Amazon.com
This forceful, sarcastic, and often hilarious book offers tips on arguing with liberals, which include the following: don't be defensive, always outrage the enemy, and never apologize to, compliment, or show graciousness to a Democrat. Welcome to the world according to Ann Coulter. Ever combative, Coulter is unafraid to court controversy or confront her detractors head-on, whether they are mainstream journalists and talk-show hosts who have misquoted her without apology or "weak and frightened conservatives" craving liberal approval. Though the writing is often over-the-top, the book if full of one-liners that will delight conservatives, such as "the best way to convert liberals is to have them move out of their parents' home, get a job, and start paying taxes." But there is more here than just insults and countless jabs at Bill Clinton, and even her most devoted readers will find much new material in the book. Largely a collection of her syndicated columns from the past decade, How to Talk to a Liberal also includes columns that were never released or were rejected by editors--in Coulter's words, "what you could have read if you lived in a free country." --Shawn Carkonen
Amazon.com Exclusive Content
Ann Coulter on Election 2004
Ann Coulter has become a fixture among the country's leading conservative pundits with her take-no-prisoners approach making for controversial headline copy. She speaks out about Election 2004 in our exclusive interview.
Ann Coulter's Significant Seven
Ann Coulter kindly agreed to take the life quiz we like to give to all our authors: the Amazon Significant Seven. Read her answers here.
Book Description
Welcome to the world of Ann Coulter. With her monumental bestsellers Treason, Slander, and High Crimes and Misdemeanors, Coulter has become the most recognized and talked-about conservative intellectual in years—and certainly the most controversial. Now, in How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must), which is sure to ignite impassioned debate, she offers her most comprehensive analysis of the American political scene to date. With incisive reasoning, refreshing candor, and razor-sharp wit, she reveals just why liberals have got it so wrong.
In this powerful and entertaining book, which draws on her weekly columns, Coulter ranges far and wide. No subject is off-limits, and no comment is left unsaid. After all, she writes, “Nothing too extreme can be said about liberals because it’s all true.” How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) offers Coulter’s unvarnished take on:
•The essence of being a liberal: “The absolute conviction that there is one set of rules for you, and another, completely different set of rules for everyone else.”
•John Kerry: “A reporter asked Kerry, ‘Are you for or against gay marriage?’ As usual, his answer was, ‘Yes.’ ”
•Her 9/11 comments: “I am often asked if I still think we should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity. The answer is: Now more than ever!”
•The state of the Democratic Party: “Teddy Kennedy crawls out of Boston Harbor with a quart of Scotch in one pocket and a pair of pantyhose in the other, and Democrats hail him as their party’s spiritual leader.”
•Her philosophy for arguing with liberals: “Tough love, except I don’t love them. My ‘tough love’ approach is much like the Democrats’ ‘middle-class tax cuts’—everything but the last word.”
•The “Treason Lobby”: “Want to make liberals angry? Defend the United States.”
In this full-on Coulterpalooza, you’ll find the real, uncensored Ann Coulter. A special concluding chapter even includes the pieces that squeamish editors refused to publish—“what you could have read if you lived in a free country,” says Coulter. How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) is a stunning reminder of why Ann Coulter’s commentary has achieved must-read status.
“A fluent polemicist with a gift for Menckenesque invective...and she can harness such language to subtle, syllogistic argument.”--Washington Post Book World
“Ann Coulter is a trailblazer.”--Los Angeles Times Book Review
“She can zing one-liners faster than Zeus can throw lightning bolts.”--Kansas City Star
“You know those pundits who bore you to tears trying to balance everyone’s point of view? Coulter isn’t one.”--People
“A great deal of research supports Ms. Coulter’s wisecracks.”--New York Times
“The conservative movement has found its diva.”--Bill Maher
“Ann Coulter is a pundit extraordinaire.”--Rush Limbaugh
Also available as a Random House AudioBook and as an e-Book
Customer Reviews:
Anyone can write a book these days..........2007-10-09
It doesn't matter if you ignore the facts and instead just rant and rave. Hey, if you please the right people you're going to make lots of money! I think I'm going to write my own book called, "How to talk to dumb blonds, if you must."
Once again....Right on!.......2007-10-02
This is absolutely one of Ann's greatest books. She says the things I think quietly to myself. Maybe SHE should be the first woman President.
Her best book.......2007-10-01
This is, in my opinion, Ann Coulter's strongest book. The book is a collection of the essays that she writes weekly and posts on her website and on some conservative sites. Ann Coulter is a good writer and a strong thinker; she has the ability to construct very strong arguments. However, I have never been impressed with her ability to turn her arguments into books. Treason, Godless, etc all have very interesting ideas in them but her argument gets away from her at time.
How to Talk to a Liberal though is different. Coulter's ability to form strong arguments really shines in the short essay format and the essays collected in this book are a real treat to read. I don't agree with everything that Coulter writes but what she has written in this book is bound to make the reader take another look at some of the most serious political issues of our time.
Coulter: The High Priestess of Lunacy.......2007-09-27
Ann Coulter...what can we say about her? I'll take her very own approach to reviewing this book. This book is evil, the work of Satan. Republicans hate America, hate reason and knowledge, hate anything but brainwash, and wallow in primitive myths. There. Brilliant review, right Annie? Annie are you ok, are you ok, Annie?
P.S. At the time of this writing, there are 227 available used copies, starting at less than $1.50! That's funny.
The best political book I've ever read!!!!!.......2007-09-01
Anne Coulter has got to be the greatest conservative mind of our era! Her views and opinions in this book are undeniable and so true.
Book Description
CAUTION: You’re about to enter the world of Ann Coulter
How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must), the instant New York Times bestseller, shows why Ann Coulter has become the most recognized—and controversial—conservative intellectual in years. Coulter ranges far and wide in this powerful and entertaining book, which draws on her weekly columns. No subject is off-limits, no comment left unsaid. She even includes a special chapter featuring the pieces that squeamish editors refused to publish—“what you could have read if you lived in a free country.”
In How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)—which features a brand-new chapter special to the paperback edition—Coulter offers her unvarnished take on:
• The essence of being a liberal: “The absolute conviction that there is one set of rules for you, and another, completely different set of rules for everyone else.”
• Her 9/11 comments: “I am often asked if I still think we should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity. The answer is: Now more than ever!”
• The state of the Democratic Party: “Teddy Kennedy crawls out of Boston Harbor with a quart of Scotch in one pocket and a pair of pantyhose in the other, and Democrats hail him as their party’s spiritual leader.”
• The “Treason Lobby”: “Want to make liberals angry? Defend the United States.”
• How far the Left has sunk: “Liberals have been completely intellectually vanquished. Actually, they lost the war of ideas long ago. It’s just that now their defeat is so obvious, even they’ve noticed.”
