AN IDEA BETRAYED: JEWS, LIBERALISM, AND THE AMERICAN LEFT
Academica Press, 2023
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A fascinating tour d'horizon of how Jewish intellectuals and activists helped to define and then make a mess of American liberalism, many of them turning into radicals that undermine American democracy. Juliana Pilon has the intellectual depth to explain what happened and why, starting from the founding of the American colonies and from there to the present time. One hopes her work will reeducate all.
- Stephen R. Bryen, founder and first Director of the Pentagon’s Defense Technology Security Administration; author of Technology Security and National Power: Winners and Losers
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A penetrating and poignant treatise on the trajectory of liberal (and illiberal) thought and the vicissitudes of Jewish history through the prism of the uplifting life story of a refugee from Communist Romania who went on to become one of the outstanding political philosophers of modern-day America.
- Laurence Weinbaum, Chief Editor, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, World Jewish Congress
Come along with Juliana Geran Pilon on a fascinating, kaleidoscopic journey through the history of Jews in America from a personal perspective, and what it means for the future.
- David E. Bernstein, University Professor, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University; author of Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America
Based on her personal experience with Judaism, the unnatural character of an Eastern European communist dictatorship, and her insight as a leading American public intellectual, Juliana Pilon's history of American liberalism helps the reader separate the liberal from the illiberal. It is an indispensable tool for anyone living in a democratic republic who is thus entrusted with the responsibility of self-governance.
- Seth Cropsey, President, Yorktown Institute; former deputy Undersecretary of the Navy; author of Seablindness: How Political Neglect Is Choking American Seapower and What to Do About It
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THE UTOPIAN CONCEIT AND THE WAR ON FREEDOM
Academica Press, 2019
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In a wide-ranging tour de force, written with clarity and grace, Juliana Geran Pilon exposes the fantasy of human beings wanting to be gods. Her judicious defense of political moderation is informed by the best biblical, classical liberal, and anti-totalitarian wisdom. And she shows that rather than just being a phenomenon of the Right, as commonly believed, hatred of the Jewish people has deep roots in anti-capitalism and the utopian fantasies of the Left. This enticing book is informed by a mixture of sober realism and principled idealism that is the real antidote to the anti-human ideologies that have deformed modern life since the French Revolution.
- Daniel J. Mahoney, Augustine Chair in Distinguished Scholarship, Assumption College
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The book is striking for the breadth of the author’s learning and her interpretive reach. Dr. Pilon has a deep background in diplomatic history and statecraft; she can draw, with a tutored eye, on the Bible; and with her own personal history, she brings the keenest sense of the character of totalitarian regimes - and the enduring place of the Jews in the drive or dynamism of totalitarian movements. The writing moves with an urbane sensibility, and it is touched with wit. There is not a trite or dull sentence in the flow of these pages. This is a book that should be part of the curriculum for any educated man or woman.
- Hadley Arkes, Edward N. Ney Professor of Jurisprudence and American Institutions, Amherst College, and director, James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights & the American Founding
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In a work that sparkles with erudition, Juliana Pilon ranges from antiquity to modernity to warn us against the utopian conceit and the fundamental threat it poses to human flourishing. Along the way she finds abundant evidence of the ideological camaraderie between anti-capitalism and anti-Semitism. This book tries to open the eyes of the complacent. Let us hope she succeeds, and the book attains the readership it so richly deserves.
- Robert Paquette, Professor Emeritus of History, Hamilton College, and President, The Alexander Hamilton Institute
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The persistence of certain bad ideas speaks to their perennial attractiveness, notwithstanding their demonstrated fallacies and repeated evil consequences. Dr. Juliana Pilon’s The Utopian Conceit and the War on Freedom arrives precisely at another of these increasingly repetitive historical points where half-baked ideas gain purchase once again, not merely in the hypertensive arena of the media and academia, but in political parties throughout the west, the US included…. She brings her focus to bear on the plagues of the mind that underlie the “isms” of modern history candidly, courageously, and unafraid of touching so-called third-rail issues.
