Journal Entry 1 by lmn60 from Spotswood, Victoria Australia on Thursday, October 13, 2005

From the back cover...
"Is Uncle Sam a psychopath? Richard Neville, notorious for the Oz magazine censorship trials in the 1960s, mocks a culture that sees the world as either a 'target market or a target'; a culture that through its movies, media, politics and foreign policy reveals a disturbing identification with Imperial Rome, asserting the sanctity of its lifestyle, even as the icecaps melt. Neville provoked outrage for his essay describing the United States as a nation out of control and 'bent on serving its own interests at any cost.' Following September 11, the essay was seen as prophetic. Now Neville warns, 'the wounded Goliath is on the rampage', stuck in a 'psychic gridlock of us/them, good/evil.' Insisting he is not anti-American, Neville believes that the choice is stark: self-discovery for Uncle Sam, or the further destruction of earth.'

This book contains the original essay by Richard Neville that sparked outrage in Australia and overseas - as well as his thoughts on the follow up to 9/11.

Controversial, and at times, overwrought, this is still an extremely thought provoking book.

I've decided to risk the wrath of some BCers, and offer it as a bookring. I'll be fascinated to read others views on this book.

For more information and a review here's a useful link...
Click here 

Journal Entry 2 by lmn60 from Spotswood, Victoria Australia on Friday, October 21, 2005

Journal Entry 3 by lmn60 from Spotswood, Victoria Australia on Monday, October 24, 2005

Posted to kizmiaz today. 

Journal Entry 4 by kizmiaz from Belém , Lisboa (cidade) Portugal on Friday, October 28, 2005

Got it today, was that fast or what?
Have another book to finish first so I'm thinking of starting on this one next week.
Thanks Imn60 

Journal Entry 5 by kizmiaz from Belém , Lisboa (cidade) Portugal on Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Journal Entry 6 by Spitfirenerd from Schiedam, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Sunday, November 06, 2005

I received the book today.
I will read it as soon as possible.´
Have to read one more book before I start in this one. 

Journal Entry 7 by Spitfirenerd from Schiedam, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Tuesday, November 15, 2005

OK I am halfway through this book now and this book/essay makes some good points. The prime minister of Holland follows Bush werever he goes so you can ad Holland to the list of countries who saddle besides the USA. It is sad that people do not want to see that we are the cause of it all....This book might be a controversy in the USA but in Europe we are not fooled by the USA. Well I will give another review when I have finished the book. 

Journal Entry 8 by Spitfirenerd from Schiedam, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Thursday, December 22, 2005

Sorry, it took a while, some other things came on my way.
But this book is incredible, most of it I've heard or read about, but it amazes me that people still think that Bush is good for America.
Bush is not a popular guy in The Netherlands you know.
This book makes you think not just about the politics in your one country but about politics worldwide. I also realise again that if you want to change the world you have to start with yourself.

Imn60 thank you for sending me this book.
KarinAlyssa I wil PM you... 

Journal Entry 9 by KarinAlyssa on Monday, January 16, 2006

Received today from Netherlands, it is perfect timing as I had finished a book last night and I was wondering what to read next; now I won't have to do that. I'll journal again later in the week as I'm thinking of mailing it on Saturday.

Thanks Lmn60 for sharing it ! 

Journal Entry 10 by KarinAlyssa on Sunday, January 22, 2006

I am from Canada and everytime I read book such as this one, I remember how lucky I am to live here instead of the USA. That being said, I thought that Richard Neville sometimes went too far and in too many directions as if he couldn't bother to follow an outline but wanted to talk about this and this and that. At the end, the book's style is messy. However, I believe that he is right, but the style is just wrong. The tone is aggressive and doesn't leave any place to be, but on the same side as Neville's opinion. Otherwise, you are so wrong, he's going to yell at you for not thinking the right thing. Also, the emails were not that useful unless it was to seen the kind of people who takes their time to email him, which is not something I would have thought of doing !

Thanks Lmn60 for sharing it through a ring, it's going to Caldron in Australia tomorrow morning. 

