Synopses & Reviews
America is under attack as never before. Not only from foreign terrorists, but also from within.
Islamic terrorists declare America the "Great Satan." Many Europeans complain about America spreading its cultural wasteland. And perhaps worst of all, here in our own country, those on the political Left still blame America for every ill in the world. Left-wing multiculturalism dominant in our own schools and universities teaches students that Western and American culture is no better than, and probably worse than, Third World cultures.
Does this imply the death of the West? Quite the opposite, says best-selling author Dinesh DSouza. In his new book, Whats So Great About America, DSouza takes on all of Americas critics and proves them wrong. DSouza claims that the flood of immigrants coming to America proves that our values, our system, our freedoms, and our culture are irresistible and superior. The problem, he asserts, is our own inability or refusal to celebrate what makes America great.
DSouza takes the alleged "sins of the West" and debunks the myths propagated by the Left:
- Slavery? The West is unique not in having slavery but in abolishing it.
- Colonialism? DSouza, an immigrant from India, gives two cheers for British colonialism, pointing out that the sons and daughters of colonists are the beneficiaries of Western law, culture, education, opportunity, and prosperity.
- Decadence? Who is truly virtuous, asks DSouza, a society that enforces Talibanic edicts or the West, where virtue is a free-will choice? Where else in the world has the value and potential of the individual been more fully realized than in America?
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on our country, DSouza believes, a clear understanding of the moral basis of Western civilization is needed now more than ever.
Whats So Great About America offers a powerful defense for America and exposes the truth about who our enemies really are.
Review
"To his credit, D'Souza lays out his case well, although little here is new....In the end, reading D'Souza's book is similar to spending an hour listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio his fellow travelers will love it; readers on the left will love to hate it." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Neoconservative propagandist D'Souza...means to tell his compatriots why they should love their country....A warm as well as heated argument." Ray Olson, Booklist
Review
"Notwithstanding its bombastic title and occasional lapses into stemwinder oratory, What's So Great About America is a thoughtful discussion of the character and historical significance of the United States." Michael Lind, The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
Dinesh D'Souza explains what is so great about America--and why that greatness inspires critics and even terrorism.
Synopsis
Bestselling author Dinesh D'Souza takes on all of America's critics and proves them wrong -- as perhaps only a writer with an immigrant's understanding of this country can. He defends not an idealized America, but America as it really is, and measures America not against utopia, but against the rest of the world in a provocative, challenging book.
About the Author
Dinesh D'Souza,a former White House domestic policy analyst, is currently the Rishwain Research Scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is the best-selling author of Illiberal Education, The End of Racism, Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader, and The Virtue of Prosperity.
Table of Contents
Preface: A Funeral Oration: Pericles' Dilemma, and Ours xi
Chapter 1 Why They Hate Us: America and Its Enemies 3
Chapter 2 Two Cheers for Colonialism: How the West Prevailed 37
Chapter 3 Becoming American: Why the American Idea Is Unique 69
Chapter 4 The Reparations Fallacy: What African-Americans Owe America 101
Chapter 5 When Virtue Loses All Her Loveliness: Freedom and Its Abuses 133
Chapter 6 America the Beautiful: What We're Fighting For 161
Notes 195
Acknowledgments 207
Index 209