Under the Red Flag: Stories

Book Description

Winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for short fiction, Under the Red Flag features twelve stories which take place during China's Cultural Revolution--stories which display the earnestness and grandeur of human folly and, in a larger sense, form a moral history of a time and a place.

Customer Reviews:

Keep the red flag flying........2002-12-12

I like to leave this lovely book in our bathroom at home, so when Arsenal are playing at home, my girlfriend has something to read. If you've got a wet paint warning, our your house has been left devestated by a jam raid, or maybe tuna town is inaccessbile by skin boat, or the Beetle is up on blocks, this is the book for you and yours. Thoroughly satisflying.

He can do better.......2001-07-28

Ha Jin excels in writing vignettes that are simply refreshing to the non-Chinese reader. There are, however, better choices. I recommend the other collections like Ocean of Words and Bridegroom, which are more original and better written. Skip his novels, they tend to drag with unnecessary descriptions.

He can do better.......2001-07-28

A Brilliant Collection of Short Stories.......1998-04-17

Ha Jin has created a collection of stories that are absolutely remarkable. "The Emperor" is a short story that ranks right beside The Lord of the Flies. With a ferocity not seen much these days, Ha Jin's short stories are forged in the same class as Dubliners by James Joyce, especially Joyce's "The Dead," but with a voice crossed between Hemminway and Dostoevsky

March Ahead Under the Red Flag of the Party's General Line and Mao Tse-Tung's Military Thinking

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March Ahead Under the Red Flag of the Party's General Line and Mao Tse-Tung's Military Thinking
Lin Piao
Manufacturer: Foreign Language Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IBRO1E

Six weeks under "the Red flag": Being the thrilling experiences of a well known Hungarian lady during the revolution of 1918-1919

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Six weeks under "the Red flag": Being the thrilling experiences of a well known Hungarian lady during the revolution of 1918-1919
T. B Kászon
Manufacturer: W.P. van Stockum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Under The Red Cross Flag At Home And Abroad

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Under The Red Cross Flag At Home And Abroad
Mabel T. Boardman
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

History | Special Topics | Medicine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1432641867

Book Description

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

Under the Red Cross Flag at Home and Abroad With a Foreword by Woodrow Wilson, President

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Under the Red Cross Flag at Home and Abroad With a Foreword by Woodrow Wilson, President
Mabel T Boardman
Manufacturer: Lippincott & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ON71PA

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Under the Red Flag
Edward King
Manufacturer: Henry T. Coates and Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TGJ6R8

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Under the Red Flag
Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Manufacturer: Adamant Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Literature & Fiction | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1402192010
Release Date: 2002-03-14

Book Description

This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1884 edition by Bernhard Tauchnitz, Leipzig.

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Under the red flag,
Richard Eaton
Manufacturer: Brentano's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Under the Red Flag: A History of Communism in Britain

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Under the Red Flag: A History of Communism in Britain
Keith Laybourn
Manufacturer: Sutton Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Political Parties | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Charts the history of Marxism and communism in Britain, through the activites of the Social Democratic Federation and the Communist Party of Great Britain.

Under the Red Flag.: An article from: World Literature Today

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Under the Red Flag.: An article from: World Literature Today
Fatima Wu
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on March 22, 1998. The length of the article is 541 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Under the Red Flag.
Author: Fatima Wu
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1998
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: v72 Issue: n2 Page: p454(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

With the publication of her first novel, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER, Carson McCullers, all of twenty-three, became a literary sensation. With its profound sense of moral isolation and its compassionate glimpses into its characters' inner lives, the novel is considered McCullers' finest work, an enduring masterpiece first published by Houghton Mifflin in 1940. At its center is the deaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the confidant for various types of misfits in a Georgia mill town during the 1930s. Each one yearns for escape from small town life. When Singer's mute companion goes insane, Singer moves into the Kelly house, where Mick Kelly, the book's heroine (and loosely based on McCullers), finds solace in her music. Wonderfully attuned to the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition, and with a deft sense for racial tensions in the South, McCullers spins a haunting, unforgettable story that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated -- and, through Mick Kelly, gives voice to the quiet, intensely personal search for beauty. Richard Wright praised Carson McCullers for her ability "to rise above the pressures of her environment and embrace white and black humanity in one sweep of apprehension and tenderness." She writes "with a sweep and certainty that are overwhelming," said the NEW YORK TIMES. McCullers became an overnight literary sensation, but her novel has endured, just as timely and powerful today as when it was first published. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER is Carson McCullers at her most compassionate, endearing best.

