Dartmouth Review of Books (1.18.2016)

The Dartmouth Review of Books Dartmouth’s Only Independent Newspaper Volume 35, Issue 12 January 18, 2016 The Hanover Review, Inc. P.O. Box 343 Hanover, NH 03755

Inside the Issue: Thoughts on Trump and Cruz The Man in the High Castle When Genius Failed on Wall Street

Page 2 The Dartmouth Review January 18, 2016

For thirty-four years, The Dartmouth Review has been the College’s only independent newspaper and the only student opinion journal that matters. It is the oldest and most renowned campus commentary publication in the nation and has spawned a national movement of similiar papers at schools like Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, and countless others. Our staff members and alumni have won many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, and have been published in the Boston Globe, New York Times, National Review, American Spectator, Wall Street Journal, Weekly Standard, Village Voice, New Criterion, Far Eastern Economic Review, Washington Monthly, and many others.

The Review aims to provide a voice for any student who enjoys challenging brittle and orthodox thinking—conservative or otherwise. We stand for free speech, student rights, and the liberating arts. Whatever your political leanings, we invite you to come steep yourself in campus culture and politics, Dartmouth lore, keen witticisms, and the fun that comes with writing for an audience of thousands. We’re looking for writers, photographers, cartoonists, advertising representatives, aspiring business managers, graphic designers, web maestros, and anyone else who wants to learn from Dartmouth’s unoffical school of journalism.

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-Stephen ColbertDid something? I dunno.

January 18, 2016 The Dartmouth Review Page 3

The Editorial Dartmouth Review Creative Learning Bearing Fruit Founders

Greg Fossedal, Gordon Haff, Benjamin Hart, Keeney Jones “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win great triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”

—Theodore Roosevelt

Mene O. Ukueberuwa Editor-in-Chief

Brandon G. Gill President

Charles C. W. Jang & Sandor Farkas Executive Editors

Brian Chen & Matthew R. Zubrow Vice Presidents

Joshua D. Kotran & Robert Y. Sayegh Managing Editors

Jack F. Mourouzis, Michael J. Perkins, & Ashwath M. Srikanth News Editor

Vibhor Khanna & Eva D. Sullivan Roving Editors

Contributors: Jack F. Mourouzis, Joshua D. Kotran, Max J. Frankel, Johnathon L. Postiglione, Vibhor Khanna, Ashwath M. Srikanth, Michael J. Perkins, Brian Chen, Charles C. W. Jang, Sandor Farkas, Hollye K. Swineheart, Brandon G. Gill, Samuel W. Lawhon, Antal Duckay, and Eva D. Sullivan.

Mean-Spirited, Cruel and Ugly Legal Counsel

The Review Advisory Board

Martin Anderson, Patrick Buchanan, Theodore Cooperstein, Dinesh D’Souza, Michael Ellis, Robert Flanigan, John Fund, Kevin Robbins, Gordon Haff, Jeffrey Hart, Laura Ingraham, Mildred Fay Jefferson, William Lind, Steven Menashi, James Panero, Hugo Restall, Roland Reynolds, William Rusher, Weston Sager, Emily Esfahani Smith, R. Emmett Tyrrell, Sidney Zion “Is that what they call stripclubs nowadays?”

Special thanks to the late William F. Buckley, Jr. The Editors of The Dartmouth Review welcome correspondence from readers concerning any subject, but prefer to publish letters that comment directly on material published previously in The Review. We reserve the right to edit all letters for clarity and length. Submit letters by mail or e-mail: dartmouthrevieweditor@gmail.com The Dartmouth Review is produced bi-weekly by Dartmouth College undergraduates for Dartmouth students and alumni. It is published by the Hanover Review, Inc., a non-profit tax-deductible organization. Please send all inquiries to:

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On the first day of classes this term, President Hanlon interviewed President Hanlon to get some specifics about emailed the student body to share his thoughts on the broad his silver bullet for this challenge: experiential learning. moment in American higher education. Like most of Hanlon’s At the time he recalled a long list of courses across various increasingly frequent messages to campus, the email had departments that already incorporate hands-on exercises in the flavor of a Fireside Chat: charmingly light on substance, their curricula, like an engineering course in which students but still a useful recap of the administration’s thinking. design functional structures for businesses and charities in “In fact, the liberal arts have never been more relevant,” the Upper Valley. But by his telling, these scattered courses he wrote, responding to the notion that Dartmouth’s teaching- were just the precursors to a more standardized way of first, hard skills-second model is losing value. Hanlon’s unifying creative thinking and active practice. tone was almost defiant, but in fact, the value of the liberal Now, one year after that conversation, Hanlon’s vision arts is not nearly as disputed today as it was just five or so has begun to manifest in a fairly remarkable way. As part of years ago. When the tech sector first started to dominate the academic component of Moving Dartmouth Forward, he our imagination of what the future workforce would look established the Experiential Learning Initiative (ELI) this like, public officials and academics alike pitched ramped-up fall, a program within the Dartmouth Center for the AdvanceSTEM education as the only way to ment of Learning. The ELI will allow keep graduates prepared. But a tide professors and staff members to apply of recent thinkpieces suggests that for grants to fund experiential learning a big correction to this mindset is projects within their departments. The underway, at least among the intelprogram has three levels of funding ligentsia. As Dartblog editor Joe at $2,500, $10,000, and $25,000, and Asch ’79 pointed out in a January 9 the directors hope to award up to eight post, the liberal arts thriving again. grants at the two lower levels and two This resurgent faith in knowlat the highest amount. edge-focused education boils down

If professors are proactive about to the need for soft skills to cultivate dreaming up projects that align with the growth of both traditional and the ELI’s criteria, this new structure more technical industries. Where we may prove to be a perfect approach to once predicted a twenty-first century spreading the learning-doing synthesis workforce dominated by profesfar and wide across every department. sionals with the strongest technical Encouraging individual professors to skills, it’s become increasingly clear take initiative on their own independent that practical talents like IT service concepts resembles the Department Mene O. Ukueberuwa and mechanical maintenance are of Education’s successful Race to the likely to become commoditized as Top program, in which states receive the labor market becomes more global, and more workers federal school funding based on the strength of their reform can afford a basic education. Dartmouth can offer its students proposals in a competitive selection process. Rather than a stellar computer science curriculum, but all our resources create one highly visible but free-standing center for expeand star professors will only give graduates a marginal leg up riential learning a la the Duke University’s “Duke Engage” on their competitors if their coding skills are complimented program, Dartmouth has made a bet that it can stitch practical by a free-thinking development mindset. education into the heart of our curriculum. This approach The College recently publicized a Washington Post does more than put professors in the driver’s seat. Making essay that applied this same principle to the world of regular classes the main pathway to experiential learning medicine. David Silberweig ’82, Chairman of Psychiatrics ensures that more than just the most proactive students will at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, told a by stumble into opportunities to engage with it, building their now familiar type of story about how he stretched his brain skills and hopefully getting a better sense of the purpose with a philosophy, and of the material they’re f professors are proactive about dreaming up projects studying. has seen his medical and management skills Over the comthat align with the ELI’s criteria, this new structure enriched by what he terms, we’ll hopemay prove to be a perfect approach to spreading the ing learned. By his defully begin to see scription, Dartmouth learning-doing synthesis far and wide across every ELI’s seed projects gave him all the pre- department. blossoming from demed basics plus the partment to departperspective to apply them in a conscientious way. ment. Students who hope to someday thrive in one of the As the College now proceeds more confidently with its many industries that combines hard skills with creative traditional teaching focus, the key will be ensuring that this flourish should keep their eyes peeled from term to term, mix of practical and creative skills is available to all. So seeking out the professors and courses that have mastered how are we doing? One year ago, The Dartmouth Review the blend. n

I

Inside This Issue Creative Learning Bearing Fruit The Week in Review Whiplash by Denis O’Neill Crippled America by Donald J. Trump Amazon Prime’s The Man in the High Castle Casino Royale by Ian Fleming A Time for Truth by Ted Cruz Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee Mastering America by Robert Bonner When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein John Adams by David McCullough The New Spymasters by Stephen Grey Things That Matter by Charles Krauthammer Last Word & Mixo

Page 3 Pages 4 & 5 Page 6 Page 7 Pages 8 & 9 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 13 Page 14 Page 16

Page 4 The Dartmouth Review January 18, 2016

The Week in Review New Lodge Gets Massive Price Tag The legendary Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, a hallowed site to just about every Dartmouth student post-First Year Trips, will soon be getting a facelift to the tune of $17 million. The nearly eighty-year-old lodge has stood the test of time for quite a while now, though in recent years the building has deteriorated to the point of necessary renovation. Moosilauke Lodge is a beautiful and beloved building for many students of the College, serving as an important location for first year trips, in addition to hosting countless individual events each year.

The price tag of a new lodge, however, is staggering.

The old lodge will be completely replaced and expanded to 12,000 square feet. Dartblog calculated the costs to be exactly $1,000 per square foot, and even more if the $5 million endowment for the building is included. The average cost per square foot for an average home in the United States is, in comparison, roughly $85. Part of the costs stem from the rushed construction time of the project; it is necessary that the construction be completed within a year, so construction will begin shortly after 2016 firstyear trips, in order to reach completion for 2017’s trips.

Remembering John Rassias Last month, legendary Dartmouth Language Professor John Rassias passed away at his home in Norwich, aged ninety.

At a college that has long been known for its exceptional undergraduate teaching, Rassias stands out as a transcendent educator that had a profound influence on thousands of students as well as the broader field of language education throughout his 50-year career.

Rassias, the child of Greek immigrants, was born in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1925. After graduating from high school, Rassias enlisted in the Marine Corps and fought in the pacific theatre during WWII, seeing combat at the historic battle of Okinawa, where he drove an amphibious tank. Throughout the next decade and a half, he studied languages at both American and French universities, obtaining a Fulbright Scholarship and a doctorate in the process.

In 1964, while working as a consultant for the Peace Corps, Rassias created a pilot program to train volunteers that were to be sent to French-speaking regions of Africa.

The innovative program quickly gained national prominence and eventually became known as the “Rassias Method”.

Dartmouth students most frequently experience this method as drill, a student-taught class, taken three to four times a week, in conjunction with an introductory language course.

Intended to give students no time to think in English, the method emphasizes rapid-fire vocabulary and conjugation drills. Although some students may curse the program’s existence after waking up early multiple times a week for 7:45 AM class, few would deny that drill is an effective tool for learning the pronunciation, rhythm and grammar of a

“The real question is, ‘Is this America anymore?!’”

foreign language.

For decades, Rassias was recognized as an incredible teacher and communicator, and consistently made The Review’s “Best Professors” list. His courses were highly sought after and some students took French for the sole reason that they might end up in one of his classes. In the classroom, Rassias was known for his creative and often theatrical teaching methods, and has been described as dynamic, engaging, passionate, and innovative. Typical exercises included mock news conferences and the “mine game”, where one student was blindfolded and the rest of the class charged with guiding them through an imaginary minefield made up of chairs and desks. Speak English, and you set off the mine. It has been said that in his 80’s, when Rassias walked with a cane, he would often get caught up in an exercise and hurl his cane across the room.

Rassias, who has been eulogized in national outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Times, among many others, can unquestionably be counted among the most influential professors in Dartmouth history.

His memory hearkens back to an era before academia was marred by radical liberalism and political correctness, and American higher education was the envy of the world. One can only hope that Dartmouth will encounter more professors like Rassias, who gained national renown not for the quality of his research, but for his incomparable work in the classroom.

Dartmouth’s Admissions Decline Continues For the past few years, Dartmouth’s yield figures have remained fairly steady. This is not truly due to a fast growing applicant pool, however. According to figures presented in a

recent Dartblog post, “The Ongoing Admissions Disaster” Dartmouth actually accepts double the number of students who will choose to enroll as undergraduates in any given year. National news typically focuses only on one statistic: acceptance rate, and due to this numbers that tell a more honest story of admission are ignored.

Dartmouth recently released the data regarding early decision admissions to the college. Almost any audience can see from this more complete set of data that the administration is employing some less than ideal tactics to keep national statistics at ideal levels. This is most evident in Dartmouth’s almost 7% acceptance of waitlist applicants. This is quite high compared to Princeton’s 2.75%. Other tactics include accepting more early decision and legacy applicants.

The data for the most recent year is just cause for concern for the student body. Though the administration can maintain numbers through admission games in the short term, these games will only perpetuate the underlying issue, which is Dartmouth’s lessening attraction for students across the globe. In recent years, poor press has damaged Dartmouth’s reputation, and Moving Dartmouth Forward has done little to repair it.

Koch Institute Hosts Policy Forum On Wednesday, January 13, the Charles Koch Institute hosted a group of distinguished academics and think-tankers in a debate moderated by Fox Business News host John Stossel.

Andrew Bacevich, Professor Emeritus at Boston University, Chris Preble, Vice President of Defense and Foreign Policy studies at the Cato Institute, Stephen Kinzer, Professor at Brown University, and William Ruger, Vice President of Research and Policy at the Charles Koch Institute were the debaters. The Middle East was a central issue, and the debaters

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January 18, 2016 The Dartmouth Review Page 5

The Week in Review

“If I win the Powerball jackpot, I’m not giving a single cent to the College. They’ll just waste it all.”

generally agreed with the general foreign policy academics’ consensus of retrenchment, while each displayed subtle nuances departing from that view. The academics spent a lot of breath justifying their views to a crowd of the type of die-hard conservatives you imagine would show up to an event run by the Charles Koch Institute.

