The recent terror attack in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood highlighted the concern many Americans have about fellow citizens of the Islamic faith that have originated in or spent considerable time in the Middle East. The oft-asked question is usually “why do they hate us?”. Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, are only a few out of many nations in which the United States has involved itself in the nation’s politics. To many Americans, the dislike and/or intense hatred of America displayed from the region boggles the mind and is utterly incomprehensible. But if we take a closer look at things from another point of view, we come to see there is more than meets the eye as author William Blum points out in this book that is guaranteed to make you question everything you thought you knew about American foreign policy.
From the start, this book will be hard for many Americans to accept. Blum pulls no punches but instead goes full steam ahead, methodically showing how U.S. foreign policy has destabilized nations resulting in the removal of dozens of foreign leaders and political turmoil which continues to haunt many of those nations to this day. David Talbot, author of ‘The Devil’s Chessboard‘, revealed the dark rise of the CIA and its actions which influenced American foreign policy following World War II. Similar to Talbot, Blum brings to light many dark secrets that the average American would rather not know. Almost all of us born in America were raised to believe that the United States is the leader when it comes to democracy, justice, liberty and freedom for all. Throughout the years, we have enforced our system of government around the world, or as Blum puts it, exporting democracy. But a critical question arises. In the nations to which we exported democracy, was it needed or asked for? As Blum shows us, U.S. foreign policy dictated that it was. But in many countries nations, it wasn’t needed and as a result, millions of people around the world have suffered at the hands of U.S. foreign policy. Air raids, propaganda and economic penalties are just some of the methods used against those nations which do not comply with the agenda of the U.S. From Mossadegh in Iran in 1954 to the current war on terror, many important facts have been hidden from the American public, allowing us to believe that all actions carried out in the name of freedom have been in the best interests of the people of the United States. On a regular basis, the media shows us a purported new “threat” from a number of foreign nations. But as Blum asks us, “who is really going to attack the US?”.
Some will read this book and believe that Blum is unpatriotic, cynical and even treasonous. But I believe that thoughts of that nature are severely misguided. Contrary to what many may think, it is possible to be patriotic but still question and even expose the wrongdoings by our own government. And as Jesse “The Body’ Ventura recently said in a video regarding Colin Kaepernick, the government has to earn patriotism. In the eyes of many around the world, we are seen as the big brother that exerts his influence wherever he goes. But our most tragic mistake is to believe that everyone desires to live as we do. No government is perfect and every country has its regrettable moments. But is the duty of every American to acknowledge when our country is wrong and/or misguided and see things from the eyes of those who we persecute either intentionally or inadvertently. I’ve always felt that people who are the most critical of this nation are also some of the most patriotic. It is their belief in the good of the nation that forces them to confront its shortcomings. People such as William Blum are doing their part to show other Americans what has been occurring right under our noses. You don’t have to agree with everything he says, but if you open your mind and digest what he’s written, you may find that you have a new understanding of the pitfalls of a misguided foreign policy and why it brings shame on the United States of America.
ISBN-10: 1783601671
ISBN-13: 978-1783601677
January 12, 2017 will mark fifty-two years since Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (1930-1965) died at the age of thirty-four after a long battle with intestinal cancer. Her masterpiece A Raisin In The Sun and the Broadway play of the same name, broke new ground in America for African-American playwrights. In fact, her play was the first by an African-American woman to have a run on Broadway. The story of the Younger family has been played out in cities all over the country as people have desired to leave their own communities in search of a better quality of life. The book remains her most popular work but just who was the real Lorraine Hansberry? In this biography, Patricia and Fredrick McKissack tell the story of the playwright’s life from start to finish. And what we see is the formation of the one of the most gifted Americans to have ever lived.
The workplace in a sense becomes a second home to the majority of us, and for some of us, they become even closer to us than those with whom we have a biological link. But what happens when you’re an agent in the Secret Service? There is no set eight-hour workday for agents assigned to the first family. Instead, their hours are often unpredictable, long and extremely fatiguing. Nevertheless, the agents do their jobs to the best of their abilities and in the process create bonds with the members of the first family that sometimes remain in place many years after their service has ended. Clint Hill, long retired from the Secret Service, is best remembered by many people from the Zapruder film, in which he is the sole agent that attempts to come to the aid of the president as jumps on the back of the motorcade as the Secret Service transports a mortally wounded John F. Kennedy to Parkland Memorial Hospital. He has written several books on his time as a Secret Service agent with several presidents and the events that took place during that fateful trip to Dallas, Texas. This is his memoir of his time with the former first lady and the relationship that developed.
