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Liked It “When I finished this book, I went to the book store specifically to look for other non fiction autobiographies that packed as much information as this one. Jim Webb describes himself as intellectually curious and willing to take risk. That has led him through an interesting life that I enjoyed...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“My kind of politician: pragmatic & insightful even tho he seems to like the word "referrants" a bit too much - I don't think this book is largely autobiographical, but rather uses his personal experiences to relate how he has adopted certain policy views and evolved from Secretary of the Navy in a GOP administration to the first Democratic U.S. Senator elected from Virginia in a long time - this is a man who knows what war is like & can stand as a bulwark to the Chickenhawks of the GOP (and their establishment media enablers) that has for far too long put its own self-interest above the national interest; (SEE Bill Moyer's Journal re the Media Enablers) ”
pete n wrote this review Monday, February 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“When I finished this book, I went to the book store specifically to look for other non fiction autobiographies that packed as much information as this one. Jim Webb describes himself as intellectually curious and willing to take risk. That has led him through an interesting life that I enjoyed reading. His political integrity, his take on military strategy and his interpretation of partisan perception of war is thought provoking.
Joe B wrote this review Friday, August 29 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I have been a fan of Webb since his Democratic response to the 2007 State of the Union. ”
“A "must" book for anyone considering participation in the forthcoming 2008 US presidential election.
Raul de B wrote this review Saturday, May 24 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Although largely autobiographical, Jim Webb point out some of the major problems his country is facing, and offers, as the best and indeed urgent solution, that Americans should take advantage of the privileges they have under the US Constitution to speak out, and demand better performance from the leaders the elect to represent them. In choosing among candidates, voters should not be distracted by dirty campaign tactics which, rather than spell out a direction for the country, aim at character assassination, often based on lies, exaggerations, words taken out of context, often using surrogates, as Karl Rove employed in the past. Jim's concerns are manifold, beginning with the increasing economic stratification of this country with the rich getting richer and the poor having fewer and fewer opportunities, while the middle class is under attack. In foreign policy he decries the absence of a governing strategy, with over-reliance on sending the military into situations that cannot be won militarily. His hero is Dwight Eisenhower, but he also uses the experiences of many other presidents, from Theodore Roosevelt, to Harry Truman, Nixon and Johnson to make his points. Indeed one of the thrusts of his book is that there is a big difference between military and civilian government. Our military is top notch because it builds on past military experience, whereas the civilian government, especially lately, never bothers with the lessons of history (the Iraq war being a prime example ... guided more by neo-conservative ideology than by facts, experience, and knowledge of the culture of the Middle East). He has some interesting perspectives on the effects of the Vietnam war on the political climate in the US and the role of the military in our society. He decries the growth of the military-industrial complex. A striking characteristic of the book (and one that makes it less titillating to read!) is that he seldom attacks individuals, only their actions. For example, he manages to heavily criticize the tactics of his opponent in his 2006 senatorial race without ever mentioning George Allen by name. Cheney is mentioned only once in connection with Halliburton.”
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