After the Colloquium on foreign policy the guests retired to converse among themselves while enjoying the open bar and hor d’oeuvres. That the Koch brothers were paying for the drinks was the subject of much mirth. The crowd was mostly libertarian, and entrepreneurs and libertarian activists comprised a good portion of the crowd. Many second amendment enthusiasts (to put it mildly) were also among the attendees. The topics of discussion ranged from the vagaries of modern economics and the caprice of Keynesian theory to the feasibility of Anarcho-Capitalism (abbreviated An-Cap among hardcore libertarians). The main topic of discussion was the presidential campaign. Opinions differed but most attendees had settled on Cruz or Paul. Although there were a few blue-tinged libertarians, out-and-out statists (Democrats) as the audience were fond to call them—the Review makes no comment as to what we think of that nickname—were practically nowhere to be found.

Bill Proposed to Reduce NH Drinking Age Last week, Max Abramson, a Republican New Hampshire State Representative from Seabrook, introduced House Bill 1606, which would fundamentally alter the drinking laws of the state. As of right now, New Hampshire is one of only five of our fifty states that does not have a modified provision allowing those over eighteen to drink with some stipulation or another. The bill proposes to change this. Called the “Adult Supervision Law”, and created with the intention of reducing teenage alcoholism, alcohol related motoring accidents, and alcohol poisoning, the law extends to people, ages eighteen to twenty the ability to drink alcohol while under the supervision of at least one person who is over the age of twenty-one. Many of the same regulations still apply: you can not buy alcohol if you are under twenty-one, and you can not have it shipped to you. The law sets the limit of intoxication at 0.05 blood alcohol content. In short, the law allows teens to have a drink at dinner with family, which many people do anyways. The bill is designed with a nod to other western nations. Abramson stated “Every other western country has a drinking age of nineteen or lower, and their teenage alcoholism rates are lower.” On the other hand, many in law enforcement are against any lowering of the drinking age. Hampton Chief of Police said “I think it’s ridiculous,” Sawyer continued “Any study will show you that the number of fatalities and tragedies based on alcohol consumption by people in that age group goes up when they’re allowed to drink. ... In my opinion, if we allow a law like this, we will see increasing instances of fatalities and tragedies.”

While, in my opinion the problems are small, for instance, the 0.05% blood alcohol limit only allows for two drinks for anyone under around 130 lbs, and the law’s protection stops applying when the underage person in question leaves the

accompaniment of someone older, I think that if passed, it will be a welcomed addition. New Hampshire is one of the few states that prosecutes solely on underage consumption regardless of amount or circumstance. Any law that would mitigate the problems relating to this, is alright in my book.

With all this being said, however, previous legislation may have the potential to throw a wrench in the passing of the law. Another NH State Representative commented that it is unlikely for this bill to pass without an accompanying, previously proposed recreational marijuana law with the same age of eighteen. While we don’t know the accuracy of this comment, it may offer an insight into the current legislative climate of the body. The alcohol bill itself isn’t very controversial, but when paired with the marijuana bill, it may be more polarizing and controversial.

Prof. Sutton on Low-Income Representation at Elite Schools In many respects, Dartmouth College is a wonderfully diverse school. Students come from a wide array of ethnic, religious, racial, linguistic and geographic backgrounds, a careful balance that the college makes sure to maintain with every entering class. As regards the socioeconomic composition of its students, however, Dartmouth cannot claim to be so diverse. Roughly sixty percent of Dartmouth students are from households in the top six percent of the national income distribution, while only eleven percent of Dartmouth students come from households in the bottom forty percent.

The seemingly likely explanation for this disparity is that, for a variety of reasons, students from wealthier backgrounds tend to be vastly more intelligent and higher achieving than lower income students.

Wrong, argues Professor Sutton, an associate professor of mathematics at the college. The centerpiece of Sutton’s argument is a 2013 Harvard and Stanford study that suggests high-income students are only twice as likely to qualify as “high-achievers” than lower income students. Thirty-four percent of high achievers are from households in the top quartile of the income distribution, while seventeen percent hail from the bottom quartile. Yet, upon a closer look, Sutton’s invocation of this study does little to support his argument.

The study’s definition of high achieving students (high school seniors with at least an A-minus GPA and scoring at or above the 90th percentile on the SAT or ACT) is particularly problematic. For starters, most Dartmouth students easily exceed these test scores and grades. A 90th percentile score on the SAT roughly correlates to a 1980, which is far below the Class of 2019’s mean score of 2160. Although Dartmouth does not publish average GPA statistics, we can assume that a 3.67 is far below the norm, as 93% of students finish within the top 10% of their high school class (among schools that rank their students). GPA is also a practically useless statistic because the difficulty of obtaining high grades varies widely between schools (which is the very reason why Dartmouth doesn’t publish GPA statistics). Lower income students may well be underrepresented at the college, but the ratio of high

income to low income Dartmouth-caliber students is certainly higher than the one depicted by this study.

Sutton links the underrepresentation of less-wealthy students at the college to a phenomenon called “undermatching”.

The aforementioned study attributes this to the geographic isolation of less wealthy students and their lack of access to informed college counselors and mentors that attended elite colleges. It also notes that lower-income students also may not realize that elite institutions might actually be the cheapest option for them to attend college (Dartmouth offers free tuition for students from families making less than $100,000 per year). These are all valid points, but they ignore other important reasons that may be related to unalterable facets of the college. For one, Dartmouth has thirty-four varsity sports teams, many of which are in sports such as squash, golf, sailing, tennis, and crew, which tend to have athletes from wealthier backgrounds. A more obvious reason is Dartmouth’s tendency to admit legacies, most of whom come from wealthier backgrounds. Socioeconomic diversity at Dartmouth is an issue more than worth exploring, but any discussion of the topic should include thorough and accurate statistical and causal arguments.

SAPA Undergoes Significant Restructuring The Sexual Assault Peer Advisors (SAPA) program is undergoing radical change. Spearheaded by a change at the top, SAPA seeks to change the essence of its mission. The program has replaced its central administrator, Ben Bradley, with Liz Stahler, a professionally credentialed human development staff counselor. The main concern was legal confidentiality.

Because Bradley lacked an official clinical license, he could not be considered a confidential source in court, unlike Stahler.

Bradley’s lack of a clinical license meant that under Title IX and the Clery Act, he would not be considered a legally confidential source. This issue of confidentiality also meant that Bradley would have to submit reports of sexual assault to Heather Lindvikst, the College’s Title IX and Clery Act compliance officer.

With the new leader of SAPA, Liz Stahler, all information shared to her can only be released with permission of the informee. The administration is transferring Bradley within Dartmouth’s sexual assault agency alphabet soup to head the Dartmouth Bystander Initiative (DBI). While the DBI inherently takes a proactive approach to sexual assault, SAPA takes a reactive approach. Both, of course, are necessary; but SAPA also addresses the proactive approach to preventing sexual assault through its various programming and awareness initiatives. The DBI’s mission statement begins, “DBI is a prevention strategy…”, while SAPA’s section on programming proclaims they initiate “campus and community programs to raise awareness about sexual violence and intimate partner violence.” What makes the DBI’s mission so distinct from SAPA’s that it requires housing in an entirely different arm of the College and necessitates its own bureaucracy and

Mitch McConnell reads The Dartmouth Review.

Do You?

Page 6 The Dartmouth Review January 18, 2016

‘Nam and the Animal House

to properly mourn or celebrate the twin competitions that College’s modern affliction. In response to the students lay before them: the game and the lottery. Win or lose, taking over Parkhurst in 1969, “Dean Taymore snapped.

Dartmouth men knew the importance of the journey” ‘Don’t touch me!’ he bellowed, grabbing the kid in a In the above passage and elsewhere, O’Neill provides headlock. ‘Don’t you tell me what’s tolerable and what’s the reader with a unique glimpse into the evolution of the not! Don’t you tell me to go f*** myself!’ The Dean Dartmouth Indian controversy with which most students are of the College had fifty pounds and eight inches on his well acquainted. In the fall term just passed, Chi Heorot, opponent. Plus he was pissed off. He dragged the kid out alongside every fraternity, was informed that all depic- of his office and into the lobby where dozens of other tions of the Indian must be scrubbed and marred from its students shepherded other staffers to the door. Taymore walls. The disconnect between the Dartmouth described burst into their midst like an incensed bull. ‘What are in Whiplash and the one we witness today is startling and you doing!? This is Dartmouth!!!” disheartening. O’Neill leaves little doubt that the adminSome people might gloss over the use of a triple istration is the catalyst of these changes. exclamation mark—perhaps more frequently seen in The most prominent member of the ‘69 administration sorority response flitzes than a published memoir—but detailed in Whiplash is Dean Taymore. Published in 2013, I feel they were included for a reason. The three puncthe same year as Hanlon claimed his zenith, it is difficult tuations represent the fiery passion that the Dartmouth to lend credence to the notion that O’Neill designed his administration of old distinctly had in abundance; a love administrative powerhouse to draw an intentional contrast. for Dartmouth. Phil Hanlon’s frailty underscored, TayPerhaps he had, in some form, inmore then sends in the police aymore burst into their midst like and the offending students are sight into the personality of Phil Hanlon that would allow him to an incensed bull. ‘What are you placed in jail for thirty days. create such a starkly contrasting A lthough O’Neill depicts the doing!? This is Dartmouth!” figurehead for the College. But protesters as brave activists such speculations are baseless, and it is more likely that fighting for their beliefs, he includes the incident alongHanlon resembles the opposite of the powerful, passionate side another violation. “She walked over to the window, Whiplash: When the Vietnam War Rolled a Hand GreTaymore. lowered it and fastened the lock. She just stood there—as nade into the Animal House by Denis O’Neill (Vook, 330 In O’Neill’s own words, “[Taymore] loved Dartmouth Danny had, hours earlier—each feeling as violated as pp.) and most students viewed him as a fair-minded bridge the other. The next time Danny saw Julie, he was walkbetween life in the undergraduate trenches and the ad- ing to class. He heard chants before he saw her in the In what was undoubtedly the most influential game of ministration. He was as comfortable playing beer pong in middle of a hundred protesters.” their lives, the Dartmouth hockey team could barely keep a fraternity basement as he was addressing the Board of Just as Danny has broken a sacred trust, the their eyes on the puck. The game would be played, but their Trustees.” With the force-feeding of MDF against wide- Dartmouth students who expelled the administration were no scouts to impress, nor a victory to be earned in the spread campus sentiment, Hanlon has ensured that any such from Parkhurst and nailed the windows shut violated back of the net. This was one of the rare situations where bridge has since been burned. It is not easy to say whether the school. O’Neill has the foresight to see this unique the outcome of the game wouldn’t determine the winners. the fire was first stoked by the students or the administra- play in student activism reoccurring once discovered: On the night of the 1969 Vietnam Draft, the hockey game tion, but safe to say that small minorities from both ends “It was one thing to oppose an unpopular foreign war; it was played with life and death hanging in the balance. In soaked their half in gasoline as the stranded majorities was something else to physically seize college property O’Neill’s words, “The real game that night was not on the watched in helpless dismay. With a hunched-over posture and eject the President. It was radical in name, and in ice.” worthy of the slogan, “Just Endure,” Dartmouth students frequency. It had never happened before.”

Intermingling competitive fun and deadly seriousness, suffer against Hanlon’s MDF as they do with the New The students that took control the second time around Whiplash by Dennis O’Neill reflects on the timeless aspects Hampshire cold; just another aspect of their penance. did not experience nearly as severe a punishment. And of the Dartmouth experience. Beyond simply boozing Activism, then and now, offers the reader another firm that’s a major point O’Neill makes in Whiplash. Activwith friends in fraternity basements, Whiplash captures handle for comparing the two Dartmouth’s we have before ism needs to be difficult. It should be a grind to be agthe indescribable aura that coerced Daniel Webster to his us. The embers of racially-stoked fires are still cooling in the gravated because the struggle reveals who truly cares famed quotation, “It’s a small college, but there are those midst of the disruptive Black Lives Matter protest that pa- about the cause they support. “Occupying Parkhurst” who love it.” raded through Baker-Berry Library just a few weeks before was not brave the second time. It was safe.

On its surface, Whiplash the end of Fall term. Eleven days O’Neill compares the Dartmouth experience to a is the story of a Chi Heorot eyond simply boozing with friends after the incendiary event—which road trip. It is clear that road trips were an integral part brother during the Vietnam in Frat basements, Whiplash cap- made national news, besmirching of his time at Dartmouth, but more than that, the author War. Specifically, it follows the reputation of the Black Lives views his time at Dartmouth like the Green; a series of the lives of several brothers tures the indescribable aura that coerced Matter movement, both on campus crosscutting paths to be explored and reformed when as their college experiences Daniel Webster to his famed quotation, and globally—President Hanlon your destination changes. As students, we live a transient are transformed by seemingly “It’s a small college, but there are those was incensed, as can only be done life. Our time here is four or five years in which we esunstoppable outside forces. by negative media attention, to tablish our lives, setting up camp like so many vagrants O’Neill details their attempts who love it.” respond to the incident. His e-mail, and wanderers. Dreams fall by the wayside and majors to draft dodge, flavoring the stuffed ad nauseam with platitudes and self-preservative change as each person struggles to discover themselves. story with insight into the lives of the brothers roaming language, offered only praise for the protesters and a dis- O’Neill embraces this period in which the destination “the Chi” from the Autumn of 1969 through the following tinction between their actions and the events that followed: is so uncertain: “If you keep your eyes looking down year’s Spring. In doing so, Whiplash challenges strong “This demonstration was a powerful expression of unity the road, the foreground will take care of itself.” values like tradition and the constant pressure for an everin support of social justice—Dartmouth at its strongest. I Existing at a college this small, there is a collective more-refined vision of a Dartmouth man. cannot say the same about events that transpired in Baker identity to which we all contribute. Students at Dartmouth The author empresses the lethal potency of war not only Library immediately afterward.” face a unique identity struggle as they assimilate into on his fraternity brothers but also on his readers through Really, Phil? You can’t say the same? A racially in- our New Hampshire community nestled in the forest. the tragic character, Birdy. Serving in the infantry in flamed group storms a study space on campus chanting Ubiquitous conversation topics seem to blanket campus landmine-infested rice fields is a hellish predicament, code “F*** your white tears!” and this half-acquittal is the most like snow as the community lives in the present, in named “Mekong Delta,” and it contrasts starkly with the you can muster? unison. We first experience this as drunken shenanigans depicted in the surrounding chapters.

