1 comments about Reporting the War: Freedom of the Press from the American Revolution to the War on Terrorism.

1. Reporting the War is a must read for anyone who wants a better understanding of the natural tension that exists betwee the press and the government. Coork focuses primarily on wartime and elequently contrasts the difference between "live coverage" and journalism. I finished the book with a renewed sense of gratitude to those journalists who report the truth in the face of significant governmental interference and great personal risk. Cooke refreshed my awareness that freedom of the press may indeed by the most important safequard of the First Amendment and our American way of life!
   Kathie Ross

5 comments about How Much Are You Making on the War Daddy? A Quick and Dirty Guide to War Profiteering in the Bush Administration.

1. Something alright! What it is worth is millions of dollars in profits for the Bush clan's friends and family members. This book is what the left and right should be talking about more, the real reasons for war, not the cover story of "weapons of mass destruction." Amazing to hear commentators, both left and right of the political spectrum, who will tell you everything wrong with Bush's claim about why we invaded Iraq, but will NEVER even mention the statistics covered so well in this great book on war profiteering. The media NEVER covers the reasons for war other than "national security" issues. If American's knew how much these companies and who they are that profit from such conflicts, this would be a much different country. Highly recommended book. Read it to your neighbor who thinks that this war was about 9/11 or protecting America.



2. One of the oddest trends of the current "us-versus-them" division between George W. Bush supporters and his detractors is the complete inability to find some common ground on issues that should enrage both sides. Hartung's focus is on the Bush administration because as of the writing of this review that is the group in power. However, make no mistake Bush supporters, Hartung has no problem bringing down Democrats who indulge in unseemly relationships with corporations in the military business.

   The problem, as Hartung points out, is that both parties get into bed with corporations by accepting huge donations for political races and return the favor via legislation changes, special considerations, and other questionable, if not downright unethical, methods. The intertwining of boardrooms, Washington appointments, lucrative contracts, and political campaign money forces taxpayers to cough up billions each year (and well into the future). Yet many of these global conglomerates pay a fraction of their fair share of taxes by establishing offshore tax shelters.

   The coziness of Wall Street and the Pentagon leads to enormous opportunities for abuse such as no-bid contracts, a topic so recently in the news in the current war on Iraq. And guess who pays? Look in the mirror my friends.

   While I'm not sure I'd recommend this book as the final word on the topic, I'd say it was a good starting place, particularly if you are interested in the current administrations octopus-like ties to global corporations. If you can put aside the labels "Democrat" and "Republican" for a while, you might get worked up a little about how your tax dollars are being abused on a daily basis and start lobbying your Congressional representatives about PACs and other questionable funding strategies.




3. The author points out how Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense in 1976, was a prime mover behind the CIA's infamous Team B. That panel forced acceptance of its "findings' that the Soviet Union was rapidly overtaking the United States in military power. The author notes that the Soviet archives reveal that even the supposedly too low original estimate of the CIA was vastly exaggerated. .Rumsfeld of course, played a key role in the late 90's arms industry funded movement to portray North Korea as able to quickly develop missles to hit the U.S. These frauds avoided addressing the issue of whether North Korea would really build up some missiles, then just haul off and launch them at the United States, knowing full well North Korea would be wiped off the planet in retaliation. Rumsfeld, he observes, played a role in opening the funnel of American arms and WMD materials to Saddam in his visits with Saddam in 1983-84.

   He shows how Rumsfeld might have alerted Carlyle Group CEO Frank Carlucci about the planned cancellation of one of it's subsidiary's programs to build the Crusader artillery system. Several months before the cancellation, Carlyle suddenly put the subsidiary on the stock market so that it might draw in shareholders and took out a huge loan based on the inflation of the value of the subsidiary and distributed it to shareholders and execs. Carlyle is of course the group which George Bush Sr. advises and whose executive James Baker and his law firm are representing the Saudi royal family against the families of 9-11 victims.

   Rumsfeld was on the board of the Swiss engineering firm ABB for years.. That firm made the contract to oversee the construction of North Korea's two light water nuclear reactors. North Korea of course is one of the reasons we have to spend 400 billion on defense according to people like Rumsfeld who of course advocates that the reactor deal shouldn't have been made. . Rumsfeld claimed ludicrously to know nothing about the deal. Of all the ABB board members, all but one, who insisted on anonymity refused to talk to a Fortune magazine reporter about Rumsfeld and this deal. Rumsfeld is obviously very feared, the author notes.

