Bibliography

[Those books which are especially recommended,
as opposed to being merely cited,
are marked with one to three stars.]

Adorno-AP

Theodor W. Adorno, Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Daniel Levinson, and Nevitt Sanford, The Authoritarian Personality, 1950 Wikipedia, Google

Arum+Roksa-AA

Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, 2011

Baker-PD

James A. Baker III, The Politics of Diplomacy: Revolution, War and Peace, 1989–1992, 1995

** Ball-PA

George W. Ball and Douglas B. Ball [father and son], The Passionate Attachment: America's Involvement With Israel, 1947 to [1992], 1992 [A commentary on how this book was not reviewed.] [They devote two chapters to how the Arab world and its relations to the United States is affected by the Israeli-U.S. relationship. Each of these chapters ends with a remarkably prescient warning, considering that PA was published in 1992, prior to the WTC bombing and the catastrophic events of 2001-09-11. Here are the chapter titles and their concluding warnings (emphasis is, with the benefit of hindsight, added).] Chapter Eleven American-Arab Relations: The Neglected Leg of the Triangle [page 242] There are also dangers from which America has heretofore been spared, but to which frustrations and a continuation of the present war [referring to the Israeli-Arab conflict] might ultimately lead, that the struggle might be transferred to American soil. Chapter Twelve Terror and Reprisal [page 252] Though Americans can consider themselves fortunate that for the present this sordid tale of slaughter has been largely confined to foreign nations, there is no assurance that this country will be permanently immune. If the peace process breaks down, what assurance do we have that America’s porous borders will not be infiltrated and terrorist operations carried out against our people? If or when that does occur—and let us pray that it does not— the American government, if it continues to back Israeli state terrorism, will not be able to claim legitimately that this country is a totally innocent victim. [The most significant point to be made here is that, when the time came after 9-11 to answer the question “Why do they hate us?”, our chattering classes and political elite suffered total amnesia with respect to the powerful case the Ball’s made in their book for just why we deserved to be hated (not, as so many foolishly have said, “because we are good,” but because of what the subtitle of the book describes), and the prediction just quoted that it was our backing for “Israeli state terrorism” that led to terrorism by Muslim non-state actors against Israel’s principal enabler.] [Also available are excerpts from PA concerning U.S.-Israeli relations and the legality of Israel’s settlements.]

* Bamford-PW

James Bamford, A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies, 2004 [book review in the NYT]

Barnett-PNM

Thomas P.M. Barnett, The Pentagon’s New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-first Century, 2004 the Wikipedia article on this book An interesting review of this book by Reagan and Bush-41 aide James P. Pinkerton, together with a strong (to say the least) rebuttal from the author, is at the author’s website. An excerpt from the book is at my post “The financial-military complex”

* Bin-Laden-SOBL

Osama bin Laden, Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden, edited and introduced by Bruce Lawrence, 2005

* Brimelow-AN

Peter Brimelow, Alien Nation: Common Sense About America's Immigration Disaster, 1996 Unexpurgated Afterword to the Harper Collins Paperback Edition; Alien Nation: Round 2; reviews of Alien Nation

Brownlee-O

Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer, 2007

Brzezinski-SC

Zbigniew Brzezinski, Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower, 2007 NYT review by Jacob Heilbrunn: Brzezinski appraises American foreign policy over the past three presidential administrations. Shunning the sonorous language that pervades most books by former high-ranking officials, he sharply reprimands George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush for squandering American power. By the end, he even issues presidential report cards, with marks of “B” for the elder Bush, “C” for Clinton and a dismal “F” for you know who. ... Bush [I], he says, should have pushed Israel far more forcefully to reach a permanent accommodation with the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat. [Wow! From the point of view of the American national interest, Brzezinski is surely correct, but from the point of view of American politics, look at what the Jews did to Bush-41 as it was. Heilbrunn later acknowledges this:] The first President Bush suspended loan guarantees to Israel to force it to halt settlement activity on the West Bank [a halt that was soon reversed, due to AmJew pressure], bringing a storm of obloquy upon him from Israel’s American supporters. What more would Brzezinski have had him do? In 2000, no matter how much Clinton pleaded, Arafat was simply unwilling to bargain seriously. Is it any wonder that Clinton came to view him as untrustworthy? [Heilbrunn follows the standard AmJew propaganda line, seemingly unavoidable in the main-stream media, that it was all Arafat’s fault. For a (well-informed) different view, see Swisher: The Truth About Camp David.]