On July 26, 1947, President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act, establish a new intelligence agency to gather information deemed critical to the protection of the United States from foreign threats. The new agency is known as the Central Intelligence Agency and its initial members are former members of the Office of Strategic Services which had been discontinued following the allied Victory in World War II. As the Cold War heated up with the Soviet Union and new leaders came to light in several continents, the members of the new agency felt a surging sense to act preemptively to what was perceived to be direct threats to the safety and stability of the western hemisphere. Among the large number of those afraid of Communist infiltration and the end of U.S. business interest were two brothers who controlled an overwhelming majority of power over U.S. foreign policy whose names today are largely unknown to the younger generation. John Foster and Allen Welsh Dulles, the former Secretary of State and Director of the C.I.A., remain controversial and pivotal figures in 20th century American history. In this expose about their time in high posts within the U.S. government, author Stephen Kinzer reveals the dark side of the U.S. government as two brothers used the White House, military and Central Intelligence Agency to advance their financial agenda across several continents resulting in the overthrow of governments, assassination of foreign leaders and financial exploitation of smaller nations caught in the grip of U.S. occupation.
Prior to his death from cancer, Jack Ruby, the convicted murdered of Lee Harvey Oswald who executed his prey live on national television, once remarked that to get answers in the murder of John F. Kennedy, it would wise to ask the man currently in office. That man as we all know was Lyndon B. Johnson. In most history classes, Lyndon Johnson or LBJ for short, is seen as a pioneering president, responsible for the passage of the monumental Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, what is often looked over is his role in the escalation of the U.S. military in southeast Asia resulting in the Vietnam War. As the body count of American soldiers climbed, his approval rate dropped to absurdly low levels, possibly the worst in recent history. And the announcement of Robert Kennedy for candidacy for president served as a final nail in the coffin forcing Johnson to withdraw his name in the 1968 presidential race. Many years after his death, the true story of the life of Lyndon Johnson has come to light in dozens of books. And what we learn through each of these books is that there was a very dark side to the 36th President of the United States.
The story of the continent of Africa is one of the most beautiful and tragic we have ever seen. The mass of land that has been described as the cradle of civilization and home to some of the most beautiful places on earth, has also been subjected to severe colonization resulting in continuing poverty, tribal and cultural division and civil wars that nearly destroyed several countries as millions of people lost their lives before the genocidal campaigns were brought to a halt. The story of Rwanda is largely well-known, from books and even a feature film, ‘Hotel Rwanda’ starring Don Cheadle. Rwanda, however, is not the only country to experience a crisis of that nature and as we learn in this memoir by Ishmael Beah, Sierra Leone also has a dark history of internal conflict which caused the nation to be considered one of the most dangerous places in the world. And even to this day, their dark past continues to remain relevant.
February 25, 1986-Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos and wife Imelda, relinquish power and flee into exile in fear of prosecution for embezzlement and election fraud. The former first couple were airlifted from the presidential palace due to growing crowds of demonstrators intent on the removal of the despotic couple. Their reign of power is still one of the most infamous in modern history and the effects of their tyrannical and avaricious administration are still being felt today in the Philippines as the country still struggles with the remnants the Marcos’ rule. Myles A. Garcia, a native of the Philippines who relocated to the United States revisits the rule of the couple and the staggering amount of corruption that occurred under their rule.
October 8, 2017 will mark 50 years since Ernesto “Che” Guevara died in the jungles of Bolivia as he attempted to spread revolutionary ideology throughout Latin America. The legendary and iconic symbol for revolution around the world became a martyr in the process and to this day, his image can be found on posters, hats, shirts and even coffee mugs. His final campaign to bring revolution to Bolivia and the tragic fate that awaited him is one of the defining stories of the 20th century. Guevara, the razor-sharp Argentine intellectual, posed a threat to the dominance of imperialism throughout Latin America and in particular was a deadly threat to the business interests of United States businessmen. His death brings a sigh of relief to many governments around the world and deals a devastating blow the Castro regime in Cuba. Che, although no longer legally a citizen of Cuba at that point, is finally returned home 30 years after his death, when he is returned with several other revolutionaries in 1997 and buried in Santa Clara.
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