TheWorldAsItIsDispatchesontheMythofHuman Progress

by Chris Hedges

Drawing on two decades of experience as a war correspondent and based on his numerous columns for Truthdig, Chris Hedges presents The World As It Is, a panorama of the American empire at home and abroad, from the coarsening effect of America's War on Terror to the front lines in the Middle East and South Asia and the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Underlying his reportage is a constant struggle with the nature of war and its impact on human civilization. "War is always about betrayal," Hedges notes. "It is about betrayal of the young by the old, of cynics by idealists, and of soldiers and Marines by politicians. Society's institutions, including our religious institutions, which mold us into compliant citizens, are unmasked."

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Philosophy, Essays, War, Economics

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Christopher Lynn Hedges is an American journalist, author, and war correspondent, specializing in American and Middle Eastern politics and societies.

Hedges is known as the best-selling author of War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (2002), which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction.

Chris Hedges is currently a senior fellow at The Nation Institute in New York City.

Reviews

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

To date, I don't think I've read a more powerful book than this one. I have read some really good books too, but again, nothing like this. I now have this info gained from this book and honestly, I don't know what to do with it, I don't know how to process it all. Maybe it's like the quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” As I finish the last words of this magnificent book, I close the book wishing I could do something good, something definable, to possibly demand or provoke change. Join a group or groups who want the same. Just not the Tea-Party, though. They believe things can be fixed by electing certain people into office, but anybody who follows politics, knows that hasn't changed a thing. In my opinion, they are victims of the "game" and the delusion of theater politics. I do applaud them for trying to demand something different though. Hey, it's better than the apathy that I and millions of others have. I quote Helen Keller on apathy, “Science may have found a cure for most evils, but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all--the apathy of human beings.” Regardless, this new knowledge I have is so profound to me, I am almost at a lost for words. Through this book, the world has been painted a different color for me now, and it's definitely not the color of Skittles.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a brilliant compilation of essays written over the last decade, journalist and war correspondent Chris Hedges highlights a horrifying vision of America that has long been hidden; masked by inane rhetoric and propaganda. Even as the nation crumbles; plagued by financial insolvency, political corruption, and an overwhelming trend toward neofeudalism; we blatantly ignore the destruction caused by our greedy corporations and the utter devastation witnessed beyond the barrels of our guns. Decades of irresponsible, inhumane, and inexcusable American behavior have fueled vast environmental depletion, endless war and death, and the complete devastation we’re surely going to face as a nation and as a species in the very near future. While Hedges’ essays paint a gruesome picture, the sentiment is long overdue- it is time for America to face its demons.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book collects a slew of columns written by Chris Hedges. I believe most of the essays in the book are available on truthdig.com.

Still, the book is worthwhile. The author might shock the audience with radical views but if you are anything like me, you fill find it hard to disagree, no matter how outlandish the claim.

Clearly, sometimes the author goes into ventilation mode and it is harder to see the point amongst the venom. But on the whole, the book is a challenging and honest work.

Here are my reading notes. I jotted down the main idea from some of the chapters.

It’s Not Going To Be OK
The game is rigged and we will not change the way it is by playing it. We need structural change in order for us to speak and hear the truth.

Noam Chomsky Has Never Seen Anything Like This
Regime changes can come suddenly and we should always be on our guard.

Always question assumptions. Never take anything for granted. Question vocabulary.

Liberals Are Useless
The liberal elite is full of cowards without a moral compass. They are having a tug-o-war contest but they are never pulling. We should not blame our leaders for their lack of liberalism. We should stand for what we believe in. We are the problem.

The Creed Of Objectivity Killed The News
There is no such thing as objectivity in the news. The news and the truth are two very different things. The myth of objectivity amplifies ridiculous viewpoints and helps editors make money with advertisers.

The Truth Alone Will Not Set You Free
Knowing the facts is not enough. Facts should be put into a broader context and communicated effectively. The progressives should be a lot more combative and not stop fighting once they think they have arrived at the truth.

This Country Needs A Few Good Communists
The liberals have lost their teeth. In order to effect change, we will have to go back to more radical roots.

