Politics Government Books

Like many baby boomers,I was grateful Gerald R. Ford was there when the nation needed him. After the god-awful Watergate mess revealed a President at his worst, it was comforting to have Ford, a man widely liked and respected, assume the Presidency. Ford's reputation as an earnest, unpretentious and decent individual able to laugh at himself survived and even thrived in subsequent years when compared to those who followed him into the White House. That image is borne out in WRITE IT WHEN I'M GONE, Thomas DeFrank's touching memoir based on years of private interviews with Ford. DeFrank's book gives us a much deeper and illuminating portrait of both the man and the politician.

While Ford's take on the American political scene from the 1970s on made for interesting reading and confirms him as an astute analyst, I was much more taken with the insights on the man. Though he loved politics and was an ardent spokesman for the Republican Party, Ford's values and innate courtesy caused him to be circumspect in his public comments. Unlike today's slash-and-burn politicians, Ford viewed his Democratic colleagues as friendly adversaries worthy of respect. If he had critical or harsh views of others, he kept them largely to himself...that is until he talked with DeFrank.

Over the course of the book's 250 pages, I grew to like and admire Ford far more than I had in the past; the Nixon Pardon still rankles! DeFrank shows us a normal guy who loved to laugh and toss down a few with the boys; a genuine and genuinely kind man who never lost the common touch; a straightforward, old-fashioned ex-football jock appalled by the underhanded machinations of various politicos; a devoted family man who never cheated on his wife. Yet Ford has his moments of anger and pique as documented in the book. Likewise DeFrank doesn't shy away from some questionable aspects of Ford's life such as his merchandising of himself after he left the Presidency. After all is said and done though, you like Jerry Ford; reading of the decline of such a gregarious, active individual in the closing chapters is hard. He was a good man.

Though I enjoyed DeFrank's book, I thought it could have been more tightly edited. Various redundancies occurred throughout the book.

Whether you're a Jerry Ford fan or not, you'll want to read WRITE IT WHEN I'M GONE. It offers an unvarnished look at the unique life of a kind and decent man who gave America hope and stability during the worst of times. Historians will have the final say on Gerald R. Ford but, for me, I can only echo DeFrank's closing line: 'Thank You, Mr. President.'

I dove in to this book expecting new and exciting revelations only to find.. not so much. Yes, it was interesting to learn what Jerry Ford really thought about his fellow Presidents (especially Reagan), but where are the bombshells?

It was obvious that Mr. DeFrank admired Mr. Ford greatly. I too remember the healing effect Ford had on the country after Watergate and admire him. However, this author did not have enough material for an entire book. Redundancies abound. The same sentence often appears in different chapters. His description of the pivotal meeting with (then) Vice President Ford appears verbatim several times throughout the book.

If this had been an article in a magazine, I could have rated it higher. Even without any real revelations.

Who ever knew that Gerald Ford could be so interesting? I read over 70 pages in just the first day I got it and did not want to put it down. This is not a straightforward biography for a change-there are plenty of those out there. This is personal insight into a man that rarely let us see that side of him. He was a man of good morals, was extremely intelligent, and if you can get past the whole Nixon pardon, he really did deserve a second term in office. Even though his presidency was short, those were some very interesting times and Gerald Ford was a big part of bringing the country back together after Watergate and Vietnam. It is great to have the authors perspective of traveling with him for so many years and interviewing him, and even building a friendship with President Ford. You feel like you are along for the ride. I am glad I purchased this as it is a totally different kind of political book than anything else I have ever read. It is an easy and quick read, and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone interested in US history and/or the Office of The President. My only wish was that it was longer- did not want to get through it so quick !!!!

A wonderful read about a good and great man. If only this country had more such men, then maybe there would not be the huge political schism in Washington today. Ford was a healer, who could be bipartisan and establish a rapport with his political enemies. Maybe, that was because he had no real enemies, and many on both side respected him for what he was: a smart, honest politician who did not have a huge ego.

In this short book, DeFrank shows that Ford was really who he said he was. He loved the Republican Party and would not tear it apart for his personal ambition. He loved his country and tried to find common cause with some polical opponents like Carter and Clinton. He loved his home city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was like most people: an average man thrust into the leadership of the free world.

This is a nice read about a true American Gerald R. Ford. His presidential service was short and his life long, but he made a difference in American political life. DeFrank captures the true spirit of Jerry Ford.

