Synopses & Reviews
What We've Lost addresses the fragile state of U.S. democracy with a critical review of the Bush administration
by one of our leading magazine editors, Graydon Carter. Carter has expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the current state of the nation in his monthly editor's letters in
Vanity Fair--which have aroused widespread comment--and now provides a sweeping, painstakingly detailed account of the ruinous effects of this president.
The invasion of Iraq, which has proven so costly for the U.S. in lives, dollars, and international standing, is only the tip of the iceberg. It is the war at home, a quiet, covert, and in many ways more lasting and damaging war, that Carter is most wary of. The Bush White House has chipped away at decades' worth of advances in personal rights, women's rights, the economy, and the environment. It is difficult to point to a single element of American society that comes under federal jurisdiction that is not worse off now than it was an administration ago, from civil liberties to the economy, foreign affairs to the environment.
Carter discusses these topics and many more with great cogency and specificity, detailing what Bush's radical agenda means for America's future--and its future standing in the world. What We've Lost is not the position paper of a policy wonk or a pundit, but the impassioned argument of a concerned citizen in response to the most precarious political crisis of our time.
Review
"
What We've Lost is a real public service . . . Extremely effective." --George Scialabba,
The Nation"Brilliantly researched . . . an invaluable primer . . . If you want an assemblage of damning statistics and compromising quotations, or if you want a succinct account of the havoc that Bush and his gang have wrought on the economy and the environment, this book deserves pride of place on your bookshelf."--Christopher Silvester, The Sunday Times
"Intriguing [and] sophisticated."--Kevin Phillips, The Washington Post Book World
Synopsis
- This year's deficit will be the biggest in U.S. history
- First American president to ignore the Geneva Convention on warfare (by refusing to allow inspectors access to U.S.-held prisoners of war)
- The administration is well on its way to being the first since Herbert Hoover's to preside over an overall loss of jobs during its complete term in office
- As governor of Texas, Bush executed more prisoners (152) than any governor in modern U.S. history
- Set record in 2003 for most residential real-estate foreclosures in a one-quarter period
- First president to execute a federal prisoner in the last forty years
- Set record in 2002 for most bankruptcies filed in a single year (1.57 million)
- Set record for biggest two-year point drop in the history of the stock market during the first half of a presidential term
- 0 Number of coffins of dead soldiers returning home from Iraq that the Bush administration has allowed to be photographed presumably to keep the spotlight off the war's fatalities
Synopsis
"Vanity Fair" editor Carter addresses the fragile state of U.S. democracy with a critical review of the Bush administration in regard to the invasion of Iraq, personal rights, women's rights, the economy, and the environment."Vanity Fair" editor Carter addresses the fragile state of U.S. democracy with a critical review of the Bush administration in regard to the invasion of Iraq, personal rights, women's rights, the economy, and the environment.
Synopsis
The editor of
Vanity Fair magazine offers a hard-hitting assessment of the Bush administration's first term, and its disastrous effects on America at home and abroad, in this revised paperback edition which includes new material on Bush's re-election and second term.
What We've Lost addresses the fragile state of U.S. democracy with a critical review of the Bush administration by one of our leading magazine editors, Graydon Carter. Carter expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the state of the nation in his monthly editor's letters in Vanity Fair--which aroused widespread comment. In this updated edition of What We've Lost he provides a sweeping, painstakingly detailed account of the ruinous effects of this president's first term, and warns us what more we stand to lose following his re-election.
About the Author
Graydon Carter has been the editor-in-chief of
Vanity Fair since 1992. Previously, he was the editor of
The New York Observer and the cofounder of
Spy. He is the producer of the acclaimed film
The Kid Stays in the Picture and the executive producer of the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning documentary
9/11. He lives in New York.