false 22876 4 1 Chalmers Ashby Johnson (age 77–78) is an American author and professor emeritus of the University of California, San Diego. He fought in the Korean war, from 1967-1973 was a consultant for the CIA, and ran the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley for years. He is also president and co-founder of the Japan Policy Research Institute, an organization promoting public education about Japan and Asia. He has written numerous books including, most recently, three examinations of the consequences of American Empire: Blowback, The Sorrows of Empire, and Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.]]> male Phoenix, Arizona 1931/01/01 40709 0805075593 9780805075595 48 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169476867m/40709.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169476867s/40709.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40709.Blowback_The_Costs_and_Consequences_of_American_Empire 3.96 344 Blowback--the title refers to a CIA neologism describing the unintended consequences of American activity--is a call for the United States to rethink its position in the world. "The evidence is building up that in the decade following the end of the Cold War, the United States largely abandoned a reliance on diplomacy, economic aid, international law, and multilateral institutions in carrying out its foreign policies and resorted much of the time to bluster, military force, and financial manipulation," writes Johnson. "The world is not a safer place as a result."

Individual chapters focus on Okinawa (where American servicemen were accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in "Asia's last colony"), the two Koreas, China, and Japan. The result is a liberal-leaning (and Asia-centric) call for the United States to disengage from many of its global commitments. Critics will call Johnson an isolationist, but friends (perhaps admirers of Patrick Buchanan's A Republic, Not an Empire) will say he simply speaks good sense. All will agree he is an earnest voice: "I believe our very hubris ensures our undoing." --John J. Miller ]]> 22876 4.02 723 115 2000 40718 0805077979 9780805077971 29 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169476891m/40718.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169476891s/40718.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40718.The_Sorrows_of_Empire_Militarism_Secrecy_and_the_End_of_the_Republic 4.11 201
According to the author, these bases are proof that the "United States prefers to deal with other nations through the use or threat of force rather than negotiations, commerce, or cultural interaction." This rise of American militarism, along with the corresponding layers of bureaucracy and secrecy that are created to circumvent scrutiny, signals a shift in power from the populace to the Pentagon: "A revolution would be required to bring the Pentagon back under democratic control," he writes.

In Sorrows of Empire, Johnson discusses the roots of American militarism, the rise and extent of the military-industrial complex, and the close ties between arms industry executives and high-level politicians. He also looks closely at how the military has extended the boundaries of what constitutes national security in order to centralize intelligence agencies under their control and how statesmen have been replaced by career soldiers on the front lines of foreign policy--a shift that naturally increases the frequency with which we go to war.

Though his conclusions are sure to be controversial, Johnson is a skilled and experienced historian who backs up his claims with copious research and persuasive arguments. His important book adds much to a debate about the realities and direction of U.S. influence in the world. --Shawn Carkonen]]> 22876 4.02 723 115 2004 64711 0805079114 9780805079111 22 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1213663432m/64711.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1213663432s/64711.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64711.Nemesis_The_Last_Days_of_the_American_Republic 4.03 121 Blowback trilogy confronts the overreaching of the American empire and the threat it poses to the republic.

In his prophetic book Blowback, Chalmers Johnson linked the CIA’s clandestine activities abroad to disaster at home. In The Sorrows of Empire, he explored the ways in which the growth of American militarism and the garrisoning of the planet have jeopardized our stability. Now, in Nemesis, he shows how imperial overstretch is undermining the republic itself, both economically and politically.

Delving into new areas—from plans to militarize outer space to Constitution-breaking presidential activities at home and the devastating corruption of a toothless Congress—Nemesis offers a striking description of the trap into which the dreams of America’s leaders have taken us. Drawing comparisons to empires past, Johnson explores in vivid detail just what the unintended consequences of our dependence on a permanent war economy are likely to be. What does it mean when a nation’s main intelligence organization becomes the president’s secret army? Or when the globe’s sole “hyperpower,” no longer capable of paying for the vaulting ambitions of its leaders, becomes the greatest hyper-debtor of all times?

