Governments

"A brilliant book. Outstanding research and superlative presentation of the dramatis personae. An anecdotal and extremely well written account -- as informative as any treatise and as entertaining as the best espionage novels." -- Kirkus Reviews.

"There are few books that adequately cover this subject. Much of what passes for 'the literature' is overblown, conspiracy-addled and fragmented. But Mark Riebling, a historian, has made a valiant effort to piece it all together in WEDGE.... The fact that he has taken great pains to avoid using anonymous sources is just one of a number of reasons why serious students of this nation's haywire-rigged counterintelligence effort should read WEDGE.... Refreshingly unlike most spy literature.... the cumulative effect of his tales is staggering." -- John Fialka, The Wall Street Journal.

"Any illusions that the two organizations simply mirror each other are thoroughly shattered. Riebling meticulously traces the continuing conflict and its consequences, which sometimes took the form of Keystone Cop episodes but more often were deadly serious." -- Houston Chronicle.

"A surprisingly fresh, coherent, well-written and persuasive analysis. Striking conclusions, a succession of colorful adventurers, and highly provocative speculations which have the unsettling ring of plausibility." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"A lively and engaging narrative of interagency bungling, infighting, malfeasance and nonfeasance, providing fresh and well-rounded portraits of well-known (and ought-to-be-well-known) agents -- drawing on scores of original and rewarding interviews." -- Richard Gid Powers, front page, Washington Post Book World.

"Riebling successfully re-creates the life-or-death atmosphere of the half-century of American confrontation with the Soviet Union. Mr. Riebling succeeds as well in persuading the reader that the FBI-CIA conflict was a more important piece of the cold war mosaic than heretofore noted by historians." -- Michael R. Beschloss, New York Times Book Review.

"Incisive.... Riebling shows how personalities shaped the struggle between the agencies, and how the struggle hampered intelligence. There's much here to stimulate discussion." -- Tampa Tribune.

"Riebling brings forth many new angles, thanks to his entree to a web of retired agents. A well organized, engaging account." -- Booklist.

"Serves up some juicy insights. The book is full of colorful and strong characters as well as entertaining description and lucid writing." -- Toledo Blade.

"Meticulously researched yet entertaining... Persuasively identifies Woodward and Bernstein's mysterious informant Deep Throat." -- San Francisco Chronicle.

"An exceptionally readable and coherent account, exhaustively sourced. Riebling meticulously but engagingly takes his readers through CIA's operations [and] presents a most intriguing hypothesis as to the identity of the long-silent Deep Throat. True Watergate buffs will be titillated. I'd put my money on the one the author suspects most." -- John Robbins, former CIA officer, The Palm Beach Post.

"Riebling's impressive documentation is chilling, sobering, and thought provoking." -- Virginia Quarterly Review.
"Riebling's writing is articulate and reflective. He explains the Angleton view so competently that it finally makes sense on its own terms." -- BookBase Online.

"In WEDGE, Mark Riebling's compelling and exhaustively researched history of the two intelligence giants, the depth of [the] inter-agency animus -- and its pernicious effects -- becomes distressingly clear. ... Riebling has avoided tarring the late FBI boss [J. Edgar Hoover] with the kind of sensationalist touches common to recent biographies. ... He is respectful of those he believes played the both wisely and well. If a heroic figure emerges from WEDGE it is the late James Jesus Angleton, the CIA's controversial director of counterintelligence for more than 20 years. Riebling partially rehabilitates Angleton from the drubbing he's taken in recent books such as David Wise's "Molehunt," in which he is depicted as disrupting his own agency in a futile, paranoid search for a nonexistent mole.... Riebling has crafted a thorough history of the fatally flawed CIA-FBI marriage through interviews with many of the key players and reams of internal documents, many of them recently declassified. WEDGE also is the beneficiary of extraordinary timing. Its releases coincides with a renewed furor in Washington over the CIA and its mandate.... WEDGE accords the current crisis an appropriate historical context." -- Scott Ladd, Newsday.

