Customer Reviews

Theater of War

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Harper's Magazine editor Lewis Lapham is providing to his period of history what Thomas Paine contributed to the crucial final 25 years of the eighteenth century, intelligent dissent intent on generating needed change. His "Theater of War" sounds an alarm against draconian measures such as the Patriot Act with its suffocating Orwellian overtones. In the aftermath of 9-11, when 3,000 lives of Americans were tragically lost, the U.S. government launched bombing assaults in Afghanistan which left 3,500 Afghan peasants dead. Lewis Lapham is the kind of American who mourns the deaths of the Afghan peasants as well as those lives tragically lost in 9-11. He seeks to get a fix on a runaway presidency in which pre-emptive strikes are offered as a policy option, all too often ignoring the consequences of such a posture internationally. It is time to reassess our policy priorities and Lapham's is a dissenting voice providing constructive input into that vital arena.

Lapham recognizes, and stresses repeatedly, the need for examining the ultimate consequences of today's actions. The peasants who die in a foreign land must be remembered today. The impoverished who remain alive need positive reinforcement, as the Good Neighbor Policy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Alliance for Progress of John F. Kennedy provided. The rhetoric needs to be cooled, discussion needs to prevail over aggression, and purposeful policy positions addressing the issues of international conflict as well as poverty need to be advanced with a clear voice. As Lapham asserts, a Big Stick policy will only backfire in the long run as America becomes increasingly hated. He suggests a much better road to travel.

This small book contains the exquisitely written prose of a man prone to ask serious questions about the state of American democracy and military response to 9/11. The author points out less-than-obvious peculiarities of public life: if corporations are free to plunder the environment, why are private citizens not free to express themselves through art without fear of censorship ? Why are dissenting viewpoints given scant attention by a press that considers itself the vanguard of a free democacy?

I cannot recommend this little tome highly enough!

Regular readers of Harpers magazine will already be familiar with most of the essays in this collection. That said, having them in one tome does much to enrich the power of the individual pieces. Laid out chronologically, the essays chart the march to war in Iraq and the early aftermath of the battle from the earliest days after September 11th. For those of us opposed to both this administration and the conflict in Iraq, Lapham's frustration and disbelief at the cynicism of those that would exploit 9/11 for political gain mirrors our own.

My personal favorite in the collection is the essay that draws parallels between the current conflict in Iraq and Athens during the Peloponnysian war. It's a masterful linking of past and present conflicts and an astute observation of the behavior of men with more power than sense.

So, obviously, I highly recommend the book. No, it is not evenhanded. Lapham obviously has his point of view, and the point of these essays is to make it clear. In a country so polarized as ours is today, arguments from one side fired at the other seem to have little to no impact- I can recommend this book to conservatives to see where the anti-war arguments come from (the arguments are very erudite and well made), but that would probably be as futile as lending me "Deliver Us From Evil". Nonetheless, Lapham is an excellent writer, and worthy of the editor of one of America's greatest periodicals.

Theater of War is a collection of 19 essays previously printed in Harper's magazine, written by the Harper's editor. They are arranged in chronological order, starting in October 2000 and ending in June 2003. (The introductory essay, written just for this book, is dated July 2003).

The essays begin with Gore and Bush running for president, and end with the US occupation of Iraq. In between, Lapham covers the Clintons leaving office, Giuliani and museums, recruiting for the CIA, conservatives trying to red-bait university professors, preparing for the invasion of Iraq, imperial arrogance, Bush's religious fanaticism, marketing the war on terrorism, and the White House promoting fear and consumerism.

Throughout the book, Lapham touches on two themes that are laid down in the introduction: (1) the "script" that politicians and the media follow like slaves, presenting the world as if it was a Hollywood film, and (2) the US as an arrogant imperial power, a modern version of Rome.

The best thing about the book is Lewis Lapham's writing style. He's taken great care to make each sentence quotable, but the words flow. It's a very easy book to read (I read it in a day without effort) but none of it is casual or padded out. These essays give the reader a wise view of the key political events of the last few years. I highly recommend this book.

Lewis Lapham is, hands down, the country's most original, articulate, and well-informed essayist, political pundit, social commentator, and general utility naysayer. If you don't enjoy this book, you're probably devoting a disproportionate amount of time listening to Rush Limbaugh, watching the Fox News Channel, and believing the stuff President Bush is telling you. Stay away if you're intimidated by sophisticated thinking and analysis, or if you're convinced Bill O'Reilly is some sort of intellectual powerhouse.

So we have the NY reader who gives Lapham 1 star. The typical right wing rabies we have splattered all over the "liberal" media in the persons of Novaks, Coulters, Horowitzes, Wills, Limbaughs, and on and on ad brain-dead nauseum: Quick-fire character assassination; accusations galore wrapped in an illiterate flag; cute epithets, primer-school-level sarcasm, oh so clever "in" advice ("take a sick day, pal" - how long did it take to think up that one?); snarling, relentless, fire-belching hatred; and absolutely no examination of the factual matter nor any analysis of content whatsoever. When God is so deep and warm in your pants, I guess such things as care or probity are unnecessary.

Mr Lapham has done us all a thoughtful and alarm-provoking service. I urge you to get this book, but will not expand on the thoughtful and detailed reviews offered below this identity-hiding potty mouth, lest that detain you from the pleasure of their efforts. I only urge you to scroll down, enjoy the offerings of those who at least read with a portion of their cerebellum in critical flow, and make your comparative judgments. Your efforts will not go unrewarded. And America - and the world - will be the better for it.

It's rare to read a political book as elegantly phrased and as easy to read as this one. Unfortunately it is not a serious contribution to an understanding of the Bush years. One is tempted to be overwhelmed by the relief at finding a substantial criticism of the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld axis that one fails to notice that the hyperbole, exaggeration and downright untruths undermine Lewis's almost poetic prose.

This book, a collection of editorials from Harper's, is critical and refreshing. Like many editorialists, Lapham is strongly opinionated and sure. Unlike most, though, he gives a long-term perspective, placing America in it's context and reminding readers of the recent and distant past. It was striking, for example, that a piece written in July 2001 focused on the stupidity of the CIA since its formation. (I write this shortly after the spurt of news articles in 2004 about the misinformation that led the US to believe Iraq had WMDs).

The essays that relate back to the book's subtitle--"In Which the Republic Becomes an Empire"--are more thought-provoking. Lapham reminds readers that our country has been acting more like expanding empire than a model of democracy and freedom, and gives historical parallels going back as far as the Roman Empire to illustrate his points.

His essays make me think of HL Mencken or of Mark Twain's more political and satirical work: they are like a sharpened knife, and anyone familiar with his work over the years will know that Lapham's ire is spread among both Democratic and Republican administrations. Not to say Bush supporters will appreciate this volume, but merely to underscore that he is not a partisan, but a patriot ready exercise his authority as a member of the fourth estate.

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Its an amazing book..hats down for Mr.Lapham on such an insightful and bold effort. I highly recomend it to any one who possesses open mind and heart, not for an average CNN viewer.