Stealing America

by Dinesh D'Souza

WHY HILLARY, OBAMA, AND THE ENTIRE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ARE NO BETTER THAN A GANG OF THIEVES

In the fall of 2014, outspoken author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza found himself hauled into federal court for improperly donating money to an old friend’s Senate campaign. D’Souza pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight months in a state-run confinement center.  There he lived among hardened criminals—drug dealers, thieves, gangbangers, rapists, and murderers. Now the bestselling author explains how this experience not only changed his life, but fundamentally transformed his view of his adopted country.

Previously, D’Souza had seen America through the eyes of a grateful immigrant who became successful by applying and defending conservative principles. Again and again, D’Souza made the case that America is an exceptional nation, fundamentally fair and just. In book after book, he argued against liberalism as though it were a genuine movement of ideas capable of being engaged and refuted.

But his prolonged exposure to the criminal underclass provided an eye-opening education in American realities. In the view of hardened criminals, D’Souza learned, America is anything but fair and just. Instead, it is a jungle in which various armed gangs face off against one another, with the biggest and most powerful gangs inhabiting the federal government. As for American liberalism, it is not a movement of ideas at all but a series of scams and cons aimed at nothing less than stealing the entire wealth of the nation, built up over more than two centuries: the total value of the homes, the lifelong savings of the people, the assets of every industry, and all the funds allocated to health and education and every other service, both public and private. “The thieves I am speaking about want all of it.”

And who are the leading figures in this historically ambitious scam that has turned the federal government into a vast and unprecedented shakedown scheme? Why, none other than Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton – the current leaders of the Democratic Party. This pair of smooth-talking con artists, trained in the methods of radical activist Saul Alinsky, have taken his crude but effective political shakedown techniques to a level even he never dreamed of.

As the nation approaches a crucial election in 2016, Stealing America is an urgent wakeup call for all Americans who want to prevent this theft from being completed by eight more years of Democratic rule.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Biography, American, Political Science, Crime

324 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 2015

About the author

Dinesh D’Souza is a political commentator, bestselling author, filmmaker and a former policy analyst in the Reagan White House, Dinesh D'Souza graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1983. He served as John M. Olin Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and the Robert and Karen Rishwain Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. D'Souza writes primarily about Christianity, patriotism and American politics.

Reviews

[Margitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

FROM THE BLURB
In the fall of 2014, outspoken author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza found himself hauled into federal court for improperly donating money to an old friend’s Senate campaign. D’Souza pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight months in a state-run confinement center. There he lived among hardened criminals—drug dealers, thieves, gangbangers, rapists, and murderers. Now the bestselling author explains how this experience not only changed his life, but fundamentally transformed his view of his adopted country.

D'Souza's punishment for producing a film about Obama, was unprecedented and mindboggling. Apart from being ordered to spend eight months in confinement, sleeping there, limiting his movements, and a tough fine, he also had to pay....PAY!!!!....$3000 per month to be confined!!!
It is obvious that he was suppose to be ruined financially and put out of business. It was the first ruling of this kind ever for a person who donated (too much) money to a friend's election campaign. Indirectly $30 000. Michael Moore never got punished anywhere for his exposés and explosive documentaries.

It stands to reason that D'Souza had his pen ready to lash out after this treatment, and he uses it with gusto. However, he regarded his sentence as one of the best things that ever happened to him!

It was refreshing to notice that government officials and politicans did go to jail for their shenanigns. That actually gave me hope. D'Souza met some of them. I actually looked it up on Wikipedia . Small fry, though.

This is a fascinating read, despite the political undertones. One of the best reads in this genre ever!
D'Souza brilliantly mixes philosophies, ideologies, history and his experience in the confinement center to write a gripping and excellent tale.

After reading Throw Them All Out by Peter Schweizer and Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington by Sharyl Attkisson I just could not finish this book. All these authors named the criminal offenses by name, transactions and deals. Detailed!!!

I will take this book in my stride over the next few weeks. The corruption and theft of government resources just got to me. What a shocking eye-opener! I felt like puking and emptying the bucket of disgust cloggin up my brain. It has to do with the disappointment of similar events in our own country as well. Buckets full of toxic information. The three books were just too much.

