Book Description
What is the nature of the aesthetic experience? Is it the same for everyone? It is possible to facilitate its occurrence? This book focuses on the psychology of the aesthetic experience and on the perception and understanding of art, suggesting ways to raise levels of visual literacy and
enhance artistic enjoyment. The findings will be of importance not only to museum professionals and art educators, but also to psychologists and those interested in the nature of the aesthetic experience.
Customer Reviews:
A Liberal Arts Must-Read.......2007-07-09
This extraordinary book is, I believe, under-read and under-utilized. Readers might do best to first read one of Dr. Czikszentmihaly's ("chick-sent-me-high")easier works, such as one of his books on flow experience.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience would be my recommendation here. Once the concept of flow has been grasped, reading The Art of Seeing will take reader to an entirely new level of both theoretical and practical understanding of human happiness, contentment,enjoyment, etc.
I would caution that the reader, if he or she is like me, must be willing to study and re-study this book's first 2 or 3 chapters, as these pages lay essential groundwork. However, once these well-written but nonetheless difficult pages are digested, the remainder of the book reads smoothly and pleasurably.
I have spent years trying to understand for myself why certain objects, possessions, places, and experiences have held an almost magical quality for me. Similarly, I've tried to understand why certain others have disappointed. Like most other people who are drawn to performing such introspection, I searched for a template or schematic by which I could more easily and practically pursue enjoyment in daily activities as well as my more significant, anticipated experiences. Feng shui seemed vacuous
and, frankly, somewhat maudlin. Psychological and psychoanalytic approaches were forced fits. By contrast, The Art of Seeing presented, in unbiased fashion, a very intellectual yet immensely useable alternative that, within days, I could apply in many situations. For instance,I found that those frustrating and confounding puzzlers that shouldn't be such a big deal but nonetheless are ("Why do I like this car in this color but not in that color?....My wife would like to get this painting, but it actually sort of annoys me...How can I make the backyard something that everyone else will enjoy it as much as I do?...The builder needs us to make a decision on the cabinets today, but we both feel unsure...)could be approached, analyzed, and resolved with much greater ease through application of this book's principles. The larger, more substantial parts of who I am (enjoying oils much more than watercolors, favoring rock and country over classical music despite all attempts to the contrary, enjoying hunting and hiking in forests more than in mountains, etc) also
could be studied and understood by the same method.
I enjoyed my liberal arts education very much, but many of my classmates and colleagues did not. Had they been exposed to this book, thereby receiving the opportunity to truly understand their likes and dislikes, their passionate loves and hates, I believe many of them would have fuller, less materialistic lives today.
Insightful study of visual art and the aesthetic experience.......2004-04-19
"The Art of Seeing" is a study of the aesthetic experience through the lens of Csikszentmihalyi's "flow" theory of experiences which, somewhat ironically, have been given the technical description of autotelic experiences. The text begins with a discussion of some philosophy and psychology of art that leads into the development of a conceptual model of the aesthetic experience built around the four dimensions of perception, emotion, intellectual engagement, and communication. The bulk of the work consists of the quantitative analysis and interpretation of interviews with museum professionals. The authors further discuss the model in the context of the data, and make recommendations on how museums can better serve their mission.
Although the book seems aimed at museums (the study was done at the behest of the Getty and published by the Getty Press), I found the "flow" model of the aesthetic experience to be quite enlightening, and useful in increasing the quality of my own aesthetic encounters.
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Manual Para Dibujantes E Ilustradores
Hugo Magus Genter
Manufacturer: Editorial Gustavo Gili
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arte
| Arte, arquitectura y fotografía
| Libros en español
| Formats
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General
| Instrucción y Referencia
| Arte
| Arte, arquitectura y fotografía
| Libros en español
| Formats
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No-Ficción
| Libros en español
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| Automotriz
| Ciencias Sociales
| Crimen y Criminales
| Educación
| Estudios de la Mujer
| Feriados
| Filosofía
| Gobierno
| Hechos Verídicos
| Planeamiento Urbano y Desarrollo
| Política
| Sucesos de Actualidad
| Transportación
ASIN: 8425211158 |
Customer Reviews:
Bait and switch.......2004-02-14
For fans of Wallace and Gromit, Feng Sean's title displays the same rye wit and humor of the three Wallace and Gromit adventures. If you read the book the title is the last time you will see such wit or humor. The text is life lessons from Hallmark, on a bad day. Banal and trite best describe the writing. All you will get from this book are photographs from the adventures. Better to buy Wallace and Gromit on DVD to replace you worn-out VHS tape.
