Not for America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and the Fall of Communism [Hardcover]

George J. Mitchell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

The former Senate Majority Leader focuses on the lives of Karl Marx, Franklin Roosevelt, and Mikhail Gorbachev to show why our democratic system has consistently succeeded in meeting the challenges of our times while the Communist system failed. Senator Mitchell illuminates broad themes by drawing parallels between events in America and those abroad - Hitler seized absolute power, for instance, just two days before FDR's inauguration. At the same time, he gives his narrative rare immediacy with anecdotes from a career that involved close cooperation with four presidents and face-to-face meetings with world leaders, including Gorbachev himself. Blending personal experience with global perspective, Not for America Alone offers provocative new insight into strengths that have not only sustained America in the past, but can also guide us into the future.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitchell discusses the major political ideologies that have shaped the world from the late 19th century to the present: capitalism and communism. Mitchell reveals how Lenin transformed Marx's ideas in the creation of the Soviet Union, how Stalin corrupted these ideologies even further, and how Gorbachev and Yeltsin dismantled the result. In the West, the Great Depression gave Hitler the opportunity to create a fascist government, while Roosevelt modified U.S. capitalism to accommodate government intervention in economic affairs. Mitchell argues that it was Roosevelt's ability to get the New Deal programs approved that saved capitalism from falling to dictatorship and oppression. His analysis, while painting a straightforward portrait of capitalism's triumph over communism, does not spark anything new. What is particularly disappointing is his failure to discuss Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs, which further modified the American capitalist experiment. Still, this book is very easy to read and is recommended for political science collections in college libraries.?Patricia Hatch, Insurance Inst. for Property Loss Reduction, Boston
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

It's not clear whom the triumph of democracy was for if not America, but the question of whom this book is for is even more puzzling. Mitchell, the former Senate majority leader (D-Maine), weaves his family history and personal observations into a sweeping survey of the major domestic and international political events of the 20th century. The Cold War, culminating with the demise of Communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union, receives special attention along with the world wars and the Depression. Against this background Mitchell considers the origins of Marxist ideology and the development of Communism in the Soviet Union from Lenin to Stalin to Gorbachev, and the development of American political ideology from Wilson to Franklin Roosevelt to Clinton. Although he writes in the first person, Mitchell limits his personal anecdotes to interactions with Mikhail Gorbachev at the time of perestroika; personal judgments, which are only mildly partisan by contemporary standards, are a minor element of the book. In the final two chapters, history gives way to current events in a general survey of pressing contemporary domestic and international issues. Throughout the effort is thoughtful, balanced, and basically superficial. One question, then, is why anyone would bother to read it. Without extensive accounts of first-hand experience or novel and controversial interpretations of events, this is little more than an intelligent gloss over familiar ground. The more intriguing question is why this sensible and sensitive individual spent his time writing this odd mix of popular history, personal presentation, and scholarly reserve. The American public would be better served by having Mitchell back in the Senate or some other high office than writing books like this one. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha America (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568360835
• ISBN-13: 978-1568360836
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,567,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be read by anyone interested in the world we live in!, June 30, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Not for America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and the Fall of Communism (Hardcover)

A historical treatise. Putting the world in perspective considering all of the elements of societies that we have been and will be faced with. A must read for all of the worlds politicians and anyone interested in who they elect to run their society. A good read for anyone .. period

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars errata, November 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Not for America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and the Fall of Communism (Hardcover)

I'm agnostic about the book, but it should be pointed out that Mr. Mitchell was a Senator from Maine. He did not run for President - that would have been Edmund Muskie, back in the seventies...

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak and dull exposition of well-plowed terrain, August 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Not for America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and the Fall of Communism (Hardcover)

The author is a well-known former Congressman from Massachusetts who ran for President sometime in the 1980's I believe. His book is written supposedly from a first-hand viewpoint, but in fact I believe Mr. Mitchell had no direct involvement in any of the events of which he writes. The analysis borrows (steals may be the right word) heavily from works on the same subject by Zbigniew Chelitchew and Anastas Mikoyan. The text is full of typographical errors and clearly was not proofread by the author. A C- grade overall.