- John J. Dziak, author of the award-winning “Chekisty: A History of the KGB”
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THE ART OF PEACE: ENGAGING A COMPLEX WORLD
Routledge Publishers, 2016
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"Juliana Pilon is to be commended for pressing the question of American competence in carrying out its global engagement. As she rightly points out in her book, we need to fully engage both our fundamental powers in American foreign policy: the power of inspiration and, when and where needed, the power of intimidation. What is more, we should be able to get the right balance and shape the arguments in such a manner that we can achieve a non-partisan approach to foreign policy and employment of the military."
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—General James Mattis, US Marine Corps
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“This is an important, well crafted, and compelling book. Juliana Geran Pilon explains disconnects between the instrumental use of violence and objectives in recent and ongoing conflicts. The neglect of the political and human nature of war has been a common cause of strategic failure as well as a common flaw in theories that oftentimes contribute to those failures. Indeed, recent wartime plans have exhibited a narcissistic approach, failing to account for interactions with determined enemies and other complicating political, cultural, historical and economic factors. Armed conflict is a competition and, as Dr. Pilon points out, winning the peace requires fighting across all contested spaces and considering the consolidation of military gains as an integral part of war. It is not enough to read The Art of Peace. We must also heed its lessons.”
- H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam
"Dr. Juliana Pilon is perfectly positioned to provide a clear and convincing way ahead. Bringing both formidable academic experience and a professional career spent in the field, she is that rare scholar-practioner who speaks with equal credibility to our national leaders and the Soldier guarding a lonely outpost in mountains of the Hindu Kush. In The Art of Peace, Juliana sheds light on the shortcomings in our thinking about strategy, at the same time demonstrating that things were not always this way. More importantly, they need not remain so in the future."
- Colonel Michael Eastman, US Army (from the foreword)
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NOTES FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF NIGHT
Regnery/Gateway, 1979; University Press of America, 1994;
Transaction Publishers, 2013; Routledge, 2019.
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“There are scenes in this book that the reader will never forget - such as the celebration of the Passover, performed in the greatest secrecy. And there are fascinating, exceptional characters, admirably portrayed… Like Nadejda Mandelstam in her Hope Against Hope, Juliana writes with a detached, if sometimes melancholy, sobriety, free from melodrama, about events and characters that illustrate Hannah Arendt’s terrifying ‘banality of evil.’ But Juliana remembers as well those few who managed to remain genuine human beings till the end, defying all danger. And she puts it so well, yet so simply: ‘there is nothing banal about the good….’ In essence, what she tells of the survivors, the representatives of a humanity that seemed so natural before the war, is not only deeply moving but heartening and invigorating as well. Rereading the story, one begins, once more, to believe in man…."
- Mircea Eliade, Sewell L. Avery Distinguished Service Professor in the Divinity School and the Committee for Social Thought at the University of Chicago, was a historian of religions, phenomenologist of religion, and novelist. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes him as “one of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and one of the world’s foremost interpreters of religious symbolism and myth."
"(A) moving, if ever so melancholy set of reminiscences.... That Juliana writes with both grace and a sense of austere reserve about matters of gravity is a personal tribute... It deserved to be written and moreover to be read."
- Irving Louis Horowitz, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University
"[Juliana] Pilon, whose family emigrated from communist Rumania when she was a child, recounts the story of her return to her native land in 1975. Her observations form a grim indictment of this communist state, the drab, fear-ridden existence of its inhabitants, the poverty, the represssion, that are endemic to the system. Yet despite all this, she shows, the embers of hope, compassion, and religious faith somehow survive beneath the suffocating mantle of totalitarianism.... an impressive writing talent."
- M. Stanton Evans, National Review
"Juliana Geran Pilon's riveting narrative takes us through two tragic chapters of recent Romanian history: the Holocaust and the communist dictatorship. A powerful story of a Jewish family discriminated against by two totalitarian regimes told with great talent."
