Book Description
Humanitarian consumers have been outraged to learn of the Gap's sweatshops, the young children who assemble Nike running shoes, and the deplorable demands put on agricultural workers by Starbucks Coffee. This book is a call to action to change business practices that hurt workers, children, animals, and the environment. Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, a phenomenally successful alternative corporation, believes that businesses can be both profitable and ethical. Her 1,700 stores in 47 countries sell environmentally friendly beauty products within a model of personal accountability and social responsibility. Inspiring consumers to think about what they buy and from whom they buy it, this book examines the issues driving globalization and the steps consumers can take to keep destructive elements in check. Contributors include the Dalai Lama, Peter Gabriel, Julia Butterfly Hill, Vandana Shiva, Paul Hawken, and Ralph Nader.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book to buy as a gift.......2005-07-22
There were so many great reviews for this book that echoed exactly how I felt about it, but I would like to add that I think that this book would make a great gift. It is a very simple to understand, straight forward book to buy for a friend or family member to heighten their awareness of all of these very important issues. I was so impressed that I watch it in my wish list and buy used copies for friends several times a year.
Wow.......2004-04-21
The title pretty much sums it up. This book was...superb and it doesn't sugarcoat, either. What shocked me most was the chart on page 70 of this book showing minimum wages in other countries (4 cents an hour in Burma!!!!) versus some figures of the head honchos of the corporate world (Walmart's Walton family, according to this, is worth 67.5 billion). It will definitely make you look at the brand names in a different way. I know for sure I will not buy anything from Victoria's secret anymore, nor will I set foot in Walmart anymore unless I'm absolutely desperate for something I don't think I can get anywhere else. So be smart, pick up this book, learn a thing or two, and fight this corporate crap. You'll be much happier you did.
Excellent info, but it doesn't deliver the "how-to.".......2003-02-01
A fascinating, well-made, beautifully-printed gem of a book! Stuffed with color photos, eye-catching graphics, and the kind of quotes and data that makes you think, "Ooh, I gotta paperclip this page!" I'd like to buy a copy for many other people, if I knew they'd read it.
Unfortunately, the only criticism I have is also fairly severe: the sub-title is "How to make conscious choices to change the world." Sorry to say, but the book never really goes very far into that aspect. There's meticulous detail on the nature and origins of globalization, social injustice, environmental crises, and human rights, but actual guidance to make a difference is fairly slim.
That's too bad, too, because the book excels in its ability to outrage the reader and convert you to the agreement that "this stuff really matters! It's more important than I thought!", and yet I find myself dissatisfied with the few suggested answers against the many overpowering wrongs. It's not "an action guide," but rather a fascinating and invaluable textbook.
We know what we have to do...but help !.......2002-05-30
Wonderful book.I strongly agree with the comments from one of the reader regarding information/media activism. We have to move from thinking and talking to real action. As a young activist, I would love to be coached ( like so many others ). We need a system where we could share, get support and empowerment. We learn by action not by information. Sometimes I feel kind of upset, because I feel that people that have the power, network and interest in global issue are doing this for their own ego. Bono from U2 is doing a good effort but why is he not spending his money to help young leaders ? We should invest in those people that will have a tremendous impact localy and abroad. Why not using technology to create a powerful leverage. A place where people like me could get support, coaching in my project ?
It was a great book to read, but I felt more discouraged than emporwered...
Empowerment Plus.......2002-05-23
Congratulations on your fabulous new book. It is a masterpiece!
I applaud this work, its connectedness and passion.
Most of all I admire its courage to say, so clearly, what needs to be said.
It's truth resonates with me.
I noticed with great interest that mentioned (page 140) was the gap between the military budget and the trickle that goes towards preventing wars.
As you probably know, globally, we spend $780 billion every year on the military.
`Transform the Military' suggest that we convert just 1/3 of that amount each year to fix the following problems.
*Eliminate Starvation and Malnutrition *Provide Shelter
*Provide Health Care and AIDS Control *Stabilise Population
*Prevent Soil Erosion *Eliminate Illiteracy
*Provide CleanWater *Clear Land mines
*Disarm Nuclear Weapons
*Address the Refugee Problem
*Support Democracy *Halt Deforestation
*Address Global Warming
*Prevent Acid Rain
*Ozone *Retire Developing Nations debt.
While ever we direct money towards the military we are saying that conflict resolution can only be achieved by military means and we all know that is not the case.