Customer Reviews:

The Quiet Man. .......2007-09-27

An outstanding and realistic examination of the human condition. It's an indirect examination ("thoughts that wound from behind" as the great philosopher/storyteller Soren Kierkegaard put it) and that's what makes it so effective.
Everyone is so caught up in their own problems and acting out their desires that nobody notices the quiet suffering of the saintly central character. When he exits his void is felt yet no one can fathom the reasons for his disappearances. Maybe Jean Calvin was/is right about that thorough-corruption doctrine.
Carson McCullers sounds Kierkegaardian in showing the limits of organized religion and social action. The men of purposeful action (street preacher Simms, vagabond Jake Blount, and house-calling Doctor Copeland end up estranged, embittered, and feeling a lack of accomplishment. Meanwhile, the non-formalists (John Singer, Mick Kelly, and Biff Brannon) are better-adjusted and seem to have done more for the world. McCullers doesn't forget the "middle path" either by giving us Portia Copeland, a decent and generous church-goer who talks a little too much.
Our author echoes the sentiments of fellow Southerner William Faulkner on the civil rights issue. Both McCullers and Faulkner despaired at the suffering of blacks under Jim Crow but were wise enough to know the situation could not be legislated away (after all Jim Crow was a creation of government too.) Racism is a human failing to see The Other as a fellow child of G-d. It's an animalistic impulse, as Rabbi Daniel Lapin (a teacher of mine) rightly points out. Trying to speed the undoing of this impulse through legislation and protest marches, while not completely unhelpful, risks bloodshed. Having the faith/attributes of Biff (who runs a restaurant/hospitality center in the spirit of Biblical patriarch Abraham, the father of faith), Mick and Singer makes peaceful change possible in time.
Doctor Copeland and Jake Blount foreshadow the professional protestors of our era. Their enjoyment in physical confrontations tells us a good bit about the psyche of poverty pimps and union thugs.
Singer's life shows the truth of what another of my teachers (the saintly Rabbi Avigdor Miller ZT"L) once said -- "It is the quiet man that is respected." The public activist hero portrayed in Hollywood and TV news misleads many into thinking that they must pour forth a constant stream of verbiage to make an impact and promote "understanding." Rabbi Miller and other sages know better -- Most talking is counterproductive.
McCullers (who was 23 at the time "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" was published) proves herself the Great American Prophetess of the Great American Loneliness. Widespread ambivalence and inarticulateness amid the Information Age and cell-phone-driven communications "revolution" wouldn't have surprised Carson McCullers.
To close, here's a gem -- "He (Biff) had known his loves and they were over. Alice, Madeline, and Gyp. Finished. Leaving him either better or worse. Which? However you looked at it."

Character study, not a story.......2007-09-13

I read tons of "pulp" novels and I've started adding some classics to my wish list--largely to see if the books I abhored in high school would be more enjoyable if they were not assigned reading. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was no better now.
As a character study it is superb; the main characters are deep, believable, and unique. I understood the characters, or at least why they didn't understand themselves. Each chapter with Mr. Singer made me smile with anticipation while I waited for something magical to happen to make the characters happy.
That was the problem with the book. Each chapter barely moves the story forward, and in the end nothing happens. There is so much potential for characters to talk and understand and change, but it never happens and the potential hangs over the entire book like a cloud. The book simply ends. No character is better off than they were in the beginning, no character's life path is appreciably changed from those of their next door neighbors. In short, with the exception of Mr. Singer, there was no reason to write about these characters in terms of their participation in events that are worth writing about.
The book was not a labor to get through, but I was largely unsatisfied with the resolution. I don't need a happy ending, but atleast give me a sense that the previous 200 pages somewhat affected that ending.

No thrilling page-turner, but a deep, honest look into the heart of man!.......2007-09-09

It's no fast-paced thriller, nor is it a gripping page-turner, it is however, an incredibly deep look into the heart and soul of man. Not until you finish the very last page and reflect on what you have read, can you truly begin to understand the simple truth behind the title, `The heart is a lonely hunter.'

The heart of man is lonely, always seeking, always needing something... elusive. We all share the need to feel connected, to be part of a whole. To know truth, and be at peace. We are so many disjointed voices that few of us are ever really heard.

