Customer Reviews

Kids Who Kill

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a very quick read and presents a thorough overview of a disturbing problem. I finished it in less than 24 hours.

Mike Huckabee was governor of Arkansas when the tragic schoolyard shooting took place in Joneboro. In the heat of such an unforeseeable horror, many voices offered soundbite explanations as to what could possibly have cause such nightmare-stretching pogrom. Unfortunately, as the governor wisely points out, many of these diversely-intended know-it-alls look at one aspect of the problem but fail to dig deeply enough to reach it true roots.

The books detailed hypotheses will not sit well with those who wish to utilize such a tragedy to call for strict gun control regulations. The authors (Dr. George Grant collaborated with the governor) wisely explore the current splenetic forces at work throughout American culture from the breakdown of the family to Hollywood's repeated celebration of gratuitous violence. In one especially harrowing chapter the reader enters a perverse video game and sees just how much hate and violence is being peddled at American children.

If the book has one drawback is that it may be that it will be confined to preaching to the choir. Tumescent with quotes and references to support every idea propounded, the authors rely almost exclusively on conservative voices from William Bennett to Alan Keyes to Michael Medved. Few open-minded people could serious question the knowledge of these sources, but their pandemic citings and the under-representation of liberal mover and shakers (and there a few who advocate such common sense values) may turn off those who ideology blinds them to the sapience of conservatives.

It's definitely worth a read and will serve as a useful tool to parents who must contend with a culture that is assiduously fighting them at every turn.

This is a very nasty book. Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee, cruelly exploits several tragic events to promote his personal agenda. He grabs our attention by quoting headlines from various school attacks and quickly shifts into an attack on homosexuals, feminists, unions, gun control legislation, non-Christian religions and anyone else that does not share his fundimentism views. The book is filled with fragments of quotes and statements from sources both real and mythical. While it contains a few gems of wisdom it consists mainly of derogatory ramblings condemning a majority the citizens of the United States of America.

I read this book very carefully because I perceive it to be a resume to impress the extreme fundamentalists of the Christian Coalition and that I will soon see Mr. Huckabee's name in national politics probably seeking office as president of the United States of America.

Mike Huckabee, the lead co-author of this book, was one of President Clinton's Republican successors as Governor of Arkansas on March 24,1998 when four little girls and a teacher were killed in the schoolyard of Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas. 27 bullets were fired, and ten suffered non-fatal wounds. The two killers were boys at the school, ages 11 and 13.

The authors of this book document various other examples of kids killing kids,have an excellent chapter on the massive amounts of media violence children are exposed to, and write at length on the need for parents and society to educate our children on the kinds of values they should develop, and what the moral foundations of society should be. These chapters make the book valuable for anyone concerned about the problem of what kind of citizens today's children will be.

Reaction to other parts of this book depends on one's political and ideological views of the world. Those who are against teacher's unions will enjoy the scathing attacks on the National Education Association; those who are against abortion will cheer on the attacks on Planned Parenthood; those who have qualms about no-fault divorce will be impressed by the authors strong denunciations of it; those who worry about the expansion of government will be relieved that the authors see only personal solutions for fighting the epidemic of youth violence, and fear that greater governmental involvement will only make things worse.

The authors could have written a call for action on youth crime that would have appealed to concerned citizens regardless of ideology; they chose to write one appealing much more to conservatives than others. But no one can deny that conservatives are an important element in our national leadership, and that maximizing conservative attention to a serious national problem is a worthwhile strategic goal.

The authors' great strength lies both in their ability to write graceful prose and in their appreciation of the writings of others. They begin with a quote from Robert Penn Warren "All our debate is voiceless here, as all our rage, the rage of stone: if hope is hopeless, the fearless fear, and history is thus undone." They quote James Madison: "Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty as well as the abuses of power."

