Publisher: New Society Publishers
Authors: Michael C. Ruppert Catherine Austin Fitts
List Price: $22.95
Amazon Price: $14.92
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Reviews:
Summary: Interesting...
First of all the research that went into this book is astounding. Both his resources and grasp of geopolitics seem limitless. This book is choc full of (very often cited) information. And to his credit, Ruppert says right from the start that he is merely formulating a THEORY of what happened based on the the resources available to him.
Now, The Form:
Since there is SO much data here, I find him going off on long and hyper-detailed arguments where at the end of the chapter, I have no clue (until the end of the book) as to where this fit in to his final, meta argument. In fact, I never knew precisely what his argument was until the end of the book.
For example; for a while he will talk about the CIA and drugs and then he talks about peak oil and then he talks about US foriegn policy in Asia and so on and so on... Its all very interesting but but not entirely clear where he is heading with it all.
The Content:
If I understand him correctly, basically 9/11 was no accident. Worse, it was orchestrated by a handful of people in power as a pretext for taking control of the Middle East and it's oil because, (Surprise Surprise!), its about to run out.
Personnally I can't swallow the idea that the CIA (no matter how corrupt) and al Qaeda worked together for 9/11. Its even more absurd a notion than as Saddam working with al Qaeda.
However, did certain people in power know that an attack was eminate and allowed it to 'go down' for a geopoltical ends? Perhaps. Did Mossad, know? They would have to have been stupid not to have know, and Mossad is far from stupid.
The thing is, one could gather thousands of documents supporting any theory you choose, (especially with a notoriously opaque White House) but in the end it is still just speculation.
Summary: A Useful Method for Evaluating Amazon Customer Reviews
Quick Version of My Review (and method of evaluating reviews):
Read all the negatives and decide if they sound reasonable and persuasive. I did, and they were not enough to dissuade me from buying this book. It arrived yesterday, and I've been enjoying it thoroughly since then. I'm happy to have disregarded the negative reviews.
Full Version:
As a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer for work, it is inevitable that on the occasional break I also use it for personal reasons such as shopping. Early on, it became apparent to me that one of the most useful methods for evaluating a product was using the customer reviews--but in a very specific manner; that manner being, read the negative reviews *first.*
In my experience, doing so will help you save a great deal of time and potentially, frustration. By reading the negative reviews first, I am typically able to answer a very important question quickly. That question is, "Does the problem lie with the product/service in question, or with the end user/reviewer?"
A great example of the usefulness of this sort of examination would be examining the reviews for nearly any technology product. Any tech company that sells products to the general public is forced to dedicate an extraodinary amount of resources in dealing with the ignorance of the general public and their inability to effectively problem solve. Do a quick search on Google regarding tech support issues, and you'll almost always find (like all tech companies have found) that the single greatest issue with any product is user error. A great example for the flip side of the same coin would be the Apple iPod. A device that is so simple that a person with severely impaired mental capacity is able to use and enjoy it. While the iPod is undeniably a great product, it is not the standard by which all others should be evaluated. If that degree of product usability were required for everything prior to their release, then we'd see a massive reduction in the variety of goods, as well as an enormous slowdown in their rate of development/deployment. Not everybody needs or wants a product to be simplified to such a large degree.
The point here being, a lot of people are perfectly willing to leave a negative review, completely disregarding the possibility that the problem is not with the product or service, but with themselves.
So, I have found that when evaluating a product or service, a quick scan of the negative reviews is often the very best source of information for what I can expect. If the negative reviewers have objective complaints (like: "the battery life is only 2 hours on a full charge when it was advertised to be 8 hours"), and they are consistent and overwhelming then it I often choose to respect the experience of others and avoid that product. However, if the negative reviewers have primarily subjective complaints (like: "this is hard to use," or "I don't like it") then I have to attempt to determine how much the reviewer is like myself. Most of the time, those negative reviews are from people who seem to be, in my opinion at least, unqualified to be reviewing the product in question.
This method has proven very useful, and I've found myself to be very pleased with the purchases I've made based upon reviews posted on the internet. I think for anybody considering the purchase of this book, it would be a particularly instructive exercise and a productive use of your time. Read the negative reviews first and ask yourself:
1. Did this person acutally read the book? (surprisingly, it appears several negative reviews were from people that had *never* read it)
2. Does it appear this person had a complete grasp of the materials presented?
3. Does this person appear capable of providing objective insights into the quality of the material, or are they primarily reacting to it?
4. Does this person clearly express their ideas, applying a thought process (and using a vocabulary) that I can identify with?
By this point you should have a pretty good grasp of whether or not the review is credible and if it is useful to you personally. Now this probably is not a novel solution, and I do not claim to be the first person to apply it. But in my cursory examination of the negative reviews for this book, I did not find them to be overwhelmingly credible or persuasive. Any negative reviews consisting of one or two lines only were discarded summarily since they consist of nothing but opinion--typically one that was poorly reasoned and expressed. Longer reviews were read and considered. Jill Malter's review sounds too personal for me to take seriously--she sounds sincere and I have the impression that she may be a very likable person--but her review is full of emotion, the type of reaction that reveals more of a dogmatic *reaction* to the book than a thoughtful rejection of it. Harold D. Smith provides a more thoughtful, objective and nuanced review--one that I look forward to comparing with my own experience.
This sort of book requires you to intentionally assume a highly skeptical position and to evaluate the concepts and "proof" presented with a critical eye. You have to be able to maintain a certain level of personal indifference, particularly regarding any potentially dogmatic beliefs you may hold about the virtue of governments in general, and of the American government in particular. And you have to be patient. This is not the sort of material you can easily race through and expect to have given it a fair, but critical reading.
If you can do those things, I'd recommend it. One thing, however, is certain: You will get a good mental workout (if you are up to it). If you cannot, chances are very good that you too will feel like those who gave this book an unearned negative review. And like those readers, the problem will not have been with the material per se, but perhaps with a reader who is unable to master it.
Summary: The truth is knocking...
I currently purchased this book with cash from my local bookstore because of some "problems" posted by another reviewer of a similar book (the book was stopped at a nearby military base for a short period before being delivered.) I didn't want to take any chances.
The information in this book is nothing short of explosive and, though I am only 160 pages into it, it has officially burst my bubble (a bubble manufactured by the mainstream media's reluctance to be straight with the American people.)
This book, with so many verifiable references, is perfect for us "factinistas" who champion the truth. I believe the American people can handle the truth.
The American people may not be so outraged about oil company profits if they knew that oil company exec's were not just pillaging the American's people's pocketbooks to buy more yachts and summer homes - they're doing it because they need excess profits to invest in alternative fuel sources so that they don't go bankrupt.
As long as American's refuse to see what is right in front of their faces, as long as their realities consist of only what the mainstream media CHOOSES to show them, the American people will continue to be misled and Peak Oil will force the American way of life to become (gasp!) negotiable.
Wake up people and read this book!
Summary:
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