Paul Hollander, "Anti-Americanism: Irrational and Rational, " Oxford Univ. Press. Neo-con. Full of the more extreme anti-Amerikkkanism's. Also see his classic, "Political Pilgrims, " for the most embarrassing quotes from lefty intellectuals from the Webbs, G.B. Shaw, Sontag, etc. when visiting and reporting back from junkets to the workers and peasants paradises. Michael Pugiesew, way over posting limit;-)
The Propaganda System ... The March 15 issue carries Morton Kondracke's review of Paul Hollander's Anti- Americanism ; the author and reviewer are loyal apologists for atrocities by the ... www.zmag.org/chomsky/articles/loot9205-propaganda.htm
Books In Review: Briefly Noted ... James D. Bratt. Anti-Americanism: Irrational and Rational. By Paul Hollander. Transaction. 515 pp. $24.95 paper. First published ... www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9506/reviews/briefly.html
Anti-Americanism: encyclopedia article from Wikipedia ... also: Cultural imperialism. Further reading: "Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire" by Chalmers Johnson "Anti-americanism" by Paul Hollander. ... www.wikipedia.com/wiki/anti-Americanism
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1560009543/qid%3D1022872947/ref%3Dsr_11_ 0_1/103-2452567-5633410
http://www.yale.edu/yup/books/076207.htm POLITICAL WILL AND PERSONAL BELIEF The Decline and Fall of Soviet Communism
Paul Hollander
1999 European History 368 pp. 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 Cloth ISBN 0-300-07620-7 $40.00
The unexpected collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 signaled the demise of a political and economic system that was widely perceived as durable, the preeminent rival to that of the United States. Less conspicuous than the momentous political transformations were the altered beliefs, aspirations, and illusions of the individuals who had maintained and led that system. In this original interpretation the eminent sociologist Paul Hollander focuses on the human aspects of the failure of Soviet communism. He examines how members of the Soviet political elite, leaders in communist Czechoslovakia and Hungary, high-ranking officials in agencies of control and coercion, and distinguished defectors and exiles experienced the erosion of ideals that undermined the political system they had once believed in.
Hollander analyzes an array of autobiographical and biographical writings, journalistic accounts, and scholarly interpretations of the unraveling of Soviet communism. The Soviet Union fell apart not merely because of severe economic shortcomings, Hollander argues, but because of the double impact of the conflict between official ideals and practical realities and an eroding sense of legitimacy in the highest echelons. In his conclusion, the author considers how Marxist theory both shaped and undermined the system.
“A many-sided inquiry into the causes of the failure of Communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Hollander’s book is especially noteworthy and valuable.”--Adam Ulam, Russian Research Center, Harvard University
Paul Hollander is professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a fellow at the Davis Center for Russian Studies at Harvard University.
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Reviews
In this unique analysis of the unexpected collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, sociologist Paul Hollander focuses on the human aspects of the country’s demise. Drawing on autobiographical writings and interviews with members of the political elite, the author shows how leaders who experienced a loss of faith in their ideals and an eroding sense of legitimacy fatally undermined the political system they had once upheld.
