Customer Reviews

Mission Unaccomplished: TomDispatch Interviews with American Iconoclasts and Dissenters

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

 

 

MISSION UNACCOMPLISHED is a must-read for the stay-at-home news junkie who wants a clear and concise evaluation of the failed invasion of Iraq. While reading the book, I felt like I was in a group of well-educated friends enjoying a conversation about current events. Tom Engelhardt has assembled a broad and ecletic group of thinkers and activists, including participants in the September 2005 anti-war demonstration in Washington, D.C. Engelhardt asks perceptive questions--the sort you wish you had thought of to ask yourself.

Tom Engelhardt provides transcripts from interviews he conducted with such notables as Juan Cole, Howard Zinn, and Barbara Ehrenreich. Two of my favorite authors were also interviewed: Chalmers Johnson and Andrew Bacevich.
You won't read these viewpoints in mainstream media.

Mr. Engelhardt also includes quotes he received while interviewing protesters in Washington D.C. Some of these sentiments were quite witty.

A topic that I found interesting was the difference in journalistic coverage in foreign countries. An example used was American journalism vs. the BBC. The difference being in who is sent and how well they communicate in the native language.

A quote from Juan Cole on page 89 sums up Bush's failures as president-
"Trying to run the world the way you run Texas is a big mistake"

Not having read any of Barbara Ehrenreich's books, I enjoyed her interview and its inclusion in this book. She is an experienced voice for the middle class.

This is a dated book but its value lies in its dissenting views of the Bush administration. Definitely worth a read!