• And much more
Customer Reviews:
When saying "here Fido---good dog" is not an option.......2007-09-29
OK, let's be clear on this: Coulter's latest little round of lib-bait-&-smash isn't an instruction manual, or even a primer on what a good American conservative can use as snappy comebacks & snarky rejoinders to liberal dunderheadedness, not at all.
It's like that Alien diplomacy primer back in the Golden Age (the 1950's): It's a cookbook!
A cookbook for serving up the peculiarly suicidal phylae known as the Genus Apologeticus Liberalis Americanus: the whiney, uber-politically correct American left-winger. Well done, baby.
And it's admirably civil, compared to my own little book dictating personal conversations with Liberals. How to talk to a Liberal? Easy:
*"I'd like fries with that."
*"Medium starch on the pants."
*"I'd like two tickets for the 8:30 show."
*"Put some real elbow grease into it!"
*"No, no, you're doing it all wrong---you need to use more tongue on the sole---it's not shiny enough!"
And so forth. By contrast, Coulter's wicked little polemic cooks, bastes, boils, friccasees, and sautees the bane of American political discourse: the community-college educated leftist/statist, a creature in vast supply today (free range, no less!) running wild chiefly in newsrooms, Hollywood watering holes, faculty lounges, and in general on the blasted heath of the brain-dead, intellectually starved steppe-lands of what remains of today's American academy.
Coulter's point is not anti-intellectual or ignorantly dismissive: "How to Talk to a Liberal" takes it as a given that the Liberal doesn't want real debate. He doesn't want to talk to you: he wants Power.
Make no mistake about it: the American Leftist, or, as he calls himself (to better hide his goatish hooves and curling horns) the "Liberal", is a tireless enemy of freedom. He has had a major hand in creating the lifeless, lustreless, boil-covered society through whose grey streets the majority of our quivering population is now forced to scuttle.
Think of what we've lost in ten years: having a cigar around the office to celebrate landing the Gorfingle account, having a nice cigar over a steak dinner at the Bull & the Bear, smoking ciggies in New York & El Lay bars, driving down the road with a Fuzzy Navel in one hand and your cellphone in the other, not worrying about the Gestapo pulling you over for not wearing a seatbelt, big dorsal finned roaring American cars built from Detroit steel that belch out black smoke and make grass die---God, man, you could go on forever.
The Left has. The New American Liberal Man, the weenie-less equivalent of the New Soviet Man, has no real spine. Look at most snivelling college leftists: they'd gladly hold their girlfriend's rapist's assault gear if they thought it would save 'em a beating. But for all that, the American Leftist has been pretty macho when it comes to 1)castrating Free Speech through endless PC speech codes; 2) gelding the Free Market through tireless promotion of big government and high taxes; and 3) gutting America's strength & standing in the World.
The Liberal, then---this counterfeit free-thinker!---is a cancer. He is a threat. He must not be debated. He must not have points ceded his way. He has no points to cede.
Dinesh D'Souza has rightly identified American leftist/liberlism as an Enemy at Home bent on the destruction of truly liberal western values: an enemy that must be destroyed, annihilated, his house burnt and the smoking ruins urinated on, and he must pass off this mortal coil to the weeping and wailing of his women (or same sex partners, considering the sort of thing we're talking about here). Figuratively speaking, of course.
Ann Coulter does that. She does it well. She's a kind of right-wing common sense Boadicea, struggling against the faceless, tireless, brainless tirades of a fumbling, dog stupid Liberal establishment. And I think she enjoys herself, which is why her books, while not life-changing, are still spiky loads of fun to read.
That's why her detractors loathe books like this: Ann Coulter makes the leftists dizzy with rage. The reason they rage!rage! is not because her opinions are subversive, but because she is a clever, brutally talented little artillery master of American scorn. She uses words like a spitting cobra uses venom.
Those who claim Coulter just adds to the incivility of American debate wilfully ignore the larger issue: American politics is necessarily uncivil because they made it that way. When you start using Politics as a truncheon, don't whine when someone shows up with a tac-nuke.
JSG
Ann at Her Best!!!!!.......2007-09-25
Look, if you hate the right wing, don't waste your time. Why? Because this book is not geared to convert you to conservatism, introduce you to conservatism gently, or even paint a picture of conservatism you might have overlooked being a leftist. Trust me. As for me, I love the woman, saw her speak, and would get into a fist fight over her defense (done it). Do I agree with everything she says, no. But this is my favorite of all her books, and a must have for any Right Wing American. Why? Buy the book- the information, her logic, her ideas, her theories, and her sarcasm.... unparalleled and funny as hell. True this book was more relevant during the 2004 election; it is still timeless in nature. The civil rights movement had its Malcolm X, the Republican Party has its Ann Couler. Truly a living legend, this is her teachings. Enjoy fellow elephants!
The World According to Ann.......2007-09-15
Ann Coulter is a syndicated columnist. In this book she presents her writings about American liberalism. Her commentary covers the war on terrorism, the 2004 presidential election, the state of the Democratic Party, Max Cleland, Bill Clinton, and Freedom of speech is just some of her topics. I finished this in one day. Ms. Coulter is a brilliant writer that is intelligent, witty, and very sarcastic. Combine that with her logical and candid manner and you can see why this very articulate woman is on the bestseller list. A very easy read. This book is entertaining and thought-provoking. There is no question that it is biased, but what book isn't.
No words.......2007-07-11
There is only one word to discribe her and this book, but I am too polite to say it. She must be living in Neverland if she thinks that somebody could get away with not talking to a liberal. With people leaving the GOP in droves and Bush having a less than 30 persent aproval rating, more people are realizing that the times are changing, women have been able to vote for 100 years almost, and killing people and converting people to Christianity went out with the Crusades
Gotta love that woman.......2007-06-25
As always, Ann is dead on. EXCELLENT read. This should be a school textbook!
Product Description
"The Thousand Year War in the Mideast" explains how events on the other side of the world a thousand years ago can affect us more than events in our own hometowns today. The events of the Thousand Year War have been the cause of great shocks to our economy and investment markets, including: the oil embargoes, the Iranian hostage crisis, the Iraq-Kuwait war, and the Caucasus Wars over the Caspian Sea oil basin. These shocks are likely to remain so for decades to come. Learn about the Russians, Serbs, Croats, the Balkans, Kosovo, the Ottoman and Mongol empires, Turkey, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Russia, Oman, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Kurdistan, and more. Forewarned is forearmed. You must understand where this war is leading to manage your career, business and investments, as well as to reach an informed opinion regarding U.S. involvement in Mideast affairs.
Can be used for courses in world history, European/Mideast history, international affairs, government, economics, business, finance, and current events. It explains how past events affect current events.
