Book Description
An investigative history of Western complicity in Saddam Hussein's crimes reveals the story his trial never will.
In February 1991, the Shia of southern Iraq rose against Saddam Hussein. Barry M. Lando, a former investigative producer for 60 Minutes, argues compellingly that this ill-fated uprising represents one instance among many of Western complicity in Saddam Hussein's crimes against humanity. The Shia were responding to the call for rebellion from President George H.W. Bush that was broadcast repeatedly across Iraq by clandestine CIA stations. But, just as the revolution was on the brink of success, the United States and its allies turned their backs: U.S. troops destroyed huge weapons caches to prevent them from falling into rebel hands and blocked rebels trying to reach Baghdad. In the end, tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, were massacred.
Because of restrictions imposed by the Special Tribunal prosecuting Saddam Hussein, the extensive role of the U.S. and its allies in his crimes will never be explored at his trial. But as Web of Deceit demonstrates, the nations that now denounce Saddam most prominently secretly backed the dictator from his rise to power in the 1960s and '70s to his offensives in Iran and, despite warnings, took no action to stop his invasion of Kuwait. They also turned their backs when he used chemical weapons against the Iraqi people and persisted in international sanctions long after they had proved ineffective and, for hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, lethal.
Web of Deceit draws on a wide range of journalism and scholarship to present a complete picture of what really happened in Iraq under Saddam, detailing—for the first time—the complicity of the West in its full and alarming extent.
Customer Reviews:
All Roads Lead to Britain.......2007-09-16
I suppose we will never see the end of the damage done by the old European colonial system. Even my hero, Churchill, was guilty of moving boundaries of countries to serve the empire. Very eye opening book and gives insight into some of the reasons "they hate us".
Web of deceipt.......2007-06-26
most excellent & informative. brings the hypocrisy of the western world out into the light. a must read.
The One Book No US Politician Will Read, That You SHOULD Read.......2007-06-19
This is one of two books that I have read together, both documenting the decades of deceit by both the US and UK governments, and to a much lesser degree, by France, Germany, and Russia, among others.
The two compelling facts that stay with me as I put the book down, are two:
1) From Churchill to Kennedy to Bush (Cheney), all of our Presidents in the US, but most especially Reagan, Bush, Clinton (Brzezinski), and the current and failed crew of neo conservatives that use Bush Junior as a talking doll, have been complicit--let me spell that again--complicit in the mass murders, the massacres, the torture that we first condoned and now practice ourselves. The US White House denizens are all long overdue for formal indictment, at least by a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The author documents, very ably, a long string of broken promises (e.g. to the Bedouin leader for a free Arab state in return for help in WWI, to the Kurds, etc.) and complicity in mass murder. In the author's views, the sanctions are a war crime against the children, women, and elderly of Iraq, a war crime that lasted thirteen years.
2) Salaam Hussein was a creature spawned in large part by the CIA. Although I have spent 30 years in the intelligence business, it was not until I embarked on my broad non-fiction reading program that I have been able to understand that the CIA specifically, but all the rest of the classified intelligence community, is complicit in mass murders, genocides, running cocaine into the US to wipe out poor communities now addicted to crack, made affordable by the CIA's drug runners, and made politically kosher because Wall Street demands drug money--laundered drug money--for its liquidity.
I join Lee Iacocca in asking, "Where is the outrage?" There is not a candidate for President today, not even Ron Paul, who can outline in chapter and verse, as I now can on the shoulders of the 900+ authors whose hard-earned insights I have absorbed these past six years, the evil that Lionel Tiger and others show is inherent in industrialization and the centralization of power. We need to destroy the current corrupt elections process, implement electoral reform across the board, and start putting bright honorable people in office, instead of these nakedly immoral and profoundly evil creatures who will inflict any sacrifice, impose any burden, on We the People so that they may profit.
A few of the many gems from this superb work:
1) All our Presidents in recent time have lied to us, and the most humiliating of all of these lies was not the weapons of mass destruction, but the abandonment of the Kurds and the refusal to listen when Iraqi generals approached Iraqi dissidents who in turn came to the Department of State only to be shunned away. Salaam Hussein promised to leave Kuwait, but US wanted to destroy his army, and refused to hold off on what proved to be 40 hours of pure slaughter. Gulf II was not only more lies, but the active suppression of facts and dissident views, not least of which were General Tony Zinni's views--he was called a traitor by Condolezza Rice, who appears to know nothing of honor, decency, and truthfulness.
2) CIA is creating more long-term havoc than it is worth. I am finally persuaded, with absolute certainty, that we need to get out of the covert action business. CIA should become the National Analysis Agency, and the small clandestine arm should be limited to multinational operations against transnational crime and terrorism, with an Inspector General in every Station.
3) Jimmy Carter, advised by Zbig Brzezinski, comes out of this book looking both more ignorant and more unscrupulous than Reagan or either of the Bushies. Brzezinski not only masterminded the tacit okay for Pakistani development of nuclear weapons in return for aid in Afghanistan, he also began the process of helping Salaam Hussein acquire, develop, and utilize weapons of mass destruction, and I hold Brzezinski directly accountable for the mass murder of Kurds, Iraqi Shiites, and Iranians.
There are many other notes from this book that I have, but rather than lay them out here I am going to simply say that this book moves to the top of my list of books on evaluating the Iraq misadventure that has given us a $2 trillion debt and 75,000 amputees whose lives are forever shattered ***for no good reason***
The betrayal of the public trust by both the Executive and Congress, by both politicians and senior civil servants and military flag officers, has been outrageous. The author uses the words ignorance, arrogance, incompetence, amorality, illegality, hypocrisy, and cynicism sparingly. This is not a vendetta book. This is a reasons indictment and joins a host of other books that demand the immediate impeachment not only of the sitting President and Vice President, but also of the Republican ***and*** Democratic leadership in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
I am ashamed of our Republic and what these amoral thieves have done "in our name." I am disheartened by the knowledge that all of our brave troops have died, been disabled, and suffered for ***no good reason.*** This makes me very angry. Angry enough to begin speaking out, pleading with America to wake up and find within itself the means for a non-violent restoration of the Constitution and We the People as individuals with liberty for all, lest America be disgraced, and our children's' futures sacrificed, forevermore. Shame, shame, shame.
Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam (American Empire Project) (American Empire Project)
Unintended Consequences: The United States at War
The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project)
Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution, and the Industrial System
Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
Statecraft as Soulcraft
Why the Rest Hates the West: Understanding the Roots of Global Rage
The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People
Breaking the Real Axis of Evil: How to Oust the World's Last Dictators by 2025
And, so we solemnly pray for..........2007-05-24
Barry M. Lando presents a virtual rogue's gallery of the good Christian boys and girl who the knuckleheads at my church pray for, apparently because they have put young men and women from our community at the point of the spear to "fight for our freedom." The author's revelations appear authentic, and are not as surpising as they should be. As a veteran, not a hero, of Desert Storm, I remember the TV interview of the young African American soldier from our fort who was raring to go to Kuwait to "restore democracy." Apparently, the poor sap did not realize Kuwait never had democracy and he himself, as a black in the south, did not either. It was about oil then and is about oil, and a rather dangerous vendetta mixed with bizarre religious tones now. How fascinating that we propped up both Iran and Iraq during a lengthy and bloody conflict that killed both civilain and soldier alike. Then, we merrily ran sanctions that killed perhaps half a million or more children in Iraq, while at the same time, praying, wailing and beating their chests in agony when a brain dead woman was taken off life support. This rather reminds me of the Kingston Trio's "Merry Minuet." Perhaps this is something more than irony, but I do not know what it is. Colon Powell and Tony Blair were added to the cast of villians. I had hoped Powell had been duped by the sock puppet, but he appeared to go along of his own volition. I should have figured Blair all along, considering the imperialistic horrors that have been inflicted upon the Southwest Asian Peninsula by his country for more than a century. The civilian and military deaths add up to quite a tidy total, but as Stalin would have agreed, this is merely a statistic and no one cares. So, this is why I gave the book a 3 star. It is a swell documentation of a murderous disaster, but it does not accomplish a darn thing. This book will not cause one policy change. America will still believe the president, inspired by Jesus, is fighting the war to protect us from terrorism, instead of actually fanning the fires of terrorism. Since the publication of this book, things have gotten from bad to worse. One voice on Christian radio denouncing gay marriage will get more attention than all the press run of this title. Folks who wish to read more books on this subject, which also have not changed a darn thing, might read "All the Shah's Men" by Stephen Kinzer and "Sleeping with the Devil" by Robert Baer.
