1 comments about Stephen Decatur: A Life Most Bold And Daring (Library of Naval Biography).

1. Each period of history has seemed to produce a naval officer that has characterized the period. In the Revolutionary War it was John Paul Jones. In World War II it was Nimitz. During the period around the War of 1812 (which also included combat with the Barbary pirates, it was Stephen Decatur. This is his story, well written, and able to place Decatur in the story of the United States of the time.
   
   Decatur entered the navy in 1799 (well after the Revolutionary War) and served until he was killed in a duel in 1820. This was a duel that appears to be even more stupid than most. And the author goes to some effort to describe the failings of their seconds who probably could have prevented the duel from happening.
   
   During his brief career, Decatur rose rapidly in the ranks and with a combination of skill and luck was able to do the right thing, in the right place, at the right time. His promotion was fast, and he was the most famous officer of his day. His is quite a story.

2 comments about SURROUNDED BY HEROES: Six Campaigns with Divisional Headquarters, 82d Airborne, 1942 - 1945.

1. This is an exciting book! It captured my attention and drew me in from the first page. It presents a very personal view of war. The author describes his feelings at every turn - what it was like to get a letter from home, to lose a friend in battle, or to learn that a son was born in your absence. "Surrounded By Heroes" gave me a clear picture of what it was like to be on the battlefield and off, the terror of war, the frustration of Army bureaucracy, the boredom of waiting and not knowing what was coming next. On top of all this I learned what all the Army jargon and acronyms mean - from AAF (Army Airfield) to SNAFU (Situation Normal: All F****** Up) to USO (United Service Organizations).
   
   It's a good book. read it.



2. "Surrounded by Heroes" is an articulate, thoughtfully written remembrance of the WW II effort, observed from the vantage point of a sort of "everyman." It is a perfect companion for the PBS series, "War" (produced by Ken Burns), citing a number of the battles, locations and "players" who toiled and sometimes died in that arena. I happened to read it just before the series appeared, and found it afforded a more personal experience than if I had viewed the series alone.

1 comments about Dearest Ruthy: A Soldier's Love Letters from the Battlefields of World War II.

1. Dearest Ruthy portrays not only amazing passion for life and love, but also gives an insiders look at World War II. It's hard to believe these words are from the mouth of a young man, but it tells much of the "Greatest Generation" and of an extremely special man. I may be biased in my passion for this book, it's auther and subject, but I know this story will move any reader.

1 comments about An Unpopular War.

1. An Unpopular War
   
   This interesting book consists of a series of first-person vignettes provided by individuals who had served on the South African side in South Africa's Border Wars in the 70s and 80s. The accounts seem to be in the language and words of those who provided them, save for their translation in some instances from Afrikaans to English. As such, they are provided with no contextual supporting text, except for an appendix of slang words and their meanings. A reader coming into this material for the first time may be puzzled at times but the intention of the editor was clearly to provide an authentic `voice' to the protagonists without any comment or interpretation of her own. The individuals who provided their stories varied from army chefs to helicopter pilots to conscious objectors , and each have a story to tell, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and sometimes macabre. For this reason the material will be of interest to a broad readership anywhere in the world. Although not an historical account of events at all (for which the reader should seek some other source, such as Wikipedia, or The Silent War by Peter Stiff) the situations and events reported appear to be accurate, and are certainly consistent with other accounts with which I am familiar. A recommended read.

5 comments about Hope and Honor.

1. I bought this book based on a very good review in "Vietnam" magazine. The story of MG Shachnow's life from surviving the Holocaust to becoming the #1 officer in Special Forces makes for an intriguing biography.
   
   The first part of the book is amazing and provides for a very personal and emotional description of a young boy surviving the holocaust in Lithuania. I highly recommend this first half - the emotions and details are chilling.
   
   The rest of the book covers his military career in a very general way, i.e. without a lot of depth to his experiences. I wish that the book had been made into two volumes, with even more time spent on his childhood and early experiences afterwards as well as a second volume going into much more depth of his experiences as a soldier. To me it seemed that just as a topic was getting interesting, the chapter ended and a new topic was introduced (and then cut off). I would happily have read a 500 page volume 1 and a 500 page volume 2.
   
