Book Description
Brigitte Gabriel lost her childhood to militant Islam. In 1975 she was ten years old and living in Southern Lebanon when militant Muslims from throughout the Middle East poured into her country and declared jihad against the Lebanese Christians. Lebanon was the only Christian influenced country in the Middle East, and the Lebanese Civil War was the first front in what has become the worldwide jihad of fundamentalist Islam against non-Muslim peoples. For seven years, Brigitte and her parents lived in an underground bomb shelter. They had no running water or electricity and very little food; at times they were reduced to boiling grass to survive. Because They Hate is a political wake-up call told through a very personal memoir frame. Brigitte warns that the US is threatened by fundamentalist Islamic theology in the same way Lebanon was- radical Islam will stop at nothing short of domination of all non-Muslim countries. Gabriel saw this mission start in Lebanon, and she refuses to stand silently by while it happens here. Gabriel sees in the West a lack of understanding and a blatant ignorance of the ways and thinking of the Middle East. She also points out mistakes the West has made in consistently underestimating the single-mindedness with which fundamentalist Islam has pursued its goals over the past thirty years. Fiercely articulate and passionately committed, Gabriel tells her own story as well as outlines the history, social movements, and religious divisions that have led to this critical historical conflict.
Customer Reviews:
Truly Informed!!!.......2007-10-19
It is refreshing to read a book that is written by a person who experienced first-hand the things to which she addressed. I consider myself a person who is well educated (3 masters degrees), well traveled (67 countries), and a lifetime of experience (approaching 80 years). Brigette's book should be read by every person who appreciates living in the United States. The book is truly an "eye-opener!" I encourage you to get the book, read it, and take the time to comprehend what it says. It will probably change your life!!! Rev. Floyd Lewis
Arresting autobiography and a warning to the West.......2007-10-18
This disturbing book is similar in structure to Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish, being part autobiography and part warning to the West. The autobiographical section deals with the author's childhood in Lebanon which was happy and idyllic until the war broke out in 1975. Her family experienced seven years of hell as the political war soon became a religious war against Christians waged by the PLO and Lebanese radical Islamists.
It became a nightmare of murder, atrocity and destruction. She also witnessed at first hand how the terrorists manipulate the media, for example by deliberately launching missiles from amongst civilians then blaming Israel for the retaliation that followed. They played the victim card very well, exploiting the clueless or complicit mass media at every turn. A good analysis of this phenomenon is available in The Other War: Israelis, Palestinians and the Struggle for Media Supremacy by Stephanie Gutmann. When the Israelis invaded in 1982, the family finally managed to escape the horror by finding refuge in Israel. There they experienced kindness and compassion; she eventually became a journalist, married an American and moved to the USA.
The second part examines the history of the global jihad and how its hydra heads are sprouting in the West. The author considers Lebanon the early testing ground for the global ambitions of the Jihadis. In this section she delves into the Koran and compares the Western with the Islamist concepts of, among others: truth, life and human dignity. Pointing out the major differences, she shows how the radicals are using Western values like tolerance, the rule of law and free speech against the West. What happened in Lebanon is starting to happen in Europe and the USA while the demonization of Israel and the USA is getting worse in the mass media of the Islamic world. For gruesome examples of this, please see Peace: The Arabian Caricature of Anti-Semitic Imagery by Arieh Stav.
Ignorance and political correctness are contributing to the escalating danger and the fifth column in our midst are those self-loathing westerners - mostly tenured termites in academia - who blame the democracies and talk piously of the "legitimate" grievances of the terrorists. The author says we must not appease but face facts: their grievances include our freedom of speech and religion, democracy, the rule of law and the gender equality in our societies. She also claims that moderate Muslim organizations in the USA are not as moderate as they pretend. A very important point Gabriel makes is that although most Muslims are peaceful, the religion is not. Islamic Imperialism: A History by Efraim Karsh and The Truth About Muhammad by Robert Spencer explore the historical facts in more detail.
The book concludes with recommendations for policymakers in the West, such as the banning of hate education where it is occurring now, vigilant border and immigration controls, security profiling of radical organizations and a serious effort to find and harness alternative energy sources. Other warnings to the West include The Force of Reason by Oriana Fallaci, Londonistan by Melanie Phillips, Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left by David Horowitz, Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski and While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within by Bruce Bawer. On account of her first hand experience, Brigitte Gabriel's book is a must-read for all those who care about the future of our civilization.
A MUST read for every American who lives his country!.......2007-10-17
I challenge every American to view this book diligently with an open mind as to how quickly this hate has invaded our country already and now that it's here how sudden an attack will happen. We must stand up and do our part to stop this subtle killer by making our voice heard in our government, our schools our churches. This message MUST be heard! Briggett tells her story without fancy proper grammar, but with simplicity for any age to read. There's no doubt she is real, her story is real and her heart is not about selling a book, it's about you, your family and this country. May we wake up and take back our freedom to love and live.
Glad I Don't Live In A Moslem Country.......2007-10-14
"Because They Hate" is one eye opening book regarding the real agenda of the militant Moslems. The Koran is not now and never was a peaceful book and neither was the Moslem faith ever a peaceful religion.The "militant" Moslems are out to conquor the whole world and make it Moslem. The big Satan (the United States) and the Little Satan (Israel) are first on it's list to destroy.
A women definately doesn't want to live in a radical Moslem country. They can't go anywhere with out their husband's approval. Also, they have to have their whole body covered when in public. Beating your wife black and blue when she disobeys you is endorsed by the clerics or religeous leaders and is often shown on television as a good thing to do. Also, if a women is suspected of not being a virgin, she is to be killed to save the family's honor.
The author, Brigette Gabriel is a Southern Lebonese Christian, who married an American and now lives in the United States. The author lived amongst the Moslems in Lebonon, which makes the book an insider's look at the Moslem agenda. That fact alone made it the best book I have read on the subject of the Moslem religion. The well written readable style of the book added to it's appeal.
Gabriel tells about the horrors of the cival war in Lebonon and how she lived with her parents in a bomb shelter for seven years. She tells how the kind but naive Lebonese tried to help the Palestinian Moslem refugees only to have them go through Christian towns slaughtering Christians and bombing their homes. Finally the Christians had enough and fought back, which stated the Cival War. When Israel came to the aid of the Lebonese Christians and brought an end to the war, most of the world criticised her humanitarian actions.