   He discusses the deal that had the Pentagon be leased a hundred Boeing commercial aircraft to be transformed into aerial refueling tankers. And it seems from documents released by John McCain's office that Darleen Dryun, Airforce undersecretary, gave Boeing the details of its rival Airbus's bid for the project. Dryun then quit her Pentagon job to become a top official of Boeing's Missile Defense division. The author discusses the none-too subtle campaign contributions made to Senator Ted Stevens, Senate appropriations chair just before this deal was put through.
   
   The author notes that Richard Perle, while head of the Defense policy board, used that position to try to lobby some rich Saudis into investing in his new security oriented firm, Trieme. Perle claimed that he wanted to talk about Iraq, but his interlocutor in the deal, Adnan Koshoggi of Iran-Contra fame, only mentioned in his message to the Saudis about investing in Trieme. Then Stephen Laboton of the New York Times revealed that Perle offered his services to the bankrupt telecom firm Global Crossing to influence the U.S. government to allow it to sell one of its firms to China, which is not allowed to receive U.S. high tech resources. Perle advertised himself in his affidavit to Global Crossing as someone with great insider connections because of his post. Perle insisted that this affidavit was a clerical error. He tried to use his influence to allow Loral to resume selling high tech satellite stuff to China. According to Hirsch none of Perle's fellow board members knew of the existence of Trieme and were quite upset about it.

   Then there's the redoubtable Mr. Cheney and Halliburton. After going through the motions of competitive bidding under public pressure, the army corp of Engineers suddenly accelerated the schedule for work in Iraq's oil infrastructure so that Halliburton would be the best placed firm to do that under the schedule, it already being in Iraq as a result of a no bid contract to put out oil fires. Cheney receives hundreds of thousands in "deferred compensation" from the company. He denied any remaining "ties' with the firm but his spokesperson, accoding to the author, said that the deferred payment technically did not constitute a "tie."

   The author notes one of the more blatantly questionable appointments in the present administration, former Lockheed Martin executive Everett Beckner being picked to oversee the Nevada Nuclear test site, which Lockheed partly runs. Many Bush officials sit on the board of groups like the Center for Security Policy run by Frank Gafney Jr. Gafney dosen't seem to think his intellectual integrity is compromised by his group being funded by the arms companies who stand to make huge profits with the policies he advocates. The author cites some statistics about the dramatic rise in CEO pay since 9-11. He points out that Lockheed Martin's annual income from government contracts is more than that for the top Federal program for the poor. The Leave No Child Behind Program is being underfunded by 10 billion.

   About 800 million in taxpayer money was used to subsidize the merger of Lockheed and Martin Marietta, supposedly to encourage these two firms to consolidate, making them more efficient. This Clinton administration encouraged merging has left a few big firms in control of the arms market and with this oligopoly are in an even better position to easily get expensive contracts from the government. The merging-consolidation has also encouraged defense worker layoffs as this impresses shareholders that the firm is trying to become efficient.




4. This book was solid, well-written, and probably worth the $9... Definitely the topic deserves all the attention it can get, and this book is a good introduction. I'm pretty burnt out right now on learning the finer points of BushCo's shenanigans or I would be more enthusiastic about the book.
   
   But one of the other reviewers here did make me smile. Thanks, guy! Your lack of shame or a clue was a ray of sunshine in an otherwise cloudy day.
   
   >I thought this book was actually a guide to how to get a hold of the contracts to Iraq. I was interested in starting a company to sell simple items to the average Iraqi, items they had been forced to live without but this book was no help. THis is NOT a business book but it is just a political narrative attacking corporations like Halliburton and Bechtel. A total sham of a read, nothing is reported here that cant be found in the latest issue of the Journal.



5. The central question posed by William Hartung is this-Are we as a democracy prepared to deal with the threat implied by the dangerous gathering of corporate,military,and governmental power in a small circle or group?
   "Why didn't we realize that George W. Bush was a radical,right-wing,neo-conservative 'wolf' dressed up in compassionate conservative 'sheep's' clothing?" is a question on page 4 that I have found myself pondering. I call it voter's remorse.
   
   Some issues that the author addresses quite well in the book are:
   
   -The identity of the "Vulcans", what their task was, areas of experience, how they got their nickname, and who chose and assembled them.
   
   -The farcical process by which Cheney basically selected himself as vice president.
   
   -The delusional exaggerations that have been Rumsfeld's trademarks throughout his career and his ties to various companies as an expensive lobbyist.
   
   -Rumsfeld's connection to Saddam Hussein in the 80's and his "nuclear" connections with North Korea.
   
