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Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism
“Liberals’ loyalty to the United States is off-limits as a subject of political debate. Why is the relative patriotism of the two parties the only issue that is out of bounds for rational discussion?”
In a stunning follow-up to her number one bestseller Slander , leading conservative pundit Ann Coulter contends that liberals have been wrong on every foreign policy issue, from the fight against Communism at home and abroad, the Nixon and the Clinton presidencies, and the struggle with the Soviet empire right up to today’s war on terrorism. “Liberals have a preternatural gift for always striking a position on the side of treason,” says Coulter. “Everyone says liberals love America, too. No, they don’t.” From Truman to Kennedy to Carter to Clinton, America has contained, appeased, and retreated, often sacrificing America’s best interests and security. With the fate of the world in the balance, liberals should leave the defense of the nation to conservatives.
Reexamining the sixty-year history of the Cold War and beyond—including the career of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the Whittaker Chambers–Alger Hiss affair, Ronald Reagan’s challenge to Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall,” the Gulf War, and our present war on terrorism—Coulter reveals how liberals have been horribly wrong in all their political analyses and policy prescriptions. McCarthy, exonerated by the Venona Papers if not before, was basically right about Soviet agents working for the U.S. government. Hiss turned out to be a high-ranking Soviet spy (who consulted Roosevelt at Yalta). Reagan, ridiculed throughout his presidency, ended up winning the Cold War. And George W. Bush, also an object of ridicule, has performed exceptionally in responding to America’s newest threats at home and abroad.
Coulter, who in Slander exposed a liberal bias in today’s media, also examines how history, especially in the latter half of the twentieth century, has been written by liberals and, therefore, distorted by their perspective. Far from being irrelevant today, her clearheaded and piercing view of what we’ve been through informs us perfectly for challenges today and in the future.
With Slander , Ann Coulter became the most recognized and talked-about conservative intellectual of the year. Treason , in many ways an even more controversial and prescient book, will ignite impassioned political debate at one of the most crucial moments in our history.
In a stunning follow-up to her number one bestseller Slander , leading conservative pundit Ann Coulter contends that liberals have been wrong on every foreign policy issue, from the fight against Communism at home and abroad, the Nixon and the Clinton presidencies, and the struggle with the Soviet empire right up to today’s war on terrorism. “Liberals have a preternatural gift for always striking a position on the side of treason,” says Coulter. “Everyone says liberals love America, too. No, they don’t.” From Truman to Kennedy to Carter to Clinton, America has contained, appeased, and retreated, often sacrificing America’s best interests and security. With the fate of the world in the balance, liberals should leave the defense of the nation to conservatives.
Reexamining the sixty-year history of the Cold War and beyond—including the career of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the Whittaker Chambers–Alger Hiss affair, Ronald Reagan’s challenge to Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall,” the Gulf War, and our present war on terrorism—Coulter reveals how liberals have been horribly wrong in all their political analyses and policy prescriptions. McCarthy, exonerated by the Venona Papers if not before, was basically right about Soviet agents working for the U.S. government. Hiss turned out to be a high-ranking Soviet spy (who consulted Roosevelt at Yalta). Reagan, ridiculed throughout his presidency, ended up winning the Cold War. And George W. Bush, also an object of ridicule, has performed exceptionally in responding to America’s newest threats at home and abroad.
Coulter, who in Slander exposed a liberal bias in today’s media, also examines how history, especially in the latter half of the twentieth century, has been written by liberals and, therefore, distorted by their perspective. Far from being irrelevant today, her clearheaded and piercing view of what we’ve been through informs us perfectly for challenges today and in the future.
With Slander , Ann Coulter became the most recognized and talked-about conservative intellectual of the year. Treason , in many ways an even more controversial and prescient book, will ignite impassioned political debate at one of the most crucial moments in our history.
355 pages, Paperback
First published June 24, 2003
About the author
Ann Coulter
26 books430 followersAnn Coulter is the author of seven New York Times bestsellers — Guilty: Liberal Victims and Their Assault on America (January 2009);If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans (October, 2007); Godless: The Church of Liberalism (June 2006); How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)(October, 2004); Treason: Liberal Treachery From the Cold War to the War on Terrorism (June 2003); Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right (June 2002); and High Crimes and Misdemeanors:The Case Against Bill Clinton (August 1998).
Coulter is the legal correspondent for Human Events and writes a popular syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate.
She is a frequent guest on many TV shows, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Early Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Hannity, The O'Reilly Factor, The Glen Beck Show, HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, and has been profiled in numerous publications, including TV Guide, the Guardian (UK), the New York Observer, National Journal, Harper's Bazaar, and Elle magazine. She was the April 25, 2005 cover story of Time magazine.
In 2001, Coulter was named one of the top 100 Public Intellectuals by federal judge Richard Posner.
A Connecticut native, Coulter graduated with honors from Cornell University School of Arts & Sciences, and received her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School, where she was an editor of The Michigan Law Review.
Coulter clerked for the Honorable Pasco Bowman II of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and was an attorney in the Department of Justice Honors Program for outstanding law school graduates.
After practicing law in private practice in New York City, Coulter worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she handled crime and immigration issues for Senator Spencer Abraham of Michigan. From there, she became a litigator with the Center For Individual Rights in Washington, DC, a public interest law firm dedicated to the defense of individual rights with particular emphasis on freedom of speech, civil rights, and the free exercise of religion.
Coulter is the legal correspondent for Human Events and writes a popular syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate.
She is a frequent guest on many TV shows, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Early Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Hannity, The O'Reilly Factor, The Glen Beck Show, HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, and has been profiled in numerous publications, including TV Guide, the Guardian (UK), the New York Observer, National Journal, Harper's Bazaar, and Elle magazine. She was the April 25, 2005 cover story of Time magazine.
In 2001, Coulter was named one of the top 100 Public Intellectuals by federal judge Richard Posner.
A Connecticut native, Coulter graduated with honors from Cornell University School of Arts & Sciences, and received her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School, where she was an editor of The Michigan Law Review.