Obama’s Healthcare Is Enough To Make You Sick
Obamacare does not include single-payer healthcare and strengthens the notion that healthcare is for-profit. Until we make healthcare a basic right, a non-profit state-backed right, this package leads nowhere.

Mutual Assured Destruction
The US has made a good job of turning Israel into an international pariah. The situation will remain as is until Israel and the US learn to speak a different language than the language of war.

The American Empire Is Bankrupt
The Asian powers are coming together to try and replace the dollar as a reserve currency. This will mark the end of the hegemony of the dollar and will dramatically increase the price of imports to the US.

Celebrating Slaughter: War and Collective Amnesia
War memorials, museums, and the public discourse all glorify wars. Our representations of war turn the tools of war—tanks, rifles, airplanes—into an easthetic of death. This makes it easier to accept the next war.

Reality Check from the Brink of Extinction
The damage done to the environment by regular folks is very small compared to the damage done by corporations. In order to mitigate the crisis, we need to restructure our infrastracture.

War Is a Hate Crime
A culture of “hypermasculinism” and a lack of compassion leads to acts of violence.

The Pictures You Aren’t Supposed to See
War is sanitized when it reaches the general public. If we were shown actual pictures of the real war, we would never support it. We could never repeat the nationalist cant.

The New Secessionists
From Vermont to Texas, there are secessionist movements who believe that the US cannot be fixed and that secession is the only rational path.

No One Cares
There is very little reaction to the abuses of power that we are witnessing. Some groups are fighting the good fight but most are complacent, including the liberals.

[Kusaimamekirai]

I’ve come to realize that you don’t pick up a Chris Hedges book without knowing that he’s going to bring you down with him into a very dark, depressing hole. There will be very little hope offered, even less humor. However as Hedges says in the beginning of this collection of essays, he isn’t writing to entertain us, tell us everything will be ok, or even to be liked. He is writing what he believes, sans objectivity:

“I have never sought to be objective. How can you be objective about death squads in El Salvador, massacres in Iraq, or Serbian sniper fire that gunned down unarmed civilians, including children, in Sarajevo? How can you be neutral about the masters and profiteers of war who lie and dissemble to hide the crimes they commit and the profits they make? How can you be objective about human pain? And, finally, how can you be objective about those responsible for this suffering? I am not neutral about rape, torture, or murder. I am not neutral about rapists, torturers, or murderers. I am not neutral about George W. Bush or Barack Obama, who under international law are war criminals. And if you had to see the butchery of war up close, as I did for nearly two decades, you would not be neutral either.”

I will always give Hedges the benefit of doubt as befitting the courage of someone who has spent a quarter of their lives in war zones across the world. He has earned his skepticism of human beings in general and governments at large. It’s difficult in fact to imagine someone who has seen what Hedges has seen ever believing the world is going to be ok.
These essays written for various magazines from 2006-2010 are broken up into four overarching themes (Politics, Israel and Palestine, The Middle East, and The Decay of Empire) . Within each theme Hedges does as promised and abandons any pretense of objectivity. His revulsion of celebrity culture personified by the funeral of Michael Jackson, his horror at the humanitarian catastrophe Israel is perpetrating on the Palestinians, his disgust at the unequal and racially biased drug laws that break up families to increase the profits of private prisons, all are written by a man who freely admits he writes with his guts, not his head and implores us to do the same. To do otherwise he would argue is to turn our backs on injustice and be complicit in our silence.
Hedges is without a doubt a brilliant journalist, writer, and one of the few essayists whose raw emotions you can feel on the page.
And yet, he is so hard to read. I agree with almost everything he says, it is critically important, and yet his gloom is relentless.
Take these closing paragraphs to several essays in this collection:

“Obama, whose embrace of American imperialism is as naive and destructive as that of George W. Bush, is the newest brand used to peddle the poison of permanent war. We may not see it. But those who bury the dead do.”

“We invest our intellectual and emotional energy in the inane and the absurd, the empty amusements that preoccupy a degenerate culture, so that when the final collapse arrives we can be herded, uncomprehending and fearful, into the inferno.”