"Well researched, wittily written, full of good judgments. In a large and growing field, WEDGE will join the shelf of those few books which meet both standards of scholarship and expectations for insight and entertainment at a high level." -- Robin Winks, Professor of History, Yale University.

I cannot do this book justice, other than to say that I had never understood the depth and stupidity of the bureaucratic hostility between the FBI and the CIA-mostly the fault of the CIA these days but certainly inspired in part by Hoover in the early days-until I read this book; and that it should be required reading for every senior CIA manager. From the FBI's failure to communicate its very early knowledge of Japanese collection requirement on Pearl Harbor via the Germans, to the assassination of President Kennedy, the World Trade Center bombing and the Aldrich Ames case, this book makes me ashamed and angry about how bureaucracy and secrecy subvert loyalty, integrity, and common professional sense on both sides of this "wedgie" contest.

Well-written, thoroughly researched account, from Pearl Harbor to the present. Highlights: World War II, Kennedy Assassination, Watergate, Iran-Contra, Aldrich Ames. What made Cold War counterintelligence officers "tick"? Myths about FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and CIA spycatcher James Jesus Angleton are corrected. Special focus: 94% accuracy of predictions by ex-KGB officer Anatoily Golitsyn, who in 1984 foresaw the rise of Gorbachev, fall of the Berlin Wall, etc. Author Riebling is former editor at Random House, Inc

I've never actually read this book, but I know the author and he is a really smart guy. Jamie's combination of on the ground research and his ability to simplify complex concepts for people less intelligent than himself make this book a must read for anyone interested in Western Responses to Human Rights Abuses in Cambodia. But don't take my word for it. Although I tend not to trust people who bear an uncanny resemblance to their non-identical siblings I have a tremendous amount of confidence in the other reviewers. Well done Jamie!!!

The previous reviewer is a genius. What a fine analysis of a truly remarkable work of non-fiction.

even though my brother is the author of this book, I feel I am an impartial reader. this is one of the finest books ever written in English.

Sharpnack is plainly a genius. His biting satire and clear thinking are an antidote for these strange times we live in where the GOP [Greedy Old Parasites] gives tax breaks to the richest Americans while they send our boys overseas to fight their oil wars. The adage goes that a picture is worth a thousand words. In his cartoons, Sharpnack cuts through the BS and shows what is really occurring. This book should be read by anyone who loves this country and wants to save it for all Americans, not just for the rich. I googled Mr. Sharpnack and found his funny website www.sharptoons.com. Free speech is precious and Mr. Sharpnack shows that it represents the heart of our country. His work is not to be missed.

The issues Sharpnack brings forward through his editorial cartoons show incredible intelligence. Sharpnack is very direct in tackling some political issues that others throw soft balls at. Regarding his ability to use metaphor in cartooning I know of none better. I look forward to more of Mr. Sharpnack's work to be published. Even if one would not agree with his positions one will find him or herself thinking, laughing or deeply offended by his work...and the later may provide the compliment that he is a true editorial cartoonist.

Great book! I loved the savvy confrontation and intelligence of the cartoons. This guy is good. I hope Mr Sharpnack continues to publish his work. Excellent. I wish I had a new "What America wants, America Gets" for every year.

Joseph Roth was a master journalist from Vienna who moved to Berlin on 1920 to investigate and report first hand on what he feared was a doomed megapolis. WHAT I SAW: REPORTS FROM BERLIN 1920-1933 is one of the most refreshingly original books to grace our shores in years. Roth was concerned with newspaper writing but he was also a poet of rare distinction and courage. These 'feuilletons' or short essays on observations reveal insights into the Berlin from the fall of the Weimar Republic to the rise of the Nazi reqime. Calling these small essays 'readers for walkers' Roth wanders the streets and mass transportation of Berlin, looking into the backyards of common day people, the Jewish neighborhoods/ghettoes, the photographs in the police files of the unknown dead victims found in the gutters, the high wired clubs of decadent diversions, buildings of history and of future, and all the while he maintains a beautiful descriptive, poetic style while keeping his eyes wide open to the pathetic prophecy of the doom of the great city of Berlin. His words: 'The story of how absolutism and corruption, tyranny and speculation, the knout and shabby real estate dealings, cruelty and greed, the pretense of tough law-abidingness and blathering wheeler-dealer stood shoulder to shoulder, digging foundations and building streets, and of how ignorance, poor taste, disaster, bad intentions and the occassional very happy accident have come together in building the capital of the German Reich...' are balanced on other pages of describing the beauty of the sky above Berlin, the pathos of the lonely and neglected poor people on the trains, and the wonder of the vaguely temporary air that surrounded the bulding of a city after The Great War.