This book made me to glad to be an American. While we haven't been perfect on the cival rights front, we have had our plantations and still have reservations, which are not to be downplayed, our worst abuses are nothing in comparison to the hate filled brutality of the Moslems who follow the Koran. As the author makes so clear, Americans with our western civilized way of thinking and value system, have a very difficult time understanding the insanely brutal mindset of the militant Moslems. When giving the reason for their brutality, the author explained that it was becuase they are taught to hate from the moment of birth that they are so sadistic. Even though many Moslems claim to be more moderate in their beliefs, they rarely if ever oppose the radical's viewpoints or actions. This is true even of the moderate Moslems who live in American where it would be safe to take stand.
good, impressive story.......2007-10-14
Brigitte makes an outstandig job telling about what happened, to her, her family and the christian communities in South Lebanon. I always knew the story as the christian being the mean and holding the economics, this what we have been told in Italy in the 70's and 80's. There is much more behind all this, Brigitte brings some facts and accounts in such a natural and practical way. What happened in Lebanon in the 70's is the natural birth of the wave of hate and killing that caused the infamous 9/11.
Amazon.com
In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try.
The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.")
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg
Book Description
The timely and critically acclaimed debut novel that's becoming a word-of-mouth phenomenon...
Download Description
"Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable, beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan nonetheless grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan , the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara, member of a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When the Soviets invade and Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him. The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of their lies. Written against a history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But with the devastation, Khaled Hosseini also gives us hope: through the novel's faith in the power of reading and storytelling, and in the possibilities he shows for redemption."
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-10-17
The Kite Runner
This is one of the best books I've read this decade. I went through so many emotions reading this book. Its a must read!!!
Best Book EVER!!.......2007-10-16
What an amazing experience reading this book...roller coaster of emotions. truly captivating. a MUST read...this is my favorite book of all time :)
The frailties of hope and redemption.......2007-10-16
This was quite simply one of the most profound and touching books that I have read in some time. It was so heartfelt and moving and is so many stories in one--the story of the friendship of two young boys, of a son's struggle to win his father's acceptance, of a culture on the verge of collapse, of the insidious power of those in a position of privilege over the underprivileged. And yet none of it was preachy and none judgmental. There are characters who are clearly evil but even the good characters are finely drawn and complex. Hosseini describes how goodness is not only a virtue but a state of being to which anyone can aspire; in the words of Rahim Khan, "There is a way to be good again."
The quest for goodness is a central theme of the book. Hosseini does a wonderful job of describing the elusive nature of goodness. It is never simplistic in this novel and even those characters the reader might deem "the good guys" have done some downright vile things. The novel reflects the desire that most of us have to be "good" and the choices we make and the struggles we have during the course of that quest. Amir makes both good and bad decisions. He doesn't always do the right thing. Yet at his core, he is like every other human being, caught between his own wants and needs and those of others. It is his humanity that makes him such a sympathetic characters and gives this novel such color. What reader hasn't felt as Amir has and hasn't made choices of which they are ashamed long after said choices have been made?
This novel is also an extraordinary portrayal of Afghanistan and is especially valuable to those who are ignorant of its past. Afghanistan is a country that has suffered much at the hands of various powers. Its people share the same hopes and desires and love of their land as any American. The childhood of Amir and Hassan could be that of nearly any typical American child. Differences that seem so great are really very small when compared to similarities.
Disturbing Themes.......2007-10-15
After reading A Thousand Splendid Suns first, and absolutely loving it, I picked up The Kite Runner. The Kite Runner was extremely well written, with rich detail, much like A Thousand Splendid Suns, but I felt there were a couple of problems with this book. One, was that child sexual molestation was a large part of the story line, and any kind of abuse of children, particularly sexual, distrubs me. Had I known that this was a main theme, I probably would not have read the book. The second problem was that some situations were obvious and others highly improbable. Amir's "meeting" with the "Talib Official," and the events that followed were not believable to me.
Also, I didn't like Amir. He tried to redeem himself, but I never found respect for him, despite his efforts. I thought his betrayal of Hassan was so profound and unforgiveable, that no matter what he did, he would never make up for it. Yes, Amir was only a child, but so was Hassan and Hassan never waivered from standing up for Amir, no matter how frightening the situation. Amir was absolutely right; had he somehow helped Hassan, the course of their lives would've changed drastically. Also, I thought Baba was a complete hypocrite and any respect one may have had for him, was lost by the end of the novel.
WOW.......2007-10-13
This was one of the most wonderful books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The story was so real I felt as if I knew each character, their stories, their motivations, their emotions. I had a tough time putting it down. I'm recommending it to everyone I know that loves a good book. Pick it up, read it before you see the movie. I know you won't be disappointed.
Amazon.com
With its closed chambers and formal language, the Supreme Court tends to deflect drama away from its vastly powerful proceedings. But its mysteries hold plenty of intrigue for anyone with the access to uncover them. In Supreme Conflict, Jan Crawford Greenburg has that access, and then some. With high-placed sourcing that would make Bob Woodward proud, she tells the story of the Court's recent decades and of the often-thwarted attempts by three conservative presidents to remake the Court in their image. Among the revelations are the surprising influence of the most-maligned justice, Clarence Thomas, and the political impact of personal relations among these nine very human colleagues-for-life. Written for everyday readers rather than legal scholars, her account sidesteps theoretical subtleties for a compelling story of the personalities who breathe life into our laws. --Tom Nissley
Crawford graduated from the University of Chicago Law School, and was a legal affairs reporter for the Chicago Tribune and Supreme Court correspondent for PBS's NewsHour before becoming the legal correspondent for ABC News. We had the chance to ask her a few questions about Supreme Conflict:
Questions for Jan Crawford Greenburg
Amazon.com: How hard was it to get the access to justices and clerks that you had for this book? Does the culture of the Court promote that kind of openness about their deliberations?
Jan Crawford Greenburg: Hard! And let me tell you it took some time--they weren't flinging open the doors of their chambers for the first few years I was covering the Court. It takes awhile to build relationships and trust, and I was fortunate enough to do that during the dozen years I've been covering the Supreme Court. As for openness, I think the culture of the Court instead promotes anonymity and privacy. The justices aren't like the people across the street in Congress, or down Pennsylvania Avenue in the White House. They don't hold press conferences or solicit media coverage of their views. They speak through their opinions. I was fortunate that they also chose to speak with me for this important book about the direction of the Supreme Court and its role in our lives.
Amazon.com: Harry Blackmun's notes must be a treasure chest for Court historians. Could you describe what you found there?
Greenburg: A treasure chest is an understatement. Harry Blackmun took extraordinarily detailed notes--almost breathtaking in their scope and level of detail. (He would even write down what lawyers were wearing when they'd appear in Court to argue a case.) He recorded the justices' comments during their private conferences--when they discuss cases--and he took down their votes. And he kept all the key memos and letters that the justices would send back and forth when they were discussing a case. It was a tremendous window into the Court's inner sanctum, during some of the most pivotal years for the institution.
Amazon.com: One of the biggest revelations of your book is your characterization of Clarence Thomas as far more influential, even in his first year on the Court, than he's usually given credit for. Could you describe what his role on the Court has been?