We wish to write war out of future history and we believe that `Transform the Military' is the way to make it reality. We are asking that capital, personnel and expertise as well as 1/3 of the budget be redirected towards human and environmental needs. Anita I am grateful for what you contribute to the world.
Well Done!!!
Yours in Peace
Faith Charity
Amazon.com
At the beginning of this slim polemic, Peggy Noonan states that she does not hate the first lady, she merely has contempt for her, and in The Case Against Hillary Clinton she explains precisely why. Noonan's objections to Hillary Clinton and her husband ("to understand her you have to understand him") are based both on ideology and style--Noonan considers the Clintons to be self-involved know-it-alls who "stand for one thing: maximum and uninterrupted power for the Clintons." "They have made the American political landscape a lower and lesser thing," she writes. "They have stopped good things from happening, and have allowed bad things to occur; when caught they have covered up and dissembled." Noonan describes Hillary's bid for a Senate seat in a state not her own as "a thing of utter and breathtaking gall." She further dismisses Mrs. Clinton's ability to lead at all, citing the botched health-care initiative, Filegate, Travelgate, and chronic lying by both of the Clintons as evidence. Perhaps Noonan's most persuasive argument against Hillary is that, although she has been in a position to do much good, she has accomplished little on her own: "I am often frustrated with her because she could do some real good, and at a crucial time, and doesn't.... I can't think of a single time in seven years that she jeopardized her position with her base to make progress for her country."
A speechwriter for Ronald Reagan who chronicled her own White House experiences in the book What I Saw at the Revolution, Noonan exercises plenty of creative license in these pages, mostly effectively by inventing dialogue, events, and inner thoughts that serve to illustrate Mrs. Clinton's motives and character as Noonan sees them. And the author notes, as have others, that Mrs. Clinton's Senate race is likely just a first step on the road to the White House: "So New York is the battle that may decide the war. This Senate bid has huge implications, not only for New York State but for the nation," she writes. In all, a persuasive case elegantly presented. --Linda Killian
Book Description
As the long, scandal-ridden trial of the Clinton years comes to an end--and as the first lady mounts her own campaign for independent political office--it is time for a summation. What is the legacy of Clintonism? What is there in Hillary Clinton's background, talents, or record of achievement that qualifies her to represent New York in the U.S. Senate? And, most important, what will happen if Hillary should win this fall? Where will her ambition lead her next?
Peggy Noonan, one of our most astute political observers and a speechwriter for the Reagan White House, argues in this passionate and compelling book that everyone in the United States--not just New Yorkers--must look closely at Hillary and the implications of her Senate bid. The Case Against Hillary Clinton offers an eye-opening assessment of the scandals, and failures of the Clinton years, from Whitewater to health care to the Filegate and Travelgate affairs--casting a revealing light on the first lady's motives and behavior. It poses searching questions about the difference between the citizens of New York and the Clintons of Arkansas; between public service and lip service; between the whole truth and the shameless parade of evasion and spin the first couple has marshaled throughout their White House years. And finally, in these pages Noonan calls on us to consider the climate of deception and disgrace the Clintons have left in their wake--weakening our nation's moral standing and damaging our political process in ways that will take years to heal.
Never before has the character of a first lady been so integral to the fate of a presidential administration and no writer before Peggy Noonan has had the courage to offer so uncompromising an estimation of Hillary Clinton as the one contained in this book. The Case Against Hillary Clinton takes the measure of the woman, the candidate, the striving politician--and offers a convincing argument that her calculated bid for power will be the first truly important election of the new millennium.
I thought, seven years ago, that the Clintons might turn out to be inspiring. They had guts, came from nowhere, were bright and hard-driving; he was educated, credentialed, a political moderate but not a boring one; she appeared to be something new and interesting, a modern woman who operated with confidence in all the circles of the world.... Hillary could have been a strong and encouraging presence, maybe continuing to work in the world as a lawyer, as Cherie Blair has in Great Britain--a judge, working mother, and "first lady" who is everywhere a figure of respect.
What a presidency this would have been. What a legacy they would have left .
What did the Clintons do with their two administrations? They left behind a country more damaged, more removed from its old, rough idealism; a country whose children live in a coarser and more dangerous place; a country whose political life has been distorted and lowered.... And for this reason, for all of these reasons, Clintonism should not be allowed to continue.