Roth is able to tell us so much history in so brief a space. Here are the beginnings of Isherwood's BERLIN STORIES, the birth of the style of the recent works of WG Sebald's books, and even the writings of Edmund White in THE FLANEUR. Would that our newspapers could find the space AND the talent to place such insightful observations in our poetically vapid journalism of today! This is a rare book of beautiful writing and we are indebted to translator Michael Hofmann not only for his lyrical English style, but also for his own insightful essay about the man who wrote these 'feuilletons'. A sad parting note is that Joseph Roth died in Paris in 1939 from the effects of his alcoholism. Such was the influence of Berlin on many artists of thetime.

It's true, there's poetry on every page. Beautifully rendered portraits of a city and a culture. Roth's poetic imagination and powers of observation are only matched by his compassion. A must read-for anyone interested in the development of the 20th century human in Europe.

Joseph Roth, What I Saw; Reports from Berlin 1920-1933. Translated by Michael Hofmann. I enjoy walking around cities, noticing people, activities, and places, especially the five boroughs of my New York. This new book collects and translates some thirty-four essays Joseph Roth penned for newspaper readers between 1920 and 1933. He was a young outsider from Lemberg (Lviv) and Vienna, but he is obviously a Berliner, a man fascinated by its people and scenes. We tend to know Berlin of this period from history books or "Cabaret." This book engaged me because each essay is a fresh look at an aspect of life in the German capital during this crucial period. For example, as U.S. newspapers now report the ever-growing Wal-Marts, Roth's essay, "The Very Large Department Store," looks at the trend as a poet does, with notice to the way crowds are swept upwards, almost against their will, to further displays. Moreover, the displays are so numerous that the multiplicity of the offerings devalues each item. Note also the essay, "With the Homeless" (1920), for his sensitive description of people. Roth observed well, wrote well. Whoever chose the accompanying photographs, added meaningful and helpful images, on theme, even if sometimes off-date. Dating some photographs was smart.

We live in difficult times for citizens who take seriously our responsibilities of active involvement with the policies and directions of "our" government. More and more it is clear that we are in a phase where the corporate interests own and direct the directions and programs undertaken in out name. Ordinary people have little or no power to influence policy. Likewise, the flow of information allowed to filter down through the mass media is more and more limited and controlled by the same forces, thus effectively silencing public debate of the most important issues. In "Why Bother" author, Sam Smith, honestly addresses this condition, dangerous to the very foundations of our democratic way of life, and he offers a variety of active responses enabling the citizen to envision a "life in a locked-down land".
This is not a pleasant book. It confronts the readers with a stark vision of where we are and describes ways of living in the face of that reality- in paths fashioned to maintain personal integrity and perhaps eventually engender social change as well. Smith offers no easy or quick solutions. The book is clear about the danger and destructiveness of the present path our institutions are embarked upon and about the power ranked against genuine efforts of reform. Yet, for myself, I value my own and Sam Smith's effort to see social and political "reality" for what it is. It is refreshing to live with a clear and coherent vision of what the issues are, even if they be difficult and unpleasant ones. To live in a world of lies and ingenuineness, to be a helpless, witless target of government and media propaganda is not to be fully alive. For those who prefer to live in the light of this difficult truth, I highly recommend this book!