A must have for Wallace and Gromit fans!.......2004-02-05
Shaun has some pretty good advice for a sheep! While this little book is humorous the advice is down to earth and practical. Nothing you don't already know but things that we all need reminding of once in a while. My only complaint was that the book was much smaller than I imagined. It's only a 5 minute read and is more of a cute novilty than anything else. Still, as a big fan of Wallace and Gromit I'm happy to have Shaun the sheep right there next to all the other motivational books on my shelf!
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Feng Shaun: Discover Inner Peace with Shaun the Sheep (Wallace & Gromit)
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Self-Help & Psychology
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Stress Management
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Humor
| Stress
| Personal Health
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0752215124 |
Book Description
Wallace Gromitthe eccentric, cheese-loving inventor and his long-suffering dogare back! Creator Nick Park from Aardman has set into production 12 exciting new Wallace and Gromit films entitled Wallaces Workshop, to be released on the internet and on video in autumn 2002. This will be the first opportunity that millions of fans will have to enjoy brand new Wallace Gromit films since the Oscar-winning A Close Shave.
Book Description
This guide is for anyone who has ever thought of screenwriting. Written by someone who has "been there, done that," and lived to tell the tale, it reveals the most popular genres, explains how stories need to be structured for feature films and TV movies, offers the freshest look at workshops and online classes, and disusses how to set up a step-by-step path to success.
Download Description
This guide is for anyone who has ever thought of screenwriting. Written by someone who has "been there, done that," and lived to tell the tale, it reveals the most popular genres, explains how stories need to be structured for feature films and TV movies, offers the freshest look at workshops and online classes, and disusses how to set up a step-by-step path to success.
Customer Reviews:
Complete Idiots Guide To Screenwriting.......2007-10-04
Well, Skip Press has done it once more...written a very good descriptive plan for any potential screenwriter to follow. Although he does conflict with a few other similar writers, it's hard to knock his accomplishments. This is an excellent book, easily recommended.
Ever wondered what a screenwriter is?.......2004-04-25
Have you ever wondered what a screenwriter is and how one writes for the screen?
Prior to my reading this book I had no idea how a screenwriter went about practicing his craft. In all honesty the only knowledge I had of screenwriters is their name flashing on either a movie screen or a television screen. Who are these writers, what do they do, how do they write for the screen? All of these questions are very effectively dealt with in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Screenwriting authored by Skip Press.
Skip Press may not be a household name, however, he has had extensive experience in many forms of media such as radio, television, screen, stage, CD and the World Wide Web. He was also a Silver Medal Winner at the New York International Film Festival.
The guide is written in a crisp clear style that cuts away all of the fat and gets right down to the fundamental elements of effective screen writing.
As soon as you open the book you are presented with a tear out reference card outlining the ten mistakes made by the novice screenwriter: lack of knowledge of the history of drama and filmmaking, how does Hollywood work, ignorance of Hollywood tradition, not writing from derivative material, not understanding core demographics of movie going audiences, screen plays that are not properly formatted, misunderstanding concepts of conflict of sex and violence, ignorance of the Hollywood vocabulary, ignorance of screenplay structure and failure to rewrite until it is acceptable.
With these ten topics or building blocks in mind the author, as he states, "endeavours to furnish the reader with a blueprint in order to build a cinematic world." In other words, if you are going to write a screenplay, here are the materials needed in order that it will be read and accepted and eventually may perhaps thrill us all.
The topics are divided into five distinct sections: the evolution of storytelling, what to write, how to write the screenplay, post-script possibilities and it's all in the details.
Each chapter is preceded with a short outline indicating exactly what the author intends to convey to the reader. This is followed by the actual explanation of each of the concepts and ending with a resumé the author calls "the least you need to know."
