Interdisciplinary Book Reviews

A Story of Violence, Denial, and the Fragility of Democracy From time to time, Americans have been against immigration. Polling data revealed that close to two-thirds of respondents favored keeping refugees out of the country. The president had publicly identified as an Evangelical Christian. Yet, the administration, described as an arrogant regime  that only respected strength, continued to oppress minorities. The plans included stripping them of their citizenship.  The administration’s tough stance is reflected by the head of one of the detention camps who said, “Tolerance is weakness.” Not surprisingly, people were killed by government agents. These murders were justified as “the emergency defense of the state.” *** Erik Larson’s In the Garden of Beasts is a compelling and accessible account of two Americans who witnessed Hitler’s ascent to the head of the powerful Nazi regime—a regime that would soon plunge the world into its last global catastrophe of mass destruction. T...

Fear: Trump  in the White House By   Bob Woodward Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton After reading Woodward’s Fear , I am wondering about the contribution of this book to its cover-stated category, Political Science . Like behavioral scientists who analyze interviews, the anonymity of the participants is protected. Like readers of behavioral science interviews, we are dependent on the author and his team for accuracy. Unfortunately, like readers of scientific journals, we do not know the accuracy of the memories of those who provided the interview content to Woodward. Neither do we know how well Woodward was able to detect lies and biases in those who provided the content on which this book was based. Woodward’s purpose is summarized at the end of the prologue. The reality was that the United States in 2017 was tethered to the words and actions of an emotionally overwrought, mercurial, and unpredictable leader. Members of his ...