Hanlon’s unique freshman trips come to a close. PeriBy interspersing Birdy’s tale into three wrenching chapters, ability to capitulate to odically, these waves of conversation O’Neill ensures the realities of Vietnam are as laid bare these bullies parading wash over Dartmouth, Green Key, for the reader as they were for students of the time. for the ambiguous exams, other isolated incidents that Several of O’Neill’s focal topics of articulation have causes of social jusvary from year to year. Maintaining become ever-more relevant during this transitory and tice has diminished an individual identity in the face of turbulent time for liberal arts campuses across the counour school. He is not this conformity of experience is the try. Operations like Moving Dartmouth Forward and the unique in his task plight of every Dartmouth student constant slough of protests motivated by racial and genderof dealing with agand the subject of much of O’Neill’s based issues call into question the characteristics of an ideal gravated youth on a writing.

Dartmouth student. Is he a champion for the voiceless or liberal arts campus.

Ultimately, O’Neill illustrates a politically-correct automaton capable only of espousing Over forty years bea pure Dartmouth experience on the platitudes? Is he Dean Taymore or Phil Hanlon? fore attaching “Ocpage. Quite unlike some other acThe author makes his feelings toward “the scourge” Students for a Democratic Society and anti-war cupy” to the man counts of the Dartmouth experience, of political correctness known frequently: “this being a became a hip and Dartmouth activists “Occupy Parkhurst” on May 6, 1969 O’Neill manages to share a significant period of enlightenment in American education—a time socially commend- to protest the continued presence of ROTC on campus. amount of his life in a fraternity in when painted students with Mohawks could run around fires able cause, Dartmouth students banded together in protest Hanover while still preserving the integrity of the instipretending to be Indians, and security at sporting events of the Vietnam War and the ongoing ROTC programs on tution. I eagerly await the opportunity to hear more of did not deter can of beer or bottles of tequila from being campus, invading Parkhurst and expelling the administra- his experiences first hand, and envision the era before brought to the events—the men of Heorot were prepared tion. the administration decided to take the school on such a

Mr. Perkins is a sophomore at the College and News Comparing the responses of Taymore and Hanlon divergent pathway.

Editor for The Dartmouth Review. forty-two years later offers insight into the source of the And maybe enjoy a beer or two. n

By Michael Perkins

T

B

The Gospel of Trump

By Brian Chen

Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again

by Donald J. Trump (Threshold Editions; 208 pp.)

It has been said that Donald J. Trump has constipation of the brain and diarrhea of the mouth. His verbose and rambling speeches more often than not extend past the hour-long mark. In addition, he has a penchant for nonsensical proposals, as exemplified by his idea to “close up that Internet” and “penetrate the Internet” in order to defeat ISIS. However, Trump’s latest book, Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, mercifully does not exhibit these unfortunate tendencies. The book is a mercifully thin volume at just 208 pages, reaching that length only by including a biography, a list of properties, and a statement of his alleged $8.7 billion net worth. And although his policy proposals—delivered with characteristic Trump-ish flair—are generic and unspecific, they are at the very least fairly lucid and readable.

As expected, Crippled America offers plenty of hilarious self-aggrandizement. No fewer than five pages into the book, Trump writes: Donald Trump builds buildings.

Donald Trump develops magnificent golf courses.

Donald Trump makes investments that create jobs.

And Donald Trump creates jobs for legal immigrants and all Americans.

Just seven pages later, he continues: The image I created through the media enabled me to build one of the greatest luxury brands in the world.

People buy my apartments, buy my label, and play on my golf courses, because they know if I put my name on it, it has to be top quality.

He also mentions that he owns “the most magnificent golf resort in the world in Aberdeen, Scotland.” If these statements were not crass enough, he makes sure to make his belief in his own greatness even clearer by stating, “I’m rich. I mean, I’m really rich. I’ve earned more money than even I thought I would—and I’ve had some pretty big dreams.”

At the very least, one must give Trump credit for his relentlessly consistently messaging: our country does not win anymore, and we need to Make America Great Again!

Mr. Chen is a junior at the College and is a frequent contributor to The Dartmouth Review.

January 18, 2016 The Dartmouth Review Page 7

He opines about “all talk and no action” politicians, who are all incompetent losers controlled by special interests.

In contrast, Trump is a winner who will negotiate great deals. The idea that Trump is a winner and a strong leader because of his immense wealth is central to his campaign and message. Thus, it is no surprise that he would harp on his business successes repeatedly in Crippled America.

However, one would hope that he would be less crude about it in print as compared to his freestyling speeches made without the help of a teleprompter. For better or worse, he sticks to his plainspoken style, which undoubtedly adds to the book’s entertainment value at the expense of its seriousness. (Although with Trump’s large and sustained polling lead continuing into 2016, he is becoming hard to brush off as unserious in any way.)

Just as Trump’s treatment of his own wealth and success is predictable, so is his treatment of policy issues.

Indeed, there is little in the way of substantive policy. On illegal immigration, which bizarrely has become Trump’s signature issue after a throwaway line in his announcement speech, he offers the usual rhetoric: Nobody can build a wall like me. I will build a great wall on our southern border … one way or another, [Mexico is] going to pay for it. I don’t mind putting a big, beautiful door in that wall so people can come in and out … LEGALLY. With respect to ISIS, Trump advocates “bombing the hell out of those oil fields to cut off the source of their money.” On education, he wants to get rid of Common Core. On the Second Amendment, he wants to protect it. And on Obamacare, he wants to repeal and replace it with something better. Beyond the innovation that Mexico pays for any border wall, his proposals are fairly standard Republican talking points dictated in strong terms without any real policy depth.

Of course, Trump cites his alleged negotiating ability—he wrote The Art of the Deal—which he uses as a crutch to compensate for his lack of detailed policy proposals. His argument is that he will negotiate great deals with Congress and other countries. The evidence for his great negotiating ability is amusing in how irrelevant it is for running a country: We have to start by getting tough with the Chinese.

I’ve negotiated with Chinese companies. I know how they do business. I’m actually landlord to China’s largest bank, which has its offices in Trump Tower.

We’ve successfully negotiated several leases.

According to Trump logic, which is almost satirical in how farcical it is, negotiating leases now qualifies someone to negotiate trade deals. Nevertheless, though expressed in the crudest and most self-congratulatory way possible, his broader contention that detailed policy papers are pointless is not unconvincing. It is very likely that on day one, the next president will have to throw out the minutiae of his proposals in favor of incrementally advancing any policy objectives. Any accomplishments will depend on arm twisting and, yes, negotiation based on broad goals and principles. At least Trump is not trying to sell the country on Hope and Change.

Crippled America is curiously different from other campaign books in Trump’s lack of emphasis on his family background. Many politicians choose to put biography front and center, but Trump hardly makes a mention of his family. Marco Rubio makes sure to repeatedly mention that his father was a bartender and his mother was a maid, John Kasich makes sure everyone knows his father was a mailman and his grandfather was a coal miner, and Ted Cruz emphasizes that his father fled from oppression in leaving Cuba. Trump’s family, on the other hand, only

makes a few cameo appearances in Crippled America, an unsurprising fact considering Trump’s persistent narcissism. He mentions that his father was the son of immigrants and that his mother was an immigrant when he discusses immigration, and he brings up both his father and his children when discussing the value of hard work; he talks about himself the rest of the time. The book does include color photographs of Trump’s family in an insert; however, in true Trump fashion, he intersperses the ten family photographs with eleven photographs of his properties, including Trump Tower and the Bank of America Building. Look no further than here to understand the man’s priorities in life.

As a candidate with an unusual background for seeking office, Trump’s treatment of social values in the book is also fascinating. Now on his third wife and having been adulterous in the past, he can hardly claim to be an exemplar for the evangelical Christians that are an important voting bloc in states like Iowa. He brushes this all off by saying that he worked too hard to be a good husband, all while insisting that he was a good father. He also insists that he is a Presbyterian, although this claim is dubious, given his lack of church attendance and inability to cite any passages from the Bible. It certainly is interesting to see Trump squirm in an attempt to fit the cultural expectations of the electorate in an election cycle that has defied all expectation.

Another passage of note is Trump’s discussion of the media, which he seems to have a love-hate relationship with. Trump is often duplicitous, whether it be in his real estate dealings or in his claim that he is religious, but he is fully transparent about his media strategy. He pointedly states, “I am never shy about creating news by being controversial and fighting back.” Indeed, he has given every indication that his outrageous statements, such as his proposed Muslim immigration ban, are deliberately crafted with the purpose of controlling the news cycle. By now, his pattern of behavior is clear. He says something ridiculous, with full knowledge of how politically incorrect it is, and then dials the rhetoric back, thereby garnering outsized media attention for days on end. Anyone who believes that Trump is ignorant or bigoted should pay heed to the fact that he is playing the media—a fact that he effectively admits in Crippled America.

Unfortunately, Trump’s pomposity and bombast (or as he would say, braggadocio) is better suited for live television than the printed word. Though entertaining, Crippled America offers little beyond the amusement gleaned from a run-of-the-mill Trump rally. Nevertheless, it perfectly encapsulates the vapid and uniquely Trump-ish way of speaking and writing. As one final example, take an excerpt from one of his legal filings made as he complained about the city of Palm Beach’s effort to regulate the size of his American flag: A smaller flag and pole on Mar-a-Lago’s property would be lost given the property’s massive size, look silly instead of making a statement, and most importantly would fail to appropriately express the magnitude of Donald J. Trump’s and the club members’ patriotism.

Such is the way of Trump. A consummate entertainer, he can even make a legal filing amusing. Crippled America’s value lies not in the value it adds to any discourse but in providing insight into the Trump phenomenon, as it effectively reproduces his unique style and message. Crippled America may also, indeed, be Trump’s third favorite book after the Bible and The Art of the Deal. Since the proceeds go to charity, it could be worth one’s time to spend just a few hours reading it. n

Page 8 The Dartmouth Review January 18, 2016

The Man in the High Castle...

By Charles C. W. Jang and Sandor Farkas

The Man in the High Castle (Amazon Prime; 10 episodes) As the opening credits flash across the screen, The Man in the High Castle seems to be real. This historical drama, based on the Philip K. Dick book of the same name and produced exclusively for Amazon Prime, presents a counterfactual scenario in which the Axis powers win the Second World War and occupy America. Germany has extended sovereignty over the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest, andAmericansunderitscontrolhavebeenincorporatedintotheGreater German Reich. The West Coast operates as a colony of the Japanese Empire, and Americans there are treated as second-class citizens. A “Neutral Zone” lies in between these two areas along the Continental Divide. The Zone is a lawless territory filled with the rejects of the two totalitarian regimes. The cinematography, set-dressing, and historical world-building, created by Frank Spotnitz, bring this twisted world to life, and in spite of the inherently hackneyed nature of this counterfactual, the show manages to give the watcher a vivid sense of reality throughout the entire pilot.

The Characters •

•

•

•

• • •

Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank): A Manhattan truck driver who takes on a mission for the Resistance to make a delivery to Canon City in the Neutral Zone. His character is the source of more than a few of the series’ many plot twists.

Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos): A San Francisco martial arts expert living in peace with the Japanese occupation, until a sudden tragedy brought on by the Japanese secret police leads her to discover newsreel films that the Resistance wanted delivered to the titular “Man in the High Castle” in Canon City.

Frank Frink (Rupert Evans): Juliana’s boyfriend and a machine shop worker. At the start of the series, he is trying to use his skills as an artist to lucrative ends, but is unwillingly drawn into a world of intrigue when the authorities come looking for Juliana.

Nobusuke Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa): He is the Trade Minister for the Pacific States. Deeply involved in meditation and the I Ching, his unorthodox methods of protecting the Empire and efforts to be a good man are interesting plot points in the series.

John Smith (Rufus Sewell): American SS Obergruppenführer Chief Inspector Kido (Joel de la Fuente): He is the ruthless head of the Kempeitai in San Francisco.

RudolfWegener(CarstenNorgaard):Underthepseudonym“Mr. Baynes,” Swedish industrialist, SS Colonel Wegener is on an important mission to get an audience with the Japanese Science Minister through Trade Minister Tagomi.

Synopsis The year is 1962. The German Reich and the Japanese Empire have occupied the former United States for a generation since “V-A Day”in1947. TheGermanoccupiershavepurifiedtheGreaterGerman Reich of Jews, blacks, and other undesirables. The Japanese have been nominally more tolerant: their mass killings have only targeted those who resist them politically. The interests of the two Axis powers have begun to diverge, and the tensions between their governments pose as great a threat to the “peace” as the fabled American Resistance.

The show opens by developing the backgrounds of two people recruited by the Resistance. The man, Joe Blake, is given a mission by a trucking company in New York to deliver “coffee makers” to Canon City in the Neutral Zone. The woman, Juliana Crain, enters this underground when her sister Trudy is shot by the Kempeitai (Japanese secret police). Juliana discovers newsreel films among Trudy’s belongings labeled “The Grasshopper Lies Heavy.” They depict scenes from an alternate reality: Marines raising Old Glory over Iwo Jima; GIs storming the beaches at Normandy; Americans rejoicing over V-E and V-J Day in New York City. Fascinated by these visions of beyond, Juliana decides to follow a lead she found in Trudy’s purse: a bus ticket to Canon City with the cryptic annotation “Sunrise Diner 12:5.” AgainstthebetterjudgmentofhermetalworkerboyfriendFrank Frink, she departs on that bus the next day. She hopes that Trudy’s contact can expound on the nature of the films, which are rumored to be the brainchild of the mysterious “Man in the High Castle.”

