Book Description
As violence spreads in Iraq, many have been stunned by the extensive roles that private firms now are playing in the fighting. In seeking to understand exactly what was going on, ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, The Economist, Fox News, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, PBS, USA Today, and the Washington Post all turn to one source: Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry.
Named among the year's top five books in international affairs by the Gelber Prize, P.W. Singer's groundbreaking book from Cornell University Press explores one of the most interesting, but little understood developments in modern warfare. Over the last decade, a global trade in hired military services has emerged. Known as "privatized military firms" (PMFs), these businesses range from small consulting firms, who sell the advice of retired generals, to transnational corporations that lease out wings of fighter jets or battalions of commandos. Such firms number in the hundreds. They have an estimated annual revenue of over $100 billion. And, they presently fill military roles in over fifty countries, including in Afghanistan and Iraq. From recent events in Iraq, where some 15,000 private military contractors work on behalf of the coalition, including the four men brutally killed in an ambush in Fallujah earlier this year, to Latin America, where three American private military contractors have been held captive by Colombian rebels for the last 16 months, to Sub-Saharan Africa, where private military personnel earlier this year were arrested as part of an alleged coup plot in Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea, these firms appear in the world's hotspots and headlines again and again. Yet, until Corporate Warriors, no book has opened up this powerful new industry to the public eye.
Now released in paperback, Corporate Warriors provides the first comprehensive analysis of the private military industry. The book traces the firms' historic roots in the mercenary outfits of the past and the more recent underlying causes that led to their emergence at the end of the Cold War. In a series of detailed company portraits, Singer then describes how the industry operated and the three sectors within the industry: how military provider firms, like Executive Outcomes, a South African company made up of ex-Apartheid fighters, offer front-line combat services; how military consulting firms, like MPRI, a Virginia-based firm staffed by U.S. Army veterans, provide strategic and military training expertise for clients around the world; and, finally, how military support firms, like Vice President Cheney's former Halliburton-Brown & Root, carry out multi-billion dollar military logistics and maintenance services, including running the U.S. military's supply train in Iraq.! In fact, the book's portrait of how exactly Halliburton got into the lucrative, but now controversial, military support business has served as a resource for investors, reporters, congressional investigators, and soldiers alike.
Singer then explores the many implications of this industry, ranging from their impact on military operations to their possible roles in international peacekeeping. He analyzes how the hopes for economy and efficiency duel with the risks that come from outsourcing the most essential of government functions, that of national security and soldiers' welfare. The privatization of military services allows startling new capabilities and efficiencies in the way that war is carried out. However, as demonstrated in Iraq, the mix of the profit motive with the fog of war raises a series of troubling questions -for international affairs, for ethics, for management, for civil-military relations, for international law, for human rights, and, ultimately, for democracy. In other words, when it comes to military responsibilities, private companies' good may not always be to the public good.
Corporate Warriors is a hard-hitting analysis that provides a fascinating first look inside this exciting, but potentially dangerous new industry. Its research has been featured by every single major news outlet in the United States and covered by media over 20 different countries.
Easily accessible to general readers, the book provides a critical but balanced look at the businesses behind the headlines. With the continued expansion and growth of this industry in the coming years, Corporate Warriors will be the essential sourcebook for understanding how the private military industry works and how governments must respond. As one reviewer describes, "Many fine volumes about U.S. foreign policy and world events have been published in recent months. This one is something special. Corporate Warriors might just be a paradigm shift. It may change the way people look at history and analyze current events…a must-read…"
Customer Reviews:
An Academic Review of the topic...........2007-09-27
This book provides an academic view of the topic (i.e., dry and sterile). Coming from an academic press (Cornell) and an academic, however, this not a surprise. The author starts with a history of the private sector in warfare during the medieval ages up to the current period, with emphasis on trend towards increasing state control (i.e., de-privitization) over time with increasing re-privatization. The later is in regard particularly to the U.S. and its overstretched (probably temporarily) forces. This is, in the author's opinion, is cause of large increase in recent expansion of privitization in the U.S. The author then discusses various aspects, mostly negative, regarding this privitization (i.e., legal status of private "troops", reliability in case of large scale combat and increase of the danger they face, etc.).
The book has two weaknesses. The first is that it does not cover the benefits of this privitazation in sufficient detail. Especially financial savings and, more importantly, the private sector filling the void in Iraq due to lack of long-term permanent U.S. public sector troops. The author needs to address the question of how else the U.S. would be able to cope without this strategy (i.e., draft?). No discussion here. Also, some perspective on other nations' attempts at privitization would be useful for purposes of perspective and comparison with U.S. How much are they privitizing vis-a-vis the U.S. and how has it affected their combat effectiveness/cost of operations. For these reasons the book receives four stars instead of five. Nevertheless, provides a good primer on the subject. Especially considering the fact that most other books have been written by journalists from a sensationalist point of view.
Excellent book........2007-07-15
Singer's research is flawless. His writing is well organized and incisive with very astute observations. He approaches the subject with an objective understanding(he uses the term "mercenary" sparingly and only to describe actual mercenaries) of how this newly formed industry is organized and how it will affect our (United States) ability to implement foreign policy. His tip of the spear taxonomy explains the industry better than any other I have read in my own research on the topic. This book has set a great standard for academic writings on PMFs and will survive as reference source for many years to come.
Not an academic review.......2007-01-15
Corporate Warriors was in general a very boring book. Yes it was acurate and informative but was very dry. Singer seemed too biased against PMCs. I was also dissapointed to find out Singer has never been to Iraq himself to see PMCs at work there. When one writes a book with bias and with such depth I would like for them to have immersed themselves in the topic rather than write an academic report on PMCs. Sorry for the negative attitude but was dissapointed by the book.
A Solid General Guide to PMCs and PSCs, But..........2006-12-12
The title of this work is misleading. Singer has written an excellent guide to the recent history of PMCs (private military companies, such as Tim Spicer's Sandline) and PSCs (such as Blackwater), but has failed to distinguish between the two in a way made concrete for the uninformed reader. The result is that the fine line between hunting down Angolan rebels and guarding glorified haircuts like Paul Bremer has been blurred.
Sometimes this line is difficult to distinguish, but it is there. The fact that many of the PSC firms themselves sport members of past PMCs (many a South African and Rhodesian is back in action) has further blurred the situation, but you can be assured that their mandate is different. While the PSCs currently operating in Iraq and Afghanistan do their fair share of enemy engagement, they do so from a position of defense rather than from a position of offense. They are playing primarily a security role. They are not, by and large, performing paramilitary tasks at the bequest of dictators, corporations, or the State Department.
