The Eagle's Shadow [Hardcover]

 

 

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The best indicator of the author's bias comes on page 90 where he states that the left wing in America stands for anti-government, anti business and anti-establishment. Excluding only small business and non-multinational business (multinational businesses are laden with government contracts, corporate welfare, subsidies, tariffs, etc.), nothing could be more untrue. Conservatives favor a limitation of government and traditional values and views. True conservatives would like to free the markets from the horrible government intervention that has been present for decades. We do not have capitalism, but rather socialism or a mixed economy, at best. The drift of the DemoPublican party further and further to the left is no secret to true conservatives. The neocons of the Republican Party have drifted so far left; they do not even realize the extent of the socialism they have embraced. George Washington warned us of dabbling in the affairs of foreign nations. To the true conservative, foreign policy should be very limited and defense should be defense, not offense. Free markets have become non-existent in America. Their decline started before the War Between the States and has not looked back. Socialism, that dangerous left-wing fungus, is what left France undefendable in WWII, it also turned Germany toward policy of terror, and later- complete destruction. Socialism was the policy, under which many millions of Jewish people were horribly murdered. Let us not forget. National, international or local, socialism is a left-wing thing and it is not good. The press cannot change that, no matter how hard they try.
The author, when citing parts of American history that most do not know, conveniently leaves out travesties to civil and human rights. During the New York race riot, dozens of blacks were brutally murdered for nothing but the color of their skin. General U.S. Grant owned slaves throughout the War Between the States. Abraham Lincoln shut down presses, imprisoned dissenters without trial and even tried to imprison an Ohio Supreme Court Justice who disagreed with his Whig policies of tariffs, subsidies, censorship, taxation, centralized banking and socialism.
The author also cites third party information from a cab driver in England about someone from Texas who insists that everything is bigger there, and exhibits braggadocio about his home state. Believe me when I say that I have never heard this from any Texan and I have met more than a few.
The book contains a lot of good information and quite a number of truthful, astute observations. In itself, the book would have been great without the twists, jabs and easily identifiable, feeble attempt to manipulate readers into believing that the press is right-wing.

... but not quite.

Independent journalist Mark Hertsgaard, in his latest book, "The Eagle's Shadow", tries to dispell the myth that the US is hated by the rest of the world. And, while he does an admirable job in presenting a real glimpse at world opinion (they love America and what it stands for; they just hate the arrogance of our government), the book gets bogged down in Hertsgaard's own rants against the perceived hypocrisy of America.

Despite this weakness, he does make some valid points. Americans are extremely parochial, we tend to ignore the rest of the world (with the exception of western Europe and whoever we are currently bombing), and generally very wasteful. We espouse a bizzarely schizophrenic type of politics that tries to simultaneously emphasize "family values" and "community" while supporting a soulless economic system that conspires to tear our values apart. At the same time, Hertsgaard doesn't really offer any solutions of his own other than the usual critiques and tepid support for social democracy (which has worked quite poorly in France, Germany, and Japan according to most economists)

The writing is fluid and extremely readable, which makes the book fly by at a quick pace. He has many delightful anecdotes from his travels that liven up the report and help highlight his observations... let little real reporting. In general, the book falls slightly flat.

Final appraisal? If you're looking for a quick read for a vacation, you can do far worse. For real global journalism, however, I'd recommend reading a work by a better reporter, such as Thomas Friedman or Fareed Zakaria.

(As for me, I got my copy for free. Hertsgaard spoke at my campus, and bet the audience that none of the students could name the prime minister of Japan. I was the only one who could name Junichiro Koizumi... a sad state of affairs, given that I was surrounded by Political Science students, who should know the head of the second largest economy in the world. At least I recieved a signed copy of The Eagle's Shadow for being the only one.)

Democracy is a work in progress. On that note, "The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World," by Mark Hertsgaard is a careful snapshot of what people outside the United States consider "American flaws." Still and all, the author is quick to report that throughout his travels he discovered a remarkable paradox...that nearly all the foreign critics admired our wealth and longed to come here.

America is a subject that never fails to get people talking, according to Hertsgaard. The world harbors plenty of complaints about us...particularly the Bush administration, he adds. The heavy-handed invasion of Iraq, the withdrawal from the Kyoto Treaty, the withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missle Treaty and our refusal to join the International Criminal Court top the list of complaints. Moreover, the author reports that, "no one wraps self-interest in moral superiority quite like Americans do."

America is without question the richest and most powerful nation in the world...but its glaring ignorance of the rest of the planet reflects badly on the United States, according to Hertsgaard. Include the climate of intimidation orchestrated by the Bush administration and you have the variables that explain why the United States has lost the world's admiration and respect, he adds.

Nevertheless, the critics of America all admit that we are still a land of opportunity. To this end, Hertsgaard examines our shameful treatment of Indians and Blacks...and points out that the world's proudest democracy is too self-righteous. He then concludes that the United States is a democracy in progress and urges Americans to nurture a global spirit of clarity and reason. This book is an eye-opener. It is well written and offers sound advice on how to make this great nation better.

Bert Ruiz

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5.0 out of 5 stars Listening to the rest of the world
Author Hertsgaard, in his odyssey around the world, recorded impressions of the ordinary citizens he met. Read more

Published on Nov 15 2003 by Chapulina R

5.0 out of 5 stars MUST READ for concerned citizens seeking answers
This book should be required reading for ALL high school students. It is a quick and simply laid out book for both a reader who wants a good introduction on current events and at... Read more

Published on Sep 24 2003 by D. Pohlman

5.0 out of 5 stars Of 400+ Books on National Security, This Is 1 of 3 Tops

This review has been edited (giving up 14 votes) to eliminate an inappropriate and premature designation of Howard Dean as "the one". Read more

Published on Sep 13 2003 by Robert D. Steele

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading!
Mark Hertsgaard is a journalist, an astute observor and communicator, and a very fine writer. Hertsgaard is also an American and his driver for gathering the information for this... Read more

Published on Sep 10 2003 by Grady Harp

1.0 out of 5 stars This sophomore essay deserves a D minus
Well I've just read all of the reviews of this book and feel compelled to write even though I don't think I can add very much... Read more

Published on Sep 7 2003 by datamatrix

5.0 out of 5 stars An Awakening
I just recently read this book when I went on vacation and realized I had left my book behind. I picked this little book up thinking it would at least be interesting to see how... Read more

Published on Aug 26 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars The Author Seams to Have Aggravated a Few People
This topic is one that interests me, particularly that I am an American who lives out side of the states. Read more

Published on Aug 19 2003 by John G. Hilliard

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST read!!
As a mexican reader, this book helped me understand a lot things better. I fully recommended it, to better understand americans instead of just judging them. Read more

Published on July 9 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars simple and unintersting
My opinion about "The Eagle's Shadow by mark Hertsgaard is unusual in that I don't disagree with his criticism of the United States; but I find this book to be poorly... Read more

Published on July 9 2003 by babyblue

1.0 out of 5 stars Dressed-Up Diatribe
Ostensibly based on a valid and intriguing concept -- using qualitative research from the author's travels around the world to illustrate perceptions of America at home and abroad... Read more

Published on Jun 18 2003

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