The Unraveling of the Bush Presidency (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: United States, George Bush, New York Times (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Here, in the magisterial yet plain-spoken style of A People's History of the United States, is historian Howard Zinn's long-awaited telling of these last six years of United States history, a time when catastrophic machinations of war have dictated our foreign and domestic policy, and when voices of resistance have appeared in the unlikeliest places.

Perhaps more than any other American, Howard Zinn has helped us understand ourselves by deepening our understanding of our own history.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Howard Zinn is the author of numerous books, including his epic masterpiece, A People's History of the United States, as well as many recent books published by Seven Stories Press: Voices of a People's History of the United States and Terrorism and War, and The Zinn Reader. He is a professor emeritus of political science at Boston University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583227695
• ISBN-13: 978-1583227695
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #177,270 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent update on the USA since 2001, April 24, 2008

By	William Podmore (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The most recent edition of American historian Howard Zinn's classic A People's History of the United States ended with Bush's declaration of a `war on terror'. This brief volume brings the story up to date.

Zinn explains how Bush misled people into the wars. "It was part of a historic pattern in U.S. foreign policy to tell the American people that war was necessary to defend the United States against a threat, or to bring liberty and democracy to other countries, while the real motives for war - the profits of corporations, the control of vital raw materials, the expansion of the U.S. empire - were concealed."

He sums up that Bush's two wars have not brought democracy, freedom or security to the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan and have not weakened terrorism. Far from bringing democracy abroad, the wars were violating democracy in the USA. The PATRIOT Act extended the state's power to intercept communications and gave it the power to search people's homes without their knowledge.

Zinn particularly condemns the US state's authorisation of torture. He notes that when the US Senate was considering a bill to ban torture, Vice President Cheney visited senators to argue against the bill. Late in 2006, Congress passed, and President Bush signed, a bill allowing the CIA to continue harsh interrogation - torture - of suspected terrorists in secret CIA prisons abroad. This bill also ended the right of habeas corpus for anyone, including US citizens, whom the President or the secretary of defense designated as an `unlawful enemy combatant'.

In 2006 Congress passed a military budget of $500 billion and arms and oil firms got huge profits, while education and medical care were cut. Chief Executive Officers got 400 times the wage of the average worker, while the minimum wage stayed where it was ten years ago, at $5.15 an hour.

Most Americans now oppose the war and want to withdraw the troops, and President Bush has the lowest ratings of any president in history.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Unraveling of the Bush Presidency, September 27, 2007

By	James in Raleigh - See all my reviews

Well thought out and balanced regarding how inapropriatley Bush and his administration is marshalling the unique resources of the US and not in the best interests of the world. Among the most precious of these resources is the Values it stands for and the Goodwill it had earned over centuries.

The message is not an argument but a reasoned voice for what is just.

A short book yet not a "quick" read and well worth the time.

20 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This is a book of 48 pages! It could have been 1500!, August 28, 2007

By	McMac "iMacNut" (Sonoma County, CA) - See all my reviews

This book recaps much of what we have already heard about "Dubya's" corrupt and incompetent administration. No theme was developed beyond a cursory brushover. But why should have Zinn regurgitated all that we already know in a long running tome? It would have been redundant. However, if you are inclined, buy this book and thirty years down the line, in 2037, give it to your grand kids so they might read a good summary of just how dangerous and disgraceful Bush's 8 years in office really were. Hopefully Zinn will have to write a postscript some day about the endless crimes for which many of Bush's lieutenants were jailed -and- hopefully Bush himself. For such a work I might stick around for another 30 years!