100 Ways America is Screwing up the World
Author: John Tirman
What do George W. Bush, Wal-Mart, Halliburton, gangsta rap, and SUVs have in common? They're all among the hundred ways in which America is screwing up the world. The country that was responsible for many, if not most, of the twentieth century's most important scientific and technological advancements now demonizes its scientists and thinkers in the twenty-first, while dumbing down its youth with anti-Darwin/pro-"Intelligent Design" propaganda. The longtime paragon of personal freedoms now supports torture and illegal wiretapping—spreading its principles and policies at gunpoint while ruthlessly bombing the world with Big Macs and Mickey Mouse ears.
At once serious-minded and satirical, John Tirman's 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World is an insightful, unabashed, entertaining, and distressing look at where we've gone terribly wrong—from the destruction of the environment to the promotion of abhorrent personal health and eating habits to the "wussification" of the free press—an alternately admonishing and amusing call to arms for patriotic Blue America.
Publishers Weekly
As a liberal response to the wealth of pop conservative writing-such as last year's 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America by Bernard Goldberg and Peter Schweitzer's Do as I Say (Not as I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy-this collection of 100 pithy salvos against current U.S. culture, and domestic and foreign policy hits its mark. Tirman, an unabashed liberal and the executive director of MIT's Center for International Studies, has a sly style and makes his often predictable points with unexpected panache. Whether he `s skewering the American obsession with consumerism, the rise of the pro-war progressive ("when I see a liberal hawk, I smell a rat") or the recent globalization of Christian evangelism, Tirman stays just this side of cranky and avoids preaching only to the converted. About a third of the time, he makes arresting points, such as that the media obsesses over white "damsels in distress," like Laci Peterson or Natalee Holloway, while refusing to discuss truly important issues such as "rapes of girls as a weapon of war." As quick-sketch political commentary goes, these laconic essays are terrific. But the bottom line is that while Tirman is arguably fairer and more nuanced than Goldberg or Schweitzer, none of these books contributes to substantive political understanding or debate. (Aug. 1) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family
Author: Laurence Leamer
Monumental in scope and extraordinary in sensitivity, The Kennedy Women chronicles five matrilineal generations in our nation's premier political dynasty. Not merely distinguished cultural history, it is a story of epic sweep, brimming with triumph and tragedy, courage and compliance, self-sacrifice and self-delusion. Moving from steerage on an immigrant vessel to the slums of Boston, from the Court of St. James's to the White House and beyond, The Kennedy Women paints startling, in-depth portraits of the mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters who stood beside some of the most dynamic men of the twentieth century through occasions of great opulence and heartbreak, victory and scandal. Among its revelations: how Rose's marriage almost ended on her wedding day; the poignantly detailed life stories of mentally challenged Rosemary and the glorious, lost Kathleen; Jackie's near death in the weeks before the inauguration; Eunice's struggle, despite chronic illness, to build the Special Olympics; a long-guarded account of Rose's response to Chappaquiddick; Jean Kennedy Smith's and the family's private reactions to the William Kennedy Smith rape charges; Jackie's gallant battle to live and die with dignity and privacy; and the unique challenges and pressures confronting future Kennedy matriarchs Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, Maria Shriver Schwarzenegger, Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and Rory Kennedy. Here, finally, is the women's story; even those who feel they know all there is to know about the Kennedys will discover how much more there is to the story. For five years, Laurence Leamer researched this book, receiving unprecedented cooperation from family members, interviewing scores of relatives and close associates, gaining access to hundreds of personal documents. Included are thirty-two pages of rare and fascinating family photographs. The Kennedy Women combines exhaustive and superb scholarship with a gripping narrative.
Publishers Weekly
Five generations of Kennedys are chronicled in this unauthorized biography of the women who helped shape the image of this enduring dynasty. (June)
Library Journal
This intimate portrait of five generations of Kennedy women is the basis for a minidocudrama airing in October.
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