THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES by William J. Bennett and Seth Leibsohn

The Fight of Our Lives: Knowing the Enemy, Speaking the Truth & Choosing to Win the War Against Radical Islam is a 2011 book by William J. Bennett and Seth Leibsohn. Here, the authors, in criticism of  the use of what they call “soft” tactics in the war against terrorism, advocate a clearer identification of and stronger opposition to America’s enemies.

One of the highlights of The Fight of Our Lives is the authors’ excellent and savage attack on the media and the government’s fixation on political correctness. Much of the politically correct language used concerning the fight against terrorists has, as the authors say, blurred the issues and muddied the waters. And the authors are correct that this seems to be a form of appeasement, and that it would be better to be firm, to be resolute. The authors’ analysis of radical Muslims in the United States who slipped under the radar because of this focus on political correctness is eye-opening.

That said, the book as a whole oversimplifies matters to an alarming degree. The conflict is framed here, completely black and white, as America, the secular nation, versus (radical) Islam, the religion. And while the authors rightly condemn the tactics of the terrorists, America is at liberty, they say, to do whatever is necessary to defend itself – thus at the same time that the authors criticize terrorists for killing civilians, they defend America’s bombings of civilian centers and use of torture (which they actually deny happened). Here, America seems to be the end-all of human achievement and is, in fact, in no way to blame for anything. The entire book rings profoundly hypocritical.

The authors push their fearmongering ultra-right wing hawk agenda at every turn, and the tone of this book is simply awful. The authors are deliberately pejorative, beyond what is useful, to any and everyone with whom they disagree, whether it’s radical Muslims, President Obama, or his administration. It’s one thing to be anti-appeasement; that’s fine. But theirs is a gospel of retaliation without accountability, and they don’t seem to think particularly much of either the Constitution or diplomacy.

Coming from the publisher Thomas Nelson, the reader might expect this book to consider the conflict from a Christian perspective; it doesn’t. Far from it. There’s about a page here glossing over the concept of Christian “just war,” and outside of Chapter 7, “False Peace and True Peace,” in which the authors rebut the argument that Christianity and Judaism are more violent religions than Islam, there’s really no other mention of Christianity, and certainly nothing in the book is considered from a Christian point of view. This is not in and of itself a condemnation of the book, but it may helpful for the reader to know what he’s getting into.

The authors’ treatment of faith is one of the book’s major problems. The authors seem to have no real respect for faith or its accompanying tenets, for Islam or any religion. This is shown most clearly in their laughable “solution” to the whole mess – to “fix” Islam. Islam, the authors say, needs reform, which means that its theology and doctrine must be adapted and brought in line with secular America’s modern sensibilities. “Moderate” Muslims, say the authors, are the ones who will be willing to do that. The authors are, in essence, looking for the Muslim equivalents of reformed Jews and non-practicing Catholics. And best of luck with that.  

While it is neither without merit nor valid points, The Fight of Our Lives is, on the whole, an oversimplified and fearmongering response to real and serious issues.

NOT RECOMMENDED

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

THE MOON POOL by Abraham Merritt

The Moon Pool is a 1919 “lost world” fantasy novel by Abraham Merritt based on two of his short stories. Here, a scientist leads a small band beneath the surface of the Earth in pursuit of others abducted by an evil entity called “the Shining One,” whereupon they discover a lost civilization on the brink of war.  

Merritt’s writing is wonderfully imaginative and extraordinarily detailed. His ideas, his places, his devices, and his underground world are enthralling. The Moon Pool does have a certain charm. And yet the writing has a lot of problems.

Pacing is the most egregious issue. The book crawls in many places, and for long stretches. This shouldn’t be; there’s plenty happening in the story, but Merritt’s writing ranges between verbose and extremely verbose. The storytelling is further hampered by a cast of flattish characters spouting corny dialogue, a great deal of which neither develops the characters in meaningful ways nor moves the story along.

Merritt devotes paragraph upon paragraph to his vivid descriptions of subterranean wonders, and yet the reader’s sense of place is often poor, as Merritt can scarcely ever be bothered to tell the reader where, specifically, his characters are, or where that might be in relation to the other places he’s depicted.

There are other issues. It’s painfully convenient how quickly all the characters learn the subterranean language. Much of the mystery of the underground world isn’t resolved until much too late in the book, and then by way of a massive expository dump. The book’s climax, an epic clash between warring factions, should be exciting, but the resolutions are clichéd and predictable.

The Moon Pool has been cited as an influence on Lovecraft’s “Call of Cthulhu.” As far as horrific creatures emerging from lost cities beneath the sea to ravage humanity go, that seems reasonable. Beyond some basic thematic similarities, however, there’s really no comparison.

Merritt isn’t read a great deal these days, and now you know why. On the whole, The Moon Pool feels like a missed opportunity, and it’s too bad. As it is, there are no doubt plenty of better books in the genre. And yet…The Moon Pool would probably make a pretty good film.

NOT RECOMMENDED

CEREBUS by Dave Sim

Cerebus (1987) collects the first twenty-five issues of Dave Sim’s independent comic Cerebus the Aardvark, which were originally published from 1977 to 1981. These comics are, fundamentally, Conan parodies starring a bad-tempered, drunkard, anthropomorphic aardvark mercenary.

Cerebus begins with what are more or less straightforward Conan-type sword and sorcery stories with comic elements thrown in. These silly characters and gags don’t always mix well with the more serious/traditional ones, and the earliest issues are fair to middling.

Yet Sim’s storytelling evolves with impressive speed. By the second half of the volume, he is telling multi-issue stories filled with interesting supporting characters. These stories are not only quite entertaining (mostly), but they also begin to contain some political and social commentary.

Sim’s artwork also changes drastically over the course of these issues, especially his depiction of Cerebus. But these changes are for the better, as Sim finds and becomes comfortable with his own style. His art ends up being pretty solid – his faces and expressions are particularly good. He also does an impressive job with shading and backgrounds given the black and white medium. If there’s a nitpick, it’s with his lettering: his P’s often look confusingly like D’s.

On the whole, Cerebus is worthwhile for anyone into Conan stories, and it’s particularly interesting to watch Sim evolve as a storyteller and artist.

RECOMMENDED

OF THEE I SING by Barack Obama

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters is a 2010 children’s book by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long. Here, Obama affirms his children’s positive attributes while paying tribute to thirteen influential Americans.

The book reads like Obama talks; you can hear him in your head without trying too hard. And the text is a lot like a speech: it extols, in a somewhat general way, virtue, hard work, bravery, and the like, without getting into anything terribly substantial. But for what this book is trying to do, that’s fine.

Long’s art is the highlight of the book. Beginning with representations of Obama’s two daughters, on each left-facing page, Long adds a child version of the notable American spotlighted on the opposite page. By the end of the book, there is a mass of diverse humanity.

Sitting Bull, who made war against the federal government, is, shall we say, an interesting choice here, particularly since he’s saluted as a healer. I wouldn’t say it’s an inappropriate choice, necessarily, but Obama is certainly trying to get the reader to look at American history from multiple points of view.

Regardless of what you think of Obama or his policies, Of Thee I Sing is a lovely little book that celebrates the best about America and the people who made her great. Read it to your kids.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED