The British coauthor of the failed Vance-Owen peace plan for the former Yugoslavia provides a personal and opinionated chronicle of his endeavors to reach a peace, laying primary blame on the Americans for pursuing a policy of ``power without responsibility.'' Lord Owen, a seasoned and maverick politician, had faced many challenges in his career prior to accepting Cyrus Vance's request in 1992 to cochair peace negotiations for the former Yugoslavia. Indeed, he was known for taking on insurmountable tasks. What some referred to as ``Mission Impossible''—negotiating a Balkan peace- -was for Owen an irresistible challenge. It also becomes clear that this was an unusual odyssey, both humbling and infuriating, in which Owen was confronted with a ``physical callousness of action'' as well as a ``callousness of mind.'' Balkan Odyssey provides an insider's view and a painstakingly detailed picture of the two men's exhausting dealings with Balkan leaders and other parties. The account rarely departs from the conflict's diplomatic side and will not satisfy those looking for a discussion of the ground war or human suffering. Instead it charts the various stages of negotiations, with individual chapters on the Vance-Owen Peace Plan (which would have divided Bosnia-Herzegovina into ten provinces), the EU Action Plan, and the Contact Group. Despite the Vance-Owen Peace Plan's failure, Owen is convinced that it remains the fairest and best solution possible, and that ``delay has meant a progressively worse peace for the Muslims.'' Among Owen's controversial opinions is his view that the US should not have pushed for recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina without the prior presence of a UN Prevention Force, and he insists that ``there are no Chamberlains or Daladiers depicted in this book''—self-defense against cries of appeasement leveled at him. Essential reading for historians and serious students of both the Balkan crisis and diplomacy in the postCold War world. (Author tour)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100221-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1995
A thoughtful, well-presented argument about an issue many people face.
A doctor’s manifesto about terminally ill patients’ right to die.
While many Americans believe that the terminally ill should be able to choose to end their lives, the medical profession, the courts and the government mostly remain beholden to traditional and religious beliefs about the sanctity of life. Preston, a medical professor for more than 20 years, argues that it is time to re-evaluate those ethics in light of today’s technology and its ability to prolong life beyond its natural course. The author writes that confusion and misconception pervade most discussions about aid in dying. He distinguishes "patient-directed dying" or "aid in dying" from terms like "physician-assisted suicide” or "euthanasia." In his analysis, the word "suicide" should not apply to someone who is dying with no hope of recovery. Euthanasia, on the other hand, refers to someone other than the patient administering a lethal drug. Patient-directed dying is when a terminally ill individual is able to request and obtain a prescription for medication to end his or her life, under guidelines set to guard against abuse. Through four composite stories based on situations Preston has witnessed from counseling terminally ill patients and their families, he reveals the suffering caused by prohibitions against patient-directed dying. He adds that doctors must be more willing to care for patients when curing them is no longer possible, and recognize that exhausting every medical treatment, no matter how slim the chances of success, often just prolongs suffering. Preston states his case persuasively, illustrates the need for patient-directed dying as an option, counters arguments often made against it and suggests compromises to address concerns on both sides of the debate.
A thoughtful, well-presented argument about an issue many people face.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 1936
ISBN: 978-1-58348-461-2
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This competent biography of California senator Feinstein, who in November will be up for reelection, hews to the new archetype in political drama: It's the tale of the child who triumphs over the dysfunctions of family life and grows up to become an influential public figure. Roberts, editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, offers a tepid round-up of Feinstein's life and career. He sketches Feinstein's parents, a successful doctor and an abusive mother, and suggests that in childhood Feinstein learned to transform emotional pain into ambition. After Stanford, Dianne Goldman returned home to San Francisco in 1956, began learning politics, and eloped with lawyer Jack Berman. Divorced within three years, she raised a daughter, developed her political profile as a member of the state parole board for women, and found lasting love with neurosurgeon Bert Feinstein. In 1969, she won election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, casting her crusade—as throughout her career, the author notes aptly—``in terms that threatened neither men nor the status quo.'' Insecure and imperious, Democrat Feinstein gained a reputation as a ``paradoxical liberal'' (most notably by abandoning her opposition to the death penalty). In 1978 her husband died, San Francisco was rocked by the Jonestown tragedy, and Supervisor Dan White assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. Feinstein became acting mayor, and her stewardship lasted nine years, earning her a national reputation. She lost the 1990 race for governor to Pete Wilson but rebounded in 1992, when she was elected to fill out Wilson's uncompleted Senate term. She won on the strength of her campaign style, big spending, and the postAnita Hill ``Year of the Woman'' campaign of the Democratic National Committee. Though Feinstein once aspired to be president, she now says the Senate's high enough. Indeed, this book, though mainly respectful, should not garner her new acolytes. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen) ($50,000 ad/promo; author tour)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-06-258508-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1994
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