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What's So Great About America 1st Edition

4.4 out of 5 stars 309 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0895261533
ISBN-10: 0895261537
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 218 pages
  • Publisher: Regnery Publishing; 1st edition (April 24, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0895261537
  • ISBN-13: 978-0895261533
  • Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (309 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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By Joel L. Gandelman VINE VOICE on July 15, 2002
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
What a shame 21st century USA is so polarized where being a liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican (etc.) means either entirely accepting without question ideas along party or ideological lines -- or entirely without question rejecting them. People don't want to give "the (domestic political) enemy" a full hearing, let alone even partly CONSIDER a foe's arguments, even if they're reasoned and make actually make SENSE.
It's a shame because this book (published by the conservative publishing house Regnery, which is itself like waving a red flag in front of a bull for some people) is so engaging,
well-written, convincing and solid that Dinesh D'Souza may one day be considered a modern day Alexis de Tocqueville.
Three fascinating levels mark this highly perceptive book:
1. D'Souza, who became a US citizen in 1991, shares how his life would have been quite different if he had grown up in his native India.
2. He makes fascinating observations about how US life and culture differ from various parts of the world, especially the Third World. These are the ones future generations may consider on the same level as de Tocqueville's.
3. And then there is material directly related to the book's title. He makes the case, in a nutshell, that other cultures (especially fundamentalist Islamic) detest the United States
because Americans are inner-directed and can write their own life's script, while Islamic culture seeks a life controlled and dictated by others.
One key conclusion certainly will not endear him to Islamic fundamentalists. He says the Islamic world is nothing without oil revenues.

"The only reason it (the Islamic world) makes the news is by killing people," he writes.
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Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
What a surprise. From the title and cover art I was expecting a 4th of July - My country `tis of thee - stand at attention and salute book full of patriotic drivel. But this is a very substantial and thoughtful study of America's institutions and its critics. And the author has a gift for straightforward, easy to understand exposition.

Dinesh D'Souza came to the U.S. as an exchange student from Bombay, India in 1978. He has had an illustrious career in this, his adoptive country. He's been active in politics as a Presidential advisor and in other capacities, but is mainly a scholar and writer. He spent ten years with the American Enterprise Institution and at the time of writing this book was a Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

The first chapter tackles all the standard criticisms of America which eminate from the Left, Europe and Islam. In a style that characterizes the entire book, D'Souza presents the arguments and/or complaints against America, its actions, culture, or whatever. He then replies with a calm, logical, polite but emphatic refutation. As well as being informative, this book is a lesson in the proper way to conduct a debate.

Not all the complaints against America are refutable. America is not perfect and D'Souza is the first to admit it. He never engages in casuistry but admits the faults, past and present, with candor. In a Chapter titled "Two Cheers for Colonialism" he describes the wrongs of Western Colonialism, but also argues convincingly that by and large the benefits for those Colonized have outweighed the wrongs.

He avers that the reason the West became the dominant civilization in the modern era is because it invented three institutions: science, democracy and capitalism.
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Format: Hardcover
...an important point the author made in the book.
If all cultures are equal, if everything is relative, if no culture can really be termed "superior" to another, why is it that every year, all over the world, millions of people vote with their feet for America and the American way of life? People immigrate here from every corner of the world, and it's virtually a one way traffic. How many Americans choose to emigrate to Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Thailand, or Poland? But people from other countries are so eager to come here that they will do it illegally if they cannot do it any other way. If America is so terrible, how did we become the richest, most prosperous nation on earth? I know many would say it's because we are oppressors, and we have exploited the rest of the world, both people and natural resources, until we are on top, but this doesn't wash. While we are no angels, to be sure, neither are we really comparable to history's REAL oppressors, such as the Nazis, or the communists (who not only killed more millions of people than the Nazis, but had a far, far worse record of raping and polluting the environment than any Western country). I have yet to hear a multiculturalist give me a convincing answer to this.
Multiculturalists, like most modern leftists, live in an idealized universe; they have long since lost the habit of testing ideas against their actual results in the real world. If you look the facts in the face, it's very hard to disagree with most of what D'Souza says.
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Format: Hardcover
Someone who reads this book and still feels that Mr. D'Souza is just blindly singing the conservative mantra is either ignorant, or is lying about reading this book. The one thing this book is not is a sugar coated treatment of America. The author is brutally honest in acknowledging those criticisms with valid and cogent points. Mr. D'Souza also writes from the perspective of a foreigner who has lived in, and understands both the American and non-American points of view. When you read his book you will finally see America as its enemies see it. But, here the author truly shines as he then explores, debunks and counter balances those detractors using the logic of informed argument. It is quickly apparent that his is the great mind of a true scholar. It is also clear that the author knows American history, certainly better than many in current acedemia. He explores issues of racism, multi-culturalism, slavery, Islamic fundamentalism, colonialism, and the basic core principles upon which this country was founded.
Yet, at no point does this author show a dismisive attitude in this discussion. He sees the flaws inherent in uncontrolled freedom and unbridled capitalism. But his ultimate point is that these are necessary evils inherent with a free society. The Islamic world values their interpretation of "morality" (as they define it religiously) above freedom, and certainly above self determination. This leads to their hatred of the west, and their jealousy as their world has remained mired in the middle ages long after the West broke free.
I especially loved the way the author connects the history of the world and it's myriad of dynasties to the evolution of social and political change.
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