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How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine
by Norman Solomon
From the acclaimed veteran political analyst, a searing new exposé of how the American military, with the help of the media, conceals its perpetual war
More than twenty years ago, 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan set into motion a hugely consequential shift in America's foreign policy: a perpetual state of war that is almost entirely invisible to the American public. War Made Invisible, by the journalist and political analyst Norman Solomon, exposes how this happened, and what its consequences are, from military and civilian casualties to drained resources at home.
From Iraq through Afghanistan and Syria and on to little-known deployments in a range of countries around the globe, the United States has been at perpetual war for at least the past two decades. Yet many of these forays remain off the radar of average Americans. Compliant journalists add to the smokescreen by providing narrow coverage of military engagements and by repeating the military's talking points. Meanwhile, the increased use of high technology, air power, and remote drones has put distance between soldiers and the civilians who die. Back at home, Solomon argues, the cloak of invisibility masks massive Pentagon budgets that receive bipartisan approval even as policy makers struggle to fund the domestic agenda.
Necessary, timely, and unflinching, War Made Invisible is an eloquent moral call for counting the true costs of war.
"A powerful, necessary indictment of efforts to disguise the human toll of American foreign policy."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[War Made Invisible] builds a convincing case that too many secrets are being kept from the public. It's a troubling and worthwhile call for change."
—Publishers Weekly
"When my father hit the black sands of Iwo Jima, the photograph of the flag raising atop Mount Suribachi took 48 hours from the snap of the camera to mothers and fathers viewing their sons on the front pages of their hometown newspapers. Today dozens of conflicts are unseen and unknown by us the taxpayers who pay for them. Norman Solomon now explains how this seemingly impossible situation has become our everyday reality."
—James Bradley, author of Flag of Our Fathers
"For decades Norman Solomon has been one of the most insightful critics of the incestuous and war-addicted American press. His new book gives us reason to weep and also to cheer. Weep to see how eagerly our media promotes foreign wars and the politicians and arms makers who design them. Cheer to know that a few clear-eyed Americans see what they are doing and write about it."
—Stephen Kinzer, award-winning journalist and bestselling author of All the Shah's Men
"With an immense and rare humanity, Solomon insists that we awaken from the slumber of denial and distraction and confront the carnage of the U.S.'s never-ending military onslaughts. A staggeringly important intervention."
—Naomi Klein, bestselling author of The Shock Doctrine
This information about War Made Invisible was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Norman Solomon is co-founder of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His books include War Made Easy, Made Love, Got War, and War Made Invisible (The New Press). He lives in the San Francisco area.
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