The author understands the difference, and does indeed attempt to make the distinction, the title itself tends to muddle the roles.
A must read!.......2006-10-10
A must read for anyone interested in the private security industry and the new future of war!
I served in the Kosovo region and the information about that region was 100% accurate. The US militray can no longer function without the assistance of private contractors and thier vast companies.
Cpl Dombrowski
578th Engineer BN
Book Description
The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare provides a unique account of Western warfare from antiquity to the present. The book treats all aspects of the subject from the Greeks to the nuclear age: the development of warfare on land, sea and air; weapons and technology; strategy and defense; discipline and intelligence. Throughout, there is an emphasis on the socio-economic aspects of war: who pays for it, how can its returns be measured, and to what extent does it explain the rise of the West to global dominance over two millennia? Geoffrey Parker is one of the world's leading authorities on military history and is the editor of The Times Atlas of World History (1993) and the author of The Military Revolution (Cambridge,1988).
Customer Reviews:
Exactly the overview for which I was searching .......2007-03-19
This book offers an excellent overview of warfare throughout the ages, from the Assyrians to the present day, and covering the personalities, weapons, strategies, tactics and technologies used. It should be noted that it covers only warfare as it has impacted and been fought in the Western culture, with no reference at all to important forces like the Mongols and only very brief interludes relating to the likes of China and Japan (except insofar as their wars involved Western opponents as in the Russo-Japanese War or World War II).
It is not a work for experts, in my opinion, but a terrific primer for those who are new to the subject and looking to ground themselves in the subject before moving on to more focussed and analytical works.
One very helpful feature of the book is that it contains diagrams of several key battles, showing troop deployments and movements. Many other overview texts on the history of warfare which I have seen merely describe the battles, and I found the diagrams particularly useful in clarifying how these fights developed. My one criticism of the book is that might have used more such diagrams, but that is a quibble.
Good Solid Book.......2006-03-11
This book is a great guide to the history of warfare. I have looked at and read a lot of books on this subject, and I find this book to be pretty good. What makes it better than most are the pictures, special boxes highlighting neat events, maps, and graphics.
The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare.......2005-08-18
A nice straightforward history compilation. The book is a collection of summaries that read easily and are well written.
Excellent Summary On The Evolution of Western Warfare.......2005-03-16
As with its political and economic systems, Western Europe came to develop very unique military institutions that had evolved from Greco-Roman military doctrines applying war as a science and as a precise instrument towards defined political ends: emphasizing on uniform training and equipment as well as strict discipline. This book studies the evolution of Western military institutions from antiquity to modern times and demonstrates how these progressive changes contributed to the modern doctrines of Western warfare that are used today by every nation-state.
Geoffrey Parker did an excellent job in this work. Although many illustrative books are just that, this book has very detailed explanations in addition to very useful illustrations such as photos, maps, and diagrams. The book covers all of the important aspects of Western military evolution. For example, it will start by explaining how the early Greek phallanx comprised of citizen farmers was a significant factor to developing the citizen armies of the Roman legions to the later nation-state armies of 18th century Europe. The book looks at the impact of important military/political thinkers such as Thucydides, Caesar, Machiavelli, and Clausewitz, in the evolution of military doctrine. The book of course makes sure to cover how advances in science and engineering such as siege engines, firearms, and explosives changed the conduct of warfare and how armies adapted to such changes.
This is nothing short of an excellent book that has the right balance between text and illustrations. Unlike other illustrative texts that are mostly pictures with little substance, this book is extremely thorough and detailed as to the main factors responsible towards the unique evolution of western military institutions and their impact on the world. I strongly recommend it.
Good Overview of Warfare.......2004-01-09
This book provides a good first glance at the various stages of warfare that have come and gone throughout human history, from Greek Hoplites to guerilla warfare. The illustrations in this book are very beautiful and informative, and a number of insets provide interesting factoids.
This book is ideally suited for those wanting a good overview of the history of warfare. Be forewarned, though, that this book should not be used as a reference except for general facts in the history of warfare. Battle formations, major skirmishes and important people make up the majority of the content. Smaller details are not included, for the most part.
Overall, this is a great book to own. I bought it for a college course a few years back and kept it afterwards. This is a good starting-off point for any interested in military history.
Book Description
Warfighting is an authentic American philosophy of action that will thrill the millions of fans of SunTzu's The Art of War and Musashi's T he Book of Five Rings. This modern classic of strategy and philosophy is the quintessential guide to prevailing in competitive situations, be it war, work, play, or daily living.
Sometimes life is war and sometimes business is war and sometimes you need to call in the Marines. Over the past two hundred years, the Marines have developed a reputation for getting the job done-fearlessly, boldly, and taking no prisoners. What better role model for the hidden warriors in ourselves? What better advice to call on when the stakes are high and sensitivity just isn't going to work? Written in 1989 as a philosophical and strategic guide-book for the US. Marine Corps, Warfighting is a worthy successor to SunTzu's The Art Of War. With clarity, brevity, and wisdom, it describes the basic forces at work in every competitive situation whether on the field of battle, in the boardroom, or in the courtroom. With twentieth-century technology and its emphasis on speed and versatility, the rules of war and competition have changed. Warfighting's exploration of maneuver warfare takes readers beyond Sun Tzu's classic lessons and provides them a more thorough understanding of what it takes to fight and win in the modern world. Currency's edition of Warfighting features interviews with famous former Marines including F. Lee Bailey, Ed McMahon, and Donald Regan. They tell how they have used the Marine Corps' battle strategies of strength and straightforwardness as their secret weapons in every confrontation, whether at a corporate, departmental. or personal level.
Customer Reviews:
Absolutely Brilliant, Simple and Profound.......2007-04-18
This is the best book that I've ever read regarding military doctrine-- it elegantly sums up the most relevant points of Clausewitz and Boyd's OODA Loop to come to sound military principle in less than 100 pages. It also includes a number of references to the Eastern military philosophy (think Art of War and the Book of Five Rings, both required reading for the Japanese businessman) and ties them to our Western military philosophy quite elegantly.
If you aren't familiar with Clausewitz then I'd recommend picking up On Strategy by Summers; Warfighting will not give you all of the elements necessary to understand concepts like Friction.
This book travels with me wherever I go-- it is relevant to business and even personal development and is more than worth the price being charged for it.