Greenburg: Clarence Thomas has been the most maligned justice in modern history--and also the most misunderstood and mischaracterized. I found conclusive evidence that far from being Antonin Scalia's intellectual understudy, Thomas has had a substantial role in shaping the direction of the Court--from his very first week on the bench. The early storyline on Thomas was that he was just following Scalia's direction, or as one columnist at the time wrote, "Thomas Walks in Scalia's Shoes." That is patently false, as the documents and notes in the Blackmun papers unquestionably show. If any justice was changing his vote to join the other that first year, it was Scalia joining Thomas, not the other way around. But his clear and forceful views affected the Court in unexpected ways. Although he shored up conservative positions, his opinions also caused moderate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to back away and join the justices on the Left.
Amazon.com: Not every Supreme Court confirmation is a battle, even when the Senate and the President are from different parties. What separates the candidates who sail through from the ones who get put through the wringer?
Greenburg: The recent appointment of Samuel Alito shows a justice with a clearly conservative record can get confirmed--and even pick up some votes from Democrats. Maybe the secret is developing a reputation as a fair and nonpartisan judge on a federal appeals court. At his hearings, liberal and conservative judges who had worked with him on the appeals court testified in his behalf, as did his law clerks--some of whom were self-identified liberals. Alito was the conservative counterpart to Clinton nominee Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She had been an outspoken advocate for liberal causes (including the ACLU), but she'd developed a reputation as a fair and thoughtful judge on the federal appeals court, garnering respect from both sides.
Amazon.com: How much do Americans know about how their federal courts work? What should they know?
Greenburg: Most Americans, understandably, think about trials and drama when the issue of the courts is raised. But the appeals courts--and the Supreme Court--remain mysterious, even though those courts have an enormous impact on American life. The judiciary is one of the three branches of government, but its decisions take on outsized importance at times. It can provide a vital check against abuse of individual rights by government--but it also can usurp the role of the people when it reaches out and takes on issues that more appropriately belong in the purview of the other branches.
Amazon.com: Even though you show how our expectations for where new members will take the Court are so often wrong, I'll ask you anyway: What do you expect in the next few years from the Roberts Court?
Greenburg: To be more conservative than the one led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist. John Roberts himself is a solid judicial conservative who believes the Court has too often taken on issues that belong in the realm of elected legislatures. He is advocating a more restrained approach, with greater consensus among the justices. In addition, Justice Alito replaced key swing-voter Sandra Day O'Connor, the Court's first female justice. O'Connor's vote often carried the day on the closely divided Court--and she typically sided with liberals on social issues like abortion, affirmative action, and religion. Alito is more conservative, and I expect to see the Court turn to the right on those and other issues.
Book Description
Drawing on unprecedented access to the Supreme Court justices and their inner circles, acclaimed ABC News legal correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg offers an explosive, newsbreaking account of one of the most momentous political watersheds in recent American history.
Over the past decade, the central front of America's bitter culture wars has been the titanic battle over the composition and direction of the United States Supreme Court. During that period, no journalist has been closer to the action on the ground-the ideas, the politics, the personalities, the gamesmanship-than ABC News correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg. Now, in Supreme Conflict, Greenburg draws on all of her formidable reportorial resources to give a brilliant, vivid, astonishingly unvarnished account of the struggle for the soul of the highest court in the land.
Greenburg picks up the plot with the Rehnquist Court, which, despite having seven Republican nominees, proved deeply disappointing to conservatives hoping to reverse decades of progressive rulings on key social issues. She reveals for the first time the real story behind a series of failed Republican nominations that enraged the American conservative movement and left it seething with frustration and resolve not to squander future opportunities. Enter: George W. Bush and the setting of the stage for a full-blown conservative counterrevolution. Supreme Conflict contains entirely fresh perspectives across the entire sweep of its story, from the conservative movement's early fumbles with the nominations of justices Anthony Kennedy and David Souter to its crowning successes with the appointments of justices Roberts and Alito. The book breaks news in its revelations about the effect of Chief Justice Rehnquist's illness on the process; on the truth behind Harriet Miers's disastrous nomination and how it was really scuttled; and on how decades of bruising battles led to the triumph of the conservative agenda with the appointment of two of its leading judicial exponents. Through the entire dramatic story, rich in character and conflict, Greenburg never loses sight of the gargantuan stakes in this struggle, the opposing ideological agendas at play.
The story Jan Crawford Greenburg tells is that of the fulcrum event of our time, the massive coordinated campaign to move the Supreme Court in a very different direction, to a more limited and restrictive role in American government. A masterpiece of old-fashioned gumshoe reportage, rich storytelling, and penetrating analysis, Supreme Conflict will be the definitive account of the most consequential shift in the use of American judicial power in almost one hundred years.
Customer Reviews:
Tunnel Vision..........2007-10-14
Jan Greenburg does a good job of reporting the facts around the recent Supreme Court nominations but she avoids any challenge to the narrow views of those that controlled the conservative nominations.
The notion that Justice Kennedy is not a "true conservative" --never questioned by Greenburg---because 20% of his votes are not "in-line" is a bit absurd. It might have been worthwhile for Greenburg to consider what the true conservative position on Roe vs. Wade (one of Kennedy's "liberal" votes) might be. True conservatives value stare decisis and respect the fact that after thirty years many--the majority of the nation in fact-- now view Roe as a resolved matter. Several subsquent opinions, including Casey, affirmed its findings by using it as a precedent. Imagine if the court overturned it and then ten years from now a court with several Hillary Clinton appointees re-affirmed it. The Court would have been shown to be the mere pawn of the political powers that be. It would emerge less respected and less able to do its job. So, what's the true conservative position on Roe vs. Wade?
The reality that Greenburg never considers is that the White House values Scalia and Thomas not for their true conservativism, but for their right wing judicial activism. Greenburg never scrutinizes Justice Scalia's devotion to "original intent" when it goes against the outcome that he desires. She might want to glance at Gonzalez vs. Oregon, where Scalia's dissent claimed that the Justice Dept could block implementation of an assisted suicide act duly enacted by the popular will in a state initiative. So, where is the prohibition of assisted suicide in the Constitution? What happened to the great "Federalist"? The Drug Enforcement Act--the supposed basis of Scalia's decision--was not intended to outlaw or otherwise regulate assisted suicide and was enacted without any consideration of the subject. The Gonzalez v Oregon dissent (joined by Thomas and the new Chief) shows the bald faced hypocrisy of Scalia's "strict constructionism." Some questioning of "conservative" assumptions and a broader perspective would have made this a much more thoughtful and worthwhile book.
A terrible disappointment..........2007-10-08
I thought, considering the book's title and that this reporter touted her access to nine justices, that this would detail the inner dynamics and interpersonal relationships of the justices and their clerks, like The Brethren. Instead, it was a laborious and too-detailed factual account of process the Executive and Legislative Branches used to select this court.
I see strong bias on the part of the author, who as a reporter, hopes to keep "inside access." She veritably fawns over Alito, in an effort to ingratiate herself with him and his family while, in contrast, she trashes the reclusive Souter, and the presumably uncooperative Kennedy.