   The writing style is adictive and the content intriguing. The only criticism is the lack of depth in his military experiences (the main reason I had bought the book).



2. This is an extraordinary story of strength, courage and love under the most trying conditions imaginable. After surviving the Holocaust as a boy in Nazi-controlled Lithuania, Sidney Shachnow eventually emigrated to the U.S. with his family to start a new life. Risking his life in defense of freedom as a career soldier he truly gave back so much to his new homeland. As such Gen Shachnow's story serves to remind us of the real meaning of American patriotism, which, sadly, in not taught in schools the way it formerly was.
   
   This book makes an equally valuable contribution to American literature as Gen. Shachnow made to the U.S. Army. Unlike so many celebrity autobiographies, which are little more than self-agrandizing fluff-fluff, this book presents the story of Gen Shachnow's life in a painfully honest manner. From cover to cover it is the forthright story of a real man and a real human being, warts and all. That Gen. Shachnow has no trouble being as open as he is with his readers further attests to his bravery and character.



3. Excellent book. I have read MG Shachnow's military bio, heard stories about him from other soldiers, and met the man on more than one occasion - but the book brings to life with vivid details the trials and tribulations of a real-life hero. This true story is more captivating than any fictional character and story could be.



4. This is a fascinating tale of survival in Lithuania, and the grit and hussle that Shachnow brought to the US as a teen-ager to rise to the rank of major general in the US Army Special Forces.



5. This is the best book I've read recently and I heartily recommend it.
   
   The first and most harrowing part of the book deals with General Shachnow's childhood and miraculous survival of the Holocaust. The protagonist of the story is primarily Shachnow's mother -- an extraordinary, quick witted and determined woman. It is mainly due to her efforts and incredible daring that both her children (one of whom was a mere toddler) survived, while pretty much everyone around them perished. Her strength through the war and the heartbreaks and challenges of the family's post war experiences were to me the most touching and heartrending aspect of the book. Shachnow does a fine job at crediting his mother's extraordinary sacrifices and bravery, but also touchingly describing her weaknesses and eventual failures.
   
   The second part of the book, which in some ways is just as touching, deals with the Shachnow family's move first to post-war Germany and then to the US. The immigration experience was particularly rough on General Shachnow, who arrived in the US as an unschooled and traumatized teenager, but managed, through toil and faith to complete high school successfully. Shachnow's parents fared less well. They seemed unable to transition to the new culture and its demands. Shachnow speculates that his mother had used up all her strength and ingenuity to survive and therefore found herself unable to cope with the new world. Shachnow tells us how the graceful heroine of the Kovno Ghetto turns into a nagging, selfish and small-minded woman, whose behavior inhibits her and her husband from succeeding in their new life. In one of the saddest parts of the book, Shachnow describes his break from his family following his marriage to a non-Jewish girl -- an event that his family treated with neither wisdom nor grace.
   
   The final part of the book is devoted to General Shachnow's military career, starting with his enlistment as a private at the end of his high school studies. His rise to the rank of general is described with humility and is of much interest, though, like other reviewers, I wish it was more extensive.
   
   This is an extraordinary book. In part it made me cry (the touching love between the brothers and the terrible heartbreak of Sidney's parents experiences in the US) and in part it made me wonder. But most of all -- the book inspired me. This is the story of the incredible power of love to save lives, to give meaning to existence. It's the story of familial ties and their challenges. This is the story of the ultimate inevitability of success to those who are sufficiently persistent. And finally -- it's the story of true patriotism and leadership. It's a must read.
   
   I heard the book on CD (Blackstone Audio), read by the excellent Brian Emerson.

5 comments about Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare (John MacRae Books).

1. Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare
   Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare
   
   "The evacuation of Phnom Penh was a shambles. To move more than two and a half million people out of a crowded metropolis at a few hour's notice, with nowhere for them to stay; no medical care; no government transport and little or nothing to eat, was to invite human suffering on a colossal scale.
   `The... defining features of the evacuation - the systematic stripping away of the possessions of the rich and not-so-rich; the writing and rewriting of autobiographies to identify potential opponents; the summary executions; the near total absence of resistance by millions of people, uprooted from their homes and going like sheep to the slaughter - were equally a foretaste of the regime to come." Philip Short; Anatomy of a Nightmare, P. 283
   Thirty years after the end of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, many of the leading players like Pol Pot are dead. Others, like Ieng Sary and his wife face war crimes charges in international courts. Sary was granted amnesty by former King Sihanouk but still faces charges in The Hague.
   The country remains one of the poorest in Asia: per capita income is about $300 US, and most of the country's inhabitants exist on subsistence farming. One of its growth industries, tourism, ironically is straining the fragile Angkor Wat Temples.
   Like many of history's worst villains, Pol Pot was a self-made man who was constantly reinventing himself. After losing his engineering scholarship in Paris in the early 1950's, he began his political ascent as a guerilla fighter. As Cambodia was targeted for US bombing strikes during g the Vietnam War, the Khmer Rouge used the threat of bombing as an excuse for the massive, involuntary relocation of the millions of urban residents to the countryside, where they were placed in collective labor camps and deprived of all private property.
   Conservative estimates of the death toll from starvation, disease, torture and murder are at 1.7 million. But as Stalin, one of history's most notorious exterminators, said: "One death is a tragedy. A million is a statistic."
   Pol Pot not only rewrote history, he obliterated it. He declared the start of the Khmer Rouge Regime as "Year Zero," effectively beginning all over again. "Communist regimes everywhere have sought to level income disparities; to make law an instrument of policy; to monopolise the press; and to control postal and telecommunications links with the rest of the world. But Cambodians chose more radical, more insane solutions.
   Money; law courts; newspapers; the postal system and foreighn communications -- even the concept of the city .. were all simply abolished." (Short, Introduction P.12)
   
   Short, a British journalist, lived in Cambodia for many years. He has prepared a scrupulously researched and evenly written history of one of this generation's worst nightmares.



2. Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare (John MacRae Books)
   This study deserves to be another documented remainder of the practical and , unfortunately , logical consequences of what began as a humanistic idea about equality and sameness and ended in its consequent and tragic equation , cca at least half a billion unmarked graves stretching from the revolutionary France up to the bloodiest of all eras , the 20th century with communisms of different ' denominations '( e.g. stalinism , titoism ,Pol - potism ... ) . If we could dare calculate the percentage of people murdered in a time unit , then Cambodia is probably at the top of the saddest scale imaginable ,as 2 million people , a third of population , were starved and butchered on the infamous killing fields . Mr. Short's analysis is a hard core scientific work which tries to minutely describe and explain the history of Cambodia before the WWII , before the arrival of Khmer Rouges and the creation of the real Hell on Earth in the mid70s, the period of its 'great' leap forward and its quick demise , succeeding perfectly in illustrating the mindset behind Pot Pol and his clique , that was fatally influenced , which Mr Short repeats on numerous occasions , by at that time fashionable , e.g. progressive ideas , which were a) French b) marxist c) nihilistic . All these ideas were combined with the pre-existing Cambodian traditions and psychological mindsets , where violence in its most bizzare and brutal form ( according to one of the interviewees in the book , it was nothing unusual for children ,while swimming in a local river, to find severed human heads floating around , special forms of torture where a torturer is dancing around a helpless victim with a machete before hacking him to pieces and drinking his blood, etc. ) co-exists with the image of the most peaceful people in the world . All these , as well as the opposition against the king , poor management by the colonial master France , senseless interparty bickering, and war in the neighbouring Vietnam were factors that inescapably led to the final stage - red inferno with the secret sect first called Angkar to which virtually everything had to be sacrificed ( not only material objects, cars , tv sets ,etc. ) but specially human , individual characterictics , the very feelings , the soul itself , where the greatest sin was , simply , to have a thought! This study is another document of the 'usefulness'of radical ideas , where it is impossible to remain untouched , and a document which must serve as a perennial warning of how evil a man can be ! It is first and foremost a tribute to all the innocent Cambodians that were massacred en masse because of a psychopatic idea in psychopatic minds .



3. As some of the previous reviewers have already stated, this is not your typical biography. Short shows the life of Pol Pot and the history of Cambodia at the same time. Short shows how an evil man such as Pol Pot could rise to the top of the Khymer Rouge, and the eventual downfall of both the country and his evil regime. At close to 500 pages of reading, this biography and the accompanying history is pretty heavy reading.
   