For example, if you refer to the history of screenwriting section we are presented with a brief synopsis of what the Greeks, Romans, Christians and Italians contributed and why it is very important to understand their contributions. We are then presented with a more in depth study of these contributions and finally what we should try to remember when we are using the information in our screenwriting.
To liven up the information and as an added feature there are sidebars sprinkled throughout each chapter giving us various tips and interesting Hollywood tidbits. For example," Chekhov believed that if you had a gun hanging over a fireplace, the gun should be used during the play. If it is not used, don't write it in. Such attention to detail goes a long way in writing screenplays."
No doubt the book is meant as an instructive manual for the aspiring screenwriter. However, it will also prove very useful for those of us who wish to have a better understanding as to how the movies are written and accepted by the producers and directors.
(...)
Very General Introduction For The Young.......2004-02-17
What I want to know is, who is the complete idiot of the title? The author or me? After reading THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING, I'm not sure. It is not a complete guide, that's for sure. The author introduces a variety of components and considerations but explores none in depth.
The strengths of the book: before he gets to what and how goes on paper, Press insists that the reader go back to storytelling boot camp and read Aristotle's POETICS and Joseph Campbell's HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. He also recommends a number of other resources, including books, websites, organizations and software that can prove helpful.
The weaknesses: the reader whose mission is to learn correct formatting will be frustrated to find that such nuts and bolts information does not really get underway until half way into the book, and should be warned that it is merely an introduction, not exhaustive. While suggesting that there are many ways to offend Hollywood with how a script is formatted or bound, Press waffles on exact rules. Most of his reasoning and support evidence come from half invoked anecdotes that are vague enough to keep him out of the YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO EAT LUNCH IN THIS TOWN AGAIN fire. When he does name names, the stories are very old news, even to those who do not watch "Entertainment Tonight!" In the format of the Complete Idiot's series, the pages are littered with sidebars that distract from the text without providing much more than the author's usual "I know a guy" stories. Typos are a presence.
So, this is what I know as a result of reading this book: my idea is right on, but I am too old, live too far from Hollywood, and don't know anyone there to make it count. I still have no specifics on what Press has scripted that has made it to the big screen. I do know he has written other books on the topic because he promotes them shamelessly.
An Excellent Reference Book for any Screenwriter.......2003-01-28
there is information in it which is undispensible like many websites listed offering newsletters and stuff like that. Not only for the beginner it's helpful but also for an advanced screenwriter. Of course, one should read other books about creative- and screenwriting - as many as possible, in order to help structure ones phantasy. But this still is the one I always come back to when in need of substantial information. It offers for example a simple structere to put a screenplay in the right format, although I would recommend one of the software programs with additional advantages - but - it is not necessary for a beginner. The advice regarding this item (of many others) in Skip Press's book is sufficient for the time when one starts - and this is much more than many other books offer.
Aspiring Screenwriter's Bible.......2002-04-13
Skip Press does an excellant job in not only educating you on the process of writing, but in inspiring you to look beyond conventions. I found it easy to follow and entertaining (a first!) and refer to it often. I recommend this book to anyone seriously considering a career in screenwriting!
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Script Formatting With Microsoft Word on the Apple Macintosh: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Make Script Writing Automatic
Larry Hussar
Manufacturer: Samuel French Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Complete Idiot's Guide: Applications
| Introductory Guides
| Software
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
Word
| Applications
| Microsoft
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
Word Processing
| Microsoft
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
Macs
| Hardware
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
Screenwriting
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0962312010 |
Book Description
Samuel Charters belongs to a small group of writers about music whose work has transformed their -subject-without his discoveries, insights and interventions, the history of blues over the past 50 years would have been very different. This book is a -collection of his writings from 1954 to 2004.
Samuel Charters walks us from Houston, Texas alongside "Lightnin'" Hopkins and "Thunder" Smith to Memphis and Willie B, and on to St. Louis. The book includes chapters from his writing on the poetry of the blues and on country music.
Samuel Charters has written several books on the blues, as well as novels and memoirs. Many of his original recordings of artists who never reached a recording studio are available on CD.