A Fine Pamphlet, But Not a Manual.......2006-11-20
Warfighting was written for the Marine unfamiliar with maneuver warfare to pick up, flip through, memorize the axioms, and apply in battle. As such, like most other field manuals issued to soldiers, it is a distillation of a large swath of ideas from Sun Tzu to Liddell-Hart. That said, it packs a good punch for such a small work. If, however, you're looking for a more detailed illustration of the principles outlined here, you might take a look at B.H. Liddell-Hart's "Strategy" as well as Thomas Cleary's translation of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War."
Additionally, those westerners who enjoy axioms focusing on the flux of life, war, or what have you might also like to take a look at Heraclitus' "Fragments." The basic tenets of Taoism that permeate Sun Tzu (and, by proxy, "Warfighting") can be equally well found in Heraclitus. His primary "thesis" if you will, "nothing is stationary, life is flux," is the axiom upon which maneuver warfare strategy is founded.
If Sun Tzu were a Marine...........2006-10-14
The US Marine Corp's version of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Concise and direct as would be expected from the Marines, yet with depth enough to make the points clear. A wonderful work for explaining how the Marines fight wars and a good resource for a competive advantage in any context. A handy resource for the military or military history enthusiast. A must read for every Marine. Insight for business leaders and more.
Outstanding!.......2006-03-18
I liked this because it's direct(no psychological excuses for your inadequacy). It's short so there's no wading through opinion and hearsay. It's timeless because it's based on principle. It's applicable like Danforth's "I Dare You"(you have to think:"how does this apply to my life"). It's fully referenced so you can dig deeper.I catch myself going back and rereading it all the time(no you can't borrow mine).
Sun Tzu and Clausewitz distilled for the MTV generation.......2005-10-15
Great book that takes elements of traditional knowledge about war making (Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, etc) and combines it with the know-how of war as gathered by the United States Marine Corps in the modern era.
Stacking this book up against the likes of Sun Tzu and Clausewitz, it is probably better than both when it comes to a straightforward, contemporary appreciation of the elements of war.
As other reviewers have observed, there is a tendency for people to get mired in the meaning of Sun Tzu and Clausewitz is probably too complex and heavy-going for most readers.
This book is short, to the point, but has great value. I also like the language and style of the book. Great stuff.
Book Description
Unwelcome surprises in the life of any organization can often be traced to the failure of an assumption that the organization's leadership didn't anticipate or had "forgotten". Assumption-based planning (ABP) is a tool for identifying as many as possible assumptions underlying the plans of an organization and bringing them explicitly into the planning process. This book presents a variety of techniques for rooting out those vulnerable, crucial assumptions. It also presents steps for monitoring the vulnerable assumptions of a plan by taking actions to control them where possible and preparing for potential failure where control is not possible.
Download Description
Unwelcome surprises in the life of any organization can often be traced to the failure of an assumption that the organization's leadership didn't anticipate or had 'forgotten' it was making. Assumption-based planning (ABP) is a tool for identifying as many as possible of the assumptions underlying the plans of an organization and bringing those assumptions explicitly into the planning process. This book presents a variety of techniques for rooting out those vulnerable, crucial assumptions. The book also presents steps for monitoring all the vulnerable assumptions of a plan, for taking actions to control those vulnerable assumptions where possible, and for preparing the organization for the potential failure of those assumptions where control is not possible. The book provides a variety of examples and practical advice for those interested in carrying out an application of ABP in the fields of business, management, strategic planning, engineering, and in military applications.
Book Description
"Claim denied!" All too often millions of veterans have received this response to their legitimate claims for federal benefits. In most cases, writes veterans' advocate John D. Roche, the claimant didn't understand the procedures needed to meet the myriad requirements of the Department of Veterans Affairs. With the appeals process requiring years to resolve disputes, deserving veterans and their dependents are left confused and frustrated by the agency and a system that was created to serve them. The answer is to submit a well-grounded claim initially, which The Veteran's Survival Guide, now in a revised, second edition, analyzes in detail. This unique book, written in an accessible self-help style, will be required reading for any veteran or veteran's dependent who wishes to obtain his or her well-earned benefits and for those officials of veterans' service organizations who assist veterans with their claims.
Customer Reviews:
An Excellent Reference!.......2007-10-08
An excellent source of information written by a former VA claims official. Filing a claim for service-connected disability is not quick, fun or easy, and often requires weeks or even months of careful preparation.
This book clearly explains the process of constructing a well-grounded "bulletproof" claim to get approved the first time around! Lose, and the appeals process can take 3 to 5 years.
Wish they issued a copy to every member upon completing basic training!
Ken Fessier, TSgt, USAF, Ret.
60% Service-Connected
Good info, but some of the political BS is tough to take...........2007-09-02
Overall, a pretty good source of information on wading through the bureaucracy of the VA, written by one of the former beurocrats....
The first chapter almost made me send the book back - it was a seemingly incessant attack against the current Bush Administration, and Republicans in general. It turned me off - I get enough of that in the Media everywhere I go every day.....and it's getting very old. The writer is obviously quite partisan, and unfortunately, colors his commentary, and detracts from a lot of good information contained in the book.
Anyone who has dealt with the VA knows the system is a frustrating quagmire and the epitome of a Government Bureaucracy, but it has been broken for a long time....and not just the Republicans are to blame; as this book would have you believe.
If you are a Veteran looking for good info, I highly recommend it.....if you are a CONSERVATIVE former Veteran ....... take you blood pressure medication before you pick it up.
Content: Four Stars, but the political slant detracts from the excellent information the author puts forth.
Welcome Home Brothers;
Bob B. Combat Wounded Vietnam Vet: 1st Cav, '68
Very Helpful.......2007-06-09
This Veteran's Manual on "How to File a VA Claim" is helpful when veterans are preparing their VA claim. It covers all the necessary requirement's. If a veteran follows all the suggestions in this manual he/she will have NO problems having thier VA claims' approved.
Good Luck,
John
A necessity for anyone dealing with the VA claims system.......2007-05-21
This is a must have for anyone filing for VA service connected benefits. If you are reading this you probably already know how frustrating it can be dealing with this system. There are rules, laws, standards, etc...that the author clearly explains. He also makes it clear that the VA is NOT going to help you with your claim, regardless of what they say they will do. You must collect certain information supporting your claim and follow a particular process to gain the best results. This book is by the far the best tool for anyone facing this system. Empower yourself with knowledge, don't just go along with what others tell you. Best of luck!
Requesting help for disabilities.......2007-03-09
I have read the book and very impressed. I have ordered 3 copies, 1 for each Service Officer in Chapter #14 Disabled American Veterans. I recommend this book but do not approve of Veterans trying to get information or service connected Disabilities by themselves. Contact a Chapter Service Officer. Since getting the boks the Srvice Officers have been submitting request and getting excellent results for veterans. The book has been very helpful and will be continued to be used. Everything I have read is true.