Only 20% of this book was worthwhile reading.
In A Class By Itself.......2007-09-30
In all respects -- writing, research, organization, balance -- this is the best book on the Supreme Court. To be sure, there'll be other (and perhaps better) books written on this always fascinating institution. For now, however, it positively towers over its competition. I've read (and enjoyed) them all -- Woodward/Armstrong's, Toobin's, Rosen's -- but Jan Crawford Greenburg's "Supreme Conflict" is, to reiterate my title, in a class by itself.
Highly recommended.
Decent book for non-lawyers.......2007-09-27
Most legal reporting in the mainstream media stinks. Either non-lawyers miss the point of cases, or lawyers fail to translate that point to a level where the average person can understand. "Supreme Conflict" is an exception. This book focuses more on the personalities and dynamics of the justices, and on the nomination and selection process, than on particular cases. The tales of how certain people are selected for the Court, and how they mesh with the other justices once they have arrived, are interesting glimpses into a world rarely seen by outsiders. Some reviewers point out, rightly, that "Supreme Conflict" does not hash out particular cases in detail. But that's not the kind of book this is.
Other reviewers contend "Supreme Conflict" is too sympathetic to the right. That leaves me scratching my head, given the account of how Bush Jr. picked Harriet Miers as a nominee. True to form, Bush Jr. got some kind of gut feeling and couldn't be talked out of it by reason, and you see what that got him. We also see the mechanism of how the great right-wing spin machine is deployed for, or against, particular nominees. None of this is particularly flattering for Republicans.
This is a good companion to "The Brethren," by Bob Woodward, a similarly-good popular level book about the Supreme Court of an earlier era. Most libraries will have this book, and it is worth checking out if you're interested in the Supreme Court but not so interested as to add "Supreme Conflict" to your permanent collection.
Fascinating.......2007-09-06
Do not start reading this book if you have to go to work or to school the next day. I read it in two evenings because it was so interesting.
Greenburg is to be congratulated for getting interviews with so many of the judges and for doing so much research and confirmation. The interest builds, and the final chapters on the Roberts, Miers, and Alito nominations are riveting, even though we know the final outcome. But what we didn't know is all the behind the scenes work.
I think Greenburg was fair to the justices and to those in the White House involved in the nomination process. She tells what they did well and what they did poorly. And some of the mistakes were monumental (Bush believing Sununu when he said that Souter was a conservative, for instance). Just from reading the book, it would be difficult to guess Greenburg's own political leanings.
Many things are surprising in this book. Justice O'Connor did not really know much about constitutional law when nominated. Clarence Thomas influenced Scalia's vote more than vice-versa during the first term. And liberal Democrats, more than anyone else, are responsible for Roberts and especially Alito, two conservative white males, being on the court.
Book Description
Conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, 2001 continue to spread. Now, in a meticulous, scientific and groundbreaking new book, Popular Mechanics puts these rumors to rest. The magazine’s editors analyze the 20 most persistent claims underlying 9/11 conspiracy theories—and conclusively disprove each one. The result is a triumph of hard fact over conspiratorial fantasy.
Customer Reviews:
The truth shines through........2007-10-17
This book wades through all the crazy ideas out there and puts the nuts to shame. If you want to know the facts and not crazy ideas this is the book for you.
hey.......2007-09-20
so i haven't read the book, i will tell you that, but i think it's funny how John McCain helped write it. That guy needs to be off the balot and in jail for sure. Not all CT's are crazy either. They are family memebers who didn't get a proper investigation from the gov't. The Gov't doesn't care about them or the investigation and they call it a horrible attack on America. Bin Laden isn't even wanted for it. He i wanted for bombing in 198 or something on an american embassy killing maybe 200.
Anyway, read "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" wesome "truther" book
Propaganda and a waste of money. .......2007-09-20
Buy a copy of Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin before buying this pack of lies. You can save your time and money and learn what Popular Mechanics says and OMITS in building their case against the truth. Hearst Publishing is still in the business of propaganda. Wake Up.
Reads like propaganda.......2007-09-14
I wish just once somebody would publish an objective book or collection of writings about this topic. The afterward is particularly insulting to the millions of concerned citizens with legitimate questions. Anyone can see that this book was written with an agenda. If this book doesn't give you ammo for you hate-spewing debunking arsenal, it might actually convince you that there are suspicious circumstances to consider.
Junk Science.......2007-08-29
This analysis doesn't even rise to the level of being wrong. You don't have to be a structural engineer to know that a steel-framed building cannot "pancake" at free-fall speed. You don't have to be a metallurgist to know that jet fuel won't leave pools of molten metal weeks after the fire is out. If you cherry-pick your "facts" you can make Stalin look like a boy scout or Mother Theresa look like the devil. This book starts with the conclusion and then tries to prove it. If you want an analysis that starts with the facts and works towards a logical conclusion, try any (or all) of David Ray Griffin's books.
Book Description
From Afghanistan and Iraq to Europe and the United States we are engaged in one of the most heated wars of all time. In this incisive new book, the man that has been called--the only one to understand the mind of the jihadist--shows that the most important battle is actually taking place in the hearts and minds of the world's population. This is the war of ideas, where ideology is the most powerful weapon of all. Phares explores the beliefs of two opposing camps, one standing for democracy and human rights, and the other rejecting the idea of an international community and calling for jihad against the West. He reveals the strategies of both sides, explaining that new technologies and the growing media savvy of the jihadists have raised the stakes in the conflict. And most urgently, he warns that the West is in danger of losing the war, for whereas debate and theorizing rarely translate into action here, ideas and deeds are inextricably linked for the forces of jihad.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting but a bit windy........2007-10-19
Walid Phares is an expert on the middle east and Islam but his writing style is a bit dry. There are many generalizations and specific detail is a bit harder to find. It is worth reading but I was a bit disappointed.
Required reading by every self-respecting journalist........2007-08-23
The facts will set you free. Well researched. Bluntly honest. A very readable treatment of Islamofacism every self-respecting journalist should read. It is now on my short list of books that correctly shape one's understanding of this century's principal narrative.
Great Read!.......2007-06-13
We need more literature like this that expounds on our current situation and dilemma our children will soon face.
The War of Ideas: Jihadism against Democracy .......2007-05-07
This is a very scholarly book. This is not a rabble rouser. It is an excellent book to gain understanding of "Jihadism against Democracy"
Book Description
The more precisely the position is determined, the less precisely the momentum is known in this instant, and vice versa.
—Werner Heisenberg
That God would choose to play dice with the world is something I cannot believe.
—Albert Einstein
Nothing exists until it is measured.
