The #1 New York Times bestseller that charts America’s dangerous drift into a state of perpetual war. Written with bracing wit and intelligence; Rachel Maddow's Drift argues that we've drifted away from America's original ideals and become a nation weirdly at peace with perpetual war. To understand how we've arrived at such a dangerous place; Maddow takes us from the Vietnam War to today's war in Afghanistan; along the way exploring Reagan's radical presidency; the disturbing rise of executive authority; the gradual outsourcing of our war-making capabilities to private companies; the plummeting percentage of American families whose children fight our constant wars for us; and even the changing fortunes of G.I. Joe. Ultimately; she shows us just how much we stand to lose by allowing the scope of American military power to overpower our political discourse. Sensible yet provocative; dead serious yet seriÂously funny; Drift will reinvigorate a "loud and jangly" political debate about our vast and confounding national security state.
#498317 in Books 2010-11-02 2010-11-02Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.97 x 1.28 x 5.18l; 1.03 #File Name: 0307387925498 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. When the Nuts and Bolts Came off the Communist MachineBy Barbara FarrisThis is one of a handful of books published on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain. Unlike some others; REVOLUTION 1989 does not focus solely on the events of 1989. Two-thirds of the book cover background developments; going back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the occupation strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk and formation of Solidarity in 1980.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I would like the book to have continued and followed to the ...By Jon ThomasThis was a fascinating deconstruction of the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. However; if you're looking for a book about the collapse of the Soviet Union; this is not it. It focuses on the members of the Warsaw Pact and while the Soviet Union and the figures that ran it play an important role; the books stops just before the collapse of the Soviet Union itself. I would like the book to have continued and followed to the endgame of Gorbachev's reforms; but it stops at 1990. But disappointing really. It's also interesting to think what a wonderful thing the current free movement Europeans have in this context when many were prisoners in their own countries.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. One of the BestBy ThomasThis has got to be one of the best "history books" I have ever read. There is a goldmine of information that you wouldn't find in your normal history class. It gives a masterfully-written and engaging look at virtually all of the Soviet Satellites between the late 1960s up to 1991; including the Afghanistan War; Solidarity; the Power Politics behind all of it; and the eventual crumble through the regimes of Bulgaria; Romania; East Berlin; Poland; Czech; and Hungary. Even if you are not looking to use this as an educational experience; this dynamic text is a must-have for fans of central-eastern European history.