In his stunning conclusion, Johnson suggests that financial bankruptcy could herald the breakdown of constitutional government in America—a crisis that may ultimately prove to be the only path to a renewed nation.]]> 22876 4.02 723 115 2007 321363 0804717672 9780804717670 0 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1203288326m/321363.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1203288326s/321363.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/321363.An_Instance_of_Treason_Ozaki_Hotsumi_and_the_Sorge_Spy_Ring 4.50 2 22876 4.02 723 115 1990 6013595 1400039886 9781400039883 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6013595.Ein_Imperium_verf_llt_Wann_endet_das_Amerikanische_Jahrhundert_ 5.00 1 Blowback--the title refers to a CIA neologism describing the unintended consequences of American activity--is a call for the United States to rethink its position in the world. "The evidence is building up that in the decade following the end of the Cold War, the United States largely abandoned a reliance on diplomacy, economic aid, international law, and multilateral institutions in carrying out its foreign policies and resorted much of the time to bluster, military force, and financial manipulation," writes Johnson. "The world is not a safer place as a result." Individual chapters focus on Okinawa (where American servicemen were accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in "Asia's last colony"), the two Koreas, China, and Japan. The result is a liberal-leaning (and Asia-centric) call for the United States to disengage from many of its global commitments.


Unter den Ursachen für den Zusammenbruch der UdSSR war nach Meinung des Autors die politische Instinktlosigkeit der sowjetischen Machthaber in hohem Maße ausschlaggebend. Und da die USA sich ähnlich brutal und egoistisch in die Politik ihrer Satellitenstaaten einmische, wird die einzig verbliebene Supermacht dasselbe Schicksal erleiden und untergehen. Der renommierte Professor für politische Wissenschaften geht mit seinem Land hart ins Gericht: Amerikanische Politiker haben in den Zeiten des Kalten Krieges durch stümperhaftes, herrisches und inhumanes Verhalten in Südostasien, den arabischen und mittelamerikanischen Staaten, in Chile wie in afrikanischen Ländern so viel Vertrauen verspielt, dass der globale Einfluss der Vereinigten Staaten stetig abnimmt]]> 22876 4.02 723 115 2003 7377057 078616915X 9780786169153 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7377057-nemesis 0.0 0 22876 4.02 723 115 2456062 3.91 33 3 2007 7147445 1433204754 9781433204753 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7147445-blowback 0.0 0 22876 4.02 723 115 2456062 3.91 33 3 2007 6640334 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6640334-nemesis 0.0 0 Blowback trilogy confronts the overreaching of the American empire and the threat it poses to the republic. In his prophetic book Blowback, Chalmers Johnson linked the CIA's clandestine activities abroad to disaster at home. In The Sorrows of Empire, he explored the ways in which the growth of American militarism and the garrisoning of the planet have jeopardized our stability. Now, in Nemesis, he shows how imperial overstretch is undermining the republic itself, both economically and politically.

Delving into new areas-from plans to militarize outer space to Constitution-breaking presidential activities at home and the devastating corruption of a toothless Congress-Nemesis offers a striking description of the trap into which the dreams of America's leaders have taken us. Drawing comparisons to empires past, Johnson explores in vivid detail just what the unintended consequences of our dependence on a permanent war economy are likely to be. What does it mean when a nation's main intelligence organization becomes the president's secret army? Or when the globe's sole -hyperpower,- no longer capable of paying for the vaulting ambitions of its leaders, becomes the greatest hyper-debtor of all times?

In his stunning conclusion, Johnson suggests that financial bankruptcy could herald the breakdown of constitutional government in America-a crisis that may ultimately prove to be the only path to a renewed nation.

]]> 22876 4.02 723 115 2007 6568419 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6568419-the-sorrows-of-empire 0.0 0 22876 4.02 723 115 2004 5570478 0340095008 9780340095003 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5570478.Revolutionary_Change 0.0 0 22876 4.02 723 115 1969