Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Jerusalem : Gefen Pub. House, c2008.
Description
Islamic supremacism, European cultural disaggregation, American vacillation, and Israeli timidity and confusion. These are the main social contexts that inform political and strategic developments of global and national affairs in our times. In her biweekly commentaries, Caroline B Glick, the formidable Jerusalem Post columnist, highlights these underlying trends while analysing events as they unfold both globally and in Israel. This extraordinary collection of her probing and eloquent work is a must read for all who care about winning the war against the multifarious forces of global jihad.
User reviews
LibraryThing member bostonbibliophile
The Shackled Warrior: Israel and the Global Jihad is what I'd call an aggressive book. The author, writer and Israel-affairs expert Caroline B. Glick, has an aggressive agenda- to prove that Islamic jihadists are out to take over the world, beginning with a campaign of genocide against all Jews.
I
The book is arranged by topic and then chronologically within each topic; this arrangement allows the reader to see her reflections on history as it unfolds- a rare treat. However, because the articles appear without explanatory notes and out of context, it seems to be assumed that the reader knows what she's talking about. Removed from their source, to someone like myself who knows very little about the details of Middle Eastern politics and cannot match random publication dates with the specific events that occurred on or near them, they are simply confusing and it is difficult to learn anything about the Middle East or Israeli politics through her lens. I think reading her in the paper, right next to the day's news, would probably help me follow the thicket of detail and reference more closely.
What I did learn about was Caroline B. Glick and how she sees the world. Not one to build an argument in deliberate and logical fashion, with subtlety, footnotes and backup, her approach is aggressive and jarring, not to mention fast-paced and repetitive. She skims over the day's (or week's) news, using each turn of events to bolster her argument, which is always the same no matter what specific topic she's covering. Then there's the name-calling. For all she knows about the intricacies of Middle Eastern politics, adjectives and accusations are tossed around willy-nilly, often with little support. She claims that Europe is one step away from becoming another Middle Eastern country, what with all the Muslims and the accommodations European governments make for them. She takes the fight to America as well and accuses former Senate candidate Ned Lamont and his supporters of anti-Semitism in his campaign against then-incumbent Senator from Connecticut Joe Lieberman in one or two throwaway sentences, and she includes nothing to substantiate that very serious and inflammatory accusation. I know there were some rumors going around after Lamont beat Lieberman during the primary, and I'm certainly not in a position to evaluate the veracity of the accusations, but whatever the case it's unacceptable for Glick to besmirch someone's good name like that with nothing to back it up. Not content just to libel a Democratic American politician, later chapters see Glick going after such targets as the French, leftist academics and hippie protesters at Harvard. Do you see a pattern yet?
To be honest I found the book almost unreadable going from cover to cover. She has one point to make, and she makes it over and over in every column; after a while I wondered if she had anything else to say. I ended up finishing the first chapter and then cherry-picking through the rest until I had read everything. I'm sure she's better to read in the paper. When I read someone's column once a week or so, over time I can get a good feel for the writer's sensibility and point of view, but reading many columns all at once is a very different experience, particularly with a writer as polemical as Glick. I respect that Glick, unlike some American penthouse pundits, walks the walk and has put herself on the line more than once to become so well-informed. And the book is not without its merits. But it is certainly not appropriate for newcomers to Middle Eastern politics and I would recommend it only to serious Israel and political science buffs looking for an extremely focussed and narrowly-viewed picture of that particular landscape.
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respect Glick's views and there are a lot of positive things to say about this collection. The book is made up of newspaper columns that ran in The Jerusalem Post, and in general her columns are very well-written and she knows her subject inside and out. Her writing is based on experience in the Israel Defense Forces, time as an embedded reporter with the U.S. military and in think tanks in Washington, D.C.; thus her expertise and depth of involvement shine through every page. Her articles, written in the thick of the action, are deeply tied to current events and to her point of view- she writes passionately about her subject and her argument, something any reader absolutely could not miss.The book is arranged by topic and then chronologically within each topic; this arrangement allows the reader to see her reflections on history as it unfolds- a rare treat. However, because the articles appear without explanatory notes and out of context, it seems to be assumed that the reader knows what she's talking about. Removed from their source, to someone like myself who knows very little about the details of Middle Eastern politics and cannot match random publication dates with the specific events that occurred on or near them, they are simply confusing and it is difficult to learn anything about the Middle East or Israeli politics through her lens. I think reading her in the paper, right next to the day's news, would probably help me follow the thicket of detail and reference more closely.
What I did learn about was Caroline B. Glick and how she sees the world. Not one to build an argument in deliberate and logical fashion, with subtlety, footnotes and backup, her approach is aggressive and jarring, not to mention fast-paced and repetitive. She skims over the day's (or week's) news, using each turn of events to bolster her argument, which is always the same no matter what specific topic she's covering. Then there's the name-calling. For all she knows about the intricacies of Middle Eastern politics, adjectives and accusations are tossed around willy-nilly, often with little support. She claims that Europe is one step away from becoming another Middle Eastern country, what with all the Muslims and the accommodations European governments make for them. She takes the fight to America as well and accuses former Senate candidate Ned Lamont and his supporters of anti-Semitism in his campaign against then-incumbent Senator from Connecticut Joe Lieberman in one or two throwaway sentences, and she includes nothing to substantiate that very serious and inflammatory accusation. I know there were some rumors going around after Lamont beat Lieberman during the primary, and I'm certainly not in a position to evaluate the veracity of the accusations, but whatever the case it's unacceptable for Glick to besmirch someone's good name like that with nothing to back it up. Not content just to libel a Democratic American politician, later chapters see Glick going after such targets as the French, leftist academics and hippie protesters at Harvard. Do you see a pattern yet?