Chapters
1. Terrorism or Retaliation
2. Three Root Causes
3. Muddying the Waters
4. How Many?
5. How Would You React?
6. Three Religions
7. They Think Differently
8. The Lost Civilization
9. The European Attack
10. The Barbary Wars
11. The Ruling Gangs
12. Rich vs. Poor
13. Carving the World
14. U.S. Aid to Soviets
15. The Invicible Secret Weapon
16. Amazing Mystery
17. The Israeli Tragedy
18. Playing One Against the Other
19. The Coming Messiahs
20. The Ultimate Weapon
21. Kill One, Create Ten More
22. High Tech and CBN
23. Loyalty of Russian Troops
24. Loyalty of American Troops
25. Why Die for an Interest?
26. Some Economics of the Thousand Year War
27. Go to High Risk Areas
28. A Small But Revealing Research Project
29. Liberty Not Democracy
30. Summary
31. The Murderous Cycle
32. The New Wars in Chaostan
Appendix
A Brief History of the Iraq-Kuwait War
Chaostan
Loose Cannons
Bibliography and Suggested Readings
Customer Reviews:
The past is not forgotten, it is not even past.......2007-04-19
Best historical perspective on the insider/outsider and local/foreign tensions in the Middle East. The approach given by Maybury will clear up questions you may have about imperialism and political domination as they are attributed to western powers--there have been massacres and despots and wicked abuses of power in the Middle East since the beginning of time. There are no simple resolutions to the conflicts of today, so at least attempt to understand why and how the conflicts continue to simmer until they occasionally break out in open war. Please read it! For reviews of similar books, see also the resource pages at civilsociety at seedwiki. Thanks, Richard, for this great book. Write more!
An unusual interpretation of events in the Middle East.......2006-09-15
This book is not the best way to learn about the history of the Middle East. Not if one wishes to learn in detail of what has happened and when. However, if one wanted to learn the why of these events, this book is invaluable. It provides a simple clear cut reason for a conflict that has been going on for more than a millenium and to which, even today, no end seems in sight.
Continuing in his favourite style of writing letters to his nephew, Chris, Richard Maybury applies the operation of his two basic laws on events that have shaped, and are still shaping the history of Europe over the last thousand years.
The two basic laws read as follows: 1) Do all you have agreed to do: 2) Do not encroach on another's property. Evidently, they are based on the equality of all human beings and oppose the use of force to wrest anything from anyone. As history is replete with power play, especially where emperors, kings and eventually governments are concerned, it is not difficult to see how the wanton abuse of these two laws, backfire on those authorities and organizations who do not adhere to them. In this book, Maybury begins by analyzing the Crusades, (Christian aggressors to the Holy Land, which was not their own and which they wanted to take by force), goes on to examining the authority of the Church, and finally ends up with a bird's eye view of European politics that led to World War I. Application of his logic on these diverse, seemingly unrelated events, makes their outcome almost self evident. Richard Maybury also speculates on the connection between the thousand year old animosity between the Western World (symbolized by America) and the Islamic World (represented by the Arab countries), leading onto the terrorist attack on Sept.11, 2001 (this is added later as the book was originally written in 1999). He shows clearly the role of the Allies (mainly Great Britain and France) as the aggressor in the conflict and how this role has been taken over in later years by the United States of America, a country which was created in order to preserve this very freedom. And especially, how the role of 'global policeman' adopted by America is accepted by the Rest of the World and officially justified in the name of ' protecting American interests'.
Each one of Richard Maybury's books is a fast read and this one is no exception. Maybury's strength lies in his crystal clear clear logic, and his total fearlesness in confronting contentious, emotional issues. Highly reccommended if only to stretch your minds to see a greater picture than the one given out by the authorities-that-be.
Very insightful but a bit short sighted.......2004-04-02
I thought this book is a very useful read and does much to inform about the historical roots to the mess that is currently the Middle East. There are ancient hostilities and tensions that are beyond the understanding of many of the policy makers that determine the direction that nations take in the Middle East.
Maybury does an excellent job explaining 'why they hate us so' which was a seemingly unanswered question in the days after 911.
However, I felt that Maybury did great disservice to his readers by not explaining that the crusades were in response to hundreds of years of Muslim advance, often brutal and murderous in nature. All the countries we now know as Muslim countries were once considered Christian. Istanbul was once Constantinople, the seat of the Holy Roman Empire. Maybury paints the Muslims as innocent victims without presenting the more honest view that the Muslim religion was birthed in hostile, war like advance. Muhammed essentially conquered Mecca and Medina to make them Muslim; they did not convert voluntarily.
This oversight was quite disturbing because it is the oversight that one hears from the Muslim extremists. They often refer to the crusades without any reference to their own heritage of bloodshed.
While I tend to agree with his assertions about the role the USA should play in the Middle East, I feel that Maybury lacks a thorough knowledge of the religious ideology that drives the Muslim extremists who are seeking to become the norm.
Interesting, thought provoking and filled with gile.......2003-06-17
With the reading of this last book in Mr. Mayburys original nine book series The Thousand Year War in the Mideast," I have finished them all. I enjoyed them all even though the Clipper Ship was not as good as the rest. Too many funnel stories.
Yes, I have already ordered the WWI and WWII books for my further enjoyment.
I find Richard Maybury a remarkably intellectual thinker and presenter of his view of history, politics, law, various economics factors, and of course many other issues. There is however a great deal of nothing more than his personal opinion on certain issues.
Enjoy them, yes without a doubt? Did I learn from them, I believe that I leaned a great deal? Do I accept every idea or assertion that he makes, no of course not?
He may be brilliant in his presentation, form and style but to accept his assertions as gospel, because I like those qualities, would be foolish indeed. I find some of what he attempts to sell as absolute fact and the other side as he calls it, quite thought provoking; but some of it I find completely unsubstantiated by other works on the same subjects.
In his attempt to get his nephew to see the other side...he quite often seems to blindly and incorrectly "take" the other position as if it were the only possible way of looking at the issue, which is completely inappropriate and often untrue.
For instance, as a former Marine who took great pride in singing from the halls of Montezuma...to the shores of Tripoli and learning the history behind it, I take great exception to his implication that America was nothing more than a complete lackey to the English and the Europeans.
One page 205 he tells us that This will be the first case of the U.S. fighting the Europeans wars for them. I find that an odd lack of research when in the college edition of The National Experience A History of the United States by Blum, McFeeley, Morgan and Schlesinger, Jeffersons determination to stay out of entangling alliances and wars was not undone, by his mere desire or naiveté to be the puppets of the Europeans or the lackeys of some other power; but because he - actually found paying tribute - for immunity from attack to be too costly and humiliating to America. In short it was intolerable to him as President of this nation to grovel to another nation.
This could just as easily be looked upon as a positive step to inventing the concept of international waters and the idea of free trade agreements! In any case, it resulted in an 1805 peace with the Pasha stopping his tributes and later the end of all tributes in that area in 1816, according to their account.
So I believe that Mr. Maybury, although learned and scholarly, has failed to consider all sides of the issue, the times these events were conducted in, and the necessary mentality of those dealing with the world and an emerging new nation and world player. If we would have done nothing, tribute paying would have continued, does he believe that would be a good thing? Encouraging such high seas confrontations?
