Good, Intelligent political books

[Undesired Walrus]

Now, I am not talking about 'Dude, where's my country' or any such literary immaturity.

Currently, I am reading 'The Foriengers Gift' by Fouad Ajami, a Shia who is strongly in favour of the Iraq War. I can't say I agree with him, but it is a vastly intelligent book, written by a vastly intelligent man. It gives me a good argument on the other side, which is important.

Are there any good, intelligent books that oppose the Iraq War, without any biases? I'd be interested in reading that too.

[andyandy]

Have you read Orientalism (http://www.amazon.com/Orientalism-Edward-W-Said/dp/039474067X) by Said?

It's an examination of the long history/nature of western attitudes towards the east - if you want to put the iraq war and indeed post colonial 20th century middle-eastern involvement into some historical perspective, then it's worth considering. It's very much an academic text though, and written in 1977 (though there is a 1995 afterword in the later edition), so it depends exactly what you want....

Lord Cromer [The English colonial master of Egypt] is somewhat indicative of the prevalent us/them mentality of the era - he details

""Accuracy is abhorent to the oriental mind." Want of accuracy which easily degenerates into untruthfullness is in fact the main characteristic. The European is a natural logician, by nature sceptical requiring proof before he accepts the truth of any proposition. The oriental reasoning is of the most slipshod description. They are often incapable of drawing the most obvious conclusions from any simple premise. Endeavour to obtain a plain statement from an Egytian - he will probably contradict himself half a dozen times."

That paricular piece was only written in 1908 - and one could argue that this sort of implicit assumption of western superiority, which continued through much of the 20th century is still apparent today when one examines modern day western involvement in the middle east.

well worth a read.

[DingoBingo]

Why The Left Hates America by Daniel J. Flynn. It pretty much shows the lie that Marxism is(Nazism).

[andyandy]

Why The Left Hates America by Daniel J. Flynn. It pretty much shows the lie that Marxism is(Nazism).

Reading the book's own desription....

The American flag stands for hatred, warmongering, and imperialism."
"Our free-market system is responsible for killing and oppressing millions of people."
"This country breeds racists and sexists."
Is America really that bad? It is if you accept the lies and propaganda from the anti-American Left in our own country. This dismal, distorted view of the greatest, freest nation in history comes from a Left who would rather idolize Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro than honor George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who burn down businesses and destroy property to protest free markets, and who fight alongside radical terrorists rather than against them. They trample the Constitution while hiding behind the First Amendment, and their idea of displaying the American flag is setting it on fire and parading it through the streets. Yes, this is a Left comprised of people who truly hate their country, and they will stop at nothing to tear her down—smashing our liberty in the process.
Why the Left Hates America punches a hole right through the thin veneer of political correctness that has long protected these anti-Americans—exposing their rotting, vacuous core. Author and commentator Daniel J. Flynn digs deep into the American Left and reveals why they blame every bad deed in the world on the United States, while ignoring her myriad contributions.
This book cogently points out that, of course, all Americans have the right to speak their minds. But, all too often, the actions by the anti-American Left become destructive and anarchistic. You need not look any further than the explosive 1999 World Trade Organization "protests" in Seattle, campus book burnings, or even John Walker Lindh to see that factions on the Left are the worst perpetrators of anti-Americanism. And what may be most shocking is that many of these anti-Americans are at the same time teachers, professors, journalists, news reporters, and even judges and politicians.
Probing and controversial—without devolving into jingoism—this book proves once and for all that what you see in the news and learn in school is often tainted by the anti-American Left, and it shows you what you can do to keep them at bay.

wouldn't fill me with much confidence of an "intelligent" book....

How many Marxists do you actually know? Would you say Marxism is a powerful political or even grassroots force in America? And why would you (apparently) equate the ideology of Marxism with the ideology of Nazism?

[Damien Evans]

World Politics: Trend and transformation by Kegly and Wittkopf (older editions), not sure on the authers for the newer ones. They're excellent books, if you don't mind paying $100 a book.

They were our coursebooks for Politics: States, Nations and Security at Uni.

They're also relatively non partisan, which is refreshing.

[Darth Rotor]

Now, I am not talking about 'Dude, where's my country' or any such literary immaturity.

Currently, I am reading 'The Foriengers Gift' by Fouad Ajami, a Shia who is strongly in favour of the Iraq War. I can't say I agree with him, but it is a vastly intelligent book, written by a vastly intelligent man. It gives me a good argument on the other side, which is important.

Are there any good, intelligent books that oppose the Iraq War, without any biases? I'd be interested in reading that too.