—Neils Bohr
The remarkable story of a startling scientific idea that ignited a battle among the greatest minds of the twentieth century and profoundly influenced intellectual inquiry in fields ranging from physics to literary criticism, anthropology and journalism
In 1927, the young German physicist Werner Heisenberg challenged centuries of scientific understanding when he introduced what came to be known as “the uncertainty principle.” Building on his own radical innovations in quantum theory, Heisenberg proved that in many physical measurements, you can obtain one bit of information only at the price of losing another. Heisenberg’s principle implied that scientific quantities/concepts do not have absolute, independent meaning, but acquire meaning only in terms of the experiments used to measure them. This proposition, undermining the cherished belief that science could reveal the physical world with limitless detail and precision, placed Heisenberg in direct opposition to the revered Albert Einstein. The eminent scientist Niels Bohr, Heisenberg’s mentor and Einstein’s long-time friend, found himself caught between the two.
Uncertainty chronicles the birth and evolution of one of the most significant findings in the history of science, and portrays the clash of ideas and personalities it provoked. Einstein was emotionally as well as intellectually determined to prove the uncertainty principle false. Heisenberg represented a new generation of physicists who believed that quantum theory overthrew the old certainties; confident of his reasoning, Heisenberg dismissed Einstein’s objections. Bohr understood that Heisenberg was correct, but he also recognized the vital necessity of gaining Einstein’s support as the world faced the shocking implications of Heisenberg’s principle.
Customer Reviews:
Uncertainty.......2007-09-20
A good book. Makes a difficult topic - - quantum mechanics and some particle physics - - understandable for non-experts.
Elegant and exciting .......2007-09-01
I read two graduate texts on quantum mechanics recently. The first took an historical approach, beginning with Planck's work on black-body radiation, then Einstein's treatment of Brownian motion and light quanta, proceeding on to Bohr's atom, Compton scattering, the Zeeman effect, and so on. The second started out by saying (I paraphrase), "Here's Schroedinger's equation. The rest of the book goes through various solutions, with different potentials."
I find it completely incredible that this little equation can have so many implications, none of them ever having been found to be wrong. Lindley's book is about the "meaning" of quantum mechanics, a project that most physicists consider irrelevant at best. I still remember listening to Feynman's Cal Tech lectures on quantum mechanics, where his urged his student not to try to figure what the equation "means." Rather, he urged them just to solve it and get an intuitive "feel" for how it works. Quantum mechanics doesn't "mean" anything. It just is.
This stance is not enough for many people, including virtually all of its creators, who worked in the dizzying years of discovery, 1900 to 1927. Bohr' model did fit some of the specroscopic data on hydrogen very well, but he spent most of his intellectual (as opposed to organizational) energy thereafter ruminating on the principle of complementarity and the so-called Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. The next generation of physicist could not have cared less. When asked about Bohr's interpretation, Dirac replied that there were no equations, so there was nothing of interest there.
This may be the bast book ever written on the topic, despite its elementary nature. Lindley handle complex topics (e.g., Mach and Carnap) with ease and brevity, yet capturing the essence of the issues. His descriptions are what might be termed "stream of consciousness" physics, because he has the ability to enter and explore highly heterogeneous modalities of consciousness, without ever leaving the physics far out of the picture. After you have read this wonderful book, try Abraham Pais' biographies of Einstein and Bohr. They are more work, but more than worth the effort.
A great account of where the hell does quantum mechanics come from, centered around the main scientists involved. .......2007-08-26
If you've ever had a basic course in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics the names of the main characters in this book will sound familiar ; Robert Brown (yes, from the "Brownian motion of particles"), Charles Darwin, Boltzmann, Poincaré,Röntgen, Rutherford, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Dirac, Pauli, Max Planck, Marie Curie, Geiger ...etcetera
It is actually a concise, lucid and very readable account with due attention to the "personal streaks" of the main characters. With a rare clarity the author manages to paint the transition from the classical Newtonian view of the world to the quantum mechanical view and all the pains suffered in the process.Especially, the confrontations between Einstein and Niels Bohr on this topic are exquisitely recounted. And all this, without mentioning ONE formula (excepting THE formula E=mc2).
In the end one can't but agree with Bohr's statement : "It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about nature."
In short, this book manages to convey the essence of the new quantum view while it reads like a novel because of the pittoresque characters of the story.
Fascinating history, very well written.......2007-08-16
Lindley writes very well, indeed. I liked both his style and the story which he told. The early days of quantum mechanics presented physics with a set of dilemmas which were a shock to the way the world was thought to work. We are not over that shock yet, almost a century later! Recommended.
Wow! The history, concepts and personalities behind Quantum Physics.......2007-07-30
My Dad got his doctorate in Physics at Berlin Institute of Technology (The top technological school in the world at the time) starting in 1932 when Einstein was still there. He knew all the personalities. Heisenberg, Born, Schroedinger. It was a wild and wonderful read for me because the stories were the ones my Dad told me when I was a girl. The book is wonderful for lay persons. It lays out the time line from Brownian Motion to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in non-technical and brilliantly understandable ways. The personalities and all the arguments from Brown, to the Curies, Niels Bohr, Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, Pauli, Max Born, Schroedinger are all beautifully researched and quoted from there own works and letters to each other. He finishes with a brilliant critique of how "uncertainty" was co-opted by other subjects, mostly in fascinatingly ignorant ways. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!
Average customer rating:
- Hold-your-breath reading
- You feel like you were there
- A must for anyone who plans to win anything
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Born to Win: A Lifelong Struggle to Capture the America's Cup
John Bertrand , and
Patrick Robinson
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
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ASIN: 0688043496 |
Customer Reviews:
Hold-your-breath reading.......2006-09-17
There's a saying in sailboat racing: nothing makes you look smarter than a fast boat. Yet John Bertrand and the crew of Australia II, despite having the demonstrably superior yacht, nearly failed to win the 1983 regatta that ended the longest winning streak in the history of sport.
Bertrand begins at the low point. Down three races to one in the best of seven series, Australia II is on her way out for the fifth race. One more loss and it's over.
What follows makes blow by blow, hold-your-breath reading. Bertrand opens with a major blunder. Australia II is over early - on the course before the starting signal - and has to go back and start correctly, thus handing the Americans and Dennis Conner a one minute advantage.
In match racing, such an error is almost always fatal. Once again, however, when you have the fast boat, mistakes tend not to be as costly. Eventually, Australia II makes up the lost time and sails to a wide margin of victory to remain alive in the series.
So, if they had the faster boat, how did Bertrand and crew manage to lose those three races? From the reading, I see two answers; in the "slow" boat, the American team sailed a series of unsurpassed magnificence, and the Australian team committed mistake after mistake. Race one - steering failure; race two - mainsail headboard broke; race five the major blunder described above. Fact is, from Bertrand's telling the charismatic Aussies were poorly organized in general. To complicate matters, syndicate owner Alan Bond's hatchet man Warren Jones seemed to enjoy putting the screws to Bertrand at every opportunity. Given these pressures, it's a miracle Bertrand could function on the water at all.
Born to Win stands out for its wonderful race descriptions and inside knowledge but sags when the author delves into the underlying personal issues - where maybe he sounds a little too self-serving. But what would you expect, it is his side of things he's telling.
