Customer Reviews

What's So Great About America

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3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(38)

 

 

In the aftermath of 9/11 a lot of ink was spilt on trying to understand why America was attacked and how do America's enemies perceive this nation. Amidst all of the soul-searching a new theme had gradually emerged especially on the intellectual left: America was attacked because America is an awful country that has always been doing a lot of bad domestically and abroad. In words of one infamous preacher, America's chickens had come home to roost. And yet America to this day attracts more voluntary immigration than any other nation on Earth. One of those immigrants is Dinesh D'Souza, the author of this book. In that capacity he is one of the best people around to tell America what is so great about her, and to remind her many detractors that its greatest achievements are the true reasons why so many hate her. D'Souza is not an uncritical admirer of America, but someone who has truly lived an American dream and achieved a remarkable level of success in his professional life. Like many other immigrants from traditional cultures, he is also apprehensive about bringing up his kids in a country where there are no absolute and immutable social norms. But just like many others, he is also appreciative of living in a country that enables one to pursue one's dreams and not be restrained by the circumstances of one's birth. These are the enduring messages of the American way of life. So even though the book was written as a response to particular historical events and circumstances, it remains fresh and relevant for as long as the idea of American dream is fresh and relevant. And if history is any guide, this will remain true for many more years.

I first came across this book while browsing the politics section at B&N. I initially laughed at it because of its simple title and the American flag it had drapped across its cover. That alone didnt cause me to laugh however. The real reason I laughed was because I was then a young college student who was being bombarded with only negative information about my country's current culture as well as it's past history by the supposed "educators" in charge of my intellectual development. This book completely shattered the worldview they had worked to create in me. Thank you Dinesh D'Souza.

He has a unique perspective of America. You can't get this view from the prominent media in the US. He destroys many myth's being proprogated by the "liberals." There are many Americans living in America who hate America. Dinesh D'Souza is not one of them.

In 430 BC, shortly after the outbreak of the philopenesean war Pericles faced the dilemma of how to articulate the blessings of freedom (which were taken for granted) to the people of athens and compel them to make sacrifices and the ultimate sacrifice of ones life. Pericles said that they have the sweetest life of all and in order keep the good life possible they must create an eros for their country. This eros will justify the sacrifices that are needed to protect athenian liberty.
dinesh dsouza posses this kind of eros and shows us that In the world today America has the good life. A life which deserves our sacrifice. In the book he describes Americas greatness through refuting the criticsms of all of america's worst critics from judge bork to noam chomsky and reverened jesse jackson.
The good stuff: 1) dsouza shows why America is NOT a racist nation like so many people claim.
2) Contrary to popular belief The west is not wealthy because they stole everyone else's stuff
3)Dinesh conceded that we went into Iraq in part for oil. unfortunately we only go fight for human rights if we can make some money out of it. During 1996 Liberals wanted us to go way into Africa and fight in the middle of the damn jungle?! c'mon guys dream on!
4) dinesh states that avoiding war with muslims is impossible because they won't rest until we're all dead. So much for pacifism.
Concluson: really enjoyed the book. Particularly good if your a highschool or college student (like me) who has to deal with liberal B.S from your teachers or other students every day.

Wow! I just finished this great book that describes, in the most comprehensive and illuminating way, how the Islamists view Americans and why the terrorists hate us. The author, Dinesh D'Souza came to America from India as a student in the late 1970's. As an immigrant himself, D'Souza reveals how immigrants see American society both the good and the bad. He examines the alleged sins of America and gives a perspective that is seldom heard but deserves our attention. He gives Americans a new understanding and appreciation of our heritage and our history.

D'Souza shares with the reader important advice that we Americans must follow if we are to defeat the radical Islamists. The divisiveness that is driving our politics, the idea of multiculturalism being fostered on our high school and college students, and American's ignorance of the true nature of virtue, all combine to threaten our resolve to defeat radical Islam. We are called to wake up to what it is we are fighting for and to take seriously the threat facing America and all freedom loving societies everywhere.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

This book is basically about the history of America, how that shaped the country to become what it is today, and how America is viewed by different parts of the world.

