoking and whose work for the United Fruit Company played at least some role in the 1954 military overthrow of Guatemala's democratically elected government. This judicious book balances appreciation for Bernays' inventiveness with a sober understanding of its consequences, including the extent to which PR permeates contemporary American life. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
The Father of Spin is the first full-length biography of the legendary Edward L. Bernays, who, beginning in the 1920s, was one of the first and most successful practioners of the art of public relations. In this engrossing biography, Larry Tye uses Bernayss life as a prism to understand the evolution of the craft of public relations and how it came to play such a criticaland sometimes insidiousrole in American life. Drawing on interviews with primary sources and voluminous private papers, Tye presents a fascinating and revealing portrait of the man who, more than any other, defined and personified public relations, a profession that today helps shape our political discourse and define our commercial choices.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Read.......2006-01-07
I enjoyed this book immensely. Tye chronicles Bernay's life and times well. Bernay's is presented as a genius and a demon and the facts support that he was both! If you disagree, read this book; it reveals how there are no real heroes, just good/bad/indifferent PR!
a compelling and unexpected biography.......2004-01-07
Larry Tye takes on a subject that few journalists would regard of savory: the biography of a PR man. One might dismiss PR people as not meriting attention or even toleration. But Tye walks a fine line here because the life of Eddie Bernays has some tension and complexity, and the book makes that clear. He is a worthwhile character study, not just for people in the communications industry, but also those in business more generally, politics, or interested in consumer and opinion issues. As Freud's nephew, Bernays carried around more heritage than most, and how he shoulders that burden creates interest. Bernays also placed himself at the forefront of an industry's development, and that creates another set of issues. The book is fraught with the same conflict that many deal with in communications: are they adding egocentric bias to information, or warping it for vested powers? Lastly, Bernays had a role in helping leaders develop their visibility, but does he stand as a peer at their shoulders? Tye does a great job at making us reflect on these issues in this highly readable book.
the father of spin:edward l bernays & the birth of PR.......2003-01-29
The book is entertaining in parts and provides interesting information to someone who has no prior knowledge on Bernays. But considering the impact Bernay's ideas & work made on PR and spin and consequently the American way of life, I found the writing style to be rather flippant; and the book, as a whole, skimpy. From the research material available and the interviews which he had conducted, Tye could have written a more substantial if not a scholarly piece, irrespective of his sentiments for Bernays the person. Perhaps, that was not his intention. However, Tye did make a bold claim with his title, and I naturally expected more from his book.
Fascinating Biography of an Amoral Man.......2002-09-01
Bernays is generally acknowledged as the Father of PR. But, is he also the Father of Spin?
Tye writes a fascinating biography of this key communications individual, filled with the key episodes that earned Bernays his moniker. From getting women to smoke to getting people to eat bacon, Bernays always seemed to figure out a way.
But, Tye focuses heavily on these episodes and gives short shift to the implictions and consequences of Bernays's actions beyond fattening the bottom line. While it is true Bernays could not have fully appreciated all the consequences, his relentless drive to serve his clients reveals a man who forgot that public relations means being the conduit between the public and the client, not being another salesman, no matter how clever.
If you're interested in seeing the modern fruition of Bernays's tactics, then I suggest Michael Levine's Guerilla PR: Wired, which updates Bernays's ideas into the digital age.
Overall, this book is well-worth reading if you're interested in a man's actions. But, if you're interested in seeing how a man's actions can affect the world, then you might be better off with another book.
okay but not great.......2002-08-29
Larry Tye attempts an ambitious view of Edward Bernays but falls short. While his stories are entertaining he fails to draw a connection between his ideas and the results. Frankly, I found Michael Levine's Guerilla PR Wired to be a much better and useful read.
Book Description
Myrna Blyth, former editor-in-chief of Ladies' Home Journal, was part of the Spin Sisters media elite for over twenty years. In Spin Sisters, she tells the truth about the business she knows so well---its power and influence, its manipulations, and frequently misguided politics. Spin Sisters is an eye-opener that will change the way you think about a major influence on your life---and about yourself.
Product Description
The present text book gives an comprehensive account of magnetism, spanning the historical development, the physical foundations and the continuing research underlying the field, one of the oldest yet still vibrant field of physics. It covers both the classical and quantum mechanical aspects of magnetism and novel experimental techniques. Perhaps uniquely, it also discusses spin transport and magnetization dynamics phenomena associated with atomically and spin engineered nano-structures against the backdrop of spintronics and magnetic storage and memory applications. The book is written for students on the late undergraduate and the graduate levels and should also serve as a state-of-the-art reference for scientists in academia and research laboratories.
Customer Reviews:
Excellant Magnetism and Sychrotron Characterization Reference.......2007-05-16
This book is has a wonderful overview of both the basic concepts of magnetism, as well as the cutting-edge developments of the past decade. It also has an excellent explanation of the novel synchrotron x-ray techniques used to characterize magnetism in practice today (XMD&PEEM). Exceptionally well written from two scientists who are excellent public speakers and know how to captivate an audience. Highly recommended!
