<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A superb novel
Review: A very informative and influential book. I now know things about the goverment that I never knew before. My views on the goverment and on politics have now changed after reading this masterpiece of a novel. Everyone should read this superb book. I have read alot of books and this is one of my personal favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: A superb novel
Review: A very informative and influential book. I now know things about the goverment that I never knew before. My views on the goverment and on politics have now changed after reading this masterpiece of a novel. Everyone should read this superb book. I have read alot of books and this is one of my personal favorite books.
Rating: 
Summary: Anderson rises above the muck
Review: Columnist Jack Anderson never suffered self-esteem or objectivity problems. Yet in his autobiographical Peace, War and Politics, Anderson displays humility and a degree of introspection that is shocking to anyone familiar with his often self-aggrandizing muck. Anderson often pumped out scandalous drivel in which he conspicuously cast himself as the central figure. It could be speculated that if Anderson had not been such a successful publicity hound, he would have become a serial killer obsessed with newspaper clippings and broadcast reports of his crimes. Yet a decent and moral man emerges in this account of a colorful life. Although several of Anderson's more convoluted conspiracy theories are rehashed (the JFK assassination chapter is incomprehensible), the book is mostly solid and an enjoyable read. Early chapters devoted to Anderson's boyhood in Depression-era Utah and his World War II adventures in China are excellent. Anderson's running battle with the Nixon Administration, and his seething rage at what he saw as Jimmy Carter's hypocrisy and total incompetence, reveal a righteous indignation that is simultaneously tedious and fascinating. While he rightly condemns the excesses of J. Edgar Hoover, and even digs through garbage bins for dirt on the late FBI director, Anderson also is objective enough to admit the G-man never politicized his agency. Anderson makes some very insightful observations. For example, he shares his fear that former Soviet scientists might one day assist rogue Islamic states. Written well before 2001, this and much more speculation about the aftermath of the Cold War proves well-founded. The most surprising aspect of Peace, War and Politics is Anderson's self-deprecating humor. When potential sources offer juicy details for cash, Anderson humorously remembers he didn't have the funds to pay for them, and ethics were a secondary consideration. In addition to himself, Anderson reports on the foibles and strengths of his poorly paid interns and associates. Many like Brit Hume went on to become prominent reporters and broadcasters. The degree to which Anderson acknowledges these young, underpaid muckrakers is as admirable as it is surprising. Anderson also turns the spotlight onto a hypocritical national media that shunned him yet often followed his lead. The highlight of the book is a very brief chapter about the return of General Anthony McAuliffe, whom Anderson describes as the most decent person he ever met, to a hero's welcome in Bastogne. Gen. McAuliffe is remembered for his reply "nuts" to a Nazi demand that he surrender his 101st Airborne troops and the Belgian town they defended during the Battle of the Bulge. McAuliffe tells Anderson that he "never cared " for General George Patton after Patton surveyed the frozen enemy bodies at Bastogne and commented "these are the types of Germans I like to see." McAuliffe, who commanded the troops who killed the soldiers, said the dead were mostly boys like the Americans who fought against them. Given such humanistic insight into people, it is apparent Anderson never wet the bed into his late 20's, engaged in pyromania, tortured small animals in his youth, or fantasized about serial murder. No, if he hadn't become a muckraker, Jack Anderson very well could have been a Mormon church official albeit a very opinionated and self-absorbed one.
Rating:
Summary: Beneath the Surface
Review: Peace, War and Politics unveils a side to US history that is lost in survey courses. Anderson and Gibson cover everything from McCarthyism to the Iran-Contra scandal, all while toppling political figures to their ruin in true mudracker style. It will interest those who have lived through the events and embarass others about their lack of knowledge. Anderson is not afraid to admit when his investigative reporting went too far or when he's wrong. The trouble he gets in when he is right (CIA surveillance, debates with polished politicians) is hiliarious.
Rating:
Summary: "PEACE, WAR, AND POLITICS"
Review: Very informative, yet very influentual. Lets you know what has really happened in past wars and what has happened in the goverment, that the average citzen doesn't even know about now. I have very diferent issues on politics now that i have read this book. I recomend it to anyone & everyone. I've read alot of books and this happens to be one of my personal favorites.
Rating:
Summary: "PEACE, WAR, AND POLITICS"
Review: Very informative, yet very influentual. Lets you know what has really happened in past wars and what has happened in the goverment, that the average citzen doesn't even know about now. I have very diferent issues on politics now that i have read this book. I recomend it to anyone & everyone. I've read alot of books and this happens to be one of my personal favorites.
<< 1 >>
| 