“A many-sided inquiry into the causes of the failure of Communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Hollander’s book is especially noteworthy and valuable.”--Adam Ulam, Russian Research Center, Harvard University
"Paul Hollander is well known as a master of the political sociology of totalitarianism. Now, with the publication of Political Will and Personal Belief the author shows himself to be a master of the political psychology of totalitarians and ex-totalitarians. This work brilliantly reveals the human face of an inhuman system."--Irving Louis Horowitz
"Like Paul Hollander's previous books, this is a rich and remarkable contribution to our understanding of the ideological plagues of our time."-- Robert Conquest
"The sudden and generally unexpected collapse of the Soviet Union and its Bloc has given rise to a voluminous literature. Paul Hollander's book has the distinction of approaching the subject from an original point of view. In-depth interviews with Communist functionaries and intellectuals as well as extensive reading of the original sources have convinced him that the prime cause of this historical event is to be sought not so much in objective factors as in the loss of confidence of the Communist elites in both the ideals and realities of their regimes. The point is persuasively argued and deserves to be widely known."-- Richard Pipes, Baird Research Professor of History, Harvard University
"A concise, readable book . . . one that carries the story of the U.N. all the way to the present."--Charles E. Neu, The Historian
"A significant and interesting book. Hollander, well known for his excellent study of Western champions of the Soviet system (Political Pilgrims: Travels of Western Intellectuals to the Soviet Union, China and Cuba), here examines 22 members of the ruling elite in the USSR and Eastern Europe who lost their faith. . . . A worthy volume for academic and major public libraries."--Library Journal
"A brilliant and original analysis of the fall of communism that focuses on the impact of its cumulative failures on the communist elite. . . . Most Sovietologists have tried to explain the fall of communism in institutional terms. . . . Hollander instead examines the erosion of the leadership's belief in the inevitable triumph of communism and their growing discomfort about the gap between its utopian ends and its brutal means, between professed ideals and bleak reality. . . . A thoughtful and timely reminder that regimes, no matter how seemingly invincible, are built, maintained, and ultimately betrayed by people."--Kirkus Reviews
"Hollander explains how and why individuals distanced themselves from and ultimately destroyed Soviet Communism. . . . [This book] definitely adds a strong link to the chain of cause and reaction."--Publishers Weekly
"Paul Hollander's new book is indispensable for understanding why the seemingly unshakable Soviet superpower--to the world's amazement--collapsed so suddenly and completely. His answer is that the post-Stalin Soviet leadership progressively lost faith in the system's superiority to Western 'capitalism,' a process he documents decisively and vividly. And this collapse of ideology is indeed the key to the mystery of the Soviet endgame."--Martin Mailia, Professor Emeritus of History, UC Berkley
“From the premise that communism existed largely in the minds of those who commanded it, Hollander assumes that its death must have resulted from changes inside their heads. He then asks how the system’s managers lost their faith-- and what happened that led them to begin the fatal tinkering that brought the empire down. Resourceful in chasing the answer, Hollander not only wades through the memoirs, autobiographies, and biographies of all the key actors and many of the supporting cast; he also uses the stories of defectors and dissidents to understand when and why beliefs crumbled. This produces many fascinating personal stories.”--Foreign Affairs
“Hollander’s compelling monograph expounds on points made fleetingly in Robert Skidelsky’s The Road from Serfdom. . . . He uses journal, monographic, and autobiographical materials to provide short biographies of communist leaders whose credence in the system was destroyed by the cognitive dissonance created by their regimes.”--Choice
“It may be impossible to understand the demise of the Soviet system until its really dead, until all those professional ex-communists and KGB bosses have passed from the scene. That will put us well into this new century, but in the meantime we are fortunate to have Mr. Hollander’s lucid essays.”--Woodford McClellan, Washington Times
“[A] sensitive and intelligent study.”--Walter Laqueur, Partisan Review
“This is a gem of a book. . . . We are in Hollander’s debt for bringing together a rich array of quotations that reveal the doubts and concerns of the men against whom the Cold War was fought. . . . This is an important book precisely because it demonstrates how the absence of political will and personal belief ultimately brought down the Soviet Union and its East European satellites.”--David E. Powell, New Leader
“Paul Hollander . . . is an astute observer of the gap between ideological belief and reality. . . . Now, in Political Will and Personal Belief, he examines the beliefs of those who were part of the socialist leadership in the USSR and its wholly owned subsidiaries. . . . The accounts of the exiled Victor Serge, defectors Victor Kravchenko and Arkady Shevchenko, and others provide fascinating autopsies of once-vibrant faith in the USSR and its Communist party.”--Kenneth Lloyd Billingsley, National Review
“[A] well-crafted work. . . . An engaging and well-written book that can be read with pleasure by specialists and general readers interested in world affairs. It makes a noteworthy contribution to the literature on Soviet and East European elites.”-- Norma Corigliano Noonan, Perspectives on Political Science
“A provocative and thoughtful study that deserves consideration by those trying to comprehend the momentous events of the late 1980s. . . . [Hollander’s] focus on the personal beliefs of Soviet decision-makers and the cast of mind of the former Communist elite is both useful and significant.”--Henry Reichman, H-Net Book Review
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