Coulter clerked for the Honorable Pasco Bowman II of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and was an attorney in the Department of Justice Honors Program for outstanding law school graduates.
After practicing law in private practice in New York City, Coulter worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she handled crime and immigration issues for Senator Spencer Abraham of Michigan. From there, she became a litigator with the Center For Individual Rights in Washington, DC, a public interest law firm dedicated to the defense of individual rights with particular emphasis on freedom of speech, civil rights, and the free exercise of religion.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
July 5, 2020
[Original review, Nov 5 2016]
Donald Trump says he's going to "make America great again" and denounces his opponents as wanting to destroy the country, but his arguments are so vague, inconsistent and lacking in detail that I'm afraid I can't even understand them. Ann Coulter, who has been one of Trump's most vocal supporters during the current election, at least writes book-length defenses of the positions she's taking. It occurred to me today that I might gain some insight by examining what she has to say on the subject.
My liberal principles don't permit me actually to buy a copy of Treason, but Amazon's Look Inside feature has allowed me to read enough of the book that I think I have a decent idea of what it's about. The centerpiece of Coulter's argument is a reassessment of Joe McCarthy. Far from being an unscrupulous demagogue with a drinking problem, McCarthy, I read here, was a hero and basically right. There really were Reds under the beds. He defended his country from the villainous Soviet threat, while the liberals were bending over backwards to make excuses for the people who were trying to sell their country down the river. We shouldn't use "McCarthyism" as a dirty word; we should honor the memory of a true patriot who gave everything for the country he loved.
I admit I have certain difficulties accepting this, but let me try and suspend disbelief long enough to assume, for the sake of argument, that Coulter is right. I'm doing my best to put myself into her mindset. The US is surrounded by vicious and infinitely devious enemies who are doing their utmost to destroy everything America stands for. They have duped many people who should know better into supporting their policies. These people, even though they may not be aware of it, are traitors. They are helping the enemy, and no condemnation is too harsh for them.
Well, I thought I would become enlightened, but I'm even more puzzled than I was before. One candidate in this election is a suspicious hawk who takes what's widely regarded as an unreasonably tough line against Putin's aggressively expansionist Russia. The other, inclined to overlook minor details like the annexation of part of a sovereign country and a habit of having inconvenient journalists assassinated, has several times said that Putin is a strong and popular leader and it would be much better if we could get along with him.
It certainly seems to me that, on Coulter's way of looking at things, Donald Trump should be the traitor and Hillary Clinton the patriotic heroine. But for some reason it's apparently the other way round. What am I missing here? I wish I could understand these Republicans.
________________________
[Update, Dec 17 2016]
________________________
[Update, Jan 8 2017]
From this recent article in the New York Times:
________________________
[Update, Jan 10 2017]
An interesting passage from this recent article in Time
1. Appointing two people to key cabinet positions whose main qualifications for the job are that they are personal friends of Vladimir Putin.
2. Recognizing Russia's annexation of a part of the Ukraine.
3. Removal of sanctions against Russia following from (2).
4. Weakening NATO to the point where it no longer feels required to protect the Baltic states.
5. All of the above.
6. All of the above and then some.
I'm holding my breath.
________________________
[Update, Jan 11 2017]
Where there's smoke... there's, er, smoke. I wouldn't want to go further than that. But maybe the fire brigade should go take a look, just in case.
________________________
[Update, Feb 15 2017]
Michael Flynn resigned yesterday after serving 24 days as Trump's National Security Adviser; following Paul Manafort and Carter Page, that now makes three leading members of Trump's entourage who have resigned over issues involving close links to Russia.
I'm still trying to figure out why the liberals are the traitors. Perhaps it will dawn on me by and by.
________________________
[Update, Mar 2 2017]
Gosh! Now Jeff Sessions is in trouble about previously undisclosed contacts with Russians. Some unkind people are even saying that he lied under oath.
But let's think positive: at least we can be sure that there aren't any more people in Trump's administration hiding dark secrets here. As they say, lightning doesn't strike five times in the same place.
________________________
[Update, Mar 3 2017]
Did I say five times? I meant six of course. And I'm sure that nice Jared Kushner will soon be able to prove that his conversations with Ambassador Kislyak were entirely appropriate, so we can move on to more important things.
________________________
[Update, Apr 4 2017]
Lightning doesn't... er... look, who cares whether Betsy DeVos's brother had a secret meeting with a Putin representative? Let's be realistic here. We're talking about the brother of one member of Trump's cabinet fercryinoutloud. I bet at least one or two of your employees' siblings have had secret meetings with close friends of Putin. This is a witch-hunt.
________________________
[Update, Apr 20 2018]
It seems like the Democratic National Committee are also having trouble seeing why Donald Trump and his staff aren't the traitors here. In fact, they've gone as far as filing a suit which claims they conspired with the Russian government and WikiLeaks.
I blame Ann Coulter for this tragic misunderstanding. She should have explained her reasoning more carefully, remembering that not everyone is as insightful as she is.
________________________
[Update, Jun 8 2018]
Senator Dick Durbin just doesn't get it. Why can't he see that pandering to Putin's every whim while antagonising all the US's traditional allies is the best way to make America great again? There are even a few Republican senators agreeing with him.
I'm sorry, Ann Coulter. You have failed. You will have to write another book, and I trust you will do a better job next time.
________________________
[Update, Jul 13 2018]
On his way between Belgium, where he has been dismantling NATO, and Finland, where he will personally submit his latest progress report to Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump stops by in London and warns Theresa May that she needs to do a better job of following orders if she does not want to be replaced by Comrade Boris.
No, I'm sorry, I still don't really understand the New Patriotism. But I'm working on it. We liberals are terribly slow about these things.
________________________
[Update, Jul 18 2018]
Politico doesn't seem to understand either.
Ann Coulter, this is a fine mess you've made here. Why did you even get people talking about the subject? I wish you'd never brought it up.
________________________
[Update, Aug 20 2018]
But wasn't McCarthy supposed to be the good guy? I'm so confused. Please, Ms Coulter, could you hurry up and issue a new edition?
