“Merchant of Death” by Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah is the story of Viktor Bout, the Tajik-born Russian arms dealer who was the inspiration behind the 2005 film Lord of War starring Nicholas Cage. According to Braun and Farah, Bout’s arms smuggling operation was gargantuan. Bout owned a fleet of massive Soviet cargo planes, suchContinue reading “Review: “Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man who makes War Possible” – Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah”
Tag Archives: USA
Review: “Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation” – Michael H. Belzer
Before obtaining his Ph.D. in economics from Cornel University, Michael H. Belzer logged over 750,000 over-the-road miles as a Teamster tank-truck driver. Thus, along with his academic background, Belzer has firsthand experience working in the trucking industry. Like Belzer, I, too, am an academic with experience working in the trucking industry, increasing the appeal ofContinue reading “Review: “Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation” – Michael H. Belzer”
Review: “Ethnocultural Processes and National Problems in the Modern World” – ed. I. R. Grigulevich
“Ethnocultural Processes and National Problems in the Modern World” is a collection of essays by Soviet ethnologists edited by I. R. Grigulevich about ethnic, racial, and national issues in both the USSR and other countries. This is an impressively comprehensive book. Part 1 of the book examines ethnocultural processes in the USSR and is dividedContinue reading “Review: “Ethnocultural Processes and National Problems in the Modern World” – ed. I. R. Grigulevich”
Review: “To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia” – Michael Parenti
“To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia” by Michael Parenti is the best book on the Balkan wars I have ever read. Parenti is my two favourite authors (the other being Victor Perlo), and this is probably my favourite book by him. Anyone interested in the Balkans and NATO’s aggressive expansion since the overthrowContinue reading “Review: “To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia” – Michael Parenti”
Review: “The Autobiography of Big Bill Haywood” – William D. Haywood
The one-eyed William D. “Big Bill” Haywood (1869-1923) was a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a member of the Communist Party of the USA, and a revolutionary fighter against capitalism and exploitation. His autobiography is a riveting working-class history of the USA. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1869,Continue reading “Review: “The Autobiography of Big Bill Haywood” – William D. Haywood”
Review: “The History of Democracy: A Marxist Interpretation” – Brian S. Roper
What are the origins of ‘democracy’? Are countries like the US, Canada, Britain, etc., democratic? In “The History of Democracy: A Marxist Interpretation,” Brian S. Roper examines liberal assumptions about the origins and essence of democracy using Marxist historical materialism. Roper begins by examining the system of participatory democracy in Athens and Rome and itsContinue reading “Review: “The History of Democracy: A Marxist Interpretation” – Brian S. Roper”
Review: “State-Monopoly Capitalism and Labour Law” – Igor Kiselyov
You’ll have to forgive me for the brevity of this review. I have been working tirelessly to get my manuscript ready for publication with my editor, which has consequently occupied most of my time, thoughts, and energy. Also, I read this book weeks ago, so might have forgotten some of it by now. “State-Monopoly CapitalismContinue reading “Review: “State-Monopoly Capitalism and Labour Law” – Igor Kiselyov”
Review: “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution” – Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy
“Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution” by Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy is a masterpiece of history, international law, and the failure of UN conflict resolution. Zunes and Mundy identify and methodically examine the sources of the almost five-decade-long dispute and its intractability, including the Moroccan regime’s need for legitimacy leading to manifest destiny-likeContinue reading “Review: “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution” – Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy”
Review: “Recent History of the Labor Movement in the United States: 1918-1939” – ed. B. Y. Mikhailov
This is the first volume in a three-volume series by Progress Publishers examining the US labour movement from 1918 to 1980. Although the title of the book and of the series is the “Recent History of the Labor Movement in the United States,” there was actually very little history in the book. The book isContinue reading “Review: “Recent History of the Labor Movement in the United States: 1918-1939” – ed. B. Y. Mikhailov”
Russia, NATO, and the “Kosovoization” of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, marking a dramatic escalation in the Russo-Ukrainian Conflict that began in 2014. While the world denounces the Russian invasion of Ukraine — as it rightly should — efforts by the West to depict Ukraine as an innocent victim and Russia as evil reincarnate fail to tell the wholeContinue reading “Russia, NATO, and the “Kosovoization” of Ukraine”
No to War in Europe – Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Canada