   -The Carlyle Group and it's infamous crony connections.
   
   -The many fiascoes of John Bolton.
   
   -How think tanks are biased by means of financial support.
   
   -The neoconservative think tanks membership and how they set policies in Dubya's administration.
   
   -The identity of the warhawks that schemed up the policy of "preventive war".
   
   -The abuse of his position as Chairman of the Defense Policy Board by Richard Perle in solicting funds for his company-Trireme. Which coincidentally, was incorporated in November of 2001 in time to benefit from the foreseen military/security spending boom.
   
   Mr. Hartung references a Seymour Hersh report of Perle's unethical pursuit of funding.
   He quotes Paul Krugman on Bush's policy-"leave no defense contractor behind".
   
   The author has Chapter notes at the end of each chapter which cite sources.
   "How Much Are You Making on the War Daddy?" is an excellent expose' on the profiteers of the current wars and the people that actually make the policies of the current president.

No comments about Israel, Palestine and Terror.

1 comments about The Battle for Hearts and Minds: Using Soft Power to Undermine Terrorist Networks (Washington Quarterly Readers).

1. 
   This is a pretty good volume from 2003, with a good mix of academics, journalists, and practitioners. The most useful pieces for me personally were on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which manages the Voice of America.
   
   On balance this is a solid reference on all but two of the aspects of soft power: it completely neglects the importance of getting a grip on historical and cultural reality through open source intelligence (OSINT) and also neglects the strategic bottom line that demands an educated American public that is fully informed about the real world and demanding of intelligent policy choices.
   
   The book certainly does well with the limitations of military power, the importance of nation building, the urgency of having a massive capability to do stabilization and reconstruction operations as needed, and the critical roles that public diplomacy and foreign assistance could, but do not, play in winning hearts and minds.
   
   Of special interest to me was the failing report card on the broadcasting board of governors, whose equipment is 30 years old in many cases. I applauded the informed judgement of the author who made the case, based on experience, for keeping the short wave and middle band capabilities that too few understand is essential for Africa and other locations.
   
   Across the book it becomes clear that the US needs to upgrade the Combatant Commanders or mirror them with a civilian coordinator for non-military strategy, power, and resources. As someone who grew up overseas with the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), and served in three Embassies overseas, it is crystal clear to me that we need to double the Department of State, in part by reconstituting USIA as a separate organization, and by placing USIA, the BBG, and a new Open Source Agency (for collecting and making sense of all public information in all languages all the time) in a tight partnership. We need to double and triple aid, develop a peacekeeping from the sea program, as well as the ability to do multiple Berlin Airlifts.
   
   This is a good basic book for anyone thinking seriously about "soft power," a term popularized by Joe Nye, whose varied books I have reviewed and recommend very highly.

5 comments about Jackal: Finally, the Complete Story of the Legendary Terrorist, Carlos The Jackal.

1. Among self-described "professional" revolutionaries, few cut a more fascinating figure than Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, a k a Carlos the Jackal. Before he was captured in 1994 and subsequently tried and sentenced to life in prison in France, the Jackal, a terrorist-for-hire whose higher-profile clients included Muammar al-Qaddafi, Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro claimed to have nixed 83 people; dozens of hijackings, bombings and assassinations were blamed on him following his association, around 1970, with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. And yet, slovenly, feckless, girl-chasing and politically disoriented Carlos, however murderous, is almost too laughable to picture as a terrorist mastermind. Reuters man Follain does a nice job here of tracing, if not demystifying, Carlos' life of crime, from his guerilla training in Cuba as a teen to the bitter, pathetic and at times hilarious end. (When moved between prisons, he made sure to notify the subscription department of Cigar Lover magazine of his change of address.)



2. Good, good info on Carlos and his Venezuelan roots (I should know, I'm from Venezuela) and a detailed (and sometimes breathtaking) account of his most spectacular actions and capture. But, not being a native speaker, I have a problem with Follain's grammar. I mean, it's sometimes sloppy. I don't know, still and all good book.



3. John Follain cannot decide if he wants to be dramatic or expository. So he aims for both - in miserable spurts that completely fog the history of this madman and of modern terrorism itself. Rarely are the Jackal's motivation and vision clear. Even muddier is the larger story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the U.S.' growing intervention in Mideast politics and the backlash therein. I knew close to nothing about these issues going into the book and I still don't. I confess I gave up half-way through when I could no longer kid myself into thinking this clumsy book was a serious work of non-fiction.



