Rating: 
Summary: 100,000 dead; no blood
Review: The book THE RISE OF BABLYON by Charles H. Dyer promises to take readers, "Inside the mind of the Iraqi dictator [Saddam Hussein]." Instead, it mostly rehashes Biblical prophecies regarding Babylon. Maybe ten percent of the book deals with Saddam Hussein's career, so if you're looking to learn a lot about the Iraq's president, Mr. Dyer's work is not for you. It is interesting to note that THE RISE OF BABLYON refers to the 1991 Gulf War as a "nearly bloodless" affair. Oh, really? Then why did General Norman Schwartzkopf say the war "must have killed 100,000" of Iraq's citizens? Is that a "nearly bloodless" affair? Nor does THE RISE OF BABLYON mention that in the 1980s Saddam Hussein was an ally of the Reagan/Bush administration. The book also neglects that, in 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait after a Bush administration diplomat said the United States had no position on Iraq's dispute with Kuwait - only to have the U.S. then suddenly decry the invasion. Fewer than 200 pages in large typeface, THE RISE OF BABYLON is really a magazine article overblown into a book. While I'm against the current (I write this March 15, 2003) war with Iraq threatened by the United States, I bought author Dyer's book hoping to understand the pro-war point of view. But THE RISE OF BABLYON falls far short of convincing the reader that war with Iraq is necessary.
Rating:
Summary: Foolish thoughts for foolish people
Review: This book is utter crap. In fact the reviews by the other readers are more entertaining than the book itself. They are a frightening look into minds of those who choose to live in pure fantasy. This book would be outright laughable to anyone but a complete lunatic.
Rating:
Summary: Foolish thoughts for foolish people
Review: This book is utter crap. In fact the reviews by the other readers are more entertaining than the book itself. They are a frightening look into minds of those who choose to live in pure fantasy. This book would be outright laughable to anyone but a complete lunatic.
Rating: 
Summary: Informative but also slanted...
Review: This was a good book but the author came across as feeling his theory about the, 'end-times babylon' was the ONLY theory. His theory was good and fasinating, don't get me wrong but it (i.e. his theory) came across as don't read any other latter-day commentary but mine. Otherwise I liked the book
Rating:
Summary: Cashing in on mayhem
Review: You might have heard that Saddam thinks he is linked in some way to the great kings of the days of yore in Mesopotamia. It's an interesting part of his megalomania, and you might imagine that he uses this fantasy to justify his rampages in the same way that the Israeli settlers in the occupied territories of Palestine use the legends of Moses and Joshua to justify their murder and degradation of the Palestinians. Don't waste your money on this book. There's a minimum of information on Saddam Hussein and plenty of Dyer's usual mix of Biblical cutting & pasting and sanctification of American & Israeli power-grabbing. This is religion in the service of politics, no better than that of Osama Bin Laden. This book is a base attempt to cash in on war-fever.
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