Rating: 
Summary: Eloquent skewering of American policy
Review: For those who've been reading a lot about the rise of American conservatism, there isn't much new here. But no one says it quite like Vidal. In essays cropped from "Vanity Fair" and foreign publications brave and intelligent enough to print what the American press won't, Vidal deals eloquently with some familiar issues: the danger of the Bush administration's response to terrorism; the stupidity of the FBI at Waco; the willful non-investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing; the perils of a "democratic" system dominated by the representatives of big business; the dangerous fusion of far right Christianity and public office; and, of course, the final debasement of American democracy - the "election" of President Bush by a losing margin of half a million votes. In discussing these issues, Vidal articulates a point that many commentators miss: that the kind of policies and tactics adopted in the name of patriotism, evident in all these sorry episodes from America's recent past, fundamentally betray the vision of the founders and actually have the USA inching towards a police state - not in appearance, but in reality. Vidal sees the difference between the American Republic, and the American Global Empire which is its most dangerous enemy. And until most American's learn to separate the flag, the Presidency, and absolute moral righteousness, and see that unthinking worship of any one of them can be used as a smokescreen for the debasement of the others, then the fear of seeming "unpatriotic" will be used to frighten and manipulate Americans to whatever ends those in power choose.
Rating:
Summary: Great book.
Review: One of the best contemporary writers, Gore Vidal, writes a provoking book. This book gives a well thought evidence of the current administration as to why "We" are so hated. I would definitely recommend this book because it gives you perceptiveness to things that the government has executed but yet the mass media has not informed us about.
Rating: 
Summary: are you getting your money's worth?
Review: It's such a short little whiffle of a notion of a book that $... seems a bit steep. Still, it IS GV and I have yet to read any of his nonfiction that didn't resonate with me. I don't know; save your money and buy the United States collection of essays, instead.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit thin, but cogent nonetheless
Review: Vidal is not prone to hyperbole, nor is he a dealer in questionable "facts." He is a defender of the American Republic, and the laws which were designed to uphold and defend that Republic. Laws which have been under attack by both the right and the left since the end of WWII.This book will leave you angry, it will leave you sad. Perhaps it will leave you with a desire to do something to try to preserve the organizing principles of this country. At the very least, you should come to understand why the United States has, since the second World War, become symbolic of tyranny, injustice and even terrorism to so many people on this planet. It's time to stop kidding ourselves that we're hated because we have more, because we're richer or more powerful, or have more freedoms. We're hated, in large part, because we have, since 1947, been waging perpetual war all over the globe.
Rating:
Summary: Must Read!
Review: A good, quick read by master essayist Vidal. I would have scored it 5 stars, however, the book rambles somewhat in the middle. It gives a well thought out alternative to the "evildoers" premise of the current administration as to why "We" are so hated. Also, an interesting use of Economist Historian Charles A Beard's statement about perpetual war....very relevant in these Orwellian days.
Rating:
Summary: Yoda speaks...are the Jedis listening?
