Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, by Jimmy Carter (2006)

The former president, who has been engaged in Middle East politics for nearly 35 years, casts a spotlight on the ongoing conflict between Israel and her neighboring states. While Carter acknowledges that there has been tension in this region since the beginning of recorded history, he ties most of the current conflict to the 1967 Six-Days War and its aftermath.

It was this round of hostilities that resulted in Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights, the West Bank and other territories. Carter turns repeatedly to U.N. Resolution 242, passed six months after the Six-Day War, which calls for the “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict.”

The same resolution calls for “termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty… of every State in the area and their right to live in peace…” In other words, it asserts the right of Israel to exist. But Carter cites what are, in his view, numerous Israeli violations of Resolution 242 and subsequent decrees. The end results of these actions have been to geographically and economically isolate the Palestinian people, and to stall the peace process. At the same time, Israeli civilians have continued to settle in occupied lands, which has further fanned the flames of hatred and distrust between the two sides.

The former president describes the multi-pronged offensive Israel has waged against her neighbors as often excessive. With American military backing and the U.S.’ permanent presence on the U.N. Security Council, Carter challenges Americans who have tended to look the other way when Israel ignored international agreements. While the view of Israel as a Goliath in this sensitive region is more common in Europe and much of the Middle East, it’s clear that a number of American critics took issue with this charge by the former president.

Whether or not one agrees with the author’s conclusions, Carter’s short book is an excellent brief history of the conflict in the region and should be required reading for anyone looking to gain a better understanding of this troubled land. Highly recommended.

Strapped

Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead, by Tamara Draut (2006)

Draut, a fellow at Dēmos, a New York City-based think tank, describes the challenges facing the age group often referred as Generation X. Her book paints a dismal economic picture for today’s 20- and 30-somethings.

The author describes a debt-for-diploma system that has not only required students to take out large loans but has priced college out of reach for many. The average student now graduates with $20,000 in debt, a figure that rises to $45,000 for those who chose to go to graduate school. This economic reality stands in stark contrast to that of the World War II and Baby Boomer generations, who were more likely to obtain federal grants and graduate with little or no debt.

Today’s generation often accumulates more than student loan debt. Draut describes how deregulation in the credit card industry has led to a new wave of credit offers to those who are younger and less financially secure. The author describes a generation that relies increasingly on credit cards to finance car repairs and other emergency expenses.

Draut describes the phenomenon of dwindling pay for workers in her chapter “Paycheck Paralysis.” With a large percentage of today’s women in the workforce, the author expounds on the fact that it now takes two incomes to reach the major milestones of home ownership and having a child even as these goals could be accomplished with one income forty years ago.

After devoting the first three quarters of her book to describing these economic challenges, Draut explores why this generation doesn’t demand more of their government in helping them live a better life. Former president Ronald Reagan’s influence and his insistence that “government isn’t the solution, it is the problem,” are cited as major reasons that today’s 18 to 34-year-olds are more likely to blame themselves for their shortcomings than to point to failing public policy.

The author often refers to the stereotypes of Generation X as being slackers at the office and as being irresponsible with their money, although she rarely tells her reader from where these criticisms originate. Even so, Draut has told a story that many younger readers will find all too familiar. Although her book is long on describing problems and short on solutions, it is an engaging read. Strongly recommended.

Thura's Diary

Thura's Diary: My Life in Wartime Iraq, by Thura Al-Windawi (2004)

Less than a week before the American invasion of Iraq, 19-year-old Thura Al-Windawi began writing her thoughts about what was happening to herself, her family, and her country. She somehow managed to write almost every day for next two months, at the same time coalition forces swiftly gained control of Baghdad and the rest of Iraq. It was also during this time that her family fled from their home in the heart of Baghdad for the countryside, although they were able to return in the weeks after the defeat of Saddam's Army.

In spite of the Iraqi propaganda machine, Thura is well aware of the political situation within her country. When, after the arrival of coalition forces in the capital the Information Minister claims that the Americans are losing, it is obvious to everyone that they are not. The young woman laments the loss of her people and their homeland.

