Wars and Empire

Vaknin, Samuel, 1961-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

1.9

Word count: 187 words
Chapters: 1

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Wars and Empire by Samuel VakninAuthor: Vaknin, Samuel, 1961-,Language: English, Class: E895: History: America: Twenty-first century, Release Date: Jun 1, 2005

Editor's review

"Wars and Empire" is a long discursive work by Samuel Vaknin, classified in the source materials under twenty-first-century American history. Its appeal lies in discussing the relationship between war and empire through continuous argument, examining military action, the expansion of power, and the maintenance of order in contemporary international politics within a single framework. The writing is strongly argumentative rather than a neutral compilation of historical sources. For readers concerned with international relations and political commentary, the book offers a sample of views open to discussion or even rebuttal; readers accustomed to empirical historiography may find the argument overly speculative. Read it as one voice among many, checking facts and logic as you go, rather than accepting it as definitive. Because it was written in the early twenty-first century, the cases and judgments carry a clear mark of their time, and readers need to supplement subsequent developments themselves. Overall, it suits adult readers with some political and historical background who are willing to engage in critical examination of views.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Adult readers concerned with international relations and contemporary war issues
Readers who enjoy argumentative political commentary and are willing to examine its views
Those who need background on early twenty-first-century American foreign policy debate
Learners with some English reading ability who want to expand their reading of political texts

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking neutral compilations of historical sources or a systematic general-history framework
Beginners lacking a foundation in international politics who might mistake a single view for a settled conclusion
Casual readers expecting light reading or literary narrative

Reading tips

Read the table of contents first to grasp the book's argumentative structure, then select chapters for close reading by theme.
Record the author's core judgments as you read and note the points you doubt.
Read alongside commentary from different perspectives to avoid accepting only one viewpoint.
Verify the later development of the cases cited in the book yourself to fill in period information.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a work of history or political commentary?

The source materials classify it under twenty-first-century American history, but the writing is closer to argumentative political commentary than to a neutral compilation of historical sources. Readers should see it as an expression of a viewpoint, examining it critically while reading rather than using it as a comprehensive general history.

Can readers without a foundation in international politics understand it?

The discussion involves concepts such as war, empire, and foreign policy, and readers lacking background may find the argument jumpy. It is advisable to build basic knowledge of international relations first, or look up relevant events while reading, before judging whether the author's views hold.

Can the book's views be accepted directly?

Not recommended. Argumentative texts of this kind carry the author's stance, and since the book was written in the early twenty-first century, some judgments have since been overtaken by events. Treat it as a starting point for discussion and compare it with sources from multiple sides to form your own judgment.

Comments

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About the author

Vaknin, Samuel, 1961- Author

Samuel Vaknin (1961– ) has limited publicly available information about his life and education; his identifiable profile rests mainly on a substantial body of writing across several fields. Twenty-eight of his works are held in the collection, spanning a wide range of subjects: from Russian Roulette: Russia's Economy in Putin's Era, an observation of the transitional economy, to Narcissistic and Psychopathic Leaders, Terrorists and Freedom Fighters, and Crime and Corruption, which analyze political psychology and public issues, as well as Essays on God and Freud and encyclopedic works on philosophy and economics. His writing is marked by clear theses and careful conceptual exposition, and he habitually brings psychological concepts to bear on power and institutions, giving his arguments a strongly critical and diagnostic tone. His work will appeal to readers interested in political psychology, corruption, and post-Soviet transition.