A thoughtful appreciation of the gap between rhetoric and reality that opens when the US is challenged by terrorists. At the outset, Turner (director of the CIA during the Carter Administration) notes that American Presidents have been obliged to deal with offshore extortionists for nearly two centuries, i.e., since Jefferson dispatched a ragtag expedition in 1805 to rescue 307 US citizens held captive by pirates in the Barbary State of Tripoli. In light of latter-day crises from the Pueblo to TWA Flight 847 (which he examines in some detail), Turner effectively puts paid to the perdurable notion that the federal government does not treat with terrorists. Notwithstanding stated policy, he shows that most chief executives have engaged in some sort of negotiations to secure the release of American prisoners when faced with a hostage situation. At the heart of the text is an extended post-mortem on the 1979-80 confrontation that pitted the US against Iran in the wake of the Shah's ouster. Calling on his own deep involvement in the prolonged efforts to free American diplomats held hostage by Islamic militants, Turner provides an insider's reflective insights on what went wrong and why along a weary, humiliating way. He also offers shrewd critiques of the Reagan Administration's generally dismal record in head-to-head encounters with global terrorists. In closing, the author evaluates the options available to democracies forced to consider the often irrational demands and grievances of hijackers, murderers, or other outlaws with a cause. His short list of ten possibilities ranges from assassination through punitive military attacks, improved intelligence, covert action, economic sanctions, and legal recourse. An instructive briefing that makes a persuasive, if understated, case for pragmatism over principle.
Pub Date: June 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-395-43086-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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