A primer for both Americans and those abroad who find the policies of successive United States governments difficult to square with the country's image and its founding documents. The author has been writing about the failure of the mainstream media since the 1970's, and the decades she spent living in other countries on both sides of the Iron Curtain have provided her with a unique awareness of the way we are perceived. Contributions by a series of other contemporary authors illustrate salient features of American history that have contributed to the tragic face the country presents today.