Juliana is not the only one interested. Both the Nazi and Japanese is still alive. Smith orders him to find her and seek out a new film that regimes are determined to get their hands on the subversive films and is rumored to have surfaced in San Francisco.

Juliana has, in the meantime, continued her quest for answers. She their creator. The Kempeitai arrest Frank to get Juliana’s location.

Chief Inspector Kido, who has discovered Frank’s Jewish ancestry, contacts the Resistance at home and at their behest gets a job working orders his sister, niece, and nephew gassed with Zyklon D, but Frank in the Nippon Building as an aide to Trade Minister Tagomi. Juliana still refuses to talk. The Japanese almost shoot him, but find a woman finds herself at the business end of several startling revelations on the who absconded with Juliana’s bag (with all but one newsreel) from the job: she finds about the wiretapping that the Kempeitai are doing to bus. Satisfied, Kido lets an incredulous Frank loose with the ironic, keep tabs on the Resistance; she sees that her stepfather (whom she had always known to be a mailman) seems to be running the operation; “You have suffered much, and I am not a cruel man.”

Meanwhile in Canon City, a penniless Juliana meets Joe Blake Tagomi gives her the address of the mass grave in which the Kempeitai when he pays for her food at the Sunrise Diner. They fast become have dumped her sister Trudy’s corpse. While both Tagomi and the friends, and he helps her find lodging at a nearby hotel. She gets a Resistance are pleased with Juliana’s performance in her new job, waitressing job at the diner for the twofold purpose of paying him events conspire to take her out of it permanently.

The Kempeitai have not forgotten Frank. While the ballistics back and looking for Trudy’s contact. One customer is an old man studying the Bible who tells her to look up Ecclesiastes 12:5 (“Also reportproveinconclusive,severaleyewitnessesreportedabespectacled when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the dark-haired man with a revolver—a man fitting his description—at way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a the speech. Uneasy at the police attention near his home and workburden...”) She arranges a rendezvous with him to deliver the film and place, Frank crafts a plan to escape the Pacific States with Juliana. He tells Joe about the meeting; when she leaves, he makes a phone call conspires with a salesman of Americana to make a forgery of one of to New York City. Joe is an undercover SS agent, reporting directly Sitting Bull’s necklaces and sell it for a vast sum. The plot is successto Obergruppenführer John Smith; he learns that the old man is a ful, and Frank plans to move with Juliana to the Neutral States with dangerous SD (Sicherheitsdienst, the SS’s intelligence service) agent. the payment he received.

At the same time, the Resistance have heard the rumor of a new Joe drives to the meeting point, where he sees the old man attack her to get the film and Juliana use her aikido skills to throw him over a “Grasshopper Lies Heavy” newsreel on the grapevine, and have atdam. Joe drives her back to town, where they each wait for someone tempted to buy it. Unfortunately, the Yakuza have killed their contact and are holding the film ransom. The Resistance asks Juliana to get to contact them.

It does not take long. A vicious bounty hunter known simply by Joe’s help. He gets the money through the Nazi embassy and surthe sobriquet “The Marshal” shows up in town. Initially there to meet reptitiously receives the film at a Yakuza-run pleasure dome. At the up with the SD man, he finds out about Juliana’s presence from the last minute, however, Juliana hears of the Kempeitai’s plan to raid the local bookseller, whom he recognizes as a fugitive from the Reich. The place and goes to warn her colleagues—just in time to get captured by Marshal lynches him personally and leaves his cadaver hanging from the Yakuza with Joe. The Resistance pay a large ransom to get her a highway sign. Joe and Juliana discover a map in the SD man’s car, out but refuses to expend more for Joe—she convinces Frank to pay which leads to an abandoned mine with the grisly remains of a woman his out of the money he had earned for his job. Joe manages to steal presumably tortured to death, along with a list of names, all crossed off back the film upon his release and hand it to Frank. Juliana and Frank save two: Trudy’s name and that of “Lemuel Washington,” the owner watch the film while Joe goes to ground to evade the Kempeitai. The of the Sunrise Diner. Quickly realizing that he is the Resistance contact, newsreel is, unlike the scenes of American victory, a grim picture of a Juliana returns to town, where she is pursued by the Marshal. Only nuclear bomb vaporizing the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, through an elaborate ruse faking her death in a car crash are they able with SS officers moving in to murder civilians; to their horror, they to throw him off and warn Lemuel of the threat. He agrees to bring realize one of them is Joe, shooting Frank in the head. Joe pilfers the them to the person collecting the films: the Man in the High Castle. At film from a shellshocked Juliana when he comes back and retreats to the meeting point, however, Lemuel and other Resistance members the Nazi Embassy.

In a climactic finale, several plot points fall into—and out of— (the Man in the High Castle not among their number) hold Joe up at gunpoint: they suspect him to be a Nazi. He is able to placate them place. Colonel Wegener is put into the hands of Oberstgruppenführer by giving them a “Grasshopper Lies Heavy” film he found concealed Reinhard Heydrich, who plans to launch a coup d’etat against the aging in the truck. While Juliana wants to stay and find more answers, she Adolf Hitler and use the Reich’s resources in a war against Japan to returns to San Francisco after calling home and learning from one of conquerthePacificStates. HeydrichconvincesWegenertoassassinate Hitler on the threat of harming his family. Heydrich in the meantime Frank’s friends that he is about to go “do something stupid.”

Frank, distraught over the death of his sister and her children, invites Obergruppenführer Smith on a hunting trip in the Catskills and plots to shoot the visiting Japanese Crown Prince during his address. tries to persuade him to join the coup at gunpoint, awaiting a phone Frank takes a handmade Colt .45 he machined at his work, and goes call from Berlin from a hopefully successful Wegener. He, however, to the speech, but finds himself unable to pull the trigger. Someone was stopped by the force of Hitler’s rhetoric; faced with the specter of else evidently had a similar idea, however, and had no such loss of his past crimes in Hitler’s name and the bleak vision of a Heydrich-led nerve—the Crown Prince is shot and the venue is thrown into turmoil. war against Japan, Wegener shoots himself. Smith’s aide, who has A dazed Frank hurries back home, hiding the revolver along the way. been following in the woods, shoots Heydrich’s adjutant, allowing Another man whose plans went awry at the Crown Prince’s Smith himself to shoot Heydrich and answer the call, “Mein Führer, speech was SS Colonel Rudolf Wegener. Under the pseudonym of I have apprehended a traitor.”

MeanwhileinSanFrancisco,JulianaandFrankaretryingtoescape “Baynes,” a Swedish industrialist, Wegener went to visit Pacific States Trade Minister Nabusuke Tagomi for an important mission: deliver the Pacific States; their previous plan of riding a bus out is undone by plansonmicrofilmtotheJapaneseScienceMinister,whoaccompanied the fact that the authorities are now requiring photo IDs to purchase the Prince on his tour. Amidst the turmoil, Wegener is unsuccessful tickets. The Resistance agree to help transport them to Mexico on the condition that Juliana help them in meeting the Science kill Joe, whom they have posiMinister and is forced to tively identified as a Nazi agent. hide the microfilm before She succeeds in luring him out to Tagomi can extract him a pier where the Resistance has throughadiplomaticvisa. planned to ambush him, but lets In a turn of luck, however, him go after he tearfully admits Wegener runs into the that meeting her in Canon City Science Minister on the has changed his life. He is seen way to the airport and riding off on a boat to Mexico. slips him the film before

Chief Inspector Kido has slipping away to a flight by this time discovered the real to New York. culprit behind the Crown Prince Wegener is met shooting—butkeepsitquiet. The there by ObergruppenThe jarring sight of the American flag with a swastika takes the assassin is an SS officer who has führer John Smith, an old viewer out of the comfort zone from the start. friend and colleague. He invites Wegener back to his Long Island a sniper rifle concealed in his room, whom Kido shoots. He and his home for a V-A Day dinner. Also in attendance is Joe Blake, who aide dispose of the body and official papers; Kido explains that the is back from the Canon City expedition. While initially Smith and revelation that a Nazi government official had shot the Crown Prince Wegener get along, reminiscing about experiences when they were would start a war, “A war that our Empire currently cannot win.” The stationedtogetheratCincinnati,Smithbecomesincreasinglysuspicious Kempeitai captures one of Frank’s coworkers, Ed McCarthy, who as Wegener refuses to divulge what he was doing in the Pacific States confesses to owning the pistol they are looking for; Frank refuses to and, damningly, expresses contrition over the deaths he helped cause in let Ed take the fall and turns himself in at the police station. the Nazi conquest. Smith has him arrested by the end of the evening.

HealsosuspectsJoeofknowingmorethanheletson,andisproven Evaluation correct when he tries to break into one of Smith’s cabinets to look at a It seems clear that The Man in the High Castle is intended to give folder labeled “Grasshopper.” Joe confesses to Juliana’s involvement in Resistance activities in Canon City, and, more importantly, that she a strong emotional response and it does, albeit in rather unexpected

January 18, 2016 The Dartmouth Review Page 9

...The Grasshopper Lies Heavy ways. (When advertisers decorated the seats of a New York City subway car with the flag of the Greater German Reich (which contains a swastika), many were outraged, and the public outcry was so strong that the advertisement had to be pulled.) While the mise en scene is effective in depicting the new dystopia—the emotional rendition of Edelweiss over the opening credits; the “Work Makes You Free” neon sign in New York’s Times Square; the gassing and cremation of physical and mental “undesirables” in the Greater German Reich; the mass graves of the Japanese secret police, just for example— it is the small things that drive home the pathos of a repressive regime over a land that used to be free.

These are the things that make one wonder exactly how the United States would have fared after losing the Second World War to Germany and Japan (but presumably not Italy. No one deserves that embarrassment.) The society seems so inexplicably normal at times. Far from the war-torn landscapes of ruined Berlin or Tokyo in our timeline, Man in the High Castle’s America bears few scars of military conquest. It is implied that the United States government surrendered to the Axis Powers after the Nazis dropped “The Bomb” on Washington, D.C. in 1945. America seems to have acclimated since then, adopting institutions such as Germany’s racial laws, the Hitler Youth, and Tiergartenstrasse-4-esque forced euthanasia; in the Pacific States, the people are a little more disquiet: Americans old enough to remember the war quietly grumble about their Japanese overlords, while some wish that the Japanese would leave or that the Reich would take over. The only people willing to do anything about the occupation are the Resistance. They are, however, in many ways the antithesis of the principles of freedom they purport to stand for: Juliana is repeatedly told by their operatives to never watch the films and to never ask questions. (The Resistance also happen to be horrendous shots, as evidenced in the scene in which East Coast Resistance members attempt to gun down Obergruppenführer Smith and his aide in their car with submachine guns at close range. Neither man is killed.)

The apparent ease at which the Axis powers took over seems therefore to rely on the American people themselves. As Abraham Lincoln once pontificated, “Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a comMessrs. Jang and Farkas are students at the College and the Executive Editors of The Dartmouth Review.

mander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track The attention that they pay to developing the characters of even the on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then is most brutal German and Japanese officials perfectly showcases the the approach of danger to be expected? I answer. If it ever reach us it banality of evil. The plot even tricks viewers into supporting Hitler must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction over those who would plunge the world into another great war. That’s be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of more than a little messed up. freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide.” A pointed Contrary to what American viewers have come to expect from question the series seems to ask is: how much did the American people films such as Red Dawn, the resistance is not a major plot element, in the Man in the High Castle universe value their freedom and liberty? and all-out revolution is not portrayed as a likely or even possible We learn in one of the episodes that Franklin Roosevelt had been eventuality. The real plot seems to lie not in the conflict between the assassinated in the 1930s, Resistance and the Axis powers, but in leading to a presumably the characters’ conflicting perceptions anemicresponsetoGerman of reality. All the main characters are and Japanese aggression. well-fleshed out, but most interesting are With prominent liberal the high-ranking members of the Axis Brain Trust thinkers during Powers, especially the Japanese Trade theGreatDepressionseeing Minister. While these characters initially totalitarian governments appeartofitcertainvillainstereotypes,they along the lines of Hitlerite develop into highly complex personalities.