________________________
[Update, Dec 5 2018]
And now even one of Donald's most trusted advisers has publicly used the T-word.
Et tu, Rudy?
________________________
[Update, Dec 19 2018]
Look, before we all get carried away, let's take a deep breath and review what actually happened. We have ONE guy, who USED to work for Donald Trump, who's pleading guilty to lying to the FBI. And Judge Emmet Sullivan ASKS whether he could have been charged with treason. That's all he does, ask. He's just doing the due diligence, dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Most likely they do it for speeding tickets as well.
Well, how does this add up to Trump being a traitor? It's ridiculous. All the same, for some reason a lot of people are saying that.
Maybe I'm being unfair, but I still think the whole thing is Ann Coulter's fault. She's totally opened up a can of worms here.
________________________
[Update, Jan 25 2019]
I read that Ukraine's ex-president Viktor Yanukovych has been found guilty of treason and sentenced in absentia to 14 years of prison. Now, I'm a wishy-washy liberal and like to believe the best of everyone, but if I were a tough-minded conservative like Ann Coulter I think I might start wondering about Paul Manafort, who did a lot of work for Mr Yanukovych.
Is it possible that any more of Manafort's clients are traitors who take orders from Vladimir Putin? I mean, personally I'm sure the answer is no. But you can't be too careful in these matters, as Ms Coulter has repeatedly warned us, and trying to consider the matter impartially I can see the force of her argument. Someone really ought to check.
________________________
[Update, Jul 5 2020]
Now that the Justice Department has unexpectedly dropped all charges against Michael Flynn, despite the fact that he pleaded guilty, the right-wing media are saying that he was the victim of a witch-hunt. Needless to say, the wrong kind of witch-hunt, not the right kind which Joe McCarthy used to do.
There's still something here that I'm not quite getting.
Donald Trump says he's going to "make America great again" and denounces his opponents as wanting to destroy the country, but his arguments are so vague, inconsistent and lacking in detail that I'm afraid I can't even understand them. Ann Coulter, who has been one of Trump's most vocal supporters during the current election, at least writes book-length defenses of the positions she's taking. It occurred to me today that I might gain some insight by examining what she has to say on the subject.
My liberal principles don't permit me actually to buy a copy of Treason, but Amazon's Look Inside feature has allowed me to read enough of the book that I think I have a decent idea of what it's about. The centerpiece of Coulter's argument is a reassessment of Joe McCarthy. Far from being an unscrupulous demagogue with a drinking problem, McCarthy, I read here, was a hero and basically right. There really were Reds under the beds. He defended his country from the villainous Soviet threat, while the liberals were bending over backwards to make excuses for the people who were trying to sell their country down the river. We shouldn't use "McCarthyism" as a dirty word; we should honor the memory of a true patriot who gave everything for the country he loved.
I admit I have certain difficulties accepting this, but let me try and suspend disbelief long enough to assume, for the sake of argument, that Coulter is right. I'm doing my best to put myself into her mindset. The US is surrounded by vicious and infinitely devious enemies who are doing their utmost to destroy everything America stands for. They have duped many people who should know better into supporting their policies. These people, even though they may not be aware of it, are traitors. They are helping the enemy, and no condemnation is too harsh for them.
Well, I thought I would become enlightened, but I'm even more puzzled than I was before. One candidate in this election is a suspicious hawk who takes what's widely regarded as an unreasonably tough line against Putin's aggressively expansionist Russia. The other, inclined to overlook minor details like the annexation of part of a sovereign country and a habit of having inconvenient journalists assassinated, has several times said that Putin is a strong and popular leader and it would be much better if we could get along with him.
It certainly seems to me that, on Coulter's way of looking at things, Donald Trump should be the traitor and Hillary Clinton the patriotic heroine. But for some reason it's apparently the other way round. What am I missing here? I wish I could understand these Republicans.
________________________
[Update, Dec 17 2016]
________________________
[Update, Jan 8 2017]
From this recent article in the New York Times:
The role of RT — the Russian English-language news organization that American intelligence says is a Kremlin propaganda operation — in the Kremlin’s effort to influence the election is covered in far more detail by the report than any other aspect of the Russian campaign. An annex in the report on RT, which was first written in 2012 but not previously made public, takes up eight pages of the report’s 14-page main section.I'm sure I don't know what the truth of the matter is. But what would Joe McCarthy have said?
The report’s unequivocal assessment of RT presents an awkward development for Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, who is Mr. Trump’s choice to serve as national security adviser. Mr. Flynn has appeared repeatedly on RT’s news programs and in December 2015 was paid by the network to give a speech in Russia and attend its lavish anniversary party, where he sat at the elbow of Mr. Putin. Mr. Flynn has since defended his speech, insisting that RT is no different from CNN or MSNBC.
________________________
[Update, Jan 10 2017]
An interesting passage from this recent article in Time
“In a couple weeks, Donald Trump will be the defender of the free world and democracy,” Graham said, during a joint interview with John McCain on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “You should let everybody know in America, Republicans and Democrats, that you’re going to make Russia pay a price for trying to interfere.”What do you think the most likely punishment is going to be? Some possibilities:
1. Appointing two people to key cabinet positions whose main qualifications for the job are that they are personal friends of Vladimir Putin.
2. Recognizing Russia's annexation of a part of the Ukraine.
3. Removal of sanctions against Russia following from (2).
4. Weakening NATO to the point where it no longer feels required to protect the Baltic states.
5. All of the above.
6. All of the above and then some.
I'm holding my breath.
________________________
[Update, Jan 11 2017]
Where there's smoke... there's, er, smoke. I wouldn't want to go further than that. But maybe the fire brigade should go take a look, just in case.
________________________
[Update, Feb 15 2017]
Michael Flynn resigned yesterday after serving 24 days as Trump's National Security Adviser; following Paul Manafort and Carter Page, that now makes three leading members of Trump's entourage who have resigned over issues involving close links to Russia.
I'm still trying to figure out why the liberals are the traitors. Perhaps it will dawn on me by and by.