And if it is not to continue, the next great battle may prove to be the decisive one, and that is the battle of New York.
-- From The Case Against Hillary Clinton
Customer Reviews:
Mrs. Clinton's Character?.......2007-06-11
This is a very short polemic on the character of the former first lady by Reagan speechwriter and author of "What I saw at the revolution" and other works. In this book the writer is alleging that Senator Clinton feels entitled to power, Noonan summarizes her involvement in a number of scandals. So many scandals and a good teflon suit. This book shows once again, as many other do, that Hillary cares about only one thing, Hillary. As with any book about Hillary Clinton, this book conatians some strong language. And is a fast read, so spend an afternoon and read it.
Great Disappointment!.......2007-05-25
I have been a respecter of Peggy Noonan and a Hillary Hater for many years but found the book to be a big disappointment. I wanted more facts to back up my feelings for Hillary, but instead Peggy Noonan's book is filled with speculation about what Hillary and others are thinking at any given moment or situation. It is stricktly a good guess to put into dialoge what is going on in someone else head! And the chapter that was "a dream" clinched it for me! Unexcuseable! I'll keep searching for the info I need.
'The politics of hate' as expressed by a catty conservative .......2006-02-25
There is nothing quite so delicious as two smart women in a personal catfight, clawing and scratching at each other with a pure vicious spite that frightens any male who thinks they might be serious.
Peggy Noonan is one of those very smart women, a gifted speechwriter who was able to make Ronald Reagan act and sound presidential on occasion. When anyone considers the number of B-movies where Reagan was himself, and the height of his career in 'Bedtime for Bonzo' where he was only upstaged by a monkey, it produces a genuine sadness that Noonan didn't use her talents in Hollywood instead of politics.
It's what makes this book an absolute delight some six years after it was published on April Fool's Day. America was then at peace, with a budget surplus and respect throughout the world -- as Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are still widely respected throughout the world. Noonan may well be the most articulate example of how the politics of hate produces pure incompetence in the White House -- as deftly detailed by President George H. W. Bush's former Treasury official Bruce Bartlett in his 2006 book "Imposter".
One of Noonan's favourite targets is the 'President's Task Force on National Health Care Reform', chaired by Hillary. President Bill Clinton said, "the American people will learn, as the people of Arkansas did, just what a great First Lady they have". Noonan savages it, blasting the secrecy by bureaucrats who shut out the private sector. In the end, about $15 million was spent before "Hillarycare" was dropped.
Okay.
In the current administration, meetings of oil company officials to develop a national energy policy were secret and have remained secret. Plans for the War on Iraq were done in secret, based on fantasies, fictions and foolishness. The drug program for seniors is total confusion, if not quite outright fraud. Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the last tatters of White House competence. Federal domestic spending has gone up 8 percent per year since 2001, a rate of increase not seen since Lyndon Baines Johnson. Instead of compassionate conservative, Bush is a con-man conservative.
It raises the question: Is America better off with an administration that drops a controversial program if it becomes untenable? Or is it better off with an administration that listens to no one and plunges almost alone into quagmires such as the War in Iraq. Hillary's "folly" cost America about $15 million. Bush's "folly" has cost about $260 billion so far, plus $2 billion a month, plus almost 2,300 dead US military personnel.
Is America better off with a president who listens? Or one who doesn't?
This is what makes Noonan's book so worthwhile; it's a wonderful example of the politics of hate, spite, claws and calumny in action. In six years, Hillary has proven herself in the Senate and is now a leading contender for the presidency in 2008. In the same time, despite her vast talents, Noonan has accomplished little of constructive merit or note.
It brings me back to me opening observation, "There is nothing quite so delicious as two smart women in a personal catfight, clawing and scratching." Such vituperation is often based on jealousy of another's blatant superiority, instead of on any issues.
Noonan's talent is elegant, which makes this book delicious. It's timely, because of speculation Hillary may seek the presidency. It's relevant, because it's a perfect example of the "politics of hate" that cripples America. It's poignant, because America is on a slippery slope to insipid irrelevance unless it returns to the politics of optimism and hope so beautifully written in Noonan's speeches for Reagan in the 1980s.
Another One-sided Partisan Attack.......2005-11-17
Or is it just personal (because of jealousy)? Its hard to judge emotion from the pages of a short book. Peggy was infamous for her support or Reagan and his lies (even if he was a senile puppet).
