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Mark Hertsgaard

The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World Paperback – September 1, 2003

by Mark Hertsgaard (Author)

3.9 52 ratings

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On September 11, 2001, Mark Hertsgaard was completing a trip around the world, gathering perceptions about America from people in fifteen countries. Whether sophisticated business leaders, starry-eyed teenagers, or Islamic fundamentalists, his subjects were both admiring and uneasy about the United States, enchanted yet bewildered, appalled yet envious. Exploring such paradoxes, Hertsgaard exposes truths that force natives and outsiders alike to see America with fresh eyes. In a world growing more American by the day, The Eagle's Shadow is a major statement about and to the place everyone discusses but few understand.

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Print length

259 pages
Language

English
Publication date

September 1, 2003
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.61 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0312422504
ISBN-13

978-0312422509
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Cosmic Girl
Finally,An HONEST Post 9/11 Look At America By An American
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2003
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The Eagle's Shadow is a book that I would recommend to everyone no matter where they live on the planet. It is a well written look at the way we Americans are perceived by people who live outside the US.
The book is very informative about how much American culture and policies affect everyone in the world. Hertsgaard has encountered people in very remote areas of the world who are quite knowledgable about American culture. American products reach every corner of the earth, thus, they affect everyone on earth. The book also explains how our policies on the environment, economics, and foreign affairs affect people throughout the world. As globalization becomes more and more prevalant, books like this one become more important in order for us to understand our role and how we affect others in this new society. We must understand our actions so that we may anticipate and change how the rest of the world reacts to us.
Although it is clear from his writing that he is in support of the left wing, that does not mean this book is "left-wing propaganda." This book looks at the flaws of American foreign policies and our sometimes "cowboy mentality" when dealing with other countries and suggests some ways that we can change that and form better relationships with the rest of the world. However, it also looks at the wonderful freedoms, wealth, and potential that exists in America and how these can be gifts to the world if used responsibly.

I think some of the people who gave bad reviews may have missed the point of the way the book was written. The book was not supposed to be a bunch of interviews without any insight or reasoning to how these perceptions about the US formed. The author gave a few specific examples of ideas that many people in the world share regardless of their geographic location. The majority of the book was about the source of these views, both good and bad. Hertsgaard takes his interviews and applies the history and the current events that shape the ideas that are expressed by the people he spoke with.
Also, I think the bad reviews illustrate the author's views that Americans are largely ignorant of things that happen outside of this country, and the policies that our goverment and corporations impliment both at home and abroad. It is very hard for someone to hear that they are ignorant in any way. This does not mean Americans are ignorant. It just means we tend to be ignorant about certain things. As illustrated in the book, this is not entirely our fault. Our media gives us a very one-sided view of the world and how it works. The vast majority of mainstream media is owned by a handful of corporations who are naturally going to give us news that benefits their profit margins and image. This is not some conspiracy idea or anything like that. For the past few years, I have almost exclusively watched BBC and ITN news (on PBS). The amount of unbiased information that I received from these sources far exceeds that of network news and even CNN. Two months ago, I got digital cable and EuroNews was one of the new channels I watch (it is like a European version of CNN). Although I do not know how it ranks with other news sources in Europe, I do know that it is the BEST television news source in the US right now. I hear ideas and events that are going on all over the world (and here in the US) that are either not mentioned or glossed over in American television news. I apologize for this rant, but I think it illustrates that we are not as knowledgable about history and current events as we should be. This has to change if we are going to enter the new globalized society that is forming right now. If not, we will be left behind.

After the 9/11 tragedy, the majority of Americans felt that they had to agree with everything our government was doing. Anyone who disagreed was considered anti-American. While support to our leaders and society was needed and important, it was also important to voice honest ideas and opinions. When I think of America the first thing that comes to my mind is that I have freedoms that others don't have. The first of these is the freedom of speech. So, when people disagreed with Bush and the policies that the government wanted to implement, THEY were being the real patriots and were the most pro-American. To paraphrase what Hertsgaard stated in his book, we cannot substitute a feeling of security for our rights.