This audio book far exceeded my expectations. The reader is very talented and the story is so honest. You come to realize that Gerald Ford was quite the public servant, leader and consumate gentleman. I highly recommend as it brought so much history to my own experiences.

I seldom read non-fiction, due to habit and training, mostly. However, when I read essays like these, I am as amazed and inspired as I would be by any great piece of fiction. Joan Didion's voice is clear, her eye sharp. This collection gathers essays from the 60's (a time I remember very well)up to and including the Bush Administration (a time I'd just as soon forget)and manages to combine history, social commentary and personality profiles into keen observations not only about the world at large, but also about herself as a part of that world. She moves from Las Vegas (I love her take on that place!) to California to Miami to El Salvador. All the while, as I read I stand in amazement at the way she writes. In his intro to the book, John Leonard says her "black album" is the "habitation of a brave heart and a radiant intellect, an ice palace and a greenhouse. . . to instruct us and the sentences we can almost sing." Certainly said better than I could have. If you can appreciate journalism as literature, you will no doubt enjoy these essays.

Tasteless, meaningless, insipid, Joan Didion is a writer for our times. Her cool detached nihilism dovetails perfectly with a world that abjures conviction and commitment. Even so, her work won't long outlast her life.

WARNING! This is an extremely biassed review!
No one writes like Joan Didion. Every story, almost every sentence is a study of someone who obviously loves the language.
Didion hones in on our finest feelings, our fears, our sorrows shot from her literary arrow, with the truest aim.
I cannot read Didion without wanting to know more...there is something in her non-fiction pieces which reaches out and grabs you, drawing you into facts that would send you to sleep if it were someone else offering them to you.
This is a fine collection of Didion observations. No one does it better. I am still resonanting to Self Esteem from Slouching Toward Bethlehem and I read it 10 years ago. Where I Was From is full of California stories, and even if you've never even visited the place you would know it intimately when you finish the book.
A great collection.

What I had read from Didion in my college comp. class could not have prepared me for the depth and beauty of her body of work. In retrospect, I cannot believe that my professor only asked us to read ONE essay from this remarkable woman. Her work is amazing! Now I see what thousands of others have always known--that Didion is undoubtedly one of the best essayists and authors alive today. I can't wait to read The Year of Magical Thinking next.

I checked this out from our local library the other day and it turned out to be a serendipitous find. I've read some of Didion's work previously of which _The Year of the Magical Thinking_ was the most recent.

This compilation was actually fun to read. My favourite pieces were the ones that focused on California or Southern California, respectively. She is a gifted storyteller.

I couldn't help but feel a keen sense of sadness for her with the noted timeline of her life (and historical moments, too). She lost both her parents, then her spouse and two years later her daughter.

I would suggest this book to others. It's a real treasure.

When the media or politicians bleat on about the waning economy or "soft" economic conditions, it's usually in regard to the stock market, gas prices, the unemployment rate or consumer spending. And while all these issues may weigh heavily on the minds of many hardworking Americans -- and are indeed important -- they don't hold a candle to what could someday become a serious economic crisis if politicians and their constituents don't get their heads out of the sand.

Peter G. Peterson's plainspoken book "Running on Empty" can't convey the vast problems any clearer: America is approaching a $10 trillion deficit due to high-spending, tax-cut-happy politicians (Republican and Democrat), who seem to feel that passing on an enormous debt to future generations is an acceptable thing to do. With a flood of baby boomers retiring in the next few decades, the problem is going to get severely worse; programs like Social Security and Medicare will face "unprecedented demands," according to Peterson. What's more, America's trade deficit is staggering, our economy relies on foreign capital to prop it up like a mirage and U.S. citizens barely save any of their income. This is scary stuff, and really I'm just touching on the surface of Peterson's mind-numbing concerns.

Fortunately, the author is not a cynic, and he does talk about solutions at the end of the book, albeit ones that will require great sacrifices from a somewhat disengaged and cream-puff public. Obvious steps in the right direction include educating yourself about America's coming economic nightmare, contacting politicians to start addressing the problems, and planning ahead by saving more of your income and living a healthier lifestyle. Young people in their 20s should pay more attention to politics and understand their rights and duties as beneficiaries and taxpayers. And as depressing as it sounds, current workers who will be in the working world for decades to come will likely have to resign themselves to paying higher taxes in the future -- and receiving fewer retirement benefits than they may have previously hoped for.