We live in difficult times to for citizens who take seriously the responsibilities of active involvement with the policies and directions of "our" government. More and more it is clear that we are in a phase where the corporate interests own and direct the directions and programs undertaken. Ordinary people have little or no power to influence policy. Likewise, the flow of information allowed to filter down through the mass media is more and more limited and controlled by the same forces thus effectively silencing the range of public debate. In Why Bother Sam Smith honestly addresses this condition, dangerous to the very foundations of our democratic way of life and offers a variety of active responses enabling one to envisiion "a life in a locked-down land".
This is not a pleasant book. It confronts its readers with a stark vision of where we are and the ways of living in the face of that reality- in paths fashioned to maintain integrity and eventually engender change are neither easy nor promising of quick solutions. It is clear about the danger and distructiveness of the present path our institutions are taking and about the power ranked against genuine efforts of reform. Yet, for myself, I value my own and Sam Smith's effort to see social and political "reality" for what it is. It is refreshing to live with a clear and coherent vision of what the issues are, even if they be difficult and unpleasant ones. To live in a world of lies and ingenuineness, to be a helpless witless target of government and media propaganda is not not be fully alive. For those who prefer to live in the light of this difficult truth, I highly recommend this book!

After reading Sam Smith's online "Undernews" newsletter for some time, and being impressed with his analysis of current events, I bought this book. After two complete readings of the book I think I understand the gist of Smith's message -- but only after struggling with Smith's complex (and dismal) view of the current US political/social situation. I come away from my reading inspired to "bother" and to get involved in some of the ways that Smith suggests.

The following paragraph from the book's Introduction captures his theme well:

"Why bother? Only to be alive. Only to be real, to be made not just of what we acquire or do under instruction, but of what we think and do of our own free will. Only, Winston Churchill said, to fight while there is still a small chance so that we don't have to fight when there is none. Only to climb the rock face of risk and doubt in order to engage in the most extreme sport of all -- that of being a free and conscious human. Free and conscious even in a society that seems determined to reduce our lives to a barren pair of mandatory functions: consumption and compliance."

First, I must confess, I've been acquainted with the author since 1988 when I met him through mutual political interests. That being said, Mr. Sternberg is a class act - honest, forthright, devoted husband and father, military veteran, deep thinker, hard worker - and someone who embraces his faith, Judaism, with fullness of mind and heart. The latter quality, of course, is what inspired Mr. Sternberg to labor away at writing his tome as a sort of lifetime rebuttal to many of his coreligionists - and what a treat for us all his effort is.

Mr. Sternberg's central premise is that the Jewish people in America should not be political liberals because modern liberalism runs counter to the core of the traditional teachings of the faith (one can make a similar argument about Christianity - but in America, cultural Christians, i.e., the body of Christians who actively worship as well as those who don't, are split fairly evenly between political liberals and conservatives). Further, that freedom is the most important requirement for the Jewish faith to flourish - specifically, freedom from large, all-powerful government. The author's most poignant paragraph on the issue appears on page 187:

"Beyond all of this there must be the realization that socialism, and its twin liberalism, by granting more and more power to the state, by looking to the state to solve all of our social, economic, and even personal problems, in effect makes the state the "God" whom all should worship. By elevating the state to this supreme position, socialism or liberalism by definition, does thereby demote the eternal and One God, to an inferior position. In so doing these philosophies defy the Second Commandment, when God thundered to Moses and the Israelites on Mt. Sinai, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.'"

This, then, sums up both the essentially spiritual nature of American liberalism while also explaining why liberals cannot be dissuaded from their beliefs with data and logic - for them, liberalism is faith - faith in a brighter tomorrow by applying raw government power in the service of theory.

