The South Was Right Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)...Born and bred in upstate NY. I am also civil war buff. This book is extremely important, for the fact of the matter is that MOST of the history that is taught today is WRONG. Not wrong in the general outcomes/ what happened sort of way, but wrong in explaining the TRUE motivations of the involved parties, as well as glossing over less-than savory events and dirty little secrets. The American Civil War is one of the most misunderstood events in our nation's history, and most of the misunderstanding is from Americans themselves! What we are taught about the Civil War here in the U.S. does not accurately explain what really happened (and don't even get me started on how we turn normal men into unstained 'heroes'). This book gets 5 stars for its fresh approach (how many more volumes of standard Civil War history can we stomach? There are already tens of thousands!) and because it raises questions on what you thought you "knew" about the Civil War.
Let me make it clear that this book does not defend or make a case for slavery. The authors concede right off the bat that slavery was disgusting. What the authors DO defend is the motivations of the vast majority of Southerners (and it isn't to uphold slavery), and what the authors attack is the North's (and more specifically, Lincoln's) motivations (and it isn't to free their fellow man). While I don't agree with about half of their observations, I ABSOLUTELY concur with their conclusions about Lincoln. Yes, he was a great man, but he was NOT the man we have been taught to believe he was. If nothing else, reading this book will give you a fresh take on an event that we still feel the repercussions from almost 150 years later. This book is a must read for anyone interested in The American Civil War. Read it for yourself and then decide whose version of history sounds correct.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The South Was Right

An authoritative and documented study of the mythology behind Civil War history, clearly exhibiting how the South was an independent country invaded, captured, and still occupied by a vicious aggressor.

Click here for more information about The South Was Right

Read More...

A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Like so many elements of history, there is rampant ignorance or misunderstanding among the American public regarding the origins of our Constitution. Sadly, a significant majority surely have no concept whatsoever of the failed initial attempt at a United States government. More significantly, among the historically literate outside academic circles, there has been a common misperception of our Framers as a set of omniscient statesmen who shared a clear view of the ideal government and crafted a structure that remains unchanged in its essentials to this day. The purpose of Berkin's book is, through a focus on the papers of constitutional convention delegates, to provide insight into the reality behind these myths.
Her theses can be summarized primarily as follows: 1) the process by which the constitution was written was one involving sharply differing views, particularly as to the sharing of power between the individual states and the national government, substantial uncertainty and pessimism regarding the document's capacity to forestall tyranny and a great deal of compromise from strongly held principles, and 2) the character of the current US federal government would astonish the Framers in certain areas, most notably in the greatly expanded powers of the presidency.
Berkin makes a compelling case for both theses through her narrative discussion of the drivers behind the scheduling of the convention, the twisting progress of debate during the sixteen weeks in session, the fierce fight for ratification by the states and the inauguration of Washington as our first president. The major strength of the work is the illumination of the key roles played by delegates such as Gouverneur Morris, James Madison, James Wilson and Roger Sherman. Interesting anecdotes abound, such as the amorous successes of the one-legged Morris ("He scandalized the convention's proper New Englanders by his open philandering, although he won the admiration of the more worldly New Yorkers and South Carolinians, who marveled at the success in the boudoir of this fleshy middle-aged man hobbled by a wooden leg."), the alcohol-induced tirades of Luther Martin ("The nationalists were fortunate that Luther Martin did not do battle with them in a sober state") and the surprising nervousness of Washington during his inaugural address ("His hands trembling and his voice unsteady, ..." ).
The book is not without its weaknesses. On the quibbling end of the scale, the editing in several places leaves something to be desired. There are several instances of repetitive diction in juxtaposed sentences and the biographical snapshot of Charles Pinckney contains an obvious editing error. A more important shortfall is found in the overall style of the writing. While Berkin writes with admirable clarity and economy, her utilitarian approach lacks the literary style and flair for communicating the drama of great events found in the work of popular historians such as David McCullough and Barbara Tuchman. In those rare cases where she ventures into more dramatic narrative, her effort comes off as somewhat contrived and incongruous with the rest of the work.
Regarding the content of the book, its chief shortfall is the puzzling treatment of the role of Washington in the debates and, more importantly, in the ratification battles. Berkin makes it very clear that Washington privately was keenly supportive of the nationalists' agenda during the debates and of the resulting constitution that was submitted to the states for ratification. She also notes his unparalleled prestige in the fledgling country and the tremendous potential for influence that this implied. Despite this combination, Washington apparently played little or no role in the contentious debates. When, apparently for the first time during the entire sixteen weeks, he finally rises to express an opinion regarding a relatively minor change on the convention's final day, Berkin rather blandly explains that "up until this moment, he had felt his position in the president's (of the convention) chair required his silence." It seems difficult to believe, notwithstanding his procedural scruples, that he did not exert some degree of influence on key issues of disagreement, even if he chose the channel of private conversation and lobbying over public speech. The unexplored issue screams for further attention during the tenuous ratification process. Berkin states that "the usually stoic Washington made no effort to disguise his hopes for ratification. `I never saw him so keen for anything in my Life,' a Virginian told Thomas Jefferson." Yet there is no discussion of his active involvement in the ratification fight. Not even the crucial and hard fought battle in his home state of Virginia, an essential member for a viable United States, appears to have moved him to action. She strongly implies that Washington had the power to ensure approval yet does not explain his apparent unwillingness to do so. This seems an important omission.
Notwithstanding these faults, this is an enjoyable and educational read. It is certain to excite the reader's interest in exploring the lives of some of the more colorful delegates and, at a time when the United States is engaged in a very challenging effort to build a representative constitutional government in Iraq, it provides a reminder of the painful, challenging and contentious birthing process of our own polity.

