James Mann (1) (1946–)

Mann provides some compelling insights into the W. Bush Presidency-bilateral economic efforts with the incoming Obama administration to mitigate the onset of the 2008 Global Recession as well an alteration on the Afghanistan/Iraq question during his second term-but otherwise his entire summarization of the Presidency under review is negative.

The pressing question here is not that is Mann impartial but rather that is it too early to attempt to craft a history of George W. Bush as a President? After all, only two decades have elapsed since the fateful date of September 11 when the W. Bush Presidency became subject to being defined by factors outside the President's own control. Yes, his rapid tax cuts contributed in some form to the loss of economic circulation on the US government's part during the 2008 Fiscal Crisis. But Mann makes a mountain out of a molehill to lambast Bush while tersely crying that Bush didn't initiate all problems confronting the United States but only exacerbated them.

So what to make out of this desultory analysis? For one, Mann references Bush's unruly teenage days to imply that recklessness was an early trait in his character which if picked up would have prevented the fallouts from his being President. Yes, quite a spectral leap of the imagination but it serves Mann's purpose well to cast the entire W. Bush Presidency as some sort of nepotistic gamble. He then brings in Bush's alleged business failings and inability to hold down any employment for a long period to eviscerate the man as some failure in life buoyed by the occasional bout of luck falling his way.

Yes, hindsight is a wonderful gift. But Mann has lambasted Bush based on his readings of polls and Republican attitudes towards a man who stood on the party ticket. Historically, even Grant had a similar falling out with his own party as well as voters. But after a century, the 18th President is today feted out as a magnificent visionary. What of W. Bush? Mann has positioned the cart before the horse to impugn the man. Forthcoming generations, I believe, will treat him differently given that George W. Bush proved to be an astute helmsman in a world gone awry.… (altro)

James Mann, in "The Obamians", reviews the players behind the policies, and how policies were developed, during the Obama Administration. It was interesting to hear about some of the less well known individuals in the Obama Administration. The book is similar to, but not quite as coherent and ordered as Mann's earlier book "The Vulcans" describing the neo-conservative advisers behind G.W. Bush. As a frequent audiobook listener, this is probably one book I would have preferred in the printed format. I've listened to hundreds of audiobooks, and while some readers, especially authors doubling as both writer and reader, aren't necessarily wonderful, this was the first book in which I actually found myself distracted by the reader to the point of missing some elements of the book. The reader was probably selected for his near perfect diction, but he sounded almost robotic or computer generated, and frequently pronounced words, if not incorrectly, then certainly not in keeping with mainstream pronunciations I was used to.… (altro)

James Mann describes, in no uncertain terms, how the U.S. makes excuses for China's repressive regimes. Despite the positive changes made in the U.S. - China relationship since the Nixon Presidency, the author points out how and why China shouldn't be trusted, and is far from a democratic state. He also points out why he feels our Government and businesses are wrong to put so little pressure on China to expand human rights, and how we as a people are not getting the true story regarding the dangers of China.
… (altro)