In explaining this, and in imploring his readers to personal spiritual renewal, Mr. Sternberg has done a service for people of all faiths who may think of politics as a route for the salvation of Mankind on Earth, not simply those who follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Though the author wrote this book primarily for fellow Jews, I heartily recommend it for non-Jews as well. I am a non-Jew (as far as I know), raised Catholic and now more of a simple deist, but thankful for the Judeo-Christian traditions that are so important in preserving freedom (as this book well documents). As the author points out, Jews tend to be more ambitious, educated, intelligent, and impatiently active in seeking good for the larger community. I have found it frustrating that such capable and influential people, whom I do believe God chose to lead us all to freedom and redemption through ethical monotheism, who are so clearly intelligent and accomplished in other areas, can be such crackpots when it comes to policy and political philosophy. As the author explains, instead of leading us to God, they (or their self-appointed leaders) have in recent times been leading us toward the State as god, toward socialism and Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, who, when their great plans didn't work and they needed a scapegoat, ended up persecuting the very Jews who supported them. This book helps explain how Jews in this country were historically conservative, how FDR won them over by pushing the right buttons politically, and how they might be won back by explaining to younger Jews how central freedom is to Judaism. If Jewish congregations were less hostile to conservative/libertarian sentiments, and if Jews were a bit more evangelical and let us on the outside know more about them, as the author does with this book, I think there would be a great many converts to and increased respect for Judaism, and in the absence of conversion, deeper friendship.

The book was very informative and well written. The Auther has some strong views but and well written

This book is beautifully illustrated and uses illustrations to explain Psalm 27 to children in a warm and positive way. Rather than "monsters under the bed" the hand of God is opened and shown to little ones in such a lovely way! My nieces and nephew are getting a copy and my 11 year old still enjoys it!

My boys and I have read the book about six times since last night. One of them went to bed with it. The illustrations depict the content of the text with such warmth. The message of God's caring hand comes across so well with the words being taken directly from a paraphrased Bible. What could be more comforting than this? Wonderful! I will be buying more of these books.

I love this book!! The illustrations are fantastic and the story (Psalms 27)is beautifully written in language that my child understands. I hope Joel Anderson writes more books!

Bensel is perhaps the best in the area of American Political Development. His work his thorough, accurate, and - unlike so many others - enjoyable. He gives a very clear explanation of how the Federal Government gained strength during and immediately after the Civil War.

This books argues powerfully and convincingly that what happened in the US Civil War created a truly new state in America, one that owed little to old republic that preceded it. It also suggests that this sort of revolution from above is probably of broader historical significance in modern history than the more paradigmatic European revolutions (such as in France or Russia).

Richard Bensel uses a systematic methodology first to define state strengthening (i.e. how the state in a nation acquires relative freedom from the society in which it dwells), and then to characterize how it was built in the Civil War years. His main source of information is votes in the US and Confederate congresses, which he analyzes with a gimlet eye to sectional stresses and political economy. This is one case where quantitative methodology helps to make a clear, convincing and powerful argument.

It should also be noted that (contrary to the impression that the other review gives) this book is no shill for the Confederate cause either. As a political scientist with a focus on finance capital, Bensel does not view the Civil War through the lens of a noble crusade to abolish slavery. At the same time, however, he uses the same lens of political economy to look at the southern state-building as well. Ironically, the "Dixie Leviathan" was even more powerful and autonomous than the Yankee one. The small size of the southern economy and the broad popularity of the war gave the Confederate government both the need and the ability to confiscate property and trample states rights far more effectively than the Republicans did in the Union. The old slogans of Jeffersonian small government disappeared and big-government national mobilization became Dixie's order of the day.

As Bensel makes clear, the constitutional order broke down in 1860 because it could not peacefully regulate conflicts in the US political economy. The Jeffersonian republic died, and the issue in the Civil War was never Leviathan vs. limited government, but one leviathan or two. The ultimate irony is that Yankee Leviathan's swallowing up of Dixie Leviathan ended up recreating the conditions of sectional stalemate that still serves to limit the further growth in power of the American state.

Any one interested in American government or the strong modern state as an historical phenomenon, must read and digest this book.

This book blew me away. All the books I'd read on American Reconstruction before this concentrated on carpetbaggers and scalawags, or on issues of equality. This one is different. Bensel looks at Reconstruction as the triumph of the Hamiltonian vision for America. Here the Republican Party, like the Russian Bolsheviks in the early 20th century, dominate the American political-economy with no significant political opposition.

