With a new preface by the author on the Gaza war

An unflinching exposé of the hidden costs of American war-making written with an immense and rare humanity (Naomi Klein) by one of our premier political analysts

Every election cycle, candidates across the political spectrum repudiate what has become one of the most consequential and enduring components of American foreign policy: the forever war. Yet, once the ballots have been cast and the camera crews go home, the American war machine chugs along in almost complete obscurity.

The journalist and political analyst Norman Solomon's War Made Invisible is a gripping and painful study (Noam Chomsky) of the mechanisms behind our invisible, but perpetual, national state of war. From ever-compliant journalists serving as little more than stenographers for the Pentagon to futuristic military technology, horrifying in its destructive power, that makes dropping a bomb or pulling the trigger on a drone strike more of an abstraction than a moral calculation, Solomon's staggeringly important intervention (Naomi Klein) exposes the profoundly human consequences at home and abroad of the bipartisan commitment to war making.

In an era of increasing global instability in which it is all too easy to succumb to despair, Solomon pierces the manufactured 'fog of war' . . . [and] casts sunlight, the best disinfectant, on the propaganda that fuels perpetual war (Amy Goodman). Now in paperback with a new preface by the author on the Gaza war, Solomon's incisive, ever-timely analysis provide[s] the fresh and profound clarity that our country desperately needs (Daniel Ellsberg) now more than ever.

Normon Solomon's succinct book is an ideal introduction to Judaism as a religion and way of life. Demonstrating the diverse nature and ethnic origin of Jewish people, Solomon explores how the religion has developed in the 2,000 years since the days of the Bible.

This Very Short Introduction starts by outlining the basics of practical Judaism, including: festivals, prayers, customs, and various sects - and goes on to consider how Judaism has responded to, and dealt with, a number of key issues and debates, including the impact of the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel. In this new edition, Solomon considers issues of contemporary Judaism in the 21st century, incorporating new material on the relationship between the Muslim faith and Judaism, the rise of Zohar and Kabala, and considers how the faith deals with issues such as homosexuality and gay marriage.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The most important text in Judaism after the Old Testament--available for the first time in Penguin Classics

One of the most significant religious texts in the world, The Talmud is a compilation of the teachings of major Jewish scholars from the classic period of rabbinic Judaism. In a range of styles, including commentary, parables, proverbs, and anecdotes, it provides guidance on all aspects of everyday life. This selection of its most illuminating passages makes accessible to modern readers the centuries of Jewish thought contained within. Norman Solomon's lucid translation from the Bavli (Babylonian) is accompanied by an introduction on The Talmud's arrangement, social and historical background, reception, and authors.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

An unflinching exposé of the hidden costs of American war-making written with an immense and rare humanity (Naomi Klein) by one of our premier political analysts

[War Made Invisible is] an antidote to twenty years of U.S. media malpractice and should be required reading for journalists and all those who long to live in peace.--Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK

More than twenty years ago, 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan set into motion a hugely consequential shift in America's foreign policy: a perpetual state of war that is almost entirely invisible to the American public. War Made Invisible, by the journalist and political analyst Norman Solomon, exposes how this happened, and what its consequences are, from military and civilian casualties to drained resources at home.

From Iraq through Afghanistan and Syria and on to little-known deployments in a range of countries around the globe, the United States has been at perpetual war for at least the past two decades. Yet many of these forays remain off the radar of average Americans. Compliant journalists add to the smokescreen by providing narrow coverage of military engagements and by repeating the military's talking points. Meanwhile, the increased use of high technology, air power, and remote drones has put distance between soldiers and the civilians who die. Back at home, Solomon argues, the cloak of invisibility masks massive Pentagon budgets that receive bipartisan approval even as policy makers struggle to fund the domestic agenda.

Necessary, timely, and unflinching, War Made Invisible is an eloquent moral call for counting the true costs of war.

What we now call Judaism is the religion of the rabbis; it is rooted in scripture--the Hebrew Scriptures--but it is not to be identified with Old Testament theology. Judaism in its many manifestations has continued to evolve, rereading its ancient texts and extracting new meaning, while addressing contemporary issues such as the status of women and attitudes to sexual orientation. History, or rather our perception of it, has changed substantially. Previously unknown documents and artefacts have surfaced, while scholars have proposed far-reaching changes to the way we read and evaluate ancient texts. Nowadays, we have a more nuanced understanding of how to evaluate statements in the Talmud and other rabbinic writings, and we are better able to contextualize them not only in Greco-Roman antiquity but also in the Sasanian environment in which the Babylonian Talmud was formed.

Historical Dictionary of Judaism, Fourth Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 800 cross-referenced entries on on important personalities in Jewish religious history, including biblical personalities with an emphasis on how they are understood in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic tradition. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Judaism.

War Made Easy cuts through the dense web of spin to probe and scrutinize the key perception management techniques that have played huge roles in the promotion of American wars in recent decades. This guide to disinformation analyzes American military adventures past and present to reveal striking similarities in the efforts of various administrations to justify, and retain, public support for war. War Made Easy is essential reading. It documents a long series of deliberate misdeeds at the highest levels of power and lays out important guidelines to help readers distinguish a propaganda campaign from actual news reporting. With War Made Easy, every reader can become a savvy media critic and, perhaps, help the nation avoid costly and unnecessary wars.