Larger-scale mountains to conquer include reforming Social Security, Medicare and Congress's budget process, all of which are way too complex to address in this short space. But despite the numerous obstacles that comprise righting decades of foolish governmental policies, it can be done. Blame must be spared and polarizing politics should be discarded in favor of doing what's right for future generations.

Peter G. Peterson has captured the essence of what is happening in the USA that will eliminate the opportunities to succeed that have been the hallmark of our great nation. We must change unsustainable programs, act responsibly and insist that our elected representatives do likewise in order to presereve a land of opportunity for future generations.

This is a very important book; it will shake you out of your complacency. The author urges us all, Republicans and Democrats, to take action in order to stem the coming economic debacle. Mr. Peterson explains how the aging of our society along with our numerous entitlements (especially those arising from Medicare and Social Security) and the senseless tax cuts that have been enacted, are jeopardizing America's future. We have become an indebted society with no will to make the sacrifices that are called for in order to bring back health into our collective finances.

You will find in this book a sober assessment of our current political and economic situation, which is a dismal one, and, the author's proposals for bringing change about. Mr. Peterson is, in my opinion, a true patriot, the kind of decent person that inspires us all.

My only objection to this book is that the economic arguments are somewhat difficult to follow (at least for a layman like me).

Peter G. Peterson's book "Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican parties are bankrupting our future and what Americans can do about it" is a very informative as well as instructive book on how "twin deficits" is destroying our nation for our children. U.S. budget deficit and America's current-account deficit is posing a challenge to Baby Boomers and Generation Xers to make sacrifices that seem foreign to our current culture. He asks "Where are the Pearl Harbor" generation who sacrificed everything for the good of the nation?" Peterson talks about how supply side economics has become the primary thought process on how our government treats deficits. It is the belief that as the economy grows, deficits don't matter but it does. Our "pay as you go" Social Security program cannot be sustainable due to a smaller working force (input versus output). Worse than Social Security is our Medicare program which is more than doubled the size of Social Security. Peterson argues that both political parties are making things worse by Republicans constantly giving American's tax cuts and the Democrats constantly giving us entitlements. He asks who among us is willing to not only raise taxes, but cut benefits at the same time. It is a sacrifice that must be done. In the end, Peterson encourages us to be more active in politics and be willing to live within our means. Only through awareness and participation will politicians take a stand on this matter.

Before writing my review, I read many of the others and Robert Steele's is best. I agree with him in many particulars, especially since the situation has worsened dramatically in the four years since the first edition was published. Everyone should purchase this book.

Both of author Peterson's twin towers of deficit worsened since 2004. The federal budget deficit became dramatically redder; however, the politicians attempt to spin the numbers as percentages and counting or not counting various segments or overlooking contingent liabilities. One is reminded how our dependence on foreign oil went over 50% in 1978 (Oil & Gas Journal 1978 Annual Report), whereas our politicians managed to cook the books for almost another 20 years before having to admit domestic sources accounted for less than half of our crude oil consumption.

The 2007 trade deficit for the US was 791 billion (The Economist, Pocket World in Figures), almost nine times that of the second place finisher, Spain, at 83 billion. Only eleven nations ran a deficit of over 10 billion. Japan, Germany and China ran by far the three largest surpluses, and it must be remembered that only China enjoys significant natural resources of those three.

But even more telling than those two deficits, is the velocity with which dollars are being repatriated to the US through the purchase of public debt, American corporations, and American land and resources, one of the aspects of the problem skipped over by Peterson. In the 1980s, the Japanese manipulated Congress with a heavy hand based on their control of Federal short term paper, but now they have been joined by Germany, China and Saudi Arabia. Take a look at www.economyincrisis.org for a breakdown in the two trillon that has come in to establish control over American industry since 1978.

So what do our feckless politicians do? Apply misdirection and misdirection. Politics is a game of mirrors and doubletalk. Keep the public focused on abortion, gay rights and other minor issues so the anointed can get elected one more time. And of course, they talk about health when they mean health insurance, and offer nothing to affect the critical situation in Social Security and Medicare. If I hear one more politician talk about a "social security trust fund" I'm going to barf.

So why don't I give this book five stars? Because the author offers a few palliatives that he says will solve the major problems. So the reader can be justly shocked by the facts, but feel comforted when he goes to bed believing that there is and will be a solution. We can't scare the American public too much, can we? And we need to confiscate their guns before they rise up in rebellion.