Journal Entry 11 by caldron from Brisbane, Queensland Australia on Monday, January 30, 2006

Received this morning with thanks. Will go to the summit of Mt. TBR directly.
 

Journal Entry 12 by caldron from Brisbane, Queensland Australia on Sunday, February 12, 2006

This certainly was an interesting and provocative collection of writing and thanks again to lmn60 for sharing it with us all.

Taken as individual pieces written for the SMH's Good Weekend mag or whomever, I can appreciate each in context ~ but somehow, for me, Neville needed to stretch further and work harder to connect his writing other than the rather lame linkages offered here.

I formed the impression that he had limited foundations upon which to build his case(s) (here the original format of the magazine piece clearly evidences itself), but that with a bit of application he could have re-worked his existing material and formed a much stronger and coherent set of arguments to present in the longer book form.

Sadly, by cobbling those pieces together rather than stepping back and drawing a larger more defined canvas Neville's book not only fails to deliver the "emperor's new clothes" punchline it should have but also falls into that opportunistic publishing realm of the quick buck (hence the grabby title) ~ very short-term thinking from a supposed 'futurist'.



Now mailing to aleonblue today. 

Journal Entry 13 by aleonblue from Brisbane, Queensland Australia on Monday, February 13, 2006

Received this book today from Caldron - thanks for your note. Look forward to reading this - when it climbs the TBR Bookring pile (why do they all arrive at the same time!) 

Journal Entry 14 by aleonblue from Brisbane, Queensland Australia on Saturday, February 18, 2006

Having read "The Life and Times of Charles Sobhraj" & "Hippie Hippie Shake" by Richard Neville, I was interested to read his latest book - this one "Amerika Psycho", as I hadn't much from his recently.

I looked at this book in terms of when the first 2 parts were written - 2001 and 2002, and compared his views to what is happening in the world now. I found that a lot of what he had to say then has now been by reiterated what we know now in 2005/2006. I loved the addition of the emails he received from readers of the Australian (when he first published the articles) with differing views to his.

The articles/parts certainly don't provide a completely balanced view of America/the world/society today, but do provide thought-provoking commentary of the world in which we live.

Enjoyed the book - thanks lmn60 for sharing it with us! 

Journal Entry 15 by Feryl from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Just received in the mail today - there are a couple of books ahead of this one in my bookring queue, but neither are very thick so it won't be too long till I get to this one.

You're right about them rose stamps - they smell lovely! :o) 

Journal Entry 16 by Feryl from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, March 26, 2006

This book contains some very thought-provoking ideas and disturbing facts and statistics. I think Neville laid it on a bit thick with his anti-American ranting at times, but he wasn't completely one-eyed either - there were several criticisms of Australia (both government an people) in there as well. The stuff about relationships seemed like quite a departure from the rest of the book, and I found it profound and insightful. Some of the emails made me want to laugh - the ones that were most aggressively critical just served to reinforce the stereotype of the ignorant American... "When the revolution comes, you'll be one of the first up against the wall." Yeah, very original, mate!!

Catsalive works near me so I'll see if I can drop it off to her at lunch time... 

Journal Entry 17 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Monday, March 27, 2006

Got it, thanks Deb. 

Journal Entry 18 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Hmm! Food for thought indeed. Like Richard Neville, I too "... feel a dread... that the megalomania of high rollers and Western power brokers is driving us to the brink." Our prime minister is trying to turn our country into a business, when he manages to pull his nose out of Dubya's arse. Education, health, welfare, infrastructure, environment, and more, are losing out to the give-me-more ethic (or is that unethic?). Sometimes I despair for Australia's once generous reputation in the world community & I wonder how we can justify to ourselves and what is being done in our name. I hate the fact that little johnny is riding dubya's coattails in the rape of the earth.

I thought the essays, 'The Wildest Rogue Nation of All' & 'Beyond Good and Evil' were remarkably even-handed, and actually coincided with some of my own thoughts. I did enjoy the 'email firestorms' that they provoked, again a very even-handed approach by Neville I think. I had to smile at his 'spontaneous acid flashback' in 'From the Cave to K-Mart', even if it is a particularly worrying deja-vu.