"The tragedy is that the moral void of the news business contributed as much to its own annihilation as the protofascists who feed on its carcass.”

Feeding on carcasses, protofascists, herding into infernos….
Are you depressed yet?
I will surely read Chris Hedges again. What he has to say is too important not too. However I will be sure to have something light on hand to turn to when the world he brings to our doorstep become too much. Just make sure you read it at a safe distance from sharp objects.

[Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gave this one a shot after reading some Chomsky, and while a lot of the points Chris Hedges makes are valid, I find that the problem here is his delivery .

(1) Whereas Chomsky lays it out methodically and argues his points logically, winning the reader over by the strength of his arguments, Hedges basically just says "THAT's how it is, it's despicable, rah-rah-rah..." Kind of makes me feel like he's a preacher standing at his pulpit and he's beating me down with a mallet.

(2) Hedges harps (and harps and harps ) on a lot of the same points, over and over and over . Like a broken record. I get it: he's ANGRY.

No, the world is not perfect. Yes, there are a lot of things that need to be changed. But there are also many [better] ways to argue this and to reach out to people. Not like this.

[Zachariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Update* - I originally had this rated 5 stars but some of the plagiarism accusations against Hedges are a little... dispiriting. I've read what those who are accusing him have to say and I've read Hedges' defense/responses and honestly I'm not sure who to believe. I want to believe that it was just a matter of poor note taking (something I'm guilty of myself) but like, is it? Were the charges true, I suppose this doesn't negate the validity of his opinions, necessarily, but it does leave one feeling less enthused by his work.**


Original review (July 2012):
I honestly didn't think anyone could be more depressing than Noam Chomsky but I was wrong. Now that doesn't mean I didn't love this book. I did. It's pretty much the best book I've read this year. But man is Hedges a downer. Still I love an author/journalist/commentator, whatever, who is willing to criticize just about anybody and everybody not based on an agenda but based on the morality of their actions. If you are into toeing the line of your respective political party, be it Red or Blue, you'll probably have a hard time with this book. But if you are willing to have an open mind you may enjoy what he has to say as much as I did. Or do. He has one chapter or article in here about secession which I found hard to digest but maybe that's one of those instances where I'm not being open minded enough. Other than that, though, there wasn't much written in this book that didn't speak to me.

Oh and as others have mentioned you can read most of these articles online but I still very much recommend having them all in one place. Here is one of my favorites from the book...

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/t...

[Denese · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very difficult book. Not a quick or easy read at all, difficult in the sense that it really challenges you to get out of your comfort zone and see the world as it is. It is a collection of writings over the past few years so you can compare what was written to what has and is happening.
A quote that stopped me for quite a while is, "If we see the the end of this country, it will come from the right and our failure to provide people with the basic necessities of life."
Do we live in a democracy? Our government is in the hands of corporations, a democracy is in the hands of the people.
The sections on the Middle East confirmed my thoughts and need to be read by anyone who still thinks Israel is innocent.
Who are the terrorists? Are we not terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan? Can a "war on terror" ever be won?
An ancient quote paraphrased - "Hope has 2 daughters, Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are and Courage to see they do noy remain the way they are."
You can not read this book and not be disturbed.

[Luaba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Hedges is uncompromising in his indictment of our current economic and political system in the West, which he considers morally and ethically bankrupt. He points out that we live in times during which we have lost our cultural memory, and as a result we become ever more vulnerable to the forces of totalitarianism. As well, he laments the violence and greed that characterize American society, and the ease with which war and militarism have seeped into the nation's psyche, serving as a reflex response to any threat to its interests.

The author feels deeply troubled by the violence and alienation now so prevalent in the world, and he calls for a return to core human values, and the absolute necessity of honoring them in time when environmental, ethical and political decay are seeping into the collective at an alarming rate.

[Kent Winward · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book feels a little dated now. It took me over six or seven years to finish it. I agree with much of what Hedges has to say, but he is so damn pessimistic. I mean I think I can be dark, but he beats me on every count. He is the Ying to Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress Yang -- or is he the Yang and Pinker the Ying? Obviously the happy is a little bit easier to read than the sad. This is not the book you want to pick up if you want a jolt of happy, but the fear is that the title is right and this is the way the world really is.