To be honest I found the book almost unreadable going from cover to cover. She has one point to make, and she makes it over and over in every column; after a while I wondered if she had anything else to say. I ended up finishing the first chapter and then cherry-picking through the rest until I had read everything. I'm sure she's better to read in the paper. When I read someone's column once a week or so, over time I can get a good feel for the writer's sensibility and point of view, but reading many columns all at once is a very different experience, particularly with a writer as polemical as Glick. I respect that Glick, unlike some American penthouse pundits, walks the walk and has put herself on the line more than once to become so well-informed. And the book is not without its merits. But it is certainly not appropriate for newcomers to Middle Eastern politics and I would recommend it only to serious Israel and political science buffs looking for an extremely focussed and narrowly-viewed picture of that particular landscape.
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LibraryThing member hermit
The 'Shackled Warrior' is a collection of articles written by Caroline Glick originally for "The Jerusalem Post.” She has chosen some of her articles and has placed them into categories that comprise the chapters of the book. Her articles speak not just to political and cultural currents in
This journalist allows you to gain a clear and precise understanding on complex situations that have been allowed to take place to enable the terrorist and explains this as a struggle for freedom over oppression; right over wrong. She is also critical of her own adopted country that she loves. Israel's policies of appeasement over the last two decades and its own part in the enablement of terrorist. The articles show the strength of the citizens and soldiers of the United States and Israel and the self-serving and destructive policies of the "enlightened" elite of these countries and Europe. Of course in this complicity of the 'enlightened elite' falls most of the mass media that she explains empowers Palestinian and Arab propaganda tactics to work. Most of the world media seems not only willing but eager to put forth the terrorist propaganda and hide or subvert the truth.
It was a pleasure to read columns by a real journalist that does not worry about political correctness, but has an emphasis and concern on being correct with the facts presented in her columns. Glick is up front in her desire to insure the security of Israel and is cognizant of the true threats the nation face. Born in the United States, educated at Harvard and having served as a member of the Israeli Defense Forces gives her a good understanding about her subject material. She also worked as an embedded journalist with an American mechanized Infantry unit at the beginning of 'Operation Iraq Freedom' and gives a very clear view on the American soldiers view on the war and what they face as they moved quickly forward. If the free world's fight against Terror is of importance to you this book has to be on you reading list.
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Israel, but in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. Her articles show she has an understanding of the strategic importance of the events she writes about. And when you look at the dates of the articles you see that her insights were correct.This journalist allows you to gain a clear and precise understanding on complex situations that have been allowed to take place to enable the terrorist and explains this as a struggle for freedom over oppression; right over wrong. She is also critical of her own adopted country that she loves. Israel's policies of appeasement over the last two decades and its own part in the enablement of terrorist. The articles show the strength of the citizens and soldiers of the United States and Israel and the self-serving and destructive policies of the "enlightened" elite of these countries and Europe. Of course in this complicity of the 'enlightened elite' falls most of the mass media that she explains empowers Palestinian and Arab propaganda tactics to work. Most of the world media seems not only willing but eager to put forth the terrorist propaganda and hide or subvert the truth.
It was a pleasure to read columns by a real journalist that does not worry about political correctness, but has an emphasis and concern on being correct with the facts presented in her columns. Glick is up front in her desire to insure the security of Israel and is cognizant of the true threats the nation face. Born in the United States, educated at Harvard and having served as a member of the Israeli Defense Forces gives her a good understanding about her subject material. She also worked as an embedded journalist with an American mechanized Infantry unit at the beginning of 'Operation Iraq Freedom' and gives a very clear view on the American soldiers view on the war and what they face as they moved quickly forward. If the free world's fight against Terror is of importance to you this book has to be on you reading list.
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LibraryThing member mramos
This book is a collection of parts of Ms. Glick’s columns from the pages of 'The Jerusalem Post' that she wrote from 2002 to 2007. When you read this book it is obvious she wrote for her Israeli audience and those in the world who would already agree with her point of view. I did not find this a
The author has a BA in Political Science from Columbia University and in 1991 emigrated to Israel. Caroline Glick was born in Chicago, USA, and is the deputy managing editor of the Jerusalem Post and a Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Center for Security Policy. I can understand Ms. Glick being pro Israel and and expressing concern about taking the Arab's point of view with a grain of salt. And she has no qualms in letting us know how adept the Arabs are at manipulating the world press. And in her words we learn that this conflict will be solved only when one side of the conflict has won militarily.
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book that I could pick up and just read straight through. The author credentials are sterling for writing on this subject but her style will not do anything to help get those who disagree with her to open up for a dialogue.The author has a BA in Political Science from Columbia University and in 1991 emigrated to Israel. Caroline Glick was born in Chicago, USA, and is the deputy managing editor of the Jerusalem Post and a Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Center for Security Policy. I can understand Ms. Glick being pro Israel and and expressing concern about taking the Arab's point of view with a grain of salt. And she has no qualms in letting us know how adept the Arabs are at manipulating the world press. And in her words we learn that this conflict will be solved only when one side of the conflict has won militarily.
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Language
Original publication date
2008-04-20
ISBN
9789652294159
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Pages
xx; 427