Remember the Veterans of this great Country. The Disabled, Physically or Mentally, that need help.
Remember The DAV
Book Description
A classic treatment of the morality of war written by one of our country's leading philosophers, with a new introduction considering the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo. Just and Unjust Wars examines a variety of conflicts in order to understand exactly why, according to Walzer, "the argument about war and justice is still a political and moral necessity." Walzer's classic work draws on historical illustrations that range all the way from the Athenian attack on Melos to this morning's headlines, and uses the testimony of participants-decision makers and victims alike-to examine the moral issues of warfare.
Customer Reviews:
Very good. It defines some concepts which are absolutely essential in wartime and even before someone decides to go to war.......2007-06-28
This book is one of the most significant modern restatements of just war thinking and also a passionate defense of the old principle of noncombatant immunity. The author is both thorough and persuasive in his exploration of a very intricate subject, although some times he loses his objectivity, especially when he's treating the Israeli military responses to various challenges from state and non-state actors. Some other times he takes some sharp legalist turns whish are really difficult to follow. Of course there are many points which really impressed me with their clarity, fine logic and moral soundness: "The state that goes to war is, like our own, an enormous state, governed at a great distance from its ordinary citizens by powerful and often arrogant officials. These officials, or at least the leading among them, are chosen through democratic elections, but at the time of the choice very little is known about their programs and commitments. Political participation is occasional, intermittent, limited in its effects, and is mediated by a system for the distribution of news which is partially controlled by those distant officials and which in any case allows for considerable distortion". "Soldiers, it might be said, stand to civilians like a crew of a liner to its passengers". " I have argued that soldiers in combatcannot plead self-preservation when they violate the rules of war. For the dangers of enemy fire are simply the risks of the activity in which they are engaged, and the have no right to reduce those risks at the expense of other people who are not engaged".
In his afterword, Mr Walzer gives a chilling idea of how a population (even an unarmed one) can tear down and defeat an occupying force. "Nonviolence has been practiced (in the face of an invasion) only after violence, or the threat of violence has failed. Then its protagonists aim to deny the victorious army the fruits of its victory through a systematic policy of civilian resistance and noncooperation: they call upon the conquered people to make themselves ungovernable... They treat the aggressor in effect as a domestic tyrant or usurper, and they turn his soldiers into policemen". If you add to this recipe some dozens of IEDs daily, you have the nightmare of Iraq!
What is just and what is unjust.......2006-11-04
This is a very legalistic look at history. It helps one understand many of the words used in talking about wars.
As a required text book, it fits my MA degree program........2006-11-03
It is the best book sold by the Amazon and at a cheaper price
All Is Not Fair in Love and War.......2006-06-16
Walzer's historical approach to examining just war theory is, I think, the most useful way to understand morality in war. That is so because empirical facts back up all the philosophical evaluations. Walzer describes experience and draws conclusions here; he is laying a philosophical foundation and implying, if not prescribing, moral norms from which the rules have been extracted. Be forewarned, he does not cut the reader any slack. This book requires some serious attention to the author's train of thought.
Just war theory has two categories: the justice of going to war, and the justice of fighting once in a war. Walzer's discussion usefully and clearly separates the two and examines via historical events what we regard as right and wrong within each sphere. In doing this he has done the modern world a tremendous service. His logical breakdown speaks to thousands of years of tradition about what thinkers have considered right and wrong in war. One of the best outcomes of this landmark work is the complete debunking of the notion that "all is fair in love and war." That is the path of least moral resistance (or as Clausewitz would say, "friction"), yet we all know that soldiers are honored for fighting well and loathed for behaving like armed thugs and murderers. What is amazing from the discusion is the realization that Walzer knows he has to attack that age-old notion, something our collective sense of justice has historically always rejected. Yet it remains a prevailing idea for many. Originally coined by the Romans it seems (Walzer quotes them, "In war the laws are silent"), they themselves were self-consciously contrite over the fates they inflicted on the Greeks and Carthaginians. The book rates five stars for rigorously addressing this issue alone.
Some make the mistake of thinking Walzer is a pacifist--far from it. On the otherside some critics find his argument about "supreme emergency" a moral failure and a cop-out. The case of Nazi Germany is his paradigmatic case of supreme emergency, one where normal rules may be relaxed, if ever so little, because of the especially pernicious nature of state-sponsored genocide. In contrast Walzer does not see Imperial Japan, for instance, as having represented a supreme emergency, and so the atomic bombings and the fire bombings of cities could not be morally justified. Readers may want to compare his view to Paul Fussell's perspective in the essay "Thank God for the Atom Bomb." Walzer's argument here has lent unintended tacit support to many ideas about torturing terrorists at Gitmo and elsewhere. It's pretty obvious Dick Cheney, for instance, thinks the same relaxation of restraints would apply to Islamic terror (but the analogy seems weak). I recommend readers to Tim Challans' book Awakening Warrior for a critique of Walzer's idea of supreme emergency and a very impressive logical attack upon the recent trend toward torturing POW's in prisons outside the USA.
Significantly for current events, readers interested in the distinction between pre-emptive and preventive war will find a well articulated argument in Just and Unjust Wars. The US attack on Iraq was and still is often justified as pre-emptive. That impulse on the part of the neo-conservatives who devised or whipped up the casus belli reflects, I think, a need to cloak a morally questionable war in the robes of legitimacy. There is no way that attack can be justified under the historically accepted norms of "pre-emption." Michael Walzer's well-thought distinction between pre-emption and prevention makes sense even in the milieu of asymmetric warfare against terror and Islamic radicalism, and it clearly shows why the Iraq war was a moral mistake from the start, regardless of its practical success down the road, if we are fortunate enough to see that. The moral precedent of engaging in preventive war will continue to haunt America long into the future. The fact that Iraq was not even on the spectrum where the fine line between pre-emption and prevention exists is a telling aspect of the overall ongoing strategic fiasco. Where one fails to recognize the moral high ground, one is doomed to moral failure. Walzer was vocal about the run-up to war in 2003, and those who read his book would do well to find his comments about the Iraq invasion; they are edifying in terms of understanding the overall argument in this book and, not coincidentally, where we are going in this role as the world's police force.
