Rating: 
Summary: Courageous and important, but not enough fire.
Review: Years ago, in what seems like another life, I met Gore Vidal on the Via Veneto in Rome through a mutual friend who invited me to join them at their sidewalk table. I found Mr. Vidal not to be much of a talker, but then my attentions were focused on another member of the party -- Lena Horne's daughter, Gail, a very beautiful and intelligent young lady. I cite this incident, because like that evening some 40 years ago, Gore Vidal's writing is subdued and bland, maybe even tired. I agree with his facts and admire his courage in being politically incorrect in our American age of near mass hysteria. This is a book everyone should read; what it says in important, and, I believe, true. The argument put forth by Gore Vidal, however, lacks the fire that is needed to ignite the imagination of the reader. The inclusion of dry pages of war statistics does not help the cause -- Tom Paine this is not. This book should have been so inflammatory as to have been a cause celebre'. That is how to get the political message across, which, I assume, is Gore Vidal's purpose here. Even such an insignificant book as "Escape from Paradise," which I wrote about Singapore, succeeded in being banned from that country's bookstores, which gave it an incredible boost on Amazon and got the message across. However, if you believe in the establishment, this is must reading for you -- it could get you thinking. Forget what I said about style, and buy this book. It should be number one on everybody's reading list today.
Rating: 
Summary: I Expected Better
Review: Basically a pastiche of articles from Vanity Fair, the Nation, and an unnamed Italian journal, the booklet would more aptly be subtitled "How Our Government Got To Be So Hated By So Many Of Its Citizens", right-wing citizens, that is. The main title led me to believe this would be Vidal's caustic response to Sept. 11, and the eruption of so-called international terrorism to which the President has pledged war without end. And while there is a brief chapter on that topic, the main thrust concerns Timothy Mc Veigh and domestic terrorism. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since Vidal accesses a range of left opinion that has not by and large concerned itself with the story behind the Oklahoma City bomber. Personally, I found those chapters highly revealing and helpful in fleshing out a view of Mc Veigh and what he represents. Nonetheless, I was disappointed in the overall result which is largely fragmentary and even padded, (the 20 pages enumerating US campaigns abroad since 1947 is of contextual interest but does take up one-eighth of the total text). And though the author's famous mordant wit is on abundant display, I get the feeling the booklet was patched together in response to the commercial demands of Sept. 11--but that's a somewhat cynical observation on the master cynic himself. Still and all, readers looking for context to that horrific event or Bush's hegemonic doctrine of perpetual war for perpetual peace would do well to look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Provacative Insight
Review: In easily digested form, Mr Vidal lays out what could be subtitled "American History X for Dummies". His analysis of the Oklahoma bombing/McVeigh affair raises some uncomfortable questions.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Very Well Organized!!!
Review: I am very disappointed with the book. I saw Gore Vidal on [the] News and bought the book because I became interested in some of his points of view and yearned for a more in depth analysis. The book did explain his theories but this could have been done in 10 pages. The rest of the 150 pages of his book were repetitive, disorganized and contained information that was neither here nor there. The book is not a complete flop but it is hardly what I expeted! Think twice before purchasing!!! P.S. Approx 40 pages of the 150 were dedicated to war statistics so think about the substance and the overall value of your buck!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, shallow
Review: I bought the book because of its sub-title "How we got to be so hated". I expected to find some insights into the fallacies of US foreign policy and how it created much hatred to the US around the world. None of that. Intead, most of the book revolves around the Oaklahoma City bombing and the perceived loss of civil liberties due to the war on terrorism.
The author's arguments are shallow, not supported by facts and quite often he resolves to demagoguery and under-the-belt blows to make his point, not very convincingly. That's very disappointing because US foreign policy and its inconsistencies (e.g. advocating democracy and human rights while at the same time supporting oppressive autocratic regimes and states that violate international law) is a great subject for a book and could well indeed explain to the American public "how we got to be so hated".
Rating:
Summary: American Liberty: Greatest Victim of September 11th?
