Product Description

When Gore Vidal's recent New York Times bestseller Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace was published, the Los Angeles Times described Vidal as the last defender of the American republic. In Dreaming War, Vidal continues this defense by confronting the Cheney-Bush junta head on in a series of devastating essays that demolish the lies American Empire lives by, unveiling a counter-history that traces the origins of America's current imperial ambitions to the experience of World War Two and the post-war Truman doctrine. And now, with the Cheney-Bush leading us into permanent war, Vidal asks whose interests are served by this doctrine of pre-emptive war? Was Afghanistan turned to rubble to avenge the 3,000 slaughtered on September 11? Or was "the unlovely Osama chosen on aesthetic grounds to be the frightening logo for our long contemplated invasion and conquest of Afghanistan?" After all he was abruptly replaced with Saddam Hussein once the Taliban were overthrown. And while "evidence" is now being invented to connect Saddam with 9/11, the current administration are not helped by "stories in the U.S. press about the vast oil wealth of Iraq which must- for the sake of the free world- be reassigned to U.S. consortiums."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #412900 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Long before the events of September 11, Vidal's place was secured as a prolific preacher against America's imperialist policies. At age 76, he uses his exceptional talents to produce bound collections of his controversial essays and op-eds. However, this latest creation lacks the eloquence and grace that previously distinguished him from other writers in their attempts to uncover the hidden truths within our American republic. Vidal calls for a more thorough investigation into the response, or lack thereof, from the "Cheney-Bush junta" on September 11 and purports that corporate greed and American imperialism have been the driving themes behind our new war on terror. He explores the oil connections that Osama bin Laden's family established with Bush during his tenure as an oil magnate in Texas and implores us to probe further into America's real interest in conquering Afghanistan. According to Vidal, America's media elite perform the government's dirty work by spreading disinformation-including about Vidal himself-to the general public. As a result, Vidal spends much of this book refuting attacks from the mainstream media that portray him as anti-American, although his unabashed style gives readers final say in drawing their own conclusion. Regardless, faithful fans of Vidal will revel in his relentless adoration of Jeffersonian ideals and courageous dissection of the evil roots of American foreign policy.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
We've all heard 9/11 compared to Pearl Harbor, but in one of the essays in this provocative and thoughtful collection, America's great literary dissenter finds deeper links. Both were seemingly inexplicable surprise attacks, but, Vidal argues, the "Cheney/Bush" (in that order, he assures us) "junta" knew 9/11 was coming as surely as FDR knew the Japanese would attack American interests in the Pacific. And just as Pearl Harbor got America into World War II, Cheney and Bush gleefully used 9/11 to begin a long war against enemies who just so happen to live amidst the oil reserves coveted by our executive branch (themselves former oil barons). Vidal backs his argument up with a stunning array of evidence culled from books, scholarly articles, and even the popular media he so despises. The essays on the so-called junta are, in and of themselves, worth the price of admission, but also included here are 10 Vidal articles published over the last decade, which discuss how, in the wake of World War II, America completely abandoned its republic for an imperial police state engaged in perpetual war. Vidal's talent for invigorating his polemics with lively prose and fierce wit (he describes Spiro Agnew as "Vice President to Richard Nixon and bribe-taker to many") shines throughout, and though some of the essays are dated, Vidalian vitriol never seems to go out of style. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A pleasure for those convinced of the present ruling elite's deep-seated flaws and deeper evils . . . tasty food for thought." -- Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2002

"Expect another bestseller." -- Publishers Weekly, January 27, 2003

Customer Reviews

The Hobo Philosopher
Mr. Vidal, well known and much despised by many on the right, makes the case of "conspiracy" within the present Bush administration. He points out the major oil connections of all the main players - Rice, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush Sr., Bush Jr. and others. He explains the Bush connection to Osama ben Laden and Al Quida. He links a possible 911 conspiracy to the historical conspiracy traditions - Pearl Harbor and FDR and Wilson and World War I. He connects oil to Afghanistan (Unocal pipe line) and to a "possible" invasion of Iraq. He tells of the training of the Taliban and Al Quida by the Reagan administration and the American Special Forces and the CIA. He goes on and on and on - and from what I can see many of his claims with regards to the present Bush and his administration have now been exposed as fact by even the main stream media.
I wouldn't have said everything exactly the same way but on the whole Mr. Vidal has it pretty much as I see it also. He hit the Military Industrial Complex right on the head and even mentions the fact that we do live in a socialist state - it is just that it is only for corporate America and the super rich and needlessly wealthy. This is good "liberal" political science. Conservatives won't be reading this book no matter what it has to say, I'm sure. this is an easy book to read. Mr. Vidal doesn't mince any words. He says it as he see it. Sometimes he see it a little exaggerated for me but yet his conclusions are right in line, I would say.

eh...
Boilerplate rhetoric about how the US is the global policeman and no longer a republic but an empire. We've heard it all before...yawn...

And I even agree!

Thought provoking......
I thought this latest collection of Mr. Vidal's work was timely and well worth the read. I applaud his bluntness and 'tell it like it is' attitude concerning the U.S. and it's push for world domination. This book will be interesting to anyone who is searching for an alternative view as to what is going on in our crazy, sordid post 9/11 world. Highly recommended.