Art Tirrell - author of The Secret Ever Keeps, Spring 2007 ISBN 978-1-60164-004-8.
You feel like you were there.......1999-12-03
This book is fabulous! For sailors, the story alone is worth the read, but it is much more than just a story about sailing. Bertrand's description of the final race against "the red boat" (Dennis Connor) is so powerful that I felt what he and his crew felt, even before I had read what they felt! Any reader interested in the nature of sport and competition will find this book valuable.
A must for anyone who plans to win anything.......1999-06-08
Fantastic book. It is an instructive lesson in how to prepare for what you overwhelmingly want to achieve. Being set in the context of one of the most famous sporting events in history, the attempt to wrest the America's Cup from the US after 132 years, makes it that much more exciting. Sailors will love it, but anyone interested in the psychology of winning will gain from this book.
Book Description
The story of the most dangerous triple–agent in US history, by intrepid investigative reporter Peter Lance.
Peter Lance, author of the highly acclaimed 1000 Years for Revenge and Cover Up, returns to uncover the story of Ali Mohamed–a trusted security advisor of Osama bin Laden who hoodwinked the United States for more than a decade. As Lance reveals for this first time, this one man served in a series of high–security position within the United States security establishment–as a Special Forces advisor, FBI informant, and CIA operative–while simultaneously helping orchestrate the al Qaeda campaign of terror that led to 9/11.
In October 2000, after tricking three U.S. intelligence agencies for almost two decades, Ali Mohamed appeared in handcuffs and a blue prison jumpsuit in a Federal District courtroom on Manhattan's Lower East Side, where he pleaded guilty five times. His crimes included brokering terror summits, financing an attack on two Black Hawk helicopters, training jihadis in improvised bomb building and the creation of secret cells. And yet for decades Mohamed had lived the life of a Silicon Valley computer executive. How did this evildoer move in and out of and around the U.S.? How did he become a naturalized citizen, marry an American woman and infiltrate three of America's top intelligence agencies–the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the FBI? With utter complacence, ruthlessness, and ease, and with no small amount of oversight from the outflanked U.S. intelligence community.
From the Able Danger scandal of the Clinton Administration to today's CIA Leakgate, Mohamed appears at nearly every crucial turn of America's terror probes. An important final piece to the 9/11 investigation, Triple Cross penetrates Mohamed's secret past and the dark reaches of Al Qaeda to reveal the danger that still threatens America–and the staggering errors of America's homeland security.
Customer Reviews:
Triple Cross by Peter Lance.......2007-09-06
Triple Cross is scary when you realize the government
cover ups which could have stopped 9/11. The work done
by Peter Lance to uncover these facts is amazing.
Outstanding Work.......2007-07-05
Peter Lance has produced a magnificent book. His work needs to be followed up by multiple congessional committees and numerous on air investigative reports. Patrick Fitzgerald, Jack Cloonan, Dietrick Snell, and other highranking DOJ and FBI officials must testify under oath in primetime on national television. Peter Lance should be the lead investigator for the hearing. Americans have no idea the scope of the war against alqaeda. this is much older than 9/11. We have been at war with them since 1989.
I-49, Alec Station and Able Danger need to throughly examined for their inability to connect the dots before 9/11. I-49 was the FBI-DOJ BinLaden taskforce run by Patrick Fitzgerald. Alec Station was the CIA's BinLaden group. Able Danger was the Pentagons data-mining operation that linked Ali Mohammed (top alqeada spy linked with all major cells in the world and the US), Mohammed Atta (lead hijacker on 9/11), Ramzi Yousef (1st WTC bomber and, airliner bombing plots), Egyptian Islamic Jihad Cleric Sheik Abdul Rahman, and Osama BinLaden.
This book proves that the FBI cannot fight terrorism
we need to copy the british domestic intelligence service, MI5.
WE NEED TO HAVE ANSWERS. THIS BOOK IS A GREAT FIRST STEP... MUCH MORE WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE. HIGH RANKING OFFICIALS HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO...
TRIPLE CROSS AND AT THE CENTER OF THE STORM.......2007-06-03
THE ONLY WAY YOU ARE GOING TO GET THE FULL PICTURE OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISH IS TO READ GEORGE TENET'S BOOK AT THE CENTER OF THE STORM AND TRIPLE CROSS. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT 1153 PAGES OF READING. AFTER YOU HAVE READ BOTH BOOKS BE SURE TO READ BOB WOODWARDS REVIEW OF AT THE CENTER OF THE STORM. IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO IT I GUESS YOU CAN JUST READ THE REVIEWS OF BOTH BOOKS WHICh IS THE LAZY MANS OUT. AFTER THIS READING ASSIGNMENT BE SURE TO READ VALERIE PLAME'S BOOK WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE PUBLICHED IN OCTORBER. TENET'S APPOINTMENT AS DIRECTOR OF CIA IN 1997, COVERT OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN AND HIS FAILURE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE PRESIDENT TO WARN OF THE IMPENDING 9/11 ATTACK THE COUNTER ATTACK AGAINST al-Q'aida. TRIPLE CROSS OUTLINES HOW BIN LADENS MASTER SPY PENETRATED THE CIA
THE GREEN BERETS AND THE FBI AND WHY PATRICK FITZGERALS ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY FAILED TO STOPHIM. THE NAME OF THIS MASTER SPY OR AT LEAST THE LATEST NAME IS ALI MOHAMED. HE REMAINS IN CUSTODIAL WITNESS PROTECTION AS FAR AS ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
communication breakdown.......2007-05-13
Convincing me that information gathered by our best intelligence agencies and personnel we Americans trust in the security of our great country could be such idiots is truly scary.What a fantastic insite into not only how these agencies work but who is able to "work" them.
The real story!.......2007-03-22
This is the best of many books written in the aftermath of 9/11 because it ties up many loose ends of earlier books as more information has become available. Whether right or left, everyone should value this book, and no one will ever again wonder whether anyone in the government knew or should have known about it before it happened. Although no one should consider this a "hit" piece on the government, Lance provides compelling proof that multiple government officials were either grossly negligent in failing to uncover 9/11 or willfully chose not to investigate matters that would have led them to discover the plot, for their own selfish reasons, for example, to cover up other bad behavior.
Book Description
Controversies in politics arise from many sources, but the conflicts that endure for generations or centuries show a remarkably consistent pattern. In this classic work, Thomas Sowell analyzes the two competing visions that shape our debates about the nature of reason, justice, equality, and power: the "constrained" vision, which sees human nature as unchanging and selfish, and the "unconstrained" vision, in which human nature is malleable and perfectible. He describes how these two radically opposed views have manifested themselves in the political controversies of the past two centuries, including such contemporary issues as welfare reform, social justice, and crime. Updated to include sweeping political changes since its first publication in 1987, this revised edition of A Conflict of Visions offers a convincing case that ethical and policy disputes circle around the disparity between both outlooks.