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GRAEME DRYSDALE
Dear Mark ...
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2013
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Mark

Firstly, thanks for your book The Eagle's Shadow, I am like many to whom your subtitle is directed. I do have a fascination for American folk music traditions: jazz [Miles & Coltrane], blues [Robert Johnson, Gary Davis], Cajun, zydeco & rock [Iggy, Big Star/Chilton] to name a few. Some of my favourite authors of fiction are American: Jim Thompson, James Lee Burke, Capote; some of the most diligent and consistent of America's critics are people like Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Seymour Hersh, Amy Goodman - these people I read often; and in the area of climate change some of the most strident voices are American: Rachel Carson, James Hansen, Stephen Schneider & the Erlich's. But sorry, I rarely watch movies made in the USA: too slick.

There were some comments in your book where you referred to Australia, where I thought that you were a little off the mark, and perhaps some issues and incidences where Australian & US histories merged that I thought required an Australian voice. I certainly offer them in recognition of the honesty and thoughtfulness with which you wrote your book.

It is interesting that early on you cite some lyrics out of the Chuck Berry tune "Back In The USA" - which the amazing Linda Ronstadt covered on her 1978 album `Living In The USA'. According to Wikipedia , this song was written as Chuck Berry returned to the USA after an Australian tour; what prompted him to write this song were the living condition of the indigenous Aborigines, which he witnessed, conditions that compelled these people to live in appalling third world conditions, and deprived - at the time - of the right to vote in federal, state & local elections.

In the early Australian history books, even well into the 20th century, there was scant reference to the Aboriginal nations that inhabited this continent prior to the English invasion that commenced in the late 1700s , certainly no discussion of their cultures and languages, and certainly no mention of the fierce resistance that they mounted in order to defend the land and their place in it. It was not until the writings of Henry Reynolds that the true story of how vicious European settlement had been that Australians become aware that the land they called theirs was established on the blood spilled in massacres and acts of genocide. During the Prime Ministership of John Howard [199 - 2007], there was a right wing backlash against the evidence espoused by Reynolds and other historians; this became known as the black armband debate , because Reynolds and likeminded academics were accused of wearing black armbands. Regretfully, and it is one of Australia's greatest shames, the majority of Aboriginal people continue to live in appalling conditions with life-expectancies 20 years less that those of non-aboriginal Australians. On February 13th 2008, then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, offered an emotional and long overdue apology to the Aboriginal nations that were the traditional owners of this continent , but as is so often the case, it amounted to heartfelt and honest words but bugger-all action to better the lives of these people. This apology came 220 years after the Union Jack was first hoisted in Australia.

During the WW2 an Australian journalist has travelled on board US navy ships as a correspondent for British & Australian papers. He later became renowned, even disowned by the conservative Australian government of PM Bob Menzies, due to his willingness to report wars from the `wrong' side of the frontier. Wilfred Burchett's initial claim to fame was that he was the first allied-embedded correspondent to visit Hiroshima, only a few days after August 6th 1945. The story of how he disobeyed and evaded US command, travelled in a train filled with retreating Japanese soldiers, and was then welcomed by some in Hiroshima is a compelling read. His story, published on September 6, 1945, read:
THE ATOMIC PLAGUE
"I write this as a warning to the world"
In Hiroshima, 30 days after the first atomic bomb destroyed the city and shook the world, people are still dying, mysteriously and horribly - people who were uninjured by the cataclysm - from an unknown something I can only describe as atomic plague.
Burchett was given access to hospitals, and he went on to describe how people suffered and died from this atomic plague. Burchett's was the first account of the devastation caused by nuclear weapons to be read anywhere. For more about this refer to "The Hiroshima Cover-Up", Amy Goodman and David Goodman, August 5, 2005.

Since the end of World War 2, Australia has been involved in a number of wars at the behest of US administrations; namely Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War 1, Afghanistan, and Gulf War 2. [Although, Tariq Ali takes the position that there has only been one long war against Iraq, commencing with Bush senior's incursion, through the sanctions and bombings under Clinton, onto the second invasion and its continuance by Obama - albeit, he did inherit an impossible situation in both Iraq & Afghanistan, he has actually upped the drone attacks on Pakistan as part of the war against the Taliban ].