Set in the deep South, Carson tells of a deaf mute named John Singer and a group of frustrated individuals that gravitate towards his serene and kindly nature--a young girl, desperate to follow her dreams; a drunkard, willing to impart his wisdom on the uninformed; a black doctor, eager to lift his people to equality; and a café owner, stuck in the routines of life.

Each seek Singer's company and tell of their woes with a deep believe that he, and only he, truly understands their ply. In him, each sees a kindred spirit. But what, exactly, does Singer see in them?

The Meaning of Life.......2007-08-29

"Seek and ye shall find," Jesus is quoted as saying in the Bible. All of us, no matter what our religious affiliation--or lack thereof--are seeking out a dream, a little piece of happiness. Sometimes this process is conscious and sometimes a subconscious imperative drives us forward towards that piece of happiness.

The five main characters of "The Heart is A Lonely Hunter" are all seeking their dreams in an unnamed mill town in the South in the late 1930s. For teenaged Mick Kelly, the dream is a career in classical music that her impoverished family can't afford to provide. For the relentless black Doctor Copeland, the dream is freedom and equality for his people. For restaurateur Biff Brannon the dream is having children. For vertically-challenged drifter Jake Blount the dream is a Marxist revolution to level the playing field for all people. And last, but most important, the dream for deaf-mute John Singer is to be reunited with his long time partner Anatopolous, who was committed to an institution.

Singer becomes the prime focus for the other four. One by one they inadvertently seek him out and spill their wishes and desires to him, although he often doesn't understand them. To Mick he is a secret friend who understands her. To Copeland he is a wise man who understands the struggles of the black minority. To Blount he is a comrade in arms for the revolution. And to Biff he is a kindred spirit, a fellow observer of humanity.

Yet for as much as he represents to them, they mean relatively little to Singer. His thoughts are consumed by his love--platonic, we assume--for Anatopolous, the one he thinks understands him. But much as Singer is a false idol to the other four, Anatopolous is a false idol for him, a lazy, selfish, slovenly person incapable of appreciating Singer's love. In the end these troubled souls are left to pick up the pieces after the false idols shatter, as they inevitably do. This leads each of them to make a decision and to enter a new phase of life.

What makes this book so wonderful to read is the profound understanding of humanity shown here. All of us at one time or another have felt the pent-up ambition Mick feels at wanting something that remains just out of reach. We've felt the righteous anger to right a terrible injustice like Doctor Copeland. We've felt the isolation of being the outsider like Blount. We've all felt the confusion after a loss like Biff. And those of us fortunate enough--or perhaps unfortunate enough--have felt the heartache of an unrequited love like Singer.

These people all seem real because their hopes and desires are those hopes and desires we all have. Their dreams aren't altogether different than those each of us seek, whether we're aware of it or not. We know their longing and desperation to find someone who understands them, even if that someone is a deaf-mute who can only nod along.

Because of that, the book touches something deep in our consciousness, something primal within all of us--the need to seek out for something greater. The most astounding thing about "The Heart is A Lonely Hunter" is that the author was only twenty-three years old when she published this. At a time when most of us are just getting out into the "real world" and discovering ourselves, McCullers already had it figured out.

This is truly a literary achievement that you should seek out at your local bookseller or library at once, those who haven't already done so based on Oprah's recommendation.

That is all.

doesnt stand up over time.......2007-08-13

Lula Carson Smith was my favorite author for a long time. However i must have outgrown her, because i found a recent re-reading of 'the heart...' to be a little tiresome. i agree with another reviewer who noted it was easy to tell the characters were developed by a 23 y/o.

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Originally Posted on Romance Junkies in 2005
loved the premise
kept me reading
Unbelievable and just plain dumb
Why did I read this?

The Lonely Girls Club
Suzanne Forster
Manufacturer: Mira
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0778322017

Book Description

At an exclusive California prep school, four young girls form a bond that will endure over two decades -- a bond built on secrets, scandal and murder . . . a bond about to be broken.

Mattie, a federal judge . . . Breeze, a wealthy entrepreneur . . . and Jane, the first lady of the United States, have all enjoyed a meteoric rise to success since their days at the Rowe Academy for Girls. But now the truth behind the suicide of their friend Ivy and the murder of their headmistress twenty years ago is no longer safely hidden.

