Strictly for the cynic
REMOVE ROSE COLOURED GLASSES BEFORE READING
This author excels when carrying out a character assassination of a political figure; American presidents seem to be his favourite. The book functions at a number of different levels and is clearly aimed at encouraging the American public to understand the basic flaws in the so-called Democratic system . Although the book deals in detail with the American government system; the analysis and criticism functions equally well for Britain. Both countries take a different path, but end up at the same point; with regards the functionability of the democratic system. There are academic definitions of the various types of governments systems and comparisons between them. However this is not a boring academic discussion ; it is a well reasoned and well thought out trashing of the political hype surrounding the American political system. Much of the cynicism in this book is no more than we have learned from newspaper editorials; what this book does is to join all the segments and present democracy as one big farce. After reading this book you will begin to understand how presidents and prime ministers can turn themselves into a 'head of state' or even dictator and nobody will lift a finger to stop them. The case histories are all in the past; but the analysis allows you to apply this information to current events such as the Iraq war. There is a section of the book where the author attacks the lawlessness of the 'law abiding citizen'. The author presents lots of data; then seems to be unable to do anything with it. Although the author clearly thinks the general public are a bunch of hoodlums, he seems unwilling to openly say so; presumably he does not want to offend his book-buying public. At the end of the book there is a explanation of this strange relationship between American white and black races. Yes , certainly Britain has racism but not on the scale and depth as America. This is the best insight I have read into the workings of the sleazy corrupt government systems in Britain and America; if someone has written a better one, I would love to read it.