Germany or Woodrow The Trade Minister appears to be a staid, Wilson’s war regime as the predictable man, but the series reveals that This advertisement may have upset a select few people key to the future, perhaps his actions are based upon his belief in an the fall to an authoritarian juggernaut seemed inevitable, leading to a ancient divination ritual using the I Ching which is essentially random. quick Vichy France-esque surrender, despite the inherent difficulties This inherent contradiction is one of many that define his character. of invading a large nation across the sea. (The Germans as far back as The Trade Minister is not the only mysterious character in The World War I were worried about American involvement. As historian Man in the High Castle. The Man in the High Castle himself remains John Mosier puts it, “Some Germans professed to sneer at the idea unidentified throughout the first season, and his identity proves to be of an American Army having any effect on the field of battle. After a fixture of the plot. Different characters espouse different ideas of all, in 1917, the entire army hardly came to 150,000 men, less than him: some say he makes the films; some say he is dead; the Resistance Belgium’s. But to a generation of young German officers who had members try to deliver films to him (which seems to preclude the idea grown up reading tales of the Wild West, and who had studied the Civil that he is their originator). The viewer begins to question not only who War (which German staff officers all had done), the idea of having to he is or how he makes the films, but whether or not he actually exists. fight a country where the average farmhouse probably had as many (In fact, one could argue that Hitler is the titular character—he lives in guns as the average German infantry platoon was far from reassur- the eponymous location and is obsessed with collecting the films.) This ing.”) Thus, the American giant fell asleep and remained un-aroused, leads to questioning the “fake” nature of the films themselves. These despite the best pinpricks of the Resistance. Another difficult question tricks are only themes: even taken together, they do not constitute any is then: how do you resist a fascist government? The Resistance seems real message. By the end of the series, the viewer realizes that it is not to prioritize killing Nazis and delivering the films—all small scale beliefs that The Man in the High Castle challenges, but belief itself. stuff—not concrete measures to overthrow the existing government, The triumph of The Man in the High Castle, is, if you will, the possibly a difficult pill for the viewer to swallow. totality of its message. It delivers a strong performance in multiple areas It is clear that The Man in the High Castle is trying to challenge of evaluation: the cinematography, setting, and character-building are the viewer to question his beliefs. It is much more difficult to determine easily some of the best in recent years. Both writers are in agreement: exactly what beliefs the series is challenging. From the first episode The Man in the High Castle is the best thing to happen to the world onward, it is obvious that the writers are admirers of Hannah Arendt. since the Soviet Union won the Cold War. n

The Dark Side of Bond

By Johnathon L. Postiglione

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (Jonathon Cape, 213 pp) I read this book on a whim months after seeing and being satisfied with the movie Spectre. I was on a James Bond kick at that point, even buying the Barbour jacket from Skyfall in anticipation for the movie. With the movie over, and my thirst unquenched, I sought the other half of the Bond universe to satisfy it. After reading the first book in the long series, I can truly say that I now know the other half of James Bond. This story is not the kind that could easily be made into a movie. There’s plenty of suspense, plenty of action, and a fair bit of romance. However the tension manifests itself mainly in the telling of the final card game, which, absent Ian Fleming’s talent for storytelling, would appear tedious on the screen; the action is definitely intense, but includes a torture scene that, if translated literally, would turn off many viewers. Furthermore without the reader’s insights into the mind of Bond, a literal translation might easily cause the romance to appear as dry and just there for kicks. The movie is essentially a watered down Mr. Postiglione is a freshman at the College and a contributor to The Dartmouth Review.

version of the book, adjusted to appeal to crowds of people. is also Fleming’s first book. His style is much more refined Ian Fleming did not share these intentions. The movies do in later books, really solidifying in the novel From Russia a good job of bringing the anti-hero to the people, but the With Love. With all this in mind, this book distinguishes itbooks reveal a darker and more self from the rest of the franchise by sophisticated side of Bond. He is having Bond sit down, understand witty (although never outstandthe line of moral ambiguity in which ingly intelligent), brave, and mashe operates, and really contemplate culine. We knew all of that from his life and his role as a spy pages the movies. The books are where after the climax. Obviously, he not the other side of Bond really pokes only realizes that he is going to through all the facade of glamour. continue on his current path, but While he is a good man at heart, throws himself wholeheartedly into he is also a blunt instrument. Bond it. The rest of the books have action is reckless, physical, chauvinistic, to boot and speed on like a freight sometimes emotionally cold and train, but no other book dives into bitter, and has a serious problems the morality of life as a secret agent with alcohol, smoking, and gambling. In other words, he like this one. It is not necessary to present any further self is human. It is these flaws, only evident after reading the exploration by Bond—the knight doesn’t bother wondering books that make James Bond such an intriguing character whether or not he should slay the beast, he just does. While to read. the rest of the series is more a fairytale of super villains, The book itself is no literary masterpiece. It is an super plots, secret organizations all stopped by one man, this adventure, not a drama. The deis Bond at his most raw and vulnerable, n other words, Ian Fleming is and for that alone, it is worth the read. scriptions, while vivid, sometimes seem to overwhelm the pages, and You would read this book to see no Leo Tolstoy. But that is kind the dialogue occasionally tends to of the point. The purpose here is the beginnings of James Bond; to underdrag on. There are only five central stand why he has the license to kill, why he characters. There is no real theme, not to awe the reader with liter- is so cold, and where the character begins just a story. The whole book hap- ary talent, but rather to entertain. to blossom. Bond is not yet the invincible pens in the course of a few days. super spy that he later becomes. He doesn’t In other words, Ian Fleming is no Leo Tolstoy. But that is drive an Aston Martin (instead a Bentley 4.5 liter which is kind of the point. The purpose here is not to awe the reader still a magnificent car in its own right, fetching close to a with literary talent, but rather to entertain. The book is an million dollars today), he uses a Browning .22 instead of escape from reality, into the world of danger and intrigue, his signature Walther PPK, and he gets hurt, a lot. In Cawith fast cars, evil villains, and pretty women. The book sino Royale, James Bond goes through a crash course on is divided into three parts. In trying to cut out the spoilers, learning how to be a spy for MI6. He sees people that he I won’t go further than saying that the main plot is over cares about die, and you feel the emotion. This book, more by part two, and part three is there to further establish the than any spy book in recent memory, allowed me to relate character of James Bond and set up future novels. While to the main character. And that is saying a lot considering sometimes the style of the author is a bit too journalistic, it the scale to which the epic series later builds.

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Page 10 The Dartmouth Review January 18, 2016

The Conservative Plan to Win stance, Cruz tells the rather amusing story of his visit to United States. He harkens back to the days when belief in Dartmouth as a high school student: American exceptionalism was widespread. His passionate “My second choice would have been Dartmouth, which and unyielding belief in a deeply conservative vision for was an outstanding institution with an incredible campus America is clear. in the rather isolated town of Hanover, New Hampshire.

Cruz draws sharp contrasts between other Republican The students were very welcoming. On my visit there, figures and what he alleges is the corruption of Washington I spent the night with some Dartmouth students, who throughout the book. For example, when discussing his brought me to a frat party. What followed was an evening primary battle against David Dewhurst, he portrays his of dice games and significant quantities of beer. Much to opponent as an honorable and very nice man who will my parents’ displeasure, when they picked me up the next nonetheless do nothing to fight for conservative principles. day for our trip to Brown University, I was not in an ideal He describes the Republican Senators who did not stand frame of mind. In fact, at a meeting the next day with an with him against Obamacare in a similar light. The sharpadmissions counselor at Brown, I had to ask her to please est contrast, however, is drawn as Cruz describes his spat lower her voice because, I told her, I was hungover. That with Karl Rove, a favorite whipping boy of conservative probably did not leave the best of impressions.” activists, over George H.W. Bush’s endorsement of Cruz I, myself, have heard Cruz tell this story almost in the 2010 Texas attorney general election before Cruz word-for-word in person as he spoke to a few Dartmouth dropped out. Cruz makes some fairly explosive accusaCollege Republicans before a major event. No news on tions against Rove, as he often does against Republican whether he played pong while visiting Dartmouth. leadership in Congress. Part of Cruz’s framing is that the This scripted nature can easily be explained by a few objective facts are always on his side (that is why the key factors. For one, Cruz is a highly disciplined candidate, title is A Time for Truth), but the veracity of some of his avoiding the gaffes that have felled conservative politi- claims is hard to verify. In the end, it is about trust. cians in the past. He also has an audiographic memory, Given Cruz’s adversarial relationship with many Remeaning he has the ability of being able to remember any publicans, including most every other Republican Senator conversation verbatim. As such, it is not surprising that except for Mike Lee, it is important to take his stronger his content of his book matches up exceptionally well assertions with a grain of salt. While it is important to A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Miracle of America by with his in-person campaigning while providing addi- at least hear out Cruz’s viewpoint, it is also important to tional detail in its over 300 pages. Still, the consistency hear the chorus of other Republicans. It is easy enough Ted Cruz (Broadside Books, 400 pp.) in Cruz’s messaging is remarkable. The cover of A Time to find those willing to harp endlessly on Cruz, so A Time As the year of Donald J. Trump segues into 2016, for Truth is his Facebook profile picture. His campaign for Truth serves as a valuable counterpoint.

Whether one likes Cruz or vehemently dislikes one presidential contender has hitched himself onto the slogan is “courageous conservatives reigniting the promise him, A Time for Truth will Trump train with great success: Ted Cruz. While Trump of America,” while his four has dominated headlines and derailed the candidacies of super PACs are all named n my visit there, I spent the night certainly be a worthwhile One does not have to those who dared to attack him, such as Jeb Bush and Rand some variant of “keep the with some Dartmouth students, read. agree with Cruz’s admittedly Paul, Cruz has avoided direct confrontation with Trump promise,” referencing the book’s subtitle. The largest who brought me to a frat party. What controversial tactics to enjoy while assiduously courting his supporters.

It is all part of the Texas Senator’s sleeper campaign of the four super PACs, Keep followed was an evening of dice games the book. It is well written, and the biographical aspects to win the presidency, which seems to be finally coming the Promise III, even markets and significant quantities of beer.

Much itself as “reigniting the promof it are especially interestto fruition. Cruz is running in the conservative lane of to my parents’ displeasure, when they ing. Furthermore, now an the Republican primary, positioning himself as the most ise” in social media.

As a champion col- picked me up the next day for our trip to especially opportune time to consistently right-wing candidate. Instead of directly it, as Cruz’s strategy to attacking other candidates, Cruz hopes to pick up their legiate debater, Cruz is a Brown University, I was not in an ideal read win the Republican nominasupporters if and when they falter, consolidating the master at framing subjects tion by uniting conservatives conservative faction. It seems to be working, as Cruz is in his worldview, and this frame of mind. seems to be coming together. making a serious play for supporters of Rick Santorum, tendency is clear throughout Mike Huckabee, and Rand Paul. Cruz has slipstreamed his campaign. At third Republican presidential debate on Hints of the strategy are evident in the book. For example, behind a resurgent Trump to second place nationally while CNBC, rather than answering the biased and incompetent Cruz describes his support for Paul’s drone filibuster taking first place in Iowa, the all-important caucus state. moderators’ question, he delivered a scathing indictment of while claiming that Paul was insufficiently dedicated to It has been quite some time since movement conserva- the liberal media. In A Time for Truth, he does essentially defunding Obamacare, clearly appealing to Paul’s natural tives have been able to choose the Republican presidential the same thing throughout. His pitch is always the same. consistency of hardcore libertarians.

In these times, we have not seen a movement connominee. Divided into evangelical, Tea Party, and libertar- The Republican establishment is spineless and enables ian factions, among others, they have not gained the critical President Obama’s radical agenda, which is destroying servative candidate like Cruz. They are usually poorly mass necessary to overcome a party establishment that the greatness of America. Republicans need a courageous funded and poorly disciplined—as exemplified by recent quickly coalesces around a moderate frontrunner such as conservative who will fight for conservative values, even Senate candidate Greg Brennan’s assertion that the right to bear arms extends to nuclear weapons. Cruz is differMitt Romney or John McCain. Seeing an opportunity in a when it gets tough.

Cruz intends to be that ent. He is running as an unabashed conservative intent fractured 2016 field where n A Time for Truth, Cruz lays out the ra- courageous conservative. on reclaiming the mantle of the Reagan Revolution, but the establishment seems to have difficulty decidtionale for his candidacy in great detail, In his description of every he is doing it smartly. In 2016, Cruz has a real chance of single conflict, he posi- winning, and A Time for Truth clearly elucidates exactly ing among Bush, Marco detailing his journey as the son of an im- tions himself as the most why that is. n Rubio, Chris Christie, or John Kasich, Cruz hopes migrant father. The topics covered are ex- consistent conservative on to reverse that historical pansive, ranging from his time at Princeton every issue from national sovereignty to the Second tendency. His campaign and Harvard Law School to his experience Amendment to Obamacare. book, A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of as a policy adviser on George W. Bush’s The overarching narrative is that he can always be America, anchors his vi- presidential campaign. trusted to fight for consersion and message with a vative values, and the purpose of fighting so hard is to blueprint for conservatives to win in 2016.

In A Time for Truth, Cruz lays out the rationale for his restore America’s promise of freedom and opportunity. candidacy in great detail, detailing his journey as the son This framing begins as soon as Cruz describes his backof an immigrant father. The topics covered are expansive, ground, using Reaganesque rhetoric: It is difficult for many of us to fully comprehend what ranging from his time at Princeton and Harvard Law School a beacon of hope this country offers the rest of the to his experience as a policy adviser on George W. Bush’s world. There is no other place on earth that would presidential campaign. Of course, he also discusses his have welcomed so freely to its shores a man like more well-known record of constitutional litigation as Rafael Cruz. He was eighteen, penniless, and spoke solicitor general of Texas and the fights he picked with no English. He owned three things: the suit on his the Republican establishment in the U.S. Senate, includback, a slide rule in his pocket, and a hundred dollars ing the 2013 federal government shutdown. that my grandmother had sewn into his underwear.

Cruz is a highly scripted candidate, and A Time for America, quite simply, saved my father. America gave Truth is a highly scripted campaign book. From following the trajectory of Cruz’s campaign, it is clear that much him a chance.

He champions the narrative of the American Dream of his speeches and direct contact with voters include a simple regurgitation of the stories in the book. For in- lived by he and his father, underscoring why exactly he fights so hard when it would be easier to simply go along to get along in Washington. Cruz occasionally portrays Mr. Chen is a junior at the College and an Executive himself as a pragmatist, but he is downright righteous Editor at The Dartmouth Review. in his quest to be elected the forty-fifth President of the

By Brian Chen

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January 18, 2016 The Dartmouth Review Page 11

Back Home in Maycomb

By Hollye K. Swinehart

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (Harper Collins; 278 pp.)

Harper Lee’s recently published novel Go Set A Watchman has questionable origins. Whether it is the first rough draft of the classic novel To Kill a Mocking Bird or an entirely new work, the book offers a jarring reality check for Lee’s prior audience. The majority of American students have at the very least watched the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, and we hold the cast of characters within Maycomb fondly in our hearts. While many readers will try to put aside personal expectations for Scout, Jem, andAtticus, it is hard to read the new novel free from biases derived from reading To Kill a Mockingbird in eighth grade.

