Book Description
Arguing that the power in America is concentrated in large institutions, this book studies the people at the top of these institutions—who they are, how much power they wield, and how they came to power. Tom Dye has chronicled the national leadership since the Nixon-Ford years, each edition featuring the current president and his staff. The seventh edition focuses on the new Bush administration and the contrast it will bring to Washington following 8 years of Clinton dominance. The commentary is supported by years of data analysis involving more than 7000 institutional elites, which includes governmental and corporate leaders. This edition describes the return of the Bush dynasty to power. It includes a new chapter on “The Money Elite”, describing the power of the banking and financial community as well as the Federal Reserve Board; Chapter 7 now covers important issues concerning elite interlocking, recruitment, social characteristics, class, and factionalism; the discussion of “How Institutional Leaders Make Public Policy” has been expanded greatly in Chapter 8; several discussions have been added, including “The Globalization of Economic Power,” “The Battle for IBM,” “Alan Greenspan: Ruling over Money,” “Hillary Clinton: Power and Ambition,” and “Liberal and Conservative Factions among Elites”.
Customer Reviews:
Elite View of American Politics.......2003-05-04
Pretty good book about political elites in the United States. Its strongest point is its empirical discussion of personalities and of groups that have a lot of power in America. Even though the book has been through seven editions, including one following election 2000, some information needs to be updated. This is true, for example, of the discussion about the richest people in America.
The theoretical model I found a bit tangled and not one hundred percent persuasive. I am on the side of the author as far as the major thesis, but I think theoretically this is not the last word on the elite theory of American politics, nor is the book astonishingly creative from the theoretical standpoint.
I also needed more persuasion as far as some specific hypotheses. For example the role of endowments and foundations was presented as a truly major role. Most textbooks on American politics do not even mention endowments and foundations that support academic and scientific research. Much less do most textbooks on the subject consider endowments and foundations to be key players.
Nevertheless, it is a clear no-nonsense book and easy to read, especially if you are interested in politics. I thought it had a nice introductory chapter, paying homage to some of the early great elite theorists, such as Vifredo Pareto, Robert Michels, and Gaetano Mosca.
I recommend it to undergraduate students in American politics and political theory.
Amazon.com
As he did in his bestselling books The O'Reilly Factor and The No Spin Zone, TV and radio host Bill O'Reilly again blasts a host of selfish and corrupt individuals and institutions for threatening the nation's well-being--no surprise there. What is surprising is the personal tone of Who's Looking Out For You, which is as much self-help as social or political commentary. Is O'Reilly getting soft? Hardly. He still packs a punch, but this time he mixes tales of outrage with practical advice gleaned from his own experiences and mistakes. The underlying theme of the book is trust. If you can identify and associate with those that deserve your trust, he argues, you will get along well in both your personal and professional life. Among those external forces undeserving of trust, according to O'Reilly, are the media (particularly harmful to children, he warns), the legal system, and the government: "Our federal government is not good at helping real people who have real problems, and it doesn't care about the money you give it as long as that revenue train keeps chugging along," he writes. He also hammers the INS for their lax stance on illegal immigrants and the damage it has caused the country, irresponsible parents, secularists, network news executives, ideologues, and minority leaders who foster hatred in order to serve their own interests, to name just a few offenders. Though some of his advice tends toward the obvious, it is hard to argue with his emphasis on self-reliance, especially at a time when the answer to the question posed in his title seems to be "just me." It's a good bet that many readers will also add Bill O'Reilly to this list. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
From the mega-bestselling author of The O'Reilly Factor and The No Spin Zone, a no-holds-barred exposé of the people and institutions who are letting Americans down – and what we should do about it.
Bill O’Reilly is mad as hell – and he’s not going to let you take it anymore. In his most powerful and personal book yet, this media powerhouse and unstoppable truth-teller takes on those individuals and institutions in American life who are failing in their duties – big-time. In his inimitable style, mixing wit, pugnacity, and plain common sense, O’Reilly kicks butt and takes (and also names) names – from crooked corporate weasels to venal politicians to lazy and/or politically correct bureaucrats to sexually predatory priests and the Church hierarchy that protects them to a media establishment rife with political bias and economically hooked on violence and smut. At the same time that he calls the famous and powerful to account, he dares to get personal, questioning just how much our closest friends, families, and lovers do look out for us, and delivering a powerful message about personal responsibility and self-reliance in an uncertain world. He forces us to ask just how much genuine altruism is left in a society that thrives on self-indulgence and ruthless competition.
Who’s Looking Out for You? is a book that boldly confronts our worst fears and biggest problems in a post-9/11, post-corporate-meltdown world. Its sage, candid advice on regaining control and trust in these troubled times will resonate with the millions of readers and viewers who have come to believe in Bill O’Reilly as the man who speaks for them.
Customer Reviews:
Sharing His Life Lessons.......2007-10-12
Television commentator Bill O'Reilly advises people to become problem solvers by developing "the ability to recognize who really cares about you as a person - and who does not." This is great advice that many never follow. He contends in this book that the government, media, church hierarchy, and big business are not looking out for ordinary Americans and hence are failing them. Along with some personal stories, this book gives good advice. This book does contain some strong language.
Five Thums Up.......2007-09-22
When Bill is on tv my mom lets me watch and I have good grades in school.Bill O'Reilly is very smart
Kids look up to Bill cause he's smart and educated and he is real funny sometimes.
Bill O'Reilly laughs at the nasty letters he gets and I like that about him to.