   Pol Pot was the Angkar of this regime. He was secretive, vindictive, and a self serving. He thought he was the brains of the Khymer Rouge, and everybody else was the follower. Any threat to his leadership was met with death by his opponents. It was too bad he died in his old age. He needed to meet the same fate as Saddam Hussein. As it was, 1 1/2 million Camdodians died because of his rule. Some of his fellow monsters are still around and should br tried for crimes against humanity.
   
   What is also striking is the self serving nature of Pol Pot. He killed people who were foreign trained, even though he went to a French college.
   His banned a personal life, even though he selected a young women to have a family with. He was your typical hippocrit, do as I say, not as I do.
   
   This is probably the best book on the Cambodian Holocaust. This mass killing should never have happened. Hopefully, Pol Pot is burning in his afterlife.



4. I am sorry but this book was boring. I think it took a special kind of writer to make something as seemingly interesting/horrific as the Khmer Rouge so dull. This book is overloaded with details upon details that do not really give any real insights into what happened in Cambodia or upon Pol Pot.
   
   This is not the first book someone should read to get a strong understanding of Pol Pot or the Khmer Rouge. Instead it should be read by people that are serious students of this subject otherwise you will just get bogged down with names and the little bureaucratic nuances of the Khmer Rouge step by painful step.
   
   This book has taken me a long time to read through and I generally read pretty quickly. I would find myself cleaning my house or doing laundry to avoid finishing. I am one of those people that feels they need to finish a book once they started it and this one made me seriously reconsider.



5. I read this book knowing virtually nothing of Pol Pot or the history of the Cambodian revolutionary movement. Having read the book I feel it works far better as a history of modern Cambodia and the rise and fall of the Khmer Rouge than it does as a biography of Pol Pot, hence my rating. My expectations of Short's work are high having greatly enjoyed his biography of Mao which is overflowing with the kind of personal detail and insight that is absent from this work. I would speculate that this may have something to do with the availability of source material and perhaps with the cultural issues around the definition of truth in Cambodian culture which Short alludes to in the book.
   
   Despite this I came away far more knowledgeable than I arrived and Short is an excellent writer with a knack for making his material easily digestible.
   
   Good history, but only an average biography.

2 comments about Subcommander Marcos: The Man and the Mask.

1. Nick Henck's biography of Subcommander Marcos is much more than a description of the man's life so far - remember, he's not dead yet! It is an exploration of the Zapatista movement and its significance for 21st century Mexican and Latin American politics. Moreover, Henck demonstrates that, although Marcos is not indigenous to Chiapas himself, his life and work holds important lessons for contemporary indigenous peoples struggling for recognition and respect all over the world.
   
   This book traces Marcos's life from his early days in Mexico City as a child, then student and academic, through his involvement in leftist politics, his move to the Lacandon jungle, his stewardship of the EZLN, and his leadership of the resistance struggle in Chiapas. Marcos is important because he was able, first, to lead a successful armed uprising against an established, corrupt, and dictatorial regime - one that has an important alliance with the United States - and, second, by his skillful use of modern communications he prevented the regime from retaliating with maximum military force. Marcos is, therefore, both a worthy successor in the tradition of Bolivar, Che and Castro, as well as a new type of Latin American revolutionary. In this way, Henck shows that his example provides tremendous optimism for independence movements all over the world, but particularly in Latin America.
   
   This book is surely the definitive work in English on Subcommander Marcos and the EZLN, and is an important contribution to the literature on Latin American revolutionary movements. As such, and as both a challenge and a request to Professor Henck, I hope that he will use this opportunity to develop his research to write more on leaders of contemporary Latin American resistance movements - including Hugo Chavez - in order that we can learn more about this important challenge to the current neo-liberal orthodoxy.



2. "We Are All Marcos Now"
   Subcommander Marcos and the Politics of Zapatismo
   
   Review of Nick Henck, Subcommander Marcos: The Man and the Mask (Duke, 2007), 499 pp.
   
   Robert Ovetz, Ph.D.
   