You should consider the source. Although I am not from NY, I wouldn't vote for a person who was put in office as part of the deal to cover-up the "accidental death" of JFK Jr (IMHO).
partisan politics.......2005-03-24
Noonan has lost all of her credibility. I had hoped to read a thoughtful and well-written piece of work. Unfortunately, this book reeks of hate and partisan politics run a muck. No one admires cheap shots--not even a conservative.
Book Description
CAREERS IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, now in its 7th Edition, stands in the sterling reputation of its previous editions as being a major resource for anyone, young or old, seeking to help make a safer and more stable world through their contributions in an international career. This new, totally revised edition provides up-to-date descriptions and data about careers in the global workplace and how to find them.
Much more than a lengthy list of potential organizations and contacts, CAREERS IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS goes beyond what is traditionally offered to international job seekers by providing, among other attributes, a wealth of insight and information on global career networking. Particularly helpful is the addition of a chapter on Internet job searches, which have grown exponentially since the last edition. Other highlights of the new edition include invaluable information contributed by career counselors and practitioners in the international affairs community that focus on interviewing, working with mentors, and how to use all the modern avenues available to search for international career opportunities. Firsthand perspectives on various career sectors are provided by those who have found their own international niche, and a comprehensive bibliography of relevant web sites rounds out this one-of-a-kind.
This unique resource is designed to encourage those seeking an international career to think about what they know and what talents they have to offer, to make them widen their horizons and consider all the possibilities, to help them realize that the future could hold several careers, and that it is never too early—or too late—to consider the variety of options that await them around the world.
Customer Reviews:
a very good guide to those who don't know IR.......2007-01-03
this book is a great guide to 1- students planning to study IR and 2- IR graduates who are loking for a career in this field and 3- IR graduates who don't know what to do with their diploma !!!
Really Great for ideas.......2005-08-06
I bought this book to explore the different options i had as far as careers in IR are concerned. Granted this isnt neccessarily for people who are looking for jobs that include international travel (though a good amount of these jobs do) but only those who seek careers (most of them business or gov related) with int'l dimensions. That being said it was an excellent place to start and had a lot of good ideas. It also has a good amount of contact information about places and tips on getting the job once you've found it. I found the book to be exactly what I was looking for, a great tool for looking at all my options without being too broad.
Better Than I Expected.......2003-05-03
I expected this book to be an overview of the international affairs field, but it proved to be much more. The careers and paths available are well-written and -described, and there are a number of careers that, although not obvious, suit people with an interest in international affairs well. In addition, companies, government organizations, and NGO's that employ people in international affairs are listed along with contact information. It's a well-rounded book that is honest about both the upsides and downsides of each career.
Highly Informative.......2001-07-16
I found all the answers about the different jobs available in a career in International Relations. What's great is that I not only got descriptions of the different jobs, but I also got listings of all the companies involved. Now when I graduate with my master's, I am going straight to this book for the companies I wish to send my resume to. Great read and reference!
The best book of its kind that we've found.......1999-06-09
We stock this in our career center for our students and it is almost always one of the most requested books. This book is a good starting point for students who "want to do something international", but who are just trying to figure out what that means. The chapters introductions by "international professionals" are especially useful.
Customer Reviews:
Essential reading for practitioner and theorist alike.......2006-10-16
In a thoughtful postmodern personal narrative on the vocation of public administration and its place in a postmodern society, O.C. McSwite takes the reader on a journey that quickly gives insight into this individual's professional experience while resounding with the academician and public servant. Highly recommended!
Book Description
With rare exceptions, few large institutions change bosses every two or three years. Yet the U.S. Government has temps on top. American government has 3,000 presidential political appointees and thousands more state and local political appointees, who refer to their in-and-out bosses as Christmas help. Beyond a Government of Strangers is the first book to focus on the men and women who stick around, on the career executives and their own roles in the executive branch. Robert Maranto provides pithy, sage advice on how career bureaucrats can improve tenuous relationships and overcome conflicts with political appointees, especially during presidential transitions, for more effective government from the top down. Visit our website for sample chapters!
Customer Reviews:
Brief but insightful volume.......2007-05-27
This is a brief but very interesting and insightful work. Based on interviews, surveys, and a survey of previous research, Robert Maranto explores the dynamic and sometimes tension-filled relationship between federal career employees and the President's political appointees. Upfront, Maranto notes that (page 20) ". . .while political and career officials may have different perspectives, the best government happens when they work together, in the truest sense managing their unique diversity."