Could he be implying that we just do as liberals seem to want us to do with incidents of killing, by simply ignoring attacks on our property and the loss of life and write them off? Hey, whats a few dead Americans here or there if we can secure favor with an enemy and understand him or her right? I am glad most of our presidents do not have that mentality, although the last one did, which was a real shame.
In addition as an emerging nation could Mr. Maybury really and truly believe that we should have been isolationist for the last 250 years? Democrats say yes out of one side of their mouths while saying no to any Republican who professes the same concept. It is a good word when they use it but a curse word when someone else does.
If we had been, then we would have gone the way of the Incas, Aztecs, American Indians and the French and just about every other defeated nation or people on earth. Non-involvement except for trade would be a great plan, in a world that never entered into the technological age, or that did not enter into the flying machine age or the age of rocket boosters, or the submarine age or the aircraft carrier age or the nuclear, biological and chemical age.
But that is not the world we live in. If we were still getting around with wooden ships, and balloons and horses and such, it would be fine to espouse those philosophies, but thank God we were flexible and fluid enough to adapt, adjust and become a world power broker and player in those days, and overcome the enemies who would by now be teaching our children how to speak their language by force.
I believe Mr. Mayburys opinion go astray when they do not consider the real world and how it has holistically evolved. Sometimes even bad decisions were for the best of reasons when viewed from the long view. Sure we have made mistakes in the past, but he cannot assure anyone that not making those decisions would have produced any safer a world then we have right now. And the Middle East would be a hot spot with or without our minor involvement. By his own admission it was so long before the USA came onto the scene.
Unless of course he is trying to tell us a world owned, operated and ruled by a completely Islamic regime or tyrants like the Stalins, Husseins, Khomeinis, Arrafats and Hitlers and such would be better for us. If we were the wimps he suggests we should have been in world affairs back then, then that is exactly what the status quo would be today. No it is a good book, but the final solution to history as he sees it is an incorrect one, I think.
1000 Words
An analysis of the current war by one who predicted it.......2002-12-27
Richard Maybury is a very rare bird. He can take a complex subject, such as why the US government is engaged in a war with radical Islam, and explain its root causes in simple, truthful terms. He is a tough, hardheaded, fearless thinker who is unafraid to go past the facile explanations of the mainstream press and seek out the deeper causes of socio-political phenomena. Maybury relies on science, reason, and a penetrating study of history for his explanations. He is also an ex-military man with an astonishing grasp of military history and the current level of effectiveness of US armed forces
For instance, his analysis begins in the 8th century with the founding of Islam. He explains why the devastation visited upon the Islamic world by the European Crusades and the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan in the 11th-13th centuries still exert a powerful influence on the peoples of the MidEast.
He also clearly identifies the theoretical basis of his reasoning, i.e., Austrian (free market) economics and the natural or "scientific" jurisprudence that underlies the evolutionary development of Common Law, the basis of American freedom. I was stunned by his ability to extract from his studies the two basic laws (stated in short, simple sentences) upon which every successful civilization is and has been based. He explains in another book how America's success derives from the founders' understanding of these two laws. He writes that he has never found anyone who disagrees with the rightness of these two laws...although the current American political state massively violates both every day. In the context of this book, he shows how the US government's intervention in Middle Eastern affairs tramples on the two laws that, ironically, have always been the source of American freedom and prosperity.
I have read most of the deeper academic works of the Austrian school and am well-read on American/European history. I have also applied myself assiduously to understand the current conflict and its probable outcome. However, until I read Maybury's clear, concise book, I honestly did not understand what was going on. Maybury has given me the tools I was seeking to grasp the nature of the current conflict. For instance, he not only predicted that something like 9/11/2001 would happen years before it did, but also why it was bound to happen. He also predicts that unless the US gov't withdraws from the MidEast and apologizes for over 50 years of murderous meddling in the afffairs of the Islamic world, we will face far worse consequences. Maybury is also honest about the limitations of his ability to predict. He lays out the principles upon which he bases his projections in straightforward terms so you can judge his conclusions for yourself.
Maybury uses simple examples to explain why he thinks the way he does. Eg, he asks how we would feel if the Iranian navy were permanently deployed in Chesapeake Bay. He further states obvious truths that the mainstream somehow overlooks, such as, that the US military is over there in their homeland killing people right & left and has been doing so for 50 years; their military is not over here on our (US) homeland. He points out, without justifying them, that two decades of Muslim attacks on Americans have been in response to prior American attacks on Muslims that have killed thousands of innocent islamic men, women & children.
Maybury does not take sides (the thinks both sides are wrong) but does show how the American government (not the American people) has instigated the current version of the "1,000 Year War" through its continuous interference in the Middle East or as he calls it "Chaostan." Finally, he explains why the US gov't cannot possibly cure the ills of tyranny, poverty & constant violence that plague that part of the world. US meddling will only make things worse at great cost to both sides.
I feel so strongly about the rightness of Maybury's analysis in this book that I urgently recommend it to any and all free thinking people the world over, but particularly my fellow Americans. We are truly on the brink of potentially catastrophic events and Maybury is the one thinker I have come across who shows a realistic pathway out of the war and chaos to come.
Average customer rating:
- Penetrate the Propaganda
- Impetus for Thought
- oh no, another anti-government book
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World War II: The Rest of the Story and How It Affects You Today, 1930 to September 11, 2001 (Uncle Eric Book)
Rick Maybury , and
Jane A. Williams
Manufacturer: Bluestocking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0942617436
Release Date: 2003-10-01 |
Product Description
Mr. Maybury presents an idea-based explanation of the Second World War. He focuses on events in the Second World War and how our misunderstanding of this war led to America s subsequent wars, including the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the Iraq-Kuwait War, and the "war on terrorism" that began September 11, 2001.
To improve the student's learning experience, also purchase the student study guide for "World War II" titled "A Bluestocking Guide: World War II" also available through Amazon.com
Can be used for courses in World History, U.S. History, International Relations, Economics, Business, Finance, and Government.
This is part two of a two-part series on the world wars. For part one, check out 'World War I: The Rest of the Story and How It Affects You Today' also available through Amazon.com
Table of Contents for "World War II"
Author's Disclosure
Cast of Characters
Timeline
Part One: Who Were The Good Guys?