So what is the solution? There isn't one, just a resolution. That will probably be a division of the US into at least five countries, none of which will assume a dime of the US debt, and all of which will re-organize their entitlement programs on a pay-as-you-go basis. Some may even nationalize or confiscate corporations and resources without compensation to their former owners. Yes, Virginia, these is a Santa Claus, but he's the Grinch. So mode it be.

Those of us unfortunate enough to experience this cataclysm in the mid-21st century will look back at the 20th as America's golden age. But no one, certainly not our politicians or author Peterson, will tell us this. I guess we simply aren't ready for the bad news that we're all emperors without any clothes.

This book was purchased for my son, John,(a junior in college); it is a textbook for a course he is taking. He called me very excited about the book once he recieved it and started to read it. I was impressed; it is unusual to find a student excited about a textbook he/she is required to read. I give it a big thumbs up and suggested to him that he keep it for his library whether than selling it when he completes the course, he can always use it for reference purposes. Superb book!

This text is indeed used for college history classes and is usually assigned in US survey classes that cover the colonial period to the present day. The amount and depth of material in the text is quite exceptional. The book includes chapter review pages, suggested readings and documents and tables. It also includes a generous amount of primary source documents, drawings and photographs, color maps and graphs. It is beautifully written and illustrated. It is expensive, but this is the case for all large survey texts and college lab books.
It is troubling to me that an individual would "review" a book they have never read and would disparage college professors for assigning the appropriate text for a class. Clearly, this individual does not understand the distinction between college texts and popular history books.

I have not read this book and won't at its $95 price (plus whatever special shipping amounts to).

I'm puzzled as to the author's intended audience for this book, given that pricing. Contrast that with Foner's other book, American Freedom, which is a little less than half as many pages yet costs only $16.95 in hardcover($11.93 with free Amazon shipping). Same publisher. What publishing dynamic is going on here? Is this volume intended just for colleges, where overpriced textbooks are the norm and can be forced onto students?

The material has been thoroughly revised and updated to take account of developments in exproring new ideas of modern presidency. It provides a convenient and informative work of reference for those who studying the presidency and practitioners. Through this book, James P.Pfiffner has created an outstanding reading material and absolutely fascinating though on modern presidency reference.

I intend to use the book to discuss with my students. It is an excellent representation of the state of our society, lends itself to great discussion, and opens the door for further investigation of our true nature.

I really found it interesting the different examples about cheating. We don't get to find out what happens to these people and if they really pay like we have to ie monies, jail time, loss of job, house, cars etc. As the book tells us no they don't; they get away with it without much suffering compared to people who don't have the "money and power". I find it a very sad sad sad comment on what America has become. We need to walk the talk ie Treat People the Way We want to be Treated.

This is one of the most intellectually dishonest books that I have ever read --- probably the worst. What makes this book especially bad is that the author panders to rabid socialists, lower and middle class (whatever that means, apparently those who feel that they deserve to be wealthier), and even worse, those who feel that they must cheat because all the rich people are cheating. The author basically says, "Don't worry about cheating because everybody else does it --- cheating starts at the top and trickles down. You are near the bottom, so again, don't feel bad about cheating. I'll explain why you shouldn't."

After reading the first chapter, I wondered: Is the author a liar, a fool, or both? After reading over half the book, I think that the author is more liar than fool. The evidence for this is that he does appear to be aware of the fact that dishonesty waxes and wanes over U.S. history, yet he blames Ronald Reagan, "the wealthy," "corporate CEO's," and "conservatives" for the purported increase since 1980, coincidentally the year in which Reagan was elected. But there is a lot more evidence than this. He demonstrates his skepticism, not to mention disdain, for corporate CEO's, CFO's and others involved in pushing what he believes to be phony numbers based on self-interest about their bottom line, yet blindly accepts IRS commissioners and former commissioners bold claims that there is a huge tax gap --- and their numbers based on sheer guesswork regarding this gap --- as if the jobs of IRS workers and the IRS budget has absolutely no dependence whatsoever upon these bold claims. He also quotes Leona Helmsley as saying, "Only little people pay taxes," then leaves it at that. Anyone who knows anything at all about who pays for what knows that the people with the very highest incomes pay for the majority of the budget every year. Leaving Leona Helmsley's statement standing while producing purported fact after purported fact about IRS testimony before Congress is the height of intellectual dishonesty --- until one realizes that the author claims that "the wealthy" cheat first, followed by the not-so-wealthy, but gives no consideration to the opposite claim: The not-so-wealthy cheat, followed by the wealthy. The not-so-wealthy are feeling, so the author claims, the pressures of the ill effects caused by so many wealthy folks cheating, so they should not really feel so bad. Yes, this is a problem, but only because the wealthy started it all. But why did the wealthy start cheating all of the sudden in 1980? Is it possible that they saw widespread welfare cheating, cheating in MediCare/MedicAid, food stamps, unemployment, tax laws that penalized people with higher incomes by taxing them at a unconscionably high rate, and so on? If so, then shouldn't the wealthy also not feel bad?