** Buchanan-GB

Patrick Buchanan, The Great Betrayal: How American Sovereignty and Social Justice Are Being Sacrificed to the Gods of the Global Economy, 1998 This rather unrecognized book is an outstanding historical account of the battle between protectionism and free trade in America. Highly recommended. YouTube video of 1998 C-SPAN Booknotes interview, Brian Lamb interviewing Patrick Buchanan about this book. Embed of the same:

** Buchanan-RE

Patrick Buchanan, A Republic, Not an Empire, 1999

** Buchanan-DW

Patrick Buchanan, The Death of the West: How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization, 2002

Buchanan-SE

Patrick Buchanan, State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America 2006

Buchanan-DR

Patrick Buchanan, Day of Reckoning: How Hubris, Ideology, and Greed Are Tearing America Apart 2007

** Buchanan-SS

Patrick Buchanan, Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? 2011;; A summary that appeared in The American Conservative.

Buckley-ISAS

William F. Buckley, Jr., In Search of Anti-Semitism, 1992 [An interesting discussion of what the elite, as exemplified by WFB, consider anti-Semitism, and why they so do. The principal cases studied are: Patrick Buchanan and Joe Sobran on the right and Gore Vidal on the left. Each is found guilty. Much interesting commentary by various observers is provided; Sobran in particular makes a powerful reply.]

Burrough+Helyar-BATG

Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, 1990 (original publication), 2008 (above edition) Wikipedia article on BATG

* Carter-PPNA

Jimmy Carter, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, 2006 My collection of articles on this book

Choate-AI

Pat Choate, Agents of Influence: How Japan Manipulates America's Political and Economic System, 1990

Choate-DB

Pat Choate, Dangerous Business: The Risks of Globalization for America, 2008

* Chua-WF

Amy Chua, World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability, 2003

Clarke-AAE

Richard A. Clarke, Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror, 2004 [book review in the NYT]

Cohan-HC

William D. Cohan, House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street, 2009

Coll-GW

Steve Coll, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, 2004

Cohen-SC

Eliot A. Cohen, Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime, 2002

Desch-PME

Michael Desch, Power and Military Effectiveness: The Fallacy of Democratic Triumphalism, 2008 [Publisher book description:] Since 1815 democratic states have emerged victorious from most wars, leading many scholars to conclude that democracies are better equipped to triumph in armed conflict with autocratic and other non-representative governments. Political scientist Michael C. Desch argues that the evidence and logic of that supposition, which he terms “democratic triumphalism,” are as flawed as the arguments for the long-held and opposite belief that democracies are inherently disadvantaged in international relations. Through comprehensive statistical analysis, a thorough review of two millennia of international relations thought, and in-depth case studies of modern-era military conflicts, Desch finds that the problems that persist in prosecuting wars -- from building up and maintaining public support to holding the military and foreign policy elites in check -- remain constant regardless of any given state’s form of government. In assessing the record, he finds that military effectiveness is almost wholly reliant on the material assets that a state possesses and is able to mobilize. Power and Military Effectiveness is an instructive reassessment of the increasingly popular belief that military success is one of democracy’s many virtues. International relations scholars, policy makers, and military minds will be well served by its lessons.

DSouza-EH

Dinesh D’Souza, The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, 2007 A summary and discussion by the author.

Eberstadt-HAA

Mary Eberstadt, Home-Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Behavioral Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes, 2004

Epstein-FG

Richard Epstein, Forbidden Grounds: The Case Against Employment Discrimination Laws, 1992

Espenshade+Radford-NLSNYE

Thomas J. Espenshade & Alexandria Walton Radford, No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life, 2009

Filkins-FW

Dexter Filkins, The Forever War, 2008

** Findley-TDTSO

Paul Findley, They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby, Third Edition, 2003 [Here are some excerpts from the 1985 first edition. Note that the author served eleven terms, 1961–1982, in Congress. Emphasis is added.] [From Chapter One:] It is no overstatement to say that AIPAC has effectively gained control of virtually all of Capitol Hill’s action on Middle East policy. Almost without exception, House and Senate members do its bidding, because most of them consider AIPAC to be the direct Capitol Hill representative of a political force that can make or break their chances at election time. ... AIPAC means power — raw, intimidating power. ... A former Congressman, Paul “Pete” McCloskey put it: Congress is “terrorized” by AIPAC. [Recall this was written in 1985.] Other Congressman have not been so candid on the public record, but many House and Senate members privately agree. ... In practice, the lobby functions as an informal extension of the Israeli government. This was illustrated when AIPAC helped draft the official statement defending Israel’s 1981 bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor, then issued it the same hour as Israel’s embassy. No major Jewish organization ever publicly takes issue with positions and policies adopted by Israel. ... “At the State Department we used to predict that if Israel’s prime minister should announce that the world is flat, within 24 hours Congress would pass a resolution congratulating him on the discovery,” recalls Don Bergus, former ambassador to Sudan and a retired career diplomat. ... An Ohio Congressman speaks of AIPAC with both awe and concern:

AIPAC is the most influential lobby on Capitol Hill. They are relentless. They know what they’re doing. They have the people for financial resources. They’ve got a lot going for them. Their basic underlying cause is one that most Americans sympathize with. But what distresses me is the inability of American policy-makers, because of the influence of AIPAC, to distinguish between our national interest and Israel’s national interest. When these converge—wonderful! But they don’t always converge.