Reading this book was not easy but my mom helps me through it and I love Bill just like I love my mom.
Mom loves it.............2007-05-14
I bought this for my Mom....
She loves O'Reilly...
She LOVES this book!!
Another homerun for O'Reilly.......2007-03-23
Example after example of ways in which the government programs that claim to be looking out for you prove to have a negative effects. Gives the reader good insight into numberous programs that "seem" to be for our benefit, but have a dark side, not presented in the popular media. Everyone should have this information. Make you own decisions, but at least have the facts first.
Who's looking out for you?.......2007-03-09
This is a great, upfront book about what is going on around us...so many people live in such small areas that to read what Bill has to say really opens our eyes. As time changes so will some of what is in this book, but for the most part he is really with it.
Customer Reviews:
The criminals of 9/11........2007-04-24
How does a engineer become a religious leader. He issues a fatwa, and declares himself the leader. His knowledge of his religion is sketchy. No problem for his followers. He himself might have participated in one battle, but mostly he lives in Peshawar, planning political intrigue. The he is Bin Ladin. This book is about the soldiers he recruited in planning his murders.
The book follows Atta and the other pilots in their religious education. Many of these individuals were trained in Hamburg, under generous provisions of the Germans. They used their training to perpetrate mass murder in the United States.
The book shows how Moslem fundamentalism is spreading on the campuses of Western countries. This book paints a disturbing portrait of what is happening under the very noses of the United States.
Awesome.......2007-03-11
This was a great book with the background of the main characters in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America. The author spent three years interviewing the backgroung of this organizers and planners of this event.
I am using this book for a review of my book club as I believe everyone should understand what we are up against with the thinking of these people to destroy America.
Letta Meinen
Perfect Soldiers.......2007-01-09
Gives the reader a good background on why the leaders of the hijack teams did what they did. Helps you to get inside the muslin terrorist's mind.
Harrowing look at the 9/11 Highjackers.......2006-12-25
Far from wild-eyed raving religious fanatics, the 19 men who struck on 9/11, were by and large middle class and from secular backgrounds. How these seemingly unexceptional young men became suicide soldiers for Al Qaeda is the story that's told here. It's their decided ordinariness and their descent into fundamentalist jihad that makes this such a frightening read.
McDermott paints chilling portraits of the leaders of the 19. Young and lonely Middle Easterners floundering in German colleges, their insecurities lead them to the Islamic fundamentalism preached in Hamburg mosques. Like moths drawn to a flame, they find the direction, certainty and purpose they so crave. Once immersed in the tenets of jihad, they move on to Al Qaeda's terrorist training camps in Afgahnistan. Here, they are hand-picked by Al Qaeda's leadership to go to the U.S. to train to be pilots. The rest, as they say, is history.
The question that's never really answered here is why these men did it, why they sacrificed their own lives to kill innocent civilians. Perhaps no one will ever know. Perhaps the answer is beside the point.
Trying to understand it all.......2006-11-10
This book provides a very readable history of Islamic Fundamentalism. It is worthwhile reading for anyone who wishes to understand how 9/11 came to be and what challenges face the U.S. now from fundamentalist terrorists. It rises above the political din - not alarmist in tone, nor dismissive.
Amazon.com
A Vice President, by definition, will always receive less scrutiny than the fellow at the top of the ticket. Fortunately for Dick Cheney, that lower profile works out quite nicely since, according to author John Nichols, it affords him greater ease in secretly running the government. Nichols chronicles Cheney's many different incarnations: unsuccessful student flunking out of Yale twice, young political operative, Ford administration chief of staff, Wyoming congressman, Secretary of Defense, Halliburton CEO, and finally Vice President. What all these steps have in common, argues Nichols, is a nearly insatiable hunger for power satisfied by Cheney's knack for insinuating himself, Zelig-like, into important places in order to advance. The most compelling sections of Dick: The Man Who Is President deal with Cheney's heading of George W. Bush's vice-presidential search committee and declaring himself the best man for the job, a process Nichols claims was a complete sham from the start. Once in office, Cheney gained historically unprecedented access and power, Nichols claims, simply because no one could stop him. Though Cheney has a deeply conservative voting record and is credited with leading the "neoconservative" school of thought that guided the foreign policy of Bush's administration, Nichols points out that Cheney was known as a moderate in his time with Ford but with Ford's defeat and the rise of Ronald Reagan, shifting hard to the right was simply a more expedient path to power. Dick is more an examination of motives and methods than a strict biography. As such it doesn't move linearly through time, instead jumping around to demonstrate how past events inform current situations. And though Dick Cheney probably wouldn't appreciate Nichols' relentlessly critical approach, it's interesting to see a bright light shone on a man who does so much work in secret undisclosed locations. --John Moe
Book Description
A scathing and irreverent portrait of the man who directs the government, by The Nation's Washington correspondent. When a lone gunman started shooting outside the White House on a weekday morning two years ago, Secret Service agents rushed to secure the leaders of the free world. They found Dick Cheney in his office talking on a speakerphone, reviewing material on a computer screen, and directing aides who were gathered around his desk. President Bush? He was in the gym.
Dick Cheney, says John Nichols, runs the country. He sets energy policy. He guided the nation into war with Iraq, and, working closely with Karl Rove, he oversees the political infrastructure that allows corporate interests and the religious right to control lawmaking.
