Stewart Halsey Ross
5.0 out of 5 stars 6 Stars for Coherence, Simplicity, & Morality,April 1, 2012
I read a lot — over 1800 books (including some DVDs) here at Amazon, in 98 categories, all but one non-fiction. This book is by a self-taught historian and self-described contrarian revisionist, and I will observe with the utmost respect that this author writes in the same vein, with the same quality, as Howard Zinn in A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present, Chalmers Johnson in The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project), and even Carroll Quiqley's Tragedy & Hope: A History of the World in Our Time.
What makes this book spectacular–and strongly recommended for anyone–student or adult–who desires to understand the history of the United States of America with intelligence and integrity–is the elegantly straight-forward but devastatingly disturbing blend of facts–with superb notes at the end of each chapter.
I am very disappointed that the publisher has not taken advantage of Amazon's absolutely priceless “Look Inside the Book” feature, so I will take the time here to list chapters and appendices.
I. Preface
II. Introduction
III. The Mexican War
IV. The Spanish and Philippines Wars
V. The Great War
VI. World War II
VII. The Korean War
VIII. The Vietnam War
IX. The First Iraqi War
X. The Second Iraqi War
XI. 9/11
XII. Epilogue
1. A History of Interventions by U.S. Armed Forces in the Western Hemisphere 1806-1933
2. America's First Red Scare, 1917-1921
3. Woodrow Wilson's Aide-Memoire to Allied Ambassadors Regarding u.S. Intervention in Russia, July 17, 1918
4. Wake Island, 1985-1945
5. The Military-Industrial Complex, January 17, 1961
6. The U-2 Incident, May 1, 1960
7. The Postsdam Declaration, July 26, 1945
8. U. S. Germ warfare, 1930s to May 14, 1988
9. The Saga of the Banana, United Fruit Company and U.S. Interventions in Latin America 1890-1970
10. Nuclear Weapons, 1945 On
11. The B-2 Stealth Bomber, 1990 to Present
The bibliography is just over 25 pages long and first class. There are many books here that are NOT used by most academics and NOT presented to students by the cookie cutter programs of most schools.
What moved this book to six stars despite the fact that it does not cover all interventions and is not a deep tome such as Quigley produced, is its pointed utility. If there were one book I would urge every American citizen to read so as to understand reality, and why so many hate us, this is it. There is no better bargain in terms of price, and the publisher has done a really excellent job in putting this book together, including a number of black and white photographs that were a very pleasant surprise (many very disturbing in their nature).
The recurring themes that this book documents — this is FACT not fiction:
01) The US Government routinely lies to the public, Congress, and foreign powers
02) The US military fabricates battles, heroics, situations, etcetera as a matter of routine.
03) The US military covers up atrocities as a matter of routine, and atrocities ARE a matter of routine across our history
04) The US media (and to my surprise, the foreign media as well) is a co-conspirator with the US military in spreading the fabricated heroics and covering up the atrocities–the crimes against humanity and the decisions made against the public interest.
05) The US public has been dumbed down to the point they will believe anything and not trouble to seek out the truth.
Throughout the book I am stunned as little gems pop up. General McArthur was 70 when he went into Korea. A US air strike 80 kilometers inside Russia's borders; the complete failure of intelligence with respect to German armaments and the percentage of the economy devoted to war; the real reason we dropped two atomic bombs on Japan (each made by a separate laboratory, both intent on securing their funding into the future).
I am not especially fond of the title but the cover art is interesting. Although the book does not strive to nor mention the role of banking and debt in all of these wars, it does the job of recounting the facts and the falsehoods characteristic of each of the major US “adventures” in a manner that is certain to instil in any intelligent student a healthy distrust of their government, their media, and their conventional academics who have forgotten that the role of the academy is the pursuit of the truth.
Other books from more conventional publishers that are completely in line with this one, but pricier, include:
Killing Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions Since World War II–Updated Through 2003
The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World
Why the Rest Hates the West: Understanding the Roots of Global Rage
Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent
War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier
9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
As I reflect on this review and all that is not in the book I am moved to comment that the book is getting six stars for being simple, easy to understand, and focused. This is not a ten volume history of civilization. This is a book anyone able to read can understand, and this book teaches us that most of what we are taught as history, most of what the media reports, is false. And not only false, but concealing a truly horrible, very disturbing portrait of a government and a military that have been–and remain–completely out of control.
Robert Steele
THE OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING MANIFESTO: Transparency, Truth, & Trust
