5 comments about A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan.

1. About the greatest president of the last century. Well, that's my take anyway on Ronald Wilson Reagan. The characters in the current election cycle showcase the rarity and exceptionality of the 40th President due to how poorly they bear comparison with him. The recently departed Michael Deaver was an insider's insider and Nancy Reagan writing the Foreword to his memoir is a testament to this fact. When asked whether he thought of Deaver as a son, Reagan responded "Son no, brother maybe." And the would-be brother's narrative shreds a great many myths and reveals Reagan's true essence. Reagan was disciplined and devoted. He also had an unshakeable belief in American greatness and felt that anything was possible for our citizens. As a manager and leader he was completely functional. He sought out strong employees and was never threatened by a subordinate's abilities. Deaver's recapitulation of the great man's humor and style on pages 70 to 75 was a real standout. Really though, A Different Drummer is a wonderful first hand account and marvelous piece of history.



2. Long-time Reagan aide Michael Deaver has written a very good book on his thirty years with the man who changed the world. Deaver tells of meeting Reagan in the mid-60's when Deaver was an junior political operative and Reagan was considering a gubernatorial run. Deaver then took a ring-side seat for the greatest political run of our time, from Sacramento to Washington, including near-fatal encounters with John Hinckley Jr. and Matthew Ridgeway in Bitburg.
   
   Deaver also tells the story of the end-game, his last two meetings with the Gipper. By 1995, the President did not know him, and by 1998, the President had lost his social skills and grace. Fortunately Ron had Nancy, and she took care of him for better or worse. Deaver played a key role in the Reagan administrations as Nancy-handler and became a key allie and friend of the Fist Lady.
   
   Deaver makes this book light-reading, it is reminiscences of his boss and friend. He leaves the unpleasant stuff to others. There is a brief mention of Iran-Contra; it is explained away as what happened when the Californians were not there. Also Deaver leaves out most of the story of his indictment, although he deals at length with the demons of his alcoholism.



3. People close to great men for a long time--aides, valets, advisors--tend either to write hagiographys or they turn on their former employer with a "tell all" intended to cut the great man down to size. This book, refreshingly, is neither. Michael Deaver, in addition to being Ronald Reagan's longtime political advisor, was also Reagan's friend. And a friend tells it like it is, which is what Deaver has done.
   
   Deaver lets us know of Reagan's mistakes and shortcomings--he had a volcanic temper (despite others' testimony that he didn't), he had a hard time apologizing even when he knew he was in the wrong, he trusted people to a fault. At the same time, Deaver credibly tells us where the media and political pundits went wrong in their assessments of Reagan. Most of the book, however, is a thematic presentation of Reagan's character. It was a joy to read, and I highly recommend it.



4. It is wonderful for history that Michael Deaver has put together this collection of his thoughts and recollections of Ronald Reagan. As you read about Reagan, one theme keeps coming through; he was nearly impossible to know well or truly understand. The President that so many strangers felt like they knew proved to be much more of a puzzle to those who were close to him. For this reason, it is great that Michael Deaver, one of Reagan's closest advisers, has shared his insights on Reagan with anyone who wants to understand the man better.
   
   What he has given us is a deeply personal tribute to his friend and his hero, but also a lens through which we can view Reagan that helps us to understand what kind of man he is.
   
   So who was Reagan? I highly recommend you read this book to find out, but in the end Deaver introduces you to a principled optimist and a very shy man. I was deeply touched by the obviousness of Deaver's affection for Reagan and for the role Nancy Reagan played in the President's life.
   
   I highly recommend this book for anyone trying to get a full perspective of who Ronald Reagan was and what made him the President he was. Excellent book by that can truly add something unique to anyone's study of Ronald Reagan.



5. I liked how this was a personal story of the Reagans. You got to understand where they were coming from, and why they acted the way they did. Not being a huge political freak, I wanted to know about the man, and this book gave good insight into the Reagans. There were a couple of really good quotes that I will always remember.

5 comments about James Madison and the Creation of the American Republic (2nd Edition).