The man imprisoned for the murder has been exonerated, and a true crime reporter is relentlessly pursuing a loose thread in the decades-old cover-up, one that threatens to unravel the women's pact of silence. But none of them anticipated the twisted depths of the secrets about to be exposed -- or how the truth could shatter all their lives.

Customer Reviews:

Originally Posted on Romance Junkies in 2005.......2007-05-13

At the Rowe Academy for Girls in Tiburon, California, nothing is as it appears to be. The outside might look like a Victorian castle you would find in England, but on the inside, under the control of headmistress Millicent Rowe, the Academy is nothing more than hell for four young girls forced to do things that are truly abhorrent. For Ms. Rowe, the Academy is her life, and she'll do anything to make sure the school stays intact. That includes providing young girls for the wealthy men who have sexual tastes that differ from the norm.

Matilda "Mattie" Smith, Jane Mantle, Breeze Wheeler, and Ivy White were four troubled girls who were at the Academy for different reasons. Thrown together by the sick desires of Millicent Rowe, however, forced to "pay" their way through school by doing the bidding of Ms. Rowe and the men who paid her handsomely, the four girls formed the Lonely Girls Club. Brought together by their sad fates, not allowed to be normal teenagers, these girls had a bond stronger than that of sisters. Although totally different in their personalities, Mattie, Jane, Breeze, and Ivy were joined by their hatred and fear of Millicent Rowe, by their own guilty consciences, and by the terrible men who forced them to become women before they were ready.

The Lonely Girls Club ended, however, when Millicent Rowe was murdered by William "Billy" Broud-or so the girls thought. Twenty years have gone by, and Broud has been exonerated through DNA evidence, proving he wasn't the one who killed the Academy's headmistress. At the time of his arrest so long ago, he'd been trying to tell authorities about Ms. Rowe, about her sex-ring involving students, about conspiracies and cover-ups involving men of power. No one was inclined to listen then, when Billy had a prior record, drugs in his possession, and had the same blood type as that found at the scene of the crime. Now that he's released, the only one who is inclined to look back on that past, to follow a string of clues reaching back to the Rowe Academy for Girls and its headmistress, is Jameson Cross, a true crime writer, who just so happens to also have a heavy interest in proving Billy's innocence. The wrongly-convicted man wants no part of Cross and his book, however, and after a short stint outside prison walls, ends his life to avoid a past that just won't leave him alone.

Jameson Cross is obsessed with finding out who really murdered the headmistress of the Academy, and discovering who the Lonely Girls are. He knows that Ivy White is no longer alive, having committed suicide years ago, but what about the other mysterious members of the Club? As clues come to light, as he finds the three remaining women in positions of authority and prestige-one a judge, one a businesswoman, one the First Lady of the United States-Jameson realizes that finding out what happened so long ago is about more than just solving a crime. Because one of these girls-or even all of them-may very well have murdered someone. And even now, the Lonely Girls Club is gathering steam, trying to keep their secrets hidden and lock away the part of themselves that was abused so long ago.

Suzanne Forster has once again managed to write a suspenseful story of danger, intrigue, sex, lies, and murder that takes you into the world of the rich and powerful. The men and women associated with the Rowe Academy for Girls will do anything and everything to keep themselves from being exposed, up to and including murder. With an intense plot, strong characters, and the twists and turns of a true mystery, THE LONELY GIRLS CLUB is a book not to be missed.

loved the premise.......2007-04-12

I just love the private school for girls setup of this book. I thought the characters were unique and unusual. Once I started the book, I couldn't put it down.

kept me reading.......2006-12-11

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing and while a little far-fetched, it was a great escape. If I am looking for reality I would choose a non-fiction, but this book lived up to my expectations and made for good before bed reading.

Unbelievable and just plain dumb.......2006-09-17

I'm sorry, but none, not one of these characters were real. This book didn't even pass my 50 page rule. I gave up and tossed it.

Why did I read this?.......2006-06-19

I must preface this review by saying that it's possible that the genre of romantic suspense isn't for me, but it's also possible that far fetched and improbable plots and characters aren't for me either. And as much as was intrigued by the blurb on the back of The Lonely Girls Club, I just can't recommend this book to other readers.