   The Zapatistas are widely credited with launching the anti-globalization movement on New Year's day 1994, the first day the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect. What is less known is that in doing so the Zapatistas created a new model that has made taking up arms compatible with simultaneously taking up the cause of grassroots democracy, a paradoxical phenomenon vividly illustrated by Nick Henck in his fascinating new book Subcommander Marcos: The Man and the Mask.
   
   When I interviewed Subcommander Marcos and reported for CNN on the uprising on that day in San Cristobal de las Casas, it appeared as if they had emerged overnight, a spontaneous rupture in the supposed political calm of Mexico and the emerging web of a restructured global system. Nothing could be further from the historical record, a record Hick Henck, associate professor of law at Keio University in Japan, recounts and examines with exhaustive thoroughness and insight. The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN or Zapatista) uprising was no spontaneous rebellion, but a model of revolutionary armed struggle refashioned by local indigenous communities facing the terror of local violent greedy landholders and corrupt local and state officials.
   
   While never having met Marcos, Henck's biography carefully explores countless published interviews, communiques, media reports, web postings, and the two other existing published books about Marcos. Although a biography, Henck's focus is informed by his passion to understand the movement of Zapatismo from the perspective of the man who has become a charismatic, even sexy, icon of the rebellion. Subcommander Marcos makes a convincing case that Zapatismo transformed not only the global movement challenging to "neo-liberalism" and globalization but how the movement was organized.
   
   Despite preparing for guerrilla warfare in the jungles and countryside for 10 long years, after a mere 12 days of conflict in 1994 the Zapatistas agilely transformed themselves from an "army of liberation" into a facilitator of mass mobilization of what they call "civil society". That they were eventually successful in achieving significant progress towards three major objectives in less than a decade has remained the backstory to coverage about the enigmatic and secretive masked pipe brandishing icon Subcommander Marcos. The Zapatista uprising put indigenous issues center-stage with the Mexican media and public for the first time, with an indigenous rights bill being debated in both chambers of the Mexican Congress. This debate led to the passage of a watered down version of the San Andres Accords between the Zapatistas, its civil society allies and the government as a constitutional amendment. Although it is impressive that the government would amend the constitution in response to the Zapatista movement, the amendment has not lived up to claims that it expanded the rights of Mexico's indigenous peoples. The amendment also did not reverse NAFTA's rescinding of Article 27 of the constitution, which prohibited the privatization of communal ejido land, and some indigenous groups even consider it to be unconstitutional. Lastly, the Zapatistas were one of the primary forces that contributed to the end of the PRI's seven decades of one party rule.
   
   It appears that for Henck the transformation of the Zapatistas into Zapatismo is of much greater significance than either the story of the former professor turned revolutionary cell leader Subcommander Marcos or their ability to change government policy and provoke a political realignment. After a few years of being ignored in the jungles the handful of FLN (Forces of National Liberation or Fuerzas Liberacion Nacional) members who composed the cell in Chiapas found the locals were sympathetic to calls to pick up arms in self-defense against the theft of their lands by rancher death squads. But the indigenous only really responded to their calls to organize and arm themselves when Marcos and his compatriots realized that "in order to survive we had to translate ourselves using a different code...this language constructed itself from the bottom upwards." (p. 94)
   
   This was no abstract rhetorical exercise but took on tangible dimensions for those who joined, especially among women. As Henck so fascinatingly details, once local young indigenous women discovered that joining the Zapatistas protected them from being raped and forced marriages, they began to join in droves. (p. 100-101) And as the Zapatistas gained a few allies in assorted villages those allies used their family relationships and status in their communities to literally open the tap to a rush of recruits.
   
   As Marcos so deftly recognized, after years of futile effort the number of recruits exploded from only a few dozen members to thousands in just a matter of a few months when they finally surrendered to the needs of the local communities and "decided it would be better to do what they said." (p. 135)
   
   Whether this sudden change in fortunes for the EZLN was catalyzed by Marcos's own innate skill of organizing or something that was thrust upon him from below is less important than Marcos's own flexibility in recognizing the need to break with his own inflexible model of insurgent politics. Eventually, the EZLN formally broke off from the increasingly irrelevant and inactive FLN.
   