However, it is an important book. The book confirms the rumour that incarceration is nothing more than entering the Harvard of crime. Those inmates can become presidents of any country!
And now I am smiling - whatelse will save my sanity?

I do plan to finish this book. But for now I still have to read The Silencing; How the Left is Killing Free Speech by Liberal journalist Kirsten Power. I am actually looking forward to that. After that I need to read something really feel-good, something hopeful, something detoxifying. I have ordered two other books about the situation in our own country. I just feel to get informed about all this. How else can we do informed choices.

If my thoughts do not inspire you to read it, your conscious should. You're a voter. You have a responsibility to do so. This book is, sadly, a MUST READ!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

D’Souza was targeted and punished (severely, by comparison to others whose violations were similar) for an illegal campaign contribution. It’s eye-opening for him – and for readers of this book – to see how he was persecuted for his criticisms of the Obama administration and what lessons he learns about corruption throughout our government while in prison.

For those that suspect there is a culture of “haves” and “have-nots,” D’Souza provides ample evidence that the Democrat Party have become the power brokers and seek to steal the wealth of America – and it’s a pretty compelling case that he makes. He gives a history of the Democrat party (whose militant arm was the Ku Klux Klan) as the one in favor of slavery and of repressing African-Americans; in fact, a higher percentage of Republicans - the party of Lincoln - supported the Civil Rights Act and other key legislation in the 1960s and ensured they passed. He also offers a strong defense of capitalism and of the American system – and the hope that it gave him, an immigrant from India, for a better life.

He details the life and learning (from the Chicago mobsters of the 1930s) of Saul Alinsky and his two most prominent disciples – Hillary Clinton, who knew Alinsky, and Barack Obama, who was carefully nurtured by Alinsky’s associates and organizations. If you think Donald Trump is scary, you need to honestly and with an open mind consider D’Souza’s words about these two scoundrels!

I wish he would have cleaned up the language of some of his fellow prisoners and others in this book. He quotes many people who use foul language in this book, and I wish he had paraphrased what they said – I don’t need the actual words to know what they said. But aside from that flaw, this was a great book that anyone with an interest in the affairs of our country should read and consider.

[Jake Danishevsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dinesh D'Souza is incredible. Not because I agree with his politics, which I do, but because he presents the details, factual information, allowing the reader a chance to think, analyze and arrive to conclusions on their own. He also makes you think, so that you can do your own research, but the examples and analogy are straight forward, well presented and the information is explained without slander, but with enough background and facts.

I have read a lot of D'Souza's books and listened to his speeches, debates and presentations. He is a man of great knowledge, always hitting the topic on right on its head, but in this book, he takes a different, slightly different, approach. After being in confinement center for about 8 months, for the crime that even his liberal attorney agreed, was committed with much more by others, yet with merely a slap on the wrist, if even that, Dinesh D'Souza arrives at different opinions on how and why our "leaders" want to steal America. He doesn't point fingers at them, because he doesn't agree with those so called "leaders", but he points factual finger at them, because the evidence of the crime that they are committing is there, but no one has yet to put their feet to the fire, or better yet, no one investigates them for crimes that are being and have been committed.

Mr D'Souza also goes into Saul Alinsky and his principles, his methods, his tactics and his background. In order to understand the problem, the true and real problem, one must understand the root cause, the very first root of the problem and Dinesh does just that. He analyzes Marx, Engels, Alinsky and then our current "leaders" who fall in lines of those "great" visionaries who were out to destroy, not elevate, but to destroy any opportunity driven society and to destroy the chance for anyone to become someone. What Lenin used to say "who was nothing, will become something", but in my opinion, something what??? Something doesn't mean anything and we have seen failed examples of that "Something". We have seen what our so called "leaders" have and trying to do to America. We have seen the mass of people preaching the rhetoric of "free", "hope", "change" and anything that they are asked to repeat, but the reality of those changes, hopes and free items is that stealing of the very culture that allowed those people to be free and to even be free to say those slogan driven words, not reality or even a tactic to improve anything, but just words and slogans.

I read, or better yet, listened to this book and really enjoyed it. I would advise anyone to give it a try and my guarantee is that at the very least everyone will take something away, some knowledge and some facts, that they were either not familiar with or at least didn't understand the true core of the problem. It is a great book and great material.