It is in the compliance of our governments to acquiesce to US requests/demands to participate in armed conflicts with them that has seen anti-US government fervour come to the fore in Australia. As with most wars it is the `leaders' who choose to embark on a course of violence, usually the citizens are left without any authoritative voice in the matter. Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War was initially opposed by a smaller proportion of the populace, but as the sixties wore on opposition became stronger, with mass demonstrations against Australian Prime Ministers as well as against LBJ when he visited. To quote a passage from Wikipedia:
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began as a small commitment of 30 men in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australians deployed in South Vietnam or in support of Australian forces there. The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war Australia has ever fought. Although initially enjoying broad support due to concerns about the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia, as Australia's military involvement increased a vocal anti-war movement developed. To a large extent this focused upon conscription, which had been an issue in Australia dating back to the First World War, however, considerable portions of society were opposed to the war on political and moral grounds. The withdrawal of Australia's forces from South Vietnam began in November 1970 when 8 RAR completed its tour of duty and was not replaced. A phased withdrawal followed, and by 11 January 1973 Australian involvement in hostilities in Vietnam had ceased. Nevertheless, Australian troops from the Australian Embassy Platoon remained deployed in the country until 1 July 1973, and Australian forces were deployed briefly in April 1975, during the Fall of Saigon, to evacuate personnel from the Australian embassy. Approximately 60,000 Australians served in the conflict; 521 were killed and more than 3,000 were wounded.
What ended the involvement of Australia in Vietnam was the election of a Labor Government, Under the Prime Ministership of E.G. Whitlam [1972-75], who stood on a policy of immediate withdrawal of Australian troops, a decision that would later have significant ramifications on the nature of democracy in Australia.

Australian secret service agents also played a minor role in the Chilean 9/11, at one stage in their attempts to undermine Allende the CIA had been dismissed from the country, and that's where Australian operatives came in to plug the gap. Whitlam discovered that Australian
"agents were working for the CIA in Chile, `destabilising' the democratically elected Government of Salvador Allende, which the Whitlam Government supported. Although he delayed his decision, Whitlam eventually ordered them home. However one ASIS officer and an operational assistant remained in Chile, under Australian Embassy cover and without Whitlam's knowledge, until shortly before Allende was murdered .. As events unfolded it became clear that their [i.e. ASIS agents] removal had serious consequences for the survival of his [Whitlam's] own Government".

With respect to the war against Iraq as declared by baby-Bush [as many in Australia referred to G.W.jnr] involvement by Australian forces was debated long and hard in the media, on the streets, in public demonstrations and in parliament. What needs to be appreciated is that the then PM, John Howard, was in Washington DC on the day of the 9/11 attacks, and he was, understandably, affected. What he did, without consulting his cabinet, or parliament, or the Australian people, was make an immediate pledge to Bush that Australian troops were available when Bush wanted them. Whoops! This didn't go down well with folk in Australia, in opinion poll results at the time, 80% of those polled were against Australian military involvement. On the last weekend before Bush's ultimatum deadline expired over 1 million Australians jammed city streets demanding a non-violent response - not bad out of a population of 24 million. What was curious was that the ALP - as opposition - failed to support the people, the party line was that Australia should support a UN sanctioned war, but 80% of the people wanted no war. Well Howard gave an inflexible indication that his loyalties lay with Bush and not the wishes of the Australian electorate. For me there are a number of pertinent lessons regarding Australian politics to be drawn from this:
* Australian politicians are now certain that they can get away with any decision they choose to make, and Australians will do nothing about it;
* Australian citizens will not get any angrier than what it takes to write a letter to the editor.

At the outset I mentioned my admiration for Chomsky, Zinn, Hersh etc; I must now make mention that we in Australia have commentators & analysts of similar character, many who have taken on the work of Burchett and Roger Eastt: John Pilger, John Martinkus, David Marr, and Clive Hamilton. And of course, Julian Assange, currently receiving widespread popular support by Australians, contrary to the opinions expressed by most of our politicians, some academics and some journalists.