[W]hen [Thomas A. Dine, executive director of AIPAC] reviewed the 1984 election results ... he claimed credit for defeating Republican Senators Charles Percy of Illinois and Roger Jepson of Iowa and Democratic Senator Walter Huddleston of Kentucky, all of whom incurred AIPAC wrath by voting for the sale of AWACS planes to Saudi Arabia. Dine said these successes “defined Jewish political power for the rest of this century.”

---

[Chapter 2, page 70] [A] Congressman divides his colleagues into four groups, saying:

1. For the first group, it’s rah, rah, give Israel anything it wants.
2. The second group includes those with some misgivings,
   but they don’t dare step out of line.
3. In the third group are Congressmen who have deep misgivings
   but who won’t do more than try quietly
   to slow down the aid to Israel.
   Lee Hamilton is an example.
4. The fourth group consists of
   those who openly question U.S. policy in the Middle East
   and challenge what Israel is doing.
   Since Findley and McCloskey left,
   this group really doesn’t exist anymore.

---

[Chapter 4, page 119] [President Dwight David Eisenhower] took his case [that Israel should withdraw from certain territory that it had seized in the 1956 war (sound familiar?)] to the American people in a televised address in the spring of 1957:

Should a nation which attacks and occupies foreign territory in the face of the United Nations disapproval be allowed to impose conditions on its own withdrawal? If we agreed that armed attack can properly achieve the purposes of the assailant, then I fear we will have turned back the clock of international order.

Letters and telegrams poured into the White House, but almost all of the communications came from Jews, 90 percent supporting Israel’s position. [Secretary of State John Foster] Dulles [for whom Washington’s Dulles International Airport is named] complained, “It is impossible to hold the line because we get no support from the Protestant elements in the country. All we get is a battering from the Jews.”

---

[Also freely available on the Internet is TDTSO’s discussion of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty. Further background on this incident is provided here (this is a super web site), here (note especially the statement at the end: “Former NSA Officials Agree”), here, here, here, and in Bamford’s Body of Secrets and reply to Aftergood. Listen to Admiral Moorer (former CNO and JCS Chairman) here. Finally, Wikipedia.]

** Findley-DD

Paul Findley, Deliberate Deceptions: Facing the Facts About the U.S.-Israeli Relationship, 1995 [From the book jacket flap:] Findley warns that the United States, by secretly supporting

• Israel’s military conquests,
• its longstanding oppression of the Palestinians, and
• its violations of international law,

has undermined its own vital interests in the Middle East and transgressed America’s professed commitment to the rule of law and the egalitarian treatment of all citizens. Largely due to Israel’s successful propaganda efforts and the U.S. government’s support for them, the public knows little about the destructive ways in which the relationship between Israel and America has functioned. With precise, comprehensive citations from the historical record, Findley debunks the myths that have long obscured Israel’s policies and initiatives and the U.S. government’s role in them. [The chapters on Jewish Settlements and UN Resolution 242 are available here.]

Fingleton-HI

Eamonn Fingleton, In Praise of Hard Industries: Why Manufacturing, Not the Information Economy, Is the key to Future Prosperity, 1999

Fingleton-3BNC

Eamonn Fingleton, Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East, 2005

Fingleton-JD

Eamonn Fingleton, In the Jaws of the Dragon: America's Fate in the Coming Era of Chinese Dominance, 2008

** Finkelstein-IR

Norman G. Finkelstein, Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict (Second Edition), 2003 *Author’s description of book, amazon.com, Wikipedia article

* Finkelstein-HI

Norman G. Finkelstein, The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering (Second Edition), 2003 *Author’s description of book, amazon.com

** Finkelstein-BC

Norman G. Finkelstein, Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History, Updated (Paperback) Edition with a new preface, 2008 (First, Hardback Edition was 2005) *Author’s description of book, amazon.com, Wikipedia article [A blurb from the back of the jacket:] “Beyond Chutzpah” is the most comprehensive, systematic, and well-documented work of its kind. It is one of the harshest—rational and nonemotional—texts about the daily practices of the occupation and colonization of the Palestinian territories by Israel, and it is an excellent demonstration of how and why the blind defenders of Israel, by basing their arguments on false facts and figures, actually bring more damage than gains their causes.”