The author claims that people don't really want to cheat. Or so he claims to believe. What planet is this guy from? He acts as though he believes that the 1950's and 1960's were some sort of Golden Era or days of the Garden of Eden --- the lost Golden Days of the Past. Again, what planet is this guy from? Apparently this guy spent much of his life sheltered from the real world, and apparently still has never met any of the huge number of criminals, sociopaths, and psychopaths out there. But these are good candidates for his audience, so perhaps he merely doesn't want to offend them. Again, more pandering liar than fool.

A title of one of the reviews posted here is something about the purported non-political, non-partisan nature of this book. This is a blatantly false claim. The book is rabid-socialist claptrap. It is the most politically lopsided book I have read in a long time. If you are a socialist of any stripe who believes that corporations are evil and that government is good, and that government can fix and should be allowed to fix all the problems caused by the greedy wealthy, or if you simply want to feel better about your extremely unrealistic views of reality, then by all means, read and enjoy this book. On the other hand, if you live in the real world, and know anything at all about the rampant corruption that does exist and has always existed in any bureaucracy, government or private, then you will be quite disappointed in this book.

I was interested in this book because I have observed increased incidents of cheating on college campuses. Cheating has become bold, blatant and unpunished.

The author makes the case that cheating has increased since 1974. The thesis of the author is that the greed of the political conservatives has caused the epidemic of cheating, and the author even cites a sound-bite from President Reagan, where Reagan says that he hopes that people can still get rich in this country, to support this claim.

The book is an interesting read for the data on how cheating has become socially acceptable among the middle class, but the author's thesis that political conservatives, due to their greed, have caused it is not well made. I would accuse him of neglectful induction: he doesn't examine non-capitalist countries like the former Soviet Union for examples of cheating. He claims that there was a golden age of honesty, and as an example of that points to big law firms that use to only hire the all white upper class sons of wealthy members of the law firm, but now, due to diversity laws, hire the top graduates out of law school. The new high pressure work environment and the drive to get to the top is the cause of cheating in billing. The author claims this is due to post 1974 conservative greed. Yet, the author ignored that sweat shop conditions have existed in the past, and that this law firm is nothing more than a yuppie sweat shop. Further, isn't hiring only the white upper class son's of the partners a way of cheating as well? The author does not address that.

The idea that corporate greed has caused cheating in schools is simply backwards, a confusion of cause and effect. One cheats in school and then goes into the business world, where one cheats in business. People do not, generally, go from cheating in business to cheating in high school.

Cheats have done well in big business since forever; this is nothing new since the Reagan administration. The author does not examine the relationship between the decline of religion and the increase in cheating, either; which is very neglectful induction. It simply does not follow that corporate greed is the root cause of the increase in cheating among the middle class.

David Callahan provides myriad examples of rampant cheating, lying and corruption in varied fields of American Life. From the ball fields on high school, college and pro levels, to corporate America, schools, politics, there are stories of cheating to get ahead, to get more, to get in, and to get by. These many examples and stories are informative and indicative of a problem with cheating in our culture. Some of the examples are taken from the headlines, like the Enron case and steroids in baseball; other examples are more subtle stories of corrupt morality leading to cheating. Callahan provides an excellent glimpse of the Enron story beyond what I had previously known. Likewise, his writing on steroids in sports is in-depth and interesting. Other examples show how people slip into corruption and cheating or do it outright and brazenly.

The good writing on cheating is unfortunately undermined by two things: an overbearing liberal bias in his lengthy opinions and redundancy. His liberal bias causes him to blame the free market, capitalism, unequal distribution of wealth, conservatives and Republicans for about every sympton described in the book; while he ignores cheating by liberal politicians, he emphasizes any cheating or policy blamed for cheating that may in some way be connected to a Republican politician. He even defends Bill Clinton for lying under oath, as it was about his personal life (lesson: cheating is okay for some people if their ends justifies their means.) His suggestions for stopping cheating are, for the most part, ambiguous, typical liberal agenda items. And his opinions go on too long and are redundant, as are many of the examples he gives.