Go Set a Watchman takes place approximately twenty years after our last encounter with the Finches. Scout is no longer a young girl, but a cultured New York City woman who goes by Jean Louise. Jean Louise is returning home for her annual visit to Maycomb. From the start of Go Set a Watchman, Lee paints Jean Louise as an outsider in her home. Lee succeeds in creating an adult woman complex enough to reflect young Scout’s inquisitive Ms. Swinehart is a sophomore at the College and contributor to The Dartmouth Review.

and stubborn nature, but the other characters in the novel seem to be lacking development. If one read Go Set a Watchman without knowledge of To Kill a Mockingbird, the characters and plot would lack depth. When Jean returns home readers are introduced to Maycomb and the Finches in a jolting manner. Jean’s new love interest, Henry Clinton, takes the place of Jem as her logical, mature counterpart. Lee actually manages to introduce Henry thoroughly, which cannot be said for Atticus, Aunt Alexandra, or Dr. Finch. Of all the characters in Go Set a Watchman it is Henry, not Atticus that evokes empathy from the reader.

At the beginning of the novel Lee captures her audience by summarizing events that have occurred in the past twenty years.

The first few chapters of the book transport the reader back into a time and place that, despite its differences, seems to mirror present day social and political atmosphere. Jean has changed, but Maycomb has not. This disparity sets the stage for a conflict that only starts to develop two hundred pages later. The first hundred pages of the novel feel as if Jean is wandering around Maycomb attempting to regain her bearings in the place that she grew up in. In the years Jean has lived in New York she appears to have forgotten the rules of etiquette in delicate southern society. Despite her Aunt Alexandra’s belligerent attempts to teach her the proper way to behave, Jean remains overtly critical of Maycombian ways.

This portion of the novel slows the pace of the story and is mostly irrelevant to the plot as a whole.

Interspersed throughout these pages are flashbacks to Jean’s childhood. The naiveté and raw emotion Jean displays remind the reader of To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee skillfully captures the nature of childhood affection in these anecdotes by emphasizing Jean’s (Scout’s) capacity to love anyone without prejudice. These unbridled affections remain with her until adulthood, especially in regards to Calpurnia. Jean’s memories provide context for new characters, but most importantly clarify how Jean could grow up to be color blind unlike the rest of Maycomb.

After enduring a hundred pages that drain the reader’s interest, the book finally begins to regain momentum. The novel suddenly shifts gears and the underlying conflict presents itself. Jean discovers that Henry and Atticus have been attending town council meetings. Not only is the council made up of immoral, dubious men, but the council also opposes the NAACP. Atticus is not

impervious to racism after all. To make matters worse, Calpurnia, who we all remember as Scout’s black maid and mother figure, makes it clear that their relationship will never be the same when Jean visits. In a meager chapter Jean loses all faith in her father.

From this moment on, racial dialogue is the only priority of the novel. Jean is forced to confront almost everyone she loves in regards to their hypocritical, racist actions. When Jean finally faces Atticus, she dominates the conversation, and it seems that Lee misses an opportunity for valuable, intellectual dialogue. Jean manages to point out the faults with Atticus’ actions, but fails to offer a comprehensive understanding of the consequences of Roe v. Wade. Atticus, who is unfailingly loyal to the law, now wishes to slow the carrying out of justice since he believes blacks to be backward, infantile, and incapable of carrying out civil duties.

Many readers will be just as disappointed in Atticus as they were in Jean. Though Atticus’ paternalistic perspective is disconcerting, one would do well to remember that it reflects a realistic and prevalent view of many Southerners. No one is perfect, and Lee makes Atticus a far more dynamic character by highlighting a flaw that haunted numerous otherwise ethical American citizens both Southern and otherwise. It is important to remember that despite Atticus’ new flaws he did raise a child with a conscience unfettered by southern prejudices.

In conclusion, if Lee was attempting to write a race novel she was too concerned with other petty aspects of southern society to accomplish her goal perfectly. However, Go Set a Watchman is worth reading for all who have patiently waited all these years for the conclusion of Scout’s story, and the last sixty pages of the book are thought provoking and brutally honest. Nevertheless, the climax and resolution feel disjointed from the first two hundred pages of the book. It is as if Lee could only embrace the consequences of confronting prejudice after wandering through her own memories and emerging with a perspective of detached reason. Despite the slow start, Lee is able to create a second coming-of-age novel that completes the ethical awakening that begins in the young mind of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Seven pages before completion, Lee redeems the flawed novel in a single sentence: “Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends.” n

Growing the Land of Cotton

By Brandon G. Gill

Mastering America by Robert E. Bonner (Cambridge University Press; 368 pp.)

After the American colonies heeded Benjamin Franklin’s advice to “join” rather than to “die,” the political bonds that tied our great nation together loosened, frayed and eventually broke. Most educated Americans have some conception of the causes of the Civil War and cannameparticularlyinfluentialpointsofcontingencyduringthecourse of antebellum American political disintegration. The invention of the cotton gin in 1797 helped precipitate the explosion of a massive slave based economy that exported “King Cotton” all over the world. At the same time, the growth of abolitionist sentiment in the North coincided with widening economic divisions between the two regions: the nation was drifting apart. After the Mexican War, the 1850s witnessed a series of events harbingering the breakdown of political authority in the South.

The Compromise of 1850, the rise of the Republican Party, Bleeding Kansas, the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and the Dred Scott decision (to name but a few) all came to a head. At the turn of the decade, Lincoln’s election was the final straw. Between Election Day and his inauguration, seven states had already succeeded, with four more to follow.The next five years would witness the bloodiest war inAmerican history to date and the bloodiest conflict ever to occur onAmerican soil, causing the deaths of over 625,000 Union and Confederate soldiers.

Those parts of the American national narrative are well known.

However, one aspect of the story has been given less attention: the series of events and understandings that led to the development of a nationalistic Southern identity that was consummated and solidified in the Confederate States. Robert Bonner, Chair of the Dartmouth History Mr. Gill is a senior at the College and the President of The Dartmouth Review.

Department, in his Mastering America: Southern Slaveholders and the Crisis of American Nationhood deftly follows this development, revealing the interesting intellectual, social and political history of the SouthernnationalismthroughoutantebellumAmerica.Itisaworkoftrue scholarly achievement. He adroitly traces different strands of Southern nationalism from their sources, shedding light on a complex identity that had been in the works for many years before the bombardment at Fort Sumter.

The South didn’t always have such an assertive self-perception.

As Bonner relates, around the time of the nation’s founding, one of the most influential commentaries on the Southern economy came from Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, in which he condemned slavery for its barbarity and harm to republican virtue. (Of course,Jefferson’sconvictionswerelessstringentwithregardstohisown Virginia plantation). Nevertheless, there was a strong feeling during the early republic that slavery was holding the South back. Slave uprisings intheCaribbeanduringthe1790s,particularlyinSaint-Domingue(now Haiti) reinforced a narrative that the slave system was unstable, liable to fall, and that the South was relatively weak and incapable of controlling it. In fact, even many Southerners internalized this perception.

However, by the 1830s, the founding generation was dying off, and a new set of leaders began to take their place. This generation of more assertive slaveholding politicians (think Andrew Jackson) began to declare Southern economic dominance, military capabilities, and social strength. No longer was the slave society seen to be inherently explosive. By contrast, the South began to see itself as the model for stability. Jefferson Davis’ proclamation in 1848 that he had “no more dread of our slaves than I have of our cattle” was typical of this “Great Reaction.” With its renewed confidence, ambitious proslavery leaders shifted their sights westward into Texas and beyond. With two-thirds of the American force in the Mexican war being composed of citizens from slave states, slavery was said to have had a natural home there.

At the same time, Northern abolitionists were looking westward.

Texas’ admission into the Union maintained the slave-free state balance; however, westward expansion was continually an issue. With the admission of California to the Union as a free state, thus shifting the balance of Congressional power towards free states, “the standard of measurement changed, and the important test became whether slaveholders could retain an effective veto of constitutional change.”

At the same time, Southern constitutional thought was taking a decidedly anti-nationalist turn. Virginians such as planter John Tyler foresaw the growing threat of “consolidationism.” They argued vehemently against the Marshall Court’s use of the terms “American people” or “national government” as opposed to the more Jeffersonian conception

that America was composed of a confederation of nearly independent states. Semantic battles evolved into more substantive debates about the balance of power between the federal government and the states and the need for forceful subjugation of the Southern slave force. Fastidious observanceofCaribbeanabolitionismtaughtSouthernslaveholdersthat slavery could be ended gradually and peaceful under the guidance of a strongcentralgovernment,furtherexacerbatingSouthernapprehension of a federal power.

As the book progresses, Bonner is particularly adept at articulating the relationship between slavery and a complex maturation of constitutional thought in the South. The ideas of John C. Calhoun, one of the South’s most well spoken thinkers and an advocate of slavery, altered the trajectory of intellectual discourse. His recognition that “the Constitution may be as grossly violated by acting against its meaning as against its letter” led him to later speak in terms of states rights, a powerful rhetorical move that still has salience today. Of course, some of his other ideas - like his suggestion that the United States have a dual presidency - were less persuasive.

Bonner explores various other areas of nationalistic development.

He investigates the cultural and moral framework that developed, as well as the fight for a Southern conception of civilization based on racial bondage. The South developed a unique religious culture, as well.

The division of Christian institutions and organizations during the late antebellumperiod,aphenomenonBonnerexploresinfascinatingdetail, foreshadowed the subsequent breakup of the Union. The region further set itself apart by developing its own nationalistic historical consciousness. As Bonner relays, in so many ways, the South was forming its own national identity long before the breakup of the union.

In 1831 whenAlexis de Tocqueville visited the United States from France, he was struck by the economic and social disparity between the North and the South. Standing upon the banks of the Ohio River between Mississippi and Ohio, he pondered: “Upon the [Mississippi] bank of the stream… society seems to be asleep, man to be idle, and nature alone offers a scene of activity and of life. From the [Ohio] bank, on the contrary, a confused hum is heard which proclaims the presence of industry; the fields are covered with abundant harvests… and man appears to be in the enjoyment of that wealth and contentment which is the reward of labor.”The uniqueness of the Southern identity was rooted in this striking contrast. Mastering America explains in nuanced and scholarly detail the way slave society fed into a Southern self-perception and nationalism that eventually torn our nation apart. It is a fascinating work, impressive in its erudition, nuanced in its argumentation, and novel in its subject matter: a great book for any history buff interested in the Civil War or antebellum political development. n

Page 12 The Dartmouth Review January 18, 2016

Hedging Against Genius unofficial spin-off of Salomon’s Arbitrage Group. John up to par with Lewis’, and although When Genius Failed Meriwether founded it after his unceremonious (read: included more of the human side rather than the techniforced) departure from Salomon involving a subordi- cal details of finance which Lewis rarely departs from, nate’s flirtations with white collar crime. What Meri- I found Lowenstein’s work rather refreshing. wether’s Arbitrage Group did at Salomon is what’s now The effects on actual people of such catastrophic known as “picking up nickels in front of a bulldozer”. failures of firms are rarely considered. The general Picking up these nickels, and then leveraging these bets public’s attitude toward it is one of apathy or hate, not to monumental extremes, is what led to the Arbitrage of pity, it is assumed these Wall Street financiers have Group generating practically all of Salomon’s profits golden handcuffs to fall back on. Ironically, Long-Term’s from the late ’80s to the early ’90s. leaders, fairly soon before their complete collapse, Both at Salomon and later forced many of their investors LTCM, Meriwether and his band hat Meriwether’s Arbitrage to withdraw their money from of computational model wielding firm, leaving the firm with Group did at Salomon is the traders were guided by one cenmuch less equity, most of which tral investment thesis—that bond what’s now known as “picking up was the employees and LTCM’s spreads, in certain situations, nickels in front of a bulldozer.” leaders’ own money. will drop to zero over time. For Long-Term’s investors vigorexample, LTCM had billions riding on the hopes that, ously complained about this forced withdrawal, but if Italy and Germany adopt the Euro, the difference in ultimately this decision protected their investments from interest rates between the two countries’ debt (a roughly being annihilated, while also compounding the problems 2% spread at the time) would drop heavily. I’ll leave leading to the collapse of the firm. explaining the mechanics of this trade (and many more, It was interesting reading about how Long-Term’s much more intricate trades) to Lowenstein, as he is a leaders went all-in in terms of their personal savings natural expert at breaking down complicated financial (or not) into the fund, and learning how they turned out contracts and describing them in plain English. after the eventual bailout by a coalition of sixteen of That gets to the heart of what makes When Genius LTCM’s counterparties. Long-Term’s executives learned Failed so revered and included in so many lists of must the hard way one of the few things John Maynard Keynes When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term read books about finance. Lowenstein is masterful at got right in his life; that “The market can stay irrational Capital Management by Roger Lowenstein (Random breaking down the craziest trades that federal regulators longer than you can stay solvent.”

House; 288 pp.) and the top financial ratings industries couldn’t wrap Ultimately, many of LTCM’s positions that were their heads around deeply red at their lowest

This is the tale of the Great Recession—or (I won’t comment point, heavily recovered at least, what damn near caused it to hit us ten years on what that means and made many of the banks early. about Lownstein’s which bought out Longintellect or the comTerm’s positions a pretty The source of the trouble seemed so small, so petency of our wonpenny. Unfortunately for laughably remote, as to be insignificant. But derful regulators).

Long-Term, the nickels isn’t it always that way? A load of tea is dumped Lowenstein takes ran out, and the bulldozer into a harbor, an archduke is shot, and suddenly this simple English caught up. a tinderbox is lit, a crisis erupts, and the world and weaves it into

The two complaints I is different. In this case, the shot was Longthe emotional tale of have about this book are Term Capital Management, a private investment Long-Term revolvminor. One is that the image partnership with its headquarters in Greenwich, ing around many of quality of the background Connecticut a posh suburb some forty miles from its top employees. on the book jacket is terribly Wall Street. LTCM managed money for only one To appeal to those, pixelated. This irritated me hundred investors, it employed not quite two who, unlike me, may to no end, but Lowenstien hundred people, and surely not one American in not find those dewas probably at no fault a hundred had ever heard of it. Indeed, five years John Meriwethe, Vice chairman of Solomon Brothersr and tails very engaging, in this decision.The second earlier, LTCM had not even existed.