They quote Samuel Johnson: "In political as well as natural disorders, the great error of those who commonly undertake either cure or preservation is that they rest in second causes, without extending their search to the remote and original sources of evil." They quote Richard Weaver: "The sin of egotism always takes the form of withdrawal. When personal advantage becomes paramount, the individual passes out of the community." They quote William J. Bennett: "The family is the original Department of Health, Educaiton, and Welfare." They quote Patrick Henry: "For good or for ill, the estate of the family will most assuredly predetermine the estate of all the rest of the culture."

While the authors have a great ear for aphorisms, they also call attention to experts and concerned citizens focused directly on their issues. Military historian Lt. Col. Dave Grossman discusses in detail the difficulty the military has in training soldiers to kill, and compares the military training of dehumanizing the enemy with some of the entertainment industry vehicles for dehumanizing other people. "The video industry conditions the young in exactly the same way the military does," he concludes. They also quote the Council on Scientific Affairs of the American Medical Association as warning that "Lyrics promoting durg and alchohol abuse, sexual exploitation, bigotry, and racism are combined with rhythms and intensities that appeal to youth. (They present) a real threat to the physical health and well-being of especially vulnerable children and adolescents."

The authors detail at length the differences in behavior of a week of television shows and the the behavior of the American people. The characters certainly do not meet the standards of prudence or morality or common sense that the vast majority of the American people apply to their own conduct the vast majority of the time. And the characters' rate of death or serious injury is also far higher than that of the average American. Those who take television characters as a guide to how they should behave themselves are clearly at risk, they conclude.

The authors shed valuable light on George Washington's teenage written statements on how one should behave with others. Young Washington's keen moral sense and thoughtful consideration of the duties and obligations that people owe each other clearly was part of the foundation laid for his extraordinary decades of important service to the people of Virginia and then to the people of the United States.

The authors conclude with thoughtful and well-considered praise of faith, family, and work as the keystones of individual responsible moral behavior.

This is not the book to read for detailed prescriptions as to what governments should do to fight crime, as the authors are highly doubtful that government has much of a useful role. This is a somewhat courageous position for Governor Huckabee to take, because "law and order" and governmental action to achieve it have long been national Republican themes.

But the authors have written a very good book to read for anyone who wants to understand the contexts in which crime exists, and in which advocates struggle both to safeguard the individual citizen and to escape the quicksands of partisan and ideological disputes. This book surveys conservative thought on both individual failings and virtues, and governmental failings and virtues.

They authors have not written the definitive word on youth violence in America, but they have penned an interesting and provocative introduction to diverse conservative perspectives on this urgent problem. Those who use this book as a springboard to further investigation of the problems discussed will certainly be well-armed in the struggles for less crime and more personal responsibility in American life.

It is more than a sociel commentary pointing fingers at guns, bad legistlation, or any one thing. I could type forever about it, but I don't have forever. If you read it and like it, give it to a friend. If not, give it to a library. If you want an in yo face reality check-Here it is. btw, I would vote for Mike Huckabee for president

Huckabee with Grant provide us with a fine delving into this issue which has so tugged at the hearts of Americans: our kids killing other kids.

Many thought this very thing would happen (along with all the other cultural malice we have) given the cultural downturn did not right itself.

Convincingly and winsomely, this book presents the road America has been on and is being urged on by the postmodernists, but one that is destroying the very foundations and fabric of our great country .... faith, family and work.

They well document the contributors, and resolve that government and legislation are not the answer. Culture must gather itself around these three areas, faith, family and work.

Fine expose on the topic. We can't expect or let the government do those things for which we individually and communally were created to attend to as stewards.

Finally someone who stops finger pointing and looks at the root of the problem. This book discusses the influence of the general down fall of the moral culture in america. A must read for anyone who works with kids today

His analysis of where we are is lucid and convincing. Unfortunatly, his solution is a return to bible-thumping WASP mentality.

Personally, I'm not certain I don't prefer anarchy and mahem. Religious values that include denigration of women and abuse of children are part of the problem, not the solution.