Three scholarship women who were students at the same boarding school 20 years ago are plunged into a whirlwind of emotions and actions when the man accused of killing their headmistress is released from prison. When new information is revealed which exonerates this man of the crime, these women are thrown back into a part of their lives they would rather forget. Now, though, all of their old history and the killing are once again front and center. And when the man these women and the courts thought was guilty is found dead, the victim of an apparent suicide, the women mount a campaign to find out what really happened to Ms.Rowe, this man and their friend Ivy. Along the way there are other attempted murders, deceit, contradictions and a would be love story between two of the characters.

While the first 100 pages had me glued the book became painful to read at the end and I skimmed the last 200 pages and couldn't wait for this to be over so I could read something else. I have no doubt that someday I may read a good book filled with romance and suspense, but for me it wasn't The Lonely Girls Club. I can suspsensd disbelief with the best of them but the storyline was just so improbable and poorly written that in the end I was sorry I wasted my time.

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-:-AWESOME BOOK!!!-:-

The Lonely Girls Club

Manufacturer: Mira
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739457993

Customer Reviews:

-:-AWESOME BOOK!!!-:-.......2005-12-17

This book will keep you guessing! Suzanne is an awesome writer and this one was no disappointment. I am a huge fan of all her books!

Suspense, murder, powerful smart women, strong friendship ties, and a touch of romance make this book a really great read. Once you start it, you won't be able to put it down.

Book Description

This exciting, action-packed novel marks Jack Chalker's triumphant return to his celebrated multivolume saga: The Well World. The Sea Is Full of Stars explores an unknown interstellar civilization, stars an all-new cast of characters, and reveals fresh secrets. But of course, The Well remains . . .

After three passengers--Ming, Ari, and Angel--embark on an elite starship journey into the Realm, they unwittingly become ensnared in one man's bloodthirsty vendetta that will alter their very beings. That man is Jeremiah Wong Kincaid. He vows to destroy Josich Conqueror Hadun, the evil genius who has wreaked unspeakable havoc throughout the universe. It is an obsession that will take him to lands of demons and strange races--and into a deadly new cyberworld where humans are mere pawns of the godlike computers they have created.

But it is only after Kincaid and his unwitting fellow travelers enter Well World and discover the water hexes that he confronts the mad tyrant--and learns their universe is threatened by something far, far worse . . .

Customer Reviews:

FANTASTIC.......2005-08-05

Must read the other Well World Series by Jack Chalker to appreciate this book. I think this series is one of the greatest works in the Sci Fi field. Unfortunately, Jack Chalker has passed away so there will not be anymore books in this series. If you liked the Well World series you will enjoy this one also.

Deja Vu.......2001-02-25

An interesting variation of the same original well world series. The first book is only an introduction to the second book. The characters are well disguised remakes of his previous characters. Almost all Well World series have Drug Lords with their planet fortresses, Evil Conquerors ( and their guilt ridden proteges ), body swapping and its psychological repercussions. But then thats what we all like about the well world series. So if you are a fan, go ahead and make your day.

His Best In Years!.......2000-05-28

I have been Chalker fan since the publication of the first Well World novels, and have read every book he has ever written. That being said, I have found the recent attempts to revive the Well World to be sorely lacking. Until The Sea Is Full Of Stars, that is. I have found this to be the most enjoyable book that Chalker has written in years (I found Watchers At The Well to be less than satisfying). This book, however, seems to capture the spirit and adventure of the original novels. Which makes it all the more unfortunate that the second book does not live up to its potential

WELL WORLD!.......2000-03-20

If for no other reason, Jack Chalker deserves his place in science fiction for having invented the Well World. [Side note: I'd never write a Star Wars or Star Trek novel, but if Chalker ever asked me to write a Well World novel, he wouldn't have to ask twice.] Every Well novel has been brilliant; the last three were superior, but read much like variations on the original theme. Now he has integrated new scientific & technological knowledge into the Well mythos AND done something completely new with the concept. Besides that, virtually no one besides Chalker of whom I know has done so well in making aliens both understandable to us and at the same time so clearly not like us at all. I am awaiting the sequel.

Classic Well-World Novel, But..........2000-03-05

This is classic Chalker at his best. If you enjoyed the original Well World series then you have to read this.

My only disappointments are that it takes the whole book to get to know the characters and to get to the Well World, and the final couple of chapters are all that's left to wind up the novel -- a bit of an anti-climax. In fact, you will have to buy the next one to find out how the story really ends as this is just an episode in a bigger plot. So, it is not really a stand alone novel at all.

