Rating: 
Summary: Worth a Hundred Liberal Tomes
Review: The likes of Michael Moore and Naom Chomsky can only dream of having the same degree of understanding, logic, and common sense that D'souza regularly exhibits in his work. If you're tired of the liberal bomb throwing or just want to have some good ammo to throw back at your liberal know-it-all in-laws, this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunate
Review: This man is one of the unfortunate many publishing in the wake of September 11 who takes advantage of the climate of fear to put across views that, if embraced by the American public, will ultimately be the downfall of the society he so loudly trumpets. His extremely bigoted, black-and-white approach to international affairs is representative of the overall and overwhelming ignorance of Americans about the world outside their borders. Relying on his status as an immigrant to give a ring of authenticity to his statements about the rest of the world, D'Souza merely recommends and reinforces the same kind of thinking that leads to Americans being disliked by many in the global community - thinking that is isolationist and "holier-than-thou". America is not in fact a shining beacon of justice and goodness, any more than any other country, and the sooner the majority of Americans wake up and start learning about the world around them not to degrade it but to understand it, the better. It's disturbing that Mr. D'Souza's absolute [junk] has become one of the top sellers.
Rating: 
Summary: So GREATTT???
Review: I had always thought like the rest of us Americans did until about ten years ago when I took an overseas job. Now I live in the real world. Of course, I can't blame most of us "heartlanders" for thinking as arrogantly as we do. How can I? when the gov't and the media feeds all this garbage into our heads that we are all this and that.The truth is, to think that we are the most powerful country in the world - but not due to our nuclear stockpile or airpower - but the incredible humanity that lives between the Atlantic and the Pacific is ludicrous. Honestly, ask ourselves, are we really keepers of the faith? For crying outloud, we rarely make any effort to help our fellow American neighbor if it inconvenieces us. Who are we kidding? Yes, there are some out there but of the lesser. Sure, we help other countries with their foreign and domestic affairs, but if you take a deep look, who is it that's really benefiting in the short or long run? America, who else? Here's another one for you. Believe it or not but we're the most prejudice country in the world. I can go on and on. Americans really need to go out and see the real world and I don't mean the shopping sprees of Europe and the beautiful beaches of the Bahamas. And of course, the American cinema has portrayed so many splendid countries as shaky and dangerous when in reality, they are some of the most beautiful places and people in the world. The reason Bin Laden and the rest of the world hate us is not because of jealousy but mainly "attitude" and the actions we take from our attitude. We remain the only country truly dedicated to the ideal that "All Men are Created Equal" AH HA! We treat everyone else as if we're better than they are whether we realize it or not. True or not, it's unjust. We should realize how lucky we are rather than how proud or how great we are. At this point you wouldn't expect me to say this but, don't get me wrong, I still think America is great. There are still many great things about this place. I mean who else has a Shaq, Kobe and Papa Johns Pizza? Anyway, if the day comes where America and Americans ever make real peace with the rest of the world, then I can proudly answer the question, as in this case, "WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT AMERICA?" Above all else the book was OK, from my American point of view, that is.
Rating: 
Summary: Open the borders...
Review: I found this book in the book store and had the pleasure of hearing him discuss the book on CSPAN2's Booknotes. For all of you who area ashamed to be an American - YOU ARE FREE TO LEAVE. That is one of the greatest privileges we have. I don't know who first said it but to find out the best country in the world: Drop all borders and see where people leave from and where they are going to. People risk their lives and leave their families to come to America. They don't do that to leave America, they don't do it to run off to Czechoslovakia. Why???