There is an event in Australian history referred to as the Dismissal. A convoluted affair where the elected leader of the country, Gough Whitlam [ALP] was thrown out of office - not impeached, nor resulting from any legal action - but dismissed in a plot contrived by Malcolm Fraser [then leader of the Liberal Party, that was in opposition] and Sir John Kerr [the Governor General, i.e. The Queen's representative, in that the British monarch is still the head of state in Australia]. There were riots on the streets and a lot of anger directed against Kerr & Fraser. There has been much debate and analysis of this, for many the nature of Australian democracy was at stake, and whilst this was true enough, there was another far more insidious motive behind Whitlam's dismissal, and that is the involvement of US government agencies. One example is that on the day that Whitlam was given the boot, 11 November 1975, he had announced that he was going to state in parliament the location of secret US spy bases operating on Australian shores, operating beyond Australian jurisdiction. For obvious reasons this didn't go down well. In the federal election created by this debacle Fraser defeated Whitlam, and remained Liberal PM until 1983.

Just over nine years later, we in the south Pacific, witnessed another occasion in which a US government paid-out on a democratically elected government that made a decision, one that garnered a majority support amongst its citizens, but ran counter to US desires. On the 4th February 1985, New Zealand forbade a US nuclear powered &/or armed warship - the USS Buchanan - from entering its waters, immediately NZ paid for this as consecutive US administrations placed economic hardship upon the country, hardships which are still felt to this day, even though the punitive measures ceased some time ago.

It was bit unfair of you to totally blame the US for the failure of the Kyoto Protocol; once again G.W's bosom-buddy John Howard [Liberal PM] played a significant role, that of an attack dog really. Howard's repetitive mantra concerning climate change was "show me the evidence", it didn't matter that over 2000 of the world's top scientists, both within the auspices of the IPCC and as individuals had an Everest of evidence. Howard attempted to convince the Australian people that the evidence was far from valid. What Howard demanded of his Ministers was the complete and continuous undermining of Kyoto both at home and abroad, he even stood over his Minister for the Environment [Robert Hill] in this matter. The machinations of this policy by Howard were meticulously and knowingly exposed by Guy Pearse, a former staffer for Robert Hill, and once promising candidate for a Liberal Senate seat - Pearse, who had worked on one of Clinton's campaigns was convinced that global warming demand a serious response, he quit the Liberal Party, wrote a book, and has joined the Greens. Howard eventually lost the 2007 election campaign and his seat of Bennelong, largely because of his attitude and response to global warming.

It would also be a bit unfair to presume that the USA is the only nation predisposed to bullying weaker neighbours and countries. Much was made about East Timor's referendum to secure independence from Indonesia; and rightfully so many Australians supported this move, although the Howard government would prefer that East Timor became a province of Indonesia, as Howard presumed that Indonesian leaders would be easier to deal with than uppity leaders of a fledgling Timor Leste. During WW2 a number of Australian troops were based in East Timor, until the Japanese arrived, where-upon the Timorese provided sanctuary and safe passage back to Australia for the marooned troops, this cost the Timorese dearly. In 1975, when President Ford & Kissinger flew out of Jakarta, the Australian ambassador in Indonesia - Richard Woolcott - sent a cable to Gough Whitlam indicating that Indonesian control of east Timor would be preferable for Australia as the Indonesians would be easier to deal with when it came to negotiating the oil and gas fields that lay in the Timor Sea that separates East Timor from northwest Australia. For the next 25 years Indonesian troops deployed to East Timor were trained and supplied by the Australian military. There was a lot of anguish and guilt amongst Australians regarding how Liberal & ALP governments had treated the people of east Timor. As you will recall UN forces were stationed in East Timor after the referendum in order to minimise the Indonesian-fuelled backlash against the overwhelming vote for total independence. Howard pestered Clinton to support him in his quest that Australia leads these forces. What has emerged in recent years is that Howard's eagerness to assume control was largely motivated by his enthusiasm to secure a majority portion of the revenue that would flow from the Timor Sea oil & gas fields. This is one story that most Australians are still naïve about.

