Books books

I've been reading a couple of new and good books. I shall do an extensive (i think) book review of em once i actually finish em! I shall post it here so the world can take a hint or two and perhaps read em as well.

So far, I've finished 'PREMPTION: A knife that cuts both ways' by Alan M. Dershowitz. It's a brilliant book analyzing the legal implications of a premptive and preventive war, and does a wonderful analysis of the Bush Doctrine. For all you people who do not want to become like Sarah Palin, or potentially facing a Katie Couric, READ THIS DAMN BOOK. It is essential reading. I must admit that I found the chapter on the history of the legal system boring to the point where I almost dozed off at my desk, but the rest were good. Dershowitz essentially argues that premptive war needs to be discussed and taken seriously. It is, in his view, wholly legitimate, and in fact has been practiced before in history. Premptive war should not be confused with the Iraq War. Nevertheless there are various considerations, which he does point out, which I think still remain as potent obstacles. Of these include humanist and ethical considerations. The other big problem, is of course the problem of sovereignty, etc etc.

In fact, PREMPTION is just 1 out of the 3 books in the 'Issues of our time' series, which are absolutely brilliant. I'm 3/4 through COSMOPOLITANISM: Ethics in a world of strangers now, the 3rd book of the series, and I shall tell you what I think soon.

The other book which I stopped halfway is Chris Patten's Cousins and Strangers: America, Britian, and Europe in a new century.

While I'm personally biased towards conservatives in general, this book is actually quite good as a introduction into cross-atlantic relations. Patten does go a little deep into the domestic politics of Britain, and at times the book sounds horribly like an autobiography - apologetic and explanatory - and one cannot help but wonder if he was making up excuses to explain away the title of being 'the worst governor of hongkong'. Even so, I have not actually came across a book that deals specifically with this issue and its refreshing in fact. The only problem though is that it was written in 2005 and certain things have happened - though i think many continuities exist and remain. I just wish he was less descriptive and more analytical.

In other news, Anderson Cooper just got a facebook fan page! yay! 1 more day to Gerard's concert, 2 days to Kettling, and a little more than a week to RAUNCHY 2008.