As is well known now, the American occupation doesn’t lead to a more stable Iraq, and Thura finds her life after Saddam as uncertain as it was before. As time goes on, she finds herself able to go out even less than before the conflict, as emboldened extremists begin to detain women who don’t completely cover their bodies; it is not uncommon women to be captured and even killed. Al-Windawi's anger shifts from the Americans toward her own countrymen in the midst of the looting and destruction of the country’s greatest treasures.

Of course, Thura is most concerned with her own family throughout this tumultuous account. The clan’s situation is especially difficult as her younger sister is diabetic and needs insulin. Much of Thura’s time is spent helping her mother clean the walls of soot left by oil fires that blanket the city. She expresses her desire to go out and help her neighbors, which is now an impossible task. Above all, Thura wants to return to some sense of normalcy.

Al-Windawi’s diary is a poignant firsthand account of life in Iraq during the war. While there are a few descriptions of the horrors of war, there’s nothing here that is too upsetting for the recommended age group of eighth grade and up. Younger readers should be able to deal with the material as well, with some adult supervision.

Ahmad's War, Ahmad's Peace

Ahmad's War, Ahmad's Peace: Surviving Under Saddam, Dying in the New Iraq, by Michael Goldfarb (2005)

This book is Goldfarb's tribute to the late Ahmad Shawkat, a Kurdish translator who worked with the author when he was covering the war in Iraq for WBUR radio. A London-based reporter for the American public radio station, Goldfarb first met Shawkat shortly before the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.

Shawkat was more than a man who knew the language. As an intellectual, he had moved in revolutionary circles for many years, agitating against Hussein's government. He had been captured, imprisoned and tortured on a couple of occasions and had once even met the dictator. As a Kurd, he rejected the sectarian leanings of many of his own people in favor of a single, unified nation. As Goldfarb explains, Shawkat was uniquely qualified not only to translate words but to provide context to what the reporter was seeing and hearing on the streets of a new Iraq.

The first section of the book follows the two men as Goldfarb reports on the war. (His dispatches can be heard on WBUR's Inside Out web site.) The last section is the story of Shawkat's tragic death at the hands of an assassin and the months after when the author returns to the war-torn country. The middle section, Ahmad's Life, is the author's reconstruction of his translator's life story. From his early years as a bookish boy through college and into adulthood, Shawkat was a man who never stopped searching for answers.

Goldfarb's view on the war itself may surprise some readers. Although he is very critical of the Bush administration's handling of the post-war situation, the reporter initially supported U.S. action there in the belief that the Iraqi people could be freed. He and Ahmad speak about this shared belief at length, alternately dreaming of the future and despairing as the country falls into chaos and internal strife in the months after the fall of Saddam's army.

Michael Goldfarb describes the qualities he looks for in a translator. Often, he writes, he cannot find all of those things in one person. In Ahmad Shawkat, he finds a scholar, an intellectual, a writer, a patriot and at the end a close friend. Goldfarb tells a remarkable story, which could be difficult to read due to the fact that one knows how it ends. In spite of this, he produces a moving, poignant read from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Originally reviewed 2/20/2006

War on the Middle Class

War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back, by Lou Dobbs (2006)

As the title suggests, Dobbs takes aim at a number of politicians and institutions in this short volume. The author provides a straightforward account of the process that has led to the exportation of jobs and entire industries from the United States to cheaper labor markets. Dobbs also spotlights immigration policy and health care as major issues that are sorely in need of reform.

Readers looking for an account that picks sides among political parties are likely to be disappointed. In Dobbs' view, both major parties are equally responsible for ethical lapses, and for contributing to the squeeze on the American middle class. The author suggests that more voters follow his lead by changing their party registration to Independent.