Review: "...Even so, Mr. President Elect, there is an off chance that you might actually make some difference if you start now to rein in the warlords. Reduce military spending, which will make you popular because you can then legitimately reduce our taxes instead of doing what you have been financed to do, freeing corporate America of its small tax burden." Gore Vidal
PERPETUAL WAR FOR PERPETUAL PEACE Gore Vidal would not be Gore Vidal if he left the topic of this book at merely proving the more than 200 instances of United States "pre-emptive strike" military incursions that have taken place since the end of World War Two, proving the existence of the philosophy in the Pentagon that is sarcastically referred to by the title of the book. Vidal traces the dangerous link between Timothy Mcveigh and Osama bin Laden to moral anamolies in American foreign and domestic policy in much the same way one could trace the otherwise unrelated illnesses of heart disease and lung cancer to cigarette smoking. In so doing he demands us, whether or not we come to the same conclusions, to look at our own cultural selves and our country's leaders with new eyes: the eyes of much of the rest of the world. Vidal is often too postmodern for his own good. As he approaches his late seventies (he is the author of twenty-two novels, tons of essays, plays and screenplays and was one of President Kennedy's best friends) his all too self-conscious "ascerbic wit" has begun to have a harder than necessary edge to it. You can almost see how the conversations he is writing for us have really become conversations he is having with himself, in the way a wise old man, slowly but inexplicably driving to Curmudgeonville after giving up on his audience or would-be students ever getting a clue would do. Yet the pearls of wisdom that thread through both this work and his infinitely insightful mind makes the book immeasurably important, and go a lot further in explainnig the souce of both his cynicism and the repressed, near uncontrollable passion he has for his country. Something is missing in America today, something deeply important for the American soul. When that thing is concentrated or exaggerated to the point of absurdity in an individual (in inverse proportion to its absence in the culture) it produces the actions of the men who form the subject of several of his essays. But the value of this unnamed thing--and the fact that it is missing from our culture in areas where it is needed: our relationship with the non-rich world in and outside of our boundaries--comes clear with every page. That is the magic of great writers: making something invisible felt between every written word. Vidal is a master whose talent nor reputation have ever been overstated. This book, which shockingly though unfortunately understandably could not be published in America when it was first written, is another of his gifts to the country he loves so much.
Rating:
Summary: It's not Terrorism--It's Asymetrical Warfare!
Review: Gore Vidal writes a very thought-provoking book here. Its first section deals with the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Vidal documents the military operations that the US has engaged in throughout the world. He points out that methods of battle that the hijackers used are commonly used by the opressed against the strong. Islamic Fundamentalists have very little to say in how the world is run, except when they take to the streets in rowdy protests or blow themselves up. The people in the Pentagon and World Trade Centers are amoung the most powerful, if not the MOST powerful in the world. The corperate media has been portraying the War on Terror as a version of David and Goliath--we are the Jolly, Friendly Good Goliath versus the Mean, Bratty Evil David. Most of PERTETUAL WAR, is however, about Vidal's involvement and analysis of Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing. Vidal gives the reasons for McVeigh's attack instead of labeling him as a crazy psychopath who just wanted to murder dozens of people for kicks. He examines the actual government abuses that drove McVeigh--such as IRS abuses, the massacre at Waco, and government gun control. He even gives support for the farmers who were driven off thier land by foreclosures, and against corperate agribusiness. But Vidal remains somewhat inconclusive here about the Murrah incident. He gives three possible theories for the OK City Bombing: It was just McVeigh acting for his own "exaggerated sense of justice" (something Vidal praises in McVeigh while noting it is absent in most Americans), that McVeigh did the bombing at the behest of government agents which would then justify further legislation against personal freedom by the government, and another theory that in addition to the truck full of fertilizer, there were other explosives rigged at the Murrah building and that the ATF had advance warning. I took off a star for Vidal's anti-Christian statements, but overall, this is a book that contains many cornerstones of old Christian morality.
Rating:
Summary: The Conspiracy
Review: Government has a conspiracy planned to keep everyone from organizing peacefully, get rid of the Bill of Rights, and keep American's unhealthy.
Terrorist attacks are a response to the oppression that the US. government has imposed on the people. "The federal government decided to take out the compound of a Seventh-Day Adventist cult near Waco, Texas"(84) and "McVeigh was soon to indicate that he had acted in retaliation for what happened at Waco."(85) according to Gore Vidal. Vidal describes the incident in Waco as a conspiracy from the US. government. A conspiracy that left many unhappy and with a desire for revenge. Although Vidal says that what McVeigh did was a way of expressing his disagreement with the way the government treats its own citizens, it does not justify the fact that other innocent people had to pay the consequences.
McVeigh committed the terrorist acts as revenge for the people that died in Waco. Texas. The conspiracy of the US. to destroy a peaceful group resulted in another conspiracy against them.
