Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran, And Syria [Paperback]

Bruce Cumings (Author), Ervand Abrahamian (Author), Moshe Ma'oz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2006

An "authoritative and informative" (The Nation) primer on the countries caught in the crosshairs of the Bush administration, by three renowned experts.

Ever since the "axis of evil" label was first applied by President Bush in his 2002 State of the Union address, the hawks in his administration have left little doubt as to where they intend to turn their attention after Iraq: North Korea, Iran, and Syria. Yet most Americans know very little about these three countries beyond what the Pentagon has told them.

For those wanting to know more about "who's next," this "timely exposition on global (in)stability" (Korean Quarterly) by three leading experts on each country sets the record straight, confronting relentless fear-mongering with hard facts. The authors explore each country's history and internal politics alongside the spotty record of past U.S. interventions, including the Korean War and the CIA-sponsored overthrow of Iran's elected prime minister in 1953. As one reviewer pointed out: "The most important thing we know about Syria is that we really don't know what's going on in Syria" (Slate). While entertaining no illusions about these despotic regimes, Inventing the Axis of Evil demonstrates that the truth is far more complicated than some would have us believe.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Though this rhetorical workhorse is first misquoted, then dismissed by Cumings in the early pages of this essay collection, Santayana’s maxim nonetheless best describes the importance of this volume to the national debate over current U.S. foreign policy. Cumings (Korea’s Place in the Sun), Abrahamian (Iran Between Two Revolutions) and Ma’oz (Syria and Israel) offer up detailed, swift accounts of the willfully forgotten history of America’s involvement in the politics and governance of North Korea, Iran and Syria-three countries that George W. Bush labeled the "axis of evil." There is probably little in these essays to startle or convert readers who are already well-informed about these countries’ histories, but general readers are likely to find this survey illuminating and thought-provoking. Cumings’s chapter on the etiology of the Korean conflict suffers from hyperbolic prose and excessive sarcastic reference (e.g. he refers to George Bush, Sr. as "Daddy"). In contrast, the measured tone of Abrahamian’s chapter on Iran and Ma’oz’s chapter on Syria offer a welcome rhetorical balance. The authors’ distinct voices and regional concerns find common ground when they proposal a radical shift in U.S. foreign policy-one towards rapprochement as a "constructive brand of Pax Americana" and away from the "containment" of ideological enemies. The national debate over "anticipatory self-defense" has been altered by political events since the authors completed these essays in the fall of 2003, but the provocative comparisons drawn between the current occupation of Iraq and previous misadventures in nation building remain cogent and timely. This collection adds to the necessary complexity of the discussion of Iraq and makes its best case against the doctrine of preemptive war.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

A persuasive argument that the axis-of-evil trope is as illusory as those elusive WMDs. -- Kirkus Reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 213 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The (January 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595580387
• ISBN-13: 978-1595580382
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #909,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative but a bit emotional, August 29, 2005

By 

Samuel L. Robinson II (Baghdad, Iraq) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran, and Syria (Hardcover)

This a good book to gather information and historical trends of the countries it talks about however I think the justifiably liberal point of view looses a little creditability because it gets emotional at times- sort of like it is trying to persuade me too much. I can do without the slights and overly slanted remarks. Facts reflect fact: you don't have to spin up the truth too much to get your point across. I like the book but it makes me think the author(s) might have been insiders or closely related to but for some reason now have sharp teeth and snarls about the subject.

4 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Professor Cumings' histrionic writing style ..., May 2, 2007

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Michael Sheehan (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran, And Syria (Paperback)

... gets to be rather tiresome after all too few pages. He seems to have some significant problems in suppressing his anger and his anti-American agenda almost seems to bleed through the print.