They're all Idoits.......2007-04-03
After reading this book, you'll discover that Bush isn't the only idiot when it comes to the current Iraq situation. In fact the idiocy of today goes way way back. It's a fasinating history and make you realize that our leaders don't read history because they foolishly repeat it. In the case of W, it makes you wonder what the hell he thought he was going to do once he got there. Makes you appreciate George W's policy of not going to Bagdad during the Gulf war, though he screwed up too. And Clinton! Don't even get me started... Buy the book, read the book, it's very very good.
Book Description
Slavery in the South has been documented in volumes ranging from exhaustive histories to bestselling novels. But the North’s profit from–indeed, dependence on–slavery has mostly been a shameful and well-kept secret . . . until now. In this startling and superbly researched new book, three veteran New England journalists demythologize the region of America known for tolerance and liberation, revealing a place where thousands of people were held in bondage and slavery was both an economic dynamo and a necessary way of life.
Complicity reveals the cruel truth about the Triangle Trade of molasses, rum, and slaves that lucratively linked the North to the West Indies and Africa; discloses the reality of Northern empires built on profits from rum, cotton, and ivory–and run, in some cases, by abolitionists; and exposes the thousand-acre plantations that existed in towns such as Salem, Connecticut. Here, too, are eye-opening accounts of the individuals who profited directly from slavery far from the Mason-Dixon line–including Nathaniel Gordon of Maine, the only slave trader sentenced to die in the United States, who even as an inmate of New York’s infamous Tombs prison was supported by a shockingly large percentage of the city; Patty Cannon, whose brutal gang kidnapped free blacks from Northern states and sold them into slavery; and the Philadelphia doctor Samuel Morton, eminent in the nineteenth-century field of “race science,” which purported to prove the inferiority of African-born black people.
Culled from long-ignored documents and reports–and bolstered by rarely seen photos, publications, maps, and period drawings–Complicity is a fascinating and sobering work that actually does what so many books pretend to do: shed light on America’s past. Expanded from the celebrated Hartford Courant special report that the Connecticut Department of Education sent to every middle school and high school in the state (the original work is required readings in many college classrooms,) this new book is sure to become a must-read reference everywhere.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Skeletons in Yankee Closets.......2007-10-05
Complicity is well researched and documented. It is investigative journalism at its best. The content is difficult to read for human suffering is painful and powerful stuff. The authors shed light on a staggering hypocrisy that existed then and continues to exist to this day for the truth is shamefully hidden in the dark corners of the North's history. Do as I say...not as I do; perceptions of moral superiority based in depravity; speaking out of both sides of one's mouth; greed and avarice. The purveyors of moral ethics in our society have long excoriated the South for its past dependency on slavery and never hesitated to remind us in the most insidious ways of that association; it pervades our country's cultural history. The authors of Complicity do not exonerate the South for holding to the institution of slavery, nor should they, but they do demand that the North shoulder the burden of guilt. I doubt that will ever happen. An analogy kept running through my mind as I read story after story of how many of the great financial empires of the Northeast were built in large part on the profits of the slave trade: The addict becomes helpless and dependent on his addiction; the dealer perpetuates the addiction for greed. While both are morally reprehensible I think the dealer is far more evil than the addict.
Must read.......2007-06-11
This book is a hard read in terms of the subject matter it is covering. But it is an easy read in terms of it being well written and having examples and supportive arguements. Overall, I felt it was a major eye opener and definatley a must read for any northerner in better understanding the history of this area. You will be surprized.
Correcting Revisionist History.......2007-04-22
Very good book. Though I'm puzzled why another reviewer stated that the book contained no references making it difficult to check the sources. My copy has footnotes and a bibliography.
Perfect.......2007-03-24
Very interesting book but none of the sources were cited in the text so although it makes sense, I am still skeptical
The truth about slavery!.......2007-03-07
You may not have heard very much about it in school, and you definitely will not not hear about it in the national media, but the north was also very much invovled in slavery up to the civil war! When the question is asked "What was the main reason for this terrible period in our history?" the typical answer is SLAVERY! Taking this train of thought to its end, the true answer is "PROFIT" (power/money). I am very much a believer in capitolism, but not at the expense of human beings! I believe this book demonstrates many powerful people in the north sought profit over people, as did the southerners who owned slaves. Let us not forget the fact that many fellow Africans made profits from selling other blacks into slavery. So now you see that there are guilty parties on all 3 points of the triangular trade! If you are very much interested in American History, I highly recommend this book to you for a fair and balanced look at American slavery. If you maybe somewhat interested in this subject, I believe you'll find some very interesting informatiom in it also.
Average customer rating:
- Vicious Cirlde
- Horrible writing negates what may be an interesting story
- a WOW of a book
- An informative and exciting thriller about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
|
Vicious Circle: A Novel of Complicity
Robert Littell
Manufacturer: Overlook Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Visiting Professor: A Novel of Chaos
-
The Sisters
-
The Debriefing
-
Legends
-
The Amateur
ASIN: 1585678554
Release Date: 2006-10-19 |
Book Description
An Israeli government minister is assassinated in the home of his mistress. Days later, Elihu, an aging and decorated Mossad officer, leads his final combat mission, killing a Hamas leader in his bed—and barely escaping with his life. Out of this familiarly cyclical scenario emerges what is perhaps Robert Littell's most heartfelt and suspenseful novel. The action moves into the near future, when the global community, united under the leadership of a visionary female president of the United States, brokers a major compromise between Israel and the Palestinian authority in the hopes of snuffing out the violent flashpoint that fuels the flames of global terrorism. But then, Isaac Apfulbaum, a well-known fundamentalist Rabbi, is taken hostage by Dr. al-Saath, a legendary Palestinian terrorist, who demands the release of scores of high-level Palestinian political prisoners in exchange for his captive.
Elihu, now directing the interagency intelligence team hunting for Apfulbaum's captors, finds himself tracking a familiar and elusive enemy. As the Israelis slowly close in on their pray, the hostage and the hostage taker—sparring through grueling all-night interrogation sessions—become caught up in an extraordinary relationship; parallels between these battle-scarred partisans evolve in to bizarre bonds and a terrifying alliance. Israel, Palestine and the international community are united behind the effort to end the hostage crisis, but has the vicious circle already been closed? Ferociously suspenseful and brilliantly topical, Vicious Circle is a thriller that, like The Company before it, exposes the heart of an entire culture of violence by probing the corrupted consciences of the men and woman ensnared within it.
