Editorial Review

Consistently lauded for its lively, readable prose, this revised andupdated edition of Read more

Reviews (531)

An Important History, Well Written
This isn't the last and only history of America you'll ever read or need.This is an addition to other texts, an important missing element in our collective education.History used to be told from the point of view of the winners, of the uplifted, and of the heroes.That is no longer the case and we can thank Howard Zinn and this seminal work for that.
Definitely worth reading, a bit cumbersome at times
I am definitely not a socialist.
Different Worth for Different Folks
After quite a while I finally put the time into reading this book and I am totally ambivalent whether I should have or not...I do not think that one should pay too much attention to those readers who do not take their history seriously, to those that want to propound a certain ideological agenda -- something I am realising has been,and is, a depressing fact of American socialisation. Those people of the ideological left will love this book and the those of the ideological right will hate it.... that is a given.
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Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History - U.S.    4. History: American    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. Social History    7. United States    8. United States - General    9. United States History (General)    10. History / General   

Reviews (14)

Not as good as he says or as bad as his worse enemies make him out to be
One can accept the Soros version of Soros , or one can search elsewhere and find far more critical versions. Soros is to himself someone dedicated to making the world a better place, someone strongly committed to the idea of the open- society for mankind as a whole. He believes his own rare combination of great wealth, an original set of principles of life,a strong desire to help humanity,make him uniquely suited to understand what the world needs now, and how to give it to it.
It's a Worthwhile Education
Soros probably writes too many books and doesn't spend enough time crafting them. Certainly he stuffs each book with too many ideas and topics, some of them decidedly under-developed. For all that, the insights are well worth the slog.
yet another hopeless philosopher
After reading Mr. Soros's book, which is not an easy task, I believe he had to deal with his conscience. It must be extremely difficult for a forteen year old Jewish boy escaping Hitler's racial vilification and death sentence, by false identity-papers.
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Subjects:  1. 21st century    2. Civilization, Modern    3. Democracy    4. Essays    5. National characteristics, American    6. Political Advocacy    7. Political Freedom & Security - General    8. Political Ideologies - Democracy    9. Political Science    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Sociology    13. U.S. - Contemporary Politics    14. War on Terrorism, 2001-    15. Human rights    16. USA   

Reviews (93)

A book that gives a good feel of the period.
Written in the context of the Cold War, the author emphasizes the need for free markets and an open society for a society to property function.It stresses the importance of the individual and the needs of the individual against the backdrop of an "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" era and the basic economic honesty of selfishness in general.There are several ideas in the book that probably need to be revisited (which is why you should read it) since they are becoming issues again in today's world.

Classic Liberalism at its best
An all-time favorite of mine, Capitalism & Freedom creates a framework of classic liberalism and argues forcefully in favor of free-markets and decentralization over the expansion of government involvement in economic and social affairs.Friedman builds his argument from the ground up by identifying coercion as the State's distinguishing feature over all other societal organizations.From the (classic) liberal's perspective, this aspect shapes the relationship between citizen and government, and strictly limits the appropriateness of State involvement in society, particularly with regard to well-intentioned programs and policy.
Outdated. Can better be understood as polemics with Galbraith
This book probably should not be treated as "capitalist manifesto" a la Marx but more like an attempt to present a position opposite to famous Galbraith "The Affluent Society" (1958). Reading the book without reading Galbraith first creates an impression of cheap advocacy of capitalism and unrestricted market almost in best libertarian (anarcho-capitalist) style. But as a polemic with Galbraith vision of post-capitalism (post-industrial society) the book looks like an interesting historical document.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Capitalism    5. Economic policy    6. Economics - General    7. Economics - Theory    8. Free Enterprise    9. Liberty    10. Political Ideologies - Democracy    11. State, The    12. United States    13. Business & Economics / Economics / Theory    14. Capitalist or free market economies    15. Economic theory & philosophy    16. Political economy   

Subjects:  1. Civics & Citizenship    2. Constitutions    3. Political Ideologies - Democracy    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics and government    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Textbooks    9. United States    10. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    11. Political Science / General    12. USA   

Reviews (36)

A truly awesome book promoting the underrated concepts of tolerance and acceptance
"The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right" is an interesting book in which Michael Lerner promotes tolerance to individuals regardless of their race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs which may differ from theirs. This book focuses on reversing the extreme antics brought forth by the religious right, whose priority seems to be suppressing those whose views differ than their own. This is a truly super book that I highly recommend to everyone. I would write a little more, but after having read the somewhat belittling comment of the first line, first paragraph by the spotlight reviewer from Oakton, Virginia who attacks brief reviews and uses review length as a basis for assumption that the person didn't read it, I suddenly lost the incentive to go any further.

