Reviews (7)

Chomsky's Latin America
Chomsky writes an excellent review of U.S. foreign policy with Latin America.I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to gain insight into actions undertaken by America's governmental apparatus on other nations.

Review of U.S. hegemony
While this book by Chomsky may not be as up to date as some of his other works, it still creates a vivid understanding in the reader's mind about the true nature of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.This book includes interviews from the last fifteen years, focusing mostly in a broad sense on U.S. foreign policy and its effect on countries like Nicaragua, El Salvador, The Dominican Republic, and various other countries.This book, like most of Chomsky's work, can sometimes come off as rather depressing.But honestly, as Chomsky points out, the U.S. record of subversion and destruction of democracy in Latin America is nothing but depressing.Chomsky also should not be critisized for telling the truth about U.S. foreign policies, which are primarily designed to promote American corporate greed over the needs of the majority of the people in Latin America.This book shows, like Chomsky's other works, a brilliant and honest analysis of U.S. foreign policy.Also, this book is so useful because it provides a great starting point for anyone interested in reading more in depth accounts of U.S. foreign intervention.Chomsky's strong point though, as readers need to understand, is in educating people about the true nature of corporate and governmental policies designed to rape the people of Latin America (not in telling individuals exactly what actions to take to fight opression).While this book is very depressing, I think that that's exactly the point.It is meant to enrage Americans, and push them to hold their politicians accountable for negligent, murderous behavior. My advice, pick up this book, and get to agitating.As anyone familiar with Chomsky understands, reading this book is not enough.Implicit in this book, as well as in the rest of his works is the idea that Americans must become active in struggling to end injustice.Once one understands that basic idea, it is much easier to read this book without feeling the sense of hopelessness many come away with after reading or listening to Chomsky.Overrall, a must read for anyone interested in freedom and democracy.

an overview of the dreadful record in Latin America
This compilation work on US policy and Latin America is a pretty devastating read, covering various topics in interviews from between 1984 and 1998.The previous critique regarding the material in some of the older interviews, or rather the absense of further material that has surfaced since, is understandable, but I found the wide timeline covered in the book to be more welcome than it was a detriment.The format highlights what has been at the heart of policy over all these respective years and events, namely, the consistent effort to manipulate and coerce the political arena and the people by any and all means necessary.Violence and other means of force are used to 'stack the court' with appropriately subservient 'leaders', typically under the guise of "democracy" while actually subverting it, and heaping more hardship on many of these already struggling countries and underprivileged people.Well worth the read.Read more

Subjects:  1. Current Affairs    2. Government - Comparative    3. History & Theory - General    4. International    5. Latin America    6. Political Process - General    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics and government    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Relations    11. United States    12. History / United States / 20th Century    13. International economics    14. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    15. Political economy   

Editorial Review

One day in 1992, Thomas Friedman toured a Lexus factory in Japan and marveled at the robots that put the luxury cars together. That evening, as he ate sushi on a Japanese bullet train, he read a story about yet another Middle East squabble between Palestinians and Israelis. And it hit him: Half the world was lusting after those Lexuses, or at least the brilliant technology that made them possible, and the other half was fighting over who owned which olive tree.Read more

Features

• Abridged
• Audiobook

Reviews (393)

Not just terms....
A treatise on globalization.Published in 1999 it seems apropos to review this in the context of history.In the midst of his conclusions / suggestions, as another reviewer cites, "Friedman on terrorism, two years prior to the 9/11 attacks: `When you combine the angry men that Americanization-globalization creates with the way in which globalization can super-empower people, you have what I believe is the real, immediate national security threat to the United States in the twenty-first century: the Super-Empowered Angry Man ...'."
The Best Explanation of Globalization That You Are Likely to Find
If you want to know exactly what globalization is, this is the book that contains perhaps the best explanation of globalization.Between the protests and the periodic G7 and G8 meeting of industrialized countries when the media is full of globalization stories, one finds there is a dearth of good explanationsof exactly what globalization is.Historically countries have always completed economically, developed countries used captured markets (colonies), during the mercantilistic era,the cold war was an aberration where the world competed on an idealogical level.Presently with the cold war at an end, there is an allure of attracting investment from multi-national companies. Vica-versa every country is also being evaluated in accordance to its business climate.A corrupt government, spendthrifts regime, or a fragile banking sytem loses votes (investment dollars) , countries with a good business climate receive investment dollars.The author's point is that no one company or country is actually controlling this system.The countries protesting the loudest are the same countries providing a weak business climate, and but they want to participate in the rewards. It is a natural outcome that as every country joins the international communityis judged by multitudes of investors on a worldwide basis.
Intriquing and Positive Look at Globalization
Written in the late 1990s (and later updated), Tom Friedman's lengthy assessment of globalization and the post-Cold War ear has etchd its place as one of the more prominent optimistic takes on the subject.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Business/Professional    2. Audio - Business / Professional    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Business & Economics    5. Capitalism    6. Economic Conditions    7. Economics - Theory    8. Free trade    9. International - Economics    10. International economic relations    11. Social aspects    12. Current Events / International   