Click Here to see more reviews about: A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution

Click here for more information about A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution

Read More...

Common Sense - The Way Back Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)By remarkable coincidence, Sarah Palin's new book, Going Rogue: An American Life just came out, jumped to the top of my 'waiting to read" stack, and includes the phrase "Commonsense Conservative" is featured in that book. Combine it with Richard Branson's "Gaia Capitalism" and you have the makings of something special.
This book is short (123 pages), easy to read, and an inspiring patriotic labor of love, a gift to all of us who care deeply for American the Beautiful and are confused and/or angry about all that has been done "in our name" by the festering cesspool of Washington-based politicians and senior bureaucrats who live to claim budget share (inputs) rather than deliver public service (outputs).
The author provides the single best, most complete, and most sensible demarche against EARMARKS that I have ever seen. Included are eight illustrations and I will list them here because they capture the essence of this book's common sense:
1. System analysis by "Prohibition Peers"
2. Real system analysis of Prohibition
3. Nation's Wealth
4. Value of the Dollar
5. Production of consumable assets
6. The Nation's and the "Commons" Wealth
7. Prosperity versus Freedom
8. The Iron Triangle--the Politics of Collusion
Although the author lists and address five "showcase" programs of excessive federal authority that should be nullified by all 50 states (and I would added, secession is most certainly an option for many including Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, Vermont, Flordia, and perhaps Maine and New Hampshire as well), he focuses primarily on EARMARKS. The five are the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Interstate Commerce Commission, Inflation, Earmarks, and Income Tax.
Early on I am impressed by the author's pointing out that all the "isms" are in fact the same, a concentration of power in the hands of the few at the expense of the many. His focus, "the real deal," is on individual sovereignty, on the individual's ability to create new wealth without destroying the commons.
The author says that monopolies would not exist and I absolutely agree, observing that "home rule" is sweeping across the USA and corporations as well as absentee landlords may one day find they are barred from counties no longer tolerant of carpetbaggers. A couple of references:
War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
The reader should be prepared for a lot of UPPER CASE sentences, what the online world calls "shouting" but once you get used to it the book reads very well.
Among the various recommendations of the author that are outlined in "The Way Back," I am particularly taken by two: 1) recognize that inflation is a tax and mandate annual reporting on anything leading to inflation; and 2) eliminate the individual income tax.
In 1992 Alessandro Politi, an Italian journalist, coined the term "intelligence minuteman" to capture my concept of public intelligence (decision-support) of, by, and for We the People. Today for $75 billion of our hard-earned dollars, the secret intelligence community provides the President with less than 4% of what he needs to know, and nothing at all for most others. I myself have beaten the US Intelligence Community in a benchmark exercise on Burundi for the Aspin-Brown Commission. This author is an intelligence minuteman, and he offered all of us a gift of intelligence (decision support).
Below I list a few books within my Amazon limit of 10 links. Those interested in hyow 1,400 other books across 98 categories might be connected to this book are invited to visit Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog, where I provide access options that Amazon has refused to implement for over four years, e.g. you can see all the books reviewed on Democracy, or Pathology of Power, or Congressional Failure, etc.
In this constained review context, see also:
An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard
Soft Despotism, Democracy's Drift: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and the Modern Prospect
Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
The Revolution: A Manifesto
Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!
Secession: How Vermont and All the Other States Can Save Themselves from the Empire

Click Here to see more reviews about: Common Sense - The Way Back

The tyranny that destroys wealth, inhibits the creation of wealth and punishes political dissent is expanding at an alarming rate.
The Congress is passing 1500 to 2000 page laws (the Bible is only 1500 pages), without debate or even disclosing the content of those laws.Is passing laws without disclosing the content or allowing debate different from a Dictatorship?Is our freedom already lost?
These laws bloat the bureaucracy and increase the power of the government over the individual.This increase in government power threatens to completely eliminate the individual freedom that produced the 'Industrial Revolution" and created unprecedented wealth.This loss of individual freedom could return the World to the 'Middle Ages".
The book, "Common Sense-The Way Back," proves that freedom results in the creation of wealth - tyranny results only in poverty and despair.
The Wannabe Peers are the politicians who lust after the personal power and prestige possessed by the 17TH Century English Peers.They have already reclaimed much of that power and prestige at the expense of our liberty.The primary constituency of the 'Wannabe Peers" is the poverty stricken and destruction of wealth increases that constituency.Is it any wonder that the 'Wannabe Peers'" programs are proven to have destroyed wealth, inhibited the creation of wealth, destroyed individual freedom and punished political dissent?These programs have brought us to the brink of a severe economic crisis that will make the 1930's seem like the good old days.
"Common Sense-The Way Back" contains the recipe to undo the offending programs, regain our freedom and prosperity.
"Common Sense-The Way Back" is an abridged version of the author's earlier book, "21st Century Common Sense".

Click here for more information about Common Sense - The Way Back

Read More...