he appreciation of race (or if you like: "closely-coordinated in-groups") as one of the two or three most important factors in human history. One can see the ease of the "dialectical materialist" in this first chapter in brushing aside any question of what exactly these peoples were and are, in favor of sweeping conclusions about mercantilism and so on - conclusions with which I have no problem, by the way.

I can't say that sloshing through this tome would be a waste of time, because there's more in it than one could get in one or two years of college-level study. But Quigley, like everyone else in the modern intellectual world, is blind to Jewry itself, and this makes his approach basically worthless, unless you really think Ted Turner and the old Gentile magnates are still running the show. In other news, Harry S. Truman is no longer President, and the Hindenburg crashed.

Instead, read "Who Rules America?", put out by National Vanguard, and obtainable by a simple Google search of that title.

== 2 of 4 people found the above review helpful ==

1300 Pages Too Long For You??? (2005-06-02)

Try W. Cleon Skousen's review of "Tragedy & Hope" in his book:

"The Naked Capitalist"

It's a Long Book, but Worth Reading (2003-12-28)

The late Dr. Carroll Quigley, professor was a professor of history at the Foreign Service School of Georgetown University. He was, as his book reflects, brilliant, egotistical and opinionated. He also was a confirmed socialist who believed the world could be a better place if the educated elite ruled.

Former President Clinton said in 1992: "...As a student at Georgetown, I heard that call clarified by a professor named Carroll Quigley, who said to us that America was the greatest country in the history of the world because our people have always believed in two things: that tomorrow can be better than today and that every one of us has a personal, moral responsibility to make it so."

Unfortunately, Dr. Quigley revealed the game plan of the elite when the elite (a shy group by nature and not at all given to republican government) didn't want it publicized. Far from wanting to hide this "network" (as he called it), Quigley was proud of it.

"I know of the operations of this network because I have studied it for twenty years and was permitted for two years, in the early 1960's, to examine its papers and secret records. I have no aversion to it or to most of its aims and have, for much of my life, been close to it and to many of its instruments. I have objected, both in the past and recently, to a few of its policies...but in general my chief difference of opinion is that it wishes to remain unknown, and I believe its role in history is significant enough to be known."

Thus, unfortunately, Tragedy and Hope was pulled from bookshelves nationwide and recalled faster than an exploding Easter Bunny, never to be published again, except for a highly abbreviated edition. But if you can pick up a copy of this book, you'll find how things often worked behind the scenes of government and the worldwide ambitions of "the network."

If you simply want to know about the network and how it operated up until this book was published, I recommend Dr. W. Cleon Skousen's "Naked Capitalist," which I believe is still in print.

The Illuminati (2003-02-04)

This book goes hand in hand with chapter 4 in "Fire in the Minds of Men" by James Billington. Billington was a Rhodes Scholar, taught history at Princeton and Harvard for 17 years and is currently the Librarian of Congress. In that chapter he discusses for the 18th century what Quigly discusses for the 20th.

The conclusions people draw about the power elite, even Billington's and Quigly's, are humorous. The fact is, that definitely not all but some at the top of the top, the true powerful social engineers- they are libertarian, objectivists. For them to act or say so outright and fully would be suicide.

The right-wingers are so sure the Illuminati are hardcore left-wing conspirators and the left is convinced they are extreme right-wingers. Hilarious. A very curious, very real twist to the story that Billington began and Quigly continued is to be found in a little book called the "Illuminati Manifesto" by Solomon Tulbure. Interesting and important to note that they ARE slowly making their presence known to the public; with the latter book being published, with Clinton pointing the public to Quigly in his speech, etc...

To Know the Truth (2003-01-05)

This is an amazing book that every serious student of modern history ought to read. Understand that it is an undertaking. The book in hardcover form is over 1300 pages. The detail is, as a previous reviewer suggests, difficult to find elsewhere. From this perspective, the book is hugely important. Professor Quigley also advances some compelling explantions for history that still resonate today, such as the existence of the Pakistan-Peruvian Axis, which has promulgated the cancer of Islamic culture throughout the world.

However, it is certainly true that Quigley's massive undertaking is flawed with his obvious misunderstanding of macroeconmics. His prescription for Keynsian planning and the heralding of the success of planned economies relative to lassez faire economies has probably influenced much of the thinking of America's elite for decades. Will those elites finally wake up to the reality that socialism doesn't work? Or, do they understand that socialism does work well, so long as you're in charge of the socialist government. The next century will be the story of how these questions are answered by history.

The book is excellent and well worth the time and effort. I wish Professor Quigley was still around to comment on how things have changed since this work was completed.

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