- Radu Ioanid, Director of the International Archival Program, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, Washington, DC.
SOULMATES: RESURRECTING EVE
Transaction Publishers, 2011
“Professor Pilon’s book revisits the biblical story of human creation, which illustrates the idea that human beings, male and female, were created in the image of God. The message is not only inspiring but timely. Her contribution is testimony to the wealth of her learning, her conscientious humanity, and her luminous openness to the benevolent aspirations of faith and inquiry."
- Joseph Cropsey, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Chicago
"The Abrahamic faiths—Jews, Christians and Muslims—constitute about half of the world’s population and share the belief that we are descended from Adam and Eve. Ironically, relations between the three faiths are marked by violence and misunderstanding. That is why we must celebrate Juliana Pilon’s provocative, brilliant and urgent plea to underline the centrality of love in the story of Adam and Eve."
- Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University,Washington, DC
"Dr. Juliana Geran Pilon's new book is truly effervescent! It is bound to inspire countless lively and spirited conversations all across America."
- Michael Novak, George Frederick Jewett Scholar in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.
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WHY AMERiCA IS SUCH A HARD SELL: BEYOND PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Rowman & Littlefield, 2007
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“How can the country that attracts immigrants from around the world -- many of whom risk their lives to take on marginal and difficult lives as illegals -- be concurrently hated by so many others? Juliana Pilon provides provocative insights into one of the world's true "love/hate" relationships and points to the many missteps, some thoughtless, others cynical and calculated, that contribute to international ambivalence about the United States, its policies, and its culture. In the last in particular, Dr. Pilon draws needed attention to the global impacts, intended or otherwise, of a popular culture that is often as difficult for others to ignore as it is for Americans to defend.”
- William M. Nolte is the director of education and training in the office of the Director of National Intelligence and the chancellor of the National Intelligence University. He is a former Deputy Assistant Director of Central Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency.
“Juliana Pilon brings substantial doses of international political experience and wisdom to bear on the vexing question of how America can do a better job of making itself understood in the world. Her ideas cut across stale partisan lines of debate and offer a host of practical ways for moving forward.”
- Thomas Carothers, Vice President for Studies–International Politics and Governance at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is the founder and director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Project at CEIP.
“Juliana Pilon offers a sober and insightful analysis with solid recommendations on how to reverse the declining perception of the United States overseas. This is a must read for anyone who is concerned about how these perceptions are adversely impacting the U.S. role in the world and looking for concrete ideas about what to do about it.”
- Kevin F. F. Quigley, President, National Peace Corps Association. Dr. Quigley has held senior positions in civil society and government, as well as various research institutions, notably as Acting CEO of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation; Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Workers and Communities, Vice President of Policy and Business at the Asia Society; Director of Public Policy at the Pew Charitable Trusts.
“Why America is Such a Hard Sell is a thoughtful analysis of the world situation and why America’s world reputation is tarnished. Juliana Pilon offers hopeful and practical ways of combating this image problem. This book is important because Pilon stays above the political fray, giving her solutions an air of legitimacy rarely seen in contemporary analysis. Pilon's compassion is like a beacon of hope for everyone in this divided world. I strongly encourage everybody to read this book.”
- Ambassador Akbar S. Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, DC. According to the BBC, he is considered "the world's leading authority on contemporary Islam." He is former High Commissioner of Pakistan to Great Britain, and has advised Prince Charles and met with President George W. Bush on Islam.
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EVERY VOTE COUNTS: THE ROLE OF ELECTIONS IN BUILDING DEMOCRACY
University Press of America, 2007
“Every Vote Counts carries an underlying message that democracy is attainable on every continent and can help make the world a more peaceful and humane place….. Read this book, reflect on it, learn from it, and use it as you go forward to help return the power to determine a nation’s future to its own people.