Review: "Perpetual War For Perpetual Peace: How We Got To Be So Hated" encapsulates the global discomfort that so many people feel with what is (and has been) going on in the United States, how it impacts our citizens, and gives it a historical context including a twenty-page chart that lists official United States military operations around the world beginning with the Berlin Airlift of 1948 to the millenium. Vidal is one of the few individuals speaking out about these issues. He is making a tremendous contribution to the dialogue that needs to happen when the major media is all but ignoring these issues. His factual account of the history of US conduct is enabling citizens to better understand history and to better express their concern with current and past US military and domestic policies. Each time Vidal speaks out, he provides citizens an opportunity to reflect on these these issues and move toward action. It is amazing that a book published by the Nation Books and Thunder Mountain Press -- a small publisher that has never has a best seller -- is ranked at Number 19 on Amazon's best-seller list. Kudos to Vidal for selecting an independent press and publishing the book at an affordable price.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful, witty, insightful, and on target!
Review: Typical of Vidal, powerful, witty, insightful, and on target in my mind. I had read several of these essays before, but I am happy to have them all in one book that I can lend to my more intelligent and informed friends. If you value the truth and stimulating thought-provoking writing, then this is the book for you. Don't expect our policy makers, the drum beating war mongers (our elected elite), or the corporate owned mass media to tell you the real truth. Avoid the cookie-cutter, feel-good, I'm-OK-You're-OK books that are self serving. Value the authors like Vidal, who have the intellect, connections, and the genius to present and reach the masses who are starved for real objective truths.
I also highly recommend 'Alien Rapture' by 'insider' Edgar Fouche and 'Rule by Secrecy' by Jim Marrs. These are both best-selling authors, who I have also listened too on TV and the radio. I highly recommend all Vidal's writings as well as these other two books.
Rating:
Summary: Not Vidal's Best
Review: I'm generally a fan of Vidal, and I admire him for speaking his mind. When I picked up this book thinking it was his take on 9/11, I was disappointed to find that most of it was about Timothy McVeigh. The first piece in the book is about 9-11, but it doesn't say much, and it ends abruptly with a list, several pages long, of US military actions. Most of these are against Serbia and Iraq, which I consider to be two campaigns, not a dozen (though he is technically correct of course). One action in Turkey in August of 1999 may actually have been a humanitarian effort after the Istanbul quake that killed 20,000. (I remember it well for my wife was in Turkey at the time). So, the first essay was a non-starter. Subsequent bits were about McVeigh and Vidal. Vidal gets some mileage from the fact that neither Vanity Fair or the Nation printed these articles, the implication being that they were too hot to handle. Strangely, I didn't get any heat at all, and suspect that they weren't published simply because they weren't very good. This being said, Vidal cites two books that seem interesting: Joel Dyer's "Harvest of Rage" and David Hoffman's "The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror." The Hoffman book, though published in August of 1998, is already out of print and available for a steep premium from used-books sellers. It was either too good and a danger or it simply didn't sell. The premium suggests it's causing someone some discomfort...
Rating:
Summary: Poor Excuse for Journalism
Review: I have read some of Vidal's biographies, and was interested in his analysis of the current political situation. I feel that we do indeed get a slanted version of the 'truth', and hope that by looking at many viewpoints with a critical eye, some semblance of the truth will eventually stand out. This book was less than helpful. I fail to see the value of the purely low-class cheap shots (e.g. on Barbara Bush's looks), the unsupported assertions (e.g. most of the 'incursions' vaguely listed 'we started') or the vapid sources quoted as 'research' (e.g. the Federation of American Scientists, neither a federation nor comprised of real scientists) in developing an understanding of the US position in the world. I have concluded that Mr. Vidal's writings were not rejected because they were unpopular. They were rejected because they were lousy.
Rating:
Summary: Gore Vidal, The whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Review: The ones who rejected Vidal's book the first time around fit the description of Gore's truths about corporate and Governmental USA policy making, they wished they had the money for it now. This is a brave look at the true reality. The book also relays a strong message, what to expect when we continue to make demanding policy. From these pages I gave in to the reality that it is time for us to stop if not at least, back up to take a long look at our methods with an understanding of what we are causing worldwide. I recommend an extraordinary paperback which relays this with bold suggestion, SB 1 or God by Karl Maddox.
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