Six Stops on the National Security Tour

Reviews / Votes

Praise for Six Stops on the National Security Tour

Miriam Pemberton has written the definitive contemporary account of the cultural and economic behemoth that is "National Security." These "two most powerful words in the language of U.S. policy" have produced a domestic landscape swathed in military contracting companies, military bases, surveillance systems, and nuclear missile labs and silos. Through firsthand visits to six locations around the country, Pemberton uses her deep expertise and vivid writing to examine this terrain and suggest another way is not just possible but existentially and immediately necessary.

--Catherine Lutz, Thomas J. Watson, Jr. Professor Emerita of Anthropology and International Studies, Brown University, and Co-Director, Costs of War

This lively, most unusual tour of the United States covers something guidebooks don't. Pemberton shows how our vast military budget has affected communities across the nation, often leaving toxic waste or distorted local economies in its wake. But there are seeds of hope: examples of what we can accomplish using talent and energy to produce what the world desperately needs instead of a river of useless weaponry.

--Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost, Bury the Chains, and To End All Wars among other books

With great force and compelling detail, Pemberton describes how our political elite-Democrats and Republicans alike-are fiddling while the planet burns. She documents how the Pentagon leadership itself recognizes the climate crisis as our greatest national security threat, yet Congress and the President keep shoveling over $700 billion per year into useless weapons and military outposts. Pemberton arms us with the tools to stop this madness before it is too late. This is an outstanding, and hugely important, book.

-- Robert Pollin, Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

This "Tour" is a gift. Drawing on unparalleled expertise developed over decades, Pemberton surveys the Military Industrial Complex and its impact on the economy, politics, and everyday life of the United States. Importantly, Pemberton also shows where we must go in what she rightly calls the "fight for our lives" to move hundreds of billions of dollars from this Complex to build a green economy and save our warming planet.

--David Vine, Professor of Anthropology, American University

A troubling but fascinating travelogue--shows how military spending distorts local economies and distracts the country from its genuine security challenges. Highly recommended.

--Michael Klare, Former Director, Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies

"Solving the problem of economic reliance on war and preparations for war-and its role in shaping budget priorities-will ultimately depend on dramatic changes at the national level. Pemberton lays out the key policies needed to make progress towards a demilitarized economy."

--William D. Hartung, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in The Nation Praise for Six Stops on the National Security Tour

Miriam Pemberton has written the definitive contemporary account of the cultural and economic behemoth that is "National Security." These "two most powerful words in the language of U.S. policy" have produced a domestic landscape swathed in military contracting companies, military bases, surveillance systems, and nuclear missile labs and silos. Through firsthand visits to six locations around the country, Pemberton uses her deep expertise and vivid writing to examine this terrain and suggest another way is not just possible but existentially and immediately necessary.

--Catherine Lutz,Thomas J. Watson, Jr. Professor Emerita of Anthropology and International Studies, Brown University, and Co-Director, Costs of War

This lively, most unusual tour of the United States covers something guidebooks don't. Pemberton shows how our vast military budget has affected communities across the nation, often leaving toxic waste or distorted local economies in its wake. But there are seeds of hope: examples of what we can accomplish using talent and energy to produce what the world desperately needs instead of a river of useless weaponry.

--Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost, Bury the Chains, and To End All Wars among other books

With great force and compelling detail, Pemberton describes how our political elite-Democrats and Republicans alike-are fiddling while the planet burns. She documents how the Pentagon leadership itself recognizes the climate crisis as our greatest national security threat, yet Congress and the President keep shoveling over $700 billion per year into useless weapons and military outposts. Pemberton arms us with the tools to stop this madness before it is too late. This is an outstanding, and hugely important, book.

-- Robert Pollin, Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

This "Tour" is a gift. Drawing on unparalleled expertise developed over decades, Pemberton surveys the Military Industrial Complex and its impact on the economy, politics, and everyday life of the United States. Importantly, Pemberton also shows where we must go in what she rightly calls the "fight for our lives" to move hundreds of billions of dollars from this Complex to build a green economy and save our warming planet.

--David Vine, Professor of Anthropology, American University

A troubling but fascinating travelogue--shows how military spending distorts local economies and distracts the country from its genuine security challenges. Highly recommended.

--Michael Klare, Former Director, Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies

"Solving the problem of economic reliance on war and preparations for war-and its role in shaping budget priorities-will ultimately depend on dramatic changes at the national level. Pemberton lays out the key policies needed to make progress towards a demilitarized economy."

--William D. Hartung, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in The Nation