PEACE, WAR, AND POLITICS An Eyewitness Account [Paperback]

Jack Anderson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Forge (1999)
• ASIN: B000OTMWR6
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beneath the Surface, April 22, 2000

By 

Claire Sharp (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peace, War, and Politics: An Eyewitness Account (Hardcover)

Peace, War and Politics unveils a side to US history that is lost in survey courses. Anderson and Gibson cover everything from McCarthyism to the Iran-Contra scandal, all while toppling political figures to their ruin in true mudracker style. It will interest those who have lived through the events and embarass others about their lack of knowledge. Anderson is not afraid to admit when his investigative reporting went too far or when he's wrong. The trouble he gets in when he is right (CIA surveillance, debates with polished politicians) is hiliarious.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the absence of effective retaliations, October 11, 2006

By 

Mr Bassil A MARDELLI "Antoun" (Riad El-SOLH , Beirut Lebanon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peace, War, and Politics: An Eyewitness Account (Paperback)

Page 350 refers to ""the kidnapping of CIA Beirut Station Chief William Buckley by the pro-Iranian extremist group Islamic Jihad"" later tortured to death (P351) and then executed (P352) ""in retaliation for an Israeli air raid on the headquarters of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Tunis.....

During that period, which followed the aftermath of the occupation of Beirut - the only Arab Capital ever to be entered by the Israeli Army - nothing could really dull the grief and anguish that swept the `ruined' city and the predominant feeling in Beirut had been one that while the niceties of diplomacy could no longer be observed, many people would now have to face their moment of destiny, come as it may.
For those who have lost scores of their love ones during the raging battles three years back, the capture of `CIA Station Chief' was a signal for wild rejoicing, because during Israel incursion into Beirut (in specific) the city was actually gripped by `spy mania.'
The lack of enthusiasm of Beiruti masked in effect a vague feeling that, though pro-Iranian groups were now riding on the crest of a wave, retribution would follow if Buckley was harmed.
Unlike the Israelis, whose war machine so far consisted entirely of more action and less vainglorious boast, the American Administration remained lethargic and apathetic to this event.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anderson rises above the muck, December 10, 2002

By 

J. Gillespie "gettingthere" ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peace, War, and Politics: An Eyewitness Account (Paperback)

Columnist Jack Anderson never suffered self-esteem or objectivity problems. Yet in his autobiographical Peace, War and Politics, Anderson displays humility and a degree of introspection that is shocking to anyone familiar with his often self-aggrandizing muck.

Anderson often pumped out scandalous drivel in which he conspicuously cast himself as the central figure. It could be speculated that if Anderson had not been such a successful publicity hound, he would have become a serial killer obsessed with newspaper clippings and broadcast reports of his crimes. Yet a decent and moral man emerges in this account of a colorful life.

Although several of Anderson's more convoluted conspiracy theories are rehashed (the JFK assassination chapter is incomprehensible), the book is mostly solid and an enjoyable read. Early chapters devoted to Anderson's boyhood in Depression-era Utah and his World War II adventures in China are excellent.

Anderson's running battle with the Nixon Administration, and his seething rage at what he saw as Jimmy Carter's hypocrisy and total incompetence, reveal a righteous indignation that is simultaneously tedious and fascinating. While he rightly condemns the excesses of J. Edgar Hoover, and even digs through garbage bins for dirt on the late FBI director, Anderson also is objective enough to admit the G-man never politicized his agency.

Anderson makes some very insightful observations. For example, he shares his fear that former Soviet scientists might one day assist rogue Islamic states. Written well before 2001, this and much more speculation about the aftermath of the Cold War proves well-founded.

The most surprising aspect of Peace, War and Politics is Anderson's self-deprecating humor. When potential sources offer juicy details for cash, Anderson humorously remembers he didn't have the funds to pay for them, and ethics were a secondary consideration. In addition to himself, Anderson reports on the foibles and strengths of his poorly paid interns and associates. Many like Brit Hume went on to become prominent reporters and broadcasters. The degree to which Anderson acknowledges these young, underpaid muckrakers is as admirable as it is surprising. Anderson also turns the spotlight onto a hypocritical national media that shunned him yet often followed his lead.

The highlight of the book is a very brief chapter about the return of General Anthony McAuliffe, whom Anderson describes as the most decent person he ever met, to a hero's welcome in Bastogne. Gen. McAuliffe is remembered for his reply "nuts" to a Nazi demand that he surrender his 101st Airborne troops and the Belgian town they defended during the Battle of the Bulge. McAuliffe tells Anderson that he "never cared " for General George Patton after Patton surveyed the frozen enemy bodies at Bastogne and commented "these are the types of Germans I like to see." McAuliffe, who commanded the troops who killed the soldiers, said the dead were mostly boys like the Americans who fought against them.

Given such humanistic insight into people, it is apparent Anderson never wet the bed into his late 20's, engaged in pyromania, tortured small animals in his youth, or fantasized about serial murder. No, if he hadn't become a muckraker, Jack Anderson very well could have been a Mormon church official albeit a very opinionated and self-absorbed one.