Blowback
By (Author) Professor Chalmers Johnson
Little, Brown Book Group
Sphere
28th August 2002
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Central / national / federal government policies
Political economy
327.73
Paperback
288
Width 128mm, Height 198mm, Spine 20mm
An account of the consequences of American global policies. The author argues that, in the 21st century, America will reap the global resentments it is now sowing. "Blowback", a term that officials of the CIA first coined for their internal use, refers to the unintended consequences of American policies and the dangers faced by an over-extended empire that insists on projecting its military power to every corner of the globe and using American capital and markets to force global economic integration on its own terms. From America's role in Asia's financial crisis, to its early support for Saddam Hussein and its actions in the Balkans, Chalmers Johnson reveals the misguided actions of a nation basking in its own triumphalism. In the wake of the Cold War, the USA has imprudently expanded the commitments it made over the previous 40 years. In "Blowback", Johnson issues a warning: it is time for the American empire to demobilize before its bills become due.
"Chalmers Johnson is one of the most influential, brilliant, and provocative intellectuals writing today. He weaves past, present, and future together with extraordinary skill" - John Dower, the 1999 winner of the NBCC non-fiction award for WAR WITHOUT MERCY. * 'Timely, provocative and absorbing' - Orville Schell, author of MANDATE OF HEAVEN.
CHALMERS JOHNSON, president of the Japan Policy Research Institute and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, has written highly acclaimed books on Japan and Asia.