3.5 and mainly because it's dated (although the facts and arguments remain valid). Wish I'd read it a few years ago. ( )

For those of you not familiar with the authors, don't let the title put you off - like Chomsky, Pilger's outlook is not wide-eyed conspiracy mongering, but a stunning and unsettling read backed up by sound and seasoned journalism. Pilger highlights the hypocritical gap between what politicians say and do, and traces the secret agenda of the world's most powerful - and supposedly democratic - regimes. The book contains four chapters, covering the West's support of atrocities in Indonesia, the war in Iraq, the 'Great Game' of international politics, and the continued mistreatment of Australian aborigines. Wonderful, if distressing stuff. Highly recommended.

Gareth Southwell is a philosopher, writer and illustrator.

John Pilger is without doubt, one of the most insightful journalists of our time. His courage to portray the truth is the subject of both harsh criticism and even hatred. Yet there is also those who understand that his dedication to expose the reality of the stories he covers, is in fact a love affair with justice. Something that very few journalists even know what means any more. And I speak as a one. There is nothing more to be said about this book than that it is full of details and truth and that John Pilger does what he does best. Write in a tone that leaves nothing to speculation. It is a true must-read because it shows exactly what the title says. And you can deny it, reject it and choose to ignore it, but essentially it's true. ( )

This book is four essays on a world dominated by corporations and imperialist governments that cause much death and suffering to further their goals. It's all a bit over the top, but probably more true than most of us would let ourselves believe. The first essay called "The Model Pupil" is about how western governments supported the brutal reign of Indonesia's General Suharto and the overthrow of the nation's popular government and then allowed corporate interests to divvy up the country. Next, "Paying the Price" tells of the suffering of Iraq's citizenry from post-Gulf War sanctions that limit the food, medicine, and material allowed into the country, as well as constant military action such as bombings in the "No Fly Zone." Saddam Hussein profited during this time and western military helped keep down uprisings to keep him power. The story is continued in "The Great Game" where the specter of terrorism is compared to the atrocities of much greater magnitude initiated or covered up by western governments, as well as the oft-told story of the CIA's involvement in creating Osama Bin Laden. In the final essay, "The Chosen Ones" Pilger writes about his home country of Australia welcoming the Olympic games while hiding their dark past and shameful present in oppressing the aboriginal peoples. One interesting idea I got from this book is that although the US government has been behind much atrocity, greed, and dishonesty that it is not an American trait. Pilger puts it clearly that Britain, France, and German have done the same when they've had the power and that any country in control could (and probably would) do the same.

"The documentation of American terrorism is voluminous, and because such truths cannot be rationally rebutted, those who mention them, drawing the obvious connections between them, are often abused as 'anti-American,' regardless of whether or not they themselves are American. During the 1930s, the term 'anti-German' was deployed against critic the Third Reich wished to silence." - p. 137

Charlie Perkins was Australia's Martin Luther King. - p. 201 ( )

As stunning expose of the way the world really works. Pilger gets right into the nitty gritty of Indonesian politics, amongst other things, and exposes the corrupt connections between American business and some of the poorest countries in the world. ( )