War Talk Paperback – 1 Apr 2003

Arundhati Roy's "War Talk" is written with an unique blend of passion and moral clarity. By sympathizing with the struggles of the lower and middle classes against their increasing exploitation by the powerful, the book serves as a bottom-up indictment of violent global capitalism. Ms. Roy suggests that war is merely the most extreme manifestation of an elitist capitalist system that is sustained by subsuming all available land, labor and resources to its own ends. The result is a scathing and compelling critique of capitalism and politics as practiced in both the U.S. and her native India.
Ms. Roy initially made her mark as a novelist, and her gift for prose is turned to very good use here. In an era when the corporate media routinely treats moral issues in an ambiguous manner, the author's convictions seem to be almost revelatory. For example, when discussing the standoff between India and Pakistan over the contentious issue of Kashmir, she writes, "Why do we tolerate the men who use nuclear weapons to blackmail the entire human race?" Why, indeed?
While Ms. Roy minces no words about the growth of fascism in India, she credits President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair with creating "a congenial international atmosphere" for fascism to take root. This is a world where the U.S. uses its military might to support its multinational corporate empire. Destroying countries that harbor terrorists is only its most obvious and visible form. Ms. Roy believes that it is the mistreatment of the poor by the powerful -- e.g., the lack of respect for human rights; the privatization of public resources; the monopolization of "free" speech by media corporations; and so on -- that ultimately defines the empire and, conversely, the struggle that must ensue to confront and supplant it.
I give this book the highest possible rating and highly recommend it to anyone who might be struggling to understand the increasingly violent world we are inhabiting.

Arundhati Roy has again taken aim at globalization and the injustice she sees inherent in the world today. She provides the type of information that doesn't come close to making the nightly news in America. From war to economic integration, Roy tackles the sacred cows in America with no remorse.
My main complaint about "War Talk" is that the book is a collection of material that has been already been published. Among the six essays, no new writing was done for this work (aside from some editing and minor additions). Most of this material is available in other works or on the Internet, and anyone who has read some of Roy's material online will likely be disappointed to see much of it replicated here. The best piece in the collection is an essay that was written as an introduction to Noam Chomsky's book "For Reasons of State." Because they were not written as a single work, these essays overlap each other quite a bit. They also overlap with some of the essays in Roy's previous book, "Power Politics." If you've read that book, this collection will add little new insight.
However, these criticisms do not diminish the power of Roy's writing. She pulls no punches, and she is scathing in her attacks. Her message is clear: corporate globalization is imperialism, America is an empire, and there is nothing free about free markets, free speech, or free press. She addresses issues ranging from the abuses of the ruling BJP in India against Muslims to the non-accountability of the WTO, IMF and World Bank. The final essay "Confronting Empire" is a call for revolution, and it outlines the prescription for affecting change.
"War Talk" provides a rehash of the commentary that we have come to expect from Arundhati Roy. It also provides a rehash of her passion, and that makes this book worth reading.

War Talk is the most recent book of essays by author Arundhati Roy (The God of Small Things). In this volume Roy continues to take on India's Big Dam project (a subject in her previous two volumes of essays), as well as violence world wide. She does not spare her native India anything and takes on the War Against Terror and the hypocrisy of U.S. foreign policy. It is always a pleasure to ready Roy's work. She gives out a viewpoint of a citizen from another country and brings a new voice to the table. She condemns how Americans are presented information and understands that it is difficult to get truly factual from the press (any press). She also praises Noam Chomsky for his work in revealing some of the lies that are fed to Americans by the United States government. I am not informed enough to know anything about the accuracy of her statements regarding U.S. policy, but Roy has a viewpoint that should be considered. I feel that the biggest value in Roy's essays comes in revealing information about Indian politics and Indian life. I know very little about India, and Roy is a valuable source of information and makes me want to learn more about this ancient (yet young) nation.

This is a wonderful book.
The essays cover an enormous range of subjects, from politics in India to the rapid rise of the US to Empireship.
Two things are most refreshing: First, Roy's clear-eyed ridicule of US self-importance and self-mythologizing. Second, her unwavering contention that all war is essentially a war of the rich against the poor.
She is biting and humorous and absolutely indignant at the misinformation and disinformation people in the US are fed to justify the US corporate takeover of the world--with the aid and support of almost every government, bought and bribed and stolen.

As Americans being exposed to the recycled garbage churned by local media every day we surely are not accustomed to listening to the bitter reality of politics around us and that too explained so beautifully.