1. Rakove gives the reader a concise & readable account of the life of this central figure of the American founding. A breeze to read, but doesn't shortchange the reader in terms of insight & rigor. The capstone chapter "The Legacy of the Founder" is alone worth the price of the whole volume. For those interested in the creation of the Constitution, I would suggest reading this book after one of the shorter histories of the Constitutional Convention (I prefer Berkin's "A Brilliant Solution", but there are several very good ones out there), then turning to Rakove's magnificent "Original Meanings".



2. I had to read this for a college course. Now, I consider myself a well-read person. I have read Tolstoy, I have read Thackery. Neither of them made me want to smash my head against my desk to end the misery like this book did. If you are a die-hard James Madison fan, you just might enjoy this book. Otherwise, you just might end up like me, i.e. with a great need for headache medicine and possibly a match.



3. This short little book chronicles two things, though in sketches only: the life of James Madison and the story of his ideas. With this book Rakove does and excellent job of capturing both.
   
   Rakove follows Madison through his service to the Virginia House, where he wrote a landmark bill separating church from state in his home state. After that we follow Madison to the Continental Congress and then the U.S. congress, where he takes the lead in drafting what would become the United States Constitution. Rakove then gives a tour of Madison's role in the early years of the Federal government, in the House and then as secretary of state and then president. While these were certainly tumultuous years, especially during the War of 1812, where there was legitimate concern about the survival of the Union, Madison was able to weather it all while holding close to his political principles.
   
   These principles included an attachment to individual and minority rights and the preservation of the Federal Union above all. This little book gives and excellent depiction of those principles in action. I highly recommend it.



4. I never thought I would write something like this, but it must be said. I buy hundreds of books a year and this work was unique. A fine book fatally flawed in its physical execution, and monumentally overpriced. Rakov, Amazon, and publishers take note. This shameful 'product' might have been acceptable even with its extravagent price were it not for the disgraceful binding that ran the text into the tightly bound spine. Books are meant to read, not wrestled. I had to return my copy because of this bit of publishing garbage - which cost me the postage. Shame on you all.



5. Initially, I had reservations about reading such a short book on such a complex and important figure as James Madison. Indeed, there are aspects of Madison's life that Rakove should have written more, particularly Madison's personal life and his famous, life-of-the-party wife, Dolly.
   
   On the other hand, the book spends a lot of time on Madison's role during the Revolution and his role in creating the Constitution. Writing about these important subjects is potentially very difficult, very tedious and complex. And to his credit, Rakove does a good job making the pages easy to read and thoughtful.
   
   The section on the War of 1812, which was conducted while Madison was president and almost ruined the country, was rivetting. I imagine a longer book would have spent even more time on this subject, not to take anything away from Rakove's coverage.
   
   Ideally, Madison should be covered in a much more substantial book, like Ketcham's, but the reviews of Ketcham's book weren't all that good from Amazon readers, so I chose Rakove's book. It so happens, that hidden in the middle of a large list of sources at the end of his book, Rakove mentions that the Ketcham book is the best single volume work on Madison.
   
   Additionaly, a docent at Mountpelier left a review of Ketcham's book saying that it is excellent. It is heavily used and bookmarked at Montpelier...so the Ketcham book is probably OK to read, if you want a more substantial read. It may even be excellent.
   
   Lastly, Rakove's book was easy to read as a whole and relatively "complete". More importantly, even though some subjects could have been fleshed out more, the most important subjects were covered well. This wasn't a shallow book. There was a lot of primary source material that was very well integrated. It is a very well-written and researched book.
   
   4 and 1/2 stars is probably more like it, but we'll round up to 5 based on quality.

2 comments about Sun Yat-sen.