Customer Reviews:
Love the Blues.......2006-04-07
In recent years, the blues have received a great deal of media and popular attention. But it is good to know that the music and its artists have been the focus of an increasing amount of scholarly and literary focus as well. There is much to be appreciated and to be learned about American culture from a study of American "roots" music.
Samuel Charters has had a long career in recording and producing the blues and other music. He has combined this active life with an ability to reflect upon and write about music in many books, including the early 1957 study "The Country Blues". Charters's most recent book, "Walking a Blues Road" is an anthology of his writings on blues and blues performers gleaned from his long involvement with the music from 1956 -- 2004. It makes for fascinating reading. It inspired me to pick up some items from my tape and CD collection of blues that I hadn't heard for some time and rekindled my interest in hearing more blues.
In his introduction; "What we write about when we write about the Blues," Charters gives the reader a glimpse of his lifelong love of blues and of his career in promoting awareness of the music. The primary value of the music, for Charters, lies in the insight it provides in understanding the African American experience and in dispelling prejudice and hatred. Over the course of four decades, Charters has travelled throughout the United States, the South, Chicago, New York, Texas, California, and abroad to interview and record blues performers.
Althought the book includes excerpts from Charters's other published books, most notably the intriguingly named (and no longer in print) "The Poetry of the Blues", most of the selections are drawn from the innumerable body of liner notes Charters wrote for record releases. These notes are accompanied by introductions and background section that Charters wrote for this volume. As Charters states, these notes were not intended to be scholarly or critical but rather to introduce prospective record purchasers to the type of music they could expect in listening to an LP.
With that said, there is a freshness and a vitality to the way Charters presents his music. In reading these short essays, I felt drawn into the milieu, lives and works of his artists. One of the best essays is the opening discussion of the gospel/blues singer Blind Willie Johnson. Charters draws us into the life of this singer, of the effort it took to find him, and of his music. I could readily understand that a person reading Charters's notes would want to drop everything to hear Blind Willie Johnson sing and play. It is succinct, moving writing, a model of its kind and a valuable testament to a performer how doubtless is unfamiliar to many. Other essays that I particularly enjoyed covered the early days of the "Classic" blues singers -- beginning with Mamie Smith and the composer Perry Bradford, the great urban singer and guitarist Lonnie Johnson, several essays on the Texas bluesman Lightin' Hopkins, a fascinating essay on protest music, titled "Lawrence Gellert and Negro Songs of Protest", and many essays on electrified blues in the Chicago of the 1960s. Other essays I found worthwhile include an essay on women's blues on the Parchman Farm, Mississippi, discussions of zydeco, the contemporary bluesman Buddy Guy, and much else. These essays show that the blues is a rich vein of music indeed and it is instructive to see how Charters describes his subjects as the years go forward.
The focus on the book is on performers, songs, and places -- dusty back roads, shabby rooming houses, taverns tucked away in basements under tenements where the music could be heard in days not so long ago. But there is substantial discussion as well about technical details, about chord patterns, harmonies, guitar styles and tuning, and the form of the music. There is much to be learned by those readers wanting to deepen their appreciation of the blues.
This book shows that the blues deserve to be taken seriously as an important part of American culture.
Robin Friedman
Customer Reviews:
Furthering the setting.......2005-09-24
I'm glad to see the furthering of the Dragonlance setting. Unlike the 2nd edition AD&D stuff (or the ill-conceived Saga System) which never really advanced the world of Krynn, the d20/3.5 version is taking steps to add some expansion to the setting. I'm pleased to see the use of the setting's other gods. I look forward to the next part of the adventure!
Continue the path.......2005-08-20
With this, the second installment of the Key of Destiny, you finally have the chance to continue one of the single greatest modules ever created. Soverign Press does an excellent job in tying up all loose ends from the Key of Destiny and sets you bounding boldly through Krynn once more. The best thing about the module, it takes the characters from where they ended Key of Destiny (supposedly 7th or 8th level) and propels them forward until they end around 14th or 15th level. Biggest negative, the third module is still yet to be released (time of review 08/19/05) and, if its anything like the time delay on Specter of Sorrows, then it may be a LONG time before you finish the modules.
