Product Description

With What's So Great About America, Dinesh D'Souza is not asking a question, but making a statement. The former White House policy analyst and bestselling author argues that in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, American ideals and patriotism should not be things we shy away from. Instead he offers the grounds for a solid, well-considered pride in the Western pillars of "science, democracy and capitalism," while deconstructing arguments from both the political Left and political Right. As an "outsider" from India who has had amazing success in the United States, D'Souza defends not an idealized America, but America as it really is, and measures America not against an utopian ideal, but against the rest of the world in a provocative, challenging, and personal book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12762 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-27
• Released on: 2003-05-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.com
Look again at the title of this book: it's not a question, but a statement. "America is the greatest, freest, and most decent society in existence," writes Dinesh D'Souza. "American life as it is lived today [is] the best life that our world has to offer." There are those who hate it, or at least essential elements of it, from radical Islamists to the likes of Patrick Buchanan (on the right) and Jesse Jackson (on the left). But they are wrong to hate it, and D'Souza grapples with all of them in this engaging and compelling volume. D'Souza is the author of provocative books such as Illiberal Education and The End of Racism, plus the appreciative Ronald Reagan. This may be his most personal book, with parts written in the first person as the India-born D'Souza describes his encounter with the United States, first as an immigrant and now as a citizen. Foreign authors such as Alexis de Tocqueville and Gunnar Myrdal have offered some of the most penetrating assessments of America, and D'Souza clearly shares in this noble tradition. "I am constantly surprised by how much I hear racism talked about and how little I actually see it," he writes. What's So Great About America is also vintage D'Souza, full of feisty arguments and sharp humor. He is perhaps better at explaining why America's critics are wrong than explaining why America's celebrants are right, but he's very good at both. Written in the months following the September 11 terrorist strikes, this book should find a large and receptive audience. --John Miller

From Publishers Weekly
It's easy to see the appeal of D'Souza's patriotic cheerleading. A former domestic policy analyst under Reagan, he sees the world in black and white: on one side, America "the best life our world has to offer" on the other, "the enemy, which conducts its operations in the name of Islam." To his credit, D'Souza (Illiberal Education, etc.) lays out his case well, although little here is new: America, he says, is a land of opportunity and freedom (D'Souza himself immigrated to the U.S. from India), and those who oppose American policy are simply jealous. But he doesn't stop with exhortations to fellow citizens about why the war against terrorism is righteous. D'Souza, a leading conservative thinker, revels in thumbing his nose at his ideological opponents: one of his chapters is provocatively named "Two Cheers for Colonialism." In this chapter, D'Souza trumpets the science, democracy and capitalism that he believes have led the West to global supremacy. Along the way, he spares no chance to bash those who he thinks have "denigrated" America and trivialized its freedom: multiculturalists, feminists, hippies and vegetarians. For the most part, D'Souza steers clear of criticizing his fellow conservatives, and when he does, as when he lectures them about the need to combine morality with freedom, he lacks specifics. In the end, reading D'Souza's book is similar to spending an hour listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio his fellow travelers will love it; readers on the left will love to hate it.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Scholar, journalist, and former White House policy analyst D'Souza addresses the various criticisms leveled at the superpower--decadence, colonialism, and racism--and explores the reasons so many people claim to hate America. He challenges arguments for reparations to African-Americans, contrasts American colonialism with the many imperialist regimes that preceded it, and underscores how America provides its citizens choices and freedoms unknown in his native India and in most of the Third World. His arguments are as cogent as they are controversial. D'Souza reads clearly and precisely. At times, he increases his vocal intensity for dramatic effect, but his voice generally remains flat, and his precision sometimes comes across as stilted. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Always something to learn
Very interesting to get another person's point of view; especially someone who is very intelligent. What I remember most (I read it a few months ago) was that the 'American poor' is many steps up from typical Third World living. Puts things in perspective a bit.

Aught to be required reading
This book is a unique opportunity for a person to view America thru
the eyes of an intelligent perceptive man that was born in India but lived
in America for the last 35 years while working for the White House as a
policy adviser and currently has a high position in a Washington think tank.
He was raised in a culture alongside Muslims and Hindus and has a unique perspective of America's role in a turbulent dogmatic world.
This permits you to see how and why European and Islamic cultures see America as they really do and permits you to understand more deeply the
meaning of today's international headlines.
I sent it to a German friend for his take on the book.

Every person in the world should read this book.
This honest review of America as written by an author born in India should give everyone a better understanding how we as Americans try to share our values, wealth, strengths, and blessings for a better world.