Author:
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Publisher: Nation Books
Published: Dec 1969
Genre: Political Science - Government - U.s. Government
Retail Price: $15.00
Pages: 168
The United States has been engaged in what the great historian Charles A. Beard called 'perpetual war for perpetual peace.' The Federation of American Scientists has cataloged nearly 200 military incursions since 1945 in which the United States has been the aggressor. In a series of penetrating and alarming essays, whose centerpiece is a commentary on the events of September 11, 2001 (deemed too controversial to publish in this country until now) Gore Vidal challenges the comforting consensus following September 11th and goes back and draws connections to Timothy McVeigh's bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. He asks were these simply the acts of 'evil-doers?' 'Gore Vidal is the master essayist of our age.' — Washington Post 'Our greatest living man of letters.'—Boston Globe 'Vidal's imagination of American politics is so powerful as to compel awe.'—Harold Bloom, The New York Review of Books
As always, it's Gore Vidal, with is signature style and harshness. The collection of essays is surprisingly easy to read. However, if you want to believe in the Democracy/Republic/Freedom/insert-some-noble-thing of the US, I would advice against reading this book, since it shattered even the most closely held beliefs in this country. The essays, although easy to understand, are very well-written. The words seems to be lazily tossed into the book, but contains deep meanings. A must read for anyone care about the politics of the US