Hugh Heclo long ago wrote an excellent book called A Government of Strangers, to which the title of this book alludes. One issue that he raised was that political appointed stay within an agency for only a short period of time (say, 2-3 years), whereas the career officials count their tenure in decades. Many career officials look at the political appointees as annoyances and "wait them out" until the political people rotate to another position or leave government.
The strength of Maranto's book is the portrayal of a more nuanced situation. Indeed, often there is tension between the two parties; however, they need one another to succeed, and--as Maranto notes--they develop a modus vivendi where they normally come to work together. In chapter 3, the author notes the sources of tensions leading to "career-noncareer conflict" (page 39), among which are technical credentials (appointees often do not have the same level of technical expertise as career officials), ideological differences, and the like. However, the book outlines ways to mitigate the tensions, and notes that--normally--the two "sides" develop a rapprochement.
Political appointees, if adept, can well serve the agency by working on its behalf; careerists, by working with appointees, can strengthen the position of the appointee. In such a manner, a "win-win" can develop. The book concludes with a series of "tips" on how career officials can (page 110) ". . .manage their relationships with political appointees, and speed up the cycle of accommodation." Among the tips: avoid stereotypes of political appointees, reach out to the appointees, and be nice to appointees on their way out.
This is a brief but interesting and well crafted work on the dynamic (and sometimes difficult) working relationships between career federal officials and the political appointees within their agencies. A nice resource for those interested in such issues. . . .
Customer Reviews:
Certainly livelier than a Organizational Theory book ;-).......2006-11-28
In his book "Caught between the dog and the fireplug", Ashworth has managed to take the sometimes boring subject of public service and made it humorous and anecdotal. Definitely a worthwhile reading for any student of public administration and especially beneficial to me, since I am involved in the educational field of public sector. It gives us real life applications of public administration theories and models used to formulate public policies by the author and behind the scenes look at public policy in the making. Ashworth feels the pressures of being a public servant who is required to serve the needs of the people but is at the same time has to answer to the requests of elected officials who are "never equal" in status to a public servant. It gives credence to theories by many experts who believe that elaborate constraints on public managers deprive them of authority to carry out their jobs and frustrate them professionally. In spite of this the author continues to do his job the best he can inside of the constraints of his domain and manages to influence public policy to benefit the public that he serves from the "bottom-up".
Filled with sensible observations.......2002-01-12
Caught Between The Dog And The Fireplug, Or How To Survive Public Service by Kenneth Ashworth (adjunct professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Austin) is a unique employment guidebook and commentary filled with practical and sound advice for anyone considering, pursuing, or currently working in a career related to federal, state, or local government. Ashworth writes in the novel format of numerous, entertaining, and wryly informative letters from a sympathetic uncle to a niece or nephew beginning a government career. A "must" for all anyone aspiring to a career in public service at any level, Caught Between The Dog And The Fireplug is highly readable yet filled with sensible observations and recommendations.
Book Description
"Passage of the Civil Service Reform Act was controversial, and there is still controversy over its effectiveness. A book of this sort will be well received and anxiously read by specialists in public administration, public policy, and public personnel administration."-H. George Frederickson, University of Kansas
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 was the most far reaching reform of the federal government personnel system since the merit system was created in 1883. The Future of Merit reviews the aims and rates the accomplishments of the 1978 law and assesses the status of the civil service. How has it held up in the light of the National Performance Review? What will become of it in a globalizing international system or in a government that regards people as customers rather than citizens?
Contributors examine the Senior Executive Service, whose members serve between presidential appointees and the rest of the civil service. These crucial executives must transform legislative and administrative goals into administrative reality, but are often caught between opposing pressures for change and continuity. In the concluding chapter Hugh Heclo, many of whose ideas informed the 1978 reform act, argues that the system today is often more responsive to the ambitions of political appointees and the presidents they serve than to the longer term needs of the polity. On the other hand, the ambition of creating a government-wide cadre of career general managers with highly developed leadership skills has not been fulfilled.
Other contributors helped to frame the 1978 act, helped to implement it, or study it as scholars of public administration: Dwight Ink, Carolyn Ban, Joel D. Aberbach, Bert A. Rockman, Patricia W. Ingraham, Donald P. Moynihan, Hal G. Rainey, Ed Kellough, Barbara S. Romzek, Mark W. Huddleston, Chester A. Newland, and Hugh Heclo. Six former directors of the Office of Personnel Management commented on early versions of these chapters at a 1998 conference.
