A discomfiting reminder that the brain is often mightier than the sword.
Disturbing accounts of three little-known figures in three rival governments working to make their nations great.
“Their main tools are not fighter jets, battle tanks, or even infantry soldiers,” writes international security expert Jones, “but hackers, spies, special operations forces, and private military companies with clandestine links to state security agencies.” Delving deeply into Russian, Persian, and Mandarin documents (a tactic that U.S. intelligence services largely neglect), the author focuses on Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russian chief of the general staff; Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani (d. 2020); and Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission. All have acknowledged that a hot war with America—in their minds an aggressive power seeking world domination—would be disastrous, and all learned from the expensive failures of the American strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have also blamed U.S. subversion for the “color” revolutions that overthrew dictators across the Middle East. Gerasimov engineered the annexation of Crimea and crippled the infrastructure of Ukraine with cyberattacks, and he continues to spread turmoil in the U.S. via massive hacking and social media disinformation campaigns. America’s generous gift—invading Iraq—greatly helped Soleimani in his goal of making Iran the Middle East’s dominant power. American leaders heralded the 2020 drone attack that killed him as a great victory, but the U.S. has a long history of announcing victory in the region. Although representing a nation vastly more powerful than Russia or Iran, Zhang Youxia oversees a similarly intense campaign of propaganda, espionage, and economic warfare. An astute analyst of complex global affairs, Jones reminds us that the U.S. won the Cold War when populations in the Soviet Union and its satellites rose up against tyranny—and Americans officials encouraged them. Back then, the government invested in language skills and expertise to better understand the enemies and tempt their often restive citizens with the liberties and prosperity they lacked.
A discomfiting reminder that the brain is often mightier than the sword.Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-324-00620-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorker staff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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