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Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So Hated Paperback – April 10, 2002

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Gore Vidal (Author)
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4.1 out of 5 stars 120 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 174 pages
  • Publisher: Nation Books (April 10, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 156025405X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1560254058
  • Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.1 x 7.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsAgree with it or not, a message we need to hear
By Kerry Walters on March 25, 2002
Format: Paperback
Gore Vidal has been a pain in the establishment's keester for fifty-odd years, and his gadflying has gotten sharper, pithier, and more valuable with the passing of each year. In this latest collection of essays, he dares to say something that many Americans are uneasily beginning to suspect but haven't yet dared to utter out loud: the reason "they"--the terrorists--hate us "so much" is at least partly because we're sometimes...well...hateable.
Vidal's *Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace* collects a handful of his recent essays ranging on topics from the presidential election of 2000, to homegrown terrorism a la Timothy McVeigh, to the moralizing conservatism of mainstream America, to an open letter to the FBI on whether McVeigh was acting alone. All of these pieces have been published previously, and indeed, some of them appeared in Vidal's last collection of essays, *The Last Empire* (2001). What's truly new and exciting about this book is its lead essay, hauntingly entitled "September 11, 2001 (A Tuesday)". Vidal tells us in his Introduction that the piece was originally commissioned by "Vanity Fair," but was refused publication because the editors thought it too inflammatory.
Inflammatory it unquestionably is, because in it Vidal argues for a thesis that is unpopular at the moment but just may make more sense as time goes on: that horrible as the terrorist attacks on the Trade Towers was, the Bush administration's high-handed wrestling to the ground of civil liberties in the attack's wake is worse. Vidal argues that the waging of war by the "Pentagon junta" is but another example of the U.S.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsA vital Vidal read....
By Daryl B on August 25, 2002
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I saw Gore Vidal talking about this book a while back and realized a good deal of what he is saying mirrored my own thoughts about our country and its government, in particular. I'd wager a lot of Americans feel the same way but we seem to have lost our voice and our willingness to question our government. A recent interview I saw with Studs Terkel on Phil Donhue's show commented directly on that very subject. He said he felt that until a major voice comes out and addresses an issue, we are prone to sit quietly. Vidal's voice needs to be heard and wouldn't have been if American publishers had any thing to say about it. After this collection of essays became a best seller in Italy, he was then approached about an American publication and voila!---we can read what some might call an unpatriotic and ungrateful voice about America. A fundamental right we have as Americans is the privilege to question our government's decisions yet we seem to sit around quietly and compliantly while our presidents act aggressively toward other nations, deeming our country the international policeman for the world community. These opinions are called unpatriotic especially after the events of 9-11 but there is nothing unpatriotic about what Mr. Vidal is saying. The people who have blinders on and think that we, these United States of America, are never wrong should read this book. We, like any other nation, have flaws. It is time to look at those flaws, address the issues and hold our government responsible for its actions. This government represents the people and we should have our say. Unfortunately, with good ole Dubya and his cowboy mentality, we have four years that should inspire us to speak out against injustice. I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about the direction our nation is taking.
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5.0 out of 5 starsVanishing Liberties.
By C. Middleton on January 16, 2004
Format: Paperback
What has made America a great nation in the eyes of the world over the last two hundred years, is not its major technological advances, it competent military or its advances in all the arts, but its original pure ideals on what constitutes a free society, and the inalienable rights of the individual living in that society. The founding fathers of the United States knew all too well the corruptive nature of power. The creation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights would ensure that those within its government seeking absolute power could be kept in check. In this ideal society, the state has limited power over its citizens, but just enough power to maintain peace within its borders. What is shocking about this short collection of essays by Gore Vidal, is he soberly illustrates with hard fact examples, particularly since the Oklahoma bombing and the events of 9/11, that the Bill of Rights and the important principles it states, protecting the rights of all citizens, is being manipulated to serve a small elite. The people are slowly, over time, losing their rights, because it is said, for their own protection.
As a child growing up in the United States, there were three things I was taught, and that was always to respect the rights of others, always say please and thank you, and Governments always lie. "Never believe a politician, son. Because no matter what they say, there is always a hidden agenda." Time and again, this simple statement has turned out to be true. Sometimes their lies are found out. As a people, however, we have a tendency to forgetfulness, a kind of in-built amnesia, to then blindly vote our dubious leaders back into office.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsRequired reading before every national election.

Gore Vidal is a great historian. This book is a current (for its time) conclusion to a sad road we have travelled as a nation and a
people. Read more

Published 12 days ago by Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 starsInadequate Sample Material

Sample consisted of book cover and table of contents -- not enough to pique one's interest on make a buying decision. Pls rectify!

Published 2 months ago by Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Well thought out essays.

Published 5 months ago by dlh
4.0 out of 5 starsNot the best, but I still want to read more VIDAL.

Would have rated this 3.5 stars if I could. Very easy read, Vidal remains biting yet witty; would never want to be on the receiving side of his comments, but great to read about... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Khal570
4.0 out of 5 starsAlthough dated (published in late 2001/early 2002) Gore Vidal's...

Although dated (published in late 2001/early 2002) Gore Vidal's Perpetual War For Perpetual Peace still manages to offer insightful observations about how the US has come to be so... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Poisoned Dragon
4.0 out of 5 starsAll is not well in America, we must learn and take action to save our...

Excellent book, sad that this book is not on the required reading list for high school students. It will help open the minds of the students that all is not well in America. Mr. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Karim Mansouri
5.0 out of 5 starsYou should attend - critically, of course - to all of Vidal's warnings

He always had keen insight and a delightful writing style. It's a shame so few Americans appear to have paid even the least attention.

Published 10 months ago by Tarbox
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Keen observations and hard truths with a rapier with from La Grande Dame herself, god rest that her soul.

Published 10 months ago by Joseph A Reid
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Fantastic essay

Published 12 months ago by jrh81661
5.0 out of 5 starsThis confirms the much repeated head title in the numerous ...

This confirms the much repeated head title in the numerous commentaries/ conversations
written in the Yahoo News. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Ross G. Brillantes

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