Customer Reviews:
Public Administration.......2000-10-18
If you share in Dwight Waldo's excitement for the field of public administration and government, then you will certainly enjoy this account of his career and the concepts that now form the foundation of modern public administration.
Average customer rating:
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Policy Passages: Career Options for Policy Wonks
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Careers in International Affairs
ASIN: 0275975290 |
Book Description
What options are available now or in the future for students interested in a public policy career? How do they train, network, and advance in the field? Students, parents, professors, guidance counselors, and department chairs are often frustrated by the absence of a solid, readable book on policy careers and options. This book presents the career stories of twenty scholars and policy practitioners who have worked in Congress, the State Department, the CIA, Defense, international agencies, think tanks, the media, and major law firms--all of whom have been influential in shaping public policy--to give readers an accurate and realistic view of life outside the academic world. No other book provides this type of solid advice for young policy professionals and for older scholars considering career changes. As such, it is vital reading in guidance and department collections, and an essential addition to the personal bookshelves of individual students, scholars, and researchers.
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- putting a face an american militia member.
- A rebuttal
- Playing Soldier
- What makes America tick?
- Did Jane Kramer's 7 year old daughter ghost write this book?
|
Lone Patriot: The Short Career of an American Militiaman
Jane Kramer
Manufacturer: Pantheon
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 067944873X
Release Date: 2002-06-04 |
Book Description
Mark Strand wrote of Jane Kramer’s book Europeans that it was “so effortless in its dispensations, so intelligent, so well written, that as journalism it’s in a class by itself.” In Lone Patriot, Kramer, who covers Europe for The New Yorker, now turns to America with an enthralling portrait of the commander-in-chief of an erstwhile Patriot army called the Washington State Militia.
In 1996 Kramer made the first of what would be many trips to Whatcom County, Washington, to talk to John Pitner and some of the veterans of Alpha One, his “leadership” squad. Through their voices, Pitner’s in particular, Kramer tells the story of a movement that surfaced in America in the nineties, as the millennium approached, and has continued—its resolve, if anything, strengthened by the events of the past year—into the new century. Her powerful evocations of Whatcom County could easily describe any number of rural communities in the Pacific Northwest today—a place of refuge to a strange assortment of conspiracy theorists, armed “constitutionalists,” white supremacists, county secessionists, Freemen, and Christian fanatics, and to the kind of groups that survive on their discontent.
Kramer has been described as a writer who combines the art of a novelist and the eye of a social historian. Lone Patriot, with its wayward characters and their “Patriot” obsessions, is a timely and compelling narrative from one of America’s most important writers.
Customer Reviews:
putting a face an american militia member........2007-03-10
sad... sad... sad... I've read it twice and still don't understand what makes John Pitner tick.
A rebuttal.......2006-07-11
I have been searching for an email address for Ms. Kramer since reading this book to tell her exactly what I think, but I have not been able to find one. Perhaps this will have to do.
Ms. Kramer has many facts wrong in this book. She maligns my grandparents and other family members without doing proper research, other than the recollections of my uncle, Richard Pitner, who was elderly, ill and with failing memory. There were still two sisters living at the time Ms. Kramer wrote her "story", but she didn't interview them. Both my mother and my aunt could have told her that Richard's memories of his parents were faulty, but she didn't ask them. I am very proud of my grandfather, a child of immigrant parents from Czechoslovakia. My grandparents have some interesting history and stories, and my grandfather was not the monster Ms. Kramer and my uncle made him out to be.
My other criticism of Ms. Kramer's writing style is her tendency to make personal attacks when her subject matter became thin. Her physical description of John was childish and mean. John looks no different than a million other men walking the streets of America today.
While I personally do not share my cousin, John's, political views, I respect his right to have them and express them. Ms. Kramer seems to think that he doesn't deserve any rights. Perhaps she should stay in Europe and let Americans write their own history.
Playing Soldier.......2005-12-09
This was my first book on the Miltia. The book appears to have been based on transcripts of arrest, trial, and legal records. I believe the interviews of the townspeople and all others that were envolved would have offered a much better story. I ascertained a little boy playing at war along with being a biker,a loner and anything else he could conjure up in his fractured mind of heroism. I did gain one thought, if these folks believe what they claim lets make them our secret weapon in our current debacle. They can be our suicide bombers. That will level the playing field.
