current affairs

I'm thankful that there are writers like Mr. Parenti who are willing to tell the truth about why the world works like it does. He's not a conspiracy theorist, as some allege. However, he logically explains that a powerful minority of the Earth's population has similar self-interests, thus creating a system that skews policies, economies, and laws in their favor.

September 11 was an opportunity for the world to wake up and change course toward a cooperative and peaceful future. Instead, the Bush administration, the oil/fossil fuels industry, and the military/weapons industry steered us toward more of the same old mistakes, arrogance, and ignorance. Mr. Parenti clues us in on who benefits from walking down the same road we've been so many times.

Incidentally, Oliver North never mentioned bin Laden in his Iran/Contra testimony, as a previous reviewer asserts, and this bit of right-wing mythology is well-debunked at snopes dot com (http://www.snopes.com/rumors/north.htm).

This little book is a masterful creation. It's short, easy to read, and hard-hitting. Parenti explains in plain language why the American government is so despised around the world. He shows that the U.S. kills civilians elsewhere on a regular basis (e.g. 30,000 in Nicaragua during the Reagan years, 2 million in Vietnam), but makes no apology for it. He shows that the U.S. government cares about oil, money, and corporate profits far more than about global problems such as AIDS, hunger, or deforestation. His chapter on Afghanistan is particularly helpful, especially when showing that Afghan women were doing very well before the U.S. supported the Taliban and Osama bin Laden and fueled a war which killed 1.5 million Afghans.

As a college instructor, I will surely assign this to my students, who will enjoy debating Parenti's arguments. Highest recommendation!

excellent and brilliant, all points are backed by hard fact and proof. For those not knowing what to beleive in this day and age, stop listening to jingoistic corporate-media blitherings and take the time to step back and read this book. Parenti unabashedly and unapologetically deals the truth clearly and concisely. Many oppose him but thats no suprise to me: "The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth." ~ H.L. Mencken