First published 2004
James Carroll takes on the Bush administration's approach to the war on terror through his weekly Boston Globe columns. The son of a general and former antiwar chaplain, Carroll rejects the framing of terrorism as something requiring traditional warfare. He argues against the President's use of religious language and fear to justify military action. Carroll traces how Bush policies changed America's relationships with other countries and with its own citizens. He predicted the Iraq war would fail and examines how faith-based thinking shaped government decisions. Carroll brings together his background in religion, his family military connections, and his experience as an activist to critique what he sees as a departure from American values. The book collects his columns into a sustained argument about politics, morality, and America's role in the world. Carroll calls for returning to what he considers the country's better traditions.
Genres: american, biography-memoir, activism, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, social-commentary
Setting: Boston, America, Iraq
Period: 21st-century
304 pages · Hardcover · Metropolitan Books