4. Twenty years ago Carlos was widely blamed/implicated for incidents ranging from the 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre of Israeli athletes to bombings throughout France. Back in the 70s -80s Carlos the Jackal became synonomus during the so-called Red-terror campaign by left wing groups in addition to his connections with Palestinian terror groups.
   
   Follain does a good job describing the Marxist upbringing of the young Illych Sanchez Ramierez (the Jackal's real name), his attendence of the KGB guerilla training school in Moscow (he was later kicked out), to the Jackal's affiliation with groups such as the PFLP and the RAF (Baader-Meinhoff Group). Follain describes how the devout Marxist was actually a playboy (he waited to pose for camera men after the 1975 OPEC takeover) and would kill for his own motives (such as French train bombings because his wife was arrested by French authorities).
   
   This is a very succesful attempt at an in-depth analysis of the once illusive Jackal. I would definatley recommend it for those interested.



5. I really enjoyed this book even though the subject of its study is deplorable. Carlos the Jackal's story is not his alone. It tells of an era in which governments gritted their teeth and negotiated with terrorists despite official pronouncements to never cave in to their demands. Countries like France, and even East Germany, believed that by giving in to evil revolutionaries like those of the Carlos Group, they could buy their own safety and security. They failed to learn the important lessons of Munich; appeasement never works. As a man, Carlos was an adventurer, a philanderer, a spoiled gourmet, and a raconteur. He also seemed to have little political understanding of the causes he served, and regarded them only as a means to an end. Unlike the fundamentalist terrorists of our day, he fought to increase his own status and power which translated into his obtaining more women and luxuries at each step on his way up the status hierarchy. Somewhat surprisingly, the reader may find that it is difficult to summon up the requisite hatred for him as he really was more Goring than Hitler. Carlos could be bought for the right price and often he was. His brand of terrorism is now defunct which, when one compares his corruption to the absolute devotion of his peers, may not be such a good thing; although, it is nice to know that at least one of these villains will spend his life behind bars.

2 comments about Women and Guerrilla Movements: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, Cuba.

1. Contrary to Amazon's website (and despite my repeated requests for correction), Women and Guerrilla Movements is not "out of print," in fact it is widely available and has sold well, perhaps because it has always been reviewed very positively by others.
   
   Amazon failed to restock Women and Guerrilla Movements at the time it went into paperback but it is available in the paperback edition from all other major booksellers. It would be nice if Amazon would use the accurate phrase "out of stock" instead of the inaccurate phrase "out of print." It would be even nicer if Amazon would also restock the book.



2. The text shows the results of 10 years research onsite in those countries mentioned in the title. Kampwirth provides an account of an underappreciated aspect of the guerrillas. The significant involvement of women at many levels of the movements. She was able to interview women who had been active participants, since the events covered were as recent as the 1970s. While in fact most of the struggles happened in the 1980s.
   
   For future historians, this book will be valuable as original source material. It may well be that the definitive assessment of the turbulant events of the 1980s and 1990s has yet to be written. We are still too close. The problem is that by the time that assessment happens, many of the participants will likely be dead. And the dominant documentation thus far existing focuses on the top level commanders, who are mostly male.

2 comments about Intelligence and Human Rights in the Era of Global Terrorism (Stanford Security Studies).

1. This is a fantastic book, balanced, well written and insightful. The editor argues that we need to strike the right balance between the need to maintain security and protecting human rights. We not only need to stop terrorist attacks but also pre-empt terrorist organizations from recruiting more suicide bombers. This requires more than the effective use of force and intelligence. We need to prove our culture is genuinely superior, and this can only be achieved by respecting the rights of individuals. One of the chapters by a former senior Israeli intelligence officer is also amazingly insightful in explaining why Western Intelligence agencies all failed over the Iraq WMD issue prior to the invasion of Iraq. Most highly recommended.



2. In dealing with terrorists, it's a slippery slope to avoid to not become as bad as the terrorists themselves. Compiled and edited by Steve Tsang, "Intelligence and Human Rights in the Era of Global Terrorism" is an informative body of work focusing upon the 'War on Terror' and how to go about waging it while still respecting basic human rights. Stating that the best weapon is peace to turn potential terrorists away from becoming terrorists in the first place is just one among many other useful ideas and tactics to be employed if we are to succeed in overcoming global terrorism in the 21st Century. A very strongly recommended addition for community and academic library reference collections, as well as the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the subject, "Intelligence and Human Rights in the Era of Global Terrorism" is a must for those who want a realistic plan for winning the war on terrorism.

5 comments about Under Western Eyes (Everyman's Library (Cloth)).

