Global Perspectives on the United States: A Nation by Nation Survey (2 Volume Set) - Hardcover

David Levinson

9781933782065: Global Perspectives on the United States: A Nation by Nation Survey (2 Volume Set)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1933782064 ISBN 13: 9781933782065

Publisher: Berkshire Publishing Group, 2007

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Looks at how other countries perceive the United States and its role in the world.

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About the Author:

Karen Christensen is an award-winning editor and author who has focused for more than ten years on community and environmental issues. She is CEO of Berkshire Publishing Group. She lived in London for more than ten years, and worked with Valerie Eliot on the T. S. Eliot Letters. Her book Eco Living, now in its third U.K. edition and a children's picture book, Rachel's Roses have been published in France, Germany, Taiwan, and China, and she has taught seminars at the College of Creative Studies at the University of California-Santa Barbara and at the City Institute in London. In addition to serving as senior editor and shepherd of the Encyclopedia of Community, she was project director of the Encyclopedia of World Environmental History (Routledge, 2003), and coeditor of the Encyclopedia of Modern Asia (Scribners, 2002), International Encyclopedia of Women & Sports (Macmillan, 2001) and Encyclopedia of World Sport (ABC-Clio/Oxford, 1999). In Britain, she helped found the Women's Environmental Network, the Ecological Design Association, and she was briefly the U.K. Green Party's speaker on women's issues. Karen has been active in community affairs and local politics, both in her London neighborhood and in the Berkshires. She is currently working on a book about the search for community, A Smaller Circle.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* Worldviews of the U.S. have changed over time, particularly since 9/11 and the war in Iraq. Levinson and Christensen and a worldwide editorial board provide insight into the views of and perspectives on the U.S. and its government, people, policies, and culture. Although the editors had hoped to determine these perspectives based on key historical events such as the American Revolution, World Wars I and II, and the founding of the UN, they discovered that most nations form opinions of the U.S. by answering two questions—What has the U.S. done for or to us lately? and What may the U.S. do for or to us in the future? To answer these questions, more than 100 experts analyzed public statements, editorials and articles in the media, books, organizational reports, and their own observations and experiences to compile each nation's article. When the above resources were not available, surveys and interviews were used. The articles are based on opinions, whether of government officials, writers, or the people of a nation. Some 140 articles represent many countries and regions in the world, including Afghanistan, the Caribbean, Iran, Iraq, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe. Each article is written in a standardized format to include the following: an introduction, a statistical profile, "History of Relations with the United States," "Perspectives on the United States," and further reading (including many Internet resources). Sidebars are scattered throughout the two volumes and provide biographies of important authors and journalists whose writings influenced their fellow citizens, biographies of U.S. political figures, pivotal events and documents in world history, and excerpts from primary texts. A list of entries, an index, a world map, general sources of information, and a chronology of key world events influencing views of the U.S. are also included. Unfortunately, not every nation is represented. In some cases, there was not enough reliable information, and several nations would not comment due to fears of reciprocity from the U.S. government (these nations are not identified, either). A word of caution—U.S. citizens should prepare to be both revered and insulted. Not recommended reading for thin-skinned patriots; however, a great resource for academic, public, and high-school libraries. The publisher has also set up a Web site, Love U.S./Hate U.S.: What the World Thinks of America http://www.loveushateus.com/, which is described as "a global experiment . . . to tell the world what you think about America and also read what other people think." Polanka, Sue

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