1. The Main Theater of the War
2. Good Guys Against Bad Guys
3. Not Six Million
4. World War II Was Nothing New
5. Millions
6. Britain Was A White Hat?
7. British Conquests
8. P.T. Barnum Knew
9. British Area Bombing
10. Two Questions
Part Two: First Rumblings
11. When Did The War Begin?
12. Appeasement and Comparative Brutality
13. Carving Up Central Europe
Part Three: The U.S. Enters the War
14. The French versus the French
15. Significance of the Higgins Boat
16. Only Genghis Khan Did It
17. The Solution
18. Events Leading to Pearl Harbor
19. Hiding Facts about the Brawl
20. The Great World War II Myth
FDR's Pearl Harbor Speech
21. A Secret Agreement
22. Why Did The Japanese Attack?
23. Pearl Harbor: FDR's Deceit
24. The Flying Tigers and B-17 Bombers
25. "Caught With Their Pants Down"
26. Planes Parked Too Close Together
27. The Prokofiev Seamount
28. The Necessary Sacrifice?
29. You've Seen The Photos
Part Four: The Economics of the War
30. The Myth of German Might
31. Focus On The Eastern Front
32. Of Photographs and Weather
33. German Production of Weapons
34. Germany's Unknown Second Army
35. Tank Treads, Trucks and Submarines
36. Germany's Wonder Weapons
37. Oil and Rifles
38. Americans Were Less Intelligent?
39. The Bookings Revelation
40. Russia Invaded by Keystone Kops
41. Omaha Beach, Bravery versus Heroism
Part Five: The USG Makes It Worse
42. The German Underground
43. Unconditional Surrender
44. Why Did Roosevelt Do It?
45. Rarely Questioned
46. Why Was Nagasaki Bombed?
47. 105 Aircraft Carriers
48. Surrender Near
49. Fierce Fighters
50. The Russians React
51. The Soviet Uprising
Part Six: Effect On Us Today
52. Arm Any Gangster
53. September 11th and the Destruction of the World Trade Center
54. Blowback
55. MAD
56. Policeman of the World
57. Summary
Part Seven: Final Thoughts About War
58. The Needless Deaths of 35 Million
59. The Normal Conditions of Humans
60. The Cause of War
61. Minor League to Emperor of the World
Appendix
Bibliography and Suggested Reading
Suggested Listening
Suggested Viewing
Glossary
About Richard J. Maybury
Index
Index of Maps
Map of Europe
British and Russian Empire
Expansion of the Russian Empirev Conquered by European Regimes
Washington's Pacific Bases in 1940
San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Japan
Japan, Bungo Strait
Prokofiev Seamount
Rebel-held Territories during WWII
Axis versus Allies
Customer Reviews:
Penetrate the Propaganda.......2007-04-29
It's funny--there's a stereotype that politicians are all liars, yet anytime someone suggests that the government is lying to us, we quickly dismiss that as a ridiculous conspiracy theory.
Well, this book is not about a conspiracy theory; it's about World War II. And as the title says, it tells the other side of the story--the side you don't get from mainstream history books, most of which have been tainted by propaganda and thus offer only a very biased view of the facts.
As the author points out, no book is unbiased. If you're looking for pure objectivity, you'd better stick to math and science; you sure won't find it in history. Maybury is admittedly biased, and he explains right up front what his bias is so that the reader won't be deceived.
Some books may be more "patriotic" than this one, if your idea of patriotism is "my country, right or wrong." But, to borrow a scene from the movie The Matrix, you can choose the red pill or the blue pill: keep your blinders firmly in place, or dare to open your eyes to what's really going on.
For anyone who wants to take a sober look at the facts and make up his own mind, this book is a great place to start.
So, why not 5 stars if I love it so much? Well, it's an "Uncle Eric" book, ostensibly targeted to the narrator's twelve-year-old nephew. That means that if you're much older than twelve, it may sound like the author is talking down to you. If you can get past that, though, you'll find a clear presentation of oft-ignored facts about World War II. Lots of good food for thought.
Impetus for Thought.......2006-07-02
If you truly believe that questioning the ultimate motives for war is unpatriotic, then do not read this book. If you have the courage to accept there actually are two sides to every story, then this book is for you. The previous review takes quotes from this book entirely out of context ... whether you agree or not, this book does actually warrant investigation.
oh no, another anti-government book.......2006-02-09
If you are a homeschooler with a deep distrust of your government, then this book is for you. I am a homeschooling mom. I do not deeply distrust my government. The basic premise of this book may have slight credibility, (yes, Stalin did kill more people than Hitler). Yet, "Uncle Eric" makes some pretty over-the-top claims. Claims such as, "The Jewish Holocaust gets the publicity because it is regarded as the justification for Jews to have a Jewish state (Israel) in the Mideast.",(pg 36), and in regards to Pearl Harbor, "Few are willing to face the possiblity that the President and his cronies planned it all." (pg. 162).
If you are looking for facts and the whys and wherefores of WWII, look elsewhere--it'll save you having to pay to ship this book back.
Book Description
"Waldman gets right to the heart of the con." -Greg Palast, author of the New York Times bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
How to Build a Fraud --Portray son of one of America's most influential families as down-home Texan --Berate media as "liberal" until they stop asking tough questions --Take advantage of reporters' tendency to not check the facts --Mask reactionary policies in compassionate words and pictures --Push false stories from right-wing media into mainstream media --Extol the virtues of workers while systematically pushing an anti-labor agenda --Propose a series of tax cuts aimed at the wealthy, but sell them as a boon to ordinary Americans --Disguise destructive initiatives with friendly sounding names --Befriend media with "genuine guy" routine --Keep the public from accessing information --Maintain message discipline at all times --Question patriotism of anyone who disagrees --Repeat above until it all seems true
In Fraud, leading political and media analyst Paul Waldman exposes the truth behind the rise of George W. Bush. What is revealed is more shocking than just a pattern of lies and incompetence. It is the story of how a clever political machine built a high-stakes game of deception, a policy of lies to capture the highest office in the free world, a fraud that continues to this day.
The power of the fraud lies in the ability of the Bush machine to manipulate the press, and thereby avoid having the truth exposed. Waldman's findings reveal an astonishing record of how the nation's media has not only given Bush a pass again and again, but have failed to follow up on even the most openly dishonest parts of the Bush agenda.
For all Americans who have been uneasy about the honesty of the Bush administration, but unsure what it means or how far it goes, Fraud is a shocking wake-up call.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent, Logical Arguments.......2006-09-24
This book has excellent arguments which shows that various major media providers put George Bush in a false light, a pretty one, in order to make him out to be a good or innocent person when in reality, he is not at all.
Mr. Waldman skillfully and logically explained using even subtle evidences as to how the media puts him in an undeserved good light.
One of the things I found fault with however was that he said that George Bush was not evil, yet ironically, his description of Bush, despite whatever else Waldman was saying about Bush Jr. in his book, was a man who with the help of his friends and allies as well, made and makes deliberate efforts to portray him as someone who he is not, that includes him having a humble, God-fearing personality, and who is honest about his true goals for the laws and speeches he makes. For example, Bush hiding the fact that his true intent is to fatten the rich and keep the poor poor. According to the Bible, and many major religions, and even obscure ones, to give to the rich (those who already have) as well as steal from and oppress the poor, especially to fatten the rich by doing so, is EVIL. Even non-religious people sense that to take advantage of the poor to increase the wealth of people who are already rich is an evil act.
Despite that flaw, this book is a great help for reformed type Christians in showing the hellish direction the U.S.A. and the countries it oppresses are going.
Very interesting book..........explains media oversight.......2006-07-23
Paul Waldman exposes one of the most corrupt Presidents to take office and the news media that has supported him.