Customer Reviews:
Vicious Cirlde.......2007-01-09
I will read anything - and have - that Robert Littell writes. His research is thorough and his prose is magic. He understands people and power.
Horrible writing negates what may be an interesting story.......2006-11-17
Given the subject matter this was a book I was looking forward to diving into. Unfortunately, when I dove I hit my head on some of the most awful prose I have encountered. Has any human who ever lived actually uttered the words: "We will share the marriage bed again"? I couldn't get around the bad writing to maintain any interest in the story-it was far too distracting. The characters were also cardboard cut-out stereotypes.
a WOW of a book.......2006-11-05
This book is drawn from past, present, and the future of unrest in our world. So much so, it dominates our lives.
Near a time when a Middle Eastern peace treaty is set to be signed, a famous Rabbi and his secretary have been kidnapped in Israel by a prominent Muslim in hopes for the release of Arab prisoners being held by the Israelis. In this captivity, the two, the rabbi and the doctor speak in terms of the Torah and the Qur'an and we see the writings are almost identical - ok the words are different, but the philosophies are basically the same. If these people were to see without the constraints of their prejudices, maybe they could find common ground (literally and figuratively) to live together. It is very symbolic that the captor and captive are almost blind. They cannot see the truth.
Littell has written a gem of a book to let us see that problems that tear countries apart could come to some common ground if they were willing to listen to the other's words. The dialogue between the rabbi and the doctor makes the situation in the Middle East crystal clear. And frustrating because we know this is a vicious circle that has been happening for millenia.
Circle is the kind of book that will make you stop and think. You are drawn to it to keep reading for hours.
You will find this book fascinating. Regardless of your philosophy, you feel frustrated with the viciousness of the situation. Like it's like your great-grandmother stepped on my great-grandmother's new shoes and we will keep this bad will towards each other and our families - even after they are gone, the bad blood lingers. And we see that so much of our problems in the world are truly a vicious circle.
An informative and exciting thriller about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.......2006-10-28
You can't be an enemy by yourself. Robert Littell's new book illustrates the reciprocal nature of violence and revenge, taking readers to Jerusalem, ground zero for payback since the state of Israel was created. Taking place in the fictional not-too-distant future, Israel and Palestine are on the brink of signing a historic peace accord that will bring an end to decades of violence.
Unfortunately, there are fundamentalists on both sides who view any compromise as defiance of God's will. One such man is Dr. al-Saath, a Palestinian terrorist hardened in Israeli jails. He kidnaps Rabbi Isaac Apfulbaum, well-known speaker for the Jewish cause in the Middle East and not necessarily above violent means himself. The plan is to exchange him for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, but both sides are keenly aware that an exchange is unlikely and the Rabbi's death certainly will quash the peace process and lead to further violence. Dr. al-Saath holds the Rabbi prisoner and tortures him, hoping that he will confess to the secret identity of Ya'ir, leader of an underground Jewish movement dedicated to the destruction of the Palestinian state.
The Rabbi and the doctor are very similar --- so similar that the reader will have to put a little extra effort into keeping track of them. They are both nearly blind, for instance, clearly symbolic of fundamentalism's failure to acknowledge its devastating effects. They are also both considered to be messiah figures among their own people, and each man realizes that they would not have been so revered if they did not have a well-matched opponent to prove himself against. Will either of them be able to break the circle that has bound them together, years of culture and history ensuring their enmity?
One of the highlights of VICIOUS CIRCLE is that it shares this history with the reader; it's extremely informative without ever preaching or taking sides. Drawing on the Torah as often as the Qur'an, the histories of the two men, who could have been inseparable friends in other times, illustrate the history of the region, one tragedy always leading to another.
--- Reviewed by Colleen Quinn [...]
Book Description
We all know that doctors accept gifts from drug companies, ranging from pens and coffee mugs to free vacations at luxurious resorts. But as the former Editor-in-Chief of The New England Journal of Medicine reveals in this shocking expose, these innocuous-seeming gifts are just the tip of an iceberg that is distorting the practice of medicine and jeopardizing the health of millions of Americans today. In On the Take, Dr. Jerome Kassirer offers an unsettling look at the pervasive payoffs that physicians take from big drug companies and other medical suppliers, arguing that the billion-dollar onslaught of industry money has deflected many physicians' moral compasses and directly impacted the everyday care we receive from the doctors and institutions we trust most. Underscored by countless chilling untold stories, the book illuminates the financial connections between the wealthy companies that make drugs and the doctors who prescribe them. Kassirer details the shocking extent of these financial enticements and explains how they encourage bias, promote dangerously misleading medical information, raise the cost of medical care, and breed distrust. A brilliant diagnosis of an epidemic of greed, On the Take offers insight into how we can cure the medical profession and restore our trust in doctors and hospitals.
Customer Reviews:
Beware of Pharm Reps Bearing Gifts!.......2006-06-25
The free stuff brought in by the reps starts out innocently enough. I remember the free lunches they'd bring in during residency. Starts out as tubs of enchiladas and sandwiches. After I became staff, "free" meals improved. Now "educational" lectures are held at Ruth's Chris with an open bar. Some will bring dates to these dinners, just call them "doctor" (nudge-nudge-wink-wink).
Colleagues who are sufficiently enthusiastic about these products were then recruited to go on the road giving the lectures for lucrative speaking fees. I've seen this first-hand, but the extent of the problem not fully known to me until reading this book.
The pharmaceutical reps take great pains to gradually seduce influential doctors in the community to shill for their products. Many of these products are at best of questionable benefit (beware of papers which only find a reduction in relative risk); at worst, the products are potentially deadly.
Patients should be careful in which doctors they put their trust in. In a patient-doctor relationship, the only outcome which should matter is the benefit of the patient. In reality, the sought outcome is often the benefit of the provider in the form of prescribing dangerous medications, unnecessary procedures, etc.
Eye opening and very informative book.......2006-02-25
I was very pleased to read this book. I was very surprised at the lengths the companies go to get their products in the hands of doctors who in turn are driving the price of healthcare in the US to unafordable leves. Highly recommend this book
TheAngryPatient.......2006-02-07
Someone we know was recently incarcerated in a hospital for weeks on end for what should have been a fairly minor health concern. We firmly believe that this patient was nearly doctored2death. By the time the patient left the hospital he was on no less than 20 some pills depending upon the day. We PROMPTLY switched doctors to a D.O. and someone more interested in the overall patient, and less conflict of interest issues with pharmaceuticals and the world of internal medicine. Now, the patient is on about 7 pills a day, depending upon the day. Amazing isn't it. Thank you for this book. It helped figure things out and could have saved our family members life.
"Tragically, the World of Medi-Sin (c) has become more about a healthy bottom line rather than healthy patients." (c)
TheAngryPatient
A must read, and unfortunately very accurate.......2005-12-27
Having retired after 25 years in the health care business, I was encouraged to see a physician call it like it is. Normally doctors are protective of their profession, all while recognizing that there are a few bad apples in the field. It's the 80-20 rule all over again. Easily 80% of physicians are dedicated more to their patients than their pocketbooks. But the 20% who, in effect, take bribes from drug and technology companies to push product that too often is not in the best interest of their patient should have their licenses suspended or revoked.