[Kimber · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good primer on the corruption that exists within the Democratic party (if a bit long-winded).

"What are kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale? What are criminal gangs but petty kingdoms?" -- Augustine "City of God"

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wonder why people calling themselves "Progressives", 1) never seem interested in changing their position, even when the facts clearly demonstrate that their "solutions" are making things worse, and 2) never tire of personally insulting and degrading their political opponents, eternally questioning their motives instead of engaging in honest discussion about the best course of action?

Read this book and understand why.

It's not about making the country better, it's not about helping those who need help, and it's not about "fairness". It's all about power, pure and simple. Grab as much as you can, and use it to crush anyone who might threaten to take it from you. These are the people we've elected to manage our affairs. Shame on us all if we don't recognize them for who they are and put them out of business. And once you've read D'Souza's book, you can't say you weren't warned.

[Alexander Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr D'Souza can drive me nuts more often than not, but I like to listen to him because he's saying something different. More importantly, regardless of your personal feelings on him, in general D'Souza's claims check out. There's a great deal of evidence Obama is unfairly trying to silence him. I was all for listening to dissenting speech during the Bush years, and now I want hear it in the midst of Obama's tenure.

You can't do much better than D'Souza for tearing down a system. His arguments for crony liberalism causing the housing crash are illuminating. His general philosophy in regards to life can add much to one's perspective. The man came to America with nothing and now speaks English better than us and makes money hand over fist attacking the system. That will always be admirable to me.

There's quite a few of D'Souza's typical shortcomings here. For one, he spends too much time at the outset decrying his legal woes. It is interesting, but it goes on for too long.

Secondly, he reiterates many arguments from previous books. While this no doubt creates a more complete product it also makes the pages read repetitively for a longtime fan.

Finally, D'Souza enters many petulant gripes and self-serving details about his life which come across as unneeded. He also will never concede a point to the other side, often manipulating exactly what was said in a particular exchange to fit his needs. This is especially irritating because a perusal of the articles and documents cited almost always reveals that no such deception was necessary. A less favorable retelling would have softened the point, but it would not have erased it entirely.

It's annoying that he enters these sections into the manuscript because when D'Souza talks s*** he's one of the best. His arguments are well-constructed and thoroughly researched.

It must be noted, he's done books where he focused mainly on philosophy and history with What's So Great About Christianity, and it was miles ahead of what he's done here. Knowing he's capable of better is what is so infuriating.

His attempts to shoehorn in the idea of the Democratic party as a gang seems heavy-handed and inflammatory. He says as much at the beginning of the book, saying that the Democrats crossed the line first and he has no choice but to fire back. I understand he will probably get more readers with the jarring injections of incarceration stories and the general insulting nature of the text, but I miss the unflappable man he was.

Still, he makes a great case for why the common Progressive movement has nothing to do with what Kennedy and FDR founded. One only wishes he sought details from their roots more often, because his ability to identify with his attackers before was what made his books so arresting.

With all that said I must say D'Souza delivers more of what his fans like in Stealing America. This is the truth, as awful as it may be. The kids who grew up watching Michael Moore make tens of millions while complaining about inequality should really read about what the liberal media hid. It is horrifying, and it must be known. D'Souza's telling is the most recent, and his analysis is (generally) second to none.

[Jessie Gussman · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a challenge on Goodreads, I had to read a book with the POV of an immigrant. This one seemed like a good choice. Although I've always enjoyed Dinesh D'Souza, I put off reading this book because the title made me think it was going to be a rant, which I don't enjoy, no matter how much I might agree. I should have known better; D'Souza is brilliant. Of course his logic is infallible, of course his arguments make perfect sense, of course his statements are well-documented and his end notes extensive. I thought, especially, that it was satisfying the way he took an experience that should have been the worst of his life, and turned it into a successful money-making opportunity, just like the entrepreneurs that he hails in the book. Talk about living what you preach.

