- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber (3 April 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571228194
- ISBN-13: 978-0571228195
- Product Dimensions: 22 x 13.2 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 877,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"This is a deeply disturbing audit of the Pentagon's influence on American life, especially its subtle conscription of popular imagination and entertainment technology. If Nick Turse is right, the 'Matrix' may be just around the corner."--Mike Davis, author of "Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb"
"When President Eisenhower warned of the dangers to democracy posed by the military-industrial complex, he had no idea how far it would penetrate into every aspect of our everyday lives. In impressive detail, Nick Turse shows how the military is now tied to everything from your morning cup of Starbucks to the video games your kids play before turning in for the night. It's not just political anymore--it's personal. Turse sounds the alarm bell about the militarization of everyday life. Now it's up to us to do something about it."--Bill Hartung, author of "How Much Are You Making on the War Daddy?"
"When President Eisenhower warned of the dangers to democracy posed by the military-industrial complex, he had no idea how far it would penetrate into every aspect of our everyday lives. In impressive detail, Nick Turse shows how the military is now tied to everything from your morning cup of Starbucks to the video games your kids play before turning in for the night. It's not just political anymore--it's personal. Turse sounds the alarm bell about the militarization of everyday life. Now it's up to us to do something about it."--Bill Hartung, author of "How Much Are You Making on the War Daddy?"
"Nick Turse's searing, investigative journalism reveals just how deeply embedded in our lives the war-making system is and why we should be viscerally alarmed. He exposes how, with a growing contingent of corporate/entertainment/academic/media collaborators, the Pentagon has not only garrisoned the globe, but come home to dominate the United States. For anyone interested in understanding the crisis this country is in, "The Complex" is indispensable reading."--Dahr Jamail, author of "Beyond the Green Zone"
"Americans who still think they can free themselves from the clutches of the military-industrial complex need to read this book. For example, the gimmicks the Pentagon uses to deceive, entrap, and sign up gullible 18 to 24 year-olds are anything but voluntary. NickTurse has produced a brilliant expose of the Pentagon's pervasive influence in our lives."--Chalmers Johnson, author of" Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic"
Book Description
A chilling, almost incredible investigation into the presence of the defence industries in our daily lives.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
Nick Turse has done an admirable job, however scary his subject-matter. It is bitter irony, indeed, that the Mega-power has become more deeply and pervasively militarised since the collapse of its only "competitor" than ever before.This book is a detailed analysis of how the process has happened/is happening in the States, and is useful reading for this country, where similar forces are at work and the processes are , perhaps not always consciously, modelled on those of the US.
The saddest aspect is that those who experienced earlier times and/or have taken the trouble to read history are giving way to the poseurs who ignore, say ,Eisenhower's warning (now, he knew something about the military, didn't he ? Mind you, to the crazed Extreme Right in the States, he was a Commie agent...) In this country, Dennis Healey (M.C., I think)remarked of our own dear Mr Blair that had he ( Blair) actually been in a war, he would have been less anxious to start so many.
Plenty of hard facts referenced here for the younger generation who are suffering more than the oldsters, in my view, since the young 'uns have so few points of reference, either in the US or here .Mighty corporations and their megalomaniac military pals intrude into most aspects of life, usually under the spurious claim of protecting us from the Big Bad world (largely wearing turbans) The first defence of responsible citizens is to inform themselves, and Turse's book is a must read for such.
The saddest aspect is that those who experienced earlier times and/or have taken the trouble to read history are giving way to the poseurs who ignore, say ,Eisenhower's warning (now, he knew something about the military, didn't he ? Mind you, to the crazed Extreme Right in the States, he was a Commie agent...) In this country, Dennis Healey (M.C., I think)remarked of our own dear Mr Blair that had he ( Blair) actually been in a war, he would have been less anxious to start so many.
Plenty of hard facts referenced here for the younger generation who are suffering more than the oldsters, in my view, since the young 'uns have so few points of reference, either in the US or here .Mighty corporations and their megalomaniac military pals intrude into most aspects of life, usually under the spurious claim of protecting us from the Big Bad world (largely wearing turbans) The first defence of responsible citizens is to inform themselves, and Turse's book is a must read for such.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Useful Information, Difficult to Read
26 Mar 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As a former highly paid employee of a the Military Industrial Complex I found this book to be accurate and full of useful information. I have always said if the average American understood the incompetence, waste and corruption that riddles this parallel economy they would refuse to pay their taxes. The information presented in this book bears this out. However, the book is a bit difficult to read as it is so full of data.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Even Eisenhower Didn't See This Coming
18 May 2010
Format:Paperback
This is a fast paced compelling read. Packed with startling revelations that will horrify some, while wowing others. Nick Turse opens our eyes, as to how pervasive the Military Industrial Complex has become in our lives. He lifts the curtain on billions of dollars of Pentagon waste that Americans tolerate without question. He details for the reader the extent of how the military has garrisoned the globe.