1. Impoverished Russian student Kirylo Razumov doesn't have a great deal in life to look forward to. From an obscure background--and possibly illegitimate--Razumov's one dream is to write a prize essay for an upcoming examination. Pathetically, he imagines that winning the coveted silver medal granted by the Ministry of Education will lead to an illustrious career. As Razumov daydreams about the contest, a few miles away, fellow student and revolutionary Victor Haldin throws a bomb on a politician. The politician is killed and Haldin seeks refuge with Razumov until he can safely leave St. Petersburg.
   
   Razumov's solitary ways and quiet intensity have led Haldin to the mistaken conclusion that Razumov is a reflective person with similar political leanings. Razumov, however, sees Haldin's arrival as disastrous, and angrily worries that his unwilling involvement will cause him to seen as part of a revolutionary organization with which he has no sympathy. Razumov chooses to betray Haldin to the authorities and imagines that he will somehow then be free of the entire affair.
   
   Once brought to the attention of the sinister Councillor Mikulin, Razumov is caught in a noose of intrigue and espionage. He becomes a tool for the state as he finds himself recruited as a spy and sent to Switzerland--here he is to report back on the activities of Haldin's mother and sister, Nathalie and any revolutionary contacts Haldin may have had. Razumov isn't motivated by idealism, or politics, nonetheless, he finds himself adrift in a nest of anarchists--with no moral guide, no convictions and no desire to be involved.
   
   "Under Western Eyes" is one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, and it's arguably Conrad's finest. It's to Conrad's credit that he ultimately creates sympathy for Razumov's character. At first, Razumov's desire to save his own hide seems despicable. But once the less-than-stellar motives of the violent anarchists are revealed, then he is seen caught between two opposing forces--a small insect about to be squashed in the political fanaticism of others. Nathalie Haldin acts as the moral centre of the novel as she refuses to become involved and used by the tainted politics of the "feminist" revolutionary Peter Ivanovitch. Ivanovitch and his decrepit, repulsive patron, Madame de S. spout fine speeches about revolution and equality while savagely and hypocritically mistreating their downtrodden servant, Tekla. Razumov is one of the few characters to recognize this servant as a fellow human being.
   
   Once the story moves to Switzerland, the tale unfolds through the eyes of an English gentleman who admires Nathalie Haldin while remaining a perplexed observer of Russian politics. Conrad includes a few pages of commentary at the end of the novel in which he notes that "the ferocity and imbecility of an autocratic rule" creates an equivalent response--the "atrocious answer of a purely Utopian revolutionism encompassing destruction." "Under Western Eyes" is often overlooked on college curriculums in favour of the more accessible "Heart of Darkness." And that's unfortunate, as this is a marvelously complex novel--displacedhuman



2. An English teacher (the 'Western Eyes') tries to find the truth behind the autobiography of a Russian agent, for 'words are the greatest foes of reality', and 'speech has been given for the purpose of concealing our thought.'
   The Russian agent betrayed a friend-terrorist and meets afterwards his sister and mother. His friend combatted autocratic despotism, the destroyer of the spirit of progress and truth, of freedom, law and justice.
   This novel is Conrad's version of Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment': 'A moral spectre is infinitely more effective than any visible apparition of death.'
   
   Conrad was a visionary: 'A violent revolution falls into the hands of narrow minded fanatics and tyrannical hypocrites. The scrupulous and the just, the noble, humane and devoted natures, the unselfish and the intelligent may begin a movement but it passes away from them.'
   His picture of the world of revolutionary conspirators is excellent: double agents, opportunists, naive idealists, hypocrites, rogues, agitators, fanatics and cynics. 'It did not matter what it was, vanity, despair, love, hate, greed, intelligent pride, a stupid conceit, it was all one to him as long as the man could be made to serve.'
   
   But this book has many flaws: melodramatic overreactions (attack on Ziemianitch, secret love of Razumov), high improbabilities (confession of Razumov, interventions of 'Western Eyes') or the ultimate verdict ('he was the victim of an outrage. He had confessed voluntarily.')
   
   Joseph Conrad was an ambitious writer, but this book has not the same high standard as his masterpieces 'Heart of Darkness' and 'Lord Jim'.
   A worth-while read.



3. Joseph Conrad had famously hard feelings for the Russians, occupiers of his Polish homeland. In "Under Western Eyes" (1911), Conrad employs tough love in depicting the Russian character, hopelessly divided between reckless radicalism and reactionary reasonlessness, between devotion and despair.
   