Dick: The Man Who Is President draws on groundbreaking reporting —including exclusive interviews with Cheney himself, as well as with Nelson Mandela, Gore Vidal, members of Congress, and others who have tangled with Cheney. Timed for the fall election campaign, the book will open debate on a key, unasked question: Do Americans really want Dick Cheney running their country?
Customer Reviews:
You gotta be kidding.......2007-08-21
Nichols did not intend for his book to be a humorous novel, but by gosh it is. It is so full of extremes. While reading the book, the image of Cheney in a black uniform and black helmet embracing the dark side of the force kept popping up. Yes, it is a good book. The trouble is, I don't think the author is being fair to Dick. That's not to say that the book is exaggerated, but the seams of truth are a bit stretched. All in all, it is an interesting and engaging book. It will keep you entertained.
This is proving out to be the exaggeration it is........2005-10-29
Cheney is a powerful VP, a very well respected man in Washington and obviously a sharp individual as his resume shows. Bush and Cheney won 2 elections. The people voted for them, this was not some appointment. But is has become more and more apparent that Bush himself is making most of the top decisions. Every president uses his staff to help with making decisions and policy and Bush is lucky to have someone like Cheney there. The book's author is using his personal bias against Cheney and Bush to skew public perceptions and to cash in on politics for himself.
Good on facts but not motivations.......2005-09-03
When I read a biography, I expect two main areas to be covered: what the person did, or has done, in their life, and *why*. I want to see the author's insight into their motivations. On that level, this book failed for me.
The focus in this book is on Dick Cheney's first term as Vice-President. Everything is related back to it. The author gives the details of Cheney's childhood and education and so forth. When it turns to his political education, it begins to refer ahead to the vice-presidency: he met this person he brought into the White House at this point, or he developed that tendency he would later display in the White House at that point. If you want the facts and figures of Cheney's life, what he did, where he did it, who he met, to an extent what they thought of him at the time, those details are here.
The analysis of why Cheney has done and is doing what he is, I think the book fails to deliver. According to the author, Cheney is obsessed with power, and everything he does is geared to that. Sure, that seems to be a justifiable viewpoint, but it's an element in the personality of almost any politician, and it certainly cannot be the one and only motivation the author claims it to be. In fact, that is my main problem, not that the only motivation the author gives Cheney is the lust for power, but that he doesn't even really prove that, more state it as being self-evidently true. It doesn't explain the ultra-right wing voting pattern the author reveals. It doesn't explain why Cheney went to such extremes to hide it, or so much else of his life. Why is Cheney so secretive? I would have appreciated some explanation of why as well as the simple fact of it. On a similar note, the author tries to define Cheney's real position in government. His usual estimate is that of a Prime Minister, but several times his own information backs up the one claim that Cheney is like the CEO of America. If the author had followed up that line of thought, rather than focusing almost exclusively on the purely political side of Cheney's power, I think this book could have told us a lot about his motivations.
This book is worth reading, given the position and specific power and influence of this particular neo-conservative, but with the understanding that it gives little more insight into his motivations than books on neo-conservatives in general. If you have to choose between this book, and ones like Chalmers Johnson's The Sorrows of Empire or James Mann's Rise of the Vulcans, both of which the author refers to many times, you really should choose them instead.
An unauthorized first biography.......2005-05-11
George Bush may officially hold the power, but Dick Cheney is the real man in office: that's the message of John Nichols' Dick: The Man Who Is President, an unauthorized first biography of the most powerful VP in American history. From his involvements in Reagan-era scandals to his promotion of the war in Iraq, John Nichols' close inspection of Dick Cheney is damning and eye-opening.
A Quick "Shock and Awe" raid on the VP.......2005-03-09
While I share many of the same critiques of teh Vice President as the author (although not all) this book really lacks some depth. It makes valid points about the vice president but thet are shallowly presented.
However, with that said, the book does ofer a good look at a very important figure who has managed to escape much scruitiny. Additionally, the book does give a national audience its first look at some of the lesser known problems with the VP.
Amazon.com
Veteran columnist Molly Ivins, a rare and highly irreverent Texas liberal, is back with a collection of columns gathered from a rich and varied career covering some of the best source material a writer with a knack for whimsy could wish for: politicians. In Who Let the Dogs In, Ivins offers her thoughts on politicos from the Reagan era through the administration of George W. Bush (whom she first nicknamed "Shrub" way back in his early Texas days). While Ivins is of the lefty persuasion, she is far from doctrinaire, which helps separate her from the scores of lockstep pundits on either side: she credits Bill Clinton with being a brilliant politician and condemns the policies of Bush as being terrible for average Americans, but also presents stinging criticisms of Clinton's failed initiatives and defends Bush as being smarter than most give him credit for. Her words are strong, her writing is clear, and her thoughts are well organized. Of course, most people remember a Molly Ivins column for the humor, and we get to witness her firing missiles at low-flying targets like Newt Gingrich and Ross Perot and describing Bush's puzzling lead over Al Gore among men in the 2000 campaign, "One guy played football, went to Vietnam, and is notoriously emotionally distant. The other guy was a cheerleader who got into a National Guard unit through family influence, lost money in the oil business, traded Sammy Sosa and is now sliding through a presidential race on charm. Do I not get American men, or what?" Who Let the Dogs In lacks some of the focus of her Shrub and Bushwhacked simply because it's about a whole generation of political characters as opposed to one memorable Texan, but such broader perspective also affords an opportunity to better understand America's recent history and maybe get a few laughs while doing it. --John Moe
Book Description
The dazzling, inimitable Molly Ivins is back, with her own personal Hall of Fame of America’s most amazing and outlandish politicians–the wicked, the wise, the witty, and the witless–drawn from more than twenty years of reporting on the folks who attempt to run our government (in some cases, into the ground).