Editorial Review

In the year following South Africa's first democratic elections, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to investigate human rights abuses committed under the apartheid regime. Presided over by God's own diplomat, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the first hearings of the commission were held in April 1996. During the following two years of hearings, South Africans were daily exposed to revelations and public testimony about their traumatic past, and--like the world that looked on--continued to discover that the relationship between truth and reconciliation is far more complex than they had ever imagined. Read more

Reviews (16)

One more step on the road to Zimbabwe
As a British engineer living in South Africa for 15 years I obviously lived on another planet compared to this lady. Maybe because I worked in black townships and saw things as an outside observer I was not burdened by self loathing and idealistic fantasy that make up much of this work. Sure bad things happen in old wars in Africa or new ones like Iraq, but I can't help feeling that we have been here before. Atrocities happened in Rhodesia but despite the false dawn and liberal accolades that welcomed Mugabe in the same way them as they welcomed Mandela now, we ended up with worse country not a better one. I think that when we all look back on this period in years to come and unburdened by the current plague of political correctness that blights our times, we will realise that those who should ask for forgiveness are the liberal media elites who destroyed South Africa and the hopes of all its people both black and white.

powerful and important account of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Hearings.....
This is simply a fantastic piece of literature, written by a very talented, brave, and steadfast journalist, the great Antjie Krog.Krog, an Afrikaaner (South-African born Caucasian), as part of the South African Broadcasting Corporation's commitment to covering the ongoing stories of torture, abuse, murder and countless other violations to human rights revealed at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Hearings in 1996, recounts many, of a cross section of stories, here in this book.We also get a strong sense of the psychological and emotional toll it takes, to bare witness to the stories, told by, both, victims and victimizers.Children were left orphans, wives were left widows, casualties were left permanently disfigured and disabled, in the aftermath of extensive race riots in South Africa, following apartheid (or the enforced segregation of Blacks from Whites) in neighboring townships, throughout the town of Soweto, and beyond.
Powerful
Krog does a fine job of writing this powerful book.The movie "Inside my Country" does a good job of putting it on screen, but the book is more gripping.I would also strongly recommend "A TELLING TIME" by Glynnis Hayward for more reading on this period in South African history.It is a well-written novel, based in fact, that is a real page-turner. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Africa - South - South Africa    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    4. General    5. History    6. International Relations - General    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Current Events / International   

Editorial Review

There's no shortage of books on the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama, which resulted in the capture of Manuel Antonio Noriega. Yet Read more

Reviews (5)