   Razumov is a college student in St. Petersberg content to labor under the Czarist system, under which he hopes to advance through study. Fate intervenes in the form of a fellow student, Victor Haldin, fresh from blowing up a secret police chief, who thinks Razumov is the man to aid his escape. Razumov is horrified instead, not at the murderous nature of the act but what it could mean to Razumov's future. Will he turn Haldin in, or try and get him out of the city?
   
   The introduction of my Penguin edition notes a popular criticism of "Under Western Eyes" is that its characters "exist only for the sake of the ideas." That's a problem of much of Conrad's fiction, and after the very taut and thrilling first part is over, we are treated to a number of garden-path colloquies in Geneva that slow things down considerably. But the ideas Conrad deals with, about Russia's political and philosophical underpinnings, are often fascinating and certainly to the point, especially considering the novel was written as the real Russia stood ready to implode from the strife depicted here.
   
   Conrad tended to view revolutionaries with cynical remove, especially when they employed violence as a means to an end, yet many of the revolutionaries we meet here are a more sympathetic lot than the nihilistic goons of "The Secret Agent." "You have either to rot or to burn," explains Sophia Antonovna, a genuinely good character who supports the revolution. She's not one to wither quietly while there's injustice to be fought.
   
   Razumov might disagree. It's not that he believes in the system, just the futility of fighting it. "The exceptional could not prevail against the material contacts which make one day resemble another," he tells himself. "Tomorrow would be like yesterday." But as he is pushed into the world of revolution despite himself, he finds himself doubting more and more the shaky pillars of his prior existence.
   
   It's not clear to me which point-of-view Conrad held; likely he saw the merits of every ideology depicted here, a relativism that made him doubtful of any one solution. Certainly "Under Western Eyes" is about as even-handed a book about revolutionary struggle as you might care to read, compelling, deep, and quotable from first page to last. One wishes that Conrad could have sustained the dramatic force of the Part First in the latter three-fourths of the novel, but what you get is one of Conrad's most important books.
   
   Those thinking novels about Russians are reflexively depressing and opaque are not going to have their minds changed here, but they will enjoy the chance at seeing one of the world's most complicated nations through the prism of one of literature's most discerning, eloquent minds.



4. Joseph Conrad's Under Western Eyes should be of interest to those with a particular interest in Russia, especially the period of the late 19th century. Others may find the book boring, given that it is largely devoted to dialogue rather than action and trite in that the main conflict is the inner struggle of a man with his conscience. The title refers to the fact that the story is told by an English professor of literature who comes across a diary written by the book's protagonist. The reason Conrad gives for this manner of telling the story is that, in his view, Western readers cannot comprehend the circumstances of life in imperial Russia and can only view them through the eyes of a fellow Westerner. On pages 106 and 107 he has the professor say, "for this is a Russian story for Western ears (sic), which, as I have already observed, are not attuned to certain tones of cynicism and cruelty, of moral negation, and even of moral distress already silenced at our end of Europe." I find this statement to be incredibly ethnocentric, and as events later proved, entirely wrong. He adds that Western European countries have already had their revolutions and thus are no longer able to fully understand czarist Russia. We can certainly argue with this viewpoint and in my view this literary device does more to get in the way of the story than to help explain it.
   
   In any case, the book begins with the professor saying that he has come across a manuscript written by a Russian student at St. Petersburg University, Kirylo Sidorovitch Razumov. Razumov is impoverished and without family and sees his only chance for success in life as coming from academic success. Accordingly he largely avoids the other students and is intent on his studies. As he is in his room one evening another student, Victor Haldin, comes to see him proclaiming that he has just assassinated a prominent political figure and asks Razumov to help him to escape. Razumov, having no sympathy for Haldin's cause, is reluctant to get involved but finally agrees to go to the lodgings of a sledge driver who has agreed to drive Haldin away to safety. But when he finds the man he is drunk and Razumov cannot arouse him. After beating him in disgust he begins to walk back to his room, pondering what to do next. Fearful that if Haldin stays with him too long he will be implicated as well, Razumov decides to give him up to the authorities. Haldin is then captured and executed.
   
   Razumov is still under suspicion and finally receives a summons to go to the office of Councillor Milukin, who, as it turns out, is the head of the bureau in charge of revolutionary investigations. After what appears to Razamov to be a kind of cat-and-mouse game he is given permission to leave. As he puts his hand on the doorknob Milukin asks him where is going to go.
   