Who Let the Dogs In? takes us on a wild ride through two decades of political life, from Ronald Reagan, through Big George and Bill Clinton, to our current top dog, known to Ivins readers simply as Dubya. But those are just a few of the political animals who are honored and skewered for our amusement. Ivins also writes hilariously, perceptively, and at times witheringly of John Ashcroft, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, H. Ross Perot, Tom DeLay, Ann Richards, Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, and the current governor of Texas, who is known as Rick “Goodhair” Perry.
Following close on the heels of her phenomenally successful
Bushwhacked and containing an up-to-the-minute Introduction for the campaign season,
Who Let the Dogs In? is political writing at its best.
Customer Reviews:
Molly was the best.......2007-06-12
This book is typical of the late Molly Ivins' spirited humor. She came to the college where I taught and delivered a lecture a few years before she died. Every educated person in Kansas City filled the auditorium to capacity--many students had to sit onstage with her. But the educated audience demonstrated appropriate behavior in the face of her pilloring right-wing politicians: they laughed until their tongues came out their noses and they fell out of their chairs. She accomplished a four-year liberal arts education in just over an hour.
If only America had listened to Molly!.......2006-02-07
Using her trademark witty writing, Molly Ivins delivered up another awesome collection of political writings. She was the one who recognized the threat which George W. Bush posed to society long before a majority of the public (including us in the Lone Star State) knew who he was.
Ivins also knows when to criticize her 'friends' making this book so much more than a 'bash Republicans' reader. Loads of credible facts are tucked into her home-spun writing. This to me is the biggest difference between progressives and the far right; we argue on the facts and in reality while they want to mislead the American public into despair using whatever fabrication is most convenient at the moment.
However, I wish this book had (at least some) new material inside or 'extras' given her tremendous insight and foresight into Texas and American politics. Instead, it is only a collection of her past writings, sufficient in most cases but a letdown specifically because we are talking Molly Ivins.
Already owning her books, I subsequently passed on this title to a friend who is also a 'Molly fan' but is on a much tighter-book buying budget. Yet, I still admire that she reminds the world that we Texas liberals are out there!
Hilarious but interesting.......2005-06-18
When it comes to needing a straight shooting Texas liberal who is not afraid of the BIG BAD GOP, look no further than Molly Ivins. Combined with wit and humor, Ivins gives the left out facts about the conservative cronies you won't find on MSNBC, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, or any other mainstream media outlet. Give this book a read when you need some political humor or are sick and tired of the rightwing fascists in the media and government. The more you know about these dirty conservative elitists, the more you'll think twice before giving them the keys to govern.
Interesting and comprehensive.......2005-05-07
Molly Ivins is one of the best political authors and columnists out there today, in my opinion. "Who Let the Dogs In?" is one of the better political books I've read recently. It's interesting and has a lot of information about the key political figures of our time-a must read for anyone interested in our current political scene. I, also, enjoy Molly's humorous touches. She knows her subject and is funny, too.
I did note, however, that the on cover illustration of
George W. Bush as a dog is that of a chihuahua. I thought
Ross Perot was "the chihuahua". Bush should've been done as a pitbull as that would be more in keeping with his stubborn personality. The other illustrations of various political figures as dogs are definitely worth looking at, though.
Bright and funny writer hamstrung by her prejudices.......2005-04-17
Many years ago I enjoyed reading Ivins' columns but unforunately her brand of independent liberalism has turned into just another mainstream media voice parroting the Democrats. Her personal hatred of George Bush has become distracting and embarrasing. Strangely enough she reminds me of Rush Limbaugh. When he began doing political commentary on the radio Limbaugh was an independent with a conservative streak and was comfortable attacking Republicans. Similarly Ivins was originally an independent with a liberal streak who was comfortable attacking Democrats. Now Limbaugh is as firmly ensconced in the Republican camp as Ivins is in the Democratic camp.
What a shame.
Book Description
The bestselling author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy offers his most provocative and funniest book yet!
Greg Palast has spent the last thirty years getting the goods on corporate con men and political hucksters. Now he and his special guests cut through the TV news babytalk in Armed Madhouse. Armed with more than fifty classified documents and confidential memos, Palast brings you the stories not allowed in The New York Times, including:
Before invading, George Bush didn't have a secret plan to seize Iraq's oil -- he had two. Palast shows you both.
In "Who's Afraid of Osama Wolf?," Palast reveals the horror and humor of the War on Terror.
In "The Network," Palast gives you the skinny on the new global order -- and pushes Thomas Friedman over the edge of his Flat World.
It was Palast, for BBC TV, who first uncovered how Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris stole Election 2000. Now he tells you that Kerry won in 2004 -- and that 2008 is already fixed.
Who drowned New Orleans? Palast names names -- and adds some suggestions for fighting the new Class War.
Greg Palast speaks truth to power the only way you can -- by letting the facts speak for themselves. Get the straight story on what today's self-appointed Masters of the Universe have in store for you.
Customer Reviews:
Read the book, avoid the audio version.......2007-10-10
The material presented seems to be meticulously researched, and clearly and systematically presented. The problem is -on the audio CD edition- the sarcasm with which the lines are spoken. The sneering, cloying sarcasm is so intense, so pervasive, and so grating that it detracts from the narrative. Is it really necessary to emulate Anne Coulter's style?