What makes America tick?.......2005-11-17
Having served 25 years in the Australian military and having hundreds of acquaintances and a few friends and some relatives. I don't know that any of them owns a gun. I don't and have never. Ms Kramer alleges that in the USA there are three weapons for every member of the population. A new study by James E. Loewen reveals that there were a minimum of 3000 towns in the USA, mainly in the Midwest, between 1890 and 1930 mainly, that kept out African Americans (cf Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism - New Press 2005). Statistics reveal that each year in Cook County Illinois more deaths by handgun occur every year than have occurred in all the troubles in Ireland since 1922. Why is it so? Ms Kramer has examined one community in NW USA and in doing so has pondered the 2nd Amendment, family history, the notion of "patriot" and other ideas. It is an intriguing and important read. It may be that the phenomena of militia and "patriots" is a manifestation of the importance placed on individual rights over the common good in USA society. I don't see Ms Kramer as being especially superior in her attitude to citizens involved (some of whom seem to act curioser and curioser!)but as someone who is just fascinated by the likes of John Pitner. As I imagine many are by "patriots". It certainly makes one ponder the internal threats to good order in US society as opposed to the real, and imagined, threats posed by the United Nations, Muslims, etc etc.
Did Jane Kramer's 7 year old daughter ghost write this book?.......2003-12-30
What a terrible disappointment. Based on the reviews I was expecting something along the lines of James Corcoran's Masterful book about Gordon Kahl and the Posse' Comitatus: "Bitter Harvest"; but after reading this book I was dumbfounded by the rave reviews. Simply put this is one of the worst written books I have ever read.
One can excuse the lack of material I guess, John Pitner's case wasn't a particularly noteworthy one comparatively speaking (charged with selling one automatic weapon and related conspiracy) so that may explain the ad nauseam and repetitious need to focus on Pitner and EVERYONE and ANYTHING associated with him: his friends, parents, neighbors, associates and their brothers, sisters, parents, etc etc.. in order to sustain this rambling narrative for over 250 pages. So it shouldn't be too terribly surprising that Kramer fails to develop much of anything that could be considered noteworthy about the Militia Movement itself.
That having been said, it is difficult to excuse Jane Kramer's inexplicable ignorance of just about anything to do with basic journalism such as proper sentence and paragraph structure; as well as her lack of any sort of meaningful focus throughout this book. Chapters 'One' through 'Ten' are simply a single run-on screed jabbering about everyone who lives in Whatcom County WA and their related peculiarities, weight problems, living conditions etc. This chapter delineation itself should come as no surprise based on the book's other technical merit - Kramer's paragraph structure, for instance, seems to be dictated by some sort of tape measure run down the side of her manuscript with some pre-determined length (ten inches? twelve inches?) being the sole criteria for start and stop points.
Kramer writes like someone who proudly overcame illiteracy at a very late age and embarked upon a career in journalism. Even her basic sentence structure is a travesty - this is a typical example: "John could legitimately claim to have been on leave from the militia since the end of May, and, whatever his involvement still was with the Seattle Freemen, it didn't take more than five minutes in his company to see that if he'd kept on introducing himself in public as the 'director of the Washington State Militia'-the way he had at his Seattle debate, a week before the arrest -it was vanity or even fantasy but 'not,' as he told the family,'my job description anymore." [sic]. If this run-on sentence, peppered with random commas, hyphens and quotation marks makes any sense at all to you and is in any way compelling - this is definitely the book for you.
Kramer notes in her forward that she spent several years writing this book; one would think she could have found at least an hour or two to run the manuscript past a qualified editor - or at the very least a Whatcom County Third Grade English Teacher who could have doubtlessly rendered it a substantially less embarrassing piece of work.
Topically, the American Militia Movement is a perfectly valid focus for a book (although it seems as if the topic has been beaten to death at this point) but it is a shame when the sole criteria for rave reviews is the TOPIC of a book rather than any substantive or technical merit contained therein.
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- Test Drive Unlimited (Prima Official Game Guide)
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- The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life
- The Book of U.S. Government Jobs: Where They Are, What's Available & How to Get One (9th Edition) (Book of Us Government Jobs)
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Success as a Mortgage Broker (Complete Idiot's Guide to)
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Perfect Resume, 4th Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to)
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