Boasting equal parts scholarship and style; "All Governments Lie" is a highly readable; groundbreaking; and timely look at I. F. Stone -- one of America's most independent and revered journalists; whose work carries the same immediacy it did almost a half century ago; highlighting the ever-present need for dissenting voices. In the world of Washington political journalism; notorious for trading independence for access; I. F. "Izzy" Stone was so unique as to be a genuine wonder. Always skeptical -- "All governments lie; but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out;" he memorably quipped -- Stone was ahead of the pack on the most pivotal twentieth-century trends: the rise of Hitler and Fascism; disastrous Cold War foreign policies; covert actions of the FBI and CIA; the greatness of the Civil Rights movement; the horror of Vietnam; the strengths and weaknesses of the antiwar movement; the disgrace of Iran-contra; and the class greed of Reaganomics. His constant barrage against J. Edgar Hoover earned him close monitoring by the FBI from the Great Depression through the Vietnam War; and even an investigation for espionage during the fifties. After making his mark on feisty New York dailies and in The Nation -- scoring such scoops as the discovery of American cartels doing business with Nazi Germany -- Stone became unemployable during the dark days of McCarthyism. Out of desperation he started his four-page I. F. Stone's Weekly; which ran from 1953 to 1971. The first journalist to label the Gulf of Tonkin affair a sham excuse to escalate the Vietnam War; Stone garnered worldwide fans; was read in the corridors of power; and became wealthy. Later; the "world's oldest living freshman" learned Greek to write his bestseller The Trial of Socrates. Here; for the first time; acclaimed journalist and author Myra MacPherson brings the legendary Stone into sharp focus. Rooted in fifteen years of research; this monumental biography includes information from newly declassified international documents and Stone's unpublished five-thousand-page FBI file; as well as personal interviews with Stone and his wife; Esther; with famed modern thinkers; and with the best of today's journalists. It illuminates the vast sweep of turbulent twentieth-century history as well as Stone's complex and colorful life. The result is more than a masterful portrait of a remarkable character; it's a far-reaching assessment of journalism and its role in our culture.
#751697 in Books Fromkin; David 2000-01-25 2000-01-25Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .67 x 5.10l; .61 #File Name: 0679766693272 pages
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Thoughtful Review of HistoryBy Alan Dale DanielThe author attempts the near impossible: to summarize world history in a quick easy to read volume. What is interesting is the author manages to reach the goal. I have read a very large number of history books; but I have seldom read one so pithy. The author hits home again and again with thoughtful summarizing concepts that attempt to put history into a larger perspective - one that pulls history together in a comprehensible fashion. The book manages to show how the beginnings of history tie into the present.I recommend this book to anyone interested in history; and especially those who want to know how all these seemingly unrelated facts and events fit together. One can decide the framework does not really fit the facts; but it is undeniable the framework pulls the facts together in a cogent way. A way that makes history approachable and interesting.A thought provoking book. A must read for any history enthusiast.32 of 34 people found the following review helpful. The March of Progress?By Omer BelskyDavid Fromkin goes out in search of a useable past. Nor would he; I think; shy away from that description. He starts 'The Way of the World' with a description of a shaman "clad in bear skin" and a tale in front of the fire; telling the tribes people where they have come from and where they are heading. Fromkin's avowed purpose is to do the same for a Modern audience (p.3) Fromkin was nominated for a Pulitzer for 'A Peace to End All Peace'; the story of bravery and folly at the birth of the modern Middle East. In it; he demonstrated considerable writing skills; original thought; and enormous amount of research. Only the first of these qualities is also apparent in 'The Way of the World'. The prose is even better this time around - but unfortunately; the other elements that made 'A Peace to End All Peace' into a near classic are missing. 'The Way of All World' seems to be based on fairly well known secondary sources. That's not necessary a bad thing; but you can feel that Fromkin is not as conversant about; say; Vasco da Gama's voyages; as he was about British Middle East policies in the 1920s. Lack of originality in research can also be made up for in original thinking; but although Fromkin's analysis is insightful and clever it is hardly unique. The first two parts of the book are a short history of mankind; the first chapter is about the biological evolution of homo sapiens (a well written account; drawing on such popular science books as Richard Dawkins's River Out of Eden); and the second one about pre history. Then we get two chapters on ancient civilizations; before Fromkin decides to narrow his scope and look at Western History; from the Roman Empire to the modern day. Fromkin's is a not a very original account; although it is a break with some traditional views of European history (the Reformation is mentioned in all of four pages); it is consistent with the themes of recent books about the rise of the West; such as David Landes's 'The Wealth and Poverty of Nations'. Like Landes; Fromkin sees a triumph of the West ("the history of the modern world can be seen as the tale of how; out of the many civilizations that flourished in the year 1000; all but one succumbed in the course of the next thousand years" p. 87) caused by a 'scientific. technological and industrial revolution' (ibid). Unlike Landes; Fromkin all but ignores the importance of politics and capitalism (mentioned only 3 times in the index) to rise of European Civilization. The third part of the book; in which Fromkin attempts to draw conclusions about the Future leaves much to be desired. Unlike Alexis do Tocqueville; whom Fromkin lionizes; Fromkin is too cautious to make predictions. He says that; at least in the beginning of the twenty first century; America will still be the most powerful country; but that is near obvious. Other predictions are equally self evident; even handed; and safe "... a central question in the politics of the twenty first century throughout the world will be the tension between holding together and pulling apart: between the centripetal pull of a modern global economy that requires regional and planetary organization; and the centrifugal push of atavistic tribalism" (p. 188). Some six years on; it is clear that this book was published during the Clinton years. Much in the last few chapters is a hymn to American values; in particular democracy; environmentalism; secularism and multilateralism. For a liberal such as me; the importance of these values is self evident (although it should not go unquestioned). But is George W Bush's America really the best champion of these values? Fromkin's seems oblivious to the undercurrents of American life that goes in directions opposite to the ones he champions. He discusses Woodrow Wilson's League of Nation as an embodiment of American values in International Relations. But his book is missing one crucial name: Henry Cabot Lodge; who stopped the US from entering the league of nation. As a world leader; the United States does embody values of freedom; secularism and multilateralism. But it also has values which are unilateral; imperialistic; protectionist and isolationist. A safe prediction is that the world will be shaped significantly by the US decision of which of these sets of values; or which combination thereof; it will pursue in the 21st century.12 of 13 people found the following review helpful. History of the World as a PoemBy Mitch OrfussFor those who occasionally like their history in the largest of big-picture perspectives; this is the book to read next. No wasted words or ideas--a kind of poem. I found it thrilling. Fromkin's ability to communicate what could well be the great themes in the story of the world is stunning. You finish the book feeling as if you've just sat through a Greek Tragedy--purged of fear and pity; in a heightened state of wonder. Nothing trivial gets in the way of "The Way of thre World." You've been told the story as if from God's perspective. A great; great book. I'd like to go on and read everything David Fromkin has written.
