From an online reviewer:

Scheer's new book reads like a well-documented lecture against a country that has lost its way. Upon eviscerating the usual suspects of bloated defense budgets - the Pentagon, the neocons and defense equipment companies - Scheer turns to those in Congress, even the darlings of the Democratic Party (Barbara Boxer), and unleashes an exacting critique that demonstrates a problem with our government that goes past individuals, administrations and day-to-day business practices. Scheer exposes a systemic imbalance that gives too much power to corporate and moneyed interests and too little to those who really need it.

From the billions we pour into these industries of death, the elections of military-industrial complex lackeys based on the specter of terrorism and threats to national security, and the overall gross wastes of tax-payer money deserve not just our collective scorn but also calls for immediate action to stop this disaster and prevent it from happening again. With The Pornography of Power we see a laundry list of complaints but never a sign of giving up hope, an unflinchingly optimistic move that those who work to resist empire and corporate dominion must necessarily take note.

From the publisher:

In the course of his forty-year-career as one of America's most admired journalists, Robert Scheer's work has been praised by Gore Vidal, Susan Sontag, and Joan Didion, who deems him "one of the best reporters of our time." Now, Scheer brings a lifetime of wisdom and experience to one of the most overlooked and dangerous issues of our time - the destructive influence of America's military-industrial complex.


Scheer examines the expansion of our military presence throughout the world, our insane nuclear strategy, the immorality of corporations profiting in Iraq, and the arrogance of our foreign policy. Although Scheer is a liberal, his view echoes that of former Republican president General Dwight Eisenhower, who, in his farewell speech to the American people, spoke prophetically about need to guard against the growing influence of the military-industrial complex. In George W. Bush's America, politicians like Ike and Richard Nixon seem like prudent centrists.

The views of libertarians, liberals, and pacifists are often overlooked or ignored by America's mainstream media. The Pornography of Power is the culmination of a respected journalist's efforts to change the terms of debate. At a time when many are exploiting fears of terrorist attacks and only a few national leaders are willing to advocate cuts in defense spending, nuclear disarmament, and restrained use of American force, Robert Scheer has written a manifesto for enlightened reform.

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