But in places, Dobbs’ unwillingness to criticize one side of the ledger and favor another is confusing. One of the better examples of this is when the author lists the eight major conglomerates, which own nearly every major voice in American media. After detailing the mammoth holdings of companies such as Viacom, General Electric, Time Warner and NewsCorp, he assails the media as too liberal. His evidence for this charge is the often-repeated statistic that a large majority of news reporters identify themselves as Democrats. While this is an interesting statistic it’s hard to believe that this factors into news reportage to near the extent as the widespread corporate control over American media.

In spite of these flaws, one is hard pressed not to credit Dobbs with writing a salient account of several key issues that constitute a threat to the middle class. The author writes with conviction and clarity on several important matters before the country. While his book is short on solutions, it has the potential to educate readers on some of the major forces in American life.

Terri: The Truth

Terri: The Truth, by Michael Schiavo with Michael Hirsh (2006)

The right-to-die issue is an emotional topic for many and it would be hard for some to find this book by Terri Schiavo's husband and not have some bias even before they scan the title page. In the interest of full disclosure, this reviewer agreed with Michael Schiavo's decision to remove his wife's feeding tube before having read the book. Those who agree strongly with Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, are fairly warned.

In 1990, Terri Schiavo collapsed in her home and experienced cardiac arrest. The 26 year old fell into a coma for ten weeks and was diagnosed several years later as being in a persistent vegetative state.

In 1992, Michael pursued a malpractice trial against two of his wife's former physicians on the grounds that they should have diagnosed his wife with bulimia and recommended a course of treatment. (Terri had weighed as much as 250 pounds as a teenager but had thinned considerably prior to meeting Michael. At the time of Terri's collapse, her weight had plummeted to 110 pounds.) Michael Schiavo writes that the Schindlers supported Michael in his legal action, and had to this point never voiced any concerns about how Michael had cared for their daughter since her collapse.

According to Schiavo's account, it was only after Bob Schindler confronted Michael about the settlement money on Valentine's Day 1993 that Michael's relationship with his in-laws took an ugly turn. Michael claims that Bob felt entitled to some of the settlement money that had largely been allotted for his daughter's care.

After the Schindlers' unsuccessful bid to assume their daughter's guardianship, years of feuding between Michael and his in-laws followed. In the meantime, Terri's condition did not change in any discernible way. Michael's decision to remove his wife's feeding tube in 1998 set off a flurry of court filings, appeals, and 11th-hour legislation that he details in his book.

Michael writes that this work is not a legal analysis of the many court decisions - although there is ample detail provided - rather it is the story of what he went through as a man, as Terri's husband, during these years. Given the furor exhibited by right-wing talk radio and even the U.S. Congress' passage of "Terri's Law," I believe Mr. Schiavo when he writes that he received death threats and other forms of intimidation during the many years he tried to carry out what he believed were his wife's wishes.

After all he's been through, it's understandable when Michael comes off as bitter but one thing he is not in this book is glib. He meticulously details his efforts to care for Terri, a point corroborated by one facility which dubbed him the "nursing administrator's worst nightmare."

As one can imagine, a debate with this level of passion will contain an abundance of attacks and counterpunches. The Schindlers asserted that tests indicating trauma to Terri's body in 1991 provided evidence of physical abuse. On the other hand, Michael claimed that the Schindlers wanted his wife's malpractice settlement to save their own shaky finances. Even so, to agree with the Schindler family after reading this book, one would have to ignore the scientific fact that Terri's cerebral cortex had completely liquefied, meaning that Terri had no hunger or thirst impulse, she was blind, and that she was not in any pain. One would also have to dismiss the rulings of a dozen court hearings, which all ruled that Michael Schiavo had the right to stop the artificial feeding that was keeping Terri alive. Most importantly, one would have to dismiss the right of a loved one or power-of-attorney to choose to stop treatment when it is clear that there is no hope of recovery.

This provocative book deserves to be read by persons on all sides of the right-to-die debate. Unfortunately, it may likely be shunned by many because of their preconceived notions toward the subject matter. The Schindlers have written their own book, A Life That Matters: The Legacy of Terri Schiavo. Books @ LP will review this volume in the coming months.