________________________
[Update, Mar 2 2017]
Gosh! Now Jeff Sessions is in trouble about previously undisclosed contacts with Russians. Some unkind people are even saying that he lied under oath.
But let's think positive: at least we can be sure that there aren't any more people in Trump's administration hiding dark secrets here. As they say, lightning doesn't strike five times in the same place.
________________________
[Update, Mar 3 2017]
Did I say five times? I meant six of course. And I'm sure that nice Jared Kushner will soon be able to prove that his conversations with Ambassador Kislyak were entirely appropriate, so we can move on to more important things.
________________________
[Update, Apr 4 2017]
Lightning doesn't... er... look, who cares whether Betsy DeVos's brother had a secret meeting with a Putin representative? Let's be realistic here. We're talking about the brother of one member of Trump's cabinet fercryinoutloud. I bet at least one or two of your employees' siblings have had secret meetings with close friends of Putin. This is a witch-hunt.
________________________
[Update, Apr 20 2018]
It seems like the Democratic National Committee are also having trouble seeing why Donald Trump and his staff aren't the traitors here. In fact, they've gone as far as filing a suit which claims they conspired with the Russian government and WikiLeaks.
I blame Ann Coulter for this tragic misunderstanding. She should have explained her reasoning more carefully, remembering that not everyone is as insightful as she is.
________________________
[Update, Jun 8 2018]
Senator Dick Durbin just doesn't get it. Why can't he see that pandering to Putin's every whim while antagonising all the US's traditional allies is the best way to make America great again? There are even a few Republican senators agreeing with him.
I'm sorry, Ann Coulter. You have failed. You will have to write another book, and I trust you will do a better job next time.
________________________
[Update, Jul 13 2018]
On his way between Belgium, where he has been dismantling NATO, and Finland, where he will personally submit his latest progress report to Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump stops by in London and warns Theresa May that she needs to do a better job of following orders if she does not want to be replaced by Comrade Boris.
No, I'm sorry, I still don't really understand the New Patriotism. But I'm working on it. We liberals are terribly slow about these things.
________________________
[Update, Jul 18 2018]
Politico doesn't seem to understand either.
Ann Coulter, this is a fine mess you've made here. Why did you even get people talking about the subject? I wish you'd never brought it up.
________________________
[Update, Aug 20 2018]
But wasn't McCarthy supposed to be the good guy? I'm so confused. Please, Ms Coulter, could you hurry up and issue a new edition?
________________________
[Update, Dec 5 2018]
And now even one of Donald's most trusted advisers has publicly used the T-word.
Et tu, Rudy?
________________________
[Update, Dec 19 2018]
Look, before we all get carried away, let's take a deep breath and review what actually happened. We have ONE guy, who USED to work for Donald Trump, who's pleading guilty to lying to the FBI. And Judge Emmet Sullivan ASKS whether he could have been charged with treason. That's all he does, ask. He's just doing the due diligence, dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Most likely they do it for speeding tickets as well.
Well, how does this add up to Trump being a traitor? It's ridiculous. All the same, for some reason a lot of people are saying that.
Maybe I'm being unfair, but I still think the whole thing is Ann Coulter's fault. She's totally opened up a can of worms here.
________________________
[Update, Jan 25 2019]
I read that Ukraine's ex-president Viktor Yanukovych has been found guilty of treason and sentenced in absentia to 14 years of prison. Now, I'm a wishy-washy liberal and like to believe the best of everyone, but if I were a tough-minded conservative like Ann Coulter I think I might start wondering about Paul Manafort, who did a lot of work for Mr Yanukovych.
Is it possible that any more of Manafort's clients are traitors who take orders from Vladimir Putin? I mean, personally I'm sure the answer is no. But you can't be too careful in these matters, as Ms Coulter has repeatedly warned us, and trying to consider the matter impartially I can see the force of her argument. Someone really ought to check.
________________________
[Update, Jul 5 2020]
Now that the Justice Department has unexpectedly dropped all charges against Michael Flynn, despite the fact that he pleaded guilty, the right-wing media are saying that he was the victim of a witch-hunt. Needless to say, the wrong kind of witch-hunt, not the right kind which Joe McCarthy used to do.
There's still something here that I'm not quite getting.
November 10, 2016
Well, what do you know! Ann Coulter was spot-on.
The Russians finally managed to slip a mole into the American Political Establishment. And that too, at the highest possible level.
My, my. These Russkies are a devious lot, aren't they?
The Russians finally managed to slip a mole into the American Political Establishment. And that too, at the highest possible level.
My, my. These Russkies are a devious lot, aren't they?
January 28, 2018
If you like her you like her if you don't you don't. I like her whether she's writing or speaking she's worth hearing or reading. yes she's in your face, yes she's a bomb thrower, but she's so good at it.
Nuff said.
Nuff said.
July 27, 2007
I checked this out to find out if she was really as hateful as her reputation.
It didn't take long.
It didn't take long.
October 19, 2007
Coulter's most historically-focussed work, this volume details a new perspective on the Cold War, especially Senator Joe McCarthy. The Venona project revealed that nearly all of the people McCarthy questioned were not only sympathizers with the Communist Party, but were actual agents of the KGB. To this day, few historians have factored the Venona Project into consideration when examining/smearing McCarthy unreservedly.
April 23, 2007
Coulter wants to be inflammatory, outrageous, and get her team riled and ready to fight. It is difficult to find her insulting when she never has anything valuable to say. It's a pity that so much education has been wasted on her and so many years of women struggling to be heard and taken seriously are tainted by loud mouthed, igorami like Coulter. A lot of hardship would do her good. We'd cut down the global warming effect by reducing greenhouse gasses if people like Coulter, O'Reilly, Gingrich, Limbaugh and the human dildo Hannity would think before they speak - I doubt we'd hear from any of them again.
January 3, 2009
I started laughing at Coulter's ability to be a full-blown, conservative, Neo-Nazi quack. But then it just got boring. There's only so much nonsense an intelligent mind can take, ya know?
