Books Received II

Author:

Originally Published at Peace and Conflict Monitor on: 09/20/2004

 

Recent Books Received

Two on Terrorism..By and Against the
State

Yevgeny Primakov, A World Challenged: Fighting
Terrorism in the Twent-First Century, Brookings Institution Press, 204, pp.
150

The author was Russian prime minsiter 1998-9, and
like Putin, was heavily involved in a career in the Soviet secret services. He
calls for a greater role for Russia in major international crises, a
careful management of relationships with Russia’s biggest trading partner, the
EU, and for mixing military strength and negotiations in settling matters
with the Chechens.

Frederick H Gareau, State Terrorism and the US:
from counter insurgency to the War on Terrorism, Zed Books, 2004, 99
254

Frederick H Gareau is a professor at Florida State
University. Quoting Cardinal Arns of Sao Paulo: “this entire book is written in
blood and with much blood for my country”, he says “I echo these words with
great love for my own country, the United States”. In his indictment of US
support for what he calls state terrorism, the author is clearly hoping for his
beloved country to mend its ways and calls for a Truth Commission for
Washington.

Two on Globalization..Yale and Oxford Defend
Globalization

Martin Wolf, Why Globalization Works, Yale
University Press, 2004, pp.399

Advanced reviewers have dubbed this book:
“brilliant”, “a devastating critique”, “deeply reasoned and cogent”, one of whom
was the Governor of the Bank of England. The Economist liked it too. It is not
surprising. It is an excellent defence of globalization and its critics. Another
Fabian bites the dust.

Jagdish Bhagwati, In Defense of
Globalization, Oxford University Press, 2004, pp.304

Bhagwati is an old hand and has pretty well seen it
all, especially as a fan of “growth” and later of “development economics”. This
is a well written defence, and some reviewers have called it humorous, strange
for an economics text. Some might feel it verges on the flippant.