Books of Our Time:In-Depth Interviews with Authors

War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning

Books of Our Time host, Lawrence R. Velvel and author Chris Hedges, journalist and war correspondent discuss why war seems to be a force that defines most, if not all, nations at one time or other.  Since 1950, the United States has been involved in 20 different actions of war.  Is this normal for a "peace loving" nation?  Why do we appear to need war, what is the alternative?

The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit www.mslaw.edu. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.

Are We Rome?

Books of Our Time host, Lawrence R. Velvel of the Massachusetts School of Law interviews Cullen Murphy, editor at large for Vanity Fair magazine, about his new book Are We Rome?: The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America. Murphy discusses how the Roman Empire and the United States are similar and how they are different.

Murphy says that both societies demonstrate great arrogance. The Romans believed that they would win any war they engaged in. They believed the will of Rome was all that mattered and they saw the rest of the world as barbaric. The Romans demonstrated their arrogance when they marched into the Teutoburg Forest, expecting to dominate the Germanic tribes but instead had three legions defeated. The United States demonstrated a similar ignorance of the world’s thoughts and beliefs.  Americans assume all nations desire their democratic way of life. Such a belief led to the debacle in Viet Nam and again in Iraq. The Romans saw themselves as the center of the world, believing, as Murphy states, “all roads lead to Rome,â€? and they literally did. They believed Rome was the world’s umbilicus. The United States has developed the same belief as the center of the world with Washington D.C. as the new global navel.

The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit www.mslaw.edu. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.

Still Fighting the Civil War

Books of Our time host, Lawrence R. Velvel and author and professor David Goldfield discuss Goldfield's book on the lasting results of what is often called the "late unpleasantness..." the Civil War.  How has the South been affected in the 140 years since the end of the war?  Are there still nacent hostilities between the North and South?

The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit www.mslaw.edu. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.