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The Sea Is Full of Stars (Well World)
Jack L. Chalker
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVVMSE

Book Description

Pacifism. Jihad. Militarism. Are these our only alternatives for dealing with global injustice today? J. Daryl Charles leads us to reconsider a Christian view of the use of force to maintain or reestablish justice. He shows how love for a neighbor can warrant the just use of force. Reviewing and updating the widely recognized but not necessarily well-understood just-war teaching of the church through the ages, Charles shows how it captures many of the concerns of the pacifist position while deliberately avoiding, on the other side, the excesses of jihad and militarism. Aware of our contemporary global situation, Charles addresses the unique challenges of dealing with international terrorism.

Customer Reviews:

More careful thinking required.......2007-08-19

By incorporating the word `Jihad' within the title of his book, one might think that Daryl Charles intends to critically evaluate, in light of Just War theory, the US-led "War on Terror" against a postulated emergence of a global fundamentalist Muslim movement. However, if this is one's expectation, the reader will surely be disappointed. Instead, this book is little more than an extended polemic against Christian pacifism, and a veiled apologetic for US foreign policy in the wake of the events of September 11.

At several points Charles emphasizes his familiarity with Christian pacifist thinking, since his father was from the Anabaptist tradition, and a conscientious objector. Yet, his interaction with pacifist thinking is egregiously lacking. He frequently makes claims that "Pacifists believe this," or "Pacifists say that," but he never actually cites a pacifist thinker who actually says or believes those things (though he quotes Just War theorists extensively). The only pacifist that he engages with at any length is John Howard Yoder and his book, "The Politics of Jesus." This is hardly a substantive engagement, though, since he thoroughly trivializes Yoder's argument, and completely neglects the theological discussion which lies at the heart of his argument. You might think, after reading through Charles' book, that all pacifists prefer to seal themselves off into their own little room, complaining when any murderer is tried and put in prison (or even worse, executed), self-righteously denouncing foreign wars, while not lifting a finger to try to help the oppressed and persecuted in this world. This is a gross distortion of the truth, derived from a methodology hardly befitting one with a PhD after his name.

Charles repeatedly muddies the waters of the whole Just War discussion by freely mixing the concepts of the role of the civil magistrate in maintaining the rule of law within a nation state, with the supposed moral imperatives of a nation to intervene in other countries where there is a perceived injustice or imminent threat. Following though on his logic, if one is opposed to the latter, he is expected to be opposed to the former. That is, his reasoning would have us believe that if we object to a military invasion of a country to depose a totalitarian ruler, then we must also believe that it is also wrong for a national police force to capture and imprison a serial rapist. This is obviously absurd, yet his craftiness in writing inevitably leads to this kind of conjecture.

While Charles goes to some length to describe how evil the terrorists are, and how they must be opposed in order to protect the innocent, and while he includes a section that tries to rationalize Pre-emptive War within the purview of Just War theory, he remains surprisingly silent about the actual actions of the US administration. Afghanistan does not even appear anywhere between the front and rear covers of the book. Iraq receives only minor attention, and that only in the context of speaking about rebuilding of the country. There is no discussion whatsoever about the "justness" of the US invasion of that country. Charles appears to want his reader to assume that since he has painted such an evil picture of terrorists, and since he has been able to validate Pre-emptive War as "just," then the US actions are inherently "just." I would suggest, though, that he is fully aware that when these acts of aggression are tested against historic Just War theory, they simply are unable to withstand scrutiny. It is better to remain silent than prove yourself wrong.

Perhaps my greatest criticism of the book, however, is that it lacks any specifically Christian theological reflection. His argument basically reduces to nominal moralism with a thin Christian veneer. While he is no doubt indebted to centuries of historical Christian reflection upon the basis for Just War, his appreciation for, and engagement with, the broader biblical contours that ought to inform contemporary Christian ethics is sadly lacking. For example, in defense of the occupation of soldiering, Charles points to the fact that John the Baptist does not encourage the soldiers who came to him to leave their occupation, but merely to act justly and be content with their wages (Luke 3:14). But what about Paul who encourages slaves to remain as slaves (1 Cor. 7:21)? Does Paul endorse slavery? Modern slavery (at least in the western world) was abolished largely though the efforts of Christians. Was this foolish on their part since Paul endorses the practice?