[Jonathan]

This book is a compilation of astounding homilies that rage against the present order of the U. S. government and prophesy the moral and economic doom of America. Hedges’ heroes are Ralph Nader and Noam Chomsky, and he draws heavily from Albert Camus. His foes are those on the political right. He demonizes George W. Bush, and spites Obama as being little more than the product of an excellent commercial branding campaign.

Reading this book has made me very uncomfortable, since he traces the trajectories of the American economic and moral course to their apparent destination—disaster, disintegration, and openness to tyrant leadership. At times I found myself cheering at bold well-crafted statements of truth—even ones that challenged my own complacency and revealed wrong my assumptions I had never identified. Yet other times I found myself bewildered by statements that reveal a framework of thought that is philosophically contradictory.

A few thoughts that came to mind as I read this book:

1. I am such a child of my culture. Hedges has helped me see facets of American way of life I have been immune to, but which are very wrong.
2. I am very impressed with Hedges compelling writing style.
3. I am confused as to how Hedges can be a socialist, yet assert such mistrust of any established authority.
4. I have to remind myself that my hope is not in this world anyway.
5. He divorces morality from the existence of God.
6. He says, “Those of us who come out of the religious left have no quarrel with Camus. Camus is right about the absurdity of existence, right about finding worth in the act of rebellion rather than some bizarre dream of an afterlife or Sunday School fantasy that God rewards the just and the good.”

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I saw a conservative friend of mine wonder, post-election, why Barack Obama voters say nothing about the broad discretion the president has to arrrest or kill Americans because of national security concerns. His thought made me think that the Left and Right in the United States have more in common than they think they do, for I have friends from the Left who level exactly the same indictment.

Facts don't follow a partisan bias. The world as it is, rather than as it appears to be, shows that not much has changed since the Bush administration. This book is a dire warning to our contemporary society: a conflagration of events is unfolding that will radically change what we are and, if we are not ready, it will be a catastrophic change.

I'm not a Middle-East scholar, so I'm not qualified to judge his middle sections on Palestine and the Middle-East. He has a rather heavy handed approach to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. While these chapters were interesting, I enjoyed his sections on America most of all. They provide an intriguing indictment of America from the Left in the tradition of Reinhold Niebuhr and other realists. I would have liked it more if he could have divided this into two works: the first and fourth sections in one volume and the second and third sections in another volume.

The writing is clear: this is obviously a learned man who is well read and well spoken. The picture he paints is grim, almost too grim to be believed. But Hedges would probably say that it is better to assume the worst, and not be surprised, than to hope for the best and be in for a shock.

[Florence Millo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The World as It Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress by Chris Hedges

This book of essay is dedicated:
"For my children, Thomas, Noelle, Konrad, and Marina, whose joy and laughter save me from despair and for whom I must alway hope"

I was very glad to read this dedication because the book is very bleak. It's good that he does have some hope and relief from despair.

I found myself alternately avidly shaking my head in agreement and slamming the book shut determining that he's just too negative and who needs more of that!

The bottom line is that he uncompromisingly states the facts that our democracy is in jeopardy from our corporate purchased political system, to our state of perpetual war to feed the military-industrial complex, to our destruction of the natural environment which supports life on earth.  I'd love to be able to argue against him but I can't--he's right.  

If you've ever wondered about the direction of our political system, wondered why we move from one war to the next to the next, or if we are totally insane to be destroying the life sustaining systems on earth, you'll want to read this book. You may want to double up on your anti-depressant medications though.

[Naum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not new material from Chris Hedges, but a rehash -- a collection of his weekly columns and/or essays from the past few years, bundled into chapter by subject.