   The shift from a military to political strategy resulted in a shift in the man we know as Marcos. As Henck explains, "Marcos abandoned his own personal dreams of becoming a revolutionary guerrilla hero and, reacting to the general public's response to the uprising, began to explore an alternative role for both himself and the movement. He and the EZLN had been gearing themselves for a decade toward a predominantly military role. Now, almost overnight, they opted instead for a predominantly political one. Few politicians and military men have abandoned so rapidly a course of action pursued so intensely, for so long, at such a high personal cost to adapt, revise, and reject their strategies when faced with the dawning realization that they were obsolete." (p. 224)
   
   This internal shift in Marcos's thinking makes Henck's book invaluable less as a biography than as a case study of the emergence and evolution of a new political model, one in which a marginalized top down political organization is reformulated by those it aspires to lead to being led by them. In this process of self-organization from below the movement's objectives become indistinguishable from the model they choose to organize themselves. As a result the EZLN transformed itself from vanguard to facilitator of a horizontal political project of movement building and decentralizing and de-evolving power to local autonomous communities.
   
   Soon after the ending of actual fighting, the EZLN became the framework for building a national movement of movements to challenge the neo-conservative restructuring forced upon Mexico by the PRI and NAFTA. The EZLN and its network of allies soon began organizing frequent Encuentros (or "encounters") and nationwide tours to accompany numerous rounds of negotiations with the government. These efforts were facilitated by the charismatic Marcos becoming an irresistible media spectacle that could at once attract vast national and international media coverage and attention and facilitate a bridge across the diversity of interests among its allies in civil society.
   
   Under the emblem of Subcommander Marcos, the EZLN gave birth to a new radical democracy that at once built a national movement to challenge the global capitalist agenda while linking up to the movement as a support network to defend its project of de-evolving political power to local autonomous cooperatively run villages.
   
   Ever able to read political forces of change and adapt, Marcos early on recognized the shift taking place: "What other guerrilla force has agreed to sit down and dialogue only fifty days after having taken up arms? What other guerrilla force has appealed, not to the proletariat as the historical vanguard, but to the civic society that struggles for democracy? What other guerrilla force has stepped aside in order not to interfere in the electoral process? What other guerrilla force has convened a national democratic movement, civic and peaceful, so that armed struggle becomes useless? What other guerrilla force asks its bases of support about what it should do before doing it? What other guerrilla force has struggled to achieve a democratic space and not take power? What other guerrilla force has relied more on words than bullets?" (p. 235)
   
   The answers to these questions are less important than the fact that they were being asked by the nominal leader of an armed guerilla "army of national liberation." Merely asking these questions underlined a gradual shift of autonomous politics from the margins to the center of the methodology and strategies of the global resistance, anti-war, social justice and environmental movements that have blossomed over the past 13 years. Self-organized, de-centralized, bottom up, and horizontally organized movements, networks, affinity groups and campaigns have achieved a new level of respect, legitimacy and power since the emergence of Zapatismo. These models are exemplified by the higher profile anti-WTO/IMF/World Bank and environmental justice movements, the massive growth of the World Social Forum and less obviously the indie music, microcinema and freecycling movements to name just a few. We have Zapatismo to thank for the re-emergence of what some now call "horizontalism" since 1994.
   
   Throughout Henck's Subcommander Marcos its is hard to avoid asking the inevitable question of "why a biography?." Despite all the glittering stardom for Marcos, his mask and pipe, the success of Zapatista movement is about far more than the man behind the mask. Even as he was "outted" as former UAM professor Rafael Guillén, his own identity no longer mattered. Like the similarly masked hero "V" in the film "V for Vendetta", Marcos had become the anonymous face of those who dreamed of justice and flirted with the forbidden thoughts of escaping to the jungles and picking up a gun to get it. In Mexico at least, where millions answered his calls to mobilize against military repression, it was a dream shared by too many for either the PRI (the Institutional Revolutionary Party or Partido Revolucionario Institucional) or its successor the PAN (the National Action Party or Partido Acción Nacional) or needless to say the Zapatista's "ally" the PRD (the Party of the Democratic Revolution or Partido de la Revolución Democrática) as well to ignore. As Henck generously concludes, "Marcos's charisma served a higher cause than his own ego; it elevated the Zapatista struggle from a localized indigenous uprising to an internationally recognized symbol of resistance to neo-liberalism." (p. 239)
   