It is a little dated, but Walter Russel Mead's Special Providence (http://www.amazon.com/Special-Providence-American-Foreign-Changed/dp/0415935369) is a decent look at the evolution of political strains internal to America that influence how America interacts with the world.

It was published before 9-11, and at the end of the book Mead muses a bit about how America will act in the future: a hegemon or an empire?

DR

[Garrette]

I, too, am reading "The Foreigner's Gift" and recommend it highly.

I may have to get "Orientalism" now, but I can empathize with Lord Cromer's stance. The thought process of the Iraqis with whom I dealt (and some non-Iraqis, too) is similar to that which Cromer describes in your excerpt, and also matches what I was told by my colleagues regarding their dealings.

Our failing is not in recognizing the differenct thought process but in not finding a way to work with it.

I have also recently discovered Colin S. Gray, who is mainly a military theorist but does better than most in rolling military theory into politics. I disagree with some of what he says and how he reaches what I think are shaky conclusions, but he is a very clear writer with a couple of new books out right now that I need to get.

[IllegalArgument]

I recommend Robert Caro's books on President Johnson, yes, that was awhile ago but you'll understand how politics work much better after reading them.

Also, the kind of people that exist in politics. It's slow to start but hang with it.

Means of Ascent
Master of the Senate
"Third book isn't done"

[IllegalArgument]

I have also recently discovered Colin S. Gray, who is mainly a military theorist but does better than most in rolling military theory into politics. I disagree with some of what he says and how he reaches what I think are shaky conclusions, but he is a very clear writer with a couple of new books out right now that I need to get.

Garrette, try the link below.

It's a conservative site focusing on the military and national politics.

I sure as hell don't agree with often, but it's a good read.

Defense and the National Interest:
http://www.d-n-i.net/index.html

[Sinisterdan]

I'm reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's latest on President Lincoln -- not normally a fan of Doris, but this one is pretty good. That, and I can read about Lincoln almost indefinitely.

[Garrette]

Garrette, try the link below.

It's a conservative site focusing on the military and national politics.

I sure as hell don't agree with often, but it's a good read.

Defense and the National Interest:
http://www.d-n-i.net/index.html Thanks. I've used that site several times. Interesting that they make Boyd prominent. I've got his stuff (much of it cobbled together from various internet sites).

You might try this site (http://merln.ndu.edu/) which pulls the many US military publications into one location. I have subscriptions to some of them (not enough; they're not all inexpensive). Strategic Studies Institute is a free subscription with some excellent monographs (it's how I discovered Gray), though many are obviously biased.

[IllegalArgument]

Thanks. I've used that site several times. Interesting that they make Boyd prominent. I've got his stuff (much of it cobbled together from various internet sites).

You might try this site (http://merln.ndu.edu/) which pulls the many US military publications into one location. I have subscriptions to some of them (not enough; they're not all inexpensive). Strategic Studies Institute is a free subscription with some excellent monographs (it's how I discovered Gray), though many are obviously biased.

Excellent, you're the only person that I have met that knows Boyd, that I didn't directly introduced myself.

Have you read any of the biographies on Boyd, "Boyd", clever name that, is the only one I have read. Interesting man, though I don't think I would have actually liked to work for him.

Thanks for the link.

[Darth Rotor]

Excellent, you're the only person that I have met that knows Boyd, that I didn't directly introduced myself.

Have you read any of the biographies on Boyd, "Boyd", clever name that, is the only one I have read. Interesting man, though I don't think I would have actually liked to work for him.

Thanks for the link.
The father of the OODA loop has been well known in some circles for a very long time. My first encounter with his ideas was early 1980's, but my brain wasn't at the right level for it. My second was when I read "The Pentagon Paradox" (about the acquisition of the F/A-18) in the early 1990's. My brain was ready for Boyd. I have since enjoyed more of his writing.

He's good.

DR

[IllegalArgument]

The father of the OODA loop has been well known in some circles for a very long time. My first encounter with his ideas was early 1980's, but my brain wasn't at the right level for it. My second was when I read "The Pentagon Paradox" (about the acquisition of the F/A-18) in the early 1990's. My brain was ready for Boyd. I have since enjoyed more of his writing.

He's good.

DR

Boyd changed my opinion of which aircraft were good and why, I use to think F-14s were good and F-16 were ok. I did know the F-111 sucked. :)

It was great to learn that one of favorite aircraft from my teenage years was in the good category, the A-10.

I love Boyd's ability for buercratic warfare.

Have you seen the Pentagon Wars?

[Garrette]

Haven't read a biography of Boyd, no. I'll add it to my ever-growing list of books I ought to get.

Which is the list right after the ever-growing list of books I have but haven't read yet...

Sigh.