I am a firm believer that United States history is extremely whitewashed and that, nine times out of ten, we are only taught the things that portray us in the best possible light. The bad things are glossed over and hidden a lot of the time. Every President has the potential to do great and terrible things, and even if their presidency is good overall, they cannot please everyone all the time...however, some presidents seem to attract shenanagins and controversy. One of President Nixon's most notable shenanagins was his involvement in the Watergate Scandal, but as I have come to find out, that was just the tip of the iceberg. This book discusses the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide, and the roles that President Nixon and Henry Kissinger played in the deaths of those people.

In March, 1971, the government of Pakistan began a crack down on the people of Bangladesh because they thought they were "too Bengali" and inferior people. They declared that Bengali women were "public property" and began a campaign of systematic rape. Somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000 women were raped during this time, but some may not have reported so this is just an estimation. Additionally, the Bengali government claims some 3,000,000 people were killed during the genocide, and millions more were displaced due to the genocide and subsequent conflict. President Nixon refused to condemn or help stop these actions, because he viewed Pakistan as an ally during the Cold War. He actively worked to squash reports of the genocide to prevent public condemnation. His administration also paid other country to ship weapons to Pakistan, so they could continue their horrible program. Kissinger, of course, helped out with this and those two were thick as thieves. If the estimations given by the Bengalis are correct, this would have been the largest genocide since the Holocaust during World War II...and only thirty years after the widespread horror of such.

The book was extremely well researched, and the information was conveyed in a way that was enjoyable to read. I learned a great deal from this book, which I appreciate above all things. I had never heard of this genocide prior to reading this book, which shocked me because I typically read any and all disaster and genocidal type of books. This was a truly shameful moment in foreign policy and in the history of the United States, and the fact that President Nixon and Mr. Kissinger worked so hard to make people think their reputations were gleaming is just gross to me. I feel that this book is essential reading, especially in our current times, because people really need to know what their candidates are capable of doing if elected, and what kind of track record they have before voting simply based on political party. It also is a great educational tool/reminder that the United States cannot seem to keep it's own house clean and should not be intervening and bossing everyone else about their houses... If you are interested in presidents and United States history, I would strongly suggest picking up a copy of this book.