1. "The study of Sun has been distorted by both the creation of the myth and by attempts at demythification" argues author Marie-Claire Bergére in her ground-breaking book, SUN YAT-SEN. This recent biography by the French historian, translated in 1998 by Janet Lloyd, attempts to present a "measured analysis leading to an overall evaluation of the life and work of Sun Yat-sen." What emerges from this work is a "muddled politician, an opportunist with generous but confused ideas, interested first in power games". This Sun Yat-sen, argues Bergére, made little impression on history. "Nor was he a great theorist." What we do have as a result of Bergére's research is a Sun Yat-sen free of all the ideological baggage that has accompanied previous histories. Bergére asserts that much of what we have accepted about Sun Yat-sen as fact, is in fact exaggeration and myth. Both the Communists and Nationalists have emphasised the aspects of Sun which have suited their versions of the past. The more human picture of Sun Yat-sen that emerges from Bergére's biography is very different from the primary school type versions we have been used to.

   Bergére claims that Sun Yat-sen made little direct impression on many of the events that he has been associated with previously. She questions whether the 1911 Revolution was really the fruit of Sun Yat-sen's efforts and claims that if he had died in 1920 his name would now probably be forgotten. Sun played no direct role in the events leading to the Wuchang insurrection of 10 October1911 and the edict of abdication of 12 February 1912. Sun Yat-sen did reap the benefits of the revolution by becoming the republic's first president. However, Sun's failure to work effectively with fellow revolutionaries and his poor leadership of the government in the early days explains why there was much support for Sun to stand down in favour of Yuan Shikai. Bergére argues that Sun only made a significant impact on events in China from 1920 when he re-invigorated his Guomindang party using Soviet support. By1924 Sun finally had all the ingredients necessary to unite China such as a secure revolutionary base in Canton, Soviet financial and technical aid and most importantly Soviet military support via the Hungpo Military Academy.

   However, just at the time when Sun Yat-sen stood poised at the head of a revolutionary movement that was ready to challenge warlord control of China, he was struck down with cancer of the liver and died in April 1925. It was from the time of his death that Sun Yat-sen was transformed into the patriotic hero that we are familiar with in the current histories. During the Nanking regime from 1927 Sun Yat-sen was portrayed as having "single-handedly guided and inspired the revolution, ignited the 1911 revolution, and founded the Republic." There was no mention of Sun's long string of failures, of numerous attempts to achieve foreign support for his cause even at the expense of China or his pandering to Japanese imperialism in the guise of pan-Asianism. Bergére maintains that the "construction of the myth was pursued with renewed vigour, now served by the Guomindang's entire propaganda apparatus." A cult was constructed around Sun Yat-sen with the creation of a huge mausoleum at Nanking, the making of the Three Principles as a school textbook, and celebrating of Sun's birthdays and his death with national public holidays. In Nationalist China Sun Yat-sen was known by the of the 'president' up until 1940 when it was decreed that he was to be referred to as the 'Father of the Nation'. When the Nationalist Government was defeated in 1949 and retreated to the island of Taiwan it became even more crucial to rely on the myth of Sun Yat-sen to restore legitimacy in defeat.

   It wasn't only the Guomindang which produced a neatly packaged version of Sun Yat-sen. The Communists, in their history of the revolutionary movement, revered Sun Yat-sen as 'pioneer of the revolution', though in a more modest role compared to Marx, Lenin and Mao. Similarly to the Guomindang, the Communists portrayed Sun as the exclusive leader of the revolutionary movement at least up until the appearance of the Communist party in 1921. Bergére says that from 1978 the Sunist myth has been invoked again as a justification of Deng Xiaoping's Four Modernisations policy which gives absolute priority of economic production to deal with China's backwardness. But also, Bergére maintains that in the long term the exultation of Sun Yat-sen is supposed to create the basis of an entente with the Taiwan regime and prepare the way for island's return to the mother country.

   Bergére concludes by observing the heroic myth created by Chinese historiography has not stood up to the critical analysis by Western authors and that few of them now recognise Sun Yat-sen "as the sole guide or even the predominant leader of the Chinese revolution, neither does any of them venture explicitly to deny him any importance at all". Western studies of Sun seem to have got stuck in an impasse and that "once stripped of its legendary aura, the figure of Sun Yat-sen arouses very little interest", laments Bergére. However, after reading this book, nothing could be further from the truth. This more human portrait of Sun Yat-sen is far more scintillating, and the unravelling of myth and history that Bergére has undertaken has made reading this book a truly enlightening experience. This biography is a must for anyone wishing to understand the events in China from the turn of the century to the twenties.