a fascinating portrayal of an unusual event in U.S. history
this book would be better sub-titled "The True Story of an Unusual Indictment of a Foreign Ruler," considering it only devotes a handful of pages to the actual "manhunt" for Noriega. that being said, Harris tells a great story of the weird saga of Manuel Noriega, the cheap thug who was the de facto ruler of Panama for awhile. A Highly Inventive History
I know several of the characters in Harris' book, and he has invented a lot of their colorful talk and dress.In just one example Raymond Takiff ("Roy" in the index!) was from West Philadelphia, Overbrook Park, just south of the Main Line, not South Philadelphia.Harris makes Takiff, a Villanova graduate and former history teacher who considered himself an intellectual, sound like a cheap South Philly hoodlum.Takiff was a snappy dresser, in the South Florida style (Silk, please, not Rayon!), and the scene with the shorts and brogans was a grotesque invention.Harris also misspells Takiff's daughter's name!Most details on the other lawyers involved are also highly imaginary.As an indication of the sloppy job Harris did, he misses some colorful items, too, such as Takiff maneuvering the judge in the trial of the 91 year old woman accused of cocaine possession into helping the defendant out of the witness stand! Finally...the whole story about the Noreiga/North fiasco.
In 1989 the United States sent American troops to arrest General Manuel Antonio Noreiga, Panama's highest military officer.Trying a foreign leader for events that took place in his own country as violations of U. S. law was previously unheard of in American history.Stopping the Medellin Cartel was a major step in slowing down the influx of illegal Cocaine and other drugs.Harris unravels the complicated story with wit and verve, very colorful language, marvelous humor, and a sense of excitement.Harris makes the FBI, DEA and CIA agents appear to be involved in a bumbling, amusing, tragedy.Oliver North was engaged in clandestine arms dealing and nobody seemed to know what anybody else was doing.Here is a true crime story on a grand scale with betrayal, murder, arms dealing and drug smuggling that reads like good fiction.Here are the explanations of the Reagan administration's dealings with the Sandinistas and Contras; names that were always in the news in association with cover-ups and destroyed evidence by government agencies, though the public didn't really know what was going on.Harris has done a superior job of investigative reporting to create an impressive chronicle of the events leading up to the invasion of Panama and the arrest of Manuel Antonio Noreiga.He made history come alive and really gave me a much better understanding of the events that were in the news for so long, and the role and fate of each of the historical players in this drama of our time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1934-    2. Arrest    3. Biography    4. Case studies    5. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    6. Drug dealers    7. Drug traffic    8. General    9. International    10. International Relations - General    11. Investigation    12. Narcotics dealers    13. Noriega, Manuel Antonio,    14. Panama    15. Political    16. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    17. Political Science    18. Politics / Current Events    19. Politics/International Relations    20. United States   

Reviews (4)

Classic reference
The content is not easy to read, but it provides the comprehensive assessment on different views towards international relations.

good and bad
This book is now a bit out of date, but is still worth reading.It was something of a ground-breaking book when it was published (early 80's) but now seems somewhat simple compared to more sophisticated treatments of the same problems.These later books, however, largely build from Beitz, so this criticism should be taken in this light.The attack on "Realism" is the best part of the book.The attacks on nationalism and communitarianism are also worth-while though the positive theory offered in their place is clearly under-theorized and not, I think, satisfactory in the end.The worst part of the book is the attempt to "globalize" Rawls in a way that clearly doesn't work and shows a pretty serious (though very common) misunderstanding of what Rawls is up to.Finally, the almost total lack of discussion of problems relating to democracy, self-determination, and legitimacy is pretty surprising and a serious short-comming.It's worth reading the book (it's an enjoyable read) but the short-commings should be kept in mind.

Great!!!!!!
Actually Beitz isn't a communitarian (Walzer is); he's a cosmopolitan. He argues against communitarians (he calls them "morality of states" theorists). But anyway I agree with the first reviewer--this book is great!! Beitz presents an airtight argument, adressing counter arguments on all levels.Although I don't entirely agree with Beitz, his argument is compelling--read this book with Walzer to contrast the perspectives. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History & Theory - General    2. International Relations - General    3. International Relations Theory    4. International relations    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. World politics    9. Political Philosophy    10. Political Science / International Relations    11. Political Science and International Relations    12. Political science & theory   

Reviews (1)

Good, but ...
I'm sure it's a great book, however, it's much different from the newest edition, which is now taking over. I got screwed over because the instructor for my class changed at the last minute, and he's using the 3rd edition instead. Just a head's up. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. International Relations - General    2. International relations    3. Philosophy    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Globalization    8. Political Science / International Relations    9. Political science & theory    10. Politics | International Studies   

Subjects:  1. Foreign relations    2. General    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. International Relations - General    5. Political Science    6. Politics - Current Events    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. United States    10. Central government policies    11. International relations    12. Political Science / General    13. USA   

Reviews (8)

A dated relic of old school thinking
Aside from the massive changes in the last 4 years, this book is otherwise dated in that it simply re-hashes info from other (older) sources. So very useful
As an international relations student, I constantly see new words and ideas that my undergrad degree left me unprepared for.This book solves all those problems.If I could go back in time, I would have bought it sooner.The book is wonderful.Yes, it does have the term you are looking for...