The truth exponentially!.......2007-10-05
Greg Palast is the modern day Thomas Paine. Believe me when I say that that is not overstatement. This is the book that got a man tazed by his vociferous opining over one single chapter - in fact, the very chapter that is what makes this book so important to understanding the hijacking of an entire country and its Constitution by the Bush crime machine.
The very fact that Palast has to go to another country to speak his truth tells you that we are in serious danger of losing the fourth estate altogether if we don't pay attention and do something about it.
I heard Palast on progressive radio and started my quest for the facts by reading his online pieces, and then buying this book. I only wish more Americans had listened much earlier and perhaps we could have avoided the fiasco that began with the hanging chad fiasco of 2001 when the Supreme Court appointed King George. That horrific event began the decent into constitutional chaos and the monumental abyss of lies, torture, rendering, the attack on human rights in our country and more.
I am so glad there is a Greg Palast. Just as glad as Bush cronies hate everything this man represents. "Armed Madhouse" is a welcome addition to my reference library and historic archives. Read and become enlightened!
Hostile Takeover.......2007-10-04
Greg Palast's Armed Madhouse documents the thesis of CW Mills' seminal 1956 book The Power Elite - that US politics is just a facade: A facade for a hostile corporate takeover of both governments and nations. Palast asserts and documents that the "war on terror" was conceived as an attempt to destroy OPEC, further impoverish the US middle class, and reap windfall corporate profits from rebuilding Iraq, whose "no-bid", cash cow rebuilding Palast calls "the biggest reconstruction project since the pyramids" [page 277]. Palast humorously remarks in passing that "Operation Iraqi Freedom" was originally dubbed Operation Iraqi Liberation ("O.I.L.") by White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
"Conspiracy nuts think George Bush, from the moment he took office, had a secret plan to control Iraq's oil. They're wrong. Bush had two plans. Here they are: One crafted by the neoconservatives at the Pentagon, another fashioned by the State Department and Big Oil. This is the history of the secret cold war between these two power elites, which drives the hot war on the Tigris" [page 51].
"[This book] is about how they are taking these American rights away, stripping them off you one by one, from the Wage and Hour Law's 40-hour week to the Clayton Antitrust Law to the False Claims Act to the laws that keep your lights on and your pensions protected. Many are laws that you've probably never heard of, like the Public Utility Holding Company Act. But, take my word for it, you'll miss them when they're gone" [page 284].
Outstanding book.
Highly Informative, Disturbingly Insightful.......2007-10-01
Palast uncovers advanced economic plots to make the rich richer and the poor their servants. First he discusses the oil economy as it relates to big businesses and the political systems of those countries in power. Although there are those who completely dispel Palast's notion that oil is in seemingly infinite supply (and I don't mean right-wingers, either... do a google), I don't think if Palast is wrong on this count that it destroys his theories on how the oil industry operates and prospers. Other keep-the-rich rich schemes include the stealing of elections, something I've already studied and yet, was completely horrified to learn further extent to this phenomenon. Other notable topics include China, our lack-luster education system, and how the working class is held down. Well worth the listen, but have your brain turned on and focused. You can't be day dreaming and get what the author is saying because there are a lot of details given and he talks rather quickly.
Why Isn't Congress Reading This Book?.......2007-09-23
This book should be a mandatory assignment to be read by every member of congress. It's all about lies and the real reason for this war. Controll of oil prices.
Book Description
Stories of the players who played for the Twins over the last forty years. Including pictures and stats. Includes Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett, Gary Gaetti, and many others. With many stories never before told.
Customer Reviews:
Touching Bases with our memories.......2002-11-20
I originally ordered this book to give to my brother as a Christmas gift. But after reading through it, I may keep it for myself! It brought back so many memories of the Twins teams I grew up watching. A delightful book with great photos.
Book Description
The first comprehensive inside look at the investigation into Al Qaeda, and at John O፥ill, the FBI counter–terrorism agent who warned that an attack like September 11 was imminent.
For many people, September 11 was the day ೨e unimaginableߨappened. But one FBI agent, John O፥ill, had repeatedly warned the US Government that such an attack was possible. Ironically, O፥ill lost his own life on September 11, just days after beginning a new job as head of security for the World Trade Center.
As one of the FBI's foremost counter–terrorism experts, John O፥ill played a leading role in almost every major investigation of terrorism against Americans in the past decade. O፥ill was a dashing, larger–than–life character who irritated many members of US and foreign governments with his aggressive, hands–on tactics and his insistent, repeated warnings about the possibility of an attack on US soil.
Disillusioned by his experiences with the FBI, O፥ill left governmental service to assume the position of chief of security for the Twin Towers in August 2001. Full of twists and turns, John O፥ill's tragic story reveals how one man's unheeded warnings came back to haunt the country he worked so hard to defend.