2. "The study of Sun has been distorted by both the creation of the myth and by attempts at demythification" argues author Marie-Claire Bergére in her ground-breaking book, SUN YAT-SEN. This recent biography by the French historian, translated in 1998 by Janet Lloyd, attempts to present a "measured analysis leading to an overall evaluation of the life and work of Sun Yat-sen." What emerges from this work is a "muddled politician, an opportunist with generous but confused ideas, interested first in power games". This Sun Yat-sen, argues Bergére, made little impression on history. "Nor was he a great theorist." What we do have as a result of Bergére's research is a Sun Yat-sen free of all the ideological baggage that has accompanied previous histories. Bergére asserts that much of what we have accepted about Sun Yat-sen as fact, is in fact exaggeration and myth. Both the Communists and Nationalists have emphasised the aspects of Sun which have suited their versions of the past. The more human picture of Sun Yat-sen that emerges from Bergére's biography is very different from the primary school type versions we have been used to.

   Bergére claims that Sun Yat-sen made little direct impression on many of the events that he has been associated with previously. She questions whether the 1911 Revolution was really the fruit of Sun Yat-sen's efforts and claims that if he had died in 1920 his name would now probably be forgotten. Sun played no direct role in the events leading to the Wuchang insurrection of 10 October1911 and the edict of abdication of 12 February 1912. Sun Yat-sen did reap the benefits of the revolution by becoming the republic's first president. However, Sun's failure to work effectively with fellow revolutionaries and his poor leadership of the government in the early days explains why there was much support for Sun to stand down in favour of Yuan Shikai. Bergére argues that Sun only made a significant impact on events in China from 1920 when he re-invigorated his Guomindang party using Soviet support. By1924 Sun finally had all the ingredients necessary to unite China such as a secure revolutionary base in Canton, Soviet financial and technical aid and most importantly Soviet military support via the Huangpu Military Academy.

   However, just at the time when Sun Yat-sen stood poised at the head of a revolutionary movement that was ready to challenge warlord control of China, he was struck down with cancer of the liver and died in March 1925. It was from the time of his death that Sun Yat-sen was transformed into the patriotic hero that we are familiar with in the current histories. During the Nanking regime from 1927 Sun Yat-sen was portrayed as having "single-handedly guided and inspired the revolution, ignited the 1911 revolution, and founded the Republic." There was no mention of Sun's long string of failures, of numerous attempts to achieve foreign support for his cause even at the expense of China or his pandering to Japanese imperialism in the guise of pan-Asianism. Bergére maintains that the "construction of the myth was pursued with renewed vigour, now served by the Guomindang's entire propaganda apparatus." A cult was constructed around Sun Yat-sen with the creation of a huge mausoleum at Nanking, the making of the Three Principles as a school textbook, and celebrating of Sun's birthdays and his death with national public holidays. In Nationalist China Sun Yat-sen was known by the of the 'president' up until 1940 when it was decreed that he was to be referred to as the 'Father of the Nation'. When the Nationalist Government was defeated in 1949 and retreated to the island of Taiwan it became even more crucial to rely on the myth of Sun Yat-sen to restore legitimacy in defeat.

   It wasn't only the Guomindang which produced a neatly packaged version of Sun Yat-sen. The Communists, in their history of the revolutionary movement, revered Sun Yat-sen as 'pioneer of the revolution', though in a more modest role compared to Marx, Lenin and Mao. Similarly to the Guomindang, the Communists portrayed Sun as the exclusive leader of the revolutionary movement at least up until the appearance of the Communist party in 1921. Bergére says that from 1978 the Sunist myth has been invoked again as a justification of Deng Xiaoping's Four Modernisations policy which gives absolute priority of economic production to deal with China's backwardness. But also, Bergére maintains that in the long term the exultation of Sun Yat-sen is supposed to create the basis of an entente with the Taiwan regime and prepare the way for island's return to the mother country.