Was initially disappointed when I discovered this after purchasing on my Kindle app, but not over the money spent -- for all that I've devoured of Hedges' writing in the vein of a modern day prophet, I gladly part with a few dollars. The dispiritedness was more due to being led to believe I was obtaining some fresh Chris Hedges writing output.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Hedges is one of the most articulate and perceptive essayist around. This book is a collection of his columns from Truthdig. It is bracing deeply provocative and necessary. Hedges, a former seminarian, former war correspondent, is a thinker who needs and demands clarity and a true sense of reality. These essays are about the death of an empire and the power of men to do evil. They are important, worth reading and a necessary tonic to the daily stream of inanity that flows from the mass media.

[Adam Czarnecki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sitting here trying to come up with a review for this one is pointless. "I just can't..." with this book.

It's really just a collection of previously published articles. They're depressing, but enlightening. Our American empire is an illusion. He also gave me a reason to be optimistic throughout, reminding me of the many other times throughout history in which people were systematically oppressed but persevered.

[Byrd Alyssa]

Wow. After listening to Chris Hedges read excerpts from this book today, I was immediately prompted to add this to my short list. He takes on all the hard topics of our contemporary age, and speaks truth to power in every sense of those words. Word up Mr. Hedges, may your voice travel far and wide with good speed.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone should probably read one book by Chris Hedges. You don't even have to read the entire thing. It gets redundant, but what he has to say absolutely needs to be heard. Now, to take action . . .

[Wes Hazard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sobering.
I highly recommend this.
It's not "impartial" in the least. It's angry, it despairs, its view is grim (though not without some small hope). You won't feel good after reading it.
But I highly recommend this.

[Daniel Cunningham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I realize after reading this why my opinion of Chris Hedges falls each time I read a book by him. In part, it is because his analysis of each issue tends to be tendentious and simpleminded; in part, it is because he, the pot calling the kettle black, sees those that disagree with him as somewhere between moral monsters and merely amorally corrupt. And in part, it is because, as I was reminded by reading my own review of I Don't Believe in Atheists, his tendentiousness sometimes crosses over into what can only truthfully be called lying.

All those things are on display here. Corporations are the root of evil. Repeat ad nauseam, and you have the first 150 pages for this book. From environmental degradation to the news people watch to... well, everything, corporations are responsible for it. E.g. people don't use plastic bags because they are a cheap convenience and people fundamentally lack grand-scale foresight, but because corporations have foisted this on us, forced it on us, tricked us, created false consciousness.

Actually, repeat *that* for the first 150 pages, and you've re-written a good chunk of this book. People don't do "bad" things because those things are "easy" or "taste good" or "lazy" or "cheap" or whatever, they do them because they've been tricked into believing those things are easy, tasty, lazy, cheap, etc. and if they could just break free then and fight the evil overlords, all would be well.

I disagree. Like the Communism that Hedges periodically castigates, the charges (plural) of false-consciousness are such an easy way of relieving yourself of any heavy lifting. Do people disagree with you? Corporate stooges. Is the "common man" not coming around? He's been blinded, robbed of his sense. I *know* that I should never use another plastic bag and yet I shamefully often do. I *know* that should pay more attention to where my clothes are made and what materials they are made from, but I have a thousand "more important" things to do. I realize that there is some real debate about whether organic and local foods are more environmentally friendly, but I could err on the side of caution and at least provisionally switch to only (or even just mostly) eating local, organic produce and dairy.

And so forth. Why don't I make those better choices? I suppose you can make sense of Hedges POV by bumping the responsibility up the chain and claiming that I don't do those things because the cheap, harmful alternatives are badly subsidized, costs are externalized, etc. and so that responsibility really does lie with "The Corporations," and I really am making the logical, best choice given the options, costs, ease of access, etc. But it is unclear to me why I get a (kind of, anyway, maybe) pass, but some other people (because that's what corporations are) making cars or Cheetos or rayon or whatever do not.

It's oddly disconnected from his POV on the wars in Iraq, Afganistan, and of war in general, and his take on American involvement in support of Israel. On that (those) subjects Hedges is morally outraged at the government, yes, the major political parties, yes, but also in some real way of the common voter. There it is our lack of caring, our turning a blind eye, our preference for sports and the Kardashians and sex pseudo-scandals and the lastest Hollywood explosion-fest that is responsible for the suffering and death that continue unabated. Sure, there is a nod to the corporate media burying the truth, but even Hedges can't really pin it on that; he ultimately more-or-less blames all of us.