December 5, 2008
As an ex liberal I had to keep fact-checking Coulter. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Much to my chagrin, she checked out every time. Quite an eye opener!
June 25, 2008
Excellent weekend read with great information about the 'red scare' that many people do not know. I was surprised how much of the book is based not only in this time period but in documented fact concerning the red scare of the late 1940s and 1950s. An excellent read, especially for those educated in public schools.
November 27, 2009
Before I begin I want to say I bought this book [the hard book no less:] for $2.70. I know I could have purchased a candy bar or better yet had two spins on a 25 cent quarter video poker machine! I am not a fan of Ann Coulter and almost dislike the far right conservatives almost as much as the far left liberals [well maybe not almost but I can't stand listening to the filth of either side:]. Both sides see everything as black/white or right and wrong. Most everyone I know [whether they call themselves a Democrat, Republican- or say they are a independent:] are moderate and have [some:] common sense. Neither of the far left or right seem to have an ounce of common sense and refuse to listen to reason.
Now that being said, I enjoyed some of the book but other parts I felt may have been exaggerated and with the usual razor sharp tongue of the author. She covers a 60 year period in her book starting with Alger Hiss and ends with the times after 9/11.
I had to laugh at her accounting of the airport security after 9/11. I certainly have done my share of flying since 2 1/2 weeks after 9/11. She mentions that since the security employees can not profile they will strip search granny. I saw this happen when they pulled my 87 [at the time:] yr old gray haired 5' mother over and empty all her carry ons and do a body search on a flight from Little Rock to New Haven!!! They didn't strip her, but as I watched them scaring the little lady to death I saw lots walk thru that I hoped weren't going to be on the same plane! COMMON SENSE People!!
I've been saying for the last 10 years that we don't really know the truth about anything that is going on in the world [political that is:]. Where do we get unbiased news? The newspapers and television are so slanted to the left that you will only find out what they want you to hear. And the movies coming out of Hollywood are so slanted left they are impossible to watch! And I won't even go into the lower intellect 'stars' telling us how to think, but this book has a great chapter on it. Talk radio slants so far to the right that again you will only find out what they want you to hear. Even my silly little mystery writers [who mostly lean left:] have to muck up their enjoyable plots with a dig at the Republicans!! Finally after giving up on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC I joined the ranks of the viewers of Fox News Channel [BUT only certain programs:] to hopefully get a little unbiased news. If I watch Shep with the national news I don't get opinions as I do from Charlie, Brian or Katie on their news programs.
I have friends that get most of their news from the internet and heaven forbid emails!!! Now that is scary. What I found also scary is Coulter comments that liberal authors are the ones who write the textbooks and our school children are going to be reading their version of history. She mentions liberals give credit for the cold war ending to the Democrat presidents before Reagan. I had to laugh. Now again my Democrat friends have common sense and would never make such stupid statements, but then again will our great grandchildren read that Harry, John and Jimmy ended the cold war??? SCARY!!!
Most of the far lefties and far right are extremely intelligent but why God didn't give them any common sense or the ability to listen to both sides of the big picture and reason is beyond me!!
Now that being said, I enjoyed some of the book but other parts I felt may have been exaggerated and with the usual razor sharp tongue of the author. She covers a 60 year period in her book starting with Alger Hiss and ends with the times after 9/11.
I had to laugh at her accounting of the airport security after 9/11. I certainly have done my share of flying since 2 1/2 weeks after 9/11. She mentions that since the security employees can not profile they will strip search granny. I saw this happen when they pulled my 87 [at the time:] yr old gray haired 5' mother over and empty all her carry ons and do a body search on a flight from Little Rock to New Haven!!! They didn't strip her, but as I watched them scaring the little lady to death I saw lots walk thru that I hoped weren't going to be on the same plane! COMMON SENSE People!!
I've been saying for the last 10 years that we don't really know the truth about anything that is going on in the world [political that is:]. Where do we get unbiased news? The newspapers and television are so slanted to the left that you will only find out what they want you to hear. And the movies coming out of Hollywood are so slanted left they are impossible to watch! And I won't even go into the lower intellect 'stars' telling us how to think, but this book has a great chapter on it. Talk radio slants so far to the right that again you will only find out what they want you to hear. Even my silly little mystery writers [who mostly lean left:] have to muck up their enjoyable plots with a dig at the Republicans!! Finally after giving up on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC I joined the ranks of the viewers of Fox News Channel [BUT only certain programs:] to hopefully get a little unbiased news. If I watch Shep with the national news I don't get opinions as I do from Charlie, Brian or Katie on their news programs.
I have friends that get most of their news from the internet and heaven forbid emails!!! Now that is scary. What I found also scary is Coulter comments that liberal authors are the ones who write the textbooks and our school children are going to be reading their version of history. She mentions liberals give credit for the cold war ending to the Democrat presidents before Reagan. I had to laugh. Now again my Democrat friends have common sense and would never make such stupid statements, but then again will our great grandchildren read that Harry, John and Jimmy ended the cold war??? SCARY!!!
Most of the far lefties and far right are extremely intelligent but why God didn't give them any common sense or the ability to listen to both sides of the big picture and reason is beyond me!!
June 27, 2008
Jon gave me this book as a gag gift for either my birthday or Xmas one year (I can't remember which). I tried to read it with an open mind, I really did, but Gott in Himmel this woman is PSYCHOTIC. I mean really... Nixon was the greatest president the U.S. has ever had? Does anyone in their right mind really believe that?
Aside from all of the historical and factual inaccuracies (this was written by the woman who thinks Canada sent troops to Vietnam, after all), there is also the matter of the childish name calling and "nanny-nanny-boo-boo" type remarks that get old very, very fast. It would almost be funny if it wasn't so racist and mean-spirited. She repeatedly cites the Venona Project as a reference and justification for McCarthy's actions, but doesn't discuss the fact that the majority of people who were harassed by the HUAC (and none of the blacklisted artists, musicians and actors) were named in Venona. This book was truly a chore to read; there were times I thought I could feel myself getting dumber, and times when I thought my eyes would bleed. If I could give this one negative stars, I would.
