Nemesis
The Last Days of the American Republic
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4.5 • 6 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The long-awaited final volume of Chalmers Johnson's bestselling
Blowback trilogy confronts the overreaching of the American empire and the threat it poses to the republic
In his prophetic book Blowback, Chalmers Johnson linked the CIA's clandestine activities abroad to disaster at home. In The Sorrows of Empire, he explored the ways in which the growth of American militarism and the garrisoning of the planet have jeopardized our stability. Now, in Nemesis, he shows how imperial overstretch is undermining the republic itself, both economically and politically.
Delving into new areas—from plans to militarize outer space to Constitution-breaking presidential activities at home and the devastating corruption of a toothless Congress—Nemesis offers a striking description of the trap into which the dreams of America's leaders have taken us. Drawing comparisons to empires past, Johnson explores in vivid detail just what the unintended consequences of our dependence on a permanent war economy are likely to be. What does it mean when a nation's main intelligence organization becomes the president's secret army? Or when the globe's sole "hyperpower," no longer capable of paying for the vaulting ambitions of its leaders, becomes the greatest hyper-debtor of all times?
In his stunning conclusion, Johnson suggests that financial bankruptcy could herald the breakdown of constitutional government in America—a crisis that may ultimately prove to be the only path to a renewed nation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Like ancient Rome, America is saddled with an empire that is fatally \t\t undermining its republican government, argues Johnson (The Sorrows of Empire), in this bleak jeremiad. He \t\t surveys the trappings of empire: the brutal war of choice in Iraq and other \t\t foreign interventions going back decades; the militarization of space; the \t\t hundreds of overseas U.S. military bases full of "swaggering soldiers who brawl \t\t and sometimes rape." At home, the growth of an "imperial presidency," with the \t\t CIA as its "private army," has culminated in the Bush administration's resort \t\t to warrantless wiretaps, torture, a "gulag" of secret CIA prisons and an \t\t unconstitutional arrogation of "dictatorial" powers, while a corrupt Congress \t\t bows like the Roman Senate to Caesar. Retribution looms, the author warns, as \t\t the American economy, dependent on a bloated military-industrial complex and \t\t foreign borrowing, staggers toward bankruptcy, maybe a military coup. Johnson's \t\t is a biting, often effective indictment of some ugly and troubling features of \t\t America's foreign policy and domestic politics. But his doom-laden trope of \t\t empire ("the capacity for things to get worse is limitless.... the American \t\t republic may be coming to its end") seems overstated. With Bush a lame duck, \t\t not a Caesar, and his military adventures repudiated by the electorate, the \t\t Republic seems more robust than Johnson allows.
Customer Reviews
Nemesis the last days of the american republic
Everyone that serves in government in Washington should be made to read this book. I am a Vietnam veteran, an Air force pilot, that served from 1972-1977. I am appalled and heart broken that my government is so misguided. Both parties are culpable the Republicans being the worst. It is clear to me that we are the real terrorists with no regard for human life or respect of the people in other countries. When our American empire fails, we will get what we deserve. My oldest son has been on two tours in Afghanistan in the army, I pray that his life will be spared and his mental state will be livable after the difficult tasks he has performed for his country. I have friends that are Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, South American, Korean and Israeli, we have no problem loving each other and are sick that we cannot live in peace. It is clear that religion and government are the real evildoers that will not be happy until they have extinguished all life on planet earth. The legacy on mankind is pathetic, it does not have to be this way, why can not we see? Russ Squelch. A citizen of our planet hoping!