shock doctrine-
i've read a lotta good books lately, and more than my share of bad. won't mention the bad (too many words already..), but 'tree of smoke' by denis johnson one great book i've missed mentioning. and every once in a while comes a book that.just.changes.things. naomi klein's 'the shock doctrine', to me, is that book. nonfiction, and sadly so. explores the keynesian/friedman economic battle that has taken place over the last eighty years or so and lays out the almost unbelievable but yet so obvious bread crumb trail of blood a certain sect of economists have been able to create by following/pushing their theory of 'free markets'. ties bush to pinochet, yeltsin to the tianamen (sp?) sq massacre, all through the doctrine of 'shock therapy' or in her words as well, 'disaster capitalism'. a clear connection between the ubiquitous corporate greed syndrome and why a country as wholesome and good as america support(ed)(s) dictators , torture and terror. halfway through so i dont have a final 'verdict', but already easily one of my->the must-reads

joseph stiglitz review from the nyt
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/28/arts/idbriefs29D.php?page=2

a lotsa words summary if that sounded good
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=13824



5 comments so far...

FrauFeli October 14, 2007, 09:01 PM
So interesting to read this, Insky! I was so impressed by N. Klein's first book, no logo. Much of that goes for europe as well, they used the "thrid-world-countries" so long as mere reservoirs for raw materials, cheap workers, cheap production conditions..and then they are really astonished, when the people in these countries feel betrayed or begin to complain- or try to get to europe, like these boat people which they save (well, or which drown what is really incredible) in the mediterranean sea.
istoyanov October 14, 2007, 10:20 PM
Thank you for letting me know about the appearance of Naomi Klein's new book and for sharing your impressions on it, insky! I just located and eagerly watched the brilliant short movie available at her homepage -- a stunning documentary...
insky October 15, 2007, 03:36 AM
my pleasure!! am getting near the end now and am just speechless at the moment - too much to say - will be said eventually.
having studiously avoided political books (for the most part-'imperial life in the emerald city' kinda counts b/c tho it's 'documentary', the picture it paints of the reconstruction is astounding), i was a little hesitant to pick this up. peeked inside at a couple pages & the clear-eyed writing piqued my interest. after tearing thru 300 pages all i can suggest is that anyone who thinks iraq was a 'mistake'* would do themselves a favor reading this.

*'mistake' vs. a 'very conscious attempt to erase a people, a country and their culture and reinvent an atm for the corporate government'

etc etc

oh, and thanks for the link I - hadn't seen the movie. sums it up quite nicely.

one part of the book that really hit me is what we did to russia, in what bad shape we left them, and they were all choices we conscoiusly made. and i couldn't/didnt see it at the time. same with the asia meltdown. just .....

donna October 16, 2007, 02:39 PM
Iraq a "mistake". Yeah. The ones who see it as a mistake are also the ones who see Bush as a good Christian.

Infuriating and haunting and scary as hell, all of this. An important recommendation and thanks for it, insky. Will get to it soon, but head not thinkin' too clearly right now and want to be able to fully concentrate on it. Soon, tho'. Very soon.

donna November 15, 2007, 09:28 PM
Congrats to Denis Johnson--Tree of Smoke won the National Book Award for Fiction
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