Book Description
Now entering Hollywood Nation—where fact blurs with fiction, virtue with vice
Millions of Americans are outraged by the radical politics of self-appointed celebrity pundits like Michael Moore, Barbra Streisand, Sean Penn, and Susan Sarandon. And actually, these stars’ public pronouncements could be the least of our worries, as New York Times bestselling author and media critic James Hirsen reveals in Hollywood Nation.
Now more than ever, Hirsen shows, Hollywood elites are blurring the lines between entertainment and news to force their views onto the rest of the country. With their politically charged films, distorted documentaries, and skewed docudramas, they’re trying to set the agenda with little regard for the truth. Even worse, many so-called journalists are doing the same thing, dangerously mixing information and entertainment in an attempt to ratchet up ratings—and to inject their own views into the news.
Hollywood Nation also reveals how the New Media are now leading the counterattack against the relentless liberal assault that comes from East Coast newsrooms and Left Coast studios. Through his extensive research and exclusive interviews with news and entertainment iconoclasts—including Bill O’Reilly, Mel Gibson, Ann Coulter, Dick Morris, Peggy Noonan, Laurie Dhue, and many others—Hirsen shows how liberals can no longer dominate the political and cultural debates.
With a sharp eye and a keen wit, Hirsen takes the reader on a fun and fascinating journey through this Hollywood nation of ours. Along the way you’ll discover:
•How mainstream media figures’ fame fundamentally distorts the delivery of news
•How far news organizations are going in their quest to sex things up—and what celebrity journalists are saying about the plastic surgery push
•An exclusive behind-the-scenes account of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ—a fascinating story that captures how the Left is finally losing its stranglehold on information
•A cable news journalist spilling the beans about a rival news channel’s commercial stunt
•How Michael Moore’s films are heralding a new trend toward over-the-top liberal propaganda—but how a newly emerging conservative Hollywood is fighting back
•How the New Media are shaking things up and evening things out
These days we’re just one big Hollywood nation. James Hirsen reminds us all that we need to pay attention to the Hollywood influence—not least because we must combat it.
Customer Reviews:
Even A Rehash Can Shed Some Light.......2007-04-09
Except perhaps for the liberal elitists of Hollywood, no one else doubts that entertainment and the media have shared the same leftist bed for the last three decades. Further, there is little doubt that this union of media and Hollywood combine to spin the news in ways that raise Democratic causes and debase Republican ones. In HOLLYWOOD NATION, James Hirsen takes the reader down a well-trodden path to prove these very points. In his first three chapters, he focuses on the glitzy aspect of the televised news business. He discusses good looking news anchors who present the news in breezy dumbed down ways that Edward R. Murrow would certainly have found repellent. This part of the book is Hirsen's weakest. Beginning in the fourth chapter, however, Hirsen picks up steam by getting down to his real business--that of slamming the entrenched liberal Powers That Be who not only deny that there is no bias from the left but that if any bias does exist, it comes from the right. Hirsen lists a number of books that prove this pervasive left bias. Most of these are well-known: Bernard Goldberg's BIAS, William McGowan's COLORING THE NEWS, and Ann Coulter's SLANDER. Hirsen notes that the left counters with books that purport to prove the opposite. I have read most of these latter texts--Alterman's WHAT LIBERAL MEDIA and Conason's BIG LIES come to mind--and Hirsen rightfully points out that these authors often undercut their own arguments by admitting that most media moguls are indeed liberal, but they are cosmopolitan enough to recognize and to control their biases, a balancing act that they think they maintain but the more conservative and competing writers cannot.
Hirsen makes his most telling points when he reviews the well-documented failure of Air America to encroach on the turf of talk radio. He scores additional points when he recounts the embarassing meltdown of Dan Rather who even today insists that if the documents purporting to prove that George Bush was absent from duty during his Air Force reserve days were forged, then the possibility that they might have been true is just vindication for his claims. I had a problem with Hirsen's inserting interviews with media stars, not all of whom had much to say that was germaine. I also wondered why he spent so much time with Gibson's PASSION OF THE CHRIST. Still, most of Hirsen's thesis held water. The Hollywood elite does exist, it does spin the news, and it chooses to blur the distinction between learning the news and being entertained by it. HOLLYWOOD NATION is a recommended text for those who still think that the major media presents the news in a fair and even-handed manner. It does not and Hirsen tells the hows and whys.