   If there is one failing in Henck's biography is it exactly how Marcos was able to translate the hopes and aspirations of the indigenous led Zapatistas into an effective digital media campaign at the dawn of the internet age. Henck provides us with little to envision how Marcos's skillful use of the internet and relationships to Mexican and international celebrities and elites could have possibly emanated from the remote EZLN jungle camps and low tech impoverished indigenous villages. But then again, that could be because it is a safely guarded secret tactic held closely to the chests of the Zapatistas. Despite the obvious need for secrecy, my insatiable craving to know how the EZLN not only crafted their message but actually got it into the right hands to build the national and international recognition and support that repeatedly halted the onslaught of the Mexican military and brought them back to the negotiating table has not been satisfied. For that one must turn elsewhere such as the writings of theorist Harry Cleaver for insights into the workings of the Zapatismo media machine.
   
   For all my biases as the reportedly first journalist to break the story of the Zapatista's new year's uprising for the English language media , Henck's Subcommander Marcos is less a biography than an enlightening case study of how one of the possibly most influential political movements of the 21th century was born, faultered and was then rejuvenated by those it sought to lead. Subcommander Marcos convincingly demonstrates that Zapatismo has created a new model in which taking up arms may finally no longer be incompatible with simultaneously taking up the cause of autonomy and democracy. This book has arrived just in time, when the anti-globalization movement appears to have run out of steam precisely because it has failed to provide a visionary model of the future in the present.
   
   [Robert Ovetz, PhD is an adjunct instructor of political science at College of Marin and of sociology at Cañada College in California.]

4 comments about Gatekeeper: Memoirs of a CIA Polygraph Examiner.

1. The book is well written and well describes the chaos in the US intelligence community. The hilarity of the CIA's affirmative action/diversity is worth the price of the book.
   
   
   (of course anyone who volunteers
   to take a poly test should first consult a lawyer----or a neurologist.)



2. To say that I'm a skeptic of the accuracy of polygraph would be a gross understatement. I've read the research on polygraph or "lie detector" accuracy for about 30 years. My conclusion is in agreement with David Lykken's (1998) outstanding critical review of this literature in, "A Tremor in the Blood: Uses and abuses of the lie detector," as well as the conclusion of a thorough investigation by the National Academy of Sciences. Lykken, the Academy, and I agree that there is no credibile evidence for polygraph accuracy that stands up to scientific scutiny .
   
   There is, of course, substantional anecedotal evidence, supplied by those who make their living administering the exam, and which these folks almost univerally claim counts as evidence for polygraph accuracy. It is evidence, of a sort, but very weak, in fact, essentially worthless evidence. It simply ain't science.
   
   What a skilled polygrapher can sometimes do is use the machine as a prop, an aid to help elicit a confession. Mr. Sullivan's is the first book I've read by a polygrapher that acknowledges this latter point, at least implicitly. He also directly confronts some of the enormous damage that reliance on polygraph has caused - e.g., the Alrich Ames debacle. Ames was the CIA agent who sold millions of dollars of information to the Sovets, causing many moles (Soviet agents who were working for us) to lose their lives. Ames was ignored as a source of the leaks for about six years because he passed a series of polygraph exams.
   
   Sullivan also provides fascinating insights into the CIA and FBA cultures vis a vis the polygraph, including the impact of the Ames case.
   
   Although clearly pro-polygraph, Mr. Sullivan is not blindly so. His candor is often impressive. Unlike other books written by polygraphers, he appears to be less concerned with preaching pro-polygraph propaganda and more concerned with presenting a professional and balanced treatment. For me, his approach adds much to his credibility. The book is well written and I have no hesitation recommending it - although I recommend reading Lykken's brilliant book first.