   At this point part one of the book ends and the scene shifts to Geneva in part two. Here we meet the mother and sister of Haldin. They see him as the hope for their future lives and are devastated when they learn of Haldin's death. The mother goes into a state of shock and stays in her room staring out the window, while the daughter, Nathalie, an idealistic, but naïve, young woman, tries to make the best of the situation. Other revolutionaries appear on the scene most notably Peter Ivanovitch, the leader of the group, Madame de S___, whose money is apparently financing their operations and Sophia Antonova, a long time revolutionary.
   
   The Haldin women receive a letter stating that a "friend" of Haldin is coming to Geneva and Nathalie begins to believe that this person will help them. The friend, of course, is Razumov, who has apparently reached an agreement with the government agents to spy on the revolutionaries. Razumov arrives and is accepted as a fellow revolutionary and friend of Haldin. He undergoes a difficult inner struggle trying to maintain this pretense, particularly in the light of the goodness and trust Nathalie shows him. The story then progresses as a struggle by Razumov with his conscience, whether to report on the revolutionaries or to reveal the truth about himself.
   
   The book bears some resemblance to Crime and Punishment with its psychological overtones and dialogues about good and evil, right and wrong. Much of parts two and three are devoted to conversations and it is only in the last part that there is dramatic action. I rate it as three stars because it is not as good as the best of Conrad (Lord Jim), nor is it on a level with the really good fiction of Russian writers. I could rate it at 3 and a half or even 4 as well. It can be interesting reading and thought provoking and does end in dramatic fashion.



5. ...of the 20th Century written in English by a Pole! Honestly, you could remove any and all of the prepositional qualifiers from that assertion, and I'd still be willing to defend it. Under Western Eyes is a superb novel in every way - in emotional impact, in intelligence, and in narrative art - and it is very specifically a Russian novel as well as a novel about Russia. Anecdotes suggest that Conrad wrote it in response to his reading of Dostoevsky; if so, he exceeded his model in dazzling narrative acrobatics and in intelligence.
   
   The central character, Razumov, is the most dislikable anti-hero in all fiction, so it's an amazing feat of empathy by which Conrad brings us to care about his fate. Conrad's genius as a narrator is his ability to place himself and the reader in a realm of detachment, so that every event and every character can be observed from several angles at once. The "unreliable narrator" is child's play for Conrad. I don't want to spoil any of the prismatic effect of Conrad's narrative structure by telling any more of the tale of Under Western Eyes, but I will mention that the title is not insignificant.
   
   The Russia portrayed in this novel is a land of cynicism and naivete intertwined - hyper-emotionalism and psychological repression in equal measure - omnicompetent surveillance and hopeless myopia - ruthless bureaucracy and utter disorganization - a land in short of oxymoronic self-destruction. This is NOT, however, the Russia of Communism! The novel was written in 1911! This is Russia as it existed under the Tsarist autocracy, and everything about it clamors for revolution. It's interesting to compare Conrad's portrayal of the old regime with the nostalgic and idealized version served up by Vladimir Nabokov in his memoir "Speak, Memory." Nabokov wrote far more beautiful sentences, but Conrad saw deeper. The horror for us, post-Stalinist readers, in Conrad's depiction of the pre-revolutionary state-of-things is that we KNOW that change will not change much, that autocratic, arbitrary repression will be replaced by...more of the same.
   
   Conrad wrote two novels aground, away from the sea - this one and The Secret Agent. They are among his best. Some readers of today seem to find Conrad's style involuted and dry, and blame it on his status as a 'second-language' writer. To my mind, they are missing the point, the complex lensing of perspective through the minds of Conrad's narrative intermediaries. This is a book to be read slowly and observantly; the effort will be rewarded.

5 comments about Seeds of Fire: China And The Story Behind The Attack On America.

1. This man is a crank!! Thomas would have been hard pressed to write a worse book than the one he did on the Mossad but this dog easily surpasses his earlier work in bad writing, terrible research and altogether inanity. Once again Thomas spins fantastic tales that are impossible to prove. I mean please, the CIA using a gyroscope to induce mental illness, who would believe such nonsense, except maybe Thomas. Then the part about the Chinese teaching the Israelis to make bio-weapons, I mean hello, I think bio-tech in Israel is little more advanced then in China. At best this book is a bad work of fiction, where were the editors? Save your money, this book belongs on the rack alongside the UFO and Bigfoot books; then again that sells those books short. This book is in a class all by itself. REALLY BAD!