   Bergére concludes by observing the heroic myth created by Chinese historiography has not stood up to the critical analysis by Western authors and that few of them now recognise Sun Yat-sen "as the sole guide or even the predominant leader of the Chinese revolution, neither does any of them venture explicitly to deny him any importance at all". Western studies of Sun seem to have got stuck in an impasse and that "once stripped of its legendary aura, the figure of Sun Yat-sen arouses very little interest", laments Bergére. However, after reading this book, nothing could be further from the truth. This more human portrait of Sun Yat-sen is far more scintillating, and the unravelling of myth and history that Bergére has undertaken has made reading this book a truly enlightening experience. This biography is a must for anyone wishing to understand the events in China from the turn of the century to the twenties.

No comments about Ulysses S. Grant - General and President (Biography).

5 comments about First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1789-1961.

1. This book is a joy to read. Other reviewers give excellent examples of the details in this book, so I will limit my remarks to say that I strongly recommend this book. It is well-written and a treasure. It is thorough and unbiased. I savored every page.



2. This is an extrmeley interesting, well-researched look at American politics and society through the history of America's first ladies. The author does an excellent job of having the women he chronicles truly become individuals, sometimes very different from their husbands. He finds ways to bring the early life of future first ladies into his narrative, and he provides clues to the roots of some American icons that I certainly didn't know about--like the reason for the name of the Baby Ruth candy bar, named after Frances and Grover Cleveland's first daughter.

   This is not a book that reads quickly. It is comprehensive and careful, and is meant to be savored as a work of history. I'm looking forward to reading the second volume of this.




3. This is an excellent, well-researched book. The author paints a dense, richly detailed portrait of each first lady and the social and political background of her time. I learned a lot--not just about the historical women, but about American cultural and social development. This is not a fast book to read, but it is a book to savor and learn from. It is also truly history--no attempt to sensationalize issues--and I appreciated that.



4. Anthony's treatise has several outstanding merits, not the least of which is its impressive scope. No other First Ladies scholar (known to the general public) has succeeded in furnishing so rich and abundant a collection of anecdotes and insights on the topic of the Presidents' wives, many of whom -- such as Rachel Jackson and Jane Appleton Pierce -- would have descended into utter obscurity. Anthony gives short shrift to no one [First Lady] and that is a rare, fair feature -- much to be commended!
   Over the years, authors / publishers of of First Ladies anthologies have shortchanged readers. All-inclusive Anthony must be credited with tastefully -- rather than sensationally -- putting forth the lesser known faces and facts, and despite his tendency to digress, presenting all sides of the picture.

   In each First Lady installment, the author's massive (and occasionally frustrating) tendency is to weave, albeit expertly, in and out of character, like one making a tapestry, ending ultimately where he started; naturally, that is scant consolation for the researcher with little or no time to waste. Said another way, whereas the the stated focus (if we go by chapter index) is a particular First Lady, the pattern is to be discursive within that chapter by taking divers detours into the lives of prior or subsequent First Ladies. For instance, what does a lengthy paragraph on the youthful Rosalyn Carter have to do with a chapter supposedly on Bess the Boss (Truman)? Why does Anthony ramble on about deployment of the Atomic Bomb if the topic was Edith Wilson's admiration of Bess's ladylike restraint? When dialogue segues into other First Ladies' opinions of the decision to drop the bomb (all because Bess allegedly influenced Harry in this regard), better, one thinks, if Anthony had not been so tempted to veer off course. The result is that decades seemingly overlap! But for all its overlapping, Anthony's style (storybook format) is plainly mesmerizing, utterly enticing despite the researcher's initial frustration. His motive, we would wager, is to convey a perpetual sense of the present by giving readers concurrent glimpses into a whole handful of highly personal lives -- in short, to pinpoint the whereabouts of any to-be or former First Lady whilst the other other actually occupied her station; hence, an aging Edith Wilson on the subject of the A Bomb. Ah, yes -- a second source of frustration for the researcher: the photos Anthony incorporates bear no -- at the very least, visible or readily accessible -- captions. But in this case, the eager researcher need not be the only serious reader. Furthermore, that we should care so much to read a caption hints at the caliber of these First Lady photos, so historically rare and captivating, even in the absence of certain identifying features.