BARUCH KIMMERLING George S. Wise Professor of Sociology Hebrew University of Jerusalem

---

[The front book flap (emphasis is added).] In this long-awaited sequel to his international bestseller The Holocaust Industry, Norman G. Finkelstein moves from an iconoclastic interrogation of the new anti-Semitism to a meticulously researched exposé of the corruption of scholarship in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Bringing to bear the latest findings and recasting the scholarly debate, Finkelstein points to a consensus among historians and human rights organizations on the factual record. Why, then, does so much controversy swirl around the conflict? Finkelstein’s answer, copiously documented, is that apologists for Israel contrive controversy. Whenever Israel comes under international pressure, another media campaign alleging a global outbreak of anti-Semitism is mounted. Finkelstein also scrutinizes the spread of distortions masquerading as history. Recalling Joan Peter’s book From Time Immemorial, published to great fanfare in 1984 but subsequently exposed as an academic hoax, he asks deeply troubling questions here about the periodic reappearance of spurious scholarship and the uncritical acclaim it receives. The most recent addition to this mendacious genre, Finkelstein argues, is Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz’s bestseller The Case for Israel. The core analysis of Beyond Chutzpah sets Dershowitz’s assertions on Israel’s human rights record against the findings of the mainstream human rights community. Sifting through thousands of pages of reports from Amnesty International, B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, and others, Finkelstein presents the first accessible distillation of key human rights findings and demonstrates that Dershowitz has systematically misrepresented the facts. Thoroughly researched and tightly argued, Beyond Chutzpah lifts the veil of contrived controversy shrouding the Israel-Palestine conflict, enabling readers in search of a just and lasting peace to act on the basis of truth.

* Fisk-GWC

Robert Fisk, The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East, 2005

Fromkin-PEAP

David Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace Creating the Modern Middle East, 1914–1922 1989

* Goldberg-JP

J. J. Goldberg, Jewish Power: Inside the American Jewish Establishment, 1996 [For extensive excerpts, click here. Here is a blurb from the back jacket of the first, September 1996, edition:] “J.J. Goldberg is a seasoned observer of the American Jewish community. Jewish Power is an informative and provocative must-read for an understanding of the issues, institutions, and individuals that define the community.”

—Abraham Foxman national director, Anti-Defamation League

Goldsmith-Trap

Sir James Goldsmith The Trap 1994

Grant-PGR

Madison Grant, Passing of the Great Race, Or, the Racial Basis of European History 1916, 1970 Wikipedia article

Greider-OW

William Greider, One World Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism, 1997

Halper-Clarke-SRC

Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke, The Silence of the Rational Center, 2007

Heilbrunn-TKTWR

Jacob Heilbrunn, They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons, 2008 NYT review by Timothy Noah

* Herrnstein-Murray-BC

Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles A. Murray, The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, 1994

Hite-HR

Shere Hite, The Hite Report: A National Study of Female Sexuality, 1976, 1981, 2004

Hollinger-SJSC

David A. Hollinger Science, Jews, and Secular Culture, 1998

Holt-ILB

Frank L. Holt Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan, 2005

** Huntington-CC

Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, 1996

* Huntington-WAW

Samuel Huntington, Who Are We: The Challenges to America's National Identity, 2004

Johnson-B

Chalmers Johnson, Blowback, Second Edition: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, 2004

Johnson-Kwak-13B

Simon Johnson and James Kwak, 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, 2010

Kaplan-Kristol-WOI

Lawrence F. Kaplan and William Kristol, The War over Iraq: Saddam's Tyranny and America's Mission, 2003 [From Publishers Weekly, as quoted at Amazon.com; emphasis is added.] Between the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the current crisis over Iraq, neoconservative thinkers such as Kristol (editor of the Weekly Standard) worked to keep Saddam Hussein at the center of the U.S. foreign policy agenda. In this slim, well-argued book, Kristol and Kaplan, a senior editor at the New Republic, cogently make the case for a U.S. invasion of Iraq. The rationale behind the Bush administration’s preemptive strategy, they write, is that Saddam Hussein is a dictator who threatens both his own people and the world, and therefore must be stopped before he does further harm. The weaknesses in the authors’ case are the same as many find in the administration’s- such as that the ties between Saddam and al-Qaeda are unclear, which Kristol and Kaplan acknowledge. But, they continue, “we do know that Saddam is a terrorist.” [But not one who threatened America.] Just as importantly, the book criticizes the policy of both the latter years of the first Bush administration and the Clinton years for allowing the Iraq threat to fester. Both governments had their reasons- Bush I’s pragmatism and Clinton’s focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict- but the world is much worse off, say Kristol and Kaplan. The background for a case for a U.S. strike is articulated well here. [See also the 2003-03-05 discussion with Kaplan and Kristol: “The War Over Iraq: Why Saddam Must Go... and Why America Must Lead”.]

Kennedy-RFGP

Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, 1987 The back of the book jacket of the original hard-cover edition displays paragraph 8.6.2 of the book (emphasis is added): “Although the United States is at present still in a class of its own economically and perhaps even militarily, it cannot avoid confronting the two great tests which challenge the longevity of every major power that occupies the “number one” position in world affairs: whether, in the military/strategical realm,

it can preserve a reasonable balance between the nation’s perceived defense requirements and the means it possesses to maintain those commitments;

and whether, as an intimately related point,

it can preserve the technological and economic bases of its power from relative erosion in the face of the ever-shifting patterns of global production.