2. Read the back of the book first and then start from the beginning! Seeds of Fire has nothing of what it promises to the reader. I was thoroughly dissappointed and am sorry I was taken in by the title. Seeds of Fire took me six months to get through because it was not at all about China and the Attack on America, it was about Tiananmen Square! I give this book a YAWN! Tianamen Square is an interesting subject yet I did not bargain for it. Don't buy it unless you want to know about the assault on China's citizens by it own communist government. VERY SAD!



3. Don't let the three stars fool you, as Seeds of Fire is, I believe, essential reading for those who are interested in the consequences of reform in hostile nations. It's also key to understanding the brutality of some nations, in particular those that practice communism, in their pursuit to quell the masses. Nobody can be certain that their rights (in this case the student's constitutional right to demonstrate as per the Chinese constitution) will forever be secure; no matter where they live.

   However, the deduction of two stars was for the following reasons. First, this book is NOT a compilation of reasons why some believe that China will go to war against the US by 2015. That is the premise under which the book is promoted, but it simply isn't true. Not only does the author not provide a modicum of reasoning as to why China would even want to do this, but he tries to demonize China by pointing to its domestic policy in the handling of the student uprising to claim that it is indicative of potential conflict in the realm of foreign policy. Clearly, how a nation handles the affairs of it's own people is going to differ from how a nation handles the affairs of citizens from other countries. Basically, if you are looking for a book which discusses the threats of China on the US in the possibly near future, you had better look elsewhere.

   Next, the book is a little disjointed. It can basically be broken into three parts:
   1) The sale of enhanced PROMIS to foreign countries by Mossad agents to steal national secrets.
   2) The Student uprising of 1989 in Tiananmen Square and the resulting massacre
   3) A Pentagon report on the status of many nations (not just China) dealing with their potential threats to the US.
   Unless the author had some highly sophisticated and transcendental writing style which I simply could not comprehend, the three sections, in my opinion, are loosely joined.

   There were some aspects about the Tiananmen massacre which were left out that I feel would be of interest to the reader. One example is that many of the leaders, such as Wang Dan and Wuer Kaixi, profited by all the publicity by becoming successful businessmen.

   Overall, the story is captivating, but I wonder how much of it really happened and how much is the author filling in holes that resulted in interviewing many different people who each had their own, and sometimes conflicting, history of the events leading up to the Tiananmen massacre.




4. I read this book in the store and, though attracted by the radical premise, finally decided not to buy it. The reasons are two: firstly, Thomas seems to have had much first-hand and second-hand insight into the Tiananmen tragedy, but I seriously doubt that he understands Chinese culture and society enough to understand the origins and consequences of the event. For example, a Chinese doctor who plays a major role in Thomas' Tiananmen narrative obviously has his first name mistaken for his family name, and his daughter is then given her father's name as her family name. If Thomas had really known and interviewed these people personally (as he claims), one suspects he would not have made such a blunder.

   Secondly, as many reviewers have pointed out, Thomas' book mainly consists of accounts of the Chinese army's violent actions in Tibet and at Tiananmen - accounts sure to fire the emotions of American readers and obscure the fact that Thomas' book was actually supposed to prove that China diabolically instigated Al-Qaeda to destroy the World Trade Centre. Thomas does not in any way succeed in this latter aim, since he hardly devotes any space to the supposed evidence. Yet this conspiracy theory remain the book's stated selling point. I find this unscrupulous and dishonest in the extreme.

   The reason this book has received numerous rave reviews is because lots of right-wingers and conspiracy theorists in this country WANT to hear such things about China. It gives such moral clarity to their world to have a clear foe again. Perhaps Al-Qaeda is still too secretive, its resources too limited, to fill that role. But China does not hate America. What the Chinese resent is being demonised by Americans one day and despised the next. If you want to change China, the first thing you can start to do is see its people as human beings, like Chinese everywhere else. Today's China is no longer the China of Tiananmen. What it will become depends on how it sees its place in the world. And no American is going to help that by refusing to buy "Made In China" products (as if that were possible). All that will ensure is that millions of Chinese factory workers will never get to own the products that they made with their own hands.




5. This book explores the case of Johnaton Pollard, an evil man who spied on behalf of our supposed ally Israel...against the United States. It tals about how Pollard stole vital US. Secrets and then attempted to undermine the brave members of the US intelligence community. The fact that incompetent Israeli leaders such as Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Mossad chief Rafi Eitan support this man is a travesty, and proves they are traitors who are NO friends of America. According to the book Netanyahu even tried to blackmail Bill Clinton to get Pollard out of prison. But America has made clear that Pollard will rot in Jail for the rest of his life as well he should.

No comments about In the Common Defense: National Security Law for Perilous Times.