Witty and ironic, Ron Hirshbein's book is also deadly serious. Here we have a first-rate account of how America's excessive and self-interested uses of terror have resulted in the futility of our present war on terror. It is a must-read for everyone concerned with terrorism and American military affairs.
With razor-sharp analysis and searing wit, Ron Hirschbein exposes the inglorious history of the world’s most powerful concept today: terrorism. Peeling back the layers of myth and propaganda in prevailing accounts of terrorism, Hirschbein outlines an alternative history of the way in which the concept has affected US foreign and domestic policy over time. If you ever wondered how the US wound up at Abu Ghraib, Camp X-Ray or using drones to kill children, this book is for you. Rigorous, insightful, and deeply ethical, this is academic criticism at its very best.
Ron Hirschbein’s latest book lays bare the myriad contradictions in ‘the war on terror’. Rarely has such a dark topic had such a light touch, thanks to his inimitable, provocative and oh-so-readable style.
A groundbreaking, highly-readable book designed for those willing to rethink, without prejudice, what they thought previously to be self-evident and undeniable in U.S. foreign policy.
Ron Hirschbein is an ironist, a man of the left who takes exception to American exceptionalism, one whose professional mission is to bring to light the mismatch between elite-produced propaganda and 'what’s really going on.'
Hirschbein has a wry, engaging, and insightful perspective on the US and terrorism. He reminds readers that ‘terrorism didn't always get a bad press.’ During WW II, the US government celebrated the terror bombings of Germany and Japan and during the Cold War extolled the virtue of nuclear terrorism as an indispensable strategy to deter war among superpowers. More recently, however, the American government views terrorism as evil, the illegitimate and intolerable actions of its enemies. Hirschbein's thesis is that the calculated use of violence to accomplish goals in foreign policy, regardless of whether defined as terrorism, rarely accomplishes the goals of the perpetrators (even when the perpetrator is the US government).. . .[H]e raises issues worthy of attention from ethicists, historians, political scientists, and everyone else concerned with the future of humanity.. . .[T]he book is a fascinating collection of provocative observations that should not be ignored. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.
[The book combines] a candid, hard-hitting analysis with unexpected ironic observation in exploring the myths and propaganda in terrorist experiences. . . .[This book is] a college-level reference perfect for political science debates and terrorist history studies alike.
A groundbreaking, highly-readable book designed for those willing to rethink, without prejudice, what they thought previously to be self-evident and undeniable in U.S. foreign policy.
Hirschbein has a wry, engaging, and insightful perspective on the US and terrorism. He reminds readers that ‘terrorism didn't always get a bad press.’ During WW II, the US government celebrated the terror bombings of Germany and Japan and during the Cold War extolled the virtue of nuclear terrorism as an indispensable strategy to deter war among superpowers. More recently, however, the American government views terrorism as evil, the illegitimate and intolerable actions of its enemies. Hirschbein's thesis is that the calculated use of violence to accomplish goals in foreign policy, regardless of whether defined as terrorism, rarely accomplishes the goals of the perpetrators (even when the perpetrator is the US government).. . .[H]e raises issues worthy of attention from ethicists, historians, political scientists, and everyone else concerned with the future of humanity.. . .[T]he book is a fascinating collection of provocative observations that should not be ignored. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.
Hirschbein has a wry, engaging, and insightful perspective on the US and terrorism. He reminds readers that ‘terrorism didn't always get a bad press.’ During WW II, the US government celebrated the terror bombings of Germany and Japan and during the Cold War extolled the virtue of nuclear terrorism as an indispensable strategy to deter war among superpowers. More recently, however, the American government views terrorism as evil, the illegitimate and intolerable actions of its enemies. Hirschbein's thesis is that the calculated use of violence to accomplish goals in foreign policy, regardless of whether defined as terrorism, rarely accomplishes the goals of the perpetrators (even when the perpetrator is the US government).. . .[H]e raises issues worthy of attention from ethicists, historians, political scientists, and everyone else concerned with the future of humanity.. . .[T]he book is a fascinating collection of provocative observations that should not be ignored. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.
