PanThe New York SunNaomi Klein\'s The Shock Doctrine...tries in vain to discredit the economic system that brought about modern America, the Industrial Revolution, and high standards of living around the world. The energy of the book is real and there is no doubt it will mobilize most of its readers to higher levels of outrage and action. It\'s probably the most effective brand of emotional nonfiction to be published this year. But when it comes to the underlying message, and the standards of evidence used to support it, The Shock Doctrine is a true economics disaster ... Most of the book is a button-pressing, emotionally laden, whirlwind tour of global events over the last 30 years ... The book offers not so much an argument but rather a Dadaesque juxtaposition of themes and supposedly parallel developments in the global market. Above the excited recitation stands Milton Friedman as the überdemon of the march toward global tyranny and squalor. Ms. Klein\'s rhetoric is ridiculous ... Rarely are the simplest facts, many of which complicate Ms. Klein\'s presentation, given their proper due ... the reader will search in vain for an intelligent discussion ... If nothing else, Ms. Klein\'s book provides an interesting litmus test as to who is willing to condemn its shoddy reasoning.