Customer Reviews:
The Results and the Means.......2007-09-24
For those who will read little more - Great Book! Read it.
Thomas Sowell writes newspaper columns that are often characterized as "conservative" although he would probably characterize himself as a "pragmatist". This book cannot be characterized as being conservative or liberal. Dr. Sowell goes out of his way to not disclose his personal views. The book is an analysis of Western thought over the last 250 years regarding the proper roll of society, expressed principally through government, in achieving a successful society. I have read several of Dr. Sowell's books and have purchased several more to read. Here he truly achieves an objective restatement of the thoughts of prominent minds over the centuries and not his personal opinions on the same subject.
He writes clearly and in a manner that is easy to read and yet he documents his work with so many footnotes that it is like reading a legal brief. The first thirty or forty pages were a slight struggle because he uses terms that were not familiar to me in their context. In particular it takes a while to understand what he means by the "constrained vision" and the "unconstrained vision". That is really what the book is about.
He quotes Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham, John Stewart Mill, William Blackstone, Edmund Burke, Condorcet, Charles Darwin, Ronald Dworkin, Milton Friedman, John Kenneth Galbraith, William Godwin, Karl Marks, Friedrich Hayek, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Paine, Richard Posner and many other legal, economic and philosophical scholars all in an attempt to dissect their thinking. He explains how they often reach opposite conclusions from many undisputed premises.
The philosophical, legal and political answer to the question of when "the end justifies the means" is a difficult one. It is easy to dogmatically answer the question but a few scenarios will quickly convince most sane people that there is really no universal answer. In describing the "constrained vision" Dr. Sowell quotes the writers who have emphasized the strict rule of law in achieving social stability. They tend to believe that the same rules should apply equally to all regardless of the outcome.
Others have followed "an unconstrained vision" which he describes with their own words as being that the end result is more important than the route society takes to get there. They believe it is necessary to bend or modify rules to achieve what they view as a desirable outcome.
This dichotomy in English and American common law resulted in both "Law Courts" and "Equity Courts" which administered law following the "constrained" vision in "Law" and "unconstrained" vision in "Equity" operating in parallel for hundreds of years although Dr. Sowell does not discuss this portion of our legal history.
Although he uses the words of radicals like Karl Marks who clearly believed any means justified the end he sought for the world, Dr. Sowell tries to dwell more with prominent thinkers who were closer to the middle of political and economic thought and why they thought as they did.
This book helped me better understand my own ambivalence about certain actions of our government, but it also convinced me that there are no universal answers to all of the problems that face society.
It is unfortunate that Dr. Sowell's reputation as a conservative will probably keep many people who consider themselves liberals from reading this book. They would profit by understanding the perspective of those people with whom they are in an eternal debate. Similarly some conservatives will assume that they have little to learn from a book from someone they think they know and who could not surprise them. They might be quite surprised to find that Dr. Sowell is very non-judgmental in this book and does not side with either vision.
I read this book after sending an email to Dr. Sowell to complement him on a newspaper article he had written about illegal immigration. His reply was that I had misunderstood his reasoning and that population was not the problem generating the migration of the poor from undeveloped areas. He suggested that I read portions of several of his books where he had elaborated on the issue. I have done so and still disagree with him on the population issue, but have found the writings on political philosophy of a writer whose work is woefully under appreciated. If you read "A conflict of Visions" or his book on the Economics and Politics of Race you will find it impossible to finish them without your opinions being forever altered in many respects.
Jim Fuqua
Well thought out, but nothing amazingly compelling........2007-08-15
It's hit or miss with Mr. Sowell, but that is the nature with most things. That aside, I think some of his books (such as Black Rednecks...) are compelling and useful debate-fuel, this one falls flat. Like anyone adhering to a specific political mindset (and he does - his brilliance is that he can conceal it well, though I would question his objectivity) he believes himself to be right - it's indicated in word usage whenever he touches on the "traditional" left/right debate, etc. The basic premise is, astoundingly, a reiteration of the title. Ideological Origins of Political Struggles? It sounds like a desperately pretentious college paper written by an undergrad looking for Political Science recognition. Imagine that politics - which, if you believe Hanna Arendt's thesis on the subject as outlined in On Revolution, is the process of human interaction and debate - has ideological origins? Astounding, truly. I could have never put that sort of logic together on my own. You'll have to pardon my sarcasm - the book is well written and thoughtful - but it told me something I already knew. I've seen a lot of Sowell's work in lists that are "vital" to every US citizen, but after reading this, my opinion of him is lessened somewhat.
Fantastic read, simple and thought-provoking.......2007-07-29
Some others have already commented on the basic premise of the book: the dichotomy between a constrained and unconstrained view of human nature and the logical conclusions and "visions" that arise based on that difference, so I will leave that summary aside.
This book is a fantastic read for many reasons: the writing style is incredibly clear and simple, and Sowell is adept at conveying his ideas in a manner that should be easily understandable to any reader. Sowell appears to show a commendable level of detachment in that there does not seem to be much of a personal value judgement placed on either of the two schools of vision (i.e. without reading other texts, the reader may not be able to distinguish whether Sowell places himself within the "constrained" or "unconstrained" vision).
Another reviewer commented that this dichotomy was rather simplistic, and I tend to agree. However, I see this as a strength rather than a weakness. Sowell gives a more general view of the derivation of certain viewpoints and the logical implications of a certain conception without getting distracted by every specific application. He does not explain every thought or viewpoint, but he provides an exceptionally clear framework through which you can view these thoughts and viewpoints on your own.
I found the quotes he used to be very illuminating, but I agree that they should be viewed in the proper light. The quotes are interesting as articulations of the "constrained" or "unconstrained" views in the particular context in which they are used, and should probably not be carried beyond that. For example, characterizing a particular decision of Holmes as arising from the constrained view is instructive and illustrative, though it could lead to the erroneous assumption that Holmes was a consitent examplar of the constrained vision. That said, the quotes were certainly not misleading if the reader confines them to their context and they tended to clarify and enhance illustrations of the application of these views.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever heard someone espouse a certain viewpoint and thought "How can they possibly believe that?" It provides a good basis for understanding how these differences arise.
This book should be required reading in any Western country.......2007-07-27
Why? Because it provides the clearest explanation I've ever read of the primal undercurrent that has driven Western thought along its binary path (collective vs individual) over the past 500 years.
My Book Review ..........2006-10-01
1. AUTHOR BACKGROUND & PROFILE
Before giving my personal perception and opinion about this book, I would like to start with get to know the profile and personality of Thomas Sowell. The reason being is to screen whether the author's use of language and evidence is more tend to reflect his individual's personal background OR is more tend to the fact than personal opinion that consists of no benefit of interpretation, inference, or value judgment (though I am aware that to some degree, bias or personal interpretations could not be avoided). Below is the information about Thomas Sowell's background and activity that taken from Wikipedia.