- Lech Walesa, former President of Poland (1980-1993)
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THE BLOODY FLAG: POST-COMMUNIST NATIONALISM IN EASTERN EUROPE -
SPOTLIGHT ON ROMANIA
Transaction Publishers, 1991
“Juliana Geran Pilon’s book on present-day nationalism in Eastern Europe is as penetrating as it is wide-ranging. It presents the philosophical and historical basis for nationalism in general, for the specific types of nationalism to be seen in the area, and also for the characteristics they have in common. The very dangerous possibilities which such nationalism may provoke are clear enough today in the Yugoslav case; and serious analysis - of which there is anyhow too little found in the West - is to be welcomed. A particular strength of Dr. Pilon’s work is her analysis of the relationship between Communism and nationalism….. We must all be grateful to Dr. Pilon for her broad and stimulating contribution to the literature.”
- Robert Conquest is the author of twenty-one books on Soviet history, politics, and international affairs, including the classic The Great Terror—which has been translated into twenty languages—and the acclaimed Harvest of Sorrow(1986). His many awards and honors include the Jefferson Lectureship, the highest honor government for achievement in the humanities (1993), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2005)
“The Bloody Flag is the first serious study of the question which is currently very much on everyone’s mind: As the ideological vacuum left behind after the collapse of the Communist regimes in East-Central Europe seems to be filling with nationalism - and as economic conditions there approach those of the Weimar Republic - is there a chance for a successful transition to liberal democracy? Are these new forces destined to be destructive and ugly, or can they be constructive and healing?"
- Vladimir Bukovsky, who spent nearly 12 years in Soviet prisons, labor camps and psychiatric hospitals for nonviolent human rights activities, is the author of several books, including To Build a Castle and Judgment in Moscow.
“Nationalism as the basis of culture and spiritual values has been enormously important in the twentieth century. Pilon’sThe Bloody Flag puts in excellent perspective the roots and significance of this political and ideological force.”
- Frank Shakespeare was president of CBS Television in New York when he was appointed Director of the United States Information Agency in 1969. He later became chairman of the Board for International Broadcasting. He was also United States Ambassador to Portugal and Ambassador to the Holy See.
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CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE FOR WINNING THE PEACE
Reviews on Amazon
In the Ada Bozeman Tradition--a Vital Stepping Stone
By Robert David STEELE Vivas on August 16, 2011 [5 stars out of 5]
I am delighted to see that Look Inside the Book has been activated and urge one and all to look over the table of contents and then buy the book. This is a preliminary review, mostly because it causes me pain to see no review at all on this important work. A copy of the book is on the way to me from the publisher. I will insert my substantive additional comments in a few days. The book is in the Ada Bozeman tradition, and brings back to mind my continuing recommendation that no one be allowed to graduate from any serious international studies or international security course without reading at least the 25-page introduction, but ideally the full work She is to intelligence and statecraft what Will and Ariel Durant are to the study of history. It distresses me to observe that we have not come far since this book was published, with many failures across the fifteen slices of human intelligence (HUMINT) among which are included the Human Terrain Teams (HTT) that I believe should be absorbed into the new active duty Civil Affairs Brigade with regional battalions. This would be an excellent time to hold a conference and do a follow-on book, this time integrating both the full spectrum of HUMINT capabilities, and the new meme, Multinational, Multiagency, Multidisciplinary, Multidomain Information-Sharing and Sense-Making (M4IS2).
- ROBERT D. STEELE is a retired Marine Corps infantry and intelligence officer. After four years active duty (the balance in the Individual Ready Reserve) and a decade in the clandestine service of the Central Intelligence Agency, he accepted a Marine Corps invitation to be the senior civilian responsible for creating the Marine Corps Intelligence Center (today a Command) and served as the study directory for the flagship study, Overview of Planning and Programming Factors for Expeditionary Operations in the Third World. He is the author of the DIA, NATO, and SOF OSINT Handbooks, as well as personally responsible for training 7,500 officers from 66 countries.
Excellent text for HTS/HTT training
By P. Ryan on July 9, 2014 [5 stars out of 5]
I am adopting the text for an Anthropology of War course; it is excellent!
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