Leah asked me to review this book, and after reading it through a first time, I'm now going slowly through it a second, highlighting quotes I'd like to use in the final review. But in the meantime, there's so much good about the book that it's hard to decide what to use in a review.
Regardless of your feelings about the U.S., this book points out why America evokes such mixed feelings. There's a quote from Dennis Miller (Americans know him as a sharp-tongued comedian) that opens the book, and it couldn't be said better:
"We're simultaneously the most loved, feared, admired and hated nation in the world. In short, we're Frank Sinatra."
I strongly recommend the book. But to give it a true review, I don't think I have time before I leave for the States for Christmas.
However, in the "Introduction: Greetings From the Capital of the World" section, it opens with this, which most Americans can relate to:
"On that bright, beautiful September morning when terrorists flew airliners into the World Trade Center, I stood, aghast, on the far bank of the mighty Hudson River that borders Manhattan's West Side, watching the towers--the very incarnation of American industry and the American Dream--wreathed in smoke and flame. The world rallied to America the day the towers fell, and for a few brief months it seemed as if there was no Them and Us, just the bad guys and all the rest of us. It didn't last, of course."
There is so much positive to say about this book that I will write a LONG review when I get back: It's not all pro-America; in fact, it points out the problems other countries have with the U.S.
Anyway, more to come, but the author's name is Louis Chunovic, the publisher is Sanctuary Publishing, it costs £9.99 in the UK ($14.99 in the U.S.), and it's well worth reading, regardless of whether you like or dislike the States.
Suzanne