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DTV and Digital Broadcasting: The Nab Executive Technology Briefing
Peggy Miles
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Technical
| Video
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General Broadcasting
| Radio
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Television
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Television & Video
| Telecommunications
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Communication
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0240805488 |
Book Description
Learn what is working in DTV, HDTV, ITV and the Internet today. This non-technical guide answers questions like: What are the applications, the content management, the marketing, and methods that are part of the success mix for digital broadcasting? Do these techniques save money or increase revenues for broadcasters, multimedia companies, and communications companies?
Written by an industry leader, and with case studies provided by experts in the field, DTV and Digital Broadcasting teaches you how broadcasters from small to large stations have upgraded, maintain, merged or partnered with others in the new digital media marketplace. It's a must read for tomorrow's broadcast leaders.
Ã,· Learn what is working in DTV and Digital Broadcasting and how it merges into HDTV, Broadband TV, ITV, and Internet Broadcasting.
Ã,· Written by an industry leader, and published in conjunction with the National Association of Broadcasters-THE leading society for the media professional
Ã,· Includes research, reference and conference guides, select vendor index and glossary.
Book Description
In this raucous collection of true-life stories, actress and comedian Chelsea Handler recounts her time spent in the social trenches with that wild, strange, irresistible, and often gratifying beast: the one-night stand.
You've either done it or know someone who has: the one-night stand, the familiar outcome of a night spent at a bar, sometimes the sole payoff for your friend's irritating wedding, or the only relief from a disastrous vacation. Often embarrassing and uncomfortable, occasionally outlandish, but most times just a necessary and irresistible evil, the one-night stand is a social rite as old as sex itself and as common as a bar stool.
Enter Chelsea Handler. Gorgeous, sharp, and anything but shy, Chelsea loves men and lots of them. My Horizontal Life chronicles her romp through the different bedrooms of a variety of suitors, a no-holds-barred account of what can happen between a man and a sometimes very intoxicated, outgoing woman during one night of passion. From her short fling with a Vegas stripper to her even shorter dalliance with a well-endowed little person, from her uncomfortable tryst with a cruise ship performer to her misguided rebound with a man who likes to play leather dress-up, Chelsea recalls the highs and lows of her one-night stands with hilarious honesty. Encouraged by her motley collection of friends (aka: her partners in crime) but challenged by her family members (who at times find themselves a surprise part of the encounter), Chelsea hits bottom and bounces back, unafraid to share the gritty details. My Horizontal Life is one guilty pleasure you won't be ashamed to talk about in the morning.
Customer Reviews:
Just ok...not side splitting funny........2007-10-13
From reading most of the reviews, you would think that this was a drop dead hilarious book but, in my opinion it really isn't that funny. I thought it took awhile to get going and even then it had it's slow parts. But, I must admit the last three chapters do make up for the rest of the book!
If you are looking for a book you can spend a day reading curled up on the couch and be somewhat entertained then this is the book for you. Afrer all, it is a very quick read. If you are looking for a book with side splitting laughs, you might want to look somewhere else.
TOO FUNNY!!!.......2007-10-01
So I noticed a lot of people bashing this book for Chelsea being a pill-poppin tramp who only loves vodka and sex... and she WAS, but I found this book hilarious!!! I am in my late 20's and found this book to be extremely funny, witty and courageous (because Lord knows I wouldn't write about my past sex life for all my family and friends to read!)
I laughed nearly the entire book - especially about the S&M guy who wanted to be "smacked". HAHA!
Good job Chelsea! You continue to make me laugh and I'll def pick up another one of your books! See you on E!
Hilarious, fast read.......2007-09-20
One of the funniest, laugh out loud books ive ever read. It's become a favorite gift to give to my girlfriends!
