In My Time

出版者:Threshold Editions

作者:Dick Cheney

页数:576

出版时间:2011-8-30

价格:USD 35.00

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9781439176191

具体描述

In this eagerly anticipated memoir, former Vice President Dick Cheney delivers an unyielding portrait of American politics over nearly forty years and shares personal reflections on his role as one of the most steadfast and influential statesmen in the history of our country. The public perception of Dick Cheney has long been something of a contradiction. He has been viewed as one of the most powerful vice presidents—secretive, even mysterious, and at the same time opinionated and unflinchingly outspoken. He has been both praised and attacked by his peers, the press, and the public. Through it all, courting only the ideals that define him, he has remained true to himself, his principles, his family, and his country. Now in an enlightening and provocative memoir, a stately page-turner with flashes of surprising humor and remarkable candor, Dick Cheney takes readers through his experiences as family man, policymaker, businessman, and politician during years that shaped our collective history. Born into a family of New Deal Democrats in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney was the son of a father at war and a high-spirited and resilient mother. He came of age in Casper, Wyoming, playing baseball and football and, as senior class president, courting homecoming queen Lynne Vincent, whom he later married. This all-American story took an abrupt turn when he flunked out of Yale University, signed on to build power line in the West, and started living as hard as he worked. Cheney tells the story of how he got himself back on track and began an extraordinary ascent to the heights of American public life, where he would remain for nearly four decades: * He was the youngest White House Chief of Staff, working for President Gerald Ford—the first of four chief executives he would come to know well. * He became Congressman from Wyoming and was soon a member of the congressional leadership working closely with President Ronald Reagan. * He became secretary of defense in the George H. W. Bush administration, overseeing America’s military during Operation Desert Storm and in the historic transition at the end of the Cold War. * He was CEO of Halliburton, a Fortune 500 company with projects and personnel around the globe. * He became the first vice president of the United States to serve out his term of office in the twenty-first century. Working with George W. Bush from the beginning of the global war on terror, he was—and remains—an outspoken defender of taking every step necessary to defend the nation. Eyewitness to history at the highest levels, Cheney brings to life scenes from past and present. He describes driving through the White House gates on August 9, 1974, just hours after Richard Nixon resigned, to begin work on the Ford transition; and he portrays a time of national crisis a quarter century later when, on September 11, 2001, he was in the White House bunker and conveyed orders to shoot down a hijacked airliner if it would not divert. With its unique perspective on a remarkable span of American history, In My Time will enlighten. As an intimate and personal chronicle, it will surprise, move, and inspire. Dick Cheney’s is an enduring political vision to be reckoned with and admired for its honesty, its wisdom, and its resonance. In My Time is truly the last word about an incredible political era, by a man who lived it and helped define it—with courage and without compromise.

用户评价

这本书的封面设计着实引人注目，那种深沉的墨蓝与烫金的字体搭配，散发出一种古典而又神秘的气息，让人一上手就感觉自己即将步入一个精心构建的世界。我特别喜欢作者在描述环境时所用的那种细腻笔触，即便是最寻常的街道角落，在他的笔下也仿佛被镀上了一层特殊的滤镜，充满了故事感。例如，书中对于某个小镇雨后泥土芬芳的捕捉，那种湿润的、带着青草气息的描写，几乎让我能嗅到那种味道，这在我阅读其他作品时是很少见的体验。情节的推进不算快，甚至可以说是有些缓慢，但正是这种沉稳的节奏，让人物的情感变化显得格外真实可信。主角的内心挣扎，那些隐藏在平静外表下的暗流涌动，都被作者用近乎诗意的语言层层剥开。我甚至有几次因为沉浸其中，差点错过了公交车的站点。这本书的价值，我觉得很大程度上在于它提供了一种“慢”下来的视角，让读者有机会真正去感受每一个瞬间的分量，而不是被高强度的情节冲击推着走。它更像是一杯需要细细品味的陈年佳酿，后劲十足，回味无穷。