[Colleen Lahey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Everyone who thinks they understand the Democratic party of today should read this book. D'Souza does an excellent job explaining the transition of the Democrats of the 50's to today. Guaranteed it is not your father's party by any stretch of the imagination. Hillary and Obama are cut from the same cloth and worshipped at the heels of Saul Alinksy. Don't know who Saul Alinksy is or how he became the biggest thief in America, then read this book. I am convinced that if Hillary wins, our country is doomed once and for all. The corruption in our government is rampart and politicians (both sides) are in it to make money for themselves only...plain and simple. Voting in 2016 is are only way and I guess we have to pick the lessor of two evils when voting. People wonder why Trump (certainly not my favorite) is doing so well. People are sick and disgusted with the current situation and Trump has tapped into this angst. No wonder. After reading D'Souza's book, one can understand this underlying rage and frustration. D'Souza explores all the angles Liberals use to make Conservatives feel guilty....we are greedy; we lack empathy; we didn't build it etc..... and destroys each argument. I, for one, am never going to feel guilty again for working hard and wanting to KEEP what I worked hard for. I'm not going to feel apologetic for being ambitious and wanting to better myself and neither should anyone else. READ THIS BOOK! This is an eye opener and I applaud Dinesh D'Souza who is better new American than most of us who were born here. Thank God for people like him who do the research and have the courage to bring the ugly, disgusting facts to light. And kudos to Judge Richard Berman....he probably never realized what an education he gave D'Souza and how that education would enlighten millions of people about his unfair and unjust sentence.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazingly clear and concise assessment of our current predicament. I was disappointed when I heard that he had been convicted and had some hesitation in buying this book as a result. I shouldn't have had any hesitation at all. His explanation of his conviction is both clear and tragic. It shouldn't have happened. One, because he should have known better, especially as a critic of Obama and his policies. And two, because what he did was not actually worthy of the punishment he received. But trust me, don't let any of that keep you from reading this book.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

To discover the motivating psychology of any public official all you need to do is follow the trail of money and power in their stories.....In this book, D'Souza interweaves his story campaign finance fraud conviction (he gave $20,000 through two straw donors -- an offense or accusation typically turned over to the Federal Election Commission and never brought to court) and the parallels he discovered through his confinement sentence between modern federal bureaucrats and criminal gangs. Except, it seems the criminals often have a stronger moral compass than a lot of our government officials do today.....Anyone planning on voting in the 2016 federal election would do well to read this book and learn more about the psychological underpinnings of our most highly regarded leaders. Corruption runs deep, folks.....

[VMom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read, and although it's fairly long, I read it in one sitting. D'Souza has a very disarming, down-to-earth way of telling his story and making his arguments. I don't think you have to agree with his politics to enjoy this book, as it does point out some very deep systemic "scams" that are being run by politicians today.

I have a full-length review on my blog:
http://www.bookhorde.org/2016/01/stea...

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone needs to read this book & really look at the corruption & abuse of power.

[Bethany · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pg 148
“one vicious murderer, Satish, who might be described as a therapist’s dream. ‘When Satish was seven years old in 1981,’ Mehta tells us, ‘he saw his mother burning alive in front of him.’ Mehta asked how it affected him. ‘The next day,’ Satish nonchalantly replied, ‘I was eating chocolates.’”

It can be said that a therapist of some stripe may enter the business to seek out individuals who are psychopaths, in hopes of addressing psychopathy, but to call this encounter someone’s dream?

This entire book is filled with such convoluted thinking, and is a fine representation of why people who consider themselves liberals might look at people who call themselves conservatives as trouble-seeking naysayers.

As to the book itself, like all politician books, it is propaganda, and propaganda is to be expected when one reads them. It is also not of my viewpoint, so I expect to feel ill-disposed toward it the whole through. However.

The writer presents himself as a Harrison Ford hero type who got targeted for speaking out against evil in high places. It could be said that writing a book about how the President cares so much about you that he personally targets you is self-aggrandizing and would fit very well with the personality type that refuses to accept that breaking the law is wrong, but maybe let’s not go there. Instead we’ll say Barack Obama took time out of his personal, daily routine as the president to have minions scout out Dinesh D’Souza and give him an unnecessarily harsh sentence.