For me, these are blazingly contradictory positions. What amazes me is that Hedges, who is religiously trained and clearly a believer in some major shape or fashion, who repeatedly points to the "corrupted" or imperfect (and unperfectible) nature of man, doesn't see suffering and war and class structure and racism and environmental degradation as the products of imperfect (to say the least) human systems made up of imperfect humans. He sees them as moral failings. Okay, so that is not surprising in light of his religious leanings. It seems surprising *to me*, as a nonreligious person, who takes from religion and some philosophy the "crooked timber" lesson/idea about humanity.

Hedges deeply wants humanity to be perfectible but understands that it is not, and in fact understands how deep the hell-hole is if you fall for the myth that humanity is perfectible. As a compassionate person who has seen some real shit in person, I think his desire for this is deeper than someone like me can really understand. But there's that gulf, you can't get there from here. I suspect that is a real problem for him, personally, and that the gaps and contradictions in these articles and essays are part of that gulf. I suspect that is why he so easily and frequently casts others as craven sell-outs and moral monsters (and, at least in previous books, as mentioned up top, even resorts to outright lying.)

A more interesting book, a more searching book, a better book, would be a collection of essays of him exploring that gulf. What would happen if we as a society, a nation, an economy, a people, a culture, as individuals, took that gulf seriously and paid more heed to our position on one side of it?

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Hedges - a self-proclaimed radical leftist, anarchist, and Christian socialist - makes for a fascinating and formidable combustion of ideas. Always having been consistently anti-establishment, he seems to have few friends in either right-wing or liberal camps.

He's a hard one to place, and though I was initially drawn to his apparent Christian faith (Wikipedia still lists him, incorrectly, as a Presbyterian minister), I find it difficult to class him as anything but the most earthy, unitarian kind that reveres Christ as a great moral teacher, while more or less ignoring as irrelevant (perhaps even doubtful), His divinity.

Whatever the case, with his stance against the grain, his unflinchingly humanistic sermons against everything from Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestine, to asshole Wall Street bankers, virtue signalling liberals, and the endemic corporatisation and privatisation of all facets of American life, Hedges comes across as more Old Testament prophet, as more John the Baptist, even as more Christ-aligned, than many a cultural Christian in the modern world.

Despite early misgivings since it was just a compilation of his articles submitted here and there across the 2000's and early 2010's, this book is a powerful, unsettling, and rallying cry for justice in a world much less just than established, popular myths will have you believe.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm more conflicted about this one than I'd like, or than I expected, to be. Hedges is a hero of mine, and I think there is much of great significance and value in this collection of his columns. I read it over a period of two or three years, checking it out from the library once every six months or so and reading it in snatches. But I read the last two sections over a period of two weeks, and it just wore me down too much. It wasn't the relentless dourness so much as the degree to which he'd recycle his vision of the future -- and there are just X number of different ways you can paint the same picture. It wearied me, when I felt like it should have been galvanizing me. And while I feel like his alarmist phrasing is effective, it grows numbing after awhile here.

And I have to admit, too, that I find myself skeptical -- where I'd never before been with his work -- of the veracity of everything he writes. The recent plagiarism scandal, which Hedges virulently denies, makes me doubt certain pieces in The World As It Is. (Re: the charges of plagiarism, he concedes that there was sloppiness in some of his citation work, but there was also one or two instances of no-getting-around-it-plagiarism, and whether done consciously or the result of haste, I want him to own up to having committed this academic sin, but he thus far refuses to.) In the column titled "Afghanistan's Sham Army," Hedges repeatedly quotes a source who has asked not to be named -- which makes sense, given what the source is discussing. But it struck me -- in light of the plagiarism charges -- how much the unnamed lieutenant's remarks sound like Hedges's own voice. So I find myself reading him now with this nagging suspicion that all might not always be what it seems to be.

