Michael Moore

The Good Trump Did ...and then Undid

Revisado: 09-12-24

Who knew that Trump's instincts in foreign policy were sometimes sound and right? This book lays out some of the good things Trump did in foreign policy and national security matters. It also lays out criticisms Gen McMaster had of some of his close colleagues in the Administration, including Rex Tillerson and Gens. Mattis and Kelly. Those criticisms, largely over disagreements on policies and who should carry them out, pale in comparison to criticisms of people like Bannon and Priebus, who are portrayed as Iago-type schemers seeking to pursue narrow and extreme political agendas far removed from our genuine national interests. Unfortunately, the book also explains why the good things Trump started in foreign policy did not last. His vacillation, reversion to instinct rather than thoughtful appraisal of the issues, and his ear to his alt-right political base led him to backtrack on Afghanistan, Ukraine, and North Korea, to mention but a few.

The book remains, however, an insightful look into Washington, D.C. politics and policymaking, the good the bad and the ugly. Well worth a read.

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Outstanding book

Revisado: 07-06-24

A rare book that provides insight into a technical area, but does it with clear and direct language that both laymen and trained scientists can follow. He makes a persuasive case, replete with examples, that the progress of scientific discovery has proceeded through "revolutions" rather than a straight cumulative advance in knowledge. That is, scientific progress proceeds around an accepted theory until it runs into "anomalies" inconsistent with the theory that call forth a new theory. Scientific progress resumes then around the new theory. Thus we have a "zig-zag" history of scientific discovery, moving in "jumps" from time to time. Well worth the read.

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Very insightful

Revisado: 10-18-23

Well researched and offers many insights on how close we came to seeing many more millions of lives lost had Japan’s fanatic military clique managed to prolong the war. However, after the atomic bombs had been dropped Emperor Hirohito had seen enough and made a very rare intervention into political life to stop the war.

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Unique and Masterly Work

Revisado: 01-07-23

Masterful job. Literally a lifetime of research. Very thoughtful and articulate insights. Well worth your time.

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A Waste of Time

Revisado: 04-24-21

A very superficial hit piece. I shut it off about three hours in. Felt it was a shallow, politically-slanted commentary based on other books and new stories--no in-depth research or analysis. Not worth one's valuable time.

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It was more than Sheriff McCall

Revisado: 07-14-20

Here is an eye-opening account of the corrupt and cruel culture of "law enforcement" and "justice" in a mid-Florida county--with particular injustice toward the black population--that existed until the early 1960"s. It is a follow-on to King's earlier work that focused on the corruption and villainy of one Sheriff McCall, who was Sheriff in the county for over 20 years. This account, however, paints a broader canvas. It shows how the cultural "elite" of the day, many of them members of the Ku Klux Klan or exclusive "old boy" networks allowed the likes of Sheriff McCall, in all his despicable "splendor," to operate and thrive.

The victim of McCall "justice" in this case is ironically not a young black man but a feeble minded poor white boy who is accused of the rape of a neighboring white woman. In fact, the culprit was actually a young black man, but in the twisted mores of the day and place, the woman's husband did not want to bear the "disgrace" of letting it be known his wife's assailant was black. Hence he conspired with McCall to frame the young white boy for the crime, for which there was no evidence linking the boy to the crime, until a deputy manufactured some. In league with this gross injustice were the local prosecuting attorney as well as the local judge and the court-appointed counsel for the boy. He spent 14 years in an institution for the criminally insane. His one staunch defender, apart from his poor mother, was a courageous local news editor and publisher who raised the right questions and did not stop until justice was finally served.

The story is both appalling and almost unbelievable, but so it was. A stark reminder of the injustices that were frequently practiced in the criminal justice system of the time and a warning that careful review and oversight of that system are well warranted today.

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Wish This Were Only Fiction ...

