The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

If you like Michael Moore style propaganda then you just might like this book. As for me, I think it's garbage and I can't even finish reading it. I really try to keep an open mind, but Naomi Klein distorts facts, takes quotes out of context, and fudges on her chronology in order to force the spread of capitalism to fit with her analogy of torture. The first 40 pages or so don't even talk about capitalism, but rather Klien goes on a tirade about the CIA's record on shock therapy and torture. Klien goes on further to juxtapose these stories of shock-torture with Milton Freidman's spread of capitalism. With all the explicit bias that's in the book it's impossible for a rational, fair minded human being to read it as anything other than an alternative history. Rather, this book says much more about the author's blatant social bias than it does about anything that Milton Freidman has done or has advocated for. Klien seems to believe that all things should be controlled by the government and takes great displeasure in seeing "public wealth" being "transferred" into the hand of private citizens. Power in the hands of the people, isn't that democracy? One example from the book she takes exception with is the privatization of the schools in New Orleans after Katrina, and speaks about this as if it were the worst thing in the world. Never mind that the schools in New Orleans were HORRIBLE before Katrina, but are now doing much, MUCH, better because of the voucher system. Poor parents were finally able to take their kids out of failing schools and put them in better performing ones. Sounds like capitalism saved the day there. Anyway, I could rant further about this sad piece of literature, but I won't. And if you don't want to take my word for it, go read the review by Reason magazine before you buy. Maybe you'll change your mind about wasting money on this book...I wish I would have.

Very eye opening, great reading. I read it while i was in Panama last summer and was able to draw paralles to the building of the Panama Canal

This is a book all American's should read, but they won't. What an eye opener, Naomi Klein is a great writer.This book keeps your interest from page one.

I am reading this book on Kindle and am about one-half through. This book is bone-chilling. I read a lot, and this is one of the most disturbing books I have ever read. Even if just some of this book is accurate, it is a most profound charge against our use of capitalism around the world. I cannot believe that a university like the University of Chicago would allow one of its professors to use people in various countries to try to prove his particular theory of captialism. It is one thing to try experiments in a laboratory, but to use the overthrow of a country, with the associated torture and killing, to try to prove that a theory is correct is more than criminal. This is total evil. It makes me wonder if this kind of thing could happen in America at this particular time of financial stress and a new election. As I said before, this book is bone-chilling.

Ordered directly from Amazon, got free delivery with my complete purchase, only down side is that I didn't know it was paperback because there is no complete description of the book. There needs to be a description of these things. The book is awesome though, that's what made up for eveything.