NEMESIS is the story of the calamitous experiences suffered by Presidents Truman and Johnson when they intervened in Korea and Vietnam to halt the spread of Communism by armed force. Caught in the pressures of the Cold War; Truman and Johnson passed through comparable traumas that effectively ended their political power. Their party suffered; too: 1952 and 1968 were winners for Republicans. As portrayed in NEMESIS; the tragedy of both wars--and the main lesson it holds for today's involvement--is that initially modest commitments of force are rarely sufficient; but that larger efforts carry the threat of escalation.
#152888 in Books Picador USA 2006-04-18 2006-04-18Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .58 x 5.50l; .50 #File Name: 0312425848256 pagesPicador USA
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. An assemblage of dysphoric and dire vignettes that are stirring and transformative.By Christian EnglerThrough a series of beautifully crafted monologues by journalist Svetlana Alexievich; a candidate for the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature; she gives a voice to the voiceless by offering a literary megaphone to the citizens in; around and beyond Pripyat; Russa who experienced the all out lethal aftereffects of when the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant experienced a cataclysmic meltdown on April 26; 1986.With navigational restraint and skill; she interviews those who survived the ordeal first and secondhand; and for those who did not survive; the flame of their memory was carried on by those loved ones who were left behind in the radioactive hell that Alexievich brings so descriptively back to life. By applying her literary aptitude and journalistic acumen; she enables these victims and survivors their dirge or aria of woe to be humanely and candidly expressed. She tells tales that are more grim than fanciful; of homes and villages abandoned; radioactive pets and farm animals hunted down and executed; of mutated children and citizens literally melting away due to the radioactive toxicity that was; by degrees; slowly killing them. Alexievich is also very astute at conveying the tyrannical old party Communist belief system that was held by the victims and survivors of Chernobyl before and after the nuclear disaster. The Chernobyl “cleanup†crew and others of the same cloth were spurred on by thoughts of heroic mother country illustriousness and beliefs of Soviet indomitability while others were propelled by a more capitalistic inspiration; that by being involved with the mop-up after the tragedy; they would benefit somehow monetarily and materialistically. And so; they willingly threw themselves into the epicenter of the nuclear monster; only to come out severely contaminated with dashed hopes and chintzy medals for their valiant efforts. Cold war politics and ideologies aside; when Chernobyl exploded; it melted something other than the physically tangible reactor and those who inhabited in and around it. The deadly blast melted away a long-held idology; a Communist philosophy that failed its people. It was; in some respects; the beginning of the end in many ways.Like other great literary journalists and writers: Ernest Hemmingway; Joan Didion; Ryszard Kapuscinski (just to name a few); Alexievich is a powerful writer; who; with gusto and tenacity really throws herself into the story she is trying to tell. She too was born and schooled near where Chernobyl loomed; like an overwhelming Mt. Everest; and it was fitting that it was she who chose to tell this story. If a picture is worth a thousand words; than these monologues are worth far more.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Incredible.By Timothy StephensReading about tragedies from other people's perspectives is incredible itself; but this collection of interviews takes this genre to a whole new level. In no other form are we privileged enough to hear the stories of people who lived through and near one of the greatest tragedies of human history. It is incredible fascinating to try and understand what these people felt. I believe this book should be read in all education establishments because of its quality and hard hitting stories.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Song About The Human ConditionBy Irene Oberstenfeld De SuarezSvetlana Alexievich's book about Chernobyl seems to me right now THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ. It combines so many different levels: it is a historic book; history seen through the eyes of LITTLE PEOPLE like you and me. It is a book about Russia and the horrors of Communism. For me it also challenges Capitalism; because I see also the GOOD OF COMMUNISM: a society that does NOT have the tremendous inequality our Capitalist societies show and ever more so. There is an idialism; patriotism and solidarity among people that I do not see so much in our Free Market Societies and without which Chernobil might NOT have been put under control and outr world might have been a nightmare today. I feel Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky in the book; it is also a book about Scientific arrogance and how our superb scientists can THING radioactivity but even they cannot GRASP what it means to have a radioactive contamination for hundreds of thousands of years. We stand there not just as Communists or Capitalists; we stand there and we come out of Svetlanas monologues as a gifted; intelligent and profoundly ignorant species. And when the UNGRASPABLE hits; a catastrophe out of our understanding we; humans; return to Philosophy; Religion and Fear and often in front of Death: so many return to LOVE. That is what breaks the heart in Alexievich's stories and monologues: the capacity of love inherit to our human hearts! Under Chernobyl; Communism; Recent History this is a book about the HUMAN CONDITION; songs as if out of the ancient Greek theatre and tragedies. Thank you; spacibo; Svetlana; you are my heroine for the rest of my life!