Revisado: 07-08-20

Here is a book unlike any other in American history. A President’s former National Security Adviser sets forth a detailed portrait of a President with whom he agrees on many policy issues but nevertheless
judges to be woefully unfit for the office he holds. The picture we see is of a President who is arrogant, irrational to bizarre extremes, and unwilling to study the historical and policy context of the most important responsibilities he has as a President. Mr. Bolton’s time in office was largely consumed by his efforts to prevent harm from ill-considered or impulsive actions by President Trump in foreign policy and national security matters. A good day at the office for him was being able to say we “did no harm” today. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the Trump Presidency.

The book also has considerable interest in describing many of the policy issues the country faces today and giving a picture of the typical disagreements and policy debates that would occur in any Administration. It is also colored, of course, by Mr. Bolton's own policy opinions, which he freely expresses in the book. Nevertheless, this Presidency appears to be unlike any other in the extremes to which Mr. Trump goes in following his own impulses and preconceptions. It presents a major challenge for any responsible official trying to keep the ship of state on a steady course. It also presents a major concern for the country at large. This President clearly needs close watching and supervision by more experienced and thoughtful hands.

Would that this were a fictional account. However, most publishers would likely have rejected it for publication as too unlikely for a fictional story. If they only knew…..truth is clearly stranger than fiction, as the old saying goes.

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A Story and Characters Not Worth Your Time

Revisado: 04-05-20

I came to know and appreciate Shelby Foote during the "Civil War" PBS series years ago. He was engaging and insightful in his comments on the Civil War, particularly from the Southern perspective.

Certainly, non-fiction and critical commentary, at which he excels, is different from a work of fiction. Still, I was surprised at the very poor quality of this work. The characters lack depth and interest. They are like comic book characters, plopped into a melodrama that does not lead to anything positive, insightful, or in the slightest way uplifting. It some ways it proceeds like an "anti-novel": instead of acquiring depth and wisdom as they proceed the characters simply tumble into ever greater depths of haplessness and dysfunction.

I would have to rate the book a waste of my time when all is said and done.

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An Eye Opener!

Revisado: 02-06-20

With all the misinformation and confusion (not to mention negative bias) in the media about the CIA terrorist interrogation program, this book performs an important public service. It sets out clearly the facts, purposes and results of the interrogation program. There is no doubt it was successful and, to my mind, fully in keeping with American values and principles, despite the many critics that have emerged in recent years once the memories of the 9/11 attacks had faded. The author and those whom he worked with at the CIA deserve our heartfelt thanks, despite the rare abuses that crept into the program and which he mentions in the book. There is no doubt that many lives were saved and Jihadist attacks thwarted due to the persistent and sophisticated interrogation and analysis work of which the author was a part.

It is regrettable, though not entirely surprising, that the critics of the CIA interrogation program in the press and political circles have succeeded through their appeals based on misinformation and misguided emotion to leave the country more vulnerable to future attacks from a still very dangerous group of Islamic extremists.

The book covers a very important subject and is well worth a careful and thoughtful read.

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How "Reset" Worked until Putin Blew It Apart

Revisado: 09-13-18

Excellent account of the challenges and disappointments in dealing with Russia since the fall of the USSR. Mr. McFaul specialized in Russia as a professor at Stanford, lived in Russia during the time of the collapse of the USSR and was active in encouraging democratic reform in Russia. He has great fondness for the country and its people.

After service in the Obama White House, where he was one of the policy leaders driving a number of successes in improving relations with Russia during the Medvedev presidency, he then took the post as US Russian Ambassador. Unfortunately, this was the time when Putin re-took the Russian presidency and pursued a policy of confrontational policies with the West and repressive policies against democratic reform in Russia. McFaul describes all of this with the context of an able historian but with the added benefit of his personal experience in Russia and with Russian government figures.

The personal experience includes the harassment he and his Embassy staff were subjected to by the secret police and the nasty propaganda campaign that the Putin government waged against him in the public media during his time as Ambassador. It all makes for a vivid and fascinating story. Highly recommend this book for gaining a much deeper appreciation for the complexities and difficulties in our relations with Russia.

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