More to the point, Charles completely ignores the core of biblical theology that Jesus has overcome evil by his obedience to the Father in his own submission to sin and death. He concludes his book by mentioning (for the first time) the dual biblical characterization of Jesus as both Lion and Lamb. He claims that "Christians live in the constant awareness that our sins are covered by the Lamb of God. But that Lamb, behold, is also a Lion. He is simultaneously the sacrifice and a warrior. The vanquished and the Vanquisher. The conquered and the Conqueror" (p. 180). But by what theological method is he able to infer that the Lion-character of Jesus shall be equated with that of a warrior or a military conqueror? Indeed, the crux of Revelation 5 is completely the opposite of what Charles states. The Lion of Judah! Behold, he is a Lamb who has been slaughtered! Human wisdom suggests that the act of conquering is accomplished through the use of dominant physical force. In fact, the way that Christ has conquered is through suffering and death in submission to the world's evil. Charles has gotten the biblical model completely backward!

In the end, this book seems to be a thinly-veiled attempt to give biblical justification for the Bush administration's current War on Terror, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, without actually attempting to discuss whether these actions are "Just." To do so, he needs to belittle those who tend to read the Bible more holistically. To those who read this book, please do not let this be the final word on the subject.

Moral Clarity in an Age of Terrorism.......2005-08-10

Over 20 years ago Christian social commentator Michael Novak wrote a book entitled Moral Clarity in the Nuclear Age. In it he urged us to think clearly and with moral discernment about the issues of nuclear deterrence, justice and warfare. This volume serves a similar function, except in the context of the modern dilemma of international terrorism.

The main focus of the book however is to provide a thorough description and defense of classic just war theory. Written by a Christian ethicist mainly for the Christian community, the author lays out the various options relating to issues of war and peace. Of course the two major options throughout church history have been pacifism and just war doctrine. The former, while always a minority opinion, has had many champions throughout the ages.

The latter position, just war theory, has had a long and honorable heritage, both in religious and non-religious circles. The position holds, in brief, that there are some occasions in which a war may be fought with moral justification. It stipulates some of the reasons why it may be just to enter into such a conflict (jus ad bellum) and how such a war may be justly waged (jus in bello).

Charles traces the development of this doctrine through Christian history, and seeks to defend it in the face of numerous objections. Like Novak before him, he especially seeks to sharpen our moral clarity concerning the difficult questions raised in the debate, and equip believers to think deeply and critically about how their faith intersects with such contentious social and political issues.

And like Novak, he is unhappy with the sloppy thinking and muddied moral waters that often occur in these debates. Just as Novak could object to the foolish notion of moral equivalence prominent during the Cold War era (which sought to show that there was no moral difference between the free and democratic West and the oppressive Marxist regimes), so Charles rejects the glib claims that actions to resist international terrorism are no better morally than the terrorist act themselves.

If Novak had to deal with moral myopia and intellectual vandalism at the time of the Cold War era debates, the matters have only gotten worse. As Charles points out, our post-modern climate has only exasperated the problem. Not only are we no longer thinking with moral clarity and vigor, but we have abandoned the very notion of a moral framework in which to make ethical judgments. Indeed, post-modernism discourages us from making moral judgements at all.

Thus the need to once again state the case for just war theory, to show its historical and intellectual roots, and to demonstrate how it is an important tool by which we assess armed conflict and geo-political conflict. The urgency of the terrorist threat requires some hard thinking, moral realism, and theological discernment.

As such a number of issues are canvassed. For example, does the biblical injunction against vengeance preclude the right of nations (and individuals for that matter) to defend themselves? Charles rightly reminds us that retribution is not the moral equivalent of revenge. Retributive justice does not equal vindictive revenge. Societies have an obligation to maintain peace with justice, to defend the innocent, and to actively work against injustice and exploitation.

Other crucial questions are considered. What about pre-emptive strikes? Are they ever morally justified? What about the use of coercive force in peace-keeping missions? Is that an oxymoron? All of these specific questions need to be debated within a larger theological and ethical matrix. And Charles argues that a thoroughly biblical understanding of important concepts such as peace, justice and the right use of force clearly lead to a doctrine of just warfare.

The particulars of any individual case will of course be open to discussion and debate. But in an age in which no one is now safe from the deadly hands of terrorist bombers, it is vital that Western nations in general and people of the faith community in particular do some sober and profound thinking about these issues. This volume is a very helpful tool in such an endeavour.

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