With the Southern Democrats crushed in the Civil War and their opposition to Northern industrial development silenced, the Republicans are able to push forward their agenda of rapid national expansion and heavy governmental subsidies for Northern business interests. Little to nothing is spent on rebuilding the Southern infrastructure or on ensuring equality of opportunity for the freed slaves. Why wouldn't the Republicans live up to their wartime promises of providing land or other economic opportunities to African-Americans? Because if they did, then Northern factory workers would take notice and demand their fair share of Northern industry. This was intolerable to Northern business intersts. Thus, the South becomes an economic colony of the North, while the Republican Party's pro-business attitude helps turn Northern workers into virtual wage-slaves. Bensel's book is dense and difficult to read. Nevertheless, it's mind-opening rewards are worth the effort.

There are very few books that not only make you laugh, but also instruct you. I always wondered why political schemes never seem to work for the common person. Now I know, and I thoroughly enjoyed the learning experience. I understand that ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher loved the television programs. Every politician must face all that Jim Hacker had to deal with in these stories. Also, pay attention to the character, Arnold. He is a realist with absolutely no conscience whatsoever. However, he does understand how the system actually works. If you like satire, you've picked up the right book. Cheers to the authors! It doesn't get any better than this!

If you liked this book, I highly recommend John Mortimer's "Rumpole of the Bailey" series.

This book portrays the political drama with an excellent sense of humour.

Like the companion book for the later series, _Yes, Prime Minister_, _The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister_ follows in the British tradition of committing filmed episodes to paper. New fans to the series who know it only from the North American video release will actually find wholly 'new' material here; more episodes find their way into this volume than are currently available on VHS. But clearly, if you're looking for behind-the-scenes information or a discussion of _YM_ in the context of 1980's Britain, you've come to the wrong book.

No, this is a book for people who are so enamored of the dialogue, style, and even the issues of the television series that they want the same stories retold with a new twist. After reading this book, it's easy to see why there were enough such people that this book made the bestseller lists in England.

Even if you've seen every episode five times, this is fabulous stuff to add to your print library. Jonathan Lynn and Anthony Jay clearly have an ear for dialogue and a head for politics. They also are smart enough to put just enough new material in the book to reward diehard fans. By retelling each episode from the perspective of the Minister, they add a level of humor usually not present in the series: that of insight into Hacker's genuine opinions. To be sure, the book's basic paradigm is to keep all the dialogue from the filmed episode, with Hacker quoting exactly what the other characters say, but there's enough new expository material to set up those quotes that fans of the show will feel they're getting more than just a print regurgitation of the series.

Indeed, this twist proved so successful with the British readership that the authors decided to push forward and make a second edition, _The Complete Diaries of a Cabinet Minister_, which includes more pictures, more graphical elements (such as handwritten notes between Humphrey and the Minister), and I think even one more episode, that add value to the solid core found in this edition.

Which edition should you get? Given the out-of-print status of the volume, I'd say you should get what Amazon can find for you. If you liked the series, you won't be disappointed with either.

I borrowed this book from the Library and love it so much I wanted to buy one to keep readily available. I hope somebody decides to reprint this one. I'd love a copy of my own. It breaks down the Constitution into bite sized pieces into something even I can understand.

I bought this book in high school school in 1956 for a Problems in American Democracy course. I have used it in high school, college Constitutional Law courses, law school courses and the practice of law. It breaks the Constitution down almost word for word and restates it in easy, simple layman's terms. It tells you why the phrase is there, what the citizen gives up under it and what the citizen receives in benefits from it. It alows you to find and understand specific sections of the Constitution and how they apply to you. Every American should have and study this book. It is the best simple explination of this complex subject I have ever seen. The fact that it is out of print and not available, particularly to young students, is a sorry comment on our society.

As a young boy - nobody could believe the a family member of mine wrote this book. I used it in government class in Junior High and High School in the 1970's. This book should still be required reading by every student in the United States

David Findlay Stafford