The title really IS misleading.......2007-09-06
This book really is about Chelsea's "near misses". Instead of gloriously detailed sex-capades, her writings were more about her trying to weasel out of sex related situations. Reading it, I had a hard time believing that her character was even having sex at all. There was all this fluff concerning wild and crazy conversations/situations that would ultimately lead up to the 'come back to my room?' moment, which would then be quickly followed with her chickening out and having to find a less than tactful means of escape. I was left thinking that her character would be the type to walk around shouting 'I'm a slut! Come on boys!', when in reality all she would do is kiss. Not very promiscuous. The entire book was impersonal and, at times, had struggled to remain witty. It was surprising to find that by the last five or six pages, Chelsea actually began to write in a more biographical style where you began to feel some sort of raw emotion from her, which had been refreshing after two-hundred pages of emptiness. I don't regret having read it, I'm just a little sad with the money wasted purchasing it.
Let's here it for Chelsea Handler!.......2007-08-30
While I am a fan of Chelsea's stand up I found reading it and hearing it in the voice of hers I'm familiar with even more entertaining. Not all the jokes I've heard live on her show have the kind of punch that the material in this laugh out loud book does. It's a great book if you want to have a really good time and also have the freedom to put it down after each chapter/story. You can use this book as your light pick me up reading between deeper, darker, heavier reading.
Just so we're clear this book will teach you nothing about sex. It is in no way "erotic". Chelsea is merely offering up her sex life as comic material that is truly unique!
Average customer rating:
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Warfare and Military Organization in Pre-Crusade Europe (Variorum Collected Studies Series, 720)
Bernard S. Bachrach
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Military Science
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
History & Theory
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
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General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Arts & Photography
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0860788709 |
Book Description
Until recently, the possibility that the United States was responsible for war crimes seemed unthinkable to most Americans. But as previously suppressed information has started to emergephotographs from Abu Ghraib; accounts of U.S. attacks on Iraqi hospitals, mosques, and residential neighborhoods; secret government reports defending unilateral aggressionAmericans have begun an agonizing reappraisal of the Iraq war and the way in which their government has conducted it. Drawing on a wide range of documentsfrom the protocols of the Geneva Convention to FBI e-mails about prisoners held in Guantnamo Bay to executive-branch papers justifying the circumvention of international lawIn the Name of Democracy examines the legality of the Iraq war and the occupation that followed. Included in this powerful investigation are eyewitness accounts, victim testimonials, statements by soldiers turned resisters and whistle-blowers, interviews with intelligence insiders, and contributions by Mark Danner and Seymour Hersh. The result is a controversial, chilling anthology that explores the culpability of officials as well as the responsibilities of ordinary citizens, and for the first time squarely confronts the matter of American impunity.
Customer Reviews:
Extraordinary Collection of Top Minds and Real Facts.......2007-06-23
I confess to being uncomfortable when I bought this book, which addresses in a very comprehensive way the degree to which the US Government and the US military as well as intelligence, mercenary, and corporate personnel, are committing war crimes.
I want to say up front, that as best I can tell; our brave and professional troops are in fact making lemonade from lemons, and doing the best they can. However, they all realize that they and all the world was lied to by the Bush Administration, that this is about oil, and that they are killing civilians and many children for no good reason, due to the horrible circumstances that we have created by remaining there. According to this book, suicides are up 40%, there are 6000 deserters, and seamen recruits are *winning* when court-martialed for refusing to obey illegal orders to go to Iraq.
The editors have done a superb job of bringing together a collection of proven individuals including President Jimmy Carter, Senator Robert Byrd, Daniel Ellsberg, Sy Hersh, a group of US Generals (retired) protesting the White House mandated torture, and a wide variety of individual experts on war crimes.
The book opens with a discussion of three kinds of war crime:
1) Wars of aggression, i.e. unprovoked, pre-emptive, unjustified
2) Violations of humanitarian law
3) Crimes against humanity
You can read the book for the details. Suffice to say that they set the stage with objective factual discussion, and then proceed to document, most ably, the reality that the United States of America is now a war criminal in the larger context of humanity. What is being done "in our name" is immoral, reprehensible, unconstitutional, impeachable, and--to my great dismay--largely ignored by the majority of our adult population.