This book is ultimately not very instructive about just war.......2006-06-11
At a lecture at West Point United States Military Academy April 6, 2006, Naom Chomsky argued, "Just war theory" literature "deserves special attention but is ultimately not very instructive about just war". "Just war theory" is "declarations of personal preference", which "never tells you anything. It doesn't tell you when it is proper to intervene, what it tells you is 'I think it is proper to intervene'...there is a big gap between assertion and argument, between surmise and evidence." "We learn very little about just war from 'Just war theory'" what we do learn is "mostly about the prevailing moral and intellectual climate in which we live." Walzer's book relies crucially on such premises as "Seems to me entirely justified, or I believe, or no doubt." Chomsky then discusses scientific studies on human behavior which is noticeably absent from Walzer's book.
Walzer uses the term "I think" at least 52 times in the book. "I don't think" 7 times. "I believe" twice, "no doubt" at least 41 times, and "seems to me" 12 times (I write "at least" because the same phrase twice on one page would be counted once.)
Walzer's hypocricy
In a book which suffers from terribly bad organization, on page 62 Walzer finally systematically lays out his arguments, stating that "Once the agressor state has been militarily repulsed, it can also be punished."
On December 29, 2005, in an interview on NPR Morning Edition ('Just and Unjust Wars' Author Critical on Iraq.) Walzer stated that the Iraq war was not a just war:
"If you are going to use military force in someone else's county...There has to be a cause of some urgency, a massacre in progress. A massacre in memory is not a just cause."
Therefore, if you follow Walzer's assertions to its obvious conclusion, the Iraq war was not a just war and therefore "the agressor state", the US, should "be punished."
But Walzer signed and endorsed The Euston Manifesto, which states in part:
"We are also united in the view that, since the day on which this occurred, the proper concern of genuine liberals and members of the Left should have been the battle to put in place in Iraq a democratic political order and to rebuild the country's infrastructure...rather than picking through the rubble of the arguments over intervention."
Therefore in Just and unjust wars, Walzer argues that "agressor states" should be "punished" but yet Walzer signs a document which criticize those who "pick through the rubble of the arguments over intervention."
Although the Iraq War is not covered in this book, Walzer's inconsistent views on the Iraq war should give serious students of International affairs pause before subscribing to his arguments. It is one mans opinion, full of statments such as "Seems to me entirely justified" "I believe" or "no doubt."
Walzer's arguments are unscientific rablings of one intellectual which are "ultimately not very instructive about just war".
Book Description
It was supposed to be quick and easy. The Bush Administration even promised that it wouldn't cost American taxpayers a thing -- Iraqi oil revenues would pay for it all. But billions and billions of dollars, and thousands of lives, later, the Iraqi reconstruction is an undeniable failure. Iraq pumps out less oil now than it did under Saddam. At best, Iraqi's average all of twelve hours a day of electricity. American soldiers lack body armor and adequate protection for their motor vehicles. Increasingly worse off, Iraqi's turn against us. Increasingly worse off, our troops are killed by a strengthening insurgency. As T. Christian Miller reveals in this searing and timely book, the Bush Administration has fatally undermined the war effort and our soldiers by handing out mountains of cash not to the best companies for the reconstruction effort, but to buddies, cronies, relatives and political hacks -- some of whom have simply taken the money and run with it. Blistering, brilliant and shocking, this will be the breakout title when it comes to Iraq books, and the catalyst for national debate.
Customer Reviews:
Corruption at its best.......2007-08-27
While the matters in this book have long been alluded to in congressional hearing and the media. this is the first book to gather it up in one volume. It shows an inept government unable to do what was done almost 60 years earlier. Admittedly, the culture and the circumstances were different but the resources were greater. The rampant graft and lack of aggressive action by those in charge, including contractors, is chilling. Have we as a nation state sunk so low?
It presents a thoughtful picture of the risk encountered daily by many employees of contractors. This is the first writing that describes the risk imposed on the professional truckers serving in Iraq. No other writer spells it out so vividly.
This book raises more questions than it supplies answers. Of course, that was the purpose of the book.
No blood money.......2007-05-10
This book is a devastating indictment of the US intervention in Iraq. For the author, the clearest signal of the failure of the reconstruction program is the unabated violence.
The second Iraq war created a paradise for cynical war profiteers, while the Iraqi population was left in the cold. The aid packages were in fact remarkable programs of US domestic handouts and corporate welfare, profiting nearly only to retired Republican operatives, US businessmen and dubious Iraqi exiles with a double agenda.
The profiteers organized an orgy of greed on profit guaranteed contracts. Control was inexistent, e.g., $ 9 billion out of the $ 20 billion of the Iraq Development Fund disappeared without a trace (mind-boggling!). Insurance companies sold mouth watering policies for labor protection. Foreign private security firms played a leading role in the daily violence in Iraq. The contractors hired slave laborers in order to maximize their profits.
The newly installed Iraqi government was not a shade better, e.g., its Defense Ministry misspent or `lost' $ 1.3 billion in its first year in office.
The author illustrates poignantly his terribly shocking exposé with concrete examples of personal tragedies, like the suicide of Col. Ted Westhusing, or the murder by his kidnappers of a 19 year old Nepalese, who paid a broker's fee of $ 3000 for a $ 200 per month job in Iraq.
Miller's book shows also the disastrous effect the UN sanctions had on the Iraqis under Saddam (one schoolbook for every six children).
Its final conclusion is that the Iraqi people didn't receive `blood money' - the payment of compensation by an attacker to the family members of dead or injured loved ones. Instead, they inherited a living standard below the `Saddam' level (no power, no water, no sewage treatment).
This book with its formidable title is a must read for all those interested in world current affairs.
How the US snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.......2007-04-23
This books deserves a Pulitzer Prize for plugging the huge gap in our knowledge of why the spectacular military triumph was succeeded by the even more spectacular reconstruction fiasco that quickly alienated average Iraqis. The press has focused mostly on the daily casualty counts and on the political maneuvering among Iraqi religious and secular leaders. Left unreported has been the story of why the mainstream Iraqi population that was so hopeful after the US toppled Saddam has turned against us in despair. Miller's investigation and reporting skills are remarkable in detailing so much of what went wrong with virtually every aspect of the occupation. Much of the blame is attributable to the unprecedented reliance on profit-driven private sector firms to carry out public policy of rebuilding Iraq -- which was doomed to failure because normal marke forces don't exist to control behavior of corporations left to run amok. Absolute must reading for anyone trying to understand how any American military success can be rapidly and overwhelmingly squandered by failure to plan for all that must follow.
Conservatives should be the most furious.......2007-03-07
Much about the Iraq "war" has been covered. The mythology, the manifest destiny, the lies, the propoganda. But one dimension that's been touched on by Robert Greenwald in "Iraq for Sale" and this fine, fine volume is the profiteering that's going on in Iraq.