   This first in a two-volume series on our nation's First Ladies is by far no cut and paste job (rather, a masterwork) for all its artful sculpturing, magnificent and painstaking authenticity. It is not simply the historian's job to neatly or conventionally classify, but to spark in his readers a genuine enthusiasm for his own beloved subject matter, and this is doubtless what Anthony achieves.




5. Mr Anthony has pulled together through obvious painstaking research a brilliant guidebook for all history lovers. Accounts of more recent first ladies with the advent of television, radio etc. may be familiar to some readers, but facts abound on the lesser knowns. Frances Cleveland, Julia Tyler etc. come alive before your very eyes as the stories unfold. The position of First Lady (we also learn how that name came about-a tribute to Dolley Madison at her funeral) was obscure in its development and graduated into the highly prominent position it is today. Anthony suggests that the earlier ladies were not as obscure and quiet as one might think. We learn as we delve into their lives, dressing habits, political views, nicknames, friends, lovers etc. A foreshadowing element is used throughout hinting at future events working quite qell as the stories weave around each other. Mr Anthony must be applauded for an exceptional piece of history. The wife of a president is not just that as he points out, but a character at times of strength, adversity, integrity, wit, fear, brilliance, insecurity etc. An intriguing page turner......

1 comments about La revolucion de la esperanza/ Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith, and Dreams of a Mexican President.

1. This book was in Spanish and it was not clear that the book was not issued in English. Now I have to learn to read Spanish. Thanks alot.

5 comments about A Man of Faith: The Spiritual Journey of George W. Bush.

1. This "family friendly" exposition of George W. Bush's journey into Christian faith, describes his conversion and his declaration of faith well, in clear and in as complimentary terms as one could expect. However, by not examining the meaning of this conversion in light of the 43rd President's record, it seems to beg an important question: What has Mr. Bush's Christian faith meant in terms of how he has governed, or in terms of how "un-Christian-like" most of his policy actions have actually turned out to be?
   
   Except for his African AIDS initiative, one would be hard-pressed to find in this book any "Christian-like resonances" emanating from the GW Bush administration, or from any of his policies. One wonders what kind of grade Jesus might have given Mr. Bush on how Christian his humanitarian record has been? Surely by omitting the connections between his Christianity and the humanity of his policies, the author is not intentionally leaving open the possibility that our 43rd President's Christian conversion was mere cynical, if not astute politics, without any substantive meaning whatsoever?
   
   I admit, I am not a G.W. Bush fan, and am a "born-again non-Christian," but I do approach each book, including this one, with an open mind. I had the hope that I would find a new kind of meaning in G.W. Bush's Christian conversion, but try as I might there is none of that here. What one finds instead is that while "turning to Jesus" may have saved GW's from his own descent into personal self-destruction, and did indeed save his presidential candidacy, it did not change his hard-conservative heart:
   
   Mr. Bush still stands alone among Christian Presidents as having executed more death row criminals than any other official in U.S. History. His un-Christian-like negligence during the Katrina Hurricane was not just incompetent, but smacked of racism and of Christian uncaring, and left a black mark on the American humanitarian record that will endure. Arguably this negligence was one of the most irresponsible domestic acts ever committed by a U.S. President. Add to this the pre-emptive aspects of the new "Bush doctrine," which is to shoot first, declare victory and then ask the hard questions later, and one begins to want to ask of GW the Tina Turner question: "What does converting to Christianity have to do with any of this?"
   
   Three Stars



2. How many people are now dead because of the stubbern recklessness of this pompous man?
   It makes me sick to the stomach to see him refered to as "spiritual". In this particular case his ACTIONS have spoken, loudly, to the kind of person he truly is. Just because we've been fed lies over and over again does not mean that they've become truth.