这本书的结构设计非常大胆，它采用了非线性的叙事方式，时间线在过去、现在和一种近乎预言的未来之间频繁穿梭，这使得读者必须扮演一个主动的“拼图师”角色。我花了将近三分之一的篇幅才勉强理清主要的事件脉络和人物关系，这种阅读过程充满了破解谜题的乐趣。作者似乎故意将重要的信息碎片散落在不同的时间点，迫使读者去重新组织这些碎片，从而构建出属于自己的理解。我尤其欣赏作者处理“记忆”的方式，他将回忆不再视为对过去的简单回顾，而是将其描绘成一种具有物质性和影响力的存在，它会像幽灵一样干预当下的决策。这种对时间本质的探讨，让整本书的哲学维度得到了极大的提升。如果说有什么不足，那就是对于那些寻求线性故事的读者来说，这本书可能会显得有些晦涩难懂，需要极大的耐心和投入才能领略其精妙之处。

我必须承认，一开始我对这本书的期望值其实是比较高的，毕竟听闻了不少关于其叙事技巧的赞誉。然而，实际阅读下来，我发现作者在人物塑造上的功力确实非同一般，但故事本身的张力似乎略有不足。书中几个配角的塑造，尤其是那位沉默寡言的导师，其深度和复杂性甚至超越了主角。他的每一次出场，即便只是简短的几句对话，都充满了重量感，像是一块块精心雕琢的宝石，闪烁着不同的光芒。但反观主线剧情，有些关键转折点处理得略显仓促，仿佛作者急于将读者引向某个既定结局，而忽略了中间过程应有的逻辑铺垫。这种感觉就像是欣赏一幅精美的油画，近看笔触细腻，但拉远了看，构图的某些部分却显得有些别扭。我对这种略带遗憾的阅读体验感到有些惋惜，因为它拥有成为“杰作”的潜力，但最终停在了“优秀”的层面。不过，即便如此，我还是会推荐给那些注重人物内心挖掘甚于情节跌宕的读者。

我之所以被这本书吸引，完全是因为其世界观的构建达到了令人惊叹的复杂程度。它描绘的那个架空的社会背景，其政治体制、宗教信仰乃至日常的礼仪习俗，都拥有自洽且详尽的内部逻辑。作者似乎在搭建这个世界时，花费了大量精力去研究人类社会的方方面面，从底层阶级的运作到上层权力集团的角力，描绘得丝丝入扣。阅读过程中，我常常需要查阅书后附带的“背景资料索引”才能完全理解某些事件的深层含义。这种沉浸感是极强的，让你几乎相信，在某个平行宇宙中，这个地方是真实存在的。然而，这种对宏大背景的极致追求，有时却牺牲了对个体情感的细致刻画。书中一些人物的动机显得有些工具化，似乎他们的存在主要就是为了推动这个庞大世界体系的运转，而不是作为一个独立、完整的个体而存在。总而言之，这是一部更适合喜欢宏大叙事和世界构建的“硬核”读者去探索的文本。

说实话，这本书的语言风格对我来说是个不小的挑战。它大量运用了意识流的手法，句子结构非常冗长复杂，充满了各种从句和插入语，读起来需要极高的专注力，我不得不经常停下来，回溯前文，才能跟上作者跳跃性的思绪。这与我平日里习惯的简洁明快的叙事方式截然不同。但是，一旦你适应了这种独特的“语流”，你会发现其中蕴含着一种迷人的韵律。作者似乎并不在乎是否能让所有读者都轻松理解，他更像是将自己大脑中未经整理的思绪，近乎原生地搬到了纸面上。这带来了一种强烈的“在场感”，仿佛你正坐在主角的脑子里，亲身体验着他那混乱、充沛且永不停歇的思考过程。特别是当主角处于极度焦虑或兴奋状态时，文字的密度达到了顶峰，那种压迫感和紧迫感是其他文学手法难以企及的。这本书更像是作者向读者发出的一次智力上的邀请，邀请你一同参与到这场语言的迷宫探索中去。

一个老右派的故事

一个老右派的故事

一个老右派的故事

一个老右派的故事

一个老右派的故事