This test of American abilities will be the greater because it, like imperial Spain around 1600 or the British Empire around 1900, is the inheritor of a vast array of strategical commitments which had been made decades earlier, when the nation’s political, economic, and military capacity to influence world affairs seemed so much more assured. In consequence, the United States now runs the risk, so familiar to historians of the rise and fall of previous Great Powers, of what might roughly be called ‘imperial overstretch’: that is to say, decision makers in Washington must face the awkward and enduring fact that

the sum total of the United States’ global interests and obligations is nowadays far larger than the country’s power to defend them all simultaneously.”

Lewis-LP

Michael Lewis, Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street, 1989 Wikipedia’s description of this book

* MacDonald-PTSDA

Kevin MacDonald, A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy, 1994/2002 Author’s description of book, amazon.com Parts that are freely available on the web: Preface (Diaspora Peoples) Chapter 7, Judaism as an Ecological Strategy: Selection for Traits Related to Intelligence, High-Investment Parenting, and Social Cohesion

* MacDonald-SAID

Kevin MacDonald, Separation and Its Discontents: Toward an Evolutionary Theory of Anti-Semitism, 1998/2004 Author’s description of book, amazon.com Parts that are freely available on the web: Chapter 2, Themes of Anti-Semitism Chapter 5, National Socialism as an Anti-Jewish Group Evolutionary Strategy Chapter 8, Self-Deception as an Aspect of Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy

*** MacDonald-CC

Kevin MacDonald, The Culture of Critique: An Evolutionary Analysis of Jewish Involvement in Twentieth-Century Intellectual and Political Movements, 1998/2002 Author’s description of book, amazon.com a brief description at Wikipedia my work on the book Parts that are freely available on the web: Preface in HTML, PDF Chapter 6, The Jewish Criticism of Gentile Culture: A Reprise Chapter 7, Jewish Involvement in Shaping US Immigration Policy Chapter 8, Conclusion: Whither Judaism and the West

*** MacDonald-UJI

Kevin MacDonald, Understanding Jewish Influence: A Study in Ethnic Activism with an Introduction by Samuel Francis, 2004 The main body of this work, three essays by Kevin MacDonald, is freely available on the web: I. Background Traits for Jewish Activism II. Zionism and the Internal Dynamics of Judaism III. Neoconservatism as a Jewish Movement

MacDonald-CI

Kevin MacDonald, Cultural Insurrections: Essays on Western Civilization, Jewish Influence, and Anti-Semitism, 2008 Author’s description of the book, Amazon.com

MacDonogh-AR

Giles MacDonogh, After the Reich: The Brutal History of The Allied Occupation, 2007

MacMillan-Paris-1919

Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World, 2001 The English edition of this book, titled Peacemakers, was published on 2001-09-06, just five days before 9/11.

Mansfield+Snyder-EF

Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder, Electing to Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go to War, 2005

Matthews-LY

Mark Matthews, The Lost Years: Bush, Sharon, and Failure in the Middle East, 2007

*** Mearsheimer+Walt-IL

John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, “The Israel Lobby”, 2006 The above is a 22-page article; an expanded version, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” is available at http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-011 or http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=891198. (See also Walt, Taming American Power.) Excerpts and discussion are available in my post Israel Lobby: M+W controversy .

*** Mearsheimer+Walt-ILUSFP

John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, 2007-09-04 web site NYT (weekday) review Sunday NYT Book Review my discussion of it

Miller-MTPL

Aaron David Miller, The Much Too Promised Land: America's Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace, 2008