Two thumbs up
One of the best reference sources for those baffled by the complexities of international relations. I highly recommend this book for the serious undergraduate or graduate student and the ardent current affirs buff. This is undoubtedly a trusted and reliable reference source, one you can turn to to gain an increased understanding of IR. Written in highly readable manner, this book certainly doubles as a complete idiots guide to IR. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries - General    3. International Relations (General)    4. International Relations - General    5. International relations    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Reference    9. Reference / Dictionaries    10. Reference works   

Subjects:  1. General    2. International Relations (Specific Aspects)    3. International rivers    4. Middle East    5. Middle East - General    6. Natural Resources    7. Nature    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Rivers    11. Water And Marine Resources Management    12. Political Science / General   

Reviews (8)

Refreshing revival of a dead letter
Before 1990, international law was a dead letter office.Its foundations post-dated a universal church and pre-dated the Enlightenment. Allow yourself to be challenged, at least
Geoffrey Robertson is a passionate advocate of human rights - and (possibly paradoxically) of the ability to affect them within the system/s in which we try to enforce them.This book makes no claim to be a perfect history, but knowing Robertson's experience, we are better to hear his opinion and understanding than a dry history of the progress of human rights law itself.If you love this book, good.If you hate it, good.The idea is to make you think about it... and that is what Robertson is best at.This may be the only law history book you will ever read which will make you laugh and cry - occasionally at the same time.I read some other reviews of this and am saddened at their negativity - Robertson has personal experience most "experts" never have, and combines that with a wicked wit, enormous intelligence and a humanitarian heart.This is some book, and Geoffrey Robertson is some man - read whatever you can of his.

David Takes on a Goliath Task
Geoffrey Robertson's "Crimes Against Humanity" is a thoughtful and thorough analysis of modern attempts at global justice.I have struggled with this issue for some time and have found most books of little help, perhaps because the amount of material to be digested is so substantial.Robertson does an excellent job of assembling, organizing, and presenting an extremely complex body of knowledge.There are many books on individual topics covered here and some readers would no doubt like their pet topics to have been discussed in more detail.The beauty of the book, however, is not in its detailed coverage of any single issue, but in it ability to integrate a large number of topics (e.g., the Lieber Code, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,The Geneva Conventions, Nuremberg, Truth Commissions, International Criminal Court, etc.).The author is able to show how these various issues are connected in a string of advances toward a global system of human rights -- advances that are admittedly glacial in their pace but advances nonetheless.Anyone who has tried to organize this vast body of knowledge can appreciate what Robertson has accomplshed.A fine companion to this book is Samantha Power's book "A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide."Taken together, these two books will take the reader a long way toward understanding international efforts at global justice. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crimes against humanity    2. Current Affairs    3. Human rights    4. International    5. International Relations - General    6. Political And Civil Rights    7. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    8. Political Freedom & Security - Human Rights    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics/International Relations   

Reviews (6)

North Koreans: A Mysterious & Ancient People
This books offers a balanced and pragmatic introduction into the internatinal negotiating policies of the magical race of people the North Koreans. This comprehensive analysis of this mysitcal populations' aggressive nuclear bargaining tactics is super.

Excellent study of all levels of NK negotiating behavior
A balanced and pragmatic analysis of North Korean negotiating perceptions and behavior, Snyder's book will be one of the most significant and useful studies of North Korea for years. His study ranges at all levels, thus we see analyses of both negotiating tactics as well as the cultural and psychological perceptions that inform those tactics. This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants a glimpse into North Korean decision making and thought, not just how they negotiate. The quasi-self-contained world of North Korea has generated a psychological perspective and mindframe that has its own internal rules of logic and acceptibility. An understanding of that world, and taking advantage of its contradictions and absurdities, is what makes this book all the more valuable. An important book on an important topic
South Korea, the United States and other countries have embarked on negotiations with North Korea.It is important to understand North Korea.Mr. Snyder's book is excellent at describing North Korean negotiating behavior, and the origins of their attitudes being Confucsian and communist. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Korea    2. International    3. International Relations - General    4. Political Science    5. Political Science / International Relations    6. Politics - Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Diplomacy    9. Diplomatic negotiations in int    10. Foreign relations    11. International Relations    12. Korea (North)    13. Negotiation    14. North Korea    15. Peace studies   

Editorial Review

Before you mail another check to Save the Children or join the Peace Corps, read this book. Michael Maren shows that the international aid industry is a big business more concerned with winning its next big government contract than helping needy people. The problem isn't a lack of charity missions in the Third World, but that the best intentions of these idealists are often inadvertently destructive, thanks to a deadly combination of their naiveté and the willingness of native elites to exploit them. Maren spent many years in Africa living this life. This is a splendid, literate, muckraking memoir of his experiences. ... Read more