The military incursion of Russian forces into Ukraine has seriously ratcheted up tensions in the region, across Europe and internationally, and increased the danger of ‘great power’ confrontation and even nuclear war. This military action must end as quickly as possible, and with minimum loss of lives, especially among the civilian population, and a negotiatedContinue reading “No to War in Europe – Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Canada”
Review: “History in the Making: Memoirs of WWII Diplomacy” – Valentin Berezhkov
In this book published by Progress Publishers, Valentin Berezhkov describes in incredible detail high-level diplomatic meetings between representatives of the USSR and representatives from Nazi Germany, Britain, and the U.S., as part of a comprehensive analysis of the politics of WWII. An engineer by profession, Berezhkov was transferred first to the Soviet embassy in BerlinContinue reading “Review: “History in the Making: Memoirs of WWII Diplomacy” – Valentin Berezhkov”
Review: “Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International Politics of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-68” – Asher Orkaby
Asher Orkaby’s “Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International Politics of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-68” is a comprehensive analysis of the international politics and significance of the (North) Yemeni Civil War. The Yemeni Civil War began on September 26th, 1962, when the military forces of Abdullah al-Sallal shelled Muhammad al-Badr’s royal palace in Sana’aContinue reading “Review: “Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International Politics of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-68” – Asher Orkaby”
Review: “The Last Soviet Republic: Alexander Lukashenko’s Belarus” – Stewart Parker
Belarus has made international headlines in 2020 with the Belarusian presidential election and accusations that the election was rigged in favour of Alexander Lukashenko, who has served as president of Belarus since 1994. Although this seemed like a U.S.-sponsored colour revolution to me (and I still think it is), I didn’t know enough about BelarusContinue reading “Review: “The Last Soviet Republic: Alexander Lukashenko’s Belarus” – Stewart Parker”
Review: “Russia and the Right to Self-Determination in the Post-Soviet Space” – Johannes Socher
I was not very enthusiastic about Johannes Socher’s “Russia and the Right to Self-Determination in the Post-Soviet Space” when I first ordered it on Amazon. The title of the book sounded like it was going to be some kind of Russophobic ‘analysis’, i.e., U.S.-NATO propaganda, like books by Svante Cornell, Kamal Makili-Aliyev, Bahruz Balyev, andContinue reading “Review: “Russia and the Right to Self-Determination in the Post-Soviet Space” – Johannes Socher”
Review: “‘Human Relations’ Doctrine: Ideological Weapon of the Monopolies” – Nina Bogomolova
Before I read Nina Bogomolova’s book “‘Human Relations’ Doctrine: Ideological Weapon of the Monopolies” I had no idea what “human relations” doctrine was. A few pages into the book, however, I soon realized I knew exactly what “human relations” doctrine was and that I have personally experienced it — and I knew I was goingContinue reading “Review: “‘Human Relations’ Doctrine: Ideological Weapon of the Monopolies” – Nina Bogomolova”
Review: “Getting Away with Murder: Benazir Bhutto’s Assassination and the Politics of Pakistan” – Heraldo Munoz
Heraldo Munoz is a Chilean politician who was appointed to head a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. This book is kind of like an unofficial memoir of his experience investigating Bhutto’s assassination. It is a unique blend of a historical andContinue reading “Review: “Getting Away with Murder: Benazir Bhutto’s Assassination and the Politics of Pakistan” – Heraldo Munoz”
Review: “Danger: NATO” – Anatoly Grishchenko, Vladimir Semenov, and Leonid Teplinsky
“Danger NATO” by Anatoly Grishchenko, Vladimir Semenov, and Leonid Teplinsky is a short Marxist-Leninist analysis of NATO published in the USSR. The book examines the history, establishment, and ideology of NATO, how the U.S. uses NATO to pressure Western European states to act as junior and subservient partners of U.S. imperialism against their own nationalContinue reading “Review: “Danger: NATO” – Anatoly Grishchenko, Vladimir Semenov, and Leonid Teplinsky”
Review: “Blood on their Banner: Nationalist Struggles in the South Pacific” – David Robie
David Robie’s “Blood on their Banner: Nationalist Struggles in the South Pacific” is a comprehensive and outstanding work on the struggles of the peoples of the South Pacific against colonialism and for the right to self-determination. No other work on the South Pacific compares in the amount detail and information contained in Robie’s book, notContinue reading “Review: “Blood on their Banner: Nationalist Struggles in the South Pacific” – David Robie”
“General De Gaulle: His Life and Work” – Nikolai Molchanov
“General de Gaulle: His Life and Work” by Nikolai Molchanov is one of the BEST biographies I have ever read. Molchanov, a Soviet scholar, offers a Marxist-Leninist analysis of one of France’s most important leaders, General Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free France forces against Vichy France and Nazi Germany in WWII, ChairmanContinue reading ““General De Gaulle: His Life and Work” – Nikolai Molchanov”
T. J. Petrowski 