Money talks, and it speaks not only to physicians. The profits that drug and technology companies make are shared with the politicians who allow this conflicted system to continue. US health care interests give $100 million per year in campaign contributions to ensure that the system remains corrupted. They like it just as it is, thank you. Get the money out of politics and you'll see this travesty fixed overnight.
But that could be said about every other issue as well: energy, immigration, corporate corruption, et al. If politicians were concerned about corruption, they'd fix it at the top and then demand fixes down the line.
One Doctor's Perspective!.......2005-09-20
This book is a great read and some very valid points are made about Doctors and the companies that supply products to the medical industry (pharmaceuticals, medical devices, replacement joints and organs, etc). However, most of Dr. Kassirer's assumptions and statements about why people chose to enter the medical field are rather jaded, his opinions, and his perspectives. He did not conduct any formal surveys or provide third party references on healthcare providers motivations for entering the field. He makes the assumption that every doctor has the exact same perspectives, desires, and motivations as he. This is simply not the case. If you can see past this, however, the book is very educational and instructive. If you can't see through this, then you may feel that the book is very "left wing".
Average customer rating:
- A Thorough Guide to Understanding the History of Heroin Trade
- an eye-opening read
- Well Done, Dr. McCoy!
- Wanted more on the Golden Crescent as well...
- A must read during the "war on terrorism"
|
The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade
Alfred W. McCoy
Manufacturer: Lawrence Hill Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
History
| Subjects
| Books
| Africa
| Americas
| Ancient
| Arctic & Antarctica
| Asia
| Australia & Oceania
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Europe
| Gay & Lesbian
| Historical Study
| Large Print
| Middle East
| Military
| Military Science
| Russia
| United States
| World
Drug Dependency
| Recovery
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Social Services & Welfare
| Poverty
| Current Events
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Public Policy
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Federal Government
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Criminology
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Relations
| International
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Intelligence
| Freedom & Security
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
| AIDS
| Abuse
| Adults
| Aging
| Children
| Class
| Communities
| Culture
| Death
| General
| History
| Leisure
| Marriage & Family
| Medicine
| Men
| Occupational
| Race Relations
| Religion
| Research & Measurement
| Rural
| Social Groups
| Social Situations
| Social Theory
| Suburban
| Urban
| Women
General
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Federal Government
| Levels of Government
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror (American Empire Project)
-
Drugs, Oil, and War: The United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina
-
Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America, Updated edition
-
Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press
-
A Century Of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order
ASIN: 1556524838 |
Book Description
The first book to prove CIA and U.S. government complicity in global drug trafficking, The Politics of Heroin includes meticulous documentation of dishonesty and dirty dealings at the highest levels from the Cold War until today. Maintaining a global perspective, this groundbreaking study details the mechanics of drug trafficking in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South and Central America. New chapters detail U.S. involvement in the narcotics trade in Afghanistan and Pakistan before and after the fall of the Taliban, and how U.S. drug policy in Central America and Colombia has increased the global supply of illicit drugs.
Customer Reviews:
A Thorough Guide to Understanding the History of Heroin Trade.......2007-08-06
This is quite a detailed and academic reference that no college student should be without. I have been out of graduate school for over 10 years and it took me nearly 2 weeks to complete and comprehend the facts of the book. There are just so many places and names in the book that one can easily get lost and confused. Nevertheless, the author gives the reader and complete history of the heroin trade starting with 19th century opium production and use in China to present day heroin production, distribution, and consumption that is coming out of Afghanistan. I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to really understand why we are losing the War on Drugs. You want to know the truth about the drug trade? Then this is the book for you.
an eye-opening read.......2007-03-21
this book is an engrossing look at the war on drugs.it gives detailed documentation on how our government influenced other governments and the affect this had on drug distribution in America.
Well Done, Dr. McCoy!.......2006-08-13
Professor Alfed McCoy has here rendered a very important contribution to the overall understanding of United States policy in the post-World War II era. This thoroughly documented and well written text illustrates CIA complicity in the narcotics trade from the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia, to the mountains of Afghanistan, and finally to the highlands of the Andes. Other authors who write of CIA complicity in various nefarious deeds seem to cite this important work more than any other.
One might argue that the level of detail, particularly wtih regard to the various machinations of the KMT army and various sects within Burma, Thailand, and Laos is a little much for the general reader. However, in acknowledging this, we can only assert that this is an observation rather a criticism. McCoy's book is an excellent source. The writing, as previously mentioned, is excellent, and the conclusions terribly important. Read it. And be both well informed, and frankly disturbed in the process. Well done, Dr. McCoy!
Wanted more on the Golden Crescent as well..........2002-02-05
The author is no doubt the master of his domain in as far as the Southeast Asia (the Golden Triangle) is concerned, but only 20 or so pages talk about Golden Crescent, while more than 400 pages are about very minutely detailed drug trade (& politics/ economics) of the Golden Triangle. Considering that countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan earn more than $12b in drug trade every year (only about $1b worth foreign exchange in legal exports), the importance of drug money in financing these breeding grounds of terrorism can't be emphasised enough.
I have to admit that the writing style lacks pace, and I was often confused with the different names that keep cropping up as the author goes back and forth in history. This is a great book for anyone wanting to understand the Southeast Asia though.
A must read during the "war on terrorism".......2001-10-29
Ever since the publication of this updated edition
in 1991, this book has been an essential text
for those trying to understand the "war on
drugs," the exceedingly dangerous role of the CIA
in influencing the course of history, and
historical relations between drugs and empire.
But now the book takes on crucial new
significance. Anybody attempting to comprehend
how billions of U.S. dollars were spent in
creating the agents and forces that launched
the September 11 attacks should read McCoy's
final chapter. And this chapter suggests
what a treacherous path has now been chosedn for ou
nation and the world by the very same people
who created and nurtured the Frankenstein's monster
now lurking in Afghanistan and developing
new schemes for destroying its creator.
Book Description
Johanna Drucker's "sweet dream" is for a new and more positive approach to contemporary art. Calling for a revamping of the academic critical vocabulary used to discuss art into one more befitting current creative practices, Drucker argues that contemporary art is fully engaged with material culture—yet still struggling to escape the oppositional legacy of the early twentieth-century avant-garde.
Drucker shows that artists today are aware of working within the ideologies of mainstream culture and have replaced avant-garde defiance with eager complicity. Finding their materials at flea markets or exploring celebrity culture, contemporary artists have created a vibrantly participatory movement that exudes enthusiasm and affirmation—all while critics continue to cling to an outmoded vocabulary of opposition and radical negativity that defined modernism's avant-garde. At the cutting edge of new media research, Drucker surveys a wide range of exciting contemporary artists, demonstrating their clear departure from the past and petitioning viewers and critics to shift their terms and sensibilities as well. Sweet Dreams is a testament to the creative processes and self-conscious heterogeneity of art today as well as a revolutionary effort to solicit collaboration that will encourage the production of imaginative thought and contribute to contemporary life.
Customer Reviews:
Relentless articulate art market data.......2007-06-13
Speed read this after the first couple chapters. It weren't bad, but it weren't interesting...enough.
Book Description
From the killing fields of Rwanda and Srebrenica a decade ago to those of Darfur today, the United Nations has repeatedly failed to confront genocide. This is evinced, author and journalist Adam LeBor maintains, in a May 1995 document from Yasushi Akashi, the most senior UN official in the field during the Yugoslav wars, in which he refused to authorize air strikes against the Serbs for fear they would “weaken” Milosevic. More recently, in 2003, urgent reports from UN officials in the Sudan detailing atrocities from Darfur were ignored for a year because they were politically inconvenient.
