Dirty truths : reflections on politics, media, ideology, conspiracy, ethnic life and class power

Essays are enjoying renewed popularity, from the personal essays of Lewis Thomas, to the intellectual treats of Marguerite Yourcenar, to the political and social commentary of Michael Parenti in this superb collection. Parenti covers the myth of the liberal media, terrorist hype, John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy phobia, and an insider's view of ethnic struggle, among many other topical subjects. The essays are eye-openers, expressed in straightforward, smooth prose that entertains as it informs. If you enjoy a fresh perspective on contemporary issues, or if you want information on issues that may have been hidden or glossed over by the media, pick up Parenti! "Parenti is a genuinely interesting guy, and when he writes about his own experiences, he's extremely effective. It's impossible not to sympathize with a man being blacklisted from academia because of his political beliefs, or with the kid who has to watch his dad's bakery forced out of business by the big chains. The points that Parenti raises in his essays are almost unfailingly thought-provoking." — Publishers Weekly Michael Parenti, PhD Yale, is an internationally known author and lecturer. He is one of the nation's leadiing progressive political analysts. He is the author of over 275 published articles and twenty books. His writings are published in popular periodicals, scholarly journals, and his op-ed pieces have been in leading newspapers such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. His informative and entertaining books and talks have reached a wide range of audiences in North America and abroad. ** ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6 INTRODUCTION 9 Politics and Issues 10 Hidden Holocaust 10 Some Grim Statistics 10 A Happy Nation? 18 Public Policy, Personal Pain 20 CREATING THE POOR 25 Blaming the Poor 25 Wealth as the Cause of Poverty 27 Wealth and Labor 30 The Growing Gap 33 Keeping the Poor in Their Place 35 FASCISM IN A PINSTRIPED SUIT 37 Selective Repression 39 Political Law 40 Familiarity and the "Moderate" Center 42 Searching for Scapegoats 45 ROLLBACK 46 The Third World Comes Home 47 The Fourth World Comes to the Third World 50 Who's Left to Buy It All? 52 Guidance From Above 54 MAKING THE WORLD SAFE FOR HYPOCRISY 55 The Rational Function of Policy Myths 57 Saving Democracy with Tyranny 58 Who Threatens Whom? 60 Remember the Red Menace 62 Support the Good Guys? 66 THE TERRORISM HYPE 69 The Larger Terrorism 70 Everybody, Here Come the Assassins! 72 Qaddafi's Real Sins 75 FREE SPEECH—AT A PRICE 77 MEDIA AND CULTURE 2 POLITICAL THEORY AND CONSCIOUSNESS 2 MISCELLANY AND MEMORABILIA 2 Social problems,Social Services & Welfare,Political Science,Social history,World politics,Public Policy,Poverty & Homelessness,Social Science

This eye-opening and entertaining collection of essays investigates media and culture, conspiracy and state power, ideology and political consciousness. Parenti ranges over such crucial issues as free speech, the rise of neofascism, the relationship between wealth and poverty, the “terrorism” hype, the continuing mystifications about the Kennedy assassination, and the deceptions and injustices of U.S. corporate global domination.

Moving from the political to the personal, Parenti shows the links between seemingly disparate social and political forces. Dirty Truths also contains three poems and moving accounts of his own ethnic family life and the political intolerance he encountered in academia.

This book is a rich buffet, an enlightening and provocative feast for the mind and heart.

Author of Against Empire, Democracy for the Few, Land of Idols: Political Mythology in America, and many other books, Michael Parenti is one of the country's most astute and engaging political analysts. He has taught at a number of universities and now lives in Berkeley, California.

Political Essays And Poems. In Young People Are Different, He Writes: Hostage In Their Homes, / Kept Alive By The Telephone / Fully Animated Only When Taking Flight / In Rough Formation. / They Rebel / So Better To Submit / To Their Totalitarian Peerage. 1. Politics And Issues -- 2. Media And Culture -- 3. Conspiracy: Phobia And Reality -- 4. Political Theory And Consciousness -- 5. Miscellany And Memorabilia. Michael Parenti. Includes Bibliographical References.