3. I guess I am the only one that has actually read this book and the Bible. An unnecessary war? Maybe these people have been hiding under a rock. Or maybe they are just liberals that love to act like they have faith until they open their mouths and it becomes obvious they have no idea what they are talking about. Anyway, if you are a "true" Christian that actually reads and understands your Bible, you will enjoy this book. Thank God for President Bush. A great man of convictions, values, and morals. The rest of you - well you are cowardly traitors.



4. A man of faith with the faith unspecified.
   
   Back in the 1800's when his folks were in politics, they firmly believed the wrong side won the AMerican REvolution.
   
   This book, written by a subject of the British throne reveals why Bush once again places us as peons and mercenaries for the british imperial crown.
   
   Back in the 1800's the bush family joined Cotton MAther of Yale in burning landowners as witches in order to steal their profitable farms.
   
   
   Now he demonizes the IRaqi nation and kills an estimated million of them to steal their oil fields
   
   Nothing new under the sun. Only do not call it faith
   
   FAith in the gun, maybe.
   
   Saint JAmes writes even the devil believes in God and shudders in fear.
   Faith without good works is nothing.
   By their fruits will you know them.
   Bush's fruits stink to high heaven.
   
   For a faith with good works read a theologian like the REverend Father John Dear's Jesus the rebel, and learn why every Christian faithful and true must firmly oppose George W Bush.
   
   
   By the way, this piece of partisan politicizing which helped steal our 2004 elections by deceiving countless well-intended but eagerly gullible people is now going for fourteen cents.



5. in the right of the rich to get richer, while the poor get poorer and the middle class treads water. Re his targeted tax cuts: 53 per cent to the wealthiest 2 percent.
   
   in the importance of corporate welfare. Heavy tax subsidies for the energy industry and no bulk purchasing of meds for the elderly. Bulk purchasing would decrease the cost for the elderly, but drive down profits for big pharma.
   
   in the exemption of himself from the commandment not to bear false witness. Every time Bush calls the war in Iraq part of the war against terror he lies. Even he has admitted there were no connections between Saddam and 9/11.
   
   Bush's stance on conservation (relaxed controls of air and water pollution) is also at odds with the biblical teaching that God has made us stewards of the earth.
   
   Measured against the teachings of Jesus, Bush's faith amounts to empty words for photo ops. One can cry, "Lord, lord" and not please the Lord. Jesus had a word for those whose deeds are empty of the faith they profess: hypocrites.
   
   Useful corrections to the errors in this book are to be found in Kevin Phillips, American Theocracy and Bruce Bartlett, Impostor. Even better correctives are to found in the gospels: Bush approves of torture, capital punishment, and the amassing of wealth. All things that Jesus despised.

5 comments about The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria.

1. I am still taken aback and quite frankly a little confused by the lengths that Prof. Lesch goes to in order to defend the Assad regime. Every description of some horrible event is followed up by a lengthy rationalization complete with a plethora of quotes from regime figures. I would expect there to be analysis, but every "analysis" following some act or trait describing the Syrian political culture in a way that most of the world would find repugnant is followed up some explanation that favors the regime. What confuses me is how a professor from a US social sciences department can write something that would appear to have come out of Pravda. I mean when he ought to be striving for the ideal of objectivity, he appears to be striving to become part of the inner circle.
   
   I keep picking the book back up again, due to my compulsion to finish a book that I have started, only to put it down again after becoming disturbed by his complete lack of scholarly integrity. I would simply blow it off and skip the regime quotes for the geopolitical sections, but I am just to distracted by this who you know bias thing. I honestly don't your run of the mill cult of personality.
   
   If you still don't believe that Lesch could be a Baathist, let me tell you that I bought the book at a book fair in front of the Assad library of Damascus back in September.