This book is the first to examine in detail the crucial role of the Secretariat, its relationship with the Security Council, and the failure of UN officials themselves to confront genocide. LeBor argues the UN must return to its founding principles, take a moral stand and set the agenda of the Security Council instead of merely following the lead of the great powers. LeBor draws on dozens of firsthand interviews with UN officials, current and former, and such international diplomats as Madeleine Albright, Richard Holbrooke, Douglas Hurd, and David Owen.
This book will set the terms for discussion when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan steps down to make room for a new head of the world body, and political observers assess Annan’s legacy and look to the future of the world organization.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting book with some flaws.......2007-08-08
`Complicity With Evil', the title of this interesting and important work, is derived from the U.N's self-critique of its operations in the 1990s. In short this is LeBor's thesis, the U.N has paved a road to hell with good intentions in the Balkans, Rwanda and lately in Sudan. Many readers may find it troublesome that half the book is devoted to the Bosnian-Serb war, and principally to the massacre at Srbrenica in 1995. LeBor notes that he hopes to "provide a detailed template for understanding why the U.N has not stopped genocide in Darfur." This is a worthy endeavor, but it sheds light on the most significant problem with this book, it is far too detailed on the subject LeBor is most familiar with: Bosnia, and ignores the really massive genocides of the last thirty years, from Cambodia to Rwanda and Darfur, where millions of have died, rather than thousands, where whole peoples have been almost whiped off the earth.
The greatest contribution of this book is the analysis of the inner-workings of the U.N, its slow incompetence and competing interests that time and again frustrated any efforts by any parts of it to do anything in the conflicts discussed. However LeBor's claim to offer a new insight into the Balkan wars and the ethnic-cleansing(page 7) is inaccurate when it comes to framing the Bosnian-Serb conflict. LeBor's bias against the Serbs is shown again and again: "The Bosnian-Serbs killed their prisoners...many of the killers enjoyed their work" and "the killings of Srbrenica were not carried out by battle-enraged soldiers."(pages 117-118) "The Bosnian-Serbs proved less efficient in fighting proper soldiers than in shelling women and children.(page 129)"
The author asks rhetorically "where did this come from, this hatred of Bosnian Muslims." Perhaps LeBor should have asked the same questions to the Croats who elected Tudjman and admired their Nazi ancestors, the Ustasha, or the Bosnians who also ethnically cleansed all the Serbs from the Muslim parts of Bosnia. Unlike in the Holocaust, the hate in the Balkans never went one way. Boutros-Ghali was also correct in 1992 when he noted that there were "ten other places all over the world"(page 29) that had more problems than Sarajevo. One of those places was Sudan, another would soon be Rwanda.
Chapter 6 is devoted to Sudan and the following chapters detial the hypocrisy of the Arab member states of the U.N and the Islamic blocs support of the Sudanese genocide as well as the African blocs ignoring of the Rwandan genocide.
The book insinuates that the U.S has frustrated the U.N in its ability to confront genocide. However the fact is that there are more than 180 other member states of the U.N who ignored genocide in the last thirty years and two security council members, France and China, collaborated in the Rwandan and Sudanese genocides respectively.
The book's conclusion that "arguably the world is more, not less in need of the United Nations(page 265)" is hard to swallow in light of litany of evil that the book has described.
However the wealth of information provided by Lebor on obscure massacres, such as those carried out by Robert Mugabe in Operation Murambatsvina in 2005, the Egyptian massacre of Sudanese, and the thousands of Arab mujahadin that came to fight in Bosnia is important. But these interesting asides also illustrate the general lack of organization in the second part of the book. Unlike the first section on Bosnia, which is lucid, well written, and brilliantly told(if biased), the second seems to be a little cobbled together. In the final analysis, any book which takes the U.N to task for its failures is important and this book makes significant steps in the right direction.
Seth J. Frantzman
Mixed Bag.......2006-11-26
This book excites conflicting emotions and thoughts in me. On one hand, I have little use for the UN as a force for security in the world. Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Iraq, and Darfur have convinced me that if I ever was told that my life was in the hands of the UN, I should start writing out my last will and testament.
On the other hand, I spent six months in the former Yugoslavia in 1994 in the American contingent to the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). I was located up in Zagreb, Croatia and only got into Sarajevo once.
But I feel that I had a pretty good handle on what was going on down there, and I don't totally agree with the author's take on it. LeBor pretty much scoffs at the "ancient hatreds" theory of the conflict, laying virtually all the blame at the door of Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, and many other infamous Serbs. But while I am willing to say that Milosevic and his murderous little helpers bear the main share of the blame for what happened in Croatia, Bosnia, and later Kosovo, they couldn't have done what they did without some historical factors giving them material to work with.
Let's talk about the "ancient hatreds" problem first. LeBor doesn't explore why the Serbs would have been so susceptible to a leader like Milosevic. You don't have to go back to the medieval era to know why. You just have to go back to World War II. In that conflict, the Serbs suffered greatly at the hands of the Nazis' minions in Yugoslavia, the Ustasha (fascist Croats) and worthies from the "Handschar Division" (a Bosniak division of the Waffen SS). It's too complicated to get into here, but with that sort of "not so ancient history," one can understand why the Serbs might be a little unhappy at being minorities in a Croatian state or in a Bosnian state dominated by Croats and Muslims.
Now, I stress, this in no way whatsoever excuses the conduct of the Serbs, but it does better explain it than the "monster plot" theory of the Balkan Wars (i.e. "but for the machinations of Slobodan Milosevic, everything would be right as rain in the Balkans").
Book Description
“If law be the bedrock of civil society, it can no more undergird torture than it could support slavery or genocide.”
–from the Introduction
The graphic photographs of U.S. military personnel grinning over abused Arab and Muslim prisoners shocked the world community. That the United States was systematically torturing inmates at prisons run by its military and civilian leaders divided the nation and brought deep shame to many. When Steven H. Miles, an expert in medical ethics and an advocate for human rights, learned of the neglect, mistreatment, and torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo Bay, and elsewhere, one of his first thoughts was: “Where were the prison doctors while the abuses were taking place?”
In Oath Betrayed, Miles explains the answer to this question. Not only were doctors, nurses, and medics silent while prisoners were abused; physicians and psychologists provided information that helped determine how much and what kind of mistreatment could be delivered to detainees during interrogation. Additionally, these harsh examinations were monitored by health professionals operating under the purview of the U.S. military.
Miles has based this book on meticulous research and a wealth of resources, including unprecedented eyewitness accounts from actual victims of prison abuse, and more than thirty-five thousand pages of documentation acquired through provisions of the Freedom of Information Act: army criminal investigations, FBI notes on debriefings of prisoners, autopsy reports, and prisoners’ medical records. These documents tell a story markedly different from the official version of the truth, revealing involvement at every level of government, from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to the Pentagon’s senior health officials to prison health-care personnel.
Oath Betrayed is not a denunciation of American military policy or of war in general, but of a profound betrayal of traditions that have shaped the medical corps of the United States armed forces and of America’s abdication of its leadership role in international human rights. This book is a vital document that will both open minds and reinvigorate Americans’ understanding of why human rights matter, so that we can reaffirm and fortify the rules for international civil society.
“This, quite simply, is the most devastating and detailed investigation into a question that has remained a no-no in the current debate on American torture in George Bush’s war on terror: the role of military physicians, nurses, and other medical personnel. Dr. Miles writes in a white rage, with great justification–but he lets the facts tell the story.”