Fraud shows how the public has been grossly misled. The American Media has portrayed President Bush in a favorable light. Partly because they are gullible, partly because I suspect the news media is owned by very wealthy individuals or large corporations and partly because the Bush Administration has used "bullying tactics" to get bias coverage.
If one looks closer you see that the facts speak for themselves and Paul Waldman lays down the facts.
This book not only lists many of the lies uttered and policies enacted by our 43rd President but lists the exact sources of information (like a college thesis paper) so there is no doubt as to the validity of the information provided. This isn't "Bush Bashing" as much as it's a laying down of documented utterings by none other then W himself.
People that are still pro Bush will not see this, they will make excuses and allowances for the more then 262 lies documented as the American Public sees what they want to see.
We have a President that has bent all rules in favor of his own personal agenda vs the public good. He habitually says one thing, the press reports what he says and then he turns around and quietly does whatever he wants. The media seems to not see or want to see the discrepancy and in the process Americans are being deceived.
I suspect historians will verify that Fraud was accurate and the American People were misled.
I found page 52 very interesting, here Paul Waldman compares Bill & Hilary Clinton's Whitewater scandal to George W. Bush's Harkin Scandal and shows how the American News Media has twist and shaped the publics perception in favor of George Bush Jr.
The Whitewater Scandal was the target of an Independent Counsel investigation that spent more than $70 million in taxpayer funds. And how much money was involved? Approximately $220,000.
George W. Bush made $848,560 on his "timely sale" of Harken stock, the $20 million in losses Harken hid from shareholders, and the $8 million in sham profit it created out of thin air with the Aloha deal".
The New York Times ran more than 1,000 articles on Whitewater and only 9 for Harken. Seems the press largely ignored the "Harken Scandal" while climbing all over Whitewater.
The above is only one sample of how the news media has failed the American People big time. We're not getting the full unbiased story. The public at large has no comprehension of the extent we are being manipulated by the press.
Reviews by Nan Kilar and Bobby Miller.......2006-04-12
Lucid and compelling. By far one of the best anti-Bush books I've read. It's done with a scholar's scrupulous attention. Waldman placed this book at the head of the line with me by repeatedly providing thought provoking comparisons. Frankly, I'd like to compare it with my anti-Bush book, but really the two are incomparable. You will see Bush as he really is. What you will learn, and this pleases me because I've been, okay I'll say it, preaching that Bush is not some dumb clown that doesn't know his left from his right. He knows damn well what he's doing and he's doing it according to plan like a champ. The greatest trick the devil ever played on earth was to convince people he didn't exist. The pleasure was all mine, Waldman.
How to talk to a conservative, if you must.......2006-03-28
This book was a phenomenal, well-written expose of George Bush. As one reviewer put it, it is an encyclopedia of every thing that is wrong with George Bush, and the fraud he has perpetrated on the American public.
Waldman catalogues so many facts and attributions per page, it is difficult to read so many pages in one sitting, because you want to absorb the messages. This book is filled with footnotes and appendices and nexus searches. It is impossible here to list all the things that Waldman describes in detail: his drunkeness, arrests, insider trading, favored military treatment, sleazy campaign attacks, the administration chickenhawks, and his lies about everything from WMD's to taxes.
Waldman writes well. His message is clear, concise, and easy to follow. His arguments are compelling and unassailable. If you are still uncertain, read all the one star reviews and look at what they attack: the editorial spelling of a latin phrase, or a dismissive, shrill-like, paragraph without a single, intelligent, cogent analysis, refutation of fact, or challenge of Waldman's work. That may be your best recommendation.
I hope he writes another one about the second term. I'll stand in line for it.
If you want one book that will teach you how to talk to a conservative, this is definitely one of the very best.
How Bush Makes Clinton Look Saintly!.......2005-12-29
Waldman provides a good compilation of Bush and his Administration's lies and manipulations of the truth. While little is presented that is new, having it summarized in one place helps shock readers who have become innured to what has been going on, or may have been too busy to notice.
Examples from the book include:
1)Bush likes to brag about his "business experience." The reality is that he ran three oil companies into the ground, and achieved baseball ownership status only through a sweetheart deal with some of his father's friends. Further, evidence strongly indicates that Bush was guilty of insider trading, and he has refused to release documents relevant to the case. (The SEC, led by a Bush, Sr. appointee, found no problems and closed the case.) Finally, one of the companies Bush was a director for also set up a phony Cayman Island subsidiary to dodge American taxes.
2)Bush gave the impression that Ken Lay (Enron CEO) was but a distant and minor supporter. Reality is that no company gave Bush more money over the course of his political career than Enron.
3)Waldman claims "Orwellian Misdirection" is a favorite Bush tool in which the speaker accuses his opponents of the very thing of which he is guilty. For example, when questioned about his extraordinary fundraising during the 2000 campaing, Bush accused his opponents of being the real profligates.
4)Bush vetoed a Texas patients' bill of rights which was then passed veto-proof and without his signature. When accused of not supporting patients' bill of rights, he claimed to have brought Republicans and Democrats together to accomplish such. (Note: No such bill has moved at the Federal level since Bush became President.)
5)Bush claimed his 2003 tax-cut plan would allow 92 million Americans to keep an average of $1,083 more of their own money. The reality was that the numbers were badly distorted by benefits received by the rich, and 66 million would only benefit by an average $19.
6)Efforts to repeal the "estate tax" instead referred to it as the "death tax." In reality, it then only involved the wealthiest 2%, though thanks to the confusion generated half of Americans believed that most families would have to pay estate tax when someone died.
An important read for any citizen seeking to be well-informed.
Book Description
Millions of Americans have been thrilled, scared, titillated, and shocked by exploitation movies, low budget films with many scenes of sex, violence, and other potentially lurid elements. The term derives from the fact that promoters of such films exploit the contents in advertising that plays up the sexual or violent aspects of the films. This is the first comprehensive study of the American exploitation film to be published. It discusses five distinct genres: the teen movie, the sexploitation film, the martial arts movie, the blaxploitation film and the lawbreaker picture. Contained within these genres are many popular American film types, including beach movies, biker pictures, and women's prison movies. The study provides a history and sociopolitical analysis of each genre, focusing on significant films in those genres. It also discusses the economics of exploitation films and their place in the motion picture industry, the development of drive-in theaters, the significance of the teenage audience, andthe effect of the videocassette. Finally, the book applies major film and cultural theories to establish an aesthetic for evaluating the exploitation film and to explore the relationship between film and audience.
(Ph.D. dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 1990; revised with new preface and index)
Book Description
The Internet's ability to break down barriers, connect people, and amass information is unparalleled and unprecedented. Perhaps the Internet's most important promise lies in its ability to re-connect American citizens with their government. Using the World Wide Web, anyone can now research issues, track legislation, and lobby the halls of Congress. It is easier than ever before to reach out to others who share your views and create a unified voice that legislators cannot ignore.
