Brilliant, concise and witty

Gore Vidal does it again

The flow of the book is sometimes choppy, but overall a very good book by the very talented Gore Vidal. We could use a writer of his stature in this present time. R.I.P. Gore Vidal

A little bit long winded in the middle when it starts to read like a defense of TM. Felt a bit disconnected overall.

Good and valid critiques of U.S. empire though.

I'm secretly a conspiracy theory lover, so obviously I liked this book. It was the first Gore Vidal book I've read, and I enjoyed the writing style. I might try one of those president books he's kinda known for? We'll see.

Pretty sick

Vidal really nails it, especially in how he sees that the cheap vilification of America's "enemies" shortcircuits a necessary process of self examination, and possibly even course-correction, without which the country would be doomed to repeat the past. Of course, nobody apparently listens to him, and so we're repeating the past over and over again.

I happened to buy this book just after September 11 while at school in Ireland. It's a good thing I did since it wasn't released in the States until months later, and I've heard that the American version is slightly edited. Vidal cuts right through the bull and gets the heart of what's wrong with American foreign policy. This book is well-written, informative, and intelligent. It's almost a must-read for U.S. citizens who wonder how our country got to the position it's in now.

The cover of this book in goodreads is bonkers, but the content was great. Vidal is so startlingly intelligent and irreverent, and his commentary on the United States descent into a fascist militaristic police state is horrifyingly accurate still 23 years later.

Гор Видал се бори с митовете във "Вечна война за вечен мир"
http://www.knigolandia.info/2010/02/b...

Гор Видал е съвременният Дон Кихот. Водещ загубена битка, той пише и пише срещу имперската агресия, която налагат САЩ след края на Втората световна война. Уважаван писател и доказан историк, той не може да бъде заклеймен като луд или невежа - името му е известно и думите му трябва да бъдат осмислени.

Gore Vidal was not one to shy away from expressing his views regardless of how controversial and provocative they may have been. That is why I am drawn to his writings and musings. In Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace Vidal points to militarism and countless operations as providing the inspiration for foreign and domestic terrorist attacks. At the heart of the book is Vidal's views on and correspondence with Timothy McVeigh. The reader encounters a smart individual who became disenchanted with the military during his tour of duty in the Persian Gulf and his extremism solidified with the events at Ruby Ridge and Waco, Texas. McVeigh's actions, of which Vidal does NOT condone, were a reaction to oppressive policing by the United States government. Bin Laden's reactions were in revolt against America's imperial policies. At the heart of both instances lies the constant battles waged by America's military and police forces. Rather than solve problems or curb fanaticism these operations create extremism through the innocents killed and the loss of rights from subsequent anti-terror legislation.

Having been publish 14 years ago, parts of this book are prescient. Jeremy Scahill, Andrew Bacevich, Mark Mazzetti, and other contemporary writers touch on common themes that Vidal described during the outset of the War on Terror. Some parts do drift into conspiracy theory which come off as a little looney. However, it is Vidal's boldness and unapologetic style that make this little book worth reading now and into the future as the world will be continually shaped by America's foreign and domestic security policies and the numerous operations that are conducted throughout the world.

A very sarcastic and informative book by Vidal. It maybe boring to some people who read it, but it's an eye opening book making readers realize what is REALLY going on in our government/society.

As it may not be my type of book, it was nice to read it for my class because I did learn a lot from it.

I would recommend this for people who have FULL and UNHEALTHY faith on their Government.



*Overall Book Rating: 2.5 out of 5

What can I say? Caustic, brilliant, wise - a small treasure.

It's worth having this book for the extensive timeline Vidal created to show how many wars the US has waged.