–Seymour M. Hersh, author of Chain of Command
“Steven Miles has written exactly the book we require on medical complicity in torture. His admirable combination of scholarship and moral passion does great service to the medical profession and to our country.”
–Robert Jay Lifton, M.D., author of The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide, and co-editor of Crimes of War: Iraq
Customer Reviews:
WHICH OATH ? THE HIPPOCRATIC or THE HYPOCRITIC ?.......2007-08-09
I haven't finished reading "Oath Betrayed" yet. This book was a beautiful gift from Edwin C. Pauzer (Thank you again Ed !). The 4 stars are awarded for what I read so far.
But, at the end of each page, I can't stop asking myself: what will be the opinion of the wife, the family and the friends of Daniel Pearl if they ever read what I am reading now ?
And by the way: was this book translated and sold in South Korea ?
A Voice in the Wilderness.......2007-07-06
I met Steven Miles in a restaurant before this book was published. Miles is a soft-spoken physician from Minneapolis, MN, where he is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a faculty member of the Center for Bioethics. He looks and sounds quintessentially professorial, with a pleasant smile and an easy manner.
Yet our conversation was almost conspiratorial in tone, even though the 35,000 documents Miles consulted for this book were in the pubic domain, thanks to the ACLU and FOIA. Nothing we discussed was really a secret. But Miles had had to discover the meaning of links between documents for himself, connecting the dots from document to document (the documents were in separate files, the connections between them not easily searchable by software.) He had to correlate the movements of military physicians with diverse places and events.
As he discussed his research, outrage and indignation burned through Miles's restrained demeanor. He described how doctors had aided and abetted torture in Iraq, Guantanamo, and other places, some still hidden from view. "When the Abu Gharib pictures were published," he told me, "it was clear this had been going on for a while. Doctors must have seen the abuse or signs of the abuse. Why was this surfacing as a leaked CD rather than a report by the medical profession? I found somewhat to my amazement that it was not just a matter of not reporting but it was actually a matter of being involved in setting the harshness of the interrogation plans and delaying reports of homicide which would have been an important signal to the public of what was wrong inside the prison."
That our conversation about documents in the public domain in a public place should feel conspiratorial is a tip-off to what it does to us to enter the world of this book. We were not being paranoid--we were experiencing the impact of confronting what is being done in the name of the war on terror and in our name as Americans in a secret world.
Researchers like Miles often show the effects of "secondary trauma," a therapist told me, alerting me to my own symptoms. Immersing oneself in this world results in predictable consequences. We become obsessed with the truth, an elusive quarry under any conditions, and our moral framework skews towards the binary. In the face of traumatic events, whether experienced first or second hand, evil seems easy to distinguish from good.
Whether it is a conversation in a restaurant or the experience of reading this book--that's what can happen.
"I am often asked if my life is in danger, because of this research," Miles told me. "That's an epiphenomenon of being a torturing society. A torturing society is a society that is abraded by the process of dehumanization. In that process, we essentially create our own mirrored netherworlds."
The distortion of our thinking, our behavior, our moral compass, as our society justifies, rationalizes, and minimizes the impact of engaging in state torture is inevitable.
That is the deeper subtext of Miles's book, which documents and illuminates how some doctors have kept prisoners alive as they are tortured and interrogated and have falsified death certificates to substitute natural causes for torture as the cause of death. Oath Betrayed shows how the oath sworn by doctors to do no harm is turned on its head in the name of fighting terror.
This book is a plea for justice, an attempt to reinforce the reasons why America rejected torture in the past as ineffective and inhumane for both practical and moral reasons. Miles believes that a society which allows discourse about such events will be affected for the better as consciences are quickened and resolve strengthened. The existence of this book is an act of hope and affirmation.
Miles also knows that discussing these issues does not expose him to the risks faced by colleagues in other countries, who have been tortured themselves or killed for speaking out. He knows that we still have relative freedom of speech. "The implication that I, a citizen of the United States, should acquiesce to fear strikes me as deeply disrespectful to my colleagues in Turkey, Egypt, Chile, South Africa, Cuba, and the former Soviet Union who assumed much greater risks to fight torture." (p. 160) Still, for freedom of speech to be more than a bleeder valve, it must lead to action. In a society saturated with fictional and non-fictional accounts of violence and torture, we have been desensitized to the reality that Miles urges us to confront. It is not easy to read this book. Miles asks that we swim in the deeper waters of the moral, ethical and psychological consequences of our policies and practices, that we understand what it does to us to become a torturing society. Unlike a director of screen violence, he does not do so to produce a vicarious shiver, but so that we will re-examine the thinking that led us to such practices in the first place.
"Law professor Oona Hathaway found that a nation's endorsement of international laws against torture does not reduce the chance that it will resort to torture. However, she also found that when domestic institutions in such nations `use litigation, media exposure, and political pressure' to expose violations of those commitments, those same nations move in the direction of compliance."
"Oath Betrayed" implores us to use those levers not only because torture is short-sighted and ineffective but also because of what it does to us when we rationalize our behaviors afterward, become habituated and insensitive to what we are doing, and create the conditions to do it again with even less justification in the future.
A Doctor's Examination of a Painful Topic.......2007-05-28
(...)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Miles, a physician and medical ethicist, has a long history of addressing challenging ethical issues in medicine. He is also the sort of person who goes to scenes of trajedies (e.g. the Tsunami) and volunteers his medical skills. He has been speaking out about the issue of the role of physicians in torture for some time, and I was pleased to see him put his pen to paper on this issue.
The book is direct and penetrating and written in a style of directness. I will not reiterate what all the reviewers have written in major newspapers and here on Amazon. This book is very important reading for those in all professions -- not just medicine -- because it challenges all to examine their role and its ethical implications when in a position which gives power over the fate of others.
Our country has a checkered history as regards torture. We challenge such behavior in countries and groups we oppose, but tend not to cast the same eye on leaders who are allies (e.g. the Shaw of Iran and his dread Savak intelligence service). At present we seem to be unwilling to examine our own behavior, with some of our leaders seeking rationalizations and internal legal protection. Agreements such as the Geneva Accords and International Law seem long forgotten. We are in fact becoming the people our parents warned us about...
(...)
A cool eye on a chilling topic........2007-01-09
The book, "Oath Betrayed", is a concise tour of the plan and execution of coercive interrogation methods developed for the "war on terror." Dr. Miles reviewed thousands of documents and guides us through the maze of Orwellian doublespeak, with a focus on the silence of the medical community in allowing abuse to continue. The author informs us by explaining the statutory responsibility of physicians to report such abuses.
The style is so direct and cautious, so dispassionate, that the impact is like an unexpected tsunami-the images came into my thoughts in this unassuming way and the horror implicit slowly engulfed me. Finally, the importance of the professions in shaping our culture and society becomes clear as Dr. Miles places the problem in the broader context of modern life. An excellent book, an important book, but not an easy topic.
WASN'T IT DR. MENGELE WHO BROKE THE OATH? AND NOW?.......2006-10-13
what have we become? Doctors on call to determine how much pain a person can endure for maximum intelligence milking? Or for sadistic purposes?
Read Orwell's 1984 on the sadistic use of torture, for starters. And here we have doctors ASSISTING the administration of pain rather than relieving suffering and sickness.
Here we have doctors FORCING harmful, unwanted and unnecessary procedures on innocent hostages rather than using medical science for increased health.