Anyone who held him accountable for his actions is a villain, and anyone who befriended him was presented as a lesser, weaker person he was trying to help. The other guys in his halfway house were all slovenly low-lifes, whether they were businessmen or blue-collar workers or what have you. The ones who tried to be helpful or friendly were presented like the friendlier thieves in Fagan’s gang, and certainly not ordinary people. The aspiring politician friend he helped out got completely thrown under the bus, as a hapless dimwit whose career never stood a chance, but aw shucks, he thought he’d help the poor little thing out (by giving her $30,000?). Lesson: do NOT accept big gifts from self-centered people.

I’m just passed the halfway point, and I really don’t want to give this fool anymore of my brainspace. No accountability, no value for the feelings and reputations of others, no interest in understanding how others might view things, no respect for the law, but yes, he is a Conservative hero.

This is going on my DNF list.

[Kent]

A fascinating look at the story behind the scenes of the Democratic Party, the origins of Hillary Rodham Clinton's move from a "Goldwater Girl" in 1964, to her transformation into one of the foremost Progressives in National politics today.

It shows how she came to be a follower of Saul Alinsky, telling his story of a small time Con Man getting cafeteria meals for free, to teaching others how to use the same chain of cafeterias business practices to defraud the chain. It shows how he arranged to study the Al Capone mob & how he applied to to study their syndicate from the inside, & how he applied the lessons.

D'Souza tells of his conviction for (inadvertently) breaking campaign financing laws, & what he learned from his fellow inmates of the confinement center during his eight months there, & how those lessons translate on a National scale to the Democratic Party & the policies of Barack Obama & Hillary Clinton.

I've seen the movie & read the book, & learned a great deal about all the main people, from D'Souza to Alinsky, Obama & Hillary Clinton.
For those who have an open mind to learn about the lies & con artistry in Government & Politics, this is a 7 Star Rating out of 5 stars.
Just for balance & fairness, I'd like to see him write a history of the Republican Party, & how it's leaders have been co-opted away from the party of a limited, fiscally conservative Government to (in my mind) a co-conspirator with the Democrats & other Liberals to giving up the Constitution & it's limits on Governmental power to a party willing to sacrifice our freedoms for either political expediency, power, money or a combination of all three.
In my view, both parties are two sides of the same scarred coin, & both need to be transformed or scrapped.

[L.A. Starks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heads-up that this book is highly political, readers will either love it or hate/not read it. D'Souza is analytical and insightful; however, he tends to be ignored because his views don't match those of the mainstream media.

As an aside, it's worth noting D'Souza received not only a punishment (8 months of overnights in a halfway house for criminals) but a differentially much harsher punishment than anyone had ever received for over-contributing to a political campaign. The severity of the prosecution appears likely due to a critical film he made about President Obama. For contrast, Michael Moore was not similarly hounded, despite making a similarly critical film of President Bush.

One would hope US policies and our grounding in First Amendment rights would differ from China's, a country in which people critical of the goverment and its leaders simply disappear--even if they live in Hong Kong or outside the Chinese mainland. But given D'Souza's experience, it's hard to feel wholly optimistic.

[Chris Laimit · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is truly sad that these people are consummate liars, engaged in activities that are against our constitution and our laws and are above the law. My only hope is that history finds them out and they pay for what they have done and are doing to this country and the millions of honest people paying taxes while being good citizens.

I have always hated politics, corruption & the hypocrisy surrounding all of those dishonest politicians, wasting our hard earned tax dollars to fill their coffers and squander our country and its principles.

This book will open your eyes to the many people of this nation trying to change it from the democracy that it is into something hideous and growing big government into a powerful entity unto itself, feeding off of the very people they are supposed to be working for, when in reality they are working for only themselves and their selfish ambitions.

[booklady]

Want to read this based on this article.

[Britynn D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting!!