Customer Reviews:
True Grit..........2007-03-29
John O'Neill grew up in Atlantic City, NJ watching the FBI on TV on Sunday nights. All he ever wanted to do was be an FBI agent and serve his country. The son of working class folks who ran a taxi cab business he dedicated himself to be the finest and fulfilled his childhood dreams. Jonh went to my high-school and lived 5 minutes from where I grew up, I never knew him but after reading this fine Murray Weiss biography I feel I know him as a brother. This book will infuriate you as John O'Neill tries to warn everyone in the government of an impending doom with Bin Laden, who he studied and profiled, much to his chagrin no one listened. How ironic that after so much frustration with the FBI bureacracy and a Clinton Administration consumed by the presidents personal travails that John O'Neill resigns to take over security operations at the World Trade Center one week before 9/11. He perished in the collapse of the towers after he was safely out. He ran back in to try to save people. This book will move you, John O'Neill's story will stay with you. Did he have his own style and personal troubles, sure, but his life is what you will remember, his dedication to his job and the fact that maybe if a few more higher ups had listened to him this tragedy could have been averted. With men like this, you'll believe our country is in good hands as far as the war with terrorism is concerned. It's upper management we should be worried about.
John O'Neil is a true hero. This book is the basis for the ABC drama on 9/11........2006-09-12
John O'Neill was the most dedicated member of the FBI who committed his life to fighting crime and, ultimately, terrorism. His efforts were discouraged by bureaucracy, ignorance, and the Clinton administration. Read firsthand in this book how he was so close to saving much anguish, sorrow and death in the United States but was stopped in his tracks by others too inept to acknowledge the vision he had for stopping the unfortunate acts of terrorism in New York and Yemen. The cruelest irony is that he died in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in charge of security after he retired from the FBI due to frustration.
Ironic and captivating.......2006-06-21
This is an interesting book on an unusual subject. People like John O'Neill are not usually the subjects of biographies. He wasn't anywhere near prominent enough, and that usually means that someone like O'Neill winds up being a footnote in a book about someone else. Instead, O'Neill was the FBI agent in charge of International security in New York City, and spent much of the 90s as the guy in the FBI who was the most interested in and focused on capturing Osama bin Laden. Ironically, he retired in mid-2001, and took a job as head of security at the World Trade Center. He went back into the South Tower on 9/11 and was killed when it collapsed.
O'Neill, according to the author, was a complex, driven man, a visionary who was one of the first US officials to decide that Osama bin Ladin was worth watching and perhaps capturing. While his FBI career was, in terms of his job performance, impeccable, he had two major weaknesses. First, he was occasionally forgetful, and violated various FBI rules and protocols. In the mid-90s, when Louis Freeh was running the FBI, any violations were punishable, and almost certainly would have a detrimental affect on a person's career. O'Neill was once caught letting a girlfriend onto an FBI secure facility, and giving her a ride in his car. On another occasion, he lost a briefcase full of classified material that shouldn't have been out of the office. Both of these incidents impacted his career and chances for promotion. Second, he had a penchant for chasing multiple women at the same time, concealing each liason from all of his other girlfriends. When he died, each of the women was surprised to find out that there were other women in his life.
Much of the book is devoted to O'Neill's pursuit of bin Ladin, especially the investigation of the bombings at the African Embassies in 1998 and the Cole bombing in 2000. While O'Neill wasn't involved directly in the Embassy bombing investigations, he was in charge of the Cole bombing investigation. However, for whatever reason he ran afoul of the local US ambassador, a woman named Barbara Bodine, who started out asserting her control of the investigation and insisting that the Yemenis were offended by O'Neill, and that only she could smoothe things over. This was before O'Neill had met any of the Yemenis yet, but she insisted it was the case. By the time the investigation concluded, Bodine was so sure that withdrawing the FBI investigators was provocative that she ordered Marine guards to keep the FBI agents in the embassy, and had to be told by her superiors at the State Department to let the agents go. After she'd been transferred back to the States and 9/11 happened, the Yemenis became more helpful, and eventually began cooperating extensively with the US. Ambassador Bodine stuck to her guns, however, and even badmouthed O'Neill in an interview after his death.
You have to wonder about this part of the book. Author Weiss was a friend of O'Neill's, and he clearly sides with him against Bodine. It's difficult to see how she could justify what she did (even if O'Neill was despicable, letting her opinion of him subvert this sort of FBI investigation is inexcusable). I expect that somehow she saw through his private life in some fashion. Weiss says that she had been introduced to O'Neill in New York before she became ambassador to Yemen. Perhaps she saw him at a restaurant with a woman other than the one who was escorting him the night they were introduced to each other.
Regardless, this is an interesting book, even if the author, a journalist, occasionally makes a mistake around the periphery of his story. The one I noticed was the author saying that USS The Sullivans was named for some brothers killed on a "carrier" during World War II. The Sullivan brothers were killed on USS Juneau, an Atlanta-class Light Cruiser. Other reviewers have noted mistakes on the edges of the story, but they don't (in my mind, anyway) detract from the main message of his story.
John O'Neill is a modern hero........2006-02-14
I bought this book on sale at K-Mart, and it was definitely worth the few dimes I spent for it. This book reads like a novel, fast and furious, not much down time. If you don't know about John O'Neill, a true hero, or martyr in this case, then you need to read this book. Yes, O'Neill has his faults (don't we all!!), #1 - he is definitely a ladies man and has three ladies plus an undivorced marriage on the string, and #2 - he becomes forgetful and loses things that almost cost him his job. But hey, that's only two negatives compared to the positives this guy was made of. His story is a compelling statement made against our current President and his predecessors that did not follow up on his predictions that Al Qaeda would strike again and again. To top it off, he even predicted his own death in the Twin Towers the day before. If you don't read this book, then you don't care how terrorists have us under their grip and won't let go.