Traditional Jewish religious belief speaks of a divinely revealed, perfect text, authoritatively expounded. The question this book addresses is one with which the author has struggled all his life: in the light of historical criticism, advances in knowledge, and changing moral attitudes, is the traditional notion of divine revelation and authoritative interpretation still valid? The focus is on Judaism and the examples are mostly drawn from that tradition, but the arguments are easy to transpose to other religions. Norman Solomon's discussion will appeal to those who seek to identify with a religious community but who are troubled by the claim of divine authority made for the scriptures of that community. Ranging across several academic disciplines, it is addressed to people of all religions who find their heads and their hearts are not in accord with each other. It is accessible to a general readership interested in the relationship of scripture, interpretation, and religious authority, though scholars will find original observations and historical interpretations in many areas.

It should find a ready place in university and popular programmes in Jewish studies, general theology, and philosophy of religion.

First published in 2008. The strands of this book form a unique weave of personal narrative and historical inquiry. Made Love, Got War lays out a half century of socialized insanity that has brought a succession of aggressive wars under cover of--but at recurrent risk of detonating--a genocidal nuclear arsenal.

All over the world people talk about God and argue endlessly about what God said and what, if anything, we should do about it. Do they know what are they talking about? Do they ever seriously consider what it might look like or feel like if God actually spoke to you? How could you tell, if someone said God spoke to them, whether they were deluded, bluffing, or high on drugs? The reflections, dialogues, and arguments in this book address such questions, often with humor, sometimes provocatively as when the author suggests the ancient gods have returned to invade the institutions of our great religions, or when two spirits, William and James, viewing the world from afar, voice their doubt as to whether the human species will ever attain the pinnacles of cooperation, reason, beauty, and love. Ancient texts from the Mayan Popol Vuh through the Bible to the Chinese classics are invoked, and the discoveries of modern science from anthropology to zoology are brought into play as the reader is gently led to an appreciation of the role of religious language in modern society.

All over the world people talk about God and argue endlessly about what God said and what, if anything, we should do about it. Do they know what are they talking about? Do they ever seriously consider what it might look like or feel like if God actually spoke to you? How could you tell, if someone said God spoke to them, whether they were deluded, bluffing, or high on drugs? The reflections, dialogues, and arguments in this book address such questions, often with humor, sometimes provocatively as when the author suggests the ancient gods have returned to invade the institutions of our great religions, or when two spirits, William and James, viewing the world from afar, voice their doubt as to whether the human species will ever attain the pinnacles of cooperation, reason, beauty, and love. Ancient texts from the Mayan Popol Vuh through the Bible to the Chinese classics are invoked, and the discoveries of modern science from anthropology to zoology are brought into play as the reader is gently led to an appreciation of the role of religious language in modern society.

War Made Easy cuts through the dense web of spin to probe and scrutinize the key perception management techniques that have played huge roles in the promotion of American wars in recent decades. This guide to disinformation analyzes American military adventures past and present to reveal striking similarities in the efforts of various administrations to justify, and retain, public support for war. War Made Easy is essential reading. It documents a long series of deliberate misdeeds at the highest levels of power and lays out important guidelines to help readers distinguish a propaganda campaign from actual news reporting. With War Made Easy, every reader can become a savvy media critic and, perhaps, help the nation avoid costly and unnecessary wars.

This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Judaism covers the history of the Jewish religion through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 800 cross-referenced entries on important personalities in Jewish religious history.

By means of a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and numerous cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, writings, institutions, concepts, Hebrew words, philosophy, theology, and religious law, author Norman Solomon provides an important reference source for the study of Judaism.

A text which draws on traditional sources, mainly but not exclusively Jewish, to address contemporary issues, ranging from conservation of the environment, through to business and commercial ethics, to relations between State and religion.

Traditional Jewish religious belief speaks of a divinely revealed, perfect text, authoritatively expounded. The question this book addresses is one with which the author has struggled all his life: in the light of historical criticism, advances in knowledge, and changing moral attitudes, is the traditional notion of divine revelation and authoritative interpretation still valid? The focus is on Judaism and the examples are mostly drawn from that tradition, but the arguments are easy to transpose to other religions. Norman Solomon's discussion will appeal to those who seek to identify with a religious community but who are troubled by the claim of divine authority made for the scriptures of that community. Ranging across several academic disciplines, it is addressed to people of all religions who find their heads and their hearts are not in accord with each other. It is accessible to a general readership interested in the relationship of scripture, interpretation, and religious authority, though scholars will find original observations and historical interpretations in many areas.

It should find a ready place in university and popular programmes in Jewish studies, general theology, and philosophy of religion.

Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon draw their long knives again. Following the take-no-prisoners approach pioneered in their first two volumes, Adventures in Medialand and Through the Media Looking Glass, The Wizards of Media Oz cuts through media bias with scathing, sharp-witted, fun to read prose.

In these columns syndicated in over 20 newspapers nationwide, look out for what Molly Ivins terms some of the best press-bashing, honest sleuthing found anywhere. Pandering to no sacred cows -- especially media cash cows -- The Wizards of Media Oz skewers the moneyed interests by exposing the facts behind the headlines.