World Since 1945, The: A Brief History

Rating:
Summary: there are really much better books for sale
Review: Brower's book - I am sad to say - doesn't do much else than putting the sequence of events after WW II in chronologic order.
There is hardly anything that we'd call "analysis". Let me give you four examples.

Page 230 (about international trade): "Western governments [...] encouraged developing states to integrate their countries in the global economy, especially by lowering the tariffs on imports from [...] the developed world." But Brower doesn't ever mention the policy of developed countries to protect their markets from imports from e.g. Third World farmers. See also: D. Bosscher et al., 2002.

Page 255 (about Somalia): "The nomadic peoples there [of Somalia] had proven unable to create a stable government [...]. It had become a failed state. [...] Nongovernmental organizations attempted to help the starving peoples, but were powerless to prevent the wardlord-led militia from stealing their supplies [...]."

If we have to believe Michael Maren's first hand witness report of Somalia ("The Road to Hell" ISBN 0743227867) the Western NGO's and the corrupt Somali government shared at least some common interests (!) and the NGO's in general might have been more concerned about 'staying in business' than to relief the needs of the Somali people, and thus might bear co-responsability for the Somali disaster.

Page 23 (about nuking Japan): "The concern of American military experts that without the use of the bomb the war might endure for months, bringing with it enormous US casualties, was well founded."

The reasons why Truman decided to use the bomb are still (!) subject to debate. Nowhere in his book Brower mentions that Japan (especially the zaibatsu) "might" have been on the brink of surrender and that the bomb "might" have been used (also) to show the American muscles to the USSR. See: T.E. Vadney, The World since 1945.

Page 231 (about the 1991 Gulf War): "It ended with a the triumph of a coalition of United Nations forces led by the United States [...]."

Vadney has pointed out that during the First Gulf War de UN did not even have a token command! It is quite debatable to call something a "UN coalition" when the UN are not in control.

My conclusion is that "Brower's world" since 1945 is a politically correct one that wouldn't upset any current or future US administration. But it doesn't lead to deeper understanding. Nor reflection. Nor learning.

Rating:
Summary: there are really much better books for sale
Review: Brower's book - I am sad to say - doesn't do much else than putting the sequence of events after WW II in chronologic order.
There is hardly anything that we'd call "analysis". Let me give you four examples.

Page 230 (about international trade): "Western governments [...] encouraged developing states to integrate their countries in the global economy, especially by lowering the tariffs on imports from [...] the developed world." But Brower doesn't ever mention the policy of developed countries to protect their markets from imports from e.g. Third World farmers. See also: D. Bosscher et al., 2002.

Page 255 (about Somalia): "The nomadic peoples there [of Somalia] had proven unable to create a stable government [...]. It had become a failed state. [...] Nongovernmental organizations attempted to help the starving peoples, but were powerless to prevent the wardlord-led militia from stealing their supplies [...]."

If we have to believe Michael Maren's first hand witness report of Somalia ("The Road to Hell" ISBN 0743227867) the Western NGO's and the corrupt Somali government shared at least some common interests (!) and the NGO's in general might have been more concerned about 'staying in business' than to relief the needs of the Somali people, and thus might bear co-responsability for the Somali disaster.

Page 23 (about nuking Japan): "The concern of American military experts that without the use of the bomb the war might endure for months, bringing with it enormous US casualties, was well founded."

The reasons why Truman decided to use the bomb are still (!) subject to debate. Nowhere in his book Brower mentions that Japan (especially the zaibatsu) "might" have been on the brink of surrender and that the bomb "might" have been used (also) to show the American muscles to the USSR. See: T.E. Vadney, The World since 1945.

Page 231 (about the 1991 Gulf War): "It ended with a the triumph of a coalition of United Nations forces led by the United States [...]."

Vadney has pointed out that during the First Gulf War de UN did not even have a token command! It is quite debatable to call something a "UN coalition" when the UN are not in control.

My conclusion is that "Brower's world" since 1945 is a politically correct one that wouldn't upset any current or future US administration. But it doesn't lead to deeper understanding. Nor reflection. Nor learning.