Thanks, lmn60, for an informative hour. A short and easy read too. I'll get this off to hunnyb as soon as I can. 

Journal Entry 19 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Friday, May 05, 2006

Posted to hunnyb today. 

Journal Entry 20 by hunnyb from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Monday, May 08, 2006

Received the book today :) Thanks guys. Getting into it right away. 

Journal Entry 21 by hunnyb from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, May 09, 2006

A quick and very readable read - the fact that it's so readable being one of its merits and its downfalls. I didn't really feel compelled to absorb too much of it... rather just let it gloss over me as statistic after figure after diatribe. I liked the inclusion of the emails though :) Gave a good insight into a whole range of views. Maybe after a couple of days the fact that "the average US citizen uses 10 times more coal than the average Chinese person - and contribute over 50 times more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere" will sink in and shock me into action. I suppose I would've liked some references so I can dash off and find more shocking stats.

Thanks for sharing this lmn60. 

Journal Entry 22 by xoddam from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Monday, May 15, 2006

I 'caught' this a couple of days ago (thanks for posting, hunnyb) but for some reason my journal entry isn't here, so here I go again. I promised it would jump my queue since lmn60 wants it to keep moving, and as promised it is a nice quick read: I've already read about two thirds of it.

My position, politically, is much the same as Neville's but I don't think he gives America's leadership enough credit. The imperial USA is not insane, it has a deliberate and consistent policy which, though it does predictably backfire, is carefully calculated to maximise return on investment (ROI). That goes across party lines and through all administrations back to the first expansion west of the Appalachian mountains, though it must be admitted that different presidents serve different constituencies.

It is *better* for the perceived interests of the investors who control the present US administration to be profligate with taxpayers' money, cut taxes to the rich, waste lives and resources, seize control of Middle East petroleum and jack up its price as soon and as high as it will go, than it would be to engage in constructive domestic sustainable development (which they could do at a modest profit, but it can't compete with guzzling on the Pentagon's cash hose and stealing other people's oil).

The first thing globalisation means to President Bush's associates is that their investments are global and they need no longer care primarily about economic development in the US itself, so it makes sense for them to disinvest in the American people. American government debt, spent on overcharging subcontractors for global military adventures and paying interest from taxes on the domestic consumption of the poor and middle classes, is a better investment than the American economy itself.

That's evil, but not insane. Neville is right to remember that President Clinton, who promised to invest in health care for the American poor but did not deliver, bombed sub-Saharan Africa's only domestically-owned pharmaceutical plant. Because, though Neville doesn't remark upon it, Clinton was in the pocket of drug companies rather than oilmen and military contractors. Evil, but not insane.

One thing I (as a confirmed greenie myself) find objectionable about much modern big-picture environmentalism, including Neville's, is that he writes as though the only way to stop despoiling the planet is to stop the modern economy altogether. But he's no practising Luddite.

He and anyone else who cares about carbon emissions and other everyday evils we all commit would do well to learn from the Rocky Mountain Institute, a "think-and-do-tank" run by environmentalist engineers, espousing practical solutions to environmental and social problems *within* the global capitalist economy. These very intelligent and forward-thinking people have done more to reduce emissions by working with the system of governments and corporations than any number of rallies will ever do. Shell and BP are evil oil corporations, supporting murderous corrupt governments and making billions by helping the consumers of the world despoil it. The corollary is that, if you convince their CEOs that the time has come to *stop* despoiling the earth and that it can be done profitably, these companies will scramble to do it. Amory Lovins of RMI *did* convince them. They *are* lifting themselves out of the petroleum quagmire (gradually, of course -- they are still obliged to maximise their own return on investment!), and it's thanks to RMI. Similar steps are already, quietly, being taken by Chinese government and industry. It's a big and necessary revolution. The unreconstructed Texas oilmen behind Bush are nothing more than dinosaurs in their death throes, laying waste to the planet (and lining their pockets in the process) because they know the end is close.