2. As in Seale and other Western intellectuals who take off to Syria to write a book there, the generosity and good treatment of the regime toward these people make them fall in love with the regime. You can tell from the very first page when Lesch was very much impressed when Assad replied to his emails.
   Needless to say, I couldn't finish this book due to the enormous amount of praise that Lesch hails on the young Syrian president, the Damascus Lion. All that is good in Syria came from Assad and all that is evil came from Syria's enemies in the West. According to this book, the good-willed, kind-hearted Assad is sincerely planning to modernize and democratize Syria, had it not been for the Western anti-Syrian conspiracies that have so far thwarted all such attempts. What an analysis.
   Also like the reviewer EDowson (MD) wrote here before me, there is no information about Syria. Perhaps if the author had access to some numbers, like the percentage of people living in poverty while Assad and his group enjoy accumulating enormous wealth, or the number of years anti-Assad opposition figures have spent in the prisons of the Syrian regime, perhaps then Lesch would have changed his opinion a bit. Most important of all, when Lesch writes about the lack of democracy and the nature of the tyrannical regime in Damascus, he does so without even blinking. As if Syria is destined to live under dictatorship and that the dictator himself should be given the chance to renounce his unlimited powers and initiate change. Don't buy this book!



3. I met Syrians of all walks of life when I visited the country earlier this year, and while I learned something from all of them I was especially appreciative of the few who were brave enough to give me a candid assessment of the regime there.
   
   This book fits with what I saw and heard, and has filled in many of the blanks in my understanding of the country. If you really want to understand Syria I suggest you get on a plane and go there. If you can't do that this book is a good second choice.



4. Perhaps the author should have also made references to these 'somber' historical facts:
   Israel invaded Egypt in 1956 and made rapid progress across the Sinai Peninsula towards the Canal Zone in less than one week. (There are many literatures that speak of three days.)
   Israel defeated four armies in 1967 (third Arab Israeli War) also known as Six Day's war.
   The Fourth Arab Israeli War - Yom Kippur War in 1973 - Israel fought a coalition of Arab Nations led by Egypt and Syria and defeated them in ten days.(Despite the political acrimonies that portrayed Sadat (another Lion!!!) 'triumphant').
   The Golan Height is still under Israel's flag. (Right!?)
   However, why the legend "Lion" has been restricted to Damascus?
   Why the book was not entitled "The New Lion of Syria.....???
   Can Mr.Lesch give us an explanation?



5. I skimmed through this truckling tome last night and was delighted to encounter more run-on sentences than I have read in the entirety of the past two months. Run-ons are a favorite of mine.
   Less impressed was I with how the good Professor Lesch covered Mr. Asad and modern Syria. I picked up the book at my local Books-a-Million in the hopes of learning more about Syria. Beyond a reminder of the percentage of Alawites in the country, I didn't learn much at all. In fact, I think the "take-home message" is that the author is madly in love with his subject, at least in that intellectual manner that some academics evince for their specialties.
   An ancillary message from the book is that the Bush Administration is incompetent and may have ruined modern Syria's chances of joining the rest of the world. This, despite the noble efforts of the fine Arabists at the State Department to convince the Bush Administration of the errors of its Zionist, neo-conservative ways.
   And, of course, Syria and its goofy-looking Lion King have absolutely nothing to do with the insurgency in Iraq. Proof of this, in Lesch's curiously contorted synapses, lies in the Bush Administration's refusal to provide the Syrians with US intelligence on the insurgency. I mean, if I were in charge of US intelligence, I would certainly let my enemies know exactly what I know about their activities. That'd show 'em!
   In "The New Lion," Professor Lesch successfully surmounts his often-faltering mastery of idiom and sentence structure to scale the pinnacle of that renouned and beloved genre, the fluff bio. If this work contains criticism of Assad, as the author repeatedly claims, I would certainly hate to to read a book that's full of paeans.
   Then again, if I'm ever a slightly bloodthirsty tyrant with a genocidal streak, maybe Lesch could polish some apples for me. I think I'd choose someone with better writing skills, though.

1 comments about The Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt (American Presidency Series).

1. If someone wants to get a one volume account on this exciting presidency, look no further. The author, Lewis Gould, shows how TR developed further the modern presidency, which began under his predecessor McKinley. One of our most fascinating presidents, there's a wonderful chapter on Roosevelt the Administrator. Excellent bibliography too!

No comments about J.F. Kennedy: Una vida inacabada/A Life Unfinished.