A few highlights from this easy to read collection of relatively short (2-4 page) pieces:
Ellsberg: Loyalty to the Constitution must take precedence at all levels. Like Viet-Nam, we are now realizing that the current regime cannot be trusted and can blunder strategically because the balance of power is out the door. Only We the People can demand a restoration of liberty & justice for all, with respect for the Constitutional limits to federal power.
Carter: Iraq war is an unjust illegal war. He says this as a President and as a Christian and as a loyal American who reveres the Constitution.
Herbert: Pentagon is "shopping for wars" even as Iraq hollows it out. They have even discussed surprise unprovoked military attacks whose only justification is the possibility of collecting intelligence. As an intelligence expert, I can afford that the secret intelligence community is largely worthless and costs over $60 billion a year, but I can also assert that for less than $5 billion a year, I can not only provide 96% of all the intelligence we need from open sources in 183 languages, but I can also provide free online education and free cell phone answers from reachback help desks in India.
Hersh: we and Israel plan to invade Iran regardless of what the facts are and regardless of what the American people believe or desire. Talking to Pentagon sources, Hersh sees us funding and training death squads around the world, turning the world into what one senior official called a "global free fire zone."
Retired Generals: Torture was "top down" decision and command, not a few bottom up "rotten apples."
Various: US using illegal weapons, including depleted uranium and napalm, in Iraq and elsewhere.
FBI emails (redacted): Military interrogators practicing torture impersonated FBI special agents, meaning that the FBI instead of DoD would be nailed in the public eye. FBI appears to have honored its own higher standards and not followed the idiot Gonzalez (then White House Counsel).
Center: detailed case against Donald Rumsfeld for ordering, funding, and knowing of war crimes at all levels of command. Why they did not go after Bush and even more so, Dick Cheney, whose 25 high crimes and offenses have been itemized in my reviews of ONE PERCENT and VICE.
Roberts: No one left to stop them (within the government)
Falk speaks about accountability.
The book ends with four recommendations:
1) Halt the war crimes
2) Bring the war criminals to justice
3) Draw the lessons (the most obvious: don't throw stones if you live in a glass house)
4) Establish barriers to future war crimes.
A one-page appendix lists 22 relevant substantive web sites containing additional information.
Sadly, as good as this book is, it is a cry in the wilderness. It is not being used by any major transpartisan organization (such as Reuniting America and its members Moral Majority, the ACLU, MoveOn, and others totaling 110 individual members in all).
I truly grieve over how low our Nation has gone. The Republic no longer exists--every politician--every single one--is in violation of the Constitution and impeachable for their dereliction of duty in allowing Cheney and his puppet Bush to wreak havoc on the world and on our own citizens, whose loss of moral standing, national treasure, and an assured future will take at least a quarter century to remediate.
See my lists for a fast survey of books relevant to impeachment, to judging Cheney, to the good and the bad of religion within affairs of state, on why they hate us, and so on. If there is one slim chance for our future, it is that on this 4th of July we will all declare our independence from this illegal White House, demand the immediate resignations of these two war criminals (who, not incidentally, stole two elections in a row), and reconstitute the government by forcing all those now in Congress to either pass Electoral Reform prior to November 2008, or be recalled and "ordered home."
The monkey is now on our backs. What are we going to do?
EDITED 4 Sep 07 to use new link capability to add other recommended books and DVDs.
Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror
Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory
9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA, Fourth Edition
9/11 Mysteries Part 1: Demolitions
9/11: Press For Truth
Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11
Absolutely left wing propaganda & garbage!.......2006-09-16
I've read this book and I will state flat out it's not worth the paper it's printed on, too bad that trees were sacrificed to allow publication of this garbage. I do NOT recommend this book to anybody who's looking for an objective appraisal of the ongoing war in Iraq. I had a copy of it. I threw it out with the trash! For shame that any author would be able to write this garbage and actually get someone to publish it. Of course it takes all kinds I suppose! Don't waste your money or your time! I give it "1 star" because Amazon doesn't offer a ZERO option...they should, it'd be useful in this case.
Useful study of US/British war crimes in Iraq and elsewhere.......2006-07-25
This useful collection examines the evidence for US war crimes in Iraq and elsewhere. It concludes that the US state is destroying democracy in the name of defending it.