Aside from all of the historical and factual inaccuracies (this was written by the woman who thinks Canada sent troops to Vietnam, after all), there is also the matter of the childish name calling and "nanny-nanny-boo-boo" type remarks that get old very, very fast. It would almost be funny if it wasn't so racist and mean-spirited. She repeatedly cites the Venona Project as a reference and justification for McCarthy's actions, but doesn't discuss the fact that the majority of people who were harassed by the HUAC (and none of the blacklisted artists, musicians and actors) were named in Venona. This book was truly a chore to read; there were times I thought I could feel myself getting dumber, and times when I thought my eyes would bleed. If I could give this one negative stars, I would.
June 10, 2018
Small nuggets of hateful crap packed lazily inside a protective matrix of styrofoam peanuts.
June 5, 2013
"Because you need me, Springfield. Your guilty conscience may move you to vote Democratic, but deep down you long for a cold-hearted Republican to lower taxes, brutalize criminals, and rule you like a king."
- Sideshow Bob, The Simpsons
To paraphrase Jon Stewart: of course, Democrats have to prove that they love America because they're Democrats. Unlike Republicans, who love America, they just hate half the people living here!
I hate to admit that I read this book. I think better of myself. I believe that we all go through bad times where we make choices that aren't healthy. Mine was being a thoughtless right-wing Republican. Thoughtless is the most important word in that sentence. That's why I put it in italics.
Everything about this book is thoughtless. The premise is thoughtless, the portrayal of conservative and liberal figures and icons are thoughtless, the shift of the blame of the failures of policies are thoughtless.
- Sideshow Bob, The Simpsons
To paraphrase Jon Stewart: of course, Democrats have to prove that they love America because they're Democrats. Unlike Republicans, who love America, they just hate half the people living here!
I hate to admit that I read this book. I think better of myself. I believe that we all go through bad times where we make choices that aren't healthy. Mine was being a thoughtless right-wing Republican. Thoughtless is the most important word in that sentence. That's why I put it in italics.
Everything about this book is thoughtless. The premise is thoughtless, the portrayal of conservative and liberal figures and icons are thoughtless, the shift of the blame of the failures of policies are thoughtless.
October 29, 2009
This was a fantastic read! I laughed the whole way through. Her writing is witty and charismatic, as though you were talking with her face to face. She takes topics and circumstances that we all have at least heard of and digs a little deeper into what really happened. She explores how society looks back on the Cold War, its causes, and the misrepresentations modern media and schoolrooms teach us. All of her facts and figures are available on the public record for anyone to look up. I was thoroughly impressed with her sound arguments and no-nonsense style. Did I mention that she is also incredibly witty and hilarious. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read and a good laugh.
February 12, 2008
Ann Coulter has a singular wit and razor sharp tongue. Chronicles some of the actions taken by politicians that are destroying this nation.
March 24, 2008
As I look at the reviews of others, I see people either hated this book or loved it. After reading the reviews of several of those that hated the book, I have to wonder if they really read the book. They don't seem to have much of substance to say.
As I read this book, I was taken aback as I considered all that I had been taught in the public school system. Once again Coulter lays out her evidence in a systematic and logical fashion. This book is well worth reading and considering. I do think it is a mistake to lump all liberals together and say that they all believe one way.
In Treason Coulter examines how history, especially in the latter half of the twentieth century, has been written by liberals and, therefore, distorted by their perspective. Coulter focuses on the many communists who found a home in the Democrat Party and job in the State Department. Her research is very persuasive.
After reading this book, go out and rent the DVD Breach starring Chris Cooper. It will give you something to think about too.
As I read this book, I was taken aback as I considered all that I had been taught in the public school system. Once again Coulter lays out her evidence in a systematic and logical fashion. This book is well worth reading and considering. I do think it is a mistake to lump all liberals together and say that they all believe one way.
In Treason Coulter examines how history, especially in the latter half of the twentieth century, has been written by liberals and, therefore, distorted by their perspective. Coulter focuses on the many communists who found a home in the Democrat Party and job in the State Department. Her research is very persuasive.
After reading this book, go out and rent the DVD Breach starring Chris Cooper. It will give you something to think about too.
February 25, 2012
Don't always agree with Coulter but loved this book and did not expect to. Did some follow up research about McCarthy afterwards and found her account to not only be corroborated by history, but MISREPRESENTED in current teaching. I felt like I was in a really entertaining history class. As to the Verona Project - shame on the media for failing to clear Joe's name. I was a fool to ever bought into the whole "McCarthyism" mantra. The man did the nation a favor, had tons of proof to back his claims and was excoriated for it. Shame on us.
September 11, 2014
Eye opening about the cover up of Communist in high government offices during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations and doing an effective job in trashing Senator Joseph McCarthy. A more extensive factual history can be read entitled "Blacklisted by History", authored by M Stanton Evans.
July 20, 2008
I finished reading another “right-wing conspiracy nut” book. This time it’s Treason by Ann Coulter.
After reading Useful Idiots by Mona Charen, I initially found Coulter’s book to be a lot more off-the-cuff and sardonic.
Coulter loves to mock liberals and she does a great job of setting up the figurative bowling pins of historical facts and knocks them down again and and again.
Treason spends a good deal of time in the 1940s and 50s examining the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and the now-famous U.S. senate “McCarthy hearings” about government infiltration by communist spies and operatives working for Russia.
The history lesson in the book is exceptional. It would be easy for someone to discredit Coulter by saying, “There was never any real proof the people accused of being communist spies were really spies,” except now there is proof.
Since the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet state, information has leaked out about who was working for Soviet intelligence. In addition, a top-secret U.S. intelligence project operating in the 40s and 50s named Venona carefully monitored and logged encrypted cable transmissions sent to and about Soviet operatives. The Soviets didn’t know it, but the U.S. had cracked their cipher early on. The material captured by the Venona Project was declassified in 1995 and contains scathing evidence that incriminates many of those accused of being communist operatives 50 years ago.