Forcing feeding tubes into the stomachs of those tightly restrained on back boards, who see no other way out than a hunger strike, so that our evening news may not reveal who many we sacrifice, in the great name of national security, on Guantanamo Bay.
We have now left the civilized world, people. This is no longer doctoring. This is torture. This does not increase my sense of national security. It reveals that we ourselves have destroyed our own security, when the one to whom we turn for physical relief from suffering has become our torturers and assistant to torturers. We have met the enemy and he is us.
After years and years of confinement without charges, without evidentiary procedures, without due process and the other marks of a civilized nation, what do these innocent (until proven guilty) hostages (kidnapped and held for no transparent, clear legal purpose) have to offer in the way of intelligence or knowledge of the reality in the field, now, years later?
Torture them to your hearts delight; they have nothing to offer in the way of information. Your torture tells more about you than about any threat to us as a nation and a people. Your torture destroys us as a people, and the seeds of your own senseless violence against these innocent boys gives fruit in the insane violence we now suffer within our own nation, by your example.
When you make violence against innocents a good thing, it grows, and you have destroyed our nation and the positive unity of our once great and promising people.
Stop the violence. Rebuild peace and non-violence in our world. Practice what you claim to believe. Beg for forgiveness for the harm you have done.
Follow the physician's oath: First, to do NO HARM. No doctor has ANY ethical, legal or moral excuse he was just following orders.
Gaudium et spes gives the specific admonition:
"Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and humanity, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation."
Thus must we Catholics condemn absolutely our war against Iraq which goes back though the long war of attrition to papa Bush in 1990, which has caused over a million Iraqi deaths, women and children in their bloodied beds, and carpet bombing wiping out the ancient city of Fallujah, etc. all for profiteering privateering petroleum piracy.
Further Gaudium et spes states unequivocally:
"If civil authorities legislate or allow anything that is contrary to the will of God, neither the law made nor the authorization granted can be binding on the conscience of the citizens since God has more right to be obeyed than man."
God commands: Thou shalt not kill.
We cannot kill a million Iraqi citizens, women and children in their beds, for the sake of privateering petroleum piracy. We cannot be involved in this genocide in any way shape or form. We in fact are obligated to work and speak strongly against it. Pope John PAul II was first in condemning the aggressive invasion of Iraq.
See also PACEM IN TERRIS in this Christmas season, and The Challenge of Peace. For our advent reading let us read the Reverend Father John Dear's MARY OF NAZARETH: PROPHET OF PEACE
Remember ever our faith. Read Merton's prophetic Peace in a Post-CHristian Era
Book Description
In 1994, genocide put Rwanda on the map for most of the world. It also exposed one of the most shameful scandals of the Rwandan churches—the complicity of the Christian churches in the genocide. These are strong words to use when speaking about an institution committed to preaching and practicing Jesus' "two great commandments"—Thou shalt love the Lord your God with your whole heart and mind, and thou shalt love your neighbor as yourself—and yet, they need to be said. Why? Because Rwanda is the most Christian country in Africa. More than 90% of its people are baptized Christians, with the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches having the greatest number of adherents (65% and 20% respectively).
What is it that happened in Rwanda between April and July 1994 that has left so many Rwandans "disillusioned, disgruntled and angry with the churches and their leadership"?
Genocide in Rwanda: Complicity of the Churches provides a variety of perspectives through which to assess the complex questions and issues surrounding the topic, and, even raise some new questions that could provide some new insight into this historical event. Contributors have tried to face as carefully, sensitively, and honestly as possible some of the questions about the Church and 1994 genocide in Rwanda many have been asking in the media, and in other places as well. For example, Why were priests ethno-biased? Why did the churches allow clerics to preach ethno-hatred? Did they? What about the nuns and priests who assisted in the killing of Tutsis? Did the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope or the Vatican or did the Church of England — the two Christian denominations with the largest number of adherents — speak out against them? Did the Church protect, reprimand, punish, excommunicate their adherents — clergy, religious, and lay — who were genocidaires before, during, and after the 1994 genocide? Were leaders in the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches, at the highest levels, active or passive? informed or ignorant about what was happening in Rwanda in 1994? Did God have any witnesses during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda? Has anything changed? Do the Churches have a moral duty to engage in tikkun olam, healing and repair? If so, how? If not, why not?
These, are only some of the questions and they are questions we must ask for the sake of the future. Otherwise, how can the Church, its members and its leadership, begin to make moral restitution, begin to change structures and behaviors, and once again reveal the human face of God in our fragile world?
Customer Reviews:
Good Read, But Could Have Been Better.......2005-06-28
Don't get me wrong, this is an important book to read, but I think the editors could have done a better job of well, editing. This is because many of the essays contained in the book start with a very similar introduction of the facts that lead up to what occurred: the Hutus and Tutsis have had a history of distrust and hatred, the Belgian colonists used the ruling Tutsi class, then they switched to supporting the Hutus, the church has continued to foster the ethnicity issue, etc. This is of course important information, but I don't think it was necessary to repeat it as often as it was done so. In addition, many of the same points were made a number of the included essays. For example, the church (meaning pretty much the Catholic Church, though there were a few mentions of the Anglican and Baptist Churches, and a page in passing of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its situation with Pastor Ntakirutimana), was more interested in number of baptisms than in discipling the converts, and, when the genocide occurred, was more interested in keeping quiet (for political gain or perhaps to save one's neck) than in condemming the killings.
I suppose both of these nits I am picking are problems when you have a collection of essays included in a book form, but it did make for a quite repetitive read at times. In addition, I was hoping when I bought the book, to get a wider picture of what was occurring in all churches present in Rwanda at the time, not just the Catholic Church. Of the ~90% of the population in Rwanda in 1994 that claimed to be Christian, it is true that a large majority were Catholics and the trials that this church underwent were probably indicative of the problems of others, but I wanted to know specifics of all churches, not just a mention here or there.
As a Christian, it is important to be reminded of just how human we are and the mistakes we can make when we're not careful in following Christ and for this, the book is a good and meaningful read. It is also highly referenced (Hello, Philip Gourevitch of "We Wish to Inform You...", it would be nice if you had done this in your book) which is a big plus for those of us who want to find out more information. The references not only include other books, but journal articles and other printed sources as well as videos/DVD's and websites.
In the end, however, I come back to the original statement that it is a good book, but it seemed it could have been better...
Average customer rating:
- Involvement, Connection, Liability
- Suspense to the Max in this Story so Sublime
- above-average page turner
- Fascinating Perspective
- Darkly Realistic
|
Complicity
Iain Banks
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Literary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Wasp Factory: A Novel
-
The Bridge
-
The State Of The Art
-
Look to Windward
-
Feersum Endjinn
ASIN: 0743200187
Release Date: 2002-10-29 |
Book Description
COMPLICITY n. 1. the fact of being an accomplice, esp. in a criminal act
Local journalist Cameron Colley writes articles that are idealistic, from the viewpoint of the underdog. A twisted serial killer seems to have the same MO -- he commits brutal murders on behalf of the underdog. As the two stories begin to merge, Cameron finds himself inextricably and inexplicably implicated by the killer.
When the arms dealer whom Cameron plans to expose is found literally "disarmed" before Cameron can even put pen to paper and the brewery chief, loathed by Cameron, who sold out at the expense of his workers finds himself permanently unemployable, the police become convinced of Cameron's guilt, as do half his friends and colleagues, forcing Cameron to employ all his investigative skills to find the real killer and his motive.