* Morris-RV

Benny Morris, Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001, 2001

** Mumford-Series-Wright-IP

David Mumford, Caroline Series, David Wright Indra’s Pearls: The Vision of Felix Klein 2002 Web Site Reviews (found at Amazon.com or the CUP/UK site for the book) "I truly love this book...a magnificent text." American Mathematical Monthly "It has been a great pleasure to read such a gracefully written, original book of mathematics. The three authors, with the support of Cambridge University Press, have produced a book that is as handsome in physical appearance as its content is stimulating and accessible. The book is an exemplar of its genre and a singular contribution to the contemporary mathematics literature." Notices of the AMS "The production of the book leaves nothing to be desired. It is spendid. Printed entirely on glossy paper, with practically all of the many figures in glorious color, the book has a number of admirable design features: large type and wide margins wherein references are given and occasional comments (often quite talky) are made. CU Press has done a beautiful job, and David Tranah of the CU Press deserves special commendation for his role in pulling out all the stops." SIAM News "All of it is patiently explained...By the time you finish, you'll know your way around this complex plane." American Scientist "...raises a number of interesting issues... The book itself is a work of art... I truly enjoyed reading Indra’s Pearls. I am sure that the book will have a major impact on the way we teach geometry and dynamics...a jewel that will more than repay the persistent reader's efforts." Science 'This unique book can serve as a pedagogical and visual introduction to group theory for school children, and yet is just as suitable for professional mathematicians: I believe that both of them would read the book from the beginning to the end. Finally, it can be used as a book for popularising science, but is very different from most fashionable books on strings, black holes, etc.: it gives you the joy of seeing, thinking and understanding.' EMS 'This is a beautifully presented book, rich in mathematical gems.' The Mathematical Gazette 'One can browse through the numerous beautiful and fascinating pictures and marvel at them. … Readers with widely different backgrounds will find something enjoyable in this unique book.' Acta Scientiarum Mathematicarum Publisher's Book Description Felix Klein, a great geometer of the nineteenth century, rediscovered an idea from Hindu mythology in mathematics: the heaven of Indra in which the whole Universe was mirrored in each pearl in a net of pearls. Practically impossible to represent by hand, this idea barely existed outside the imagination, until the 1980s when the authors embarked on the first computer investigation of Klein's vision. In this extraordinary book they explore the path from some basic mathematical ideas to the simple algorithms that create delicate fractal filigrees, most appearing in print for the first time. Step-by-step instructions for writing computer programs allow beginners to generate the images.

Murray-RE

Charles A. Murray Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America's Schools Back to Reality, 2008

Novick-HAL

Peter Novick The Holocaust in American Life, 1999 [My main reason for including this book in the bibliography is to give a place for this excerpt, which introduces its Chapter 8; the emphasis is added.]

[8] “A Bill Submitted ‘for Sufferings Rendered’ ”

It has become a commonplace in recent years that Israel and the Holocaust are the twin pillars of American Jewish “civil religion” — the symbols that bind together Jews in the United States whether they are believers or nonbelievers, on the political right, left, or center. But through the mid-1960s Israel, like the Holocaust, didn’t loom that large in American Jewish consciousness— at least not in public expressions of that consciousness. In the late sixties and early seventies, Israel became much more important to American Jews, and, in a set of spiraling interactions, concern with Israel was expressed in ways that evoked the Holocaust, and vice versa.

Packer-AG

George Packer, The Assassins’ Gate, 2005

Pape-DW

Robert Pape, Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, 2006

Pappe-ECP

Ilan Pappé, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, 2006 [Wikipedia has an extensive summary of this book.]

Parsi-TA

Trita Parsi, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States, 2007

Podhoretz-WWIV

Norman Podhoretz, World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism, 2007 review by Michael Scheuer: Why Does Norman Podhoretz Hate America? Norman Podhoretz’s new book, World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism, is a hate-filled, anti-American book of the first order. Podhoretz hates every American who does not support the neoconservatives’ views, the foreign policy they have devised, and the military and national security disasters to which they are leading America. ... There is no better overall description for Norman Podhoretz’s World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism than “low and dishonest.”

Polk-VP

William R. Polk, Violent Politics: A History of Insurgency, Terrorism, and Guerrilla War, from the American Revolution to Iraq, 2007

Pollack-TS

Kenneth Pollack, The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq, 2002 “One of the most important books on American foreign policy in years. There is no greater strategic challenge than Iraq, and nobody better qualified to tackle it than Kenneth Pollack. To have such comprehensive, high-quality professional analysis available publicly and in real time is simply extraordinary. From now on, all serious debate over how to handle Saddam starts here.”

—Gideon Rose, Managing Editor, Foreign Affairs

Prestowitz-BAP

Clyde Prestowitz, The Betrayal of American Prosperity: Free Market Delusions, America's Decline, and How We Must Compete in the Post-Dollar Era, 2010

Risen-SW

James Risen, State of War: The Secret History of the C.I.A. and the Bush Administration, 2006 [The key statement in the book, on page 220:] [T]he real power in the Bush administration [is] Donald Rumsfeld.

Ritter-TI

Scott Ritter, Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change, 2006

Robertson-DCD

Brian C. Robertson, Day Care Deception: What the Child Care Establishment Isn't Telling Us, 2004

Roth-PAA

Philip Roth, The Plot Against America, 2004 Reviewed by Bill Kauffman in The American Conservative.

** Roth-Douquet+Schaeffer-AWOL

Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer, AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America’s Upper Classes from Military Service and How It Hurts Our Country, 2006 Washington Post review [An excerpt from the review:] Whether ... personal connections [between policy makers and the military] actually affect policy is almost impossible to say, but common sense supports the authors' assertion that “the grunt on the ground is best equipped, best trained, and best served when the opinion makers have a personal stake in his or her well-being.” “When those who benefit most from living in a country contribute the least to its defense and those who benefit least are asked to pay the ultimate price, something happens to the soul of that country.” “We are shortchanging a generation of smart, motivated Americans who have been prejudiced against service by parents and teachers. Their parents may think they are protecting their children. Their teachers may think they are enlightening them. But perhaps what these young people are being protected from is maturity, selflessness, and the kind of ownership of their country that can give it a better future.”