While D'Souza is a conservative, this book does NOT have a lot of angry right-wing attacks on liberals like an Ann Coulter book. In fact, D'Souza hardly criticizes liberals much.

In short, those who like America or are neutral will like this book.

Those who hate America will REALLY HATE this book.

Plain and simple.

Pick up this book and ignore the liberal rants that bash it--most of them likely didn't get past the bookflap summary anyway. Dsouza thoughfully analyzes his view of what makes America exceptional and addresses some of the major problems facing our society today: terrorism, partisanship and cultural decay. Regardless of your political persuasion, Dsouza provides substantive food for thought.

Finally, an excellent book has come out by someone who actually knows what he's talking about. I bet the neo-conservatives are running for cover from this one. Dinesh D'Souza restores my faith in America. He's a breath of fresh air after all the raunchy political pornography that's being churned out by people like Ann Coulter and Michael Moore. This is what America's about, about telling the truth, and this guy knows the truth.

Don't you guys see how refreshing and invigorating it is to tell the truth? Pull the black veil off your hearts and ENJOY America, our beautiful country. Nothing is as patriotic in America as the TRUTH, why can't the bickerers learn that.

This book really tells what's right about America. I was wondering if it could be done anymore. Lay down your broomstick and black hat Ann Coulter, I bet you hate this book!

Dinesh D'Souza's "What's So Great About America" is a truly uplifting read. This book should be in our classrooms--it should be required reading in high school and college social science classes. The title is not a question, it is a statement, telling us what truly is great about our country. D'Souza acknowledges many of the negatives rather than denying them, but chooses to focus on the positives--the things that make America great. The author boldly takes on the "Blame America First" crowd--leftist pseudo-intellectuals, multiculturalists and those who favor reparations, among many others. No one ever said our country was perfect, but compared to other countries out there, the positives far outweigh the negatives. The bottom line is that here in the United Staes, the individual can write the script for his/her own life. Each individual's life is what he/she makes of it, and if that person is unhappy with the results, he/she has only him/herself to blame. If America is really as evil as all these radical leftist Red Diaper Doper Babies say it is, then I suggest they all pack their (bleep)-ing bags and move to some sorry, useless toilet of a country where, perhaps, they might be happier: someplace like Cuba, North Korea, Iran or even worse--FRANCE!!

In this book "What's So Great About America", by Dinesh D'Souza, Dinesh explains in many ways how the rest of the world is being Westernized. The rest of the world has many characteristics that they once did not have. For example, "People go to work in Western suits and ties, even though this attire seems utterly unsuited to India's hot climate" (37). He explains that the Muslim religion views Americans as the Anti-Christ, based on how America is influencing all of its bad habits in other countries. So in the Muslims eyes, we are spreading evil all over the world.

I believe everyone should read this book that has any opinion on how the Muslim people think our society is so evil. I truly am grateful that I had the chance to read this book because I had a very one-sided view on this subject due to my older brother fighting in the terrorist war. I think the one good thing about this book is, it explains to you in detail on how Muslims mind frame's work. Without reading this book I had no idea why Muslims considered the USA as the Anti-Christ. It has expanded my knowledge and the reason why they hate us makes a lot of since. That also doesn't mean I agree with them on killing off Americans.

One thing I disliked about this book was in Chapter five when Dinesh starts to talk about how the Muslims view the sexual domain we as Americans have. It gives a detail of one case that a Muslims newspaper writer wrote in their paper to mock us. A Frenchman comes home and finds an American in bed with the Frenchman's wife. Well, Dinesh and the Muslims have a bad view on the sexual domain the Americans have. They should not take into account just the bad apple of the bunch but a whole in society, just like we cannot judge every Muslim by a few Muslim extremists actions.