Buy this book . . . what a life........2006-01-25
I've read this book, reread it and reread it yet again. This is a fantastic read. Murray Weiss' obvious affection for O'Neill shines through. It is a sympathetic portrait of John O'neill whose hard-charging style earned friends and foes in all aspects of government. He clashed in particular with Barbara Bodine, the US ambasador to Yeman, over her hampering of the FBI's Cole investigation and her arabist mind set. Sounds like she almost went native! The tragedy of this clash, and, ultimately, her refusal to allow him back into Yeman is that much later linkage was made between some of the Cole attackers and linked individuals and Yeman safe houses and the 911 plot. O'Neill was head of the FBI's counter terror division and the resident expert on Bin Laden. The great irony as we all know is that his first post-FBI job was the head of security at the World Trade Centers--he died on 911 at his new post.
His was a warm engaging personality. People obviously loved him. Some of his personal relationships with woman were exposed in this book. He kept his life compartmentalized to an extreme degree. To this I would only ask how many of us would like a journlistic sleuth like Mr. Weiss pouring over every personal/financial detail of our lives??? No thanks!
His life will soon be made into a movie and his life has all the attributes that could make a great film . . . courage, lots of girls, smart as hell and driven. To me John O'Neill represents the best in America . . . the very best. He is a hero in the full sense of the word(not just the positive traits, but with tragic flaws as well). For more information check out the PBS Frontline website where they have a free archived program on his life and times. Five Stars. A great read.
Book Description
On the morning of September 11, 2001, thousands of airline and airport professionals headed off for what they assumed would be just another day on the job. Of course it was anything but. Now, as the nation approaches the fifth anniversary of that tragic day, the stories of the heroes and casualties among our dedicated air travel workers remain largely untold.
Until now. Reclaiming the Sky honors not only those workers who died doing their jobs, but also the ones that soldiered through on that day and in the aftermath, tirelessly piecing back together the fragments of a shattered industry -- and indeed a critical social and economic force -- while putting aside their own fears and grief.
In conjunction with a website, reclaimingthesky.com -- where readers can share their stories and thoughts -- the book not only honors the heroes and casualties of 9/11, it also offers common ground to those seeking meaning, purpose, and the strength to move forward.
Customer Reviews:
A passionate, involving set of experiences of ordinary individuals placed in unusual situations calling for action........2006-11-06
These personal stories of aviation employees whose lives changed after September 11th, 2001 makes for an outstanding collection of memories of those who acted courageously and behind the scenes. RECLAIMING THE SKY: 9/11 AND THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE MEN ND WOMEN WHO KEPT AMERICA FLYING offers stories of professionals who were on duty on that day: it makes for a passionate, involving set of experiences of ordinary individuals placed in unusual situations calling for action.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
9/11 - an honest perspective.......2006-10-14
What strikes me most about this book is the honesty, time and care taken by the author in ensuring that the story told is true to the maturing experiences of those involved. I am sure that it would have been relatively easy for Mr. Murphy to rush a book out, given his proximity to the people and events of that terrible day. But he didn't do that. This approach must have required great patience and absolute dedication, but these traits have in the end been richly rewarded in what is a unique account and a developed perspective.
I think this is key. I myself was caught up in the '93 bombing. My experience was relatively mild of course - a bad scare and a long walk down from the 99th floor. But even in my case I've learned that it takes time and reflection to judge the true impact of these seemingly unreal events.
I loved those towers very much. As a Brit in New York I was in "adult Disneyland" - perhaps the best 3 years of my life. Whenever I could, wherever I was in New York, I'd look for the towers, as if addicted to their beauty and iconic majesty. I didn't realise that '93 was just the start of a greater tragedy. My firm relocated and our space was taken by another firm. They were a client of mine and I loved working for them - such great people, with real character. When I left New York to return to London I was given a football by my boss, with signatures of those I'd been closest to in New York. Tragically, 4 of those signatures are from people that were lost on 9/11.
Having left New York I was confined to experiencing 9/11 through a TV, remote and detached. For so long my '93 experience and also 9/11 have seemed and felt to me to be a work of fiction, something from the movies. The relevance of this to the book is that time and reflection have taught me not to gloss over or bury past events but to recognise that they were real, they did happen, it really was intended to topple the towers as I sat in them, that evil had its moment but that the memories of the spirit of the good and the great has in the end prevailed. Thank you Tom for allowing me to find my own maturity and honest perspective.
Enduring and Prevailing: the definitive roadmap.......2006-09-19
This book is structured around the stories of about two dozen aviation industry personnel at three airports (Logan, Newark, Dulles) and two airlines (American, United) who although not at ground zero on September, 11, 2001, were on the front line in every significant sense. Although many people rose heroically that day, these stories make a strong case that the performance of those in the aviation industry was second to none, not only on 9/11 but in the days, weeks, and months following. The author has long experience in the aviation industry, largely developing and running customer service training programs. Due to a cancelled meeting that morning in the North Tower he was heading home to the west coast earlier than planned and was among the last to see from the air the twin towers standing. But professional associations and personal friendships within the aviation industry gave him many other perspectives on 9/11 and its aftermath - perspectives that in variety and scope may well be unmatched.
The stories are well told and woven together to show connections, both personal and professional, between people. In addition to their responses to the events of that day, we learn in some cases why they chose aviation as a career, their pride in the industry and part in it, and other aspects of what makes them "tick." The individuals range widely: a security agent, several flight attendants, a pilot, customer service reps, airline operation officers, to name a few. One of the more striking stories focuses on the general manager of the Newark Airport. Her sharp instincts, clear thinking, and ability to act decisively under considerable pressure illustrate leadership of the highest order. Not all these people survived that September morning but this book leaves no doubt that the memory and spirit of those who didn't are alive and well and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. These stories also give an inside look at the aviation industry beyond the gate agents and flight attendants that most of us are familiar with.