Some others critics have commented that the book doesn't list criminals. On the contrary, many are implicated! Indeed, aside from the corporations and their directors who are making out quite literally like bandits, the text also covers the dubious qualifications of those assigned to high positions in Iraq, e.g., persons who were chosen because of their position on Roe v. Wade.
Those who purport to be conservative should be the most angry at what is going on. When they talk about big government, yet refuse to complain when megacorporations are charging the taxpayers--yes, that's you and me--hundreds--THOUSANDS of times what a service is worth there is something wrong. And this book specifies who's getting away with those acts so far. (In a review, I regret I can't get more specific or my review will be eliminated.)
Get this book for yourself and for ALL who still defend what's going on, especially those, again, who claim to be conservatives. This truly is the most important book I've read on the "war" and I'm well-read on the subject. I talked with an attorney referred to in the text who argues that a main motive for the war is to establish a new ruling class. You'll be able to figure out how such a ruling class may be established by reading and pondering this fine volume.
Crime Without Crimnals.......2007-02-05
This book lists crimes but pulls back from from pointing to the criminals.
The crimes themselves are well known to readers of the Internet. There is nothing new here. If you don't pay attention to the Internet the list of crimes and profiteering in Iraq is sobering.
Probably out of a justified fear of retribution the author fails to draw the obvious conclusions of who did what.
Three stars for generalities and one star for specifics= two stars overall.
Amazon.com
Carl von Clausewitz was a 19th-century Prussian general and is considered by many to be the millennium's preeminent strategist. Clausewitz on Strategy is a newly translated collection of sections from Clausewitz's classic work On War that's aimed at helping 21st-century executives and entrepreneurs grapple with the unpredictability of today's business climate. The Strategy Institute of The Boston Consulting Group, which pens an insightful essay introducing and connecting Clausewitz's thinking to the realities of today's business environment and which also supplements the book with historical notes and excerpts, thinks Clausewitz is cool. After reading this book, you may think so as well. --Harry C. Edwards
Book Description
Think about strategy and sharpen judgment in an unpredictable environment
Carl von Clausewitz is widely acknowledged as one of the most important of the major strategic theorists; he's been read by Eisenhower, Kissinger, Patton, Chairman Mao, and numerous other leaders. In Clausewitz on Strategy, the Boston Consulting Group's Strategy Institute has excerpted those passages most relevant to business strategy from Clausewitz's classic text On War, the most general, applicable, and enduring work of strategy in the modern West and a source of insight into the nature of conflict, whether on the battlefield or in the boardroom. This book offers Clausewitz's framework for self-education--a way to train the reader's thinking. Clausewitz speaks the mind of the executive, revealing logic that those interested in strategic thinking and practice will find invaluable. He presents unique ideas, such as the idea that friction--unexpected interference--is an intrinsic part of strategy.
The Boston Consulting Group is one of the world's leading management consulting firms whose clients include many of the world's industry leaders. Tiha von Ghyczy (Charlottesville, VA) has been a faculty member and Director of Business Projects at the Darden School of Business since 1996. While with The Boston Consulting Group, he assumed responsibility for the practice groups in manufacturing/time-based competition and high technology. He has published numerous articles and books on vision and strategy. Bolko von Oetinger (Munich, Germany) is a Senior Vice President of BCG. Christopher Bassford (Washington, DC) is presently a Professor of Strategy at the National War College in Washington, DC, and the author of several books, including Clausewitz in English: The Reception of Clausewitz in Britain and America, 1815-1945.
Customer Reviews:
3 great points.......2007-10-16
(1) If you still don't understand the difference between war and business [or war and anything else], read this book.
(2) If you have a boss who doesn't understand that "a" strategy must always be revised and the test of a great employee is one who always has a Plan B, send him/her a copy.
(3) That book learning isn't the same thing as experience - "Yet this is nothing but wretched book learning." p. 91.
(4)FRICTION! "Friction is what makes the seemingly easy so difficult.", p. 89, a concept before it's time, one you should know well. p. 89 "Rather, the general [and the rest of us trying to do anything] must have knowledge of friction in order to overcome it, where possible, and in order not to expect a level of precision in his operations that simply cannot be achieved owing to this very friction." p.87
(5) the great love affair between Clausewitz and his wife
(6) Negativity capacity - "being at ease when in bafflement or doubt and not seeking escapes at any cost." p. 86 (don't panic when it starts falling apart)
(7) The many times von C mentions "heart" as well as "mind."
(8) and that this great soldier started fighting at 13, died of cholera.
Strategy is one of my top stengths on the StrengthsFinder(r), so to me it is innate. However, that does not mean my FIRST strategy is my only one, or the one that eventually works. In war, love, coaching, or trying to motivate a recalcitrant teenager.
And how's this for an interesting point: "The weaker the defender's morale, the more brazen the attack must be." p. 121
I ordered this book by mistake - well, as von Clausewitz says, if you wish to enter that theater of strategy you "must abandon all hope of finding the certainties and control to which they are accustomed in other pursuits and consider the surrender of such hopes as a rite of passage in strategy."
Many good things happen to the intelligent, experienced, philosophical and seasoned strategist by accident.
Good read.
Perhaps the worst book of its kind I had ever read.......2006-02-15
I had read many business strategy books based on the writings of Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, Machiavelli, Miyamoto Musashi etc. So bad that this is the worst I had picked. Clausewitz is great, but the authors are real bad in that they try too hard to impress by using superficial, vague, clumsy, English literature type of writing that complicates or even deteriorates Clausewitz's teachings instead of making them into something analytical and well structured, with relevant examples of real business world applications, even if it cant be as useful as the famous BCG Model (Stars, Question Marks, Cash Cows & Dogs). For those really interested in Clausewitz, please read his originals instead of wasting your valuable time on this disorganised and incoherent work of some.....
Dreadful book.......2005-08-13
If you have interest in Clausewitz or business strategy, you can do much better buying other books. This is a very poorly written outing, practically incoherent. Embarassingly bad and jumbled. Do not be afraid to read Clausewitz directly: as this book illustrates, there are no easy shortcuts.
Avoid.
A Superb Leadership Resource.......2004-10-19
It probably requires having some experience with business strategy before any of Clausewitz's advice can resonant with you. However, for those who have been involved in executive decision processes, Clausewitz's messages are remarkably fresh and insightful (almost two hundred years later). His advice is particularly fascinating in context with the current "Information Age."