[Caroline Gerardo · Rating 1 out of 5]

D'Souza glorifies and lies about his "prison sentence" for fraud in campaign donations. He never chatted with drug dealers or met with the Mexican Mafia, Black Guerrilla Family, Nuestra Familia, 18th St ... he paid Nazi Lowriders to "protect" him. Now imagine: this is not locked down it's honor system just before an inmate is released or in his case pardoned by a President.
Not written in a cohesive story, he jumps to point that Obama and Hillary are a gang as well. Written from and angry seat where he blames Hillary for the crime he confessed to committing. I'm looking forward to his book about the legal divorce system which earlier in his career he claimed divorce is one of the terrible evils in America (I agree but he got divorced) I have to see if Abe Books has a more recent non fiction book by this author as I paid retail- if you want me to mail you my copy, let me know. Read while in rona confinement so maybe my outlook is also negative as his was.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dinesh makes clear (and gives evidence to support) that some of our political leaders are not well-intentioned people who might have a different approach than we do, but rather are engaged in deliberate, systematic plunder of the American people, hiding behind a facade of caring for the poor/the children/the environment/etc. He exposes Saul Alinsky as nothing more than a criminal thug who used politics rather than traditional criminal activity to rob, steal, and extort; who exploited the disadvantaged to carry out his schemes; and who trained others to do the same.

Also has an interesting account of his personal experience of being given far too heavy of a sentence for a minor campaign law violation, and his experience in a halfway house with hardened criminals, and explained how that helped open his eyes to see what is going on at the highest levels of our government.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book. I have in the past found it difficult to understand the Progressive mindset. Dinesh does a masterful and entertaining job of exposing how the values that our country was built upon are being turned upside down. It is quite the con to convince people that they deserve to receive things for which they have not worked. It is even a richer con to convince the productive members of society that they owe a sizable percentage of their wealth to the non-productive. The perpetrators of this theft glory in the power that they have seized for themselves as members of our government and they have no qualms in enriching themselves in the process. Unless we wise up and get rid of these progressive thieves, they will have torn down our once great country through the creation of a culture of envy and they will be the only ones who will end up profiting by it.

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot by reading this book. Economics is not a topic that interested me...until reading this book. Mr. D'Souza indoctrinates the reader, by way of concise, easy-to-understand language, into the world of economics, as seen by Progressives. He spent 8 months in overnight confinement, a extremely heavy-handed sentence for violating the political campaign donation laws in a very small way. During this time, he learned a lot from the hardened criminals that he was confined with. He learned about cons, some extremely elaborate, and noticed that they bore a strange resemblance to the Progressive movement in our political system. This book bears reading by anyone who is patriotic about America, be it liberal, moderate, independent, undecided or conservative. A very easy read, with a lot of very good content. 5 stars.

[Richard Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A - (9.5 Out of 10 Stars) - This book puts forth an extreme view of conservatism that would be hard to agree with completely. D'Souza puts forth some pretty harsh personal assessments of Obama and Hillary that he draws from his research as well as some of his personal experiences. However, the thesis is very well researched and grounded in classical thinking (to the extreme). Some of the revelations brought forth from his research are very revealing. The abuse of the monies collected by and for the Clinton Foundation from special interests (by both Bill and Hillary) is nothing short of sickening and a true abuse of political power. Four years of Hillary after 8 years of Obama might just break America or at least our economy.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

so good to see how the Democrats really work.

[Jack Erikson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Biased self-aggrandizement at its worst. A criminal profiting from his crime at best.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read and enjoyed D’Souza’s work for years. The End of Racism changed my life. I didn’t agree with everything in The Enemy at Home, but it had some interesting perspectives. And I’ve always read his columns for Townhall.com.

So when I heard about his conviction for campaign finance fraud, I didn’t clutch my pearls and run away screaming—campaign finance is an incredibly esoteric area of the law and it’s easier than you would think to do something wrong. But I did sort of stop paying attention to him for awhile, since I knew that, whatever he had or hadn’t done, it was going to trash his credibility for the foreseeable future.

Then of course, he came out swinging with this book. Obviously, I didn’t read it right away, but I got it for a dollar at a used book sale and finally got around to it. And to say that I am disappointed is a massive understatement.

First, having now read his perspective of his crime, I am struck by two things. 1) That was a monumentally stupid thing for an otherwise highly intelligent person to do. I tell my clients all the time not to hand the other side a stick to beat them with. He didn’t just hand them a stick, he handed them the entire forest, and in the dumbest way possible. I assumed he’d gotten tangled in some obscure section, not violated it in such a ridiculously obvious way. He says that he knew he was ‘getting around’ the campaign laws, and ‘getting around’ the law is the same thing as breaking it. 2) I could have done with a little more remorse for his behavior. I get that he feels he was selectively prosecuted, and it looks like he was, but he still broke the law. A little more humility about it would not have gone amiss.