The Bill of Rights are disappearing slowly but with a great impact. "The fourth amendment is in the process of disintegrating, out of the "military necessity""(66) "These unlawful attacks and seizures are often justified by the possible existence of a flush toilet on the fingered premises" (67). This example reminded me of what is going on today after September 11 2001. After that day people have been scared and want safety at what ever price necessary. Even if that means giving up some Rights. One sacrifice was the replacement of regular airport workers with trained man with guns. This is safety for the people, having man with guns sticking out of their uniforms check their bags. Vidal also mentioned the possibility of this being a conspiracy against the people of the US. and how it is convenient for them to keep us in control. He says that by having us in control the government will soon have lots more power.
There is a conspiracy to stop health care. "The insurance and pharmaceutical combined with elements of the American Health Center Association to destroy forever any notion that we be a country that provides anything for its citizens in the way of health care"(59).We are one of the few countries that does not provide its citizens with health care. Bu this of course is only helping those that can't afford it and what difference does it make to those who are in control and can afford health care. Health care would cost a lot of money and so we would rather waste our money on national defense. "From 1949 to 199 the US. spent $7.1 trillion on "national defense"(152). And if this weren't enough, "the army wants over $30 billion,.... all in the absence of an enemy"
Vidal also talks about how its ironic that the government talks about how it wants to keep its citizens safe and that is why it is disintegrating the bill of rights and spending so much money on defense. Yet it fails to give people Health care, something that would keep them safe from getting sick and dying. Like Vidal says we are living a Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace. The US. says that they want Peace but yet there have been "nearly two hundred military incursions since 1945 in which the United States has been the aggressor".
The US. government acts surprised when it is attacked by terrorist but it well knows that when you light up a match, you might start a fire.
I would definitely recommend this book because it gives you insights to things that the government has done but yet the mass media has not informed us about.
Rating:
Summary: A wake up call
Review: Gore Vidal's collection of essays is a wake up call for the American people. Americans have the disturbing willingness to accept whatever the government tells them at face value. Despite Watergate and the Iran-Contra scandels (the two most publicized), Americans still look the other way when our government blantly lies to us. Gore Vidal's book, though dissapointly short and somewhat fragmented, holds even greater relevance today. With our rights silently slipping away, with our Ken Lay's walking our streets instead of pacing in jail, one cannot help but feel the greatest dread for what the future holds. Vidal refers to 'judge Kafka'who presides over the insanity of our goverment, and one cannot help but think of how many years it will take until our lives will be parallel to the characters in The Trial.
Rating:
Summary: Though Controversial, it is a Must Read
Review: Though Gore Vidal's book came off as 'preachy', he is very persuasive. He supports his
arguments with cold-hard facts. He listed all the US military operations since 1949. I was
shocked to say the least, that some of these missions were still listed as 'ongoing'. The
number of countries we have placed troops somewhat angered me. I am frustrated that
we have always been more concerned with what's going on outside our borders than
inside them. Though I do feel that there are some instances in which military force is
necessary (9-11), where are freedom is at stake. Vidal did a good job of focusing his
persuasive devices around the Oklahoma City Bombing. However there are some flaws in
his Osama Bin Laden argument:
* He wasn't specific in the actions of the US which directly triggered the
September 11 attack.
* He didn't elaborate when he talked about the US occupation of 'holy lands'.
* Vidal failed to describe any way that our government could have prevented the
September 11th attacks from a diplomatic standpoint.
This book should be read by both liberals and conservatives, and everyone in
between. Even if you do not agree with his views, it is important to see the whole picture
and both sides before making a judgment about certain subjects. Gore Vidal presents his
ideas and thoughts in a subtle, yet persuasive manner. You may not agree with his views
but you can't argue with facts. The number of military operations since the 1940's is
simply staggering. It is troublesome to think that we are so concerned with other
countries and their actions, that we often forget of our own problems. And maybe if we
solve some of our problems, perhaps it will prevent another Oklahoma City Bombing or a
September 11.
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