But the personal tragedies of that day were just the beginning. The economic and emotional aftermath of 9/11 hit the aviation industry especially hard. Over 100,000 jobs were lost in the first post 9/11 year alone as funding priorities shifted dramatically, and those remaining in aviation took on additional burdens. How these people not only adapted and endured but prevailed - in essence reclaimed their lives - is the central question the author explores. The later part of the book sheds considerable light on this question and distills much of value from these people. Although individual paths to personal recovery varied common themes were unmistakable. Indeed this book is an excellent guide for anyone recovering from a loss of almost any kind or severity.
At a time when the national discourse seems to dwell so much on the fearful, the negative, and the cynical it is refreshing to be reminded - as this book does - that this need not be so. Here are stories of a few, from among undoubtedly many and unsung others, who under crisis conditions were not paralyzed by fear, were able to act decisively, and were willing to reach out to others. And equally impressive they refused to become victims of that experience in the tough months and years that followed. This book provides an occasionally needed reminder of what seemingly ordinary people can do.
enlightening perspective.......2006-09-18
This book brings such a unique perspective to what happened on 9/11. There's this whole "world" of people who had to continue, not just for their own livelihood, but to help maintain one the freedoms that makes us who we are. I really enjoyed the down-to-earth way the author writes, and his honesty with how this has affected him and those around him. This is a great book that helps to explore some of the unspoken sorrows, while not replaying events we've seen so many times. Well worth it. Bravo to the author, and to all those people who kept us flying.
The Inside Story.......2006-09-14
I didn't know it when I started reading it, but this book presents a truly unique perspective on the events of 9/11. Unlike many of the "featured" 9/11 books, Tom Murphy writes not as an outside pundit,partisan political hack or foreign policy wonk... he writes passionately from his position as a long time consultant inside the aviation industry. I was amazed when I read this very insightful book how much I took for granted when I flew both before 9/11 and after. RECLAIMING THE SKY will give you an "on the ground" feel for the what the aviation industry is really like...and what the events of 9/11 meant that fateful day and all the days since. I know you've heard it all before, but when I started it, I couldn't put it down: the book is rich in human detail, conversational and warm in tone, with a depth of compassion and support for those Mr. Murphy knew,worked with and cared deeply about. It's also not just a book about aviation; it's a moving story of Tom Murphy's personal journey as well. I think it's a great book...before writing this review I ordered 3 copies for friends.
Book Description
It's been a decade since political cartoonist Tom Toles collected his panels in book form. He's had a busy decade and plenty of time to further sharpen both his wit, commentary, and pen. NOW Who Do We Blame? presents an editorial master at the top of his game, in all of his whimsical, sometimes scathing, and always insightful glory.
Toles, editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post, includes his favorite frames from the past several years. His subjects include the 9/11 Commission, the 2004 presidential election, terrorism, the Middle East conflict, Yasser Arafat, Afghanistan, Iraq, and of course President George W. Bush. The collection title, in fact, comes from a panel showing Bush at his desk, covered with miniatures of the "GOP White House," "GOP Senate," "GOP House," and "GOP Supreme Court." "Now who do we blame?" asks the puzzled Commander in Chief.
Such is the humor, satire, and intelligence of one of the most accomplished and widely read political cartoonists working today. Toles, who draws himself as the artist working in the lower right corner of his panels, takes on every issue and every powerbroker that crosses the national screen.
Customer Reviews:
Sheer Genius, the People's Poet Cartoonist Laureate.......2006-06-02
I start every day with the Tom Toles cartoon in the Washington Post, and consider him to be the Nation's poet cartoonist laureate. I've taken to buying his books as well, for cheer, for reflection, as gifts, and as a collector's item.
The publisher has done this book a real dis-service by not using Amazon's "about the book" information upload capabilities. The table of contents, for example, not provided by the publisher, is provided here to demonstrate that this is a "serious" cartoon book that is both hysterically funny, and poignantly pointed at REALITY. The contents, as organized by the author:
Politics and the Election
Gays and Religion
Law and Regulations
Press and Media
Health and Education
Science and the Environment
Social Security
The Economy and Budget
Security
WMD and Beyond
This is, quite simply, a sensational book. I will end by noting, somewhat pointedly, that Tom Toles' human wisdom as displayed across all these topics, makes a great deal more sense to me than the idiot "banana words" of most Republican and Democratic candidates for any elective office. Tom Toles for President! (I smile--he's too good a man for the job, unless we change the way we elect Presidents).
Consider also Googling for his web site and sharing his daily cartoons with others--Tom Toles is as close as we get in America to the Solidarity movement and samizdat freedom thinkers that broke the back of communism--now we need to break the back of ideological extremism and predatory capitalism, and that can start with the sharing of Tom Tole's great work.
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- An American Life: The Autobiography
- An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy (The Liberation Trilogy, Vol 1)
- Barns, Sheds and Outbuildings: Plan, Design, Build (Ultimate Guide To...)
- Beginning Of The End, The
Books Index
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General
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Change And Continuity in the 2004 Elections
Inside Culture: Art and Class in the American Home
Organized Interests and American Government
The Traders
Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative, and Historical Studies