Ryn-AV

Claes G. Ryn, America the Virtuous: The Crisis of Democracy and the Quest for Empire, 2003

* Scheuer-TOEE

Michael Scheuer, Through Our Enemies’ Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America, Revised Edition, 2005

*** Scheuer-IH

Michael Scheuer, Imperial Hubris: Why The West Is Losing The War On Terror, 2004 This book is extensively excerpted here.

*** Scheuer-MTH

Michael Scheuer, Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq, 2008 hardback, 2009 paperback with a new eleven-page introduction updating the situation through December 2008 Section 4.4 on lessons from the Iraq War is excerpted here.

Shahak-JFII

Israel Shahak, Jewish Fundamentalism In Israel, 2004

Shahak-JHJR

Israel Shahak, Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years, 1997, foreword 2002 Amazingly, as of 2009-02-24, this is, in its entirety, on the web at http://www.ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/shahak.html.

Slezkine-JC

Yuri Slezkine, The Jewish Century, 2004 Review, using the title “Stalin’s Willing Executioners”, by Kevin MacDonald at VDare.com and the Occidental Quarterly (PDF); also, a brief note by Steve Sailer.

Stewart-DT

James B. Stewart, Den of Thieves, 1992

Stoddard-RTC

Lothrop Stoddard, The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy, 1920, 2003 Wikipedia article Modern interest in The Rising Tide of Color is often based on the accuracy of the predictions the book makes.... Stoddard's predictions, coming immediately after World War One [in 1920], include: an impending war between Japan and the United States; the unjust nature of the Treaty of Versailles leading to a second European war; the rise and power of Islamism in the Middle East; Asian immigration to Australia; and the decline of colonialism.

Swisher-TACD

Clayton Swisher, The Truth About Camp David: The Untold Story About the Collapse of the Middle East Peace Process, 2004 Swisher’s book is reviewed positively by the Middle East Policy Council and negatively by Peace with Realism. For additional information on this subject, see: 2004-11-22: Wanniski-Hays-Swisher 2005-01-05: Wanniski 2005-08-15: Christison

Taylor+Johnson-UPI

Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson, Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case, 2007

Tenet-ACS

George Tenet, At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA, 2007-04-30 NYT review by Michiko Kakutani WP review by Bob Woodward

Tonelson-RB

Alan Tonelson, The Race To The Bottom: Why A Worldwide Worker Surplus And Uncontrolled Free Trade Are Sinking American Living Standards, 2000

** Toynbee-SH

Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History:

Volumes I–III	1934
Volumes IV–VI	1939
Volumes VII–X	1954
Volume XII, Reconsiderations	1961
Abridgement of Volumes I–VI	1946
Abridgement of Volumes VII–X	1957

(For full titles of the above and a complete Toynbee bibliography, including the mysterious Volume XI, click here.)

*** Wade-TI

Nicholas Wade, A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History, 2014; A summary of various reviews of the book, collected by Kevin MacDonald

* Walt-TAP

Stephen M. Walt, Taming American Power: The Global Response to U.S. Primacy, 2005 Summary article. [Here is the preface from Taming American Power; emphasis has been added.] Describing the United States as the mightiest state since Rome has become a cliché, but like most clichés, it also captures an essential feature of reality. The United States enjoys a position of power unseen for centuries, and citizens around the world are intensely aware of that fact. For Americans, this dominant position is both a source of pride and an opportunity: it gives the United States a large margin of security and some capacity to mold the world according to U.S. interests and values. Within the United States, therefore, the debate about U.S. primacy is mostly about the best way to use its vast power. By contrast, the rest of the world sees U.S. primacy as increasingly troubling. Not only is our position a direct threat to states whose interests and values clash with ours, but even our fellow-democracies now worry about the concentration of power in Washington’s hands. Over the past several years, they have also become increasingly alarmed by the ways that U.S. leaders have chosen to use that power. While Americans debate how they should use their power, the rest of the world is preoccupied with what it can do to tame American power. Some states want to contain or reduce it, others seek to harness and exploit it, but American power is a feature of the international landscape that no state can easily ignore. This book examines the global response to U.S. primacy. It explores the different ways that the United States has used its power and explains why the rest of the world fears, resents, and sometimes hates America’s current global role. It describes the different strategies that states have devised for dealing with American power and argues that these strategies are often surprisingly effective. The United States may be far stronger than any other country— or even any likely coalition of rival powers— but other states have many ways to thwart, harass, undermine, deter, annoy, and generally interfere with U.S. efforts to promote its own interests. Any attempt to devise an effective foreign policy for the United States must take into account the strategies of both friends and foes. Once we understand how other states are trying to take American power, it becomes easier to devise a foreign policy that will minimize opposition and maximize global support. In particular, the global response to U.S. primacy suggests that the United States should return to a more restrained policy of “offshore balancing” and devote more attention to persuading others that its policies are legitimate and broadly beneficial. Though great power like ours can be isolating, the United States cannot and should not withdraw from active engagement in world affairs. To reap the full benefits of its position of primacy, and to avoid repeating the horrors of the past hundred years, the United States must learn to conduct its foreign policy with greater wisdom and restraint. This book explains why these adjustments are necessary and outlines what a more mature foreign policy would be.

