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Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald H.Rumsfeld
 
 
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Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald H.Rumsfeld (Hardcover)

by Hart Seely (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd (16 Jun 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 074325239X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743252393
  • Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 13.2 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 374,155 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description
Kahlil Gibran meets George W. Bush meets Robert Frost: who'd have thought that America's most outspoken Secretary of Defence in decades would have turned public commentary into a form of poetry? Donald Rumsfeld is not just a two-time Secretary of Defence, former CEO, former White House Chief of Staff, and the most outspoken and forceful civilian military leader in recent American history. He is also, intentionally or not, a poet. A last, the ubiquitous and at times unintelligible U.S. Secretary of Defence has been deciphered by humorist Hart Seely, who found that the rambling raconteur is best understood when set in verse. Seely uncovers zen poems and lyrics, haikus and sonnets and has plucked the golden apples from 'D.H.' Rumsfeld's tree to present over 100 hilarious gems drawn from Rummy's public statements. Whether you love him or hate him, they're irresistible. As we know, There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know There are known unknowns. That is to say We know there are some things We do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, The ones we don't know we don't know.

About the Author
Hart Seely is an award-winning reporter for the Post-Standard newspaper in Syracuse, New York. His work has appeared in National Lampoon, The Village Voice, The New Republic, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Spy magazine.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald H.Rumsfeld 4.2 out of 5 stars (14)
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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
68 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Rumblings by Rumsfeld, 16 Aug 2003
By A Customer
Donald H. Rumsfeld, the American Secretary of Defence, is to be greatly admired for his utterly bizarre utterances, no less than for his warmongering attitude toward the Middle East and other parts of the world. After all, what's a secretary of defence to do if not to monger (and waffle) in a lyrical fashion?

Hart Seely, the editor of this brilliant tome, has compiled some of the gems of 21th century verse of both political and philosophical significance. How about this, "The Unknown", full of rhyme, rhythm and alliteration, not to mention repetition, to offer a fresh new awareness on world and worldly matters:

As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know we don't know.

Buy it, read it, quote it, and pass it on to friends.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Over the top, 27 April 2004
Rummy has written a book filled with old-fashioned charm, directness and akind of warmth that can only be described as republican. I found my selfbathed in the light of a single-minded, focused, and well insulated mind,far from the sort of monomania, tunnel vision and total lack of touch withthe life of everyday people with which he is so often associated. Icouldn't decide whether my favorite poem was 'You Can Take that to theBank' or "I've Already Taken Mine to the Bank'. 'Existential' is just toomild a word for this poetry, 'Post-Existential' far better describes thisman's mind and vision.
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28 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald H R, 12 Jul 2003
By nadineg (with Carmen Santiago) - See all my reviews
I opened this book with trepidation, after all, a member of the United States government writing poetry? who would have guessed it, but in my desire to understand totally the man so powerful, so intrepid, so gracious in victory, I read on. Man can this guy write, but it's not in the writing that you feel the power of the words. If you read them in front of your video camera and then play them back on the tv, suddenly the words have a power beyond the mere words. I sighed in awe at the poem on page 62, as I am sure you will too. Words that lyrical do not normally appear over the 6 o'clock news. The haiku as a sound bite, a magical combination of war rally and yet somehow not quite telling us everything. The weopons of mass destruction ode, well, what can I say, I believe they were there when you hear yourself speak the words, just remember to falter slightly on the last word of every second line - much more impact. My children hid under the bed when I replayed the video of the poem on page 25-26. Buy this book, buy buy buy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The art of deflection
Some months ago I heard about Rumsfeld's brilliant use of language. The unknown unknowns known knowns quote has become quite famous. Read more
Published 8 months ago by L. Power

5.0 out of 5 stars Very funny, whatever your political leanings
I have little interest in politics, and would probably not have picked this book up if I had not been given it, but it is one of the funniest short books I have read. Read more
Published on 24 Feb 2004 by Dr Charles McEvoy

1.0 out of 5 stars wtf?
hahahahahhahaha
almost as good as his singing, and definatly more surreal
Published on 19 Jul 2003 by jim

1.0 out of 5 stars Save a tree...dont buy this book
I had thought I had read the most trivial, banal books in the world. Well, I was proven wrong when I opened this book. Read more
Published on 16 Jul 2003 by FunCpl

4.0 out of 5 stars Awkward but often insightful
"I ran / you ran / we all ran / from Iran"
- Donald Rumsfeld

In Rumsfeld's poetry, we see a man at once hawkish and yet also sensitive to the suffering of uncivilized... Read more

Published on 11 Jul 2003 by David E. Reynolds

4.0 out of 5 stars Whitman, Williams, Berryman, and now Rumsfeld
Sometimes jarring in intensity while at others softened by a near-tragic pathos, Mr. Rumsfeld's Pieces of Intelligence evinces a formidable new poetic voice attuned to the deepest... Read more
Published on 9 Jul 2003 by tlilly14

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, just stunning
Truly probing prose that disects the mind of the right wing radical fasict persona that we've all come to know and hate.
Published on 7 Jul 2003 by wildmountainhare

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, just stunning
Truly the most articulate, in-depth, intelligent work of the 20th century. His insightful relevant probing of the mind of the right wing radical subversive fascist mind is pure... Read more
Published on 7 Jul 2003 by wildmountainhare

5.0 out of 5 stars Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald H.
Having never been fond of poetry as a method of communication, I have had my eyes opened by the remarkable technique presented by a brilliant mind. Read more
Published on 7 Jul 2003 by Joe Marr

5.0 out of 5 stars Rummy Rhymes!
I liked this book. It was better than "Cats"! What a book, what a man! I was struck dumb by his imagery. What true command of the language this man has. Read more
Published on 4 Jul 2003 by Christine Groneer

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