He does make some suggestions that would be helpful...honor codes in schools and character training, but these are short discussions while he spends pages rambling about other topics.

A good editor should have limited the opinions, bias, and redundancy, so the focus would be objective and concise.

The Dalai Lama's life is devoted to peace and non-violence - but few are aware of how he's achieved a worldwide reputation for such. WHY THE DALAI LAMA MATTERS blends a history of Tibet with a survey of political and social change, weaving in the Dalai Lama's biography in the process. Any library strong in human rights issues, Asian history or Eastern spirituality and religion needs WHY THE DALAI LAMA matters.

While I wasn't expecting anything groundbreaking in this book, neither was I expecting unmitigated dreck from professor Thurman. Unfortunately that what this book amounts to.

The history of 20th century Sino-Tibetan relations are given a relatively cursory and heavily biased accounting. This book will not serve as an introductory text to the issue. Most of the proposals issued by Thurman amount to little more than ill-conceived delusions completly detached from any sense of reality. The transformation of Tibet into a financial and banking center akin to an Asian Switzerland chief among them. I won't even insult the reader by having to explain why this is unrealistic. Neither is turning all of "Greater" Tibet into one giant nature preserve.

I particularly enjoyed how he was able to rationalize the ethnic cleansing of several million Chinese by depopulating all urban areas from his idealized Tibetan urheimat in under a paragraph. Most of the rest is in the same vein, one giant socio-economic system built upon monumental egotism and wishful thinking pretty much sums it up.

I wish I could say that it was at least readable, but it is lacking even there. The writing is simply atrocious and reads like it was written by an undergraduate with no proofreading whatsoever. Reading lines like "joyous Tibetans dancing from joy for joyous western tourists" is simply wince inducing.

Less a history lesson or feasible plan of action than a self-indulgent palliative for Free Tibet hippies in light of the recent Lhasa riots.

Followers of the Dharma believe in the interconnectedness of all life and consequently practice non-violence. Here the brilliant teacher and former Buddhist monk, Robert Thurman, in addressing China's occupation and oppression of Tibet advocates a non-violent plan to end China's Tibet 'problem '. His answer is for China to give Tibet internal autonomy while it remains in a kind of "United States of Asia" ie. remaining part of China. Thurman argues for a democratic Tibet with a constitution where the Dalai Lama would renounce political rule over Tibet and would not advocate total independence from China. Tibet would have free elections and the Dalai Lama would remain the spiritual and moral head of Tibet. These are all noble and worthwhile ideals. The problem is they are completely naive. Thurman says China can only win by giving Tibet autonomy, as China by doing this will gain esteem in the eyes of the world. However, Thurman fails to address the most important reason that China will never grant autonomy to a Tibetan autonomous and democratic entity. The crux is that word "democracy". Why would Tibet want an autonomous democracy in its midst? In the eyes of the Chinese Communist Party the results would be dire. Suddenly all of its people would be clamouring for the same thing. Thurman's arguement seems naive in the extreme. However, I never thought I would ever see the collapse of the Soviet Union or the fall of the Berlin Wall in my lifetime, so perhaps anything is possible. Dr. Thurman makes a noble argument.

In the current crisis over Tibet, this book by Thurman is topical, to the point, with some practical suggestions as to the resolution of the conflict with China. The tremendous forbearance of the Dalai Lama receives here a spokesman for the peaceful resolution of the Tibetan tragedy in the form of the status of autonomy, and it is hard to see how the Chinese expect to simply ignore the realities of the situation that has emerged and that is so prejudicial to the Chinese self-image. Thurman reminds us that Tibetan Buddhism is an immense legacy whose destruction by any party could only backfire in ignominy.
The tensions of the Tiber/China conflict are tremendous, Thurman's calm is the context for a convincing plea, but will China have the presence of mind to listen?

