Total Insecurity: The Myth of American Omnipotence

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Summary: Total Insecurity: The Myth of American Omnipotence
Review: I think this is a superb analysis of an indescribably tragic situation. But also a book that can make a difference; it's so well grounded in documented fact. And it's a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Very Dissapointed - Flawed Analysis
Review: The book does not live up to it's title. Total Insecurity, the myth of American Omnipotence, is a somewhat confused argument against US foriegn and domestic policy of the Bush administration (one that could, and has, been more effectively made).

I bought this book because I do believe America to be insecure, and as a foriegner living in the US, I would support the hypothesis that the current administration is overtly arrogant in its diplomatic efforts, or lack thereof.

Brightman does not write well in this book, the first two chapters concentrate more on her experience, from college, of politics during the Vietnam war. This is scene setting, although it is misplaced. (As an aside, the social revolution of the 1960's, and the backlash, was not confined to the US. The 60's happened in europe too!).

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Summary: A Sharp Mind Goes to Work on Where We Are Today
Review: While others have gone to Iraq and written about their experiences or talked to Washington insiders and turned out "my informants told me" books, Carol Brightman, it would seem, has been up in Maine reading extensively, both print materials and on the internet, and asking, How? Why? She has also been analyzing her own experience over several decades as a dissenting observer of American foreign policy beginning with her college years and continuing through the Vietnam era and beyond. From this somewhat removed, uncompromised position she has constructed a cool and original account of our present situation. Brightman shows that this situation did not originate with 9/11 but has roots in American beliefs and attitudes and actions over many years. The evidence she presents is relentless and largely convincing. This is an engrossing, in-your-face, and challenging meditation on where America is today that provides no easy solutions. It sharpens the mind much as a large dose of wasabi clears the head.