Founder of Long-Term Capital Management Lowenstein often dis(and far less serious) issue In writing this book review, I would have been cusses the lives, opinions, and mistakes of the employees. stems from the fact that I love reading about the nittyperfectly content with copying Lowenstein’s entire Office politics and growing tensions, both between the gritty of extraordinarily intricate financial transactions, introduction and allowing it to speak for the quality “inner circle” and the common staff, and interestingly and would have liked to see more of that in the book. of this book. When Genius Failed is truly a financial between Meriwether, Hillibrand, and Haghani versus the But I think even scholarly articles on finance can’t epic; a captivating saga of a storm popping up out of rest of the “inner circle” mirrored LTCM’s impending truly delve into the details that much without putting-off thin air and just as quickly going out with a bang. Our doom. their intended target audience, and clearly Lowenstein country’s finest “meteorologists”—both private and It is truly amazing how much access and detail Low- wanted to make this accessible to the financial laypergovernmental—could not predict its rise, its success, enstein was able to gain on the inner mechanisms and son, and he has done a stupendous job of ensuring that. nor, especially, its collapse. Ultimately, a last minute even the minds of the wizards at LTCM. LTCM and its I’m glad I read this book, and I will certainly be get-together of top financiers hosted by the New York employees were practically impenetrable to the media, making my way through Lowenstein’s collection of Federal Reserve mitigated the rippling and potentially if members of the press paid much attention to them at other award-winning books, and although it may seem crippling financial effects of this storm, preventing a all. As Lowenstein describes in the book, LTCM and that I’ve spoiled a lot of the book, what I’ve mentioned full-on collapse of our banking system. its executives valued discretion only second to profits. here only gives an inkling of insight into the hisLowenstein follows the meteoric rise and fall of LongLowenstein should be applauded for the story he tells, but tory of Long Term Capital Management. One can only Term Capital Management, a bond-focused quantitative I would argue that even worthier of praise is his ability wonder what firm will collapse this catastrophically hedge fund run by heavyweights both from Wall Street to get interviews and so many insights penetrating deep next. I know I’ll be looking forward to Lowenstein’s and academia. The twin Nobel laureate studded staff, into LTCM’s inner workings. Early on in his research in-depth analysis for whenever that happens. n many poached from efforts for this book, Lowenstein Salomon Brother’s would have been perfectly content with was shut out from formal access Arbitrage Group— which founder John copying Lowenstein’s entire introduction to LTCM, which obviously did not deter him. Lowenstein persisted, Meriwether once and allowing it to speak for the quality of getting access to LTCM communiled—had the utqués to investors, interviews from most confidence in this book. both LTCM employees as well as their complicated employees managing LTCM’s accounts at the financial models and strategy of leveraging a “sure bet” to an institutions LTCM so heavily relied on. Lowenstein is extreme. But of course; in life; and especially finance, one of the greatest investigative financial reporters of nothing is ever certain (barring death—and even worse, our time, and When Genius Failed is his magnum opus. taxes). The firm, once hailed as being filled with geniuses Michael Lewis is likely the most well-known writer and wizards, who had quadrupled initial investors’ money of non-fiction about finance. From Lewis’ Liar’s Poker in as many years, found that out in a painful manner: “If (which Lowenstein defers to, and is nearly a quasiyou invested $1 in LTCM at its founding in March 1994 prequel to When Genius Failed) to his The Big Short and cashed out in April 1998, you would have received (a sequel to both Liar’s Poker and in my mind When $4.08 before fees. If you waited until October of that Genius Failed) Lewis has a firm foothold on a list of year, you would have gotten about $.30.” all-time best selling financial non-fiction books. Having Long-Term Capital Management is essentially an read all three, I regard When Genius Failed as a sort

Mr. Khanna is s freshman at the College and is.a of connecting piece between the two aforementioned Roving Editor at the Dartmouth Review.

Lewis works. Lowenstein’s writing quality is certainly

By Vibhor Khanna

W

I

January 18, 2016 The Dartmouth Review Page 13

A Second Look at our Second President

By Samuel W. Lawhon

John Adams by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster; 751 pp.)

John Adams is, in short, excellent. David McCullough’s tome is both a well-crafted narrative and a rich, historical account. In many ways, John Adams is a biography of the man in his own words.

Throughout the book, McCullough draws heavily from Adams’ own writing. In fact, it is rare to find a page without several embedded quotations. Adams certainly left lots of material to draw on. He wrote vast numbers of letters throughout his lifetime and preserved his thoughts in a well-kept diary. The frequent use of Adams’ own writing engenders a feeling of closeness with the man, which would be difficult to achieve without McCullough’s extensive research.

However, McCullough refused to blindly accept what Adams wrote.

In one particularly amusing passage, McCullough explains how there were two, contrasting versions of how Jefferson came to be assigned the task of writing the Declaration of Independence. According to Jefferson, he was chosen unanimously by the committee.

But according to Adams, Jefferson had initially suggested that he (Adams) should write it. As a gentleman, Adams refused to accept it, claiming that Jefferson was the better writer. Weighing these two versions, McCullough comes to the conclusion that if one of them was misremembering, it was probablyAdams, for his “tone of … selfdeprecation” was developed only in the later years of his life.Another Mr. Lawhon is a freshman at the College and a contributor to The Dartmouth Review.

fascinating moment where McCullough steps in to second guess his subject is while discussing the signing of the Declaration. Though it was passed on July 4, 1776, the document was not signed by all the delegates until August 2. This fact, however, was misremembered by both Adams and Jefferson, who “in old age…would both stubbornly and incorrectly insist that the signing took place on July 4.” In John Adams, David McCullough demonstrates his ability to distill vast amounts of research into a coherent narrative while allowing room for his own interpretation.

McCullough’s work draws the reader in to early America with detailed descriptions of setting and character. His lengthy depictions of setting anchor the narrative in an otherwise foreign time and place.

For example, before writing about the Constitutional Convention, McCullough describes the city of Philadelphia, its climate, people, and history, for five pages. McCullough’s description of people is equally thorough; his careful attention to ordinary detail humanizes these distant figures. While describing Jefferson in London, McCullough writes that he went on a “shopping spree” buying both a “microscope” and “a satin ‘Florentine’ breeches.” In an exchange that transcends time, John and Abigail advise their son to study more and party less; McCullough writes that while “John Quincy required a warning against the perils of the midnight lamp, Charles needed reminding that such a lamp existed.” JohnAdams the patriot becomes John Adams the parent as he gently reprimands his son, writing “You have in your nature a sociability, Charles, which is amiable, but may mislead you.” McCullough’s thorough attention to detail made the book very enjoyable to read. He paints vivid pictures of character and place that are both enthralling and historically illuminating.

The book is especially valuable because it sheds new insight on the precise ideology of the founding father. A common criticism of Adams is that he was a defender of aristocracy and monarchy. It is thus surprising to learn that this allegation was, in fact, deeply offensive to Adams and far from the truth. McCullough’s book does a thorough job of elucidating the political philosophy of one of our

greatest statesmen. He explains that John Adams believed men were only created equal morally and politically. Inevitably, he thought, a natural aristocracy will develop. In a pure democracy Adams wrote, these men would dominate the passions of the common people and become oligarchs. Thus, he reasoned that the interests of the natural aristocracy must be consigned to one branch of legislature, the Senate. This belief drew ire and condemnation from many sources. The Republican press began referring to Adams as “His Rotundity,” mocking both his supposed monarchism and his notable girth. All of this information about Adams’ political philosophy and unfortunate nick-name could be found with a bit of research. What makes McCullough’s book compelling is how he weaves these facts into an engaging historical narrative.

That, ultimately, is what makes John Adams truly great. David McCullough is a master story-teller. He deliberately chooses to focus on all aspects of Adams’ life, not just the great political decisions for which he is known. One common theme that runs through the entire text is the enduring love between John and Abigail. They were each other’s “dearest friend.” David McCullough’s inclusion of block quotes from their letters is at times inspiring and heart-breaking.

Often, while Adams was away in Europe on diplomatic missions, their letters would take two months to travel, if they ever completed the journey at all. It is telling that throughout all the epoch-making events in his life, Adams expressed a chronic desire to return to his farm in Massachusetts. John Adams wrote to his son John Quincy that the four years on his farm, which immediately followed his four years in office, were the best of his life.

McCollough’s John Adams is an extremely well written and highly engaging account of the founding father. McCullough’s propensity to quote from Adams’own writing gives the book authority, while his skill as a story-teller makes it quite an enjoyable read.

Discussion of the book’s themes in one review is difficult, because it is a story encompassing war, love, politics, and history. If any one of those piques interest, John Adams would be a good read. n

Meet the New Spy, Same as the Old Spy

By Antal Dukay

The New Spymasters by Stephen Grey (St. Martin’s Press; 368 pp.)

Some say espionage is the world’s second oldest profession (I’ll let you guess the first). Nonetheless, a loudening chorus in Western intelligence circles have questioned the need for old-fashioned spycraft in the face of growing technological advances. Yet some, including former intelligence agents and other authorities on espionage, like journalist Stephen Grey, have bemoaned the dearth of reliable human intelligence. Grey’s The New Spymasters powerfully rebukes Western intelligence agencies–namely, though not exclusively, the CIA and MI6—for having grown over-dependent on SIGINT (“Signals intelligence,” or intelligence acquired through various technological means) to such an extent as to overlook HUMINT (“Human intelligence,” which is acquired by spymasters though in-the-flesh interactions).

Grey also criticizes “over-militarization” of the Western intelligences agencies—though particularly the CIA—as budgets mushroomed and oversight fell post-9/11. The New Spymasters communicates these recommendations through a tour de force history of twentieth and twenty-first century spycraft into three increasingly detailed segments.

The most important distinction in espionage between spies and spymasters, which is frighteningly poorly understood by a public whose main conceptions thereof draw upon pop culture portrayals such as James Bond, Jason Bourne or Jack Bauer. On the one hand, spymasters “recruit or ‘handle’ the agents and are career professionals employed by agencies like the CIA and Britain’s SIS. These spymasters go about recruiting others—“mostly foreigners and mainly amateurs”—who will do the actual spying, usually in return for compensation of some form or another. Those who are recruited to spy in turn provide their handlers with information which they may otherwise not have had access to. This is the process of acquiring HUMINT. Spies, rather than their frequently sheltered spymasters, undergo the real risk: they are the ones who betray their country (or organization); they face near certain torture and death if exposed.

Mr. Dukay is a student at the College and a contributor to The Dartmouth Review.

Of course, lines are blurred as some spies can develop their own networks and become spymasters; likewise, spymasters might get “turned” by one of their spies and become double agents. Nonetheless, the key distinction between the spy and spymaster stands: the formers produces information, the latter collects it to pass on to his superiors.

By the close of the twentieth century, Western Intelligence agencies had gradually and increasingly neglected this method of intelligence gathering in favor of SIGINT, which was considered “sexier” and safer. Already, by 1980 the Carter administration had drastically reduced clandestine espionage carried out by the CIA. Reaganthenbannedtargetedassassinations,furtherclippingthewings of clandestine operations. When the Communist threat receded with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, leading Western pundits predicted “the end of history.” Quietly, many felt that intelligence agencies should go too; at very least there was a broad Western consensus to discontinue some the nastier and riskier habits of human espionage. The United Kingdom fell in line with this American-led groupthink after peace broke out in Northern Ireland in 1997. What followed was an intelligence disaster of cosmic proportions: the complete failure to predict the rise radical Sunni Islamic terror. Of course, individual failures to predict attacks across the West – most poignantly on 9/11, but also attacks in London, Paris, and Madrid (to name a few), have had severe consequences. But the greatest failure was the global lack of preparedness or even perception of the general threat at hand. MI5 captured the mood of the hour when it wrote in 1995 that “Suggestions in the press of a world-wide Islamic extremist network poised to launch terrorist attacks against the West are greatly exaggerated.” As a consequence, Grey insists, Western intelligence agencies have had to play catch up to Islamic Terrorism whilst usually languishing one or two steps behind.

Grey’s meticulous analysis of the conflict between Western Intelligence agencies and various Islamic terror groups – most notably Al-Qaeda and now the Islamic State – is fascinating and breathtakingly detailed: broadly speaking, after the end of the Cold War, Western Agencies developed a more consumerist outlook on the intelligence they produced; a politician satisfied with the reports meeting his desk was more likely to advocate for maintaining intelligencebudgets.Indeed,intelligenceagencieshadtovigorouslydefend funding in ways inconceivable during the espionage-dominated Cold War. The result was a lurch towards tangibles such as gadgets, larger workforces and counter-narcotics operations. Meanwhile, stations worldwide were either being shrunk or shut down. Language capabilities—from obvious choices like Arabic and Farsi to even more obscure tongues—were being neglected. Consequently, theWest was caught off-guard by the rise of radical Sunni terrorism. With time, the West was able to turn some members of Islamic terror organizations, saving countless more lives, most notably in an abortive bombing attempt in Barcelona. However, Islamic terror—as opposed to say

the more insular IRA, ETA or the titanic but sluggish monolith of Soviet Intelligence—adapts very rapidly. The analogy Grey uses is that of a flock of birds constantly adapting and changing, one step ahead of the Western agencies chasing them.

Consequently,hittingbackhasbeenmuchharder.Indeed,Islamic terror’s global presence, fluid structure, and large pool of recruits has lent it a Hydra-like ability to endure America’s War on Terror. For example, America expected a quick victory when she invaded Afghanistan and, in alliance with the Russian-backed NorthernAlliance toppled Taliban in 2001. Indeed, the initial collapse of the Taliban was vindication of the CIAand Special Forces working alongside Muslim parties sympathetic to US interests. But even then, Bin Laden was able to escape American forces at Tora Bora in 2001. His assassination, a decade later, was clear validation of how the CIA had adopted to the exigencies of the war on terror. Nonetheless, by the time of Bin Laden’s delayed demise, the tentacles of terrorism had spread further in the wake of the political instability wrought by the Arab Spring.

