Very enjoyable read that examines some of the amazing contrasts in the German pysche. The author's own ancestors included a "good German", composer R. Schumann and a "bad German", a Nazi, and it is interesting to see him grapple with it.

As an American of German descent who has spent little time in the "Fatherland," I greatly appreciated Kempe's journalistic account. Kempe wrestles with the demons conjured by the spectre of one of his own relatives having been a brutal Nazi thug and along the way shows how the country is still struggling to deal with its past. The accounts of German soldiers having been used outside the country's borders for the first time as peacekeeprs in Bosnia was a good first step toward the "normalizing" of the German nation. But as Kempe shows, Germans psychologically still have a long way to go.

Kempe spends time interviewing several different "normal" Germans and reveals the complexity of German life 50 years after the Third Reich. A non-immigration country with a liberal immigration policy and a burgeoning Turkish-German population. A military peacekeeping force in the same land terrorized by Nazis two generations earlier; young soldiers are shocked by the brutality they see around them. This book shatters many of the stereotypes we Americans have about how Germans are, or should be, today. As the descendant of German immigrants, I especially appreciated Kempe's description of his emotions as he gradually uncovered and faced his relative's complicity in Germany's dark legacy. Highly recommended.

Before Saddam, there was Noriega. Both were the creations and eventual tormentors of the United States and the West.

Author Frederick Kempe's Divorcing The Dictator vacillates between traditional reportage and polemics about a foreign policy that accepted a tyrant and his excesses. The result is an often riveting account of a dictator who played all sides in the waning days of the Cold War. Kempe's tirades avoid repetitious thoughts, sentences, and even whole paragraphs that appear verbatim at several points in his straight reporting. Nonetheless, Kempe's righteous indignation sometimes can be just as cloying.

One laudable burst of anger is the author's account of the American betrayal of failed coup leader Maj. Moises Giroldi. This tragicomedy is reminiscent of President John F. Kennedy's cynical sellout of the American-backed troops at the Bay of Pigs. Like JFK, the first President George Bush sat on his hands as Giroldi and those who supported him futilely awaited limited U.S. assistance. Another editorial highlight is the expose of President Jimmy Carter's blatant cover-up of Noriega's criminality. The book's best passages are to be found in the last chapter, where the author ruminates eloquently about the coddling of dictators and how this bastardized United States foreign policy.

The Noriega presented here was far more complex than the media-portrayed monster. A man of strange sexual habits, weird spiritual beliefs, and keen insight, Noriega used a sociopathic and brilliant mind to loot a country, betray his friends, and cling to power. From his impoverished and sad childhood in the slums of Panama City to his eventual arrest and conviction, the biographical information contains some new details as well as material that has been previously reported.

As the second President Bush prepares to topple another dictator, Kempe reminds us that previously friendly tyrants can become, as the title to one chapter suggests, very dangerous tar babies.

Chilling expose of CIA involvement in Noreiga's rise to power. Author cites documented sources of instances of US complicity and collusion in order to get intelligence data on Cuba, Nicaragua, etc.-while knowing full well Noreiga was playing both ends against the middle. Why the situation should not have gotten so far out of hand a full-scale invasion had to be launced to oust the former Panamanian strongman. Will cause conservatives and liberals alike to rethink the Bush administration and his time as Director of Central Intelligence, and wonder if Congress would ever have the guts to look into this

I Lived in panama when I was growing up & this book really confirmed many suspicions, filled in many gaps & showed how things were 10 times worst than I imagined. Scarry Stuff!
Everyone always joked & talked about this stuff
but truth is ... you know. It was facinating to find out what went on in places I remember. Its like finding out your hometown you grew up in was crawling with spies. The Book is full of information & History. But there were a couple of things that were off track. The 470th was a detachment(a small group)not a whole Brigade. The book painted Puertoricans as easily turned traitors(Most served Honorably in the face preasure & Temptation)
Bad apples came in all flavores & nationalities. It also painted their"Gringo" Superiors & Zonians as a bunch of rednecks(well mabey). My Dad says the author is a CIA agent putting their spin on the whole thing. After reading this book anything is possible! Interesting Book.