The Forty Years War: The Rise and Fall of the Neocons, from Nixon to Obama

by Len Colodny and Tom Shachtman

Book Overview

This groundbreaking book chronicles the little-understood evolution of the neoconservative movement from its birth as a rogue insurgency in the Nixon White House through its ascent to full and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061253898
• ISBN13: 9780061253898
• Release Date: December 2009
• Publisher: HarperTorch
• Length: 489 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.7" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Finally a well researched scholarly historical report

I have been waiting for a well researched, scholarly, non-fictional historical report of the influences of military conservatives for a very long time. The only thing that could be better is first hand confessions of the underhanded, unAmerican actions by the NEOCONS and military conservatives but hell will freeze over before we get that and some of them are now dead and have been judged. This is an UNDENIABLE smoking gun of the disengenuous actions of a group of unAmericans used to further their own goals and feather their own nests. I just wished the authors had started with the Tonkin Gulf incident which even Robert McNamara and the US Navy admit...NEVER HAPPENED. Or perhaps the attack on the USS Liberty. This book moves that claims that many of us have had for many years OUT of the realm of conspiracy theories and into the camp of historical facts. The more Americans that read and accept this book for what it is, the better off America will be. I put this book in the same group as Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler's book, "War is a Racket" and Robert McNamara's "The Fog of War" (DVD). In his farewell address to the nation, George Washington warned America of people who are more loyal to ONE MAN or ONE PARTY than to the CONSTITUTION and the American PEOPLE.

The Forty Years War

A sweeping and detailed view of the neoconservative movement in American politics is contained in The Forty Years War. Colodny & Shachtman trace the movement to German expatriate and Pentagon official, Fritz Kramer who taught his devotees, including Kissinger, Haig, and Rumsfeld, that the right path for America was military prowess. The Neocons battle for power and influence, sometimes from behind the scenes and often right in the oval office itself, just might change your view of who really holds the reigns of our government and ultimately, the destiny of America. Sometimes terrifying, this is a must read for anyone that thinks that it is just the person that they are voting for that makes the decisions. The phrase, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" comes to mind. Often, our leaders are swayed by people that don't have the same intentions for this country that we do. Colodny makes that clear. Reviewed by Gwen Stackler

Fascinating read -- the Conservative schism between pragmatists and idealogs, still going on now

Evidently there was a war going on inside the Nixon White House between the pragmatists and the idealogs -- and the little known idealog Fritz Kramer at the Pentagon mentored and shaped the thinking of Henry Kissinger, Donald Rumsfield, Alexander Haig, Dick Cheney, Ronald Reagan and many others who would come to power. It details a dark side of Haig during Watergate, at the time he helped run the White House. This book brings so much of what really happened to light. It's a fascinating read, and a truly important, insightful revision of our American history. I'm posting a link to it on my Facebook page because I want my friends to know the truth.

AN EXCELLENT EVALUATION OF NEOCON PHILOSOPHY & ITS EFFECTS: NIXON TO OBAMA

Four and a half ENGROSSING Stars! "The Forty Years War" is an enjoyable investigative work of recent history and political machinations concerning "neo-conservatives", their philosophy, and events they influenced at the highest levels of government. They are one of the most distinctive political camps in America and therefore should get our attention, whether we agree with them or not. This book by authors Len Colodny and Tom Shachtman covers events and key personnel from Nixon to Obama seen in a different light. Neocons are more complex than simply being militaristic 'hawks' and some originate from an unexpected source. They adhere to the political philosophy of author, scholar, military educator, and political advisor Dr. Fritz G. A. Kraemer (1908-2003), a alluring man "with two doctorates [law and economics] and a rapier of an intellect". Born in Germany, he fought the Nazis and communists before emigrating to the USA and joining the Army, receiving a battlefield commission and a Bronze Star at the WW-II's Battle of the Bulge. Neocons include the likes of Kraemer protégés Henry Kissinger (who evolved in a direction explained in the book) & Alexander Haig, former Democrats Paul Wolfowitz & Richard Perle, diplomat Vernon Walters, James Schlesinger, William Kristol, Eliot Abrams, Democrat "Scoop" Jackson, and Douglas Feith, and many others. And what these Neocons have been up to over the last 7 presidential administrations may amaze some and disturb others, as they have waged 40 years of political war with opposing forces. Along the way, the book cites fascinating moments, people, and key organizations in our history: the true origins of the "Nixon doctrine", the Coalition for a Democratic Majority, the "salted peanuts" memo, "dead keys", Vietnam, Watergate, the SALT II tribulations, an openly weeping President Lon Nol, Nixon's 'Saturday Night Live' TV show surprise, China, the U.S.S.R, "Team B", Iran-Contra, Lebanon, the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), Afghanistan, Iraq, right up to the Obama administration. While I don't agree with everything here, the authors provide alternative food for thought and do cover a lot of ground in a highly-readable, deeply-investigated, and informative manner. The neocon impact on recent history, like it or not, as cited in "The Forty Years War", makes for compelling reading which may cause your view of certain recent events and key historical players to change significantly in terms of 'why' certain events happened or did not happen. Highly Recommended as a great feat of historical scholarship. Four and a half ENGROSSING Stars (This review is based on a Kindle 2 download, reviewed in text-to-speech and written modes.)

Groundbreaking history

Len Colodny and Tom Shachtman break new ground in modern history by fully exploring the influential role played by longtime military adviser Fritz Kraemer, the man who discovered Henry Kissinger and brought Alexander Haig into the Nixon administration's National Security Council. Kraemer's influence continues to this day, as former vice president Dick Cheney echoes Kraemer's belief in the dangers of provocative weakness. Many books have explored the relationship between Kissinger and Richard Nixon. Few have mentioned Kraemer more than briefly. The Forty Years War more than makes up for that omission, and for this alone, it should be considered a groundbreaking work of history.