Whilst the Obama administration did bungle its’ political response to the Arab Spring, at least his large-scale weaponization of drones has increased pro-American firepower whilst decreasing the need for boots on the ground. Even as drone warfare has revolutionized the modern battlefield, Islamist terrorist continue to hide amongst and radicalize civilians as in Paris and San Bernardino. Islamic terrorism, constantly mutating and adapting is the parasite of our times and will not be overcome simply through brute force. As Grey points out, ultimately only a well-funded and organized HUMINT program—adequate resources for counter-terrorism—can stop this.

The question of how much force is appropriate, or indeed just, is repeatedly engaged in The New Spymasters. Grey’s response exposes his slight bias towards velvet-gloved approaches: despite singing the praisesofHUMINT,Greybalksattheprospectofextraordinaryrendition.

Though glorified torture is hardly the razor edge of intelligence collection, it has at times proved crucial. The Bush administration’s policies of extraordinary rendition have certainly been met with a modicum of spirited criticism. If the CIA had developed better spy networks across the Islamic world in the 1990s, there might not have been such a need for enhanced interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. However, there is little doubt that information acquired there was crucial to the CIA in the mid-to-late 2000s. The sharp-edged polices of the Bush administration will obviously remain controversial for years to come; we must not forget that it used fire to fight fire. Overall, Grey’s advances a long way towards dispelling widely-held misconceptions and informing the reader about the sinister realities of spycraft. Unlike former spy memoirs usually packaged as “inside accounts,” Grey’s account is unashamedly that of a critical outsider. As a consequence, The New Spymasters remains un-censored by any former employer. Grey capitalizes on this in much the same ways as Machiavelli did when writing The Prince, where he argued that only a true outsider can understand – or indeed judge—spycraft. n

Page 14 The Dartmouth Review January 18, 2016

Thirty Years of Krauthammer The book’s highlights are the several distinguished In the more current Fisher v. University of Texas case, essays – on Zionism, bioethics, and America’s global the climate remains similar. Krauthammer goes as far role—that have each had their own influence on national as to deem the Court’s stance on the issue as morally policy. The four categories—“Personal”, “Political”, ambiguous and intellectually incoherent. Furthermore, “Historical”, and “Global” – give insights into topics he calls out the hypocrisy of the policy for being fundaranging from Winston Churchill to the Martin Luther mentally discriminatory and even promoting inequality.

King monument, from global warming to Iraq, from He lays out the social costs of such a policy that no one baseball to the Hayden Planetarium. Many articles has dared publically discuss, namely, the adverse effects relate back to American politics, though Krauthammer on race relations and the attack on the constitutional does not write from a right-leaning ideology (he was a principle of equality. However, Krauthammer does not centrist in college who evolved into a encourage the expedient s long as the United States solution of court action nineteenth century liberal, in line, now, with modern conservatism), but from a acts with limited, narrow on this matter, instead standpoint of logic and rationality that adhering to the principle he honed and developed along his own intention, it can honorably fulfill that national policies educational journey. The pieces reflect its duty of spreading democracy should be decided by expositions and proposed solutions to and ensuring liberty. citizen vote and legislaproblems stemming back from the ’80s, ture. Krauthammer’s firm but which remain unresolved today. Krauthammer cuts values prevail on this stance – one of the many reasons neither party slack, criticizing mainly the modern politi- his work receives recognition which spans across the cal climate that all too easily disregards the history of entire political spectrum. both the nation and the world.

In another article, “The ‘90s: Serenity”, Chapter For young readers in search of some direction in 13, Krauthammer discusses the modern phenomena of the way of approaching and understanding the pressing a wide-spread desensitization to America’s remarkable issues facing our country during this election season, general wealth. He calls out the country for its tendency, Krauthammer provides an insightful introduction to the as a prosperous nation, to seek out “bad news” and to true roots of many of the conflicts most often forgotten inflate situations until they reach a news-worthy standard. in partisan rhetoric. He expertly captures the nature of Perhaps the book’s most impressive segment is Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pasa variety of controversial issues and has a remarkable the collection of three essays, adapted from lectures, times and Politics by Charles Krauthammer (Crown capacity to lay out their broader implications. In his es- which comment on America’s power shift as the global Publishing Group; 416 pp.) says, he reflects on the complexities of issues ranging landscape transformed through the Cold War, the Iraq from stem cell research to relations with Israel, describing War, and a series of technological advancements.

Charles Krauthammer, Pulitzer-prize winner and our decision making processes clearly from beginning Krauthammer shares a disconcerting vision of how the nationally syndicated columnist, released in 2014 his to end. Krauthammer once again proves himself as an world’s future might look if the United States’ global book entitled Things That Matter: Three Decades of exemplary political thinker in that, while he honors his- democratic presence continues to recede, as new schools Passions, Pastimes and Politics, a hand-picked collection tory, he has the critical judgment to recognize the danger of isolationist political thought emerge. Krauthammer of articles amassed over his career. Krauthammer’s work in sacrificing a stable future for an expedient solution. acknowledges that Americans are justified in feeling is a timeless testimony to the power of astute inquisiA poignant highlight exemplifying Krauthammer’s uncomfortable as the super power in a unipolar world, tion, his honest analysis now especially relevant to the capacity as an impressive political thinker is a piece but he emphasizes that the role the U.S. has played on politically-minded as the country enters the 2016 elec- entitled “Going Negative” found in “Chapter 7: Citizen a global scale is by no means an active quest for hegetion year. Things That Matter contains the best articles and State”, which calls out the now conventional po- mony. Rather, he invokes a traditional view of American of one of the most influential conservative thinkers in litical campaign strategy of slandering one’s opponent. exceptionalism: that the nation’s foreign intervention is the country. Arguing that politics is ultimately the most American politics is the only industry that advertises in a “burden,” but one that is “just as noble,” and “just as important social entity, Krauthammer gives due inquiry a way that denigrates the whole industry itself. Krau- necessary” as all of its other influences. As long as the to the affairs that are thammer compares political campaigns to United States acts with limited, narrow intention, it can fundamental to the nan Things That Matter, Krau- airline and fast food companies, who know honorably fulfill its duty of spreading democracy and tion’s political health. thammer shares why he left that if they were to negatively advertise their ensuring liberty. He views the matter of U.S. foreign His writing elegantly opponents’ products, they would ultimately power as a decision: The U.S. has the capacity and the and tactfully discusses a life of medicine in pursuit of drive customers away from their own indus- resources to be a dominant force of stability—it must issues inadequately extry. By the end of the campaign process, the simply accept its position. Krauthammer’s reasons that a career in journalism. amined or perhaps unpolitical industry itself has been undermined; if the U.S. fails to fulfill its role as both a stabilizer and deservedly presumed. whichever candidate wins has been severely discredited. a soldier of democracy and liberty, what other nation Looking through a lens that pointedly challenges con- Whoever becomes the state representative is a “liar.” has the means to do so. vention, Krauthammer distills complex subject matters Realizing this, Krauthammer expresses little surprise For young readers, Things That Matter is a reminder such as abortion, immigration, and war into the basic at the American people’s general distrust in politicians that the world’s present issues have often been recycled factors that can often be overlooked after years of debate. and, by extent, their government. from decades past, their backgrounds more complex than The book delightfully includes lighter commentaries on For the typical college student, “Ambiguity and what is generally acknowledged in present discussion. notable affairs in science, pop culture, history, and even Affirmative Action,” in Chapter 7, strikes a chord, com- Influencing a political arena where there are seemingly chess—a topic of characteristic interest to the author menting on the general public support for the Supreme few drawn conclusions, it serves the young generation himself. Things That Matter is a recommended read Court’s decision to uphold affirmative action in 2003, well to give due inquiry to the depth of the nation’s for all Krauthammer fans, the politically-informed, and which to Krauthammer, was a fundamentally flawed one. pressing concerns. n those merely seeking a thought-provoking, credible, and concise outline of, well, things that matter.

Krauthammer began his writing career as editor of his college newspaper, the McGill Daily, and later began studying political philosophy at Oxford. He decided to study medicine at Harvard Medical School, and after years of practicing psychiatry, somewhat serendipitously, ended up in Washington D.C. as a journalist. In Things That Matter, Krauthammer shares why he left a life of medicine in pursuit of a career in journalism. In an explanation resembling Milton Friedman’s popular argument, Krauthammer asserts that the freedoms and joys possessed by a particular individual are subordinate—indeed, irrelevant,—if the politics aren’t right.

He finds evidence in post-World War I Europe, World War II Germany, and China post-Cultural Revolution— aggravating models of nations whose history, culture, identity, and values were swept away by periods of political folly and transgression. Krauthammer’s selected writings emphasize pertinent matters of culture, values, history, and politics, often dwelling on topics towards which mainstream society has become dangerously blasé.

By Eva D. Sullivan

A

I

John Stossel reads The Review.

Ms. Sullivan is a student at the College and a Roving Editor at The Dartmouth Review.

Do you?

January 18, 2016 The Dartmouth Review Page 15

Page 16 The Dartmouth Review January 18, 2016

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

—Martin Luther King Jr. “To cheapen the lives of any group of men, cheapens the lives of all men, even our own. This is a law of human psychology, or human nature. And it will not be repealed by our wishes, nor will it be merciful to our blindness.”

—William Pickens “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

—Martin Luther “You have to remember, rights don’t come in groups we shouldn’t have ‘gay rights’; rights come as individuals, and we wouldn’t have this major debate going on. It would be behavior that would count, not what person belongs to what group.”

—Ron Paul “Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”

—Louis D. Brandeis “A man with a rifle or a club can only be stopped by a person who defends himself with a rifle or a club.

That’s equality.”

—Malcom X. “Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”

—Martin Luther King Jr.

“How blind to believe the civil rights movement ever ended. The civil rights movement never ends, and it never will. It has been marching since the beginning of time. Where Martin Luther King started is where Gandhi left off, and where he started, Abe Lincoln left off, and before that Whitfield all the way back to Moses. God has not moved. We have. But it is never too late. We are not at the mercy of these events. We can alter the course of history. We can stand against the dangerous arc of this story. But we need people who are willing to speak truth.”

—Glenn Beck

gordon haff ’s

the last word.

Compiled by Sandor Farkas

“If the world becomes pagan and perishes, the last man left alive would do well to quote the Iliad and die.”

—G.K. Chesterton “We shall find that every effort to realize equality necessitates a sacrifice of liberty.”

—William Graham Sumner “Liberals don’t care what you do so long as it’s compulsory.”

—William F. Buckley Jr. “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

—Martin Luther King Jr.

Barrett’s Mixology

By Hawthorne Abendsen

The Frat Brother in the “High” “Castle”, or, The Heavy Grasshopper • • • •

1 Part Crème de Menthe 1 Part Crème de Cacao 1 Part Heavy Cream 1 Can of Keystone

Frank walked across the Green, hunched over, his face half-hidden beneath his warm winter coat. He was shaking, but not because of the sub-zero temperatures. Concealed in his coat was a VHS tape, and he only had fifty yards to go before he reached the Hop and the end of his two year mission to retrieve a VHS tape from the poster shop on Main Street and illegally screen it in Spaulding Auditorium.

Frank stood in the projection booth, looking at the audience, which was there to see a new mandatory film on some type of sensitivity training. He turned on the dusty VCR and inserted the tape. Then he pressed play.

Static lit up the screen. A black and white image began to emerge from the speckles of light. A hand pushed a paper into view. It was a copy of The Dartmouth Review, dated April 12, 2010, with the headline “Asch Elected to Board of Trustees.” But Asch had lost, eventually resulting in the selection of Philip J. Hanlon as the new president of Dartmouth College. So how could the film show Asch winning?

The picture lapsed briefly into static again, and it now appeared to show some sort of official Dartmouth film, titled, “Moving Dartmouth Forward: an address by the Dartmouth President.” A man in a fitted green suit, complete with a Dartmouth blazer badge and an Indian head tie, stepped up to a podium in front of Dartmouth Hall. He began to speak: “Men of Dartmouth! I have just returned from the State House in Concord, and I bring you good tidings. The men and women of the General Court have voted on a motion, authored by our own Board of Trustees, to lower the New Hampshire drinking age to eighteen. It has passed.” The crowd, filled with well-dressed young men and women, roared.

“No Dartmouth man shall cower in his own basement for fear of arrest! No more shall students fear those bodies intended to protect them. But remember, gentlemen, this privilege comes with certain responsibilities to the College and to your peers. Immoral acts which harm your fellow students and defame the name of Dartmouth will not be tolerated. The Dartmouth of the twenty-first century has nothing to hide! I have also taken action to resolve the issue of faculty diversity. Next fall term, fifty outstanding international scholars will join the ranks of our faculty. Over the next two years, Dartmouth will reexamine its hiring process to ensure that conservative intellectuals receive equal representation within every department. Oh, and I have made the decision to unilaterally eliminate DDS. That is all.”

“The majority in a democracy has no more right to tyrannize over a minority than, under a different system, the latter would to oppress the former.”

—Theodore Roosevelt “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

—Cicero “For those in whom a mere reaction has thus become an obsession, I do seriously recommend the imaginative effort of conceiving the Twelve Apostles as Chinamen.”

—G.K. Chesterton “ “You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.”

—Martin Luther “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

—Martin Luther King Jr. “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”

—Søren Kierkegaard “It is easy to be disgruntled if you are denied rights and freedoms to which you feel entitled. But if you are not coherent, if you cannot put into words what it is that displeases you and why it is unfair and should change, then you are dismissed as an unreasonable whiner. You may be lectured about perseverance and patience, life as a test, the need to accept the higher wisdom of others.”

—Ayaan Hirsi Ali “Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”

—Martin Luther King Jr.

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