Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran, and Syria (Hardcover)

by Bruce Cumings (Author), Ervand Abrahamian (Author), Moshe Maoz (Author), Moshe Ma'oz (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Though this rhetorical workhorse is first misquoted, then dismissed by Cumings in the early pages of this essay collection, Santayana’s maxim nonetheless best describes the importance of this volume to the national debate over current U.S. foreign policy. Cumings (Korea’s Place in the Sun), Abrahamian (Iran Between Two Revolutions) and Ma’oz (Syria and Israel) offer up detailed, swift accounts of the willfully forgotten history of America’s involvement in the politics and governance of North Korea, Iran and Syria-three countries that George W. Bush labeled the "axis of evil." There is probably little in these essays to startle or convert readers who are already well-informed about these countries’ histories, but general readers are likely to find this survey illuminating and thought-provoking. Cumings’s chapter on the etiology of the Korean conflict suffers from hyperbolic prose and excessive sarcastic reference (e.g. he refers to George Bush, Sr. as "Daddy"). In contrast, the measured tone of Abrahamian’s chapter on Iran and Ma’oz’s chapter on Syria offer a welcome rhetorical balance. The authors’ distinct voices and regional concerns find common ground when they proposal a radical shift in U.S. foreign policy-one towards rapprochement as a "constructive brand of Pax Americana" and away from the "containment" of ideological enemies. The national debate over "anticipatory self-defense" has been altered by political events since the authors completed these essays in the fall of 2003, but the provocative comparisons drawn between the current occupation of Iraq and previous misadventures in nation building remain cogent and timely. This collection adds to the necessary complexity of the discussion of Iraq and makes its best case against the doctrine of preemptive war.
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Review
We need to remove that regime in North Korea....We need to figure out how to get rid of it.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 213 pages
• Publisher: New Press (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565849043
• ISBN-13: 978-1565849044
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,632,079 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative but a bit emotional, August 29, 2005

By	Samuel L. Robinson II (Baghdad, Iraq) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This a good book to gather information and historical trends of the countries it talks about however I think the justifiably liberal point of view looses a little creditability because it gets emotional at times- sort of like it is trying to persuade me too much. I can do without the slights and overly slanted remarks. Facts reflect fact: you don't have to spin up the truth too much to get your point across. I like the book but it makes me think the author(s) might have been insiders or closely related to but for some reason now have sharp teeth and snarls about the subject.

1 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Professor Cumings' histrionic writing style ..., May 2, 2007

By	Michael Sheehan (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran, and Syria (Paperback)

... gets to be rather tiresome after all too few pages. He seems to have some significant problems in suppressing his anger and his anti-American agenda almost seems to bleed through the print.