And while public life was undeniably more orderly, safe, and pleasant, some incredibly nasty things went on behind closed doors in the 50s.

We need to go forward with a clear, dispassionate understanding of our history. We not only can't go back, if we could it would be another tragedy.

It's an interesting book and I'd recommend reading it, but don't expect to find rational solutions.

I imagine this book is selling even more copies as these problems have increased in schools in the last couple of weeks, I think we had an incident almost every day the second week of October. The profiles of the violent incidents were very well written. Most you will have heard of, some of them probably not.

I bought four of Governor Huckabee's books, and spent much of Sunday going through them. I've decided to do one review posted four times, to provide anyone visiting one of the four books to see four snapshots in one place. I am NOT looking for multiple votes. This is my bottom-line over-all assessment of one of the three people I believe is qualified to b;ring our Nation together, the others being Senator Obama, and Representative Paul, who will not win but could demand electoral reform when Congress returns.

1998,this book, Kids Who Kill, the most earnest. I like this book, very much. The Governor weaves a rich tapesty of a culture of disrespect, too many bad laws, not enough community and faith, and I for one buy into his message: our society has fragmented and we reap what we sow. See also my reviews of:
Rage of the Random Actor: Disarming Catastrophic Acts And Restoring Lives
The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead

2000, Living Beyond Your Lifetime: How to be Intentional About the Legacy You Leave. I find this book equally earnest, with a very strong consistent appreciation for God and faith and community in faith, for stewardship. Like the first book, I give this one five stars. I now include this book with other positive books on religion, see my reviews of:
GOD'S POLITICS: Why The Right Gets It Wrong & The Left Doesn't Get It (H)
The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right
Faith-Based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik

2007 Character Makes a Difference: Where I'm From, Where I've Been, and What I Believe
2007 From Hope to Higher Ground: My Vision for Restoring America's Greatness

Both of the above are formula books, somewhat contrived, but earnest and sufficient to come to at least two conclusions:

1) This citizen is not going to let go of God or faith. He is completely different from Milt Romney, whom I consider to be just a little too slick about his Mormon loyalties (CIA officers who were Mormons would fall asleep at their desks because the Mormon church had them up working all night).

2) This is a sincere good man (I based this on seeing him elsewhere as well). I frankly think that he brings the right respect for faith and God, and we need some of that in the White House, not lies and treason documented in Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction and American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America. As an estranged moderate Republican and Methodist, outrages by the crimes committed in our name, I think its time we had a moderate faith in God back in the White House.

The latter book touches on various "mandate for change" issues, and one has to be somewhat dubious on his record, since more than one person from Arkansas has told me they lost income and the schools lost funding during his tenure.

We need change. I'd like to see Mike Huckabee lead a dialog with all congregations on God's Politics, the Left Hand of God, and Faith-Based Golden Rule morality in all our policies at all levels. Barack Obama is energizing the young, but still severely handicapped by his elderly advisors who are out of touch with global reality.

In my view, as a person who cares deeply about the Republic and has spent the last 15 years obsessing on global reality and a strategy for saving the Earth for seven generations and beyond, I would like to see Mike Huckabee being the evangelicals back into the fold, without the attendant lunacy and criminality that characterized the Bush-Cheney White House.

Please do not vote for this review in more than one place.

Being from Arkansas and from the Jonesboro area I wanted to read the book that my governor wrote about "Kids who kill". The book was an ok read but I still do not think he has any right to say anything on this topic. Did anyone know that after the Westside School shootings our esteemed governor would not put off a family vacation out of the country? one of the, if not the most tragic event to ever happen in Arkansas and he goes on a vacation with the family? He had the audacity to write this book after that? When he was questioned about how he feels about making money from a tragedy he quipped "My kids have got to go to college" Man of integrity? no way. He is also very unpopular in the state right now even by members of his own party and if he wasn't term limited he would not win again. He does have presidential aspirations but does not have a chance at the nomination.