Reviews (36)

A Good Look at Problems on the Inside of Aid
This book has its flaws.As other reviewers have noted, it is rambling and disjointed.While I believe that his facts are mostly right, there are points where he may have come to the wrong conclusion because of a lack of familiarity with aid processes.Certainly, he over-generalizes based on anecdotal evidence.Aid in Somalia is probably not exactly the same thing as aid in Chile.The existence of some venal people in an organization does not mean that everyone in an organization is venal.
Road to Hell leads to American grain merchants
Michael Maren began his journey to Africa as a Peace Corps worker.His first introduction to corruption occurred when school construction materials he obtained were diverted to add new rooms to local officials homes.But this was nothing compared to what is revealed in the rest of the book.
More harm than good
There are very few books that can claim to fundamentally change the way you see the world; this is one of them. Michael Maren brutally exposes the hypocrisy, corruption and inefficiency that will destroy forever the reader's attitude about foreign aid and charitable work overseas. A reader who wants to retain his belief in the myth that the billions of dollars we spend on foreign aid actually benefit the poor and starving of the world should NOT read this book - it will shatter your illusions forever. After reading about how aid to Third World countries ends up perpetuating the very conditions it is supposed to eradicate, how it enriches the corrupt elites of those countries and helps them consolidate their often violently dictatorial rule, and how a surprisingly large proportion of it ends up in the pockets of those actually running the charities, it becomes clear that foreign aid and charity to the Third World is part of the problem rather than the solution. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1960-    2. Africa    3. Charities    4. Corrupt practices    5. Development - Economic Development    6. Economic And Technical Assistance    7. Economic assistance    8. Economic conditions    9. International Relations - General    10. Management    11. Political Science    12. Politics - Current Events    13. Politics/International Relations    14. Current Events / International    15. Modern fiction    16. Somalia   

Reviews (10)

Insights on Islam
Gilles Kepel provides an insightful, European perspective on relations between the West and Islam. As the title suggests, he does not see the two locked in intractable conflict. Muslims, like the West, are divided. The interests of the Saudi government are separate from those of the Wahhabite preachers; salafists can be distinguished from other Sunnis, and salafists themselves can be divided into pietists and jihadists. His description of the problems of the Muslims in Europe is particularly valuable and suggests issues that the American news media barely touches. His chapter on the dilemmas that face Saudi Arabia is also enlightening. The significance he places on the collapse of the Oslo agreement puts developments in the Middle East in an unusual perspective.
Triumph of Political Correctness over Facts
This book was a major disappointment after the author's brilliant work JIHAD.Jihad was published just as the US was destroying the Taliban, and I had hoped that this work would bring us up to date with the invasion of Iraq.I immediately noticed that Kepel did not bother to correct his characterization of US tactics in Afghanistan as "carpet-bombing", which it wasn't.Then he referred to photos of American "sexual abuse and torture" of Iraqi prisoners (which was more like hazing) while calling videos of the beheading of a screaming American youth as "mistreatment."Events have shown Kepel's earlier theory that Islamic fundamentalism is falling apart is quite correct, losing out to a rising tide of democracy in Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, and even Saudi Arabia, but he sort of goes off the rails to talk about the Islamic diaspora in Europe and elsewhere as the hope for the future.I guess he's afraid of not getting invited to the right cocktail parties in Paris if he endorsed anything to do with American policy.

Good book, despite what some say..................
This book is an easy to read, somewhat easy to understand wrapup of what is currently happening with the Global War on Terror and the fight for Muslim hearts and minds.The author does a great job in explaining some of the differences in the Salafist community and also in pointing out that Wahhabists are Salafists, but not necessarily of the Bin Laden strain, something that many people in the West just don't get.
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Subjects:  1. 21st century    2. East and West    3. History    4. History & Theory - General    5. History: World    6. International Relations - General    7. Islam    8. Middle East - General    9. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    10. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    11. Politics / Current Events    12. War on Terrorism, 2001-    13. Current Events / International    14. International relations    15. Middle East    16. Terrorism, freedom fighters, armed struggle   

Subjects:  1. Awards    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    4. Biography & Autobiography - Political    5. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    6. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    7. Children: Grades 4-6    8. History    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Juvenile literature    11. Nobel Prizes    12. Pacifists    13. Peace    14. History, Other    15. Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Political   

