Surprisingly Good

Would you consider the audio edition of The War State to be better than the print version?

I only heard the audio version and had not read the print so I don't have an opinion.

Who was your favorite character and why?

There are no characters in this book. This book is more of an historical narrative and expose so no characters.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance was okay, not great.

Any additional comments?

An old mentor once told me that 'to the naive, things appear to be simple; and to the fool so complex'. The author poses a hypothesis that the federal defense budget is supported by the military-industrial complex. He supports his hypothesis with strong historical facts, written and recorded history and through a complex history of the cold war. His subject is highly complex but he weaves his story very well and with compelling force.

I for one can't wait for his next book.

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6 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

You're going to want to take some notes...

If you're like me, you have a vague sense of how the Military Industrial Complex came into being and how it continues to grow. After reading this book however, things will no longer be vague.

The author lays it all out in a step by step fashion, and it seems to be fact, after fact, after well documented and researched fact. That being said, the whole thing reads like a Clancy novel, complete with heroes and villains and an alarming plot line.

I wish I could say the book had a happy and optimistic ending, but the ending will be left to ourselves an our posterity to be written. I really hope more people will read this.

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5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Cold War, The Cliff Notes Version

If you want a good high-school-level summary of the Cuban Missile Crisis with Kennedy as anti-establishment hero, by all means buy this work. As a bonus you will receive three final Chapters 9 to 12, which pad the audiobook out by repeating everything in the previous chapters, then telling you how to sign up for the next book on this important subject by the same author--who apparently, from the five-star reviews here, enjoys his own clique of eager followers.

Presumably, this next book will contain some new revelations, economic analysis, and original scholarship, though I wouldn't bet on it. The greatest failure of the book, apart from its numerous repetitions, superficial polemic, and slipshod writing (Is there an editor in the house?), is the lack of any economic context. I am actually sympathetic to the author's basic concept of the "war state," but he fails to detail the "industrial side" of the "military-industrial complex," the profits, credits, bond financing, and lobbying that continue to provide the economic inertia behind our immense weaponized Keynsianism.

Nor does the author take military Keynsianism seriously as a necessary logic of modern capitalism. His approach seems to be more libertarian than left, with the idea that by reducing the executive branch, the military bureaucracies, and large military industries we can reduce oppressive taxes and deficits and return to our roots as an isolationist Jeffersonian democracy of peaceful farmers, small-town banks, and small business entrepreneurs. This ignores not only economic reality, but our own national history since the Indian Clearances, the Mexican War, and the Spanish American War as an outward-rolling commercial-military empire, from Polk to Cheney.

That said, I thank the author for identifying NSC 68 as an interesting point of departure. There are a few good story details, a hopeful anti-militarism, and the reading is okay. If you really know nothing about this period of U.S. history, the book is worth the time.

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5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Eye-Opening!

Book was well written and researched by the author. Audio was a solid performance. My respect of John Kennedy grew immensely from knowledge learned here.

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4 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Cold War Origins

Great, in-depth explanation of the origins of the Cold War. I really appreciated all the time devoted to The Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, as they were events I was aware of, but didn't really know what happened.

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3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

An important book

What did you love best about The War State?

If you want to understand America today, you must read The War State. Swanson provides an insightful historical perspective that explains America's perennial obsession with world dominance. He answers questions such as why we maintain military bases in almost every corner of the planet, why we are more interested in maintaining a state of constant military readiness than educating our children, why we spend more on armaments than the rest of the world's nations combined, and why we are the world's predominant arms dealer.

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The History You Don't Get in School

Mind blowing information. I used to think this was just mindless propaganda but once you listen to the information and connect the dots everything makes so much sense ! Don't delay listening or reading this book.

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Too little too late?

If you could sum up The War State in three words, what would they be?

Finally The Truth

What other book might you compare The War State to and why?

Not a book, but a video available on Amazon called "9/11 - Explosive Evidence - The Experts Speak Out". Actually, to me the case is clear that that story and this one go hand in hand. We're a nation of sheep that will believe whatever our government tells us, and whatever we see presented to us on television news programs. Ask yourself how many of those news organizations are owned by parents of military contractors (eg. GE). 40% of our national budget to wage war on bearded Arabs hiding in caves? Is anyone actually THINKING out there?

What does Larry Wayne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It was a good read. No annoying habits, and read at a comfortable pace.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did in fact... two days ony because of sleep.

Any additional comments?

We're a plane crashing already. Can we pull up? Yes. Will we? After seventy years? Look what happened to John Kennedy when he tried. Sure though: Let's try. In fact, let's start by insisting on a FULL investigation of who really dropped the twin towers on 9/11. Hint: Defense spending took off after the new enemy that "can't be beat": TERRORISM!! One quote from the video mentioned earlier: "There has never been a case where a highrise building collapsed because of fire." Another? Both towers, along with building 7 fell at "freefall rate". That is, at the rate at which a ball would fall if dropped from the roof at the same time the collapse began. That's impossible with steel highrises with the lower floors still intact. WATCH THE VIDEO: READ THIS BOOK!

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Swanson weaves a careful, masterful tale

This book will radically alter your perspective on the last 70+ years of US geopolitics, and will shake up your perception of the current establishment. From the birth of the military-industrial complex, through the inception of the CIA, up to JFK's assassination, Swanson dismantles decades of imperialist, garrison-state propaganda.

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Excellent book

Origin and influence of Military - Industrial complex which is still very active and powerful...Fascinating book. A must read...Clear, to the point and informative...

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