Wrong Title
The rabbi's book is A1, top quality material from beginning to end, except for the title.
Everyone on the Left Must Read
Rabbi Lerner "get's it."He completely understands why ordinary good people voted for Bush - because the Democrats fail to give the heartbeat of America a spititual choice. If the Democratic Party want to decisively win they must read this book to understand how to reach the average American. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Christianity and politics    2. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    3. Political Ideologies - Democracy    4. Religion    5. Religion - Socialissues    6. Religion And Politics    7. Religion, Politics & State    8. Religious right    9. U.S. Political Parties    10. United States    11. Religion / Church & State   

Reviews (14)

an excellent read
Thom Hartman knows his stuff. A good catch -up for those us who didn't pay attention in school

Sets the record straight
Democracy works, but it requires constant vigalence. Hartmann sets the record straight on democracy, and also on one of its greatest modern advocates, Thomas Jefferson, who's views were quite so ambiguous as some revisionists would have us believe. It makes you long for leaders like Jefferson. Too bad such leaders are few and far between, in any era.

Good but with a major flaw
All in all, I give this book a good rating, as the bulk of the book contains interesting and useful content. His knowledge of Jefferson is broad, and he brings it to bear in particularly illuminating ways. In some respects, I find the left-wing politics presented in the book to be a little too knee-jerk for my tastes -- his hatred of large corporations poisons much of his discussion of economic issues. Overall, his other discussion, such as church-state relations and freedom of expression, are informative and insightful.
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Subjects:  1. Democracy    2. Political Ideologies - Democracy    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Political Science / Democracy   

Reviews (3)

A beginning
My opinion on this book lies some where between the two already presented. The application of economics and game theory to this problem is most definitely original and is the greatest achievement of the book. It is a tribute to the authors that such a simple model that so ruthless applies Occam's razor can explain so much, however the work is flawed it simply does not reflect reality. The reasons behind democratisations are more complex than this model, as powerful as it is, can reflect. This book and the model developed within should be viewed as beginning which other works can develop and expand upon. I have no doubt that economists will continue to contibute to this field with more advanced and better models. For this reason alone political scientists and historians should not ignore this text, but rather accept it for what it is a new way of looking at an old problem.

Wielding Occam's Razor
Economists are turning their focus of inquiry to subjects that were once the exclusive preserve of their colleagues in other social sciences--history, sociology, and political science. The title of this book, "Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy," appears to have been deliberately, even provocatively, chosen for contrast with its famous predecessor, "Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy," by the sociologist Barrington Moore. It is as if the economists are saying, "You've had your go. It is now our turn."
Interesting but ...
This substantial work provides a useful review of the relevant literature,and outlines the simple but powerful idea that the political impact of different types of assets [land, labor or capital] and the costs of repression rather than democratization are key influences on the process of democratization or political repression.This approach has however already been spelt out more succinctly by Carles Boix.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Democracy    5. Democratization    6. Economic aspects    7. Economics - General    8. Equality    9. Government - Comparative    10. Political Ideologies - Democracy    11. Politics / Current Events    12. Public Policy - Economic Policy    13. Business & Economics / Economics / General    14. Economic history    15. Political economy    16. Political structures: democracy    17. Political structures: totalitarianism & dictatorship   

Reviews (28)

Relevant

Fabulous
This edition should be a must read for all.
Democracy in America
In truth I haven't read the book as of yet, however, it was purchased to read De Torqueville thoughts of democracy and how both countries could profess democracy and uphold slavery.
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Subjects:  1. Ancient, Classical & Medieval    2. History - General History    3. Literary Collections    4. Literature: Classics    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. Political Process - General    7. Politics and government    8. Social conditions    9. To 1865    10. United States    11. United States - 19th Century    12. Fiction / Classics   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (63)

Exercise In Neo-Marxist Scholasticism Short on Relevance
"Empire", which is now going on five years, attempts in its atmospheric prose to elucidate a totalizing world view of the future of the global economy.What emerges is an optimistic, incurably Hegelian proposition that the current globalization of economics and society, despite its oppressive characteristics, are a necessary (and inevitable) stage of modern capitalist development which must exist in order to bring about the mobilization of the "multitude."Hardt and Negri's boundless faith in the eventual triumph of the "multitude" (i.e. proletariat) is definitively neo-Marxist and utopian.Hardt and Negri further view the struggle as cutting across culture, class, race, and nationality, and that it must be seen as as multi-disciplinary liberation.
A Neither Nor Book
If it were really serious postmo scholarship, it would be a bit more honest about its starting points and sources (namely, Deleuze, Guattari, Baudrillard, Lyotard). Certainly an edition edited for America should have more bibliographic information. On the other hand, this book should prove largely inaccessible to the bestselling audience who have bought it and tried to read it (Michael Moore this isn't). That's because they will lack the background in philosophy and the 'superstructuralist' approach to social theory. To conclude, at least I'm honest enough about the book and with myself: having waded the whole way through the book, I'm still reluctant to give it a great review simply because I feel proud about getting through it. It actually made me, after a 20 year hiatus, start reading long works of fiction again.