Customer Reviews:
Involvement, Connection, Liability.......2007-06-17
Iain Banks was born in Scotland in 1954 and published his first book - "The Wasp Factory" - in 1984. In the years since, he's won critical acclaim, topped best-seller lists and has even written Science Fiction books under the cunning nom-de-plume 'Iain M. Banks'. "Complicity" was first published in 1993, and is his seventh non sci-fi book.
Cameron Colley is a journalist based in Edinburgh. working for "The Caledonian". He has an eye for trouble, and enjoys using his articles to take pot-shots at the 'establishment' and big business. His past-times include alcohol, drugs and a computer game called "Despot" - one which sounds very similar to Civ II. Cameron's social circle seems quite small - there's William and Yvonne, a couple he met at university. The pair are married, though Cameron has no qualms about enjoying Yvonne (in as kinky a manner as possible) on a very regular basis. There's also Andy, who Cameron has known pretty much all his life. Andy has 'achievment' written all over his past - he was an officer in the Falklands War and was subsequently awarded the DSO. On leaving the army, he went into advertising - where he came up with the BIG campaigns for several global companies. After that, he then opened a chain of very successful shops, became obscenely rich...and then, strangely, dropped out. Andy is now living in a dilapidated old hotel (his own, naturally) in the Highlands - doing little other than drink and drugs, apparently..
Workwise, Cameron is quite possibly on the verge on something big : he has a mole feeding - "Mr Archer" - feeding him about five high-profile deaths within the nuclear and security services. All five victims died within two years of each other and, although all were officially written off as suicides, there have been rumours of something murky about the deaths. Cameron isn't the first to have looked into the story -however, he's hoping Archer's information will lead him somewhere. (If what's he's been told is true, it's quite possible it could lead to to Iraq).
Unfortunately, while Cameron's working on his mole-inspired story, another set of very high-profile individuals are finding themselves being assaulted and / or murdered. The problem, as it turns out, is that all the victims have been lambasted in one of Cameron's articles.
"Complicity" is definitely a book I'd recommend - which is hardly a surprise, given that it's been written by Iain Banks. Banks has a certain way of telling a story I enjoy - the occasional jump back and forward, and the hint of looking at something from a slightly different angle. Most of the book is told by Cameron ("I drive the car up the little single track road leading towards the low hills"), part of the book is also told about the killer. Although it does mean we know who's getting killed and how they're dying, practically nothing is given away about the killers identity. It's even (deliberately) vague about the killer's gender - for example, "you get to the bedside and raise the log over your head". Excellent stuff.
Suspense to the Max in this Story so Sublime.......2006-08-09
This is a book I really loved. Imagine a newsman, a chain smoking Scottish newspaper reporter, who prays to Hunter Thompson as he zips along on speed. A guy addicted to computer games and the story. He has to get the story. In fact, his motto is, "Cover the Story" and he does it the way St. Hunter would have. I have just described Cameron Colley, a guy you're going to want to read about.
When this story opens Cameron is getting a lot of disturbing calls from an anonymous source, who refuses to stay on the phone long enough to give him very much information, but the info Cameron is getting is pretty spooky as it's all about mysterious deaths and conspiracies, real late night radio talk show stuff, but Cameron is buying it. He needs more and he gets it.
There is a lot going on in this book that I've read at least a dozen times over the years. In parts the tale is violent and squeemish, but it's always good, good enough for me to read again and again and that certainly ought to be good enough for you to read a least once. When it comes to suspense, Iain Banks is a master.
above-average page turner.......2005-10-06
This was the 3rd Iain Banks novel I have read. Wasp Factory was dark, twisted, but kindof a waste. Crow Road was long, poignant and quite moving.
Complicity is...well, somewhere in between. It reads more like a Thomas Harris (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs) and is pretty effective at maintaining the suspense level throughout. It was very imaginitive and Banks has a great mastery of language.
I think the main reason I'm only giving it 3 stars is because I never felt like we got a chance to really know the characters. Like the characters were all running around doing stuff just to advance the plot. The problem with that approach is that you never really care about the main character. I understand that Banks likes to use "human" characters that aren't all warm and fuzzy, but sometimes they are so unlikable that it kinda kills the story (see Wasp Factory.) In this case, the main character, Cameron, isn't an awful guy (in fact he's pretty "real") but he's just not quite likeable enough to really get me to root for him. The relationship with Yvonne (and her husband) was very interesting and could have been an even bigger part of the story. Those were the portions where you finally felt like you got to know Cameron. The other problem is that the involvement of Andy as a pivotal character, seemed like it was thrown in there way too late in the game. In the Crow Road, Banks really let the reader see the relationships between all the characters and this made the plot much stronger, and more intriguing.
I liked the changes in perspective and time. Banks always does this sortof thing well. I'm still a bit confused on one or two things, but not enough to ruin the experience.
All in all, a good compelling read that is still far superior to most of the drivel that fills the bookshelves nowadays. I just wish Banks would dabble in the literary genre more often, because he has the goods to write really great novels.
Fascinating Perspective.......2005-03-31
This is the first of Bank's non-SciFi novels that I have read. His Culture series of stories had me so roped in, I thought I would give his 'regular' fiction a try...I was not disappointed.
This is an action packed thriller that keeps changing the reader's perspective from a crusading murderer...to Scottish journalist (who is man with a number of flaws!). When describing the killer's actions, he keeps using 2nd person - such as 'You open the door' or 'You disarm the alarm'. So you are along for the ride in the passenger seat for each graphic misadventure.
I was quickly engaged by the characters, who are all well thought out. The main character is like an onion, with surprise after surprise becoming aparent as the layers are peeled back.
Darkly Realistic.......2005-03-23
I found this book quite interesting.
I liked the characters, they seemed shockingly real. It's not about the unrealistic "hero" swooping in to save the day, and the "wholesome/always do the right thing" approach that a lot of mystery writers seem to have.
Finally, a "good guy" with a few problems.
The main character was your loser friend next door. Great guy, a bit lonely, so probably uses recreational drugs a little too much.
The plot was interesting enough to keep you turning. It's not the best mystery novel you'll ever read, but it's entertaining.
And if you're tired of the same ole characters stuck in the same ole story, just new scenes (authors who've cornered that market: T. Clancy, P. Cornwell, J. Patterson), then get this one b/c if nothing else, it's an interesting read and it's different!
Books:
- What Every American Should Know About the Rest of the World: Your Guide to Today's Hot Spots, Hot Shots and Incendiary Issues
- When Pigasso Met Mootisse
- A Good Year (MTI)
- A House for Hermit Crab (Stories to Go!)
- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
- A Mind at a Time
- A Once-And-Coming Spirit at Pentecost: Essays on the Liturgical Readings Between Easter and Pentecost, Taken from the Acts of the Apostles and from
- A Rich Man's Secret: An Amazing Formula for Success
- Absolute Fear
- Almost Friends: A Harmony Novel (Harmony Novels)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- History: Fiction or Science
- History: Fiction or Science
- Accounting for the New Business: How to Do Your Own Accounting Simply, Easily, and Accurately
- Complete Psionic
- Dictionary of Accounting Terms
- History: Fiction or Science
- Exploring Mesoamerica
- Macroeconomics Activebook Enhanced and OneKey CourseCompass Package
- Business Cycles: Theory, History, Indicators, and Forecasting
- The Loved and the Unloved
Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic (American Empire Project)
American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America
Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