Part 1 looks at the war crimes of illegally invading and occupying another country. It shows how the US-British occupation, an illegal continuation of an illegal war, has broken all the laws of occupation. "The occupation is basically one gigantic war crime." The occupiers sacked all the army and police force, deliberately causing chaos. There were 100,000 excess deaths in the year after the invasion (Lancet), mostly from US air strikes. The USA is waging war largely by massive, unreported, bombing: the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing alone dropped more than 500,000 tons of bombs on Iraq between May 2003 and December 2005.
The occupying forces continue to commit war crimes - they attack and kill civilians, using cluster bombs, depleted uranium shells and napalm. They drove 200,000 residents out of Fallujah and killed more than 1,000 people; half of them women and children. They deny food, water, electricity and medical supplies to civilians and attack hospitals and ambulances. They demolish homes, a collective punishment outlawed by the 1949 Geneva Conventions. They create death squads to set Shia against Sunni.
Part 2 discusses the US and British forces' use of torture. The Washington Post wrote of the `documented tortures and killings of foreign prisoners by this American government'. The Department of Defense reported `systemic and illegal abuse of detainees'.
The US government blames `rotten apples'. But decisions by policymakers determine decisions by interrogators: those who take political decisions are responsible for the consequences.
Bush authorised interrogation techniques `beyond the bounds of standard FBI practice'. His Order of 7 February 2002 said that the USA would not apply the 3rd Geneva Convention to Al Qaeda members. He defined himself as above the law, and the detainees as outside the law, against the US Constitution's pledge to `government under law'.
Rumsfeld said, "Unlawful combatants do not have any rights under the Geneva Convention." In the real world, the Convention obliges captors to protect all persons captured in wars. Rumsfeld's ruling by contrast authorised any and all abuses, and is itself a war crime.
The Justice Department, like the Pentagon, issued statements purporting to justify the use of torture. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzalez advised Bush that the Geneva Conventions were `obsolete', the same word used by the head of Hitler's Wehrmacht, General-Field Marshal Keitel. At Nuremberg, the US prosecutor cited this as an aggravating circumstance in seeking and obtaining the death sentence for Keitel.
John Bolton, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, said, "It is a big mistake for us to grant any validity to international law even when it may seem in our short-term interest to do so ..."
These policies by Bush, Rumsfeld, Gonzalez and Bolton led straight to the killing, torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners in US custody in Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. The buck stops at the top.
Moreover, the Blair government is complicit in all these crimes, since in law it is responsible for the war crimes committed by its ally, the Bush government. As the International Law Commission's Article 16 on Responsibility of States (2001) says, "A State which aids or assists another State in the commission of an internationally wrongful act by the latter is internationally responsible for doing so if (a) That State does so with knowledge of the internationally wrongful act; and (b) The Act would be internationally wrongful if committed by that State."
A little more authentic clarification on Saddam's days as ruler of Iraq and this book's take on it.......2006-04-07
In his own book (available on amazon)a former top Saddam aid. one Georges Sada, talks of how Saddam killed 182,000 of Iraqi Kurds in just one year! And a much lower but horribly tragic 8,000 in another year! It was back in the 1980's Saddam did this. Brecher's book fails to discuss what a mass murderer Saddam was and how stopping him was very appropriate. They use only example by Sachs comparing 2002 (Saddam's final year in office) to the first year of Bush's occupation making it look as if Bush was the deadlier one for Iraq when Saddam actually was by and far. This book uses a brief review of the Iraqi situation by weak former president Jimmy Carter where he refers briefly in Saddam's to Saddam's terrible crimes while in office but doesn't get into any real detail. Book is not very good. Lastly, during Saddam's eight year war with Iran that he mostly started 1 million people from both sides were killed and the conflict spilled from Iran into southern Iraq and the Iraqi land there become a terrible violent wasteland so have no theories that Iraq is worse today without Saddam.
Very concerned about war crimes in Iraq.......2005-11-20
I think this is a great book. It's clearly organized and I learned a lot. It made me very sad and concerned about the state of democracy and truth in our country today. It's frightening that our government is committing war crimes in our name.
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