The Emperor Has No Clothes! Beware.
Junk! A pretentious tract that stubbornly applies verbs to abstractions, delights in pompous reification, and curses clarity of thought and word. Some of the historical commentary has limited value; most of the text is like the very worst Hegelian philosophy with few emergent insights. The infamous critisms of Hegel apply exponentially to this text.Read more

Subjects:  1. History & Theory - General    2. Imperialism    3. International Relations - General    4. Political Ideologies - Democracy    5. Political Process - Leadership    6. Political Science    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Philosophy / Political    10. Social & political philosophy   

Reviews (24)

An interesting, personal glimpse into politics as an insider sees it
Joe Klein has spent his career interviewing and writing about politicians.This book, Politics Lost, pulls together various threads from this experience to give an interesting, personal glimpse into politics for those of us who have never met a president or presidential candidate.Unfortunately, it's not a pleasant picture.Our schools tend to teach us that our system of government works very well, a shining example for the world.Not so, according to Joe Klein's view of it.He sees, as the subtitle says, that American democracy has been trivialized.
The Melodrama of the Mediocre Pundit
It sure is easy for pundits and commentators to get book deals these days, when you can sell a tirade of personal opinions and second guessing as in-depth political analysis. Joe Klein has the added distinction of criticizing other people for doing exactly what he does, and of complaining about political and media trends from which he benefits directly. Klein has a reasonable basic point here about modern lowest-common-denominator politicking, in which image and sloganeering are seen as more important than knowledge and leadership. But Klein, in a display of mind-boggling myopia, can't even see that this exact same phenomenon allows weak and opinionated books like this to qualify as serious political analysis.
Political Lying is the Issue
I purchased this book after reading an interview with Joe Klein online. His thesis that both or either the politicians or their "handlers" think we, the public, are stupid may have been misplaced. After reading this book describing ad nauseam the culture and egos of political handlers, I'm left with the impression Klein thinks his readers are stupid. I admire his writing ability but "Politics Lost" could be summed up by a comment Klein made in his Internet interview: America has become a culture of lying, where the public knows their leaders are lying, but get caught up with media fascination with "How good a liar is that particular leader" -- or for that matter any public figure. Lying, unfortunately has become a political art form (i.e., "spinning") rather than being treated as a sign of not really caring or gross "indifference" toward the public. Were he really to focus on the "art of lying" by politicians and political operatives in America this book would not be a lost opportunity, for example, by documenting an "insider's" view of Karl Rove's Machiavellian machinations.Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has stated that "The opposite of love isn't hate; it is indifference." The real danger of "Politics Lost" is that it fails to recognize that we have come to a perilous point in our society where the public has become too inured to lying to do something about it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Democracy    2. General    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. Political Process - Elections    7. Political Science    8. Political culture    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics/International Relations    11. U.S. - Contemporary Politics    12. United States    13. Political Science / General   

Reviews (21)

A true prize-winner

Wilentz has matured
In chants Democratic Wilentz went to great lengths to portray the Jacksonians as "co-opters" and subverters of "true democracy", which was pretty much the party line of the Marxist academic establishment at the time. Now Wilentz is accepting what many continue to reject: namely, that American history cannot be understood if one insists that it isn't democratic.Measuring political outcomes on the basis of pie in the sky ideals has always been absurd and reflects a profound ignorance of the nature of democratic politics and policy making.
Superband Detailed Survey of American Political Life from Jefferson to Lincoln
The Rise of American Democracy will, hopefully, raise interest in the relatively neglected period from the inauguration of Jefferson to the election of Lincoln in 1860.
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Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. 19th century    3. Democracy    4. History    5. History & Theory - General    6. History - General History    7. History - U.S.    8. History: American    9. Political History    10. Political Ideologies - Democracy    11. Politicians    12. Presidents    13. United States    14. United States - 19th Century    15. United States - General    16. History / General    17. Political structures: democracy    18. USA   

Reviews (149)

If a Constitution falls in the woods when no one is listening, does anybody care?
I am unfortunately not suprised by any of the revelations in this book.It seems that the vast majority of Americans simply do not care what kind of scumbags claim to "represent" us.Unfortunately, I do not own a multibillion dollar corporation, so I suppose I do not deserve representation.Hey, didn't the Declaration of Independence say something about people not being represented properly?
Finally--an investigative reporter takes on the important issues
This book is a terrific volume for understanding what's gone wrong in America over the past 30 years.Unlike many best-selling authors, who spout only uninformed opinions and vitriolic ones at that, this guy actually does substantive research on his issues and helps us understand the deeper context behind them: the history, the players, their connections to other folks.What good is that you'll learn how much of our world is being controlled/destroyed by people and regulations that you've never even hear of or about.If everyone read this book and spoke up, we might actually preserve this democracy and live better lives.We'd understand what in our democracy and world is going wrong and have some ideas as to how to fix this.
You Can Count On It
Actually, you can't according to Greg Palast who challenges the results of the 2000 election in which he charges Jeb Bush with instituting his own style of Jim Crow laws to ensure that his brother would get elected. It's unique because time and again conservative papers and organizations conducted studies to show that Bush would have won anyway. Palast concedes that a recount of the actual votes would back that up. But Palast is concerned with the voters who were not allowed to vote, and the votes that were not counted.