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[From Gary Rosen’s article/review in the 2005-09 Commentrary (emphasis added, except as noted):] [A] blistering critique in the form of an academic treatise. ... Still more impressive [Walt asserts] as a tool to sway American power is domestic political “penetration.” Here Walt’s chief example— in fact, the book’s most extended case study— is the “Israel lobby.” In a democracy, he emphasizes, such pressure is perfectly legitimate, but there is no denying [although Abraham Foxman keeps trying, and all too many people mindlessly accept his coverup] its distorting influence. Since “the objective [Walt’s emphasis] case for a close U.S.-Israel partnership is weaker today than it was in the past,” the explanation for the tight bond can lie only in “Israel’s unmatched ability to manipulate the American political system.” ... Without claiming to possess Walt’s “objective” understanding of these matters [Islamist terrorism], one might venture that [a] sense of shared trauma and threat has been a chief source of continued American-Israeli solidarity, even more significant than the influence of the Jewish advocacy groups and public officials in whom Walt takes an obsessive, almost unseemly, interest. [It is interesting to note that of the Amazon reviewers who give this book a dismal one (out of five) star rating, almost all are either from Israel, or are self-proclaimed Zionists, or make Walt’s less than glowing treatment of America’s subservience to Israel the heart of their objections.]

Wisse-JP

Ruth Wisse, Jews and Power, 2007 Two blog posts by “The Magnes Zionist” on this book: “Jews, Power, and Garbage: Part One” “Tough Jewess -- Wisse's "Jews and Power" ” The beginning of the latter: Because of the well-orchestrated media hullabaloo, I went out and bought Ruth Wisse’s new book on “Jews and Power.” My expectations were low. A book that advances a grand theory of “Jewish power” by a literature professor who is neither trained in Jewish history, nor, judging from the bibliography, conversant with scholarly literature in any language besides Yiddish and English, [Hey! She’s a Harvard Professor of Comparative Literature. Watch what you’re saying!] in a series aimed for popular consumption, should be judged differently than a work of a specialist.... Unfortunately, “Jews and Power” is a tendentious mix of personal biography, Zionist historiography, and cherry-picking of Jewish literature and history, in the grand tradition of Zionist polemics. Somewhere halfway through the book, Wisse completely loses the train of her argument about power and just provides a ZOA-approved guide to the establishment of the State of Israel through the Oslo accords, the sort of thing that Netanyahu, Dershowitz, and Bard could do in their sleep. Wisse repeats uncritically the narrative of “Exile and Return” that has been debunked time and time again by serious scholars...

Woodward-BAW

Bob Woodward, Bush at War, 2002

Woodward-PA

Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, 2004

Woodward-SD

Bob Woodward, State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III, 2006

Woodward-WW

Bob Woodward, The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008, 2008

Zertal+Eldar-LL

Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar, Lords of the Land: The War for Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007, 2007

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Committee and Commission Reports

Goss-Graham

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (the “Goss-Graham” Commission), Report of the Joint Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, 2002-12-20 (also: Richard Clarke’s 2002-06-11 briefing)

Roberts-Rockefeller

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (the “Roberts-Rockefeller” Commission), Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence on the U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq, 2004-07-07

9-11-Commission-Rpt

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the “9-11 Commission”), The 9-11 Commission Report, 2004-07-22

Robb-Silberman

Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (the “Robb-Silberman” Commission), Report, 2005-03-31

A very negative review of the above reports
is provided by Michael Scheuer here,
in Scheuer’s customary understated style.
I largely agree with him,
but feel he goes a little overboard in pining all the blame
on the intel community top brass.
I suspect, based on what I’ve read
in the Robb-Silberman report and in Bamford’s Pretext for War,
that some of the blame quite properly should be laid
on the lower and middle management in the agency.

It is a real shame, and I believe harms the nation,
that the report of the CIA’s inspector general was not made public,
to the extent that it could be sanitized.
There is a real need to air what went wrong in the IC,
so that blame may be properly apportioned between

• structual issues
  (which are the official scapegoat, but surely not as total a scapegoat
  as the 9-11 Commission report, and those who follow that, would have it),
• incompetence,
• disloyalty (yes, that’s the question of dual loyalties), and
• politics.

In case it isn’t obvious,
the first two items are intended to refer to both the 9-11 and Iraq failures,
the last two only to the Iraq failure.