There is one figure in your book that I was not sure of, and that is the participation rate of Australians in the election process. In Australia voting is compulsory, it is compulsory to be on the electoral roll, and there is a fine that can be enforced for those who do not vote.

What is baffling about the imprimatur to be on the electoral roll is that whilst it is compulsory, it is not guaranteed as a right in the Australian Constitution. "There is no explicit right to vote in the Federal Constitution, and on the few times the High Court has been asked to find an implicit right the results have been disappointing for the plaintiffs. The necessary qualifications to get on the electoral roll and hence obtain voting rights are entirely a matter for the parliament".

You refer to Rupert Murdoch a number of times. Murdoch owns, and controls, and dictates the policy of a number of newspapers throughout Australia, both in the major and regional cities; in fact the only national newspaper in the country, 'The Australian', is a Murdoch publication. Murdoch has the power to make and break Prime Ministers and politicians, and to influence public debate beyond the rational; for example, the stance taken by his papers with respect to climate change has nurtured a vocal and persistent climate `sceptic' minority, that at one stage included Prime Minister Howard; this line has thwarted Australia's inclusion in Kyoto and meant that solar energy technologies developed in Austral have translocated to Germany, China & California in order to gain support. Dear Rupert was born in Australia, as an Australian, but in 1985 he renounced his Australian citizenship and became a United States citizen to satisfy legislation that only United States citizens could own American television stations. Obviously, this resulted in Murdoch losing his Australian citizenship, because he couldn't hold dual citizenship. Apparently, even his mother, nearly 100 years-old, doesn't approve of his ethics and style.

What puzzles me with regard to political leaders and the response they receive from the general public is that rarely do leaders implement the types of changes that the population want. It is leaders that choose to go to war, and then command the people to do the dirty work; it is leaders that privatise public assets, in Australia's case this includes banks, the national airline, telecommunications, electricity and some aspects of water distribution, usually in the face of vehement public opposition - once the sale is complete standards fall, and prices rise, not unexpectedly because a public utility operates under completely different motives than a privatised one. And yet we in western democracies fail to realise that our elected leaders only govern in accordance with the consent that we the governed grant. Consent of the governed was a concept that first found its voice in John Locke, and found many adherents including Thomas Jefferson, but in contemporary times it remains secluded and cloistered from public cognition, and yet if there is one sure thing that the Wikileaks/Julian Assange `affair' has shown, it is that many people do not approve of many of the actions our governments commit whilst operating under our consent.

Once again, thanks for your book, and please accept my observations as a contribution to what you wrote.

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ML Reed
Love It Or Hate It -- This Book Makes You Think
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2003
Verified Purchase
I pre-ordered this book before it was published. After reading some of the reviews, I very nearly cancelled that order. I'm so glad I didn't! This book, in my opinion, is terrific. It made me look "beyond the box" and consider my own possible complicity in the way the rest of the world views us. How informed am I about world issues? How much to I pay attention to the agendas of the media? How involved am I in molding my own government? And, could I be perceived as an "ugly American" when I travel overseas? This book should be required reading for everyone, particularly Americans. It is NOT a "the rest of the world hates America" book -- as is perceived in other reviews. It is a book that will help each of us re-examine our role in society and the world.

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Joyce
Wake up, Americans!
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2013
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World traveler Hertsgaard discovered what foreigners think of Americans: they like us personally but don't like what our government does. They also are aware that Americans generally know less about other countries and people than they know about us. This ignorance is dangerous to us as well as to the rest of the world. This book is quite readable and not totally discouraging. Hertsgaard helps us to see the wonderful gifts of this country as well as understand what we need to do to be a responsible gift to the world, rather than a scourge.

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Mrs. A
A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE!!!!!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2004
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This is one of the most thought provoking books I have read in a long time. The author hits it on the nose with this book about how the world views America. It really is a love-hate relationship and as an American it makes you stop and think. I feel everone should read this book and see what is happening in our world. We cannot turn a blind eye on this one.

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