"Thomas Sowell was born in North Carolina on 30 June 1930, he is a prominent American economist, political writer, and conservative commentator. He is presently a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
In North Carolina, where he was born, his encounters with white people were so limited that he didn't believe that "yellow" was a possible color for human hair (A Personal Odyssey), and later moved with his mother and siblings (his father died before he was born) to Harlem, New York City. There he attended the highly selective Stuyvesant High School, but dropped out when he moved out on his own at the age of 17 because of money problems and a deteriorating home environment. He soon after served in the US Marine Corps as a photographer and pistol instructor.
After his service, he earned an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College, an A.M. in Economics from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago, known for its Chicago school of economics.
Sowell is both a popular columnist and an academic economist. Sowell primarily writes on economic subjects, in which he generally advocates a free market approach tocapitalism. In addition to this Sowell opposes Marxism providing a critique that Marx never had a labor theory of value. Sowell also writes on racial topics and is a critic of affirmative action or positive discrimination" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sowell)
From the information given above (see underline), he is more likely dominant on the side of constrained vision. For more detail about constrained and unconstrained vision will be discussed below.
2. ISSUES PRESENTED & OVERALL THESIS OF THE BOOK.
In overall, Sowell, as a deep thinker, is trying to represent his observations, study, research, and analysis regarding the deeper root cause of why two different big groups with its political opinions happen too often to be coincidence and it is too uncontrolled to be a plot. Explicitly, I would guess that he is talking about the conflict of vision between liberals and conservatives or socialists and libertarians.
The main keyword, as the root cause, to explain this fundamental political difference is about vision, that more likely also contains the aspect of fanaticism. The different vision among these two big groups is considered as the main resources of the conflict of logical consistency that Sowell identified in his preface that "we sacrifice for our visions and sometimes, if need be, face ruin rather than betray them". He also added that "Visions are very subjective, but well-constructed theories have clear implications, and facts can test and measure their objective validity" in the topic of the role of visions.
The discussions regarding vision will be grouped into two broad categories - the constrained vision and the unconstrained vision. Constrained vision based on theory of moral sentiments by Adam Smith that talk about moral limitations of man in general, and his egocentricity that can not be changed as inherent facts of life. This theory still leave any possibility to its extent into making the best moral and social benefits, BUT still within that constraint that unchangeable as Smith mentioned as both vain and pointless. As an economist, Smith's constrained vision is supplemented by Edmund Burke and Alexander Hamilton in political perspective about: "an infirmity inherent in the fundamental nature of things" or about "the imperfection of the institutor, Man". Another figures as Sowell's references for constrained vision are: Hayek, Hobbes, Milton Friedman, etc.
Unconstrained vision based on theory of Godwin's Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, a work as remarkable for its fate as its contents. He believed that the intention to benefit others as being "of the essence of virtue," and virtue in turn as being the road to human happiness. For Godwin, the real goal of incentive was the long-run development of a higher sense of social duty. In the issue of trade-offs VS solutions, in contrast with constrained vision's belief, the unconstrained vision believed that where moral improvement has no fixed limit, prudence is of a lower order of importance. Man is, in short, "perfectible"- meaning continually improvable rather than capable of actually reaching absolute perfection. In the issue of Social morality and social causation, human actions were dichotomized by Godwin into the beneficial and the harmful, and each of these in turn was dichotomized into the intentional and the unintentional. Another authors citing other than Godwin, are: Rousseau, Veblen, Galbraith, etc
3. WHAT IMPRESSED ME AND MADE ME HAPPY
* Sowell's statement of facts is more dominant than his own opinion that the accuracy can be verified by objective observation and wide usage of reference from both sides of the group of constrained vision and unconstrained vision
* The language style is more denotative than connotative. I like the way Sowell in his honesty respect the difference between this two political group with each of its own strengths and weaknesses. He mentioned that: "Virtually no one believes that man is 100 percent unconstrained and virtually no one believes that man is 100 percent constrained"
* His personality, background, or training or even political preference as a conservative prominently does not affect his intellectual reasoning and statement in this book. I am impressed with Sowell's statement regarding realization about these two fundamentally different assumptions about knowledge and reason with its applications into social process. He does not attack one of them, but instead, suggested on building two things on these two different foundations such as: 1). More awareness of the diversity of visions and their dynamics, and 2). Special attention to visions of equality, visions of justice which are central to the ideological conflicts of the age. (p. 98)
* He does not show any excessive critical tone or any bias of his statement to either one of the two different groups through his words. He is basically free of value of judgment, careless comparisons, and of propaganda in his analysis reasoning.
4. WHAT MADE ME UPSET
* Following Hayek, Sowell maintains that the constrained vision offers little scope for the application of moral theory.
* The constrained vision is more likely to give more pessimistic atmosphere regarding man's potentiality. They are rarely guided by morality, usually prejudiced and irrational, even usually takes every opportunity to take advantage of other people for personal gain. But perhaps more fundamentally, the constrained vision views these negative characteristics as nearly unalterable. As Sowell puts it, "The constrained vision is a tragic vision of the human condition." Mankind's problems flow necessarily from the irremovable flaws of the human character itself.
* I do not really agree about the statement made by Sowell regarding the gap between the actual and the potential is much smaller in constrained vision than in unconstrained vision.
Product Description
After three centuries of oppression, black Americans had reached their limit. Tired of inferior schools, "Jim Crow" laws, and the threat of being lynched for trying to vote, African-Americans risked their lives for justice - most notably in the 1950s and '60s.
Customer Reviews:
This deserves more than six stars!.......2005-02-24
Wow! I've always been interested in the Civil Rights movement, so naturally I was drawn to this book when I spied it in the bookstore. I especially liked that I got a discount on it, which is always a nice thing. I paged through it in the bookstore, was impressed, bought it, took it home, and was just blown away. It's a very informative and outstanding book on the subject and if you are interested in this topic, then you should definitely check this book out. It also contains scores of photographs, so it is somewhat like an encyclopedia. It definitely helped me gain a better understanding of this dark part of our history.
Once again - WOW!
Great Book!!.......2004-03-13
I highly recommend this book to teenagers because it tells you about a lot of things that you don't learn in the classroom.
exceptional view of history.......2004-02-29
The Civil Rights Chronicle belongs in every library, every school, and every home. This honest look at the enslavement of people is not to be missed. The struggle for independence and freedom is chronicled here for all, black, white, or 'other', to read and understand. There are so many things in this world that should never be allowed to happen again!
Yet they continue to happen.
Books:
- Beyond the Yellow Brick Road: Revised
- Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
- Bound and Determined (Berkley Sensation)
- Building Background Knowledge For Academic Achievement: Research On What Works In Schools
- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
- Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
- Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit of Hope, Healing and Forgiveness (Chicken Soup for the Soul)
- Childhood's End
- Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America)
- Desert Solitaire
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