The US government, desperate for a distraction from domestic ills, bends and twists all manner of information to paint a desperate threat on an annoying, if generally harmless, enemy. The time is not 2002 but a hundred years ago; the build-ups to the Spanish-American War and World War I are examined in great detail. One note, though, I recommend you are generally familiar with both of said wars before reading this book, as it spends little time covering the actual war itself. ( )