Members with This Book
Most Helpful Reviews
see all reviews
Liked It “Very fascinating look into the back stories of our military industrial complex and our national penchant for stupid, short sighted, and perennial wars. The most disturbing and dangerous aspects I found to be the rise of non-military advisors to the commander-in-chief (think GWB's "outstanding"...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
see all reviews-
“Very fascinating look into the back stories of our military industrial complex and our national penchant for stupid, short sighted, and perennial wars. The most disturbing and dangerous aspects I found to be the rise of non-military advisors to the commander-in-chief (think GWB's "outstanding" cadre of national security advisors) and the outsourcing of an incredible array of military activities to our "wonderful" for-profit corporations. ”
Rob Jones wrote this review 23 hours ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I was expecting strident, Republican-bashing, conservative-thrashing, DoD-blasting comments on American military power. I got a pretty reasonable perspective on the natural tension between Presidential desires to exercise Commander-in-Chief power to use the military (often for political purposes) and Congressional desires to exercise Constitutional authority to declare war. There is nothing wrong with this tension. We just have to keep an eye on the checks and balances that are supposed to keep us on track as a nation. Thanks Rachel; you made me think.”
TechWriter wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Interesting book by the witty and insightful Rachel Maddow. She details the history over the past 50 years of the ever-increasing role that the executive branch of our government plays in the deployment of our military. Both Republican and Democratic presidents wield more authority in terms of war-making that the founding fathers had ever intended. America's nuclear deterrent is incredibly expensive, and not nearly as foolproof as one would presume it to be. Very informative and thought-provoking.”
Kevin M Grady wrote this review Sunday, April 14, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“With great depth, with humor, and with tremendous enrgy, Rachel Maddow writes a very readable and engaging look at America's political shifts toward how we approach war.”
Bett Norris wrote this review Saturday, April 6, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Excellent”
Scott Brock wrote this review Friday, March 29, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Isn’t it great when you come away from a painless read and you really feel like you’ve learned something too? That’s exactly the take away feeling I got from Rachel Maddow’s Drift.
Jesse E wrote this review Monday, March 25, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Now it’s true that I unreservedly adore Rachel Maddow. I consider her to be “the Muhammad Ali of journalistic debate”. With that confession, with that instance of full disclosure, I write to sing the praises of what I believe is her first and only commercial publication.
Her trademark intellect is present in every line of reasoning; her devotion to serious research conveyed each evidentiary reference. This formidable intellectualism, however, is honeyed by the humorous stylings of her notorious geek chic. This is done, though, with a punctuation requisite of the seriousness of the subject. Basically, Maddow lays out an argument that the American government has fallen victim to the manipulative musings of the neo-cons and their proponents in certain presidential administrations as well as the bloated military-industrial complex that has, over a period of close to half-a-century, become its own Hobbesian leviathan. She dishes out the argument, which after one reads through it (he or she) must be convinced of its veracity, in a manner that causes the pages to pass through with ease. My only complaint stems selfishly from a feeling, as a reader, of wanting more upon the book’s conclusion. This, of course, would solely be for the sake enjoying that private with the queen of progressive journalism.
We are vaguely aware of how much work goes into writing a full-length commercial book, but we can still hope for more books from our beloved Rachel Maddow to come.
”
“It's refreshing to read a book by a political commentator which is based on logic and historical facts. If only all of our political knowledge came from these sources and not sources which thrive on Fear of The Other. ”
phi g wrote this review Saturday, March 23, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“If you were born after 1980, you owe it to yourself to read this. I've always wondered how America made it this far with such an unaccountable executive and (for all intents and purposes, private) military. But our checks and balances have only been so ridiculously broken for the last thirty years. It's very hard to imagine life any different when you're born into that process. It makes it much clearer to me why so many, from Gen X on, are disillusioned with and disenfranchised from the political process and choose to abstain out of frustration and hopelessness. If we are to recover our greatness as a nation, the systems that our Founding Fathers put in place to make us FEEL the uncomfortable weight of tough political decisions in every aspect of our life have to be given back to the civilian population. Because absolute power corrupts absolutely, if it remains in the hands of a few, history shows us that will be the end of the chapter.”
Micah Loffer wrote this review Monday, February 18, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Drift Rachel Maddow
Tenia F wrote this review Sunday, February 17, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
4 stars
Rachel Maddow take san indepth war on the United States and history of War. Mostly from the Vietnam war to now, with mentions of Korean war. She presents it in a way that shows we have definatley drifted away from the original reason we went to war at the beginning of the United States. She shows how the people in power are doing it for political power and gain and not for justifiable reasons.”
“Maddow book depicts the how we came to completely ignore the fact of going to war. How and why do Americans stay at peace while the nation is at war (for more than 10 years now). A sad and good read”
Marcus wrote this review Saturday, January 26, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