Still, though, the book is worth picking up. He's right on the money oftentimes, and some the columns feel decidedly prescient (even if some the events of recent years have revealed others to have been unfounded exaggeration). One of them, in particular, is stunning. "America's Wars of Self-Destruction" articulates the futility and delusion of America's concept of war better, perhaps, than anyone else could articulate it.

[VJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Hedges speaks a truth that is sorely in short supply. Where do I begin in recommending this set of essays? Of course, there are abundant resources for further reading and an index that makes for quick location of topics and individuals you'll want to review. The essays cover the years 2001-2010 and have appeared in various publications. If you've read other of Hedges' work, you will recognize some of his words. They bear repeating and rereading, I assure you.

I learn and am exposed to material that is historic and glossed over in this Information Age that serves me pablum and pap instead of fact. There are discussions of the manipulation of public opinion and the role of propaganda in taming the populace. There are many references and discussion of the permanent war economy in which we are currently engaged and its contribution to the destruction of the working and middle classes, our way of life in this country.

The rights we have given up and other crimes against the working class include NAFTA, welfare reform, the 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act that gutted 1933 Glass-Steagall Act which was designed to prevent banking crises like the current ones, the refusal to restore habeas corpus - the means of obtaining a federal court examination of the validity of a state criminal conviction or illegal state imprisonment.

Favorite essays include: Calling All Rebels (3.8.2010); Do Not Pity the Democrats (pp. 125-134); Celebrating Slaughter: War and Collective Amnesia (10.5.2009).

Description and analysis of the machinations of Israel and her allies against the Palestinian people is presented. Arguments for the ending of war are discussed along with the work of Peter van Agtmael and Lori Grinker. I learned about the American secessionist movements (The New Secessionists, 4.26.2010).

I would recommend this book as an overview and digest of Hedges' thought over the past decade. The man's thinking and clear address take my breath away.

[noblethumos · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The World As It Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress" is a book written by Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, and published in 2011. The book is a collection of essays that offer a critical analysis of modern society and the state of human progress.

Hedges argues that the dominant narrative of human progress and prosperity is a myth that is used to justify the exploitative and destructive forces of capitalism and imperialism. He contends that these forces are causing immense suffering and destruction, including environmental degradation, economic inequality, and perpetual warfare.

Throughout the book, Hedges draws on his experiences as a journalist reporting on war and conflict around the world to illustrate his arguments. He also offers a vision for a different kind of society based on principles of social justice, ecological sustainability, and human dignity.

"The World As It Is" is a powerful and thought-provoking book that challenges readers to critically examine the dominant narratives of modern society and to consider alternative visions for a better world.

GPT

[Bruce Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m predisposed to pessimism so reading an ultra pessimist isn’t helpful. I read this book because I enjoyed reading about Marie Colvin and her writings. She was a witness to suffering. She even said she doesn’t write about the “big picture”, she writes about how war affects the person. Chris addresses the big picture. There is some truth and wisdom but the big picture requires conjecture. Chris often overdoes the negative.

[Chet Holly]

I think that reading Chris Hedges has opened up my mind to a direction of analysis that I thought I had but in fact really didn't. Anarchist are not in vogue these days as our society seems to be modulating towards the acceptance of the status quo which is unfortunate considering the level of governance and media participation this status quo represents.

[Virginia Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy is the moral conscience of the nation.
Written by a former divinity student and war correspondent, most of what Hedges writes is spot on and should be required reading for those claiming full citizenship in a truly civilized society.

[Peter Gephardt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Repetitive.

[Matt Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of Hedges’ essays. While broadly they are centered around the early 2000s and stopping around 2010, sadly many remain relevant today. I believe he defines a new form of journalist for me - one who maintains both outrage and the precision of language required to communicate the horrors witnessed. I appreciated all the pieces and his views on imperialism, U.S. foreign policy, and the ever expanding corporate state

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated now as I read this in 2018 but I always enjoy reading Hedges. He writes with the rhythm of an orator, you feel his passion. I've been following Hedges for years, just wish I would have read this when it was current.

[Louis Brunet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Hedges raises a lot of good points about the society we live in, its structure and the forces that control it. This is a rare expression of an honest and perceptive analysis. I recommend this book.