Rogue Nation: The America the Rest of the World Knows

by Peter Scowen

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0771080050
• ISBN13: 9780771080050
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A necessary corrective

Although Scowen's book will strike some as one-sided and possibly unfair to the United States and the American people, its main argument (that America hypocritally engages in behaviour that flies in the face of its most vaunted values, and that its bullying ways lead to a natural resentment around the world) is a useful corrective to the pro-American attitude that baby boomer Canadians particularly tended to develop, having been exposed to much of the myth-building stories that Americans still hold dear. For those of us who grew up with a belief that the U.S. was a friendly place, a home of democracy, and a country that took seriously such ideas as moral bravery, honesty, kindness and fairness, "Rogue Nation" should be a real eye-opener. We can no longer afford to be so naive about the most powerful country in the world. Scowen may be writing more as a journalist than an historian, but he meticulously cites the sources for all his material, and he continually gives the reader glimpses of his own discomfort at slamming the U.S. so repeatedly and so damningly. Cynicism might prompt one to say, "Well, what can you expect?" but the fact is, we do expect more from this self-professed beacon of truth, justice and the American way, and we can only hope that the next administration in Washington is able to rally Americans to a reshaping of the nation's democratic institutions and a radical change in its foreign policies.

A good read, but feeling a bit not enough

This is a very good book on a hot subject. From a Canadian's view point, our relationship with the US seems always to be a love-hate, bitter-sweet affair. I think the main reason being that we are so close and yet so far away from the Americans.This kind of feeling towards USA, I believe, was what led Mr Scowen to do his reaseach and write this book. He has done some very thorough researches on American involvements in places such as WW2-Japan, some countries in Latin America, Sudan, Iran and Iraq. All the facts are laid bear in the book. These details occupy half the space of the book. And they are true eye-openers. But what about the Amercian involvements in other countries? For example: Vietnam (only mentioned in a few places in the book), South Korea (he mentioned the creation of North/South Korea), Nationalist Chinese Governments in Mainland China and in Taiwan, The Philippines, Panama, Granada, Haiti? If we look up history, we start asking how about the Amercian military actions in the Spanish War, Manchu China, Mexico and Canada?While asking these questions, I must admit I fully enjoy reading the book (twice in 2 months). Perhaps in the first place, gave Mr. Scowen more time in his research the above-mentioned omission could be included in his book.I strongly recommend anyone with an open-mind on the affair that is America to read it. I suspect the book is being translated into many languages by now. In hind sight I notice only Canadians and Brazilian care to write a review on this book. I don't know why; a book of similar name written by an Amercian received thousands of online reviews.

Why the american citizens are so blind?

I am from Brazil, and I read this book in Portuguese. I already knew lots of crimes that the USA government did around the world. But, what makes me more sad is that the great majority of the american citizens are blind for all those crimes. If you read this book, you will be very sad and angry. But we must be sad and angry, to try to change this american "Roman Empire" way of controling the world. A median american that read this book will probably see how much his primary school used to hide information from his education, used to simplify complex issues about USA international policy, and used to teach an official text that were made to make you blind for all those crimes. The american midia does the same thing. This book is great!

My entry into the REAL world of US foreign policy

I love this book. The book is eminently readable and at times even poetic--particularly the introduction. It is writtten by a Canadian journalist who almost lost his sister in 9-11. He set out to find out if the strikes could have been in response to American foreign policy. While Scowen doesn't present us with any new discoveries, he does give us some newly released information and documents that show true US intentions in such events as Al-Shifa in Sudan and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is an excellent overview of American foreign policy from WWII on for someone (like me) who never bothered before to learn the details. This book is a keeper. I am someone with dual citizenship from the US and Canada, as is the authour. My hope is that this book gets some readers in Middle America who might then understand the reasons behind what is happening TO and in the States.He also has chapters on an "empty" and "super-sized" American culture which should be required reading in any American History classroom. While it might sound as though he has a bias against the States in my review, I think his writing is objective and balanced. However, he doesn't mince his words, either.