Sounding a warning to teens that "Uncle Sam Wants You" and will do almost anything toward that end, makes this mandatory reading for young men and women as well as their parents.
Sci-fi, buffs might find cool the idea of militarized moths, or spying spiders, but the programs Dr.Turse sheds light on, are cause for grave concern.
Throughout the book the author's clever wit is apparent and the level of research admirable. If you think the Military Industrial Complex is all guns, planes, missiles and tanks you should read The Complex. If you think that we as citizens are in control of the military you must read The Complex.
Sounding a warning to teens that "Uncle Sam Wants You" and will do almost anything toward that end, makes this mandatory reading for young men and women as well as their parents.
Sci-fi, buffs might find cool the idea of militarized moths, or spying spiders, but the programs Dr.Turse sheds light on, are cause for grave concern.
Throughout the book the author's clever wit is apparent and the level of research admirable. If you think the Military Industrial Complex is all guns, planes, missiles and tanks you should read The Complex. If you think that we as citizens are in control of the military you must read The Complex.
3 of 7 people found the following review helpful
A Poorly Elaborated Compilation of Statistics
14 Jun 2011
Amazon Verified Purchase
As other reviewers have noted, this book reads as though it were a compilation of Google searches about the products that the military buys. As per the title, I expected a book explaining the complex relationship between the military and consumer industries, and how the military influences the marketplace and "invades our everyday lives." Instead I got a very shallow, uninteresting book that goes no deeper than providing lists of all the "normal" consumer products than the Pentagon buys.
Turse blows the lid off such shocking revelations as: Proctor & Gamble makes "Crest" toothpaste that many people use each day. P&G also sells Crest toothpaste to the Pentagon for use by soldiers. Does that make Crest a sinister defense product that has "invaded" our everyday life? Hardly. Would you be surprised to learn that U.S. soldiers wear sunglasses in desert locales, and YOU also wear sunglasses while driving your car? If these types of shallow revelations interest you, then you may enjoy this book. Otherwise, look elsewhere.
In another section Turse states, quote: "the giants of the mainstream American media... [Washington Post, New York Times, etc.] regularly turn up on the military's payroll. We can't be sure what the monies are for - perhaps for advertisements or just subscriptions..." The inference here is that the Pentagon is corrupting the free media and buying influence, but again no deeper analysis is provided. Had Turse done even the slightest amount of research he COULD have been sure what the money was for - I'm guessing here, but he likely would have found that the money the Pentagon pays to news organizations is for advertisements or other "normal" purposes and hardly an "invasion of our everyday lives." Instead, Turse throws a bunch of dollar amounts on the page that the Pentagon pays to newspapers, infers that it's somehow sinister and moves on.
I will concede that there are some good and somewhat shocking discoveries in the section on wasteful spending, but overall, if you're looking for a deeper analysis instead of just cursory statistics, look elsewhere.
Turse blows the lid off such shocking revelations as: Proctor & Gamble makes "Crest" toothpaste that many people use each day. P&G also sells Crest toothpaste to the Pentagon for use by soldiers. Does that make Crest a sinister defense product that has "invaded" our everyday life? Hardly. Would you be surprised to learn that U.S. soldiers wear sunglasses in desert locales, and YOU also wear sunglasses while driving your car? If these types of shallow revelations interest you, then you may enjoy this book. Otherwise, look elsewhere.
In another section Turse states, quote: "the giants of the mainstream American media... [Washington Post, New York Times, etc.] regularly turn up on the military's payroll. We can't be sure what the monies are for - perhaps for advertisements or just subscriptions..." The inference here is that the Pentagon is corrupting the free media and buying influence, but again no deeper analysis is provided. Had Turse done even the slightest amount of research he COULD have been sure what the money was for - I'm guessing here, but he likely would have found that the money the Pentagon pays to news organizations is for advertisements or other "normal" purposes and hardly an "invasion of our everyday lives." Instead, Turse throws a bunch of dollar amounts on the page that the Pentagon pays to newspapers, infers that it's somehow sinister and moves on.
I will concede that there are some good and somewhat shocking discoveries in the section on wasteful spending, but overall, if you're looking for a deeper analysis instead of just cursory statistics, look elsewhere.
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