A sweeping indictment that claims that America's political, military, and economic ties to Israel have obstructed the path to peace and run counter to both countries' interests. The authors—father George (The Past Has Another Pattern, 1982, etc.), a former undersecretary of state, and son Douglas (Financial Failure and Confederate Defeat, 1990—not reviewed)- -charge that Israeli leaders, through much of their nation's history, have subjected the American government to ``a mirage of untruths and bureaucratic obfuscation.'' Except for Eisenhower, who forced David Ben-Gurion to pull troops out of the Sinai during the Suez crisis, US Presidents have backed off from pressuring this US ally after initial protests against settlement policy or lack of military restraint (e.g., during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon). The authors' moral balance-scale sometimes seems unfairly stacked here: Arab terrorism, briefly mentioned, is labeled self-defeating, while Israeli attacks, explored in depth, are deemed attempts to wrest a people of their land, in violation of international law. Still, the Balls score points in arguing that America's ``passionate attachment'' (the phrase comes from Washington's farewell address) is imposing mounting costs, both fiscal ($3-4 billion in annual aid) and moral (Israel regularly defies Washington's attempt to slow the international arms bazaar). As recounted here, the Jonathan Pollard spy case, Israel's 1967 attack on the Liberty, and the nation's legal mistreatment of Arabs in the occupied territories are shocking, as is the authors' detailing of how leery US politicians are of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC (in his presidential campaign, Walter Mondale returned five $1,000 checks from Arab-Americans to avoid offending this powerful group). Often too lenient on the Arab part in this deadly stalemate- -but a frequently convincing call for a new Middle East diplomacy, shorn of cold-war tensions and reconciling Israeli security with Palestinian desire for a homeland. (Maps & tables—not seen.)
Pub Date: Nov. 16, 1992
ISBN: 0-393-02933-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1992
Proves without a doubt that even masters of the universe sometimes lose their heads, and then their shirts.
Knowing inside account of the major media conglomerates’ efforts to embrace and profit from the ’90s dot.com boom.
As the New York Post’s first computer/Internet columnist, Motavalli had a ringside seat while Disney, Time Warner, News Corp., and others tripped over themselves to get on board the emerging Internet phenomenon. With little certainty about what the successful and manageable applications of the World Wide Web would be, media corporations and their leaders nonetheless rushed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars so as not to get left behind. They helped create the dot.com bubble of inflated salaries and unlimited expectations that burst so mercilessly in 2000–01. Motavalli, who admits being swept up like everyone else in the initial euphoria, narrates with an intimate feel for the year-by-year developments: the promises and glorious optimism of a dawning technological age, the maneuvering moguls and CEOs, the media executives who doubled their income by switching to the dot.com start-ups, and the chilling reality bath that awaited all. AOL’s Steve Case, Time Warner’s Bob Pittman and Gerald Levin, John F. Kennedy Jr. of George, Time magazine’s Walter Isaacson, and iVillage’s Candace Carpenter are among the many prime movers whose trajectories are analyzed here. Some big winners emerge (AOL, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo), but more common is the fate of one Internet-related stock that fell from $150 to just $3 per share. Motavalli sees this not solely as a tale of greed and ambition run wild, but a telling parable of the herd mentality; when it appears the wheel has been reinvented, everyone wants to go along for the ride, even though the ultimate destination is unknown. Well-researched and dense with names, dates, meetings, and numbers, the author’s recollections may provide more information than most will be willing to download, but he convincingly captures the boardroom machinations of this extraordinary era.
Proves without a doubt that even masters of the universe sometimes lose their heads, and then their shirts.Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2002
ISBN: 0-670-89980-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2002
An openly liberal polemic, but nevertheless a brilliant summary of the important legal trends of the last 20 years.
Prominent New York lawyer and television commentator Garbus (Tough Talk, 1998, etc.) lucidly examines the threat he sees developing from an increasingly conservative judicial system.
Since 1980, Republicans have controlled the legal system more and more, the author contends. Reagan's Supreme Court appointments and the ascendancy of the Federalist Society, founded in 1982 and now the country's most powerful legal organization, have succeeded in reversing the liberal Warren Court’s decisions. Although Miranda v. Arizona (1966) guaranteed constitutional protections to criminal suspects, 60 related cases have subsequently been decided with only two rulings benefiting the defendant. In Atwater v. City of Lago Vista (2001), Gail Atwater, driving with two infants in her car, was arrested, handcuffed, and jailed for a seatbelt violation. Bringing her suit to the high court, she lost on grounds that policemen cannot immediately tell whether a suspect is jailable. Chief Justice Rehnquist openly opposes the Court's decision in Roe v. Wade (1973), which granted women a legal right to an abortion, and in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989) and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Robert P. Casey (1992), he came only one vote short of denying women that right. Any nominee of George W. Bush will probably reverse the 5-4 decision. For 30 years, asserts Garbus, the religious right has successfully pressed to blur the separation of church and state. In Mitchell v. Holmes, argued in 1999, the Court voted 6-3 to uphold a Louisiana law that permitted the state to loan computers and books to parochial schools. Dissenters Souter, Stevens, and Ginsburg saw the implicit danger that religious schools could benefit from taxpayer money. Garbus reviews cases covering environmental issues, employee rights, affirmative action, and federal versus state sovereignty. His portraits of the nine justices are most scathing in the cases of hardhearted Rehnquist and incompetent Thomas. He concludes by urging his allies to fight the present prevailing powers.
An openly liberal polemic, but nevertheless a brilliant summary of the important legal trends of the last 20 years.Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2002
ISBN: 0-8050-6918-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2002
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