But okay, fine, I put a pin in that and kept going. And then, when I got into the meat of his analysis, is when I wanted to pull my hair out, and eventually gave up on the whole thing.

I had a very idealistic conception of the criminal justice system at one point, but when I actually started working in the trenches, I got a crash course in reality. I still believe our system is the best in the world, but I am aware, well aware, of its faults. I got my blinders off in my 20s, and so to see someone who is in his 50s suddenly became aware of reality made me want to scream at him. Now, now that it actually affects you, NOW you realize there’s a “two-tiered justice system”? I kept saying to myself as I slogged through his late awakening, “If you think being rich and a minority in our system sucks, you should try being poor and a minority and see how that works out.”

His Johnny-come-lately horror was, frankly, nauseating to me. Now that he had “seen the light,” he was presuming the lecture other conservatives on the difference between idealism and reality, as if he is the lone voice in the wilderness for CJ reform. Spend a little more time down here in the trenches with the rest of us before you lecture everyone else on being an armchair general, thanks.

I didn’t even get halfway through before I had to put it down. As for the actual thesis of his book, that the intellectual and culture left is run like a gang, I didn’t read enough of his analysis to have an opinion on that.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Dinesh D’Souza was sentenced to eight months in a halfway house in what appears to have been a case of selective prosecution as many others, including some very well known individuals, broke essentially the same law on a larger scale and received fines and probation. Having said that, he took the lemons he was given and proceeded to make lemonade! During his time spent in overnight lockdowns, he got to know a variety of criminals that he otherwise would never have met and began to interview them about what they did, how they did it, and even why they had committed various crimes. He gained valuable insight into how cons and scams are run and then did comparisons to politicians and how they operate to scam and steal from segments of the population to distribute to others in order to gain their votes. He found many similarities but usually on a much larger scale!

Mr. D’Souza is a legal immigrant who, like most legal immigrants, loves America and wants his new country to be successful. One way he is able to further this purpose is to point out things that are not so obvious to many native born Americans, especially things that are harmful to our country in the long term. He hopes that by pointing them out and shining light on them we will come to our senses and protect our constitutional rights while we still have them.

This book, like others he has written, was well researched and loaded with believable logic and analysis. Recommended for every American whether native born or legal immigrant.

[Brian Fiedler · Rating 4 out of 5]

As other reviews have noted, the book is uniquely valuable in reporting his legal persecution and then his subsequent education from his fellow inmates. I also appreciated the biographical facts about Saul Alinsky, Barack Obama's father, and Hillary Clinton.

The abstractions on these facts are somewhat weaker. Dinesh certainly provides analogies of the function of criminal gangs to the functions of government and NGOs, particularly with the concept of "theft". But there is not much of a prescription as to what to do about it. In 2023, the woke shakedowns of corporations and universities, the dropping of charges against SBF for violating campaign finance laws, ...., all still with us.

I listened to the audio book. I found a pdf of the book online, which was helpful in parsing some of recounts of the conversations: Who was speaking about whom?

[Trevor Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is either a 3 or 4 start book. I went for four. D'Souza makes some great points about corruption in politics from lessons he learned while living in a detention facility with murders, rapists, and gangsters. His examples were well thought out, and very educational.

However, he also makes a lot of very close-minded, one-sided comments that are quite annoying and sometimes wrong (in my humble opinion).

Overall I found this book frustrating but insightful. Only consider reading this if you are a strong conservative and are looking to reinforce your already set views. If you are a liberal, within the first 20 pages you will become so annoyed and angry that your head might explode.

This is probably justified. But save yourself from needless harm. Go read something else.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since we have a dear friend who has been falsely, and outrageously imprisoned; since we no longer have faith in the American justice system of recent years, this book was a must and recommended read. D'Souza's experience in a minimum security detention center for over a year gave him great insight into the minds of the crafty. We do well to be alert. D'Souza is a brilliant thinker who gives great historical, philosophical and political insight into the observations he exposes.
I will only give it 4, and not 5 stars only because there are aspects of D'Souza's nature that seem on the edge of showboating possibly. I do not know the man. But he knows whereof he speaks here.