Read this book if you want to know of a viable solution to peace between Tibet and China. Thurman gives us 7 jewels. First, because of Thurman's 45 year friendship with His Holiness, Thurman gives the reader an intimate connection to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, specifically, his brilliant mind and his good, pure heart. A mind/heart connection that seeks gentleness, forgiveness, compassion, and wisdom. This is the psychologically mature leader the world desperately needs. I found this part of Thurman's book to be especially engaging. Second, Thurman provides a brief, but truthful account of the history of Tibet and Sino-Tibetan relations with the brutal oppression and cultural genocide of Tibetans by the Chinese Communist Party. Third, Thurman shows us not only his extensive knowledge and passion for Tibetans and Tibetan culture, but his own gentle, compassionate, and altruistic mind/heart connection. We need leaders in the world like this! The fourth jewel is Thurman's feasible, practical vision for how China and Tibet can benefit from a One Country, Two System arrangement. Though the vision has its potential drawbacks, Thurman articulates the overarching win-win outcome. It is doable if both sides can build essential trust. The fifth jewel is Thurman's compassion for both sides in advancing the Dalai Lama's Middle Way approach. The sixth jewel--Thurman's Wisdom of Nonviolence--is salient and woven like a tapestry throughout the book. Here, Thurman stays true to the essence of Buddhism. And I found Thurman's seventh jewel most endearing and inspiring of all--the jewel of abiding Hope. His indefatigable hope that a peaceful solution is entirely possible was invigorating to me. In a world with ecological problems which present dire peril for our planet, Thurman's hope for transcending these anthropogenic problems shines through from the jewel that is essential Thurman, essential Buddhism---a brilliant mind and a Good Heart. Read Thurman---it is sheer joy to be inspired by him! Other recommended readings are Awakening the Mind, Lightening the Heart and The Meaning of Life from a Buddhist Perspective both by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

BLACK GOLD STRANGLEHOLD is an interesting and illuminating book about the origins of Oil and the geopolitics and economics that surround our dependence on the substance. It is, simply put, a revelation on our new understanding of the geophysical origin and wide availability of Oil that is not elsewhere readily found in the literature.
The world is not running out of Oil -- and probably never will. In fact, proven oil reserves are today greater than at any time in history. Because Oil is not a "fossil fuel" and has nothing to do with dinosaurs and decomposed forests. This has been suspected for decades, but only demostrated in the laboratory as recently as 2004, with nary a dinosaur in the room at the time!
This is an important book, well worth the read. Yes, a few sections get a little bit strident, but understandably so.
We have Oil. It's readily available, if we want it. US independence from foreign Oil is possible and within our reach. "Drill here, drill now, pay less" can become a reality. So, let's get started now.

This book discusses a primary knowledge that is necessary if you ever hope
to grasp why it costs what it does to fill up the tank of your car.

Point one -- Petroleum is not a fossil fuel.

Point two -- Neither is black coal.

It won't take you long to put together the rest.

Have fun ! dxr

I saw this book on another site and ordered it without checking these reviews. Big mistake! Will be sending this book back and will gladly pay shipping. I am not expecting a refund, I just do not want this book as part of my library. I do not care if this guy has a PHD, from the list of books he has authored or co-authored on so many different subject matters,
it is evident that he is just another money hungry right winger.

~Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil~ is a brave challenge to the prevalence of politically-motivated pseudo-science and the crude politics of oil. Jerome R. Corsi and Craig R. Smith expose the fraudulent geologic science behind the myth of oil scarcity: which is a myth that the geologists on the payrolls of oil cartels have no intention of challenging. In the sensational movie dramatization about the politics of oil Syriana, the hard-hitting narrative on the movie trailer proclaimed, "It's running out. And 90% of what's left is in the Middle East. It's going to be a fight to the death." None of that was really true, but many think it to be so. The fossil fuel myth is one of the most egregious scientific myths of our time.