Clausewitz's message is simple, but you have to be ready for it to appreciate it. Information will never be complete. Some information will be totally wrong. If you wait for perfect information/intelligence, you will lose (and your competitor will win). In the fog of war, you must find that "faint light" and have the courage to go toward it. Don't wait for the fog to clear, and don't wait for the light to get brighter. It will be too late if you do.
Too often in the Information Age, companies and their executives mistakenly believe that it is possible to get complete and accurate information before making a decision. However, despite vaste improvements in technology, information will never be complete, perfect, or even 100% accurate. Clausewitz understood this almost two centuries ago. He points to what true leaders must have. They must have the ability to detect the most relevant patterns among incomplete and sometimes erroneous information. They must be able to identify the goal (the faint beacon of light). Finally, they must have the courage to focus and align an organization's limited resources to accomplishing this goal. In business speak, business leaders must have a vision and must be willing to take risks to achieve that vision.
This message is hard for some people to take. I guess many are looking for a "how to" book that anyone can use. Clausewitz talks about "genius," and his concept of genius implies that not everyone is up to the challenges of leadship. It's a tough pill to swallow, but it is true. More than anything, this book affirmed beliefs I formed after years of observation, trial, and error.
Some may mistakenly believe that perfect information may not have been possible in Clausewitz's time, but it certainly is today. As a business analysis professional, I can attest that "complete" information is still not a reality. No amount of data mining, neural networks, or statistics can replace the qualities of leadership Clausewitz so clearly and eloquently expresses.
Information certainly has the potential to help make better business decisions, but faith is still required to act. Many of the information tools available today are not used, because our business leaders lack the faith to implement them (they're still waiting for complete information). A great companion to this book (in relation to information and decision making) is Against the Gods by Peter Bernstein.
A shameful endeavor in quick profits.......2004-01-22
5 Stars for Clausewitz
0 Stars for the authors
Impression on Clausewitz:
Strategy has been defined as 'the employment of the battle as the means towards the attainment of the object of the war'. Properly speaking it has to do with nothing but the battle, but its theory must include in this consideration the instrument of this real activity -- the armed force -- in itself and in its principal relations, for the battle is fought by it, and shows its effects upon it in turn. It must be well acquainted with the battle itself as far as relates to its possible results, and those mental and moral powers which are the most important in the use of the same.
Strategy is the employment of the battle to gain the end of the war; it must therefore give an aim to the whole military action, which must be in accordance with the object of the war; in other words, strategy forms the plan of the war; and to this end it links together the series of acts which are to lead to the final decision, that is to say, it makes the plans for the separate campaigns and regulates the combats to be fought in each. As these are all things which to a great extent can only be determined on conjectures some of which turn out incorrect, while a number of other arrangements pertaining to details cannot be made at all beforehand, it follows, as a matter of course, that strategy must go with the army to the field in order to arrange particulars on the spot, and to make the modifications in the general plan which incessantly become necessary in war. Strategy can therefore never take its hand from the work for a moment.
That this, however, has not always been the view taken is evident from the former custom of keeping strategy in the cabinet and not with the army, a thing only allowable if the cabinet is so near to the army that it can be taken for the chief headquarters of the army.
Theory will therefore attend on strategy in the determination of its plans, or, as we may more properly say, it will throw a light on things in themselves, and on their relations to each other, and bring out prominently the little that there is of principle or rule.
If we recall to mind from the first chapter how many things of the highest importance war touches upon, we may conceive that a consideration of all requires a rare grasp of mind.
A prince or general who knows exactly how to organize his war according to his object and means, which does neither too little nor too much, gives by that the greatest proof of his genius. But the effects of this talent are exhibited not so much by the invention of new modes of action, which might strike the eye immediately, as in the successful final result of the whole. It is the exact fulfillment of silent suppositions, it is the noiseless harmony of the whole action which we should admire, and which only makes itself known in the total result.
The inquirer who, tracing back from the final result, does not perceive the signs of that harmony is one who is apt to seek for genius where it is not, and where it cannot be found.
The means and forms which strategy uses are in fact so extremely simple, so well known by their constant repetition that it only appears ridiculous to sound common sense when it hears critics so frequently speaking of them with high-flown emphasis. Turning a flank, which has been done a thousand times, is regarded here as a proof of the most brilliant genius, there as a proof of the most profound penetration, indeed even of the most comprehensive knowledge. Can there be in the book-world more absurd productions?
It is still more ridiculous if, in addition to this, we reflect that the same critic, in accordance with prevalent opinion, excludes all moral forces from theory, and will not allow it to be concerned with anything but the material forces, so that all must be confined to a few mathematical relations of equilibrium and preponderance, of time and space, and a few lines and angles. If it were nothing more than this, then out of such a miserable business there would not be a scientific problem for even a schoolboy.
But let us admit: there is no question here about scientific formulas and problems; the relations of material things are all very simple; the right comprehension of the moral forces which come into play is more difficult. Still, even in respect to them, it is only in the highest branches of strategy that moral complications and a great diversity of quantities and relations are to be looked for, only at that point where strategy
Impressions on the Authors:
The authors should be banned from all literary circles and their works be renounced as a shameful endeavor in easy profits. In this text they have voided Clausewitz rich text; by presenting the matter in a haphazard; confusing lacking form style and sense.
Book Description
How the world's most dynamic organization prepares its leaders for battle, with valuable insights for today's business arena
For mor than 50 years, The U.S. Army Leadership Field Manual has provided leadership training for every officer training program in the U.S. Army. This trade edition brings the manual's value-based leadership principles and practices to today's business world. The result is a compelling examination of how to be an effective leader when the survival of your team literally hangs on your decisions. More than 60 gripping vignettes and stories illustrate historical and contemporary examples of army leaders who made a difference.
The U.S. Army Leadership Field Manual also provides:
- A leadership approach based on the army's core principles of "Be, Know, Do"
- Hands-on lessons to enhance training, mentoring, and decision-making skills
- Chapters that focus on the different roles and requirements for leadership
Customer Reviews:
Practical Leadership.......2007-03-28
This manual has evolved over the years, and while it extrapolates from the theories of Transformational/Transactional Leadership, it gets down to where the "rubber meets the road." This is leadership 101 in practical application with many real world examples inserted in key places to demonstrate that this is not just "hot air" to pump up some author's ego blimp. While this may be a military focused book, with a clear sense of situations (while not life threatening) one can interpolate the stressful leadership issues in a civilian context that can have dire personal economic consequences. This book will "Git 'er done!"