3. Author John Sullivan was a polygraph examiner for over thirty years, conducting more such tests than anyone in the history of the CIA's program. What makes his story exceptional is his explanations of how lie detectors are used to identify unsuitable applicants, possible foreign agents, and others guilty of misconduct from harming the Agency. His methods, the psychology behind polygraph testing and results, and the tests which enabled Sullivan to uncover double agents, applicants with criminal backgrounds, and more makes for exciting case histories and also offers military libraries insights into the CIA's internal workings and quality control measures. An intriguing, unusual survey which moves beyond 'memoir' status to examine the foundations of CIA quality and strengths.



4. John Sullivan presents an insider's view of the utility of the polygraph and the applications where it is valid and where it is not. This is an art and not a science and false positives are common in the hands of intimidating operators. The writing style is a bit stiff and too detailed about CIA polygraphers and security officials but the overall work is a contribution to the literature of a topic that is often misunderstood.
   This is good background for people seeking employment where a full polygraph is required.

5 comments about Lonely Soldier: The Memoir of an American in the Israeli Army.

1. Neither well written nor engaging. A Purity of Arms: An American in the Israeli Army by Aaron Wolf is a much better book. Haim Watzman, Company C: An American's Life as a Citizen-Soldier in Israel is also worthwhile, though with its share of longueurs--and much in need of a glossary of Hebrew military terms.
   



2. A beautiful story. Adam is a true hero. A must read for those of us who love Israel.



3. Lonely Soldier: The Memoir of an American in the Israeli Army
   I have served in the United States Marine Corp and traveled to Israel. It was with interest that I read this book hoping to gain some insight into the IDF and life in Israel. I found the book to be well written and very interesting. I am not a speed reader but I read Lonely Soldier in less than a week. My wife kept trying to pry it out of my hands but it was difficult to put down.
   
   The author's details regarding training and his personal feelings are fascinating. The discipline of the author and his desire to serve well are an inspiration to anyone traveling through life and seeking a personal mission.
   
   Best of fortune to all and I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.



4. Marechal De Saxe wrote, "The reputation of an organization becomes personal just as soon as it is an honor to belong to it." He was referring to that illusive entity we refer to as esprit de corps. In this memoir we gain an insight into such a noted organization and how men and women are molded to be honored members. It is not an uncommon story type but seeing inside the Israeli defense forces gives it a new exotic twist.
   
   It is not an objective study of middle eastern politics. Soldiers do not have the luxury of political objectivity. The corps is their primary loyalty, acceptance as a fellow soldier by the man or woman at their side their main concern.
   
   This is pure enjoyment treading for those of us who enjoy the comradere and esprit de corps band of brothers story. To enjoy it best, try to ignore the political slant and just enjoy the story for its face value.



5. This is a nice peak in to the Israeli army, but doesn't really cover any new ground. The writing style is decent, but doesn't keep you interested throughout. Its mostly about the training process and doesn't go very deep in to his thoughts politically or even his changing thoughts about Zionism. I kept feeling like I wanted to know more about his inner thoughts, not just which wadi they were hiking through for a particular mission. While worth reading, it is not inspiring.
   
   If you want an inspiring book about the Israeli military, I recommend either Portrait of a Hero -- about Yoni Netanhayu who led the raid and fell in Entebbe or Alex -- about Alex Singer who fell in battle in Lebanon. Both of which are excerpts from diaries.

1 comments about The Boys of '76: A History of the Battles of the Revolution.

1. Although I love reading histories, I confess that the American Revolution never fully captured my interest and I am not very familiar with the fine modern literature on this subject. However, as a teen I came across a tattered but still readable copy of this in its 1876 first edition from Harper & Bros., a centennial tribute to its subject matter. I devoured it, spending much time staring at the fine pen and ink illustrations. As the title suggests, it is a descriptive chronology of the battles of the Revolution, and its slightly outmoded style somehow seems entirely fitting. It is full of evocative detail that brought the various campaigns to life for me. This, from the chapter on Saratoga: "And a grand supper General Burgoyne gave to his officers. The wife of one of the officers of the commisary department, who was no better than she should be, sat by his side at the table, and drank Champagne with him, and the officers clinked their glasses, and laughed and sung songs, while the poor wounded soldiers were lying half starved under the trees and fences, and the good Madame Reidesel was making them broth."
   
   No doubt there are fuller, more modern treatments of the subject. But for sheer pleasure I can still recommend Coffin's history without reservation.