Rating: 
Summary: Provides more than a clue or two for CHANGES in PERSPECTIVE
Review: It's necessary to stress the importance of understanding the distinct changes in the threat to U.S. security, and debunk the myths created and circulated by the ignorant and uninformed. Historically, we have viewed the threat to our national security as being associated with a government, linear in development, in accordance with well-understood rules of engagement, and an enemy whose tactics, weapons, and assets were relatively easy to detect and recognize.
Changes in perspective should be viewed in response to the caveats of where and/or who constitutes the crises; why is intelligence so important; what is the nature of intelligence work, and how does intelligence in low intensity operations integrate with the new world order-or disorder?
First, where and/or who constitute the crises? Today life is full of crises-governmental crises, financial crises, personal crises-that are all competing for attention. Catastrophic crises, such as floods, earthquakes, and disease compete for resources side-by-side with military and non-state insurgencies. Terrorism and globally organized criminal syndicates command the attention of both foreign and domestic intelligence organizations-civilian and military-for redress on the issues of security and order. The parameters however, of all the crises listed above meet the conditions and definitions of low intensity conflict.
Many politicians, academicians, and media representatives erroneously contend that crises are the result of cataclysmic events, and evolutionary forces that are neither predictable nor avoidable. Additionally, the nuclear preoccupation of the past is a poor guide to the pressing security concerns of today. Time-consuming multilateral diplomacy including peacekeeping and stability operations and protracted low intensity conflict e.g., the global war on terrorism, Haitian insurrection, etc, not the dynamics of a rapidly developing confrontation between major powers, are this nation's most pressing threats. It is in this arena that the demands for adequate intelligence will be made. It is with an educated population that we may rise to meet the challenges for world peace.
Written with both insight... "Without the hungry car-and American demands for the gas to feed it-pumps wouldn't creak in the desert, tankers wouldn't leak off Jidda, warships wouldn't be parked in the Gulf, American soldiers wouldn't be stationed at desert bases..." P.87; and humor... "THIS WON'T HURT A BIT! If they want to marry, and most do. Egyptian females are expected to have undergone surgery beforehand. Female genital mutilation-a clitoris-snipping operation-is sometimes performed by the local barber. Although illegal, painful and hazardous, "FGM" is a right of passage, and some 97 percent of Egyptian women have undergone it." P. 99.
Read the book, and encourage others to do so, also.
Rating:
Summary: A must-buy
Review: Most of the time, a book this useful is a drag to read -- you feel like you're just taking your medicine, fighting through boring parts to get the information you want. But Rossi's book transcends all that, with a witty, even sarcastic tone that never lets you forget that this stuff isn't just numbers and statistics; it's the human story behind everything that makes the book so incredibly interesting. It's one thing to read about whether the actions of North Korea should concern you, it's another to read that Kim Il-Jong spends all his time getting drunk on expensive whiskey while still leaving his father (dead for eight years) as the official president of North Korea. Numbers don't tell the whole story! Anyone who wants to get an idea of what's going on in the world, where, when and WHY, should get this book. You'll keep it by your bed to read again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Good idea in theory. Simplistic jabber in practice.
Review: One important thing that Americans -- or anyone else -- should know about the rest of the world it that the world and its problems are complex.
Unfortunately, the author misses this point. She seems instead to think that in order to "fix" Americans' understanding of the world, she must spread her own dogmatic oversimplifications; and that's exactly what the book does.
The book reads like a giddy 15-year-old's diary, and at the same time like a propaganda pamphlet.
Though Rossi's handling (and understanding?) of complex topics is clumsy and shallow, she seems certain that every American should share her narrow opinions.
For those looking to be told what to think, this book might work. For those looking for facts and nuances about the complex world, I'm afraid you will have to look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: So many typos, so little time
Review: Page 13...is it "Talibani" or "Talabani"? Page 228....Liechtenstein is between Switzerland and Austria, not on the North shore between the Netherlands and Germany. There were so many run-on sentences and bad grammar that I could swear this woman does not speak English. You will find yourself saying, "what was that again?" Who proofed this book? I went to the author's website to let her know that she needs to start this book all over again, and I found a page titled "Oops," dedicated to a FEW typos, accompanied by the author's giggly comments. It takes some guts to write a "factual" book that's full of anything BUT the facts! Also, I might be a "stupid American" but I'm not stupid enough to believe that EVERYTHING that is wrong with the world is the U.S.' fault. EVERYthing? I know we've made some mistakes, but SERIOUSLY! The book is extremely biased, come on people...the reference section in the back points to NPR, BBC, cnn.com, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, msnbc.com, The New Yorker, etc... They taught me in college that you are to NEVER use the internet as a source for a college paper because it's just opinion. This book is chock FULL of internet research! I read some of the other comments on this page that mention typos, mis-statements...then I read the one where the teacher is USING THIS BOOK AS A REFERENCE!! OH MY! It's time to homeschool our children!!! All I can say to those that find this book a good, factual read is that, "I'm scared for you."
Rating:
Summary: Never Boring
Review: Rossi writes in a very humorous style. It keeps one turning page after page. The layout of the book is excellent with pictures and Facts in boxes. I also found Rossi to be very objective. She gives a fairly balanced view of the world we live in. I wish I could give it six stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Good way to get fast information
Review: Sometimes it is hard to know what is going on in a trouble spot of the world, what the history is and how it has impacted on real people. I found this a very interesting and even handed view of the world. It tries not to demonize either side in a conflict and that is where some of the critics have had issue with this author. I didn't feel there was any particular bias. I learned something and I feel every high school student should be studying and discussing this book in class and airing all viewpoints. It at least gets you thinking.
Rating:
Summary: A Quickie Guide to the World's Hot Spots
Review: The author states her purpose on the first page of her intro, and I quote: "to provide you with a contextual mapping of the world's geopolitical hot spots, and a familiarity with the names, terms and ideas you need to know to decipher global events".
She succeeds admirably at her goal, giving 3-15 page summaries of "fast facts" (about population, unemployment, ethnicity,religion, exports, etc.), historical background (focusing, though, just on the history leading up to the "hot" issues of today), and key players in the country's government. She makes no claim to cover everything, instead providing a listing of websites and print resources where the reader can go for more information.
My quibbles are these: some of her website links are incorrect/obsolete, some refer to subscriber sites where a $99 annual fee is required to access. There are some glaring copy errors: on page 299, she refers to Africa as a country rather than a continent. Finally, her views are somewhat left of center, and her predictions on results of a war in Iraq haven't happened (e.g. Israel bombing Iran) -- at least, not yet.
All in all, though, a useful book -- similar to the way foreign language phrase guides are useful when you're traveling in a country where you don't know the language too well.
Rating: 
Summary: Very informative but very opinionated.
Review: This book has tons of useful information, but you will have to wade through the authors opinions to get it. I liked the book's layout and use it often, but the little "snide" comments made about Bush and others should have been left out.
Rating:
Summary: Brief yet comprehensive
Review: This book is definitely a must for most Americans. It is brief and to the point, however quite comprehensive and accurate in its content. I found most of the articles quite well balanced, particularly the middle eastern conflict, the India/Pakistan issues and the article about Iran.
Rating:
Summary: Informative, but full of tiresome political commentary
Review: This book is highly informative. I learned a lot about geography, other cultures, history, and especially current world events. As a result, I'm more interested in the world headlines that I see in the newspaper every day. That said, I did not enjoy the way the author relentlessly pounds her political views into the reader's head. As another reviewer remarked, she does seem to hate her country, and indeed, does not live here. Her constant United States-bashing detracts from the book.
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