Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!
Author: Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura—former governor, wrestler, and Navy SEAL—on what's wrong with the Democrats, the Republicans, and politics in America.
Jesse Ventura has had many lives—as a Navy SEAL, as a star of pro wrestling, as an actor, and as the governor of Minnesota. His previous books, I Ain't Got Time to Bleed and Do I Stand Alone?, were both national bestsellers. Don't Start the Revolution Without Me! is the story of his controversial gubernatorial years and his life since deciding not to seek a second term as governor in 2002. Written with award-winning author Dick Russell at a secluded location on Mexico's Baja Peninsula, Ventura's new book reveals for the first time why he left politics—and why he is now considering reentering the arena with a possible independent run for the presidency in 2008.
In a fast-paced and often humorous narrative, Ventura pulls no punches in discussing our corrupt two-party system, the disastrous war in Iraq, and what he suspects really happened on September 11. He provides personal insights into the Clinton and Bush presidencies, and elaborates on the ways in which third parties are rendered impotent by the country's two dominant parties. He reveals the illegal role of the CIA in states like Minnesota, sensitive and up-to-date information on the Blackwater security firm, the story of the American spies who shadowed him on a trade mission to Cuba, and what Fidel Castro told him about who really assassinated President John F. Kennedy. This unique political memoir is a must-read for anyone concerned about the direction that America will take in 2008. 16 b/w photographs.
Publishers Weekly
Former pro wrestler and Minnesota governor Ventura (Do I Stand Alone?) has been awakened out of semiretirement by his outrage over the grievous state of the country and his need to once again exercise his enormous ego by rehashing events from his life and political career. He holds forth in his typical blunt, anti-intellectual style on a range of topics including the Rolling Stones, Fidel Castro and 9/11 conspiracy theories. His diatribes are loosely linked to a travelogue as Ventura and his wife drive to Baja California in their truck-camper. Excerpts from interviews and his wife's diaries provide a welcome break from Ventura's boorish tone (although his anecdotes-particularly one involving the Dalai Lama and the film Caddyshack-are occasionally amusing). The book concludes with Ventura combining his three passions: wrestling, politics and self-adulation when he imagines running for President on a WWE ticket. Whether the reader will find that a horrifying fantasy or a hilarious one will largely determine how they feel about this book. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Jill Ortner Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information - School Library Journal
Those tired of reading about the 2008 presidential candidates may wish to turn to these books by U.S. politicians expressing varying degrees of separation-even alienation- from current party dogma. Hagel, senior Republican senator from Nebraska, is popular in his home state, but he has faced attacks from fellow Republicans for his outspoken objection to the Iraq War and the Bush administration's foreign policy. His book with eclectic journalist Kaminsky (American Waters: Flyfishing Journeys of a Native Son) is a thoughtful and provocative assessment of current U.S. policy and loss of stature in the eyes of our allies. Hagel evaluates U.S. diplomatic relations and stresses the need for consensus building and collaboration with other countries' leaders. He expresses dismay at the current divisive, partisan political climate and rejects the position that criticism of the Republican administration is disloyal or unpatriotic. A former business owner, he also discusses economic issues and tax policy, expressing a more conventional, business-oriented Republican philosophy.
Specter, the centrist Republican senator from Pennsylvania, ventures in his book with attorney Scaturro (The Supreme Court's Retreat from Reconstruction) to theorize that the stress he suffered as he fought with more conservative Republicans to obtain the Senate Judiciary chairmanship-his comments on the nomination process for Supreme Court justices were interpreted by some fellow party members as a challenge to Bush's authority-as well as the stress of strenuous primary and general election campaigns may have contributed to his contracting Hodgkin's disease. He details his determination to maintain anormal work (and workout) routine during his successful chemotherapy treatment and also provides extensive behind-the-scenes reports on the actual approval processes for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.
Former Minnesota governor Ventura is the ultimate political outsider, and he couldn't be happier in that role. His book, with environmental journalist Russell, is a combination memoir and call-to-rally as he and his wife travel across the West and down the Baja Peninsula. All his dislike for the two-party system and the media and his distrust of government, the CIA, and the military-industrial complex are displayed in an engaging, sometimes humorous, assessment of his experiences as governor. He reminisces about his trip to Cuba, where he met Castro, and he proposes solutions to environmental, economic, and foreign-policy problems facing the world today. In the epilog he holds out the possibility that he may open a third-party campaign for President this year. All three books offer insights and thoughtful perspectives on current U.S. political issues and are recommended for public libraries.
Table of Contents:
The Need for a New Adventure 1The Road to the Arena 25
Down That Texas Trail 47
Thinking Politics in Bush Country 65
Crossing Borders: A Curious Sense of Security 83
Breaking Down Barriers: China and Cuba 101
Transitions: Down Mexico Highway 5 123
Longing for Light Rail 143
Money, Sports, and Politics: A Universal Language 161
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same 179
In the Eye of the Hurricane 199
At Conception Bay 215
Reflections on TV and Teaching 235
Thinking War in a Peaceful Place 257
Musing in Baja on Changing the System 275
A Character in Search of an Ending 291
Epilogue: A Glimpse of the Future 305
Look this: Organization Development or Business Policy and Strategy
The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy--If We Let It Happen
Author: Arthur B Laffer
Arthur Laffer -- the father of supply-side economics and a member of President Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board -- joins economist Stephen Moore of The Wall Street Journal editorial board and investment advisor Peter J. Tanous to send Americans an urgent message: We risk losing the exceptional standard of living that has made us the envy of the rest of the world if the pro-growth policies of the last twenty-five years are reversed by a new president.
Since the early 1980s, the United States has experienced a wave of prosperity almost unprecedented in history in terms of wealth creation, new jobs, and improved living standards for all. Under the leadership of Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, Americans changed the incentive structure on taxes, inflation, and regulation, and as a result the economy roared back to life after the anti-growth, high-inflation 1970s.
Now the rest of the world is following the American economic growth model of lower tax rates, more economic freedom, and sound money. Paradoxically, one country is moving away from these growth policies and putting its prosperity at risk -- America.
On the eve of a critical presidential election, Laffer, Moore, and Tanous provide the factual information every American needs in order to understand exactly how we achieved the prosperity many people have come to take for granted, and explain how the policies of Democrats Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi can cause America to lose its status as the world's growth and job creation machine.
The End of Prosperity is essential reading for all Americans who value our nation's free enterprise system and high standard of living, and want to know how to protect their own investments in the coming storm
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