Theater of War: In Which the Republic Becomes an Empire

by Lewis H. Lapham

Book Overview

Nothing will be the same after September 11th. This is the wisdom, offered and widely received since the announcement of the war on terrorism: a permanent war declared on both an unknown enemy and an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565848470
• ISBN13: 9781565848474
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: New Press
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

The war at home and abroad

Theater of War is a collection of 19 essays previously printed in Harper's magazine, written by the Harper's editor. They are arranged in chronological order, starting in October 2000 and ending in June 2003. (The introductory essay, written just for this book, is dated July 2003).The essays begin with Gore and Bush running for president, and end with the US occupation of Iraq. In between, Lapham covers the Clintons leaving office, Giuliani and museums, recruiting for the CIA, conservatives trying to red-bait university professors, preparing for the invasion of Iraq, imperial arrogance, Bush's religious fanaticism, marketing the war on terrorism, and the White House promoting fear and consumerism.Throughout the book, Lapham touches on two themes that are laid down in the introduction: (1) the "script" that politicians and the media follow like slaves, presenting the world as if it was a Hollywood film, and (2) the US as an arrogant imperial power, a modern version of Rome.The best thing about the book is Lewis Lapham's writing style. He's taken great care to make each sentence quotable, but the words flow. It's a very easy book to read (I read it in a day without effort) but none of it is casual or padded out. These essays give the reader a wise view of the key political events of the last few years. I highly recommend this book.

Lewis Lapham: Brilliant, Erudite, Thoroughly Entertaining

Lewis Lapham is, hands down, the country's most original, articulate, and well-informed essayist, political pundit, social commentator, and general utility naysayer. If you don't enjoy this book, you're probably devoting a disproportionate amount of time listening to Rush Limbaugh, watching the Fox News Channel, and believing the stuff President Bush is telling you. Stay away if you're intimidated by sophisticated thinking and analysis, or if you're convinced Bill O'Reilly is some sort of intellectual powerhouse.

A brief rejoinder

So we have the NY reader who gives Lapham 1 star. The typical right wing rabies we have splattered all over the "liberal" media in the persons of Novaks, Coulters, Horowitzes, Wills, Limbaughs, and on and on ad brain-dead nauseum: Quick-fire character assassination; accusations galore wrapped in an illiterate flag; cute epithets, primer-school-level sarcasm, oh so clever "in" advice ("take a sick day, pal" - how long did it take to think up that one?); snarling, relentless, fire-belching hatred; and absolutely no examination of the factual matter nor any analysis of content whatsoever. When God is so deep and warm in your pants, I guess such things as care or probity are unnecessary. Mr Lapham has done us all a thoughtful and alarm-provoking service. I urge you to get this book, but will not expand on the thoughtful and detailed reviews offered below this identity-hiding potty mouth, lest that detain you from the pleasure of their efforts. I only urge you to scroll down, enjoy the offerings of those who at least read with a portion of their cerebellum in critical flow, and make your comparative judgments. Your efforts will not go unrewarded. And America - and the world - will be the better for it.

An Important Voice in a Crucial Period

Harper's Magazine editor Lewis Lapham is providing to his period of history what Thomas Paine contributed to the crucial final 25 years of the eighteenth century, intelligent dissent intent on generating needed change. His "Theater of War" sounds an alarm against draconian measures such as the Patriot Act with its suffocating Orwellian overtones. In the aftermath of 9-11, when 3,000 lives of Americans were tragically lost, the U.S. government launched bombing assaults in Afghanistan which left 3,500 Afghan peasants dead. Lewis Lapham is the kind of American who mourns the deaths of the Afghan peasants as well as those lives tragically lost in 9-11. He seeks to get a fix on a runaway presidency in which pre-emptive strikes are offered as a policy option, all too often ignoring the consequences of such a posture internationally. It is time to reassess our policy priorities and Lapham's is a dissenting voice providing constructive input into that vital arena.Lapham recognizes, and stresses repeatedly, the need for examining the ultimate consequences of today's actions. The peasants who die in a foreign land must be remembered today. The impoverished who remain alive need positive reinforcement, as the Good Neighbor Policy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Alliance for Progress of John F. Kennedy provided. The rhetoric needs to be cooled, discussion needs to prevail over aggression, and purposeful policy positions addressing the issues of international conflict as well as poverty need to be advanced with a clear voice. As Lapham asserts, a Big Stick policy will only backfire in the long run as America becomes increasingly hated. He suggests a much better road to travel.

well-written critical look at events before and after 9/11

This small book contains the exquisitely written prose of a man prone to ask serious questions about the state of American democracy and military response to 9/11. The author points out less-than-obvious peculiarities of public life: if corporations are free to plunder the environment, why are private citizens not free to express themselves through art without fear of censorship ? Why are dissenting viewpoints given scant attention by a press that considers itself the vanguard of a free democacy?I cannot recommend this little tome highly enough!