Terrorism and Tyranny: Trampling Freedom, Justice, and Peace to Rid the World of Evil

by James Bovard

"The war on terrorism is the first political growth industry of the new Millennium." So begins Jim Bovard's newest and, in some ways, most provocative book as he casts yet another jaundiced eye on Washington and the motives behind protecting "the homeland" and prosecuting a wildly unpopular war with Iraq. For James Bovard, as always, it all comes down to a trampling of personal liberty and an end to privacy as we know it. From airport security follies that protect no one to increased surveillance of individuals and skyrocketing numbers of detainees, the war on terrorism is taking a toll on individual liberty and no one tells the whole grisly story better than Bovard.

Genres: History, Politics, Terrorism, Nonfiction, American History

448 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2003

About the author

Is a libertarian author and lecturer whose political commentary targets examples of waste, failures, corruption, cronyism and abuses of power in government. He is the author of Attention Deficit Democracy, and eight other books. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New Republic, Reader's Digest, The American Conservative, and many other publications. His books have been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean.

Reviews

[The American Conservative]

'Bovard’s chronicle of the whole sad history of the war on terrorism, from Reagan to Bush I and through the Clinton years, is a tale of appalling incompetence. From early on a recurring pattern was established: endless prior warnings are accompanied by total denial, swiftly followed by total disaster and the refusal to take responsibility—always ending in an official cover-up... The sheer number—and absurdity—of the incidents described in detail by Bovard—in which innocent individuals have been charged, jailed, and held incommunicado, their lives destroyed by callous, downright stupid government bureaucrats—is a phenomenon that would have conservatives up in arms if carried out by the Clinton administration, past or future. '

Read the full review, "The Health of the State," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...

[Sean Rosenthal]

Interesting Quotes:

"The USA-PATRIOT Act treats every citizen like a suspected terrorist and every federal agent like a proven angel. The Bush administration carried off the biggest bait-and-switch in U.S. constitutional history. Rather than targeting terrorists, Bush and Congress awarded new powers to federal agents to use against anyone suspected of committing any of the the three thousand federal crimes on the books."

-James Bovard, Terrorism and Tyranny


"Freedom cannot be forcibly exported without being subverted at home. Perpetual war will inevitably beget perpetual repression."

-James Bovard, Terrorism and Tyranny

[J.C. Paulk]

While Bovard wrote this several years ago, it is clear that his was a prescient message. A rather dense read with footnotes, the author still maintains a strong focus on the thesis throughout the book. Surprisingly good if not a wee bit spooky. Some of the blatant abuses by our government on our own rights is disheartening.

[Don Murphy]

Well researched book. Heavily biased, but the bias is on the correct side. Starting with Reagan's failed attempt at combating terror, the book shows the development and mismanagement of our current anti-terror techniques. The author goes into great depth with the Bush regime and how they used the 9/11 attacks to consolodate power.