Well that’s all interesting and fascinating, but Coulter is really just using history to show us a pattern of behavior. When these accused spies were being paraded about by patriots intent on exposing an enemy infiltration in the midst of everyday government operations, liberals were blindly leaping to defense of the accused. The media and liberal democrats either ignored evidence or flat out said it was preposterous.
Coulter goes on to show this behavior didn't stop there but carried into the Vietnam War, Cambodia, and Reagan’s campaigns against communism in Grenada, Nicaragua, and Russia.
Coulter’s book spends 292 pages basically telling you that fifty years of history can not be ignored: liberals hate America. They want nothing more than to see the country turned into a socialist, atheistic state where wealth is a thing of the past.
She does a remarkable job, but her snide and cutting remarks about Clinton, Carter, JFK, FDR, and others make her seem almost immature and petty compared to Mona Charen who maintained a composed—almost textbook —feel throughout Useful Idiots.
Here’s some excerptage:
-------------begin-excerptage----
European barbarism baffles Americans, since they look like us. But what defines Western Europe — as well as the American left — is its aggressive secularism. Though cathedrals abound, Christianity is a thin membrane over the cultural and political institutions of Europe. By contrast, from the time the pilgrims landed in the New World, Americans have been defined by their belief in God. In Democracy in America, written in 1835, Alexis De Tocqueville observed that Europeans practiced religion from a “barren traditionary faith which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live,” but Americans “combine the notions of Christianity and liberty so intimately that it is impossible to make their conceive of one without the other.” America disproved the canard from the French Revolution holding that religion and freedom were incompatible. To the contrary, de Tocqueville said: “There are certain populations in Europe whose unbelief is only equaled by their ignorance and debasement; while in America, one of the freest and most enlightened nations in the world, the people fulfill with fervor all the outward duties of religion.”
De Tocqueville pronounced religion “the foremost of the political institutions” in America. He said there exists no country in the world “where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America.” As a result, “while the law permits the Americans to do as they please, religion prevents them from conceiving, and forbids them to commit, what is rash or unjust.” And then one day, an entire political party defended a lying felon on the grounds that “everyone does it.”
...Feminists led the way. In 1998, CBS This Morning cohost Jane Robelot cheerfully reported on the wonderful world feminists had wrought: “The women’s movement brought change and power to millions of American females. Virginal brides surrendered to the sexual revolution. Modern fashions exposed body parts previously reserved for the bedroom. Entering the workforce meant the old ways that women met men were ancient history [video clip of a milkman]. And a pleasure leads some women to shop [video clip of sex toys] and some to stray. . . . And experts say many husbands and wives can become stronger individuals, and on rare occasions, might even find that cheating recharges their marriage.” Exhibitionism, promiscuity, sex toys and adultery. This is women’s liberation.
Interestingly, de Tocqueville attributed the strength and character of America to its women. While European women were fainting in the parlor with the vapors, in the New World women joined their husbands in conquering the American frontier. The strength and independence of American women are legendary. Most important, de Tocqueville said, women were the keepers of religious faith. “No free communities ever existed without morals,” he said, “and morals are the work of women.” Not anymore. A large segment of American women have traded faith in the Supreme Being for faith in gun control laws and day care centers. We live in an America in which soccer moms swoon over Bill Clinton, and Larry Flynt is a cultural icon. Feminists get enthusiastic about the war on terrorism only when they think we are fighting to redeem Western licentiousness. Our men are up to the job of protecting us from foreign enemies, but our women are losing the war at home.
...The fundamental difference between liberals and conservatives is: Conservatives believe man was created in God’s image; liberals believe they are God. All their other behavioral tics proceed from this one irreducible minimum. Liberals believe they can murder the unborn because they are gods. They try to forcibly create “equality” through affirmative action and wealth redistribution because they are gods. They can lie, with no higher power to constrain them, because they are gods. They adore pornography and the mechanization of sex because man is just an animal, and they are gods. They revere the U.N. and not the U.S. because they aren’t Americans — they are Gods.
November 8, 2012
One of Ann's best. She gives a great breakdown of the HUAC and McCarthy trials and substantiates that the media and currently history distorts these facts and that in fact the State department and many other high levels of government during the 1930's through the 1950's was infiltrated with American spies working for the Soviets. Amazing how Great Britain accurately reports the exploits of the Cambridge spies and the damage done to MI5 during the Cold War and the US blames the messenger and gets weepy for those living in the shadow of being blacklisted - who many continued to work. Unlike the millions in the Soviet Union sent to gulags and the US living under the threat of nuclear attack for almost 50 years. Goofballs on the left and the MSM still do not want to acknowledge the treasonous acts of Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs despite overwhelming evidence in the FBI and KGB files declassified in the 1990's as part of the VERONA program. Book is heavily footnoted to source documentation, not at all like the usual screeds from the Left that plagiarize other opinions of like minded folks and call it "facts"
January 21, 2016
Traitors! Traitors!
Ann Coulter takes on history and exposes the modern historical distortions that have created mainly by liberals. It seems that in every way, liberals are incapable and incompetent in detecting and stopping America's enemies.
Perhaps the greatest lie that is propagated is that McCarthy was an incompetent fool who never caught a communist. Ann Coulter attacks the myth of McCarthyism for what it is. A distraction that Cold War liberals made to halt questions about their patriotism because their party WAS harboring Soviet spies.
Coulter points out the follies of the Democrats in every single international conflict from the start of the Cold War to the War on Terrorism and how their naive idealism always works against the US so bad that it's treasonous.
Most excellent read. Provocative. Mind changing and engaging. Highly recommend it.
Ann Coulter takes on history and exposes the modern historical distortions that have created mainly by liberals. It seems that in every way, liberals are incapable and incompetent in detecting and stopping America's enemies.
Perhaps the greatest lie that is propagated is that McCarthy was an incompetent fool who never caught a communist. Ann Coulter attacks the myth of McCarthyism for what it is. A distraction that Cold War liberals made to halt questions about their patriotism because their party WAS harboring Soviet spies.