Excellent.......2006-02-22
Reads just like the Army manuel we received in the military but in laymans terms.
Highly Recommended!.......2004-06-04
As the army's touchstone for leadership, The U.S. Army Leadership Field Manual stresses ethics, high moral character and the honorable refusal to obey unlawful orders. This volume makes you ask, "How could the prison abuse incidents in Iraq in 2004 have happened?" American army training repeatedly emphasizes moral leadership, character and integrity, as seen in this primary field manual of leadership, which is used by soldiers and officers everywhere. Read the principles that helped shape such leaders such as Marshall, Eisenhower, Schwarzkopf and Powell. You can employ many of their lessons of moral courage and determination in the corporate boardroom.
We highly recommend this very readable book for those who seek to put current events into clearer context and to make use of their lessons.
Cheap and good.......2004-05-03
This book is very cheap. Just about the cheapest leadership book you can buy. But its valuable knowledge far exceeds its price. There is a reason why this book is used for mandatory leadership curriculum at West Point and virtually all military leadership training schools. It teaches soldier to 1)Be of strong ethical and moral character (loyalty, integrity, discipline) 2)Know valuable skills and knowledge (technical and personal) 3)Do utilize the leadership skills to make a difference.
There is a best selling book "Be, Know, Do" which relies heavily from this book as a source. I recommend buying this book instead because it is much cheaper and contains virtually all the information contained in that one.
I wish this book was thicker with even more useful information. The book could have expounded far more in detail, especially things related to interpersonal skills (communication and motivation). I know there is a wealth of psychological research on the subject of leadership which the book could have used for further enlightenment. But the book limits its focus only on its history and military leaders as a source.
Leadership is a deep and complex subject because it requires one to deeply understand oneself and the others. This book provides a solid basis.
Book Description
The distribution of the world’s material wealth is far from even. And while most of the western world may be accustomed to a commercial culture, there are other cultures (e.g., Amish, Islamic, peasant) that are not commercial or are uncomfortable with commercial definition. Because cultural meaning is not universally defined through the market, "globalization," as it is currently understood, is not necessarily a universal aspiration.
Why then, is there so much talk of globalization? In this
Third Edition of
Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective, author Philip McMichael provides a narrative of how development came to be institutionalized as an international project, pursued by individual nation-states in the post-colonial era. This new edition has been updated and revised to incorporate the treatments of fundamentalism, terrorism, the AIDS crisis, and the commercialization of services via the World Trade Organization.
The evident failure of many countries to fulfill this promise of development and the world’s growing awareness of environmental limits have forced a reevaluation of the development enterprise.
Development and Social Change traces the changing fortunes of development efforts, the shortcomings of which have produced two responses. One is to advocate a thoroughly global market to expand trade and spread the wealth. The other is to reevaluate the economic emphasis and to recover a sense of cultural community.
Features of this book:
- A world-historical perspective that situates globalization in the declining fortunes of the postwar development project.
- A political perspective that views development and globalization as practices managed by historic elite groupings, as mechanisms of power and world ordering.
- An emphasis on resistance and social movements as actors shaping the meaning and direction of both development and globalization, as they impact societies around the world.
- A series of case studies that allow in-depth examination of development/globalization dilemmas and paradoxes.
Development and Social Change is the first book to present students with a coherent explanation of how "globalization" took root in the public discourse and how "globalization" represents a shift away from development as a way to think about non-western societies. This is an ideal text for undergraduate and graduate students studying globalization, social development, and social change in Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology, and International Studies.
To read a sample chapter from
Development and Social Change click on "Additional Materials" in the left column under "About This Book" or simply click here.
Customer Reviews:
Fair trade and social change for just under 50$ a copy!.......2007-09-07
McMichaels book on globalization is a collection of gross overstatements, dubious statistics and figures (nearly always mentioned without citations) and embarrassing generalizations, poor writing and an absence of wit or even insight. Possibly one of the worst things I've ever been assigned to read- so bad in fact, I was inspired to write my first ever online review. That said, global economics and the structural orchestration of inequality associated with today's neoliberal economic development is a fascinating topic, certainly deserving of our attention. With some organization, a writing class or two, a solid editor, and maybe a class in academic research methods, McMichael may yet have a future in Academia. In the mean time, skip this one and find something else (Harvey) more worthwhile.
That said, the message is
Not a bad introduction, but there are better.......2006-02-14
This book is an introduction to the social analysis of the development project. If amazon gave the option, I would rate it 3 1/2 stars instead. The book gives a brief history of international development and the analysis focuses on overarching themes, such as decolonization, the shift from keynesian to neoliberal models, and disharmonies. Case studies are interspersed throughout to give examples. The book is light on economics and even lighter on theory. It is accessible to anyone with the most basic of understandings in trade. The reason I give the book 3 stars is because the first 2 parts, or 200 pages or so, of the book contribute very little original material or insights, and lack in depth. Unless you do well from a textbook format, I would recommend a separate historical text on development combined with a socio-cultural analysis. The two are not combined well in this work in my opinion. That said, for someone new to sociology of development this is a good starting point.
One interesting and valuable approach is that he attempts to seed the narrative with the question of "whether and to what extent development is a process often realized through the intensification of inequalities, despite its stated intentions." This should tell you something about the subtle political leanings of the author, which did not distract from the goals of providing students with foundational knowledge in international development.
Fabulous!.......2001-07-03
Usually professors who assign their own book for a class tend to be egotists. McMichael bucked that trend, however, by assigning his book which explained everything I ever needed or wanted to know about how the world works. The structure of the book makes it easy for anyone to understand and explains the state of the world today using historical context, which I found fascinating. However cheesy this may be, I honestly think the world would be a better place if more people read this book.
An excellent place to start.......2000-11-19
I completely agree with Mr. Jones' review. I can name countless books that offer strong arguments and good research. I can also recommend many books that are written with such clear and graceful style that they are a pleasure to read. McMichael is one of the few authors who can manage to combine these two aspects. I thank him for making it both easy and interesting for me to learn about this field of study.
Beyond modernization and underdevelopment.......1997-11-27
McMichael avoids the classic pitfall of falsely dichotomizing his development themes into modernization and/or underdevelopment theory. Nor does he leave us in the postmodern paralysis of absolute relativity. His straightforward and readable style reveals the entire postwar development project and its consequences, as well as the rise of the globalization project now under way. McMichael underscores his points with case studies and acutely observes the cultural phenomena and localized resistance of our times. Development and Social Change brings the sociology of development to the edge of modernity and the end of our century, in a vocabulary and style open to laypersons and sociologists alike.
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