Cybercitizen is a practical, nonpartisan guide that cuts through the glut of useless information on the Internet and connects you with the people, the organizations, and the information that power America's government. Get online and become a force for change!
Cybercitizen includes:
* Insightful explanations of the new and powerful ways that online Americans can influence their lawmakers.
* Comprehensive listings of the best political, government, and news sites on the World Wide Web.
* How to find the funding, the voting records, and the issue positions of your local candidates before you vote.
* A sourcebook of the issues you care about and where to find them on the Internet.
* Strategy tips from professionals who know how elected officials think, work, and react.
* Information on how to use the Internet to identify, research, and counteract your political opponents.
Customer Reviews:
Motivating.......2001-04-12
I've had an issue that I've been trying to put on my Congressman's radar screen, and I have had no luck. Cybercitizen gave me some great ways to convince my Congressman, or any politician for that matter, to do what I think is the right thing to do. It's not just web sites.. it's ideas that motivate!
Great Resource!.......2001-01-11
For anyone who wants to get involved with a cause and doesn't know where to start. It goes beyond finding websites and writing to Congress and gives a useful primer on how grassroots advocacy works. One of the best things this book does is to dispel all the myths about how the Internet makes the government more accessible to voters. It's as important to know what the Internet can't do as it what it can.
Nice to Have.......2001-01-03
"Cybercitizen" provides a crashcourse in the ways that you can use your computer to make a difference, especially in ways that you can convey your concerns to government officials. I think a good word to describe this book is "index", for it provides an index of nice sites that you can check out. I'm kind of worried however, that given that internet information (from website to email addresses) changes all the time, the book may become quickly out of date. I was expecting the author to not only give examples of websites but also to write about ways that you can organize on the internet (like how to use email lists, websites, internet outreach, etc.), but it doesn't have anything like that. I think this is one of the first "how-to" book focusing on cybera-advocacy. It is a good attempt, but it leaves a lot of room for another book.
Book Description
Welcome to the world of Ann Coulter. With her monumental bestsellers Treason, Slander, and High Crimes and Misdemeanors, Coulter has become the most recognized and talked-about conservative intellectual in years—and certainly the most controversial. Now, in How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must), which is sure to ignite impassioned debate, she offers her most comprehensive analysis of the American political scene to date. With incisive reasoning, refreshing candor, and razor-sharp wit, she reveals just why liberals have got it so wrong.
In this powerful and entertaining book, which draws on her weekly columns, Coulter ranges far and wide. No subject is off-limits, and no comment is left unsaid. After all, she writes, “Nothing too extreme can be said about liberals because it’s all true.” How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) offers Coulter’s unvarnished take on:
•The essence of being a liberal: “The absolute conviction that there is one set of rules for you, and another, completely different set of rules for everyone else.”
•John Kerry: “A reporter asked Kerry, ‘Are you for or against gay marriage?’ As usual, his answer was, ‘Yes.’ ”
•Her 9/11 comments: “I am often asked if I still think we should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity. The answer is: Now more than ever!”
•The state of the Democratic Party: “Teddy Kennedy crawls out of Boston Harbor with a quart of Scotch in one pocket and a pair of pantyhose in the other, and Democrats hail him as their party’s spiritual leader.”
•Her philosophy for arguing with liberals: “Tough love, except I don’t love them. My ‘tough love’ approach is much like the Democrats’ ‘middle-class tax cuts’—everything but the last word.”
•The “Treason Lobby”: “Want to make liberals angry? Defend the United States.”
In this full-on Coulterpalooza, you’ll find the real, uncensored Ann Coulter. A special concluding chapter even includes the pieces that squeamish editors refused to publish—“what you could have read if you lived in a free country,” says Coulter. How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) is a stunning reminder of why Ann Coulter’s commentary has achieved must-read status.
“A fluent polemicist with a gift for Menckenesque invective...and she can harness such language to subtle, syllogistic argument.”--Washington Post Book World
“Ann Coulter is a trailblazer.”--Los Angeles Times Book Review
“She can zing one-liners faster than Zeus can throw lightning bolts.”--Kansas City Star
“You know those pundits who bore you to tears trying to balance everyone’s point of view? Coulter isn’t one.”--People
“A great deal of research supports Ms. Coulter’s wisecracks.”--New York Times
“The conservative movement has found its diva.”--Bill Maher
“Ann Coulter is a pundit extraordinaire.”--Rush Limbaugh
Also available as a Random House AudioBook and as an e-Book
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must).......2007-01-09
I would hate to be on the wrong side of this articulate lady who strips liberals down to their figurative shorts by exposing their lies in a series of newspaper columns published between 2000 and 2003 and read by the author herself. Party-line liberals, be careful what you say (especially in print) because she will not just expose you but paint you neon red! Conservative and powerful!
Important safety aid.......2006-06-08
I must admit, Ann sometimes makes sense about Islam and Immigration. The rest, you know, is unbelievably vicious lies.
So why then am I giving it four stars?
Well, you know, sometimes you are driving on the freeway, and you start to get really sleepy, you just can't stay awake? It's very dangerous. Just pop in this CD. ONE MINUTE! You will not. be. sleepy. But please, DO NOT OVERDOSE! A little too much, you could be in a bad road rage incident.
Customer Reviews:
Can you keep a secret?.......2007-07-07
While the city blissfully sleeps, they gather shrouded under a veil of secrecy to plot the destruction of nation-states, races and religions. These are the members of ancient societies, new world orders and every shadowy group in between. Well researched and highly enjoyable, this book will give you an up close and personal view of their mad plans and sometimes-brutal tactics.
Enter, Brother.......2007-07-07
Flash the man at the locked door the "hi-sign", put on your fez, hood, or Masonic apron and join author Michael Benson as he takes you on a journey into the offbeat world of strange cults and secret societies. All manner of previously well-guarded secrets and rituals will be exposed to you for your enjoyment and edification.
Now repeat after me, "If I do not find Inside Secret Societies: What They Don't Want You to Know a fascinating and informative read, may my pancreas explode and my socks never match."
An Encylopedia of Secret Organizations.......2006-05-22
This book is organized in alphabetical order, listing a great many "secret societies" such as the Freemasons, Rosicruicians, Knights Templar, etc. but also such lesser-known groups as the "Bilderbergs," "Bohemian Grove," "MJ-12," etc. that perhaps are much more influential in our time.
The entries are very basic yet seem to be comprehensive. This is a general reference book to consult when you have heard the name of some group and just want to get an idea of who they are, and then go on to other more in-depth information in other books.
Caveat: I don't have full confidence in the author's accuracy with specific details. For example, he speaks of someone being held in a "Minneapolis prison" and I happen to know there is no prison in Minneapolis (there is a county jail).
Book Description
You can change the world.
Free Speech. Racism. The Environment. Gay Rights. Bullying and School Safety. Animal Welfare. War. Information about Safe Sex and Birth Control. Free Speech. HIV and AIDS. Women's Rights.