Coulter points out the follies of the Democrats in every single international conflict from the start of the Cold War to the War on Terrorism and how their naive idealism always works against the US so bad that it's treasonous.
Most excellent read. Provocative. Mind changing and engaging. Highly recommend it.
March 24, 2008
Ann Coulter is an interesting writer. Most people would call her a over the edge conservative. I call her thought provoking with theatrics. Each of her books give you something to think about, and information not usually in the news. She lists her sources of information in the back of the book. Great read.
July 6, 2012
Loved it! I like sassy ol' Ann Coulter. I learned a lot about the Cold War, McCarthy, and various presidents of the US. I'm trying to politically educate myself more lately.
Some of her main points are that liberals have not loved America, have made unwise decisions, and tend to root for our enemies and apologize (and I agree!).
Finished it, fittingly, on Independence Day!
Some of her main points are that liberals have not loved America, have made unwise decisions, and tend to root for our enemies and apologize (and I agree!).
Finished it, fittingly, on Independence Day!
October 15, 2012
If you haven't guessed by now, I am a huge Ann Coulter fan. I did meet her at a function where she gave a speech. Ann points out how some of the things Liberals do could and should have been classified as Treason. That even applies with the Obama Administration. This book will show you just how dangerous Liberal Progressive Democrats are.
Shelved as 'book-club-reads'
February 8, 2008Hated it!
March 6, 2008
i would have given it zero stars, but then it would just look like i didn't bother giving it a rating. can i give it less than one star?
May 7, 2013
Reading Ann Coulter's books is my little guilty secret. My political loyalties are diametrically opposed to those of Coulter but I do have to concede the point when she puts the record straight about Senator McCarthy. That said, I really do not see why Hollywood screenwriters were blacklisted. I also have to accept that Ronald Reagan and his policies were really responsible in ending the Cold War. However, Reagan's policies were a big gamble that may have resulted in a conventional invasion of western Europe if a hard liner had been in the Kremlin rather than Mikhail Gorbachev.
I find Coulter's attempts at humour and irony a bit feeble really. She moans about writers that use quotation marks to highlight ironic statements and I agree that this is a pretty tedious practice: if you need to highlight that you are being ironic or sarcastic then you are not doing it properly. The problem is that ironic quotation marks fill almost every page of this book. Virtually every accusation she makes about other people could be turned around and directed at her. She lists evidence that shows conclusively that McCarthy has been wrongly vilified over the red scare and actually says that if liberals could provide half as much evidence to back up the argument about global warming then conservatives would accept it without any further debate. That really is a bit rich when you consider all the evidence out there and the number of scientists that have peer reviewed the data and accepted it.
Ann Coulter also has problems with people rewriting history to suit their own arguments. She then tells how Reagan backed the Contra rebels - freedom fighters she calls them - in their attempt to overthrow the Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. She rightly points out that Ortega and the Sandinistas overthrew the government in 1979: what she fails to mention is that this was a popular uprising against the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle and that Ortega was democratically elected as president in 1985.
I have given this book one star in my review as it clearly says on the back cover that this book is political science: if it ever emerges that Ann Coulter is a comic creation as Borat and Bruno were for Sacha Baron Cohen then I will give this book the full five stars that it then deserves.
I find Coulter's attempts at humour and irony a bit feeble really. She moans about writers that use quotation marks to highlight ironic statements and I agree that this is a pretty tedious practice: if you need to highlight that you are being ironic or sarcastic then you are not doing it properly. The problem is that ironic quotation marks fill almost every page of this book. Virtually every accusation she makes about other people could be turned around and directed at her. She lists evidence that shows conclusively that McCarthy has been wrongly vilified over the red scare and actually says that if liberals could provide half as much evidence to back up the argument about global warming then conservatives would accept it without any further debate. That really is a bit rich when you consider all the evidence out there and the number of scientists that have peer reviewed the data and accepted it.
Ann Coulter also has problems with people rewriting history to suit their own arguments. She then tells how Reagan backed the Contra rebels - freedom fighters she calls them - in their attempt to overthrow the Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. She rightly points out that Ortega and the Sandinistas overthrew the government in 1979: what she fails to mention is that this was a popular uprising against the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle and that Ortega was democratically elected as president in 1985.
I have given this book one star in my review as it clearly says on the back cover that this book is political science: if it ever emerges that Ann Coulter is a comic creation as Borat and Bruno were for Sacha Baron Cohen then I will give this book the full five stars that it then deserves.
January 9, 2009
This book tells the a history of how the liberals (mainly demomcrats) in our great country (USA) have literally sold us out by being soft on communism and terrorism. If what the author is saying is true and her infomation/facts are correct, our liberal leaders have cost us many wars such as Vietnam, many lives and world scorn due to wishy washy liberal politics. If we would get tough as Reagan was on the cold war (which we did win) the world would have fewer murderous dictators like Stalin, Hitler, Saddam Hussein who were responsible for the wide spread surpression and killing of millions of people. I am very interested in history and how we have come to be who we are as a nation. I need to read more about this before I decide all that what this author is saying is true. If so, leading democrats from Roosevelt to Clinton have caused some real problems that will take many years to fix, if they ever get fixed. I know our leaders make mistakes because they are human, but this book says that the basic liberal agenda causes greater kaos due to their failure to take a firm stance in solving political, social, and economic problems.
January 12, 2015
Having read a lot of political books, this book doesn't exactly rise to the top of favorite list for a variety of reasons. While Coulter's writing style is good, and her grasp of the language solid, this book is chock full of preconceived notions (too many to list, actually). That said, she does hit the nail on the head with a few things historically speaking. Specifically, her grasp of the whole Alger Hiss affair is solid, but how she twists to suit her own notions and opinions takes editorial commentary to a new level. Coulter's primary issue, at least in this book, is that she talks down to the reader, rather than engage the reader as an intellectual equal. I do recommend this book as required reading for both liberals and conservatives because, despite the stilted arguments and haughty opining, Coulter makes a few salient points, and the book is rather entertaining when taken with a large grain of salt.
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