I'll plug that website again: www.rmi.org.

Not that I'm a raging capitalist, I'm as keen on the participatory economic revolution as the next leftie, but it is truly heartwarming to see that positive change is already being made without violence. Steps in the right direction are there to be taken, not opposed as mere reformism delaying capitalism's "inevitable" catastrophic collapse. It isn't collapsing, it's adapting, as usual. 

Journal Entry 23 by xoddam from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Done. Six out of ten; Neville's information is good and his heart is in the right place, but he's somewhat self-important (admittedly in much worse evidence on his website than in the essays in the book) and too pessimistic. The time has passed for mere consciousness-raising and conscience-pricking, and while Neville doesn't sound particularly anti-American to *me*, his tone is negative enough that many people will switch off with conscience unpricked and consciousness lowered. Not that many of those people would have picked the book up in the first place.

If you want a litany of American crimes, you're better off reading William Blum, Noam Chomsky or Arundhati Roy. If you want to know about climate change, you should be reading Tim Flannery. And if you want to change the world (without assassinating any archdukes), get hold of George Monbiot's The Age of Consent and Hawken, Lovins & Lovins' Natural Capitalism.
 

Journal Entry 24 by cathyinoz from Warrandyte, Victoria Australia on Monday, May 29, 2006

Arrived safely in the post yesterday. Will be on to it as soon as I finish the one ahead of it. cheers. 

Journal Entry 25 by cathyinoz from Warrandyte, Victoria Australia on Sunday, June 18, 2006

I went through this bit by bit after having read comments by others on the ring. I guess he could be called 'raving', but being one of the 'poor cousins' to the north (Canadian), we've experienced the truth of 'free trade' a la USA. I think Mel Brooks said once, "It's good to be the king!" Their corporate dealings really are supremely self-interested and often underhanded/bully-boy methods to achieve them. Can't really call them part of the world community. Neville is only saying what many of us are thinking.

so is this back to you then lmn60?

POSTED: 30.06.06 

Journal Entry 26 by lmn60 from Spotswood, Victoria Australia on Friday, July 14, 2006

Safely home again! Thanks to all participants - it was great to read your thoughts about this one, and to 'meet' you all via this book.

Hope we can do it again some time!

 

Journal Entry 27 by puppymummy from Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Sunday, August 06, 2006

This is on temporary loan to my bookshelf - has been added to the mountain, but I have promised to ensure it returns safely :) 

Journal Entry 28 by puppymummy from Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Sunday, January 27, 2008

Some very interesting points in these essays, I guess it's always going to be a case of preaching to the converted but the facts and figures are always helpful at the next dinner party :)
I thought the emails added an interesting touch but are a little scary, you would hope that many of those people aren't really so naive. But then, maybe I'm wrong and Dubya and Howard are right when they've said that global warming isn't as important as the economy (my absolute favourite quote from the last election!). In fact, Howard actually said something like 'the world won't end due to global warming, the economy is the real issue of importance' - I'm going to have to look up the exact quote at some point I guess!
It did have a little bit of 'Back in MY day....' which was occasionally irritating, but it was a very readable collection of essays and I did enjoy it. Thanks lmn60 - will return it at brunch next week. 

Journal Entry 29 by lmn60 from Spotswood, Victoria Australia on Saturday, February 02, 2008

Returned home safely to me. Haven't decided what I'll do with this one yet... so into the 'haven't decided what to do with yet' pile for now! 

Journal Entry 30 by lmn60 from Spotswood, Victoria Australia on Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Sending off to Breeze - who picked this one up as part of the Raiding Bookshelves swap on Book Obsessed.

Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 31 by lmn60 at bookobsessed.com, book swap -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Released 3 yrs ago (9/30/2008 UTC) at bookobsessed.com, book swap -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Happy reading! 

Journal Entry 32 by Breeze144 from Ajax, Ontario Canada on Monday, October 20, 2008

Arrived today! Thank you! 

Journal Entry 33 by aliaskris29 from Burlington, Ontario Canada on Monday, July 13, 2009

Taken at the meet up to release on my honeymoon.