Rating:
Summary: Dinesh D'Souza does not take America's greatness for granted
Review: Many are overly critical of America's faults while ignoring its superiority compared to other nations and cultures. America's values of freedom and personal autonomy are often taken for granted even by its own citizens. This is especially true for those utopians who go out of their way to push the envelope testing the limits of our personal freedoms. Dinesh D'Souza immigrated from India as a young student some twenty years ago. "You become Indian by having Indian parents," points out the author. Describing oneself as American, though, has nothing to do with one's ethnic background, but rather "a function of embracing a set of ideas." F. Scott Fitzgerald's fictional character, Jay Gatsby, is not the only American to reinvent himself. D'Souza acknowledges that Osama bin Ladin and other committed haters of the United States are right "to fear the dissolution of their traditional societies" because "America is a subversive idea." It might be argued that America's hegemonic greatness validates Francis Fukuyama's challenging thesis that the end of history has indeed occurred. Is it even possible to greatly improve upon the American experiment? D'Souza concedes that the "'gale of creative destruction' that undermines traditional institutions and traditional values" may be found most upsetting to those preferring a static and conforming social milieu. The author is also a father of a seven year old daughter who fears the "toxic influences in American culture that threaten to destroy her innocence." Pornography is widely available and many of America's celebrities and cultural institutions ardently advocate secular humanist values. These pernicious aspects, asserts D'Souza, still do not negate the overwhelming benefits of living in America. Making peace with the inevitable tradeoffs is part of the bargain. D'Souza adores America. His abiding love pervades every sentence of this beautiful book. Everyone should own a copy of What's So Great About America. This is also a work that should be periodically picked up whenever one is tempted to forget that America is the greatest country that has ever existed on this planet.
Rating:
Summary: Racist, elitest, and ethnocentric!
Review: D'Souza is one of the most racist, elitest and ethnocentric men I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. This book is full of misinformation, overgeneralizations, and outright lies. Please don't support this man by buying his book, when there are so many other great reads out there!
Rating:
Summary: Hate Americans?
Review: US Supporting dictatorships- I don't see how the US is to blame for supporting dictatorships. Obviously not every country in the world is a free democracy. Is the US to blame for a repressive government in Saudi Arabia? Or is it possibly due to extremely strict Muslim beliefs. Maybe the American way is to let people live how they want to live until they start blowing other people up. I think the the previous reviewer should get a grip. Also, most Americans speak English because there isn't a need to learn a foreign language unless you have thousands of dollars and plenty of vacation time to fly overseas. In Europe they know different languages because you can't cross the street without needing to know another language. I personally know plenty of Americans who have had formal training in Spanish or some other language who can't speak a word of it now. The reason -- there is no opportunity to use it on a continual basis and therefore they forget the language. In India, they speak over 50 different languages in there own country alone, which may be culturally rich, but is an industrial nightmare. I prefer to live in a he country with one language where I can travel to another state and still be able to speak the common language and be able to put food on the table. Thank God for America. I don't know quite how to respond to an idiot who blames Americans for wearing sunblock or for not being able to spend more than 2 weeks at a time in Europe. In America, we work for a living and don't have time to spend months traveling the world. Anyone who is ashamed to be an American is FREE to leave, unlike many countries. So, don't let the Statue of Liberty kick you ... on the way out. Leave now.
Rating:
Summary: Imperialism, Global Hegemony, and Corporate Greed.....!
Review: If you want to read a real good book about what's so great about America, and if you share a conscience of humanity, and social justice for all, then I would suggest reading Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present", or William Blume's "Rogue States". Being myself of South Asian descent, in which world does D'souza think he is living in, when we have such progressive South Asian forces, like DRUM(Desis Rising Up and Moving) who are defying the corporate mainstream, and speaking out against bigotry, racism, and this so-called myopic view that he holds, that we all should stop complaining, and suddenly be elated with joy of our country, no matter how many genocides occur, in our name...shows how the mere immaturity of his own one-dimensional psyche!
Rating:
Summary: One of the"Empire's" Greatest Cheer Leaders"!
Review: I totally agree with the sentiments, and the facts presented by the previous review "What's Wrong With America", it is people like him who have to courage to stand up, dissent and to say, that we are not puppets to this charade of lies, corporate greed, and global hegemony. It's sad, that such progressive voices as Noam Chomskey, Howard Zinn, Norman Finkelstein aren't heard in the mainstream media, that is so much dominated by the right wing rhetoric of "war against terrorism".
Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: ... He would say that true, America does work to seek its own best interests, but this attitude is not uniquely American. We are not hated for having goals, but because we have ACHIEVED them. Why have we achieved them? Because our way of life, and our attitude, is the best in the world. If a person wanted to refute what Mr. Desouza had to say, a good start would be by telling us what ideas the book puts forth, then explaining how they are wrong. ... (Be careful to note that I say Islamic FUNDAMENTALIST. As Desouza points out in this importtant work, there is a difference between the Islamic Faith and Islamic Fundamentalism.) In trurh, this is a hard book to argue with, which is probably why it has made so many people angry. If it were up to me, this book would be required reading for all high school students. A must read!
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