These are the issues you care about -- and now you can do something about them. It's Your World will show you how to act on your beliefs, no matter what they are, and make a difference.
The information inside includes:
• The basics of activism
• Activism projects and outreach ideas
• The 5-minute activist
• How to be an activist at home, at school, and in your community
• Stories from teenagers who have taken on the world -- and won
• Resources including books, movies, and Web sites
• and much, much more
Whether at home, in school, or in your community, you have the power and the ability to create change, even if you aren't old enough to vote. Don't wait until you're eighteen to flex your political muscles -- start right now!
Customer Reviews:
Power to the people.......2007-09-14
I'm glad to see a book like this available for teens, because it's never too early to teach Americans that they have the power to resist. For most my life I felt powerless, but my feelings changed in 2007 when ordinary folks like myself used letters, e-mails and phone calls to stop the all-powerful federal government from giving amnesty to 12,000,000 illegal aliens. So I recommend all teens read this book and learn how to legally fight the government and protect their rights; because if you won't fight for them, the politicians will cheerfully take them away.
Change is Good.......2007-02-19
In a world filled with fear and uncertainty, teens need to get involved in stopping the violence, fear and global destruction. This wonderful book allows teens to get involved in saving their world step by step in a good, non-violent way.
Richie's Picks: IT'S YOUR WORLD.......2004-10-12
"We can change the world,
Rearrange the world,
It's dying--
To get better."
--Graham Nash, "Chicago"
"Every year in America, more than four million companion animals are needlessly put to death in shelters."
"A full-time working woman [in America] earns only seventy-three cents for every dollar earned by a man."
"On average, an American high school student hears twenty-five anti-gay remarks every day."
Don't like something that's going on? Then change it!
I was joyed to help ferry our budding tenth grade activist and a group of her peers out to the rugged ocean coast recently to take part in a Clean Up Day. There is nothing as a parent that I'd like more than to see my kids grow up to be people who are trying to make this place better. Katie is now the same age I was when I participated in a high school clean up project on the first Earth Day.
And I was living back there on the East coast when, on a summer Southampton morning in 1976, I wandered into Neil's house. Arthur was already there, and our favorite radio station, WPKN, was cranked up on the stereo. But when I walked in that morning, Arthur was all teary-eyed as he began blubbering over and over to me, "They just can't do that! They just can't do that!"
It took twenty minutes of listening to 'PKN before they repeated the announcement that had unhinged my friend: The Board of Trustees of the University of Bridgeport had decided to take active control of "our" radio station and turn it into an NPR affiliate.
Because I was (am, and forever shall remain) an activist/troublemaker/pain-in-the-butt, I told Arthur that he needed to immediately write letters in protest. And to this day I still cannot understand the response by Arthur which was to do absolutely nothing but moan and mourn. No matter what I said, I could not get him to write even one simple letter.
But I did.
I wrote to Congressman Otis Pike and told him that WPKN was a unique and vital source of alternative news and commentary for his constituents, and that the source was about to be silenced.
A few days later the announcements of the impending change at the station ceased without fanfare or explanation. I then received a written response from Congressman Pike which included a copy of the letter sent to him by the head of the FCC who, at the Congressman's request, had inquired of the University what was going on with the radio station and was told that, oh no, nothing was going on.
A year later, as an antinuclear activist, I had the opportunity to visit the WPKN studio to speak on the air about solar energy and conservation technologies. I brought along the letters that Congressman Pike had sent me, and was treated like a prince by the station manager when he saw that letter. He told me that he had never learned why the Trustees had abandoned their plans as abruptly as they had adopted them.
And thus I learned that one young person can make all the difference.
"Right now in the United States, twenty-six percent of the population is under eighteen. That's more than seventy million people. Imagine what it would be like if you and everyone around you got to tell the world what you think. Don't wait until you're old enough to vote to take action. Starting today, starting right now, you can make your voice heard on the issues that matter to you."
IT'S YOUR WORLD--IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, CHANGE IT is both a blueprint for creating massive numbers of teen pains-in-the-butt and a resource manual that provides the information teens need to go out and change the world. The book is compiled in a teen-friendly format with dozens of success stories penned by teen activists set on the outside edge of the right hand pages, side by side with the nuts and bolts (and websites) that provide the necessary tools for kids to instigate their own changes at their homes, in their schools, and out in the real world.
The book is divided into sections on Helping Animals, Fighting Racism, Saving the Environment, Ending War, Fighting the Spread of HIV/AIDS, Stopping School Violence and Bullying, Defending Women's Rights, Protecting Civil Rights and Civil Liberty, and Promoting Tolerance Toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth. There are annotated book lists, organization lists, and piles of ideas that can be utilized immediately.
I don't expect that a large percentage of the book's young readers will grow up to be the nutjob that I've long become: A long-haired fanatic who'd happily tell preschoolers why he didn't eat "dead, chopped up animals," who always conned his own kids into choosing subjects like Ruby Bridges, Gandhi, and Rachel Carson when they had to do a report for school, who still stands his ground on drying clothes on a line in the sun and refuses to own a dryer, who has stood with a sign on a hundred street corners actively and vocally supporting peace, Project Billboard, alternative energy, gay marriage, Choice, gun control, affirmative action, school libraries, No Name Calling, a Skateboard Park for our community's kids, and probably has a decades-long FBI file to prove it all. (The book tells you how to obtain a copy of that file through the Freedom of Information Act. Yes, I'll be submitting my request shortly.)
IT'S YOUR WORLD--IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, CHANGE IT, ACTIVISM FOR TEENAGERS will be music to the ears of teens who are disturbed about the state of affairs that confront them in their lives, and are under the mistaken impression that there is nothing they can do about it. And since "Being a Teen" is more often than not synonymous with "Being Disturbed," this book theoretically has quite a large potential audience.
Books:
- How to Write a Children's Picture Book: Learning from The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Corduroy, Where the Wild Things Are, The Carrot Seed, Good Night, Gorilla, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and Other Favorite Stories
- I Hope You Dance
- I Married Wyatt Earp: The Recollections of Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp
- I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala
- Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War?
- Iceman Inheritance : Prehistoric Sources of Western Man's Racism, Sexism and Aggression
- In Search of Captain Zero: A Surfer's Road Trip Beyond the End of the Road
- Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World
- Interpreter of Maladies
- Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The New Executive Assistant: Advice for Succeeding in Your Career
- The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme
- Money Makes the World Go Around
- National Seashores Coloring Book
- Stop Sitting on Your Assets: How to Safely Leverage the Equity Trapped in Your Home and Transform It
- Real Food for Dogs: 50 Vet-Approved Recipes to Please the Canine Gastronome
- Scotland Business Law Handbook
- Accountants' General Ledger 5.25
- Post-Industrial Labour Markets: Profiles of North America and Scandinavia
- Soul Resin
Godless: The Church of Liberalism
Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right
Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism
Men in Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37)
