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TERROR AND DEMOCRACY

Name: TERROR AND DEMOCRACY
Author: Stansfield Turner
ISBN: 0-395-43086-0

by Stansfield Turner ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1991

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
BURN BEFORE READING
by Stansfield Turner

- BOOK REVIEW
CAGING THE NUCLEAR GENIE
by Stansfield Turner

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.