On History

Oliver Stone and Tariq Ali, two of our most provocative and radical voices, engage in a thought-provoking conversation about historyripping apart entrenched establishment narratives which have suppressed the alternative visions we desperately need for our radical social movements and a true participatory democracy. Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher, the Nation Reading On History is like watching a fascinating and mesmerizing film . . . a must read if you want to understand the world today. Michael Ratner, president, Center for Constitutional Rights Oliver Stone asks smart questions about the rise and fall of the United States and its empire in the twentieth century, and Tariq Ali provides smart answers. The result is a provocative book that is sure to incite controversy and stimulate debate. Jon Wiener, professor of history at the University of California at Irvine “Oliver Stone and Tariq Ali, two of our most provocative and radical voices, engage in a thought-provoking conversation about history—ripping apart entrenched establishment narratives which have suppressed the alternative visions we desperately need for our radical social movements and a true participatory democracy. —Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher, the Nation “Reading On History is like watching a fascinating and mesmerizing film . . . a must read if you want to understand the world today. —Michael Ratner, president, Center for Constitutional Rights “Oliver Stone asks smart questions about the rise and fall of the United States and its empire in the twentieth century, and Tariq Ali provides smart answers. The result is a provocative book that is sure to incite controversy and stimulate debate. —Jon Wiener, professor of history at the University of California at Irvine

OLIVER STONE has won Oscars for directing “Born On The Fourth Of July and “Platoon, and for writing “Midnight Express. He was nominated for director (JFK) and co-writer (Nixon). Hes also received three Golden Globes for directing (“Platoon, “Born On The Fourth Of July and “JFK), one for writing (“Midnight Express). He is director for the forthcoming Showtime 10-hour series “Forgotten History of the United States. Stone wrote a novel, published in 1997 by St. Martins Press, entitled “A Childs Night Dream, based on Stones experiences as a young man. He is a contributor of some 200 pages of essays on movies, culture, politics and history to the book “Oliver Stones USA, edited by Robert Brent Toplin and published by the University Press of Kansas (2000). Stone wrote the afterword for a book of scholarly essays analyzing his film “Alexander called “Oliver Stones Alexander: Film, History, and Cultural Studies (2009). Stone was born September 15, 1946 in New York, New York. Prior to his film career, Stone worked as a schoolteacher in Vietnam, a Merchant Marine sailor, taxi driver, messenger, production assistant, and sales representative. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry in Vietnam in 1967-68. He was wounded twice and decorated with the Bronze Star for Valor. After returning from Vietnam, he completed his undergraduate studies at New York University Film School in 1971. * TARIQ ALI is a writer and filmmaker. He has written more than two dozen books on world history and politics, and seven novels (translated into over a dozen languages) as well as scripts for the stage and screen. He is an editor of New Left Review and lives in London. His website is http://tariqali.org/.

Section 1 World War I Russian Revolution The Wobblies U.S. enters WWI Wilson and the Treaty of Versailles Economics of WWI French Revolution Defeat of the Russian Revolution King Leopold and the Belgium Congo British Empire Wilson sends troops to Russia Causes of WWII Atlantic Charter The Japanese and Pearl Harbor Oil Embargo against the Japanese and Germans German thoughts on the U.S. Section 2 U.S. need for raw materials post-WWII Saudi royal family ties to U.S. India MacArthur Constitution U.S. as imperial power U.S. inherits Britain's colonial legacy Slavery Dr. Liyingston Sir Richard Burton Russian Revolution ends British Empire Roosevelt Russians agree to Hiroshima Anti-communism in the U.S. American Labor Movement Wallace vs Truman The Cold War Korea lran Vietnam Section 3 U,S. involvement in lndonesia Nehru in lndia Pakistan Greek Civil War Soviet expansion post WWII Czarist empire Cuba and the Soviet Union Soviet empire and economic control Marshall Plan and American imperialism Berlin Stalin and Tito from Yugoslavia Section 4 Nuelear bomb as principle weapon China, India, Pakistan, Israel, South Africa Apartheid ends nuclear system in South Africa Confessional states lranian nuclear Iraq and the United States Muslim empire 7th and 8th centuries 1099 the Crusades ottoman empire lslam and trade Egypt Allah and Mohammed Nasser American and British opposition to Nasser Tony Blair British Empire Triumph of tIe Vietnamese My Lai massacre Section 5 Pax Americana Venezuela and the IMF Increase ofAmerican power and influence Confessional states lsrael and Pakistan Thomas Freeman and McDonald Douglass Economics and Marxism Capitalism Bourgeois civilization Eco-Climate issues Section 6 War on Terror Terrorism Iraq War Madeline Albright U.S. can't go into lran Doctrine of pre-emptive war Afghanistan now Another Vietnam? Human Rights as a reason to intervene Violence and torture as acceptable Media and profit Latin America and Chavez Paid Army, mercenaries Collective punishment History has become subversive Origins of American Empire Salem witch trials, Monroe Doctrine The end of History? George Mccovern Obama Nixon and China Kipling poem Joseph Conrad Al-Nawab poem "On the Bird"