Reviews (5)

History as a personal quest
Peter Maguire's mix of personal travelogue and historical study works well, with the author lingering on the question of impunity and the ineffectual international community, whilst interviewing victims and perpetrators of Khmer Rouge crimes on many visits following his first trip to Cambodia in 1994. That first exciting yet unnerving visit in 1994 is something the author and myself have in common, as we do the loss of a close Cambodian friend in recent years. His loss was Sok Sin, well known as every journalist's 'fixer' and Maguire's tale of his demise is poignant. His interviews with the suvivors of Tuol Sleng such as Bou Meng, Vann Nath and Im Chan contrast sharply with the soul-less KR photographer Nhem En and guard Him Huy, whilst DC-Cam and Youk Chhang rightly emerge as a beacon of light in the chaos that is Cambodia. He also tracked down Mai Lam, the Vietnamese colonel who'd turned Tuol Sleng into a Genocide Museum though ultimately their discussions were stymied. I found the book stimulating, frustrating, insightful and vexing in equal measures, with Maguire admitting up front that he ultimately failed to come to any clear-cut conclusions. However, the journey to get to nowhere is an interesting one.
Magnificently Disturbing
This remarkable book takes the reader deep inside the minds of a culture so hard to penetrate that I am returning this year to Cambodia just to attempt to understand the obvious - here is a country in a state of denial. "Facing Death in Cambodia" very effectively analyses Cambodia's culture of compliance, a nation meek to authority, and seemingly paralyzed by a recent past so convulsive that to even think about it is an invitation to "bad karma" - even among survivors and the unindicted killers of their children who sometimes share the same street. Mr Maguire excells at the job of rendering the 75-79 story in human terms. His portraits of the familiar figures like the photographer of those shattering Tuol Slong ID pictures are very important to our understanding of what sort of mental gymnastics many at the heart of the genocide are capable of.The heroic Vann Nath, whose miraculous survival is powerfully and touchingly explained in the book, emerges as a beacon of clear sightedness.Yet even here there is paradox - the survivor is eager to greet the photographer almost as an old friend. The author's tenacious search for the mind set and value system of the killers, and how D.K.'s perverted ideology can be effortlessly justified in Cambodia's "culture of impunity", make for provocative reading. I was particularly impressed by the author's descriptions of lurking violence. The weserner's stereotypes of the smiling Khmer do not long survive exposure to present reality. When Mr. Maguire takes you through the marketplaces and cafes of Phnom Penh, don't expect a comfortable ride. In one shattering passage,we are told how quickly peasant vengeance in the street over seeming trifles turns to horror in a blink.Overall, this book is one of the most important documents of Cambodia's modern history. Mr Maguire has no illusions that this beautiful, tormented country's battle to start over is going to be over soon. Here is a writer of compassion and power, and his book is an excellent one.

Dealing with Mass Murderers
This is a clear and concise book about the horrendous regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979)and the aftermath. The author asks the question: why haven't leaders of the Khmer Rouge been prosecuted for the mass murder they perpetrated on their own people.He finds a partial answer by looking at international politics and the machinations of Cambodian leaders, the UN, and the US and everyone's lack of priority in seeking justice in Cambodia.
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Subjects:  1. 1975-1979    2. Asia - Southeast Asia    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Cambodia    6. Historical - General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. Political atrocities    10. Trials (Genocide)    11. World - General    12. ASIA    13. Asian / Middle Eastern history: from c 1900 -    14. Current Events / International   

Reviews (13)

Half the Babbling Story....
Half the Babbling Story....
Talkshop for dictators

The prevailing ideology of Isolationism
In 1990-1995, Liberia forced more than 800,000 people into exile.The UN did not exercise its influence and power stopping the injustice. The UN did not bring justice to the Khmer Rouge leaders.In the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge murdered millions of Cambodians and the UN did not authorize a forceful stop to the murder.The UN was late in response to the 1994 Rwanda War.In 1998, five African countries invaded Congo and by 2001, 2.5 million people were killed and it was not until 2003 that the UN dispatched French forces to establish law and order, a year latter.The UN is letting special interests dictate policy and these economic and social incentives prevent action.The UN policies and actions are seemingly covert; the UN does not want an informed public. The UN is dysfunctional and this ineptiness increases the chance of crimes against humanity.The UN has no deterent capacity.