This book is about the warring and spying habits of America's regimes; the long history of those habits; what explains them, what their consequences are, how they can be broken, and what awaits America and the world if they are not broken. Chapter 1 traces the unbroken history of the two habits. Chapter 2 documents their costs and consequences. It is an appalling account of the damage and death America's warriors-in-chiefs and spy chiefs have unceasingly caused America and elsewhere on the globe. Chapter 3 explains the warring and spying habits. You will read there about the "black boxes" and "badvantages" that explain the dark side of human behavior in general and the warring and spying habits of the current U.S. president and his predecessor in particular. Chapter 4 examines the war and spy bureaucracy of the U.S. government. There we will look into the public officialdom of the two habits, The Land of the Official Habbits, if you will, with apologies to J.R.R Tolkien. Chapter 5 examines the war and spy industries that feed off government's addiction as well as their own. You will read there how contractors go about milking Uncle Sam, and how Uncle Sam, the reliable cash cow, knows and does not care. Chapter 6 takes a look at the "Habit Helpers." You might be surprised about who some of them are. The author was once one of them. Chapter 7 envisions an "Alter America" without any warring and spying and proposes a plan for making that vision a reality. The last chapter presents some dismal scenarios of the future if the habits are not ended. Be sure not to miss Appendix A, especially if you believe there can be a just or necessary war. In Appendix B we "hear" imminent voices against war down through the ages. Appendix C shows the bloated organizational chart for the war and spy agencies, and Appendix D names the largest war and spy contractors. This book was written was written for several reasons. First, history clearly tells us that U.S. regimes of self-serving politicians and their war and spy collaborators will never voluntarily stop their warring and spying. They won't because they can't. They are addicts. Second, the uplifting message needs to be told that America has the potential to become the Alter America described in Chapter 7, an America where there would be no corpocracy; where she would be peaceful and law abiding; where she would be an egalitarian, not a male dominated society; where her economy depended on Main Street, not on Wall Street; where there would be no more corporate welfare; and where she would be a socially and economically just society. Third, "principled patriots" of America (those who say "my country please do right and no wrong") need to be galvanized into making Alter America possible by uniting, planning, and heading toward it.
Gary Brumback received his undergraduate degree from Indiana University and his Ph.D. in organizational psychology from The Ohio State University in 1963. His doctoral dissertation was on the subject of personal and organizational values. Retired since 1995, Dr. Brumback had a long and varied career involving the retail industry, the insurance industry, the manufacturing industry, university teaching, the not-for-profit research sector, and the U.S. government. He was elected a Fellow of both The American Psychological Association and The Association for Psychological Science in recognition of his outstanding and distinguished contributions to psychology. He is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. He is a prolific writer. His first book, Tall Performance from Short Organizations through We/Me Power is about managing performance in non-hierarchical, empowering organizations. He was invited by the U.S. government to showcase his MBR (managing behavior and results) model of performance management around the country. His previous book, The Devil's Marriage: Break Up the Corpocracy or Leave Democracy in the Lurch is about the collusion between big corporations and big government to pursue their own self-interests at the expense of the common good. He has authored over 50 book reviews, many articles in professional journals, and many technical reports. He has given many talks at professional meetings in the U.S. and abroad. His invited addresses on serious matters have always added a touch of humor. He dressed as "Capt. No No," for example, in his talk on an oxymoron, "government ethics." His research, writings, and presentations have covered a broad array of topics. Since retiring he has gone beyond his own field to delve into economics, history, humanism, moral philosophy, political science, public affairs, and theology. He researched all of those subjects to help him write The Devil's Marriage: Break Up the Corpocracy or Leave Democracy in the Lurch, and America's Oldest Professions: Warring and Spying.