The biogenic hypothesis for the origins of petroleum was first proposed in 1757 by Russian scholar Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765). The Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1937) and the French chemist Marcellin Berthelot (1827-1907) later gave credence to the theory, through their research. The Abiogenic theory saw a revival by Russian and Ukrainian scientists in the past century, and following the release in 1999 of The Deep Hot Biosphere by Thomas Gold, its credibility increased among American scientists. Gold's theory is based on the existence of a biosphere composed of thermophile bacteria in the earth's crust, which explains the existence of biomarkers in petroleum. The presence of microscopic biological matter in oil compelled scientists such as Lomonosov to conclude that oil had biological origins. But as scientist Fred Hoyle said in approbation of Gold's thesis: "The suggestion that petroleum might have arisen from soem transformation of squashed fish or biological detritus is surely the silliest notion to have been entertained by substantial numbers of persons over an extended period of time." In 2002, a large section of the Larsen B Ice Shelf broke free of the Antarctic Peninsula. When scientific submersibles probed the icey bottom of of the seafloor measuring twice the size of Texas, they made a startling discovery. The through below the ice shelf had been undisturbed for ages, and it was breeding with life: it was a colony of clams and layers of bacterial mats. The life thrived on methane and was incapable of photosynthesis, as no light was accessible to it. Similarly, microscopic organisms that live in petroleum below the earth's surface live off of the petroleum itself. The discovery in Antarctica confirmed Thomas Gold's hypothesis that a "deep, hot biosphere" would be found where organisms thrived by drawing energy directly from hydrocarbon sources pouring out of the earth's mantle. In reality petroleum is "abiogenic and ubiquitous deep in the earth." Consisting mostly of hydrocarbons, it is produced deep within the earth's core, which subjects it to immense heat and pressure. The centrifugal forces of the earth's rotation act to propel petroleum to the substratum of the earth's crust, thereby making it accessible to man for petroleum exploration. Oil fields can be emptied, but many have an uncanny tendency to replenish themselves.

Among the myths busted in this fascinating book are the Hubbert peak theory, which perpetuates a myth of extreme oil scarcity, when it reality it is a renewable resource. In reality, today, we have more oil reserves than ever before, and more oil continues to be found. The United States which is dependent largely upon foreign oil has enough oil offshore and in Alaska to supply itself for decades to come. After the publication of this book in 2006, Chevron reports having found an oil field under the Gulf of Mexico that could boost US reserves by more than 50%. However, stringent environmental regulations and the threat of constant environmental litigation has impeded oil exploration, and restricted the efficiency of exploration and refining in the United States.

You don't seriously believe that all the trillions of tons of oil reserves below the earth's crust are merely the compound of primordial ooze from dead dinosaurs and plant matter do you? Neither do I.

The money Americans spend on imported oil and gas indirectly contributes to the support of radical Islamism, and its dependency that America must break. Instead, we should turn to increasing domestic and continental production in North America, by easing red tape, restraints, and breaking the shackles of the regulatory state which impedes exploration and refining within the United States.

Global warming too, is a scientific hoax. Meteorology as as science is still largely in its infancy, as tools for analyzing climate changes have only recently been developed in the past century. There is credible evidence which suggests the earth is just as likely to cool as it is to warm; moreover, there is also evidence for 100-year cycles, and mild temperature fluctuations from time-to-time.

Americans need a common-sense market-oriented solution to its oil problem, and the increasing prices of oil on the international market. Interventionist foreign policy is demanded by oil cartels to further their interests, and its not necessarily in our best interests to pursue. Dependency upon the Middle East and Venezuela is not in our vital national security interests, and acts to prop up regimes hostile to the United States. Even Iran is a beneficiary of U.S. funds in spite of the supposed embargo, because its oil is merely exported through intermediary states to the U.S. and our government knows where it comes from. We must toss aside the myths of global warming and oil scarcity, and loosen regulatory handicaps which bar the U.S. from taking advantage of its abundant natural resources. Alternative energy sources have proven themselves wasteful. Windmills don't suffice, and kill endangered raptors. Government-subsidized synthetic ethanol fuel is a joke, as it's not economically viable and requires more BTUs to produce than results from the actual output of production. Investment in technology, such as improved refining techniques and better-quality engines, which burn fuel in a cleaner manner, are wiser alternatives than abandoning the use of oil. Getting away from the oil economy is a pipe dream. Only the advent of the long-hypothesized, revolutionary cold fusion technology could began to render oil production superfluous.

All things considered, Jerome Corsi and Craig Smith have put together a compelling and provocative thesis. American policymakers need to take it into serious consideration, and start unraveling the intrigue of crude politics.

I have no dog in this fight, but, really, this is kind of a silly book. Not particulary well researched or well argued - embarrassing, really.

Anyway, it doesn't matter what I think, just ask yourself this: If we really are awash in oil (at about $130/barrel today) - don't you think someone would have found it by now? Even just a little of this oil the authors claim to know about??? Yes, there could be cause for 'hiding' this fact to keep oil priced, but how could so many independent companies/countries/scientists collude on keeping secret such a valuable resource?

And, yes, the authors don't really understand centrifugal vs. centripetal force. Google exactly that and see for yourself.