Lots of old news, interesting bits about movies.......2006-06-21
Hollywood Nation : Left Coast Lies, Old Media Spin, and the New Media Revolution by James Hirsen is a bit dishonest in its title. While Hirsen does cover some interesting aspects of how Hollywood's politics is affecting what we see and hear in the media, it doesn't cover all of the aspects I was hoping for. Hirsen trots out the same old liberals names everyone knows: Sarandon, Robbins, Streisand, etc, but doesn't really bring anything new to the table. Yes, we know that the mainstream media is remarkably left of center, but that's nothing that Ann Coulter, Michael Savage, and many others have written about already. The most interesting chapters were those that discussed the hidden messages of movies like Kingdom of Heaven and Million Dollar Baby. I would have enjoyed reading an entire book about more of that along with information about the TV shows that are beamed into our homes claiming to represent middle-class America. One chapter Hirsen could have done without is the long love letter to Mel Gibson about The Passion of the Christ. I was moved by the film, and I deeply respect Gibson for making it, but Hirsen's devotion to him makes the book lose some credibility. Hirsen also interviews several celebrities for the book like Bill O'Reilly and Dayna Devon. The interviews make for interesting reading, but sometimes it feels like Hirsen was throwing Nerf balls instead of hardballs at them. This book is not a must read, but it could have been.
There's a lot to like about this book but............2005-12-20
A lot of the material in this book is rehashed.
Besides, if you haven't figured out yet that most of these Hollywood "icons" are complete nitwits then don't bother with this book. Just go back to "The Star" or "The National Enquirer".
Films & Politics Collide in Today's Hollywood........2005-12-15
Hollywood 'elites' might like to think they live in a Nation apart from the rest of us, but I have news for them: They are just a small part of the city of Los Angeles and, as such, don't have the clout they may think they do. James Hirsen used to play keyboard for the Temptations; this makes him an expert on the movies of today and yesterday? Previously, he wrote about Hollywood's political activity -- as if the rest of the country really cares! -- in TALES FROM THE LEFT COAST. Perhaps the same thing he is accusing Oliver Stone and Michael Moore of doing is what he also does, tell tales.
He claims that Oliver North tampers with accurracies in his movies, re-defining documentaries. Of Michael Moore, he declares that he uses his docudramas to get votes for the Democrats. If that is true, more power to him! "But on the Hollywood Nation horizon I also see a mounting force that's riding to the rescue like the provrebial calvary." Has he ever heard of the use of a common in grammar?
Of the movies he pans, these I saw and wrote reviews on (my opinions, of course): 'Alexander,' which he claims they changed facts for effects; "Kingdom of Heaven' (about the Crusades), is fiction as it was not really about the Christian revolt; 'The Day After Tomorrow' he uses to jab at Al Gore's warnings about global warming and he lampoons Gore's "discovery" while making use of it with NewsMax.com; 'The Chronicles of Narnia;' and 'We Were Soldiers.' Not a good word to say about any of them. I wonder why he went to see them in the first place. He calls 'Open Water' which I did not see "fiction partially based on a true story made to appear as a documentary. He didn't give his take on 'The March of the Penguins,' which I saw and was accused of being a liberal because of my factual assessment. I'm not. I've never seen "The West Wing" t.v. series, and no reality shows, nor do I have any interest in doing so. It seems he hates everybody, now even Bill Moyers. Lord, help us!
The movies he hated, which I decided against viewing: 'Kinsey,' 'The Passion of the Christ' (Jeffrey Hunter will always be 'Jesus' for me), 'Vera Drake,' 'Because of Winn-Dixie,' 'Chicken Little (?), and the 'Kill Bill' craziness for which he said mean things about Quentin Tarantino whose grandmother lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. Nick Clooney wrote a fantastic book about the old movies. They are far superior than the new ones listed above. As is his judgment and commentary. At least, charming Nick does not hate people and his son, George, may someday be as erudite as his 'old' (just kidding, Nick!) dad.
We are now in the Information Age, thanks to the Internet. We have an informastion explosion going on because of our high level of literacy today. "A hundred years ago, most people were illiterate and most people consumed nothing. And during the Lincoln presidency, most Americans were not capable of consuming any news at all. They couldn't read." These modern times we live in, you don't have to read to get the news, just watch television. "Lots of young people regard [Comedy Central's] 'The Daily Show' as their source of actual news, not 'fake news'." That's sad. "Entertainment Weekly" bills itself as the most watched news program on television. The sordid things they choose to air are hardly news, just "publicity stunts" and, at times, "violation of privacy."
WE WHO CREATED CREATED HOLLYWOOD CAN CRITICIZE IT.......2005-12-04
Hirsens work brings to mind important issues concerning where America is going. However, just after Reconstruction the preHollywood movie maker DW Griffith produced a movie 'Birth of a Nation' that many say led to the racism that boiled in America and cost the rights of many till the present. Today, while there is room for criticism, Hollywood has been dominated by people who create material that is insulting to many. The great irony is that those who criticize the 'Hollywood Left' are the ones who dominate Hollywood today. As long as Hollywood serves the purpose of degrading some, its is worthy of praise. As soon as they start serving the working class, then they are of no use. Learn the truth, see "A History of Racism and Terrorism, Rebellion and Overcoming," pub by www.xlibris.com also see "Americans and their Idols," pub. by www.infinitypublishers.com and "A History of the African-Olmecs," pub by www.AuthorHouse.com http://community.webtv.net/nubianem
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