Events Books

Not see facism on the rise, the skeptic system backed up and truth decay everywhere is enough to make you cry not laugh. But Swami Beyondananda will make you laugh while enlighting you and giving concrete ideas about creating a new precedent. Lets do the A bun dance and skip Scare City! Turn off your TV and Tell a vision instead. This book is lots of fun and seriously worth reading not only for a good laugh.

I did not get to read this till way after the election and for that I am glad. This Swami is brilliant with word play and has me laughing out loud on almost every page (no easy feat). Also beneath the phenomenal humor is a sad truth, we have had out country stolen and we don't seem to know it (by the outcome of the election this is obvious). You don't need to know politics or care who is doing what, you need to like laughter, genius and living on this planet! I bought all of his books and am I glad! If laughter is the best medicine I am HEALED!

Not as funny as his previous books, this one is angrier, more in earnest, and has a darker overall tone. The Swami is pissed off at J.W.B. and what's happening in America, and he let's us know that in no uncertain terms. Unfortunately, some of the levity and subtlety of humor is gone, and some of the puns a a little contrived. Still a worthwhile read though.

This is a brilliant, entertaining, enlightening, and empowering book on everything you need to know about American politics but Fox News will never tell you. It is a slow read because you will have numerous uncontrollable fits of belly laughter. Then your mind will go off wondering how does this guy come up with such loaded questions and statements. Then you realize that he must have been loaded when he was writing the book.

This book raise your sense of humor from the dead if your are feeling very blue over all those red states going for Bush. But more importantly, Swami B articulates very clearly everything we need to know about the state of American politics from a progressive and practical perspective.

"Swami For Precedent" is the Bible for spiritual political activists for the next four years Bushista America and how we can change that. His research is impeccable and gives you all the pertinent data for a spontaneous debate with a Bushbacker that will confound his or her cherished Fox News pundits. Here is the book that shut up even Bill O'Reilly.

"Swami For Precedent" is more meaningful now than ever as we all have much to do together to change the polarized political climate and the regressive direction of America under George W. Bush & Co. We were born for these times and Steve's book is the roadmap of what we can and must do to take our country back from the Religious Right to its Spiritually Radical Center.

Swami For Precedent is a combination of whimsical humor and serious political advice and philosophy. Steve Bhaerman, known by his popular alias of Swami Beyondananda, "uncommontator and political guru", encourages ordinary citizens to wake up and take back government of, by, and for the people - with a chuckle inducing affluence of puns, black-and-white cartoons, and wry insights to drive the point home. As motivational as it is entertaining, and the perfect antidote to nonstop exposure to hyper-serious political campaigns and advertisements.

This book can not just be read. It has to really be STUDIED!!! I will NEVER let my copy out of my sight!

You know all these years I have fought against the death penalty, for political prisoners, learned the law in terms of habeas, wrtis, etc for those on appeal. I never sat down and took the time to learn nor fight this little money making ... scheme (traffic court/tickets) they have going on. Basically what I'm conveying is the first testimonial in reference to THE TABLES HAVE TURNED. Socrates said a man who thinks he know everything is the biggest fool (that was a paraphrase) and as much as I have independently studied law I always studied how if affect others or more to the point how and why it doesn't work. I never took the time to "turn the tables" myself for my own benefit.

I would like to reiterate that I think this book is very important and I sincerely hope that heads pick-up it up and the message grows like wild fire.

ONA MOVE! Keep giving this system hell!!!

Characterized as a "self-help law education manual" to aid young people in preventing or surviving police encounters, kwami k. kwami's (a.k.a. The Chameleon) "THE TABLES HAVE TURNED: A Street Guide to Guerrilla Lawfare" takes the offensive against powerlessness resulting from individual ignorance of the law. kwami writes in the tradition of citizens like Huey P. Newton, convinced that "guerrilla" knowledge of legal codes, and using the law against itself, can prevent injustices against disenfranchised people. This manual is as much a polemic against the "public fool system" and the revenue-generating "fear of crime" industry as it is against police brutality. Avoiding convenient anti-brutality rhetoric, "THE TABLES HAVE TURNED" combines irreverence and humor with passionate arguments, practical information, and meticulous research. While occasionally dense or unwieldy, this book is still a walk in the park next to some of the law books through which kwami has sifted. He concludes that the best way to eradicate police brutality is to eliminate the need for cops and to begin policing ourselves and our own communities. Knowing the information in this manual is a first step toward this goal. A percentage of the profits from the book will be donated to the anti-police brutality National October 22nd Coalition.

In light of police-brutality atrocities revealed in New York City, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Chattanooga and the insipid E-Mail sub-culture of the Washington DC Police Department, I found "The Tables Have Turned" to be very timely. This is truly "A Street Guide to Guerrilla Lawfare", which instructs the reader in proper responses through the Law Enforcement System, from being stopped by a Law Enforcement Officer to standing before a Magistrate or Judge. This book even shows one how to avoid detection by Law Enforcement Officers, on a everyday common sense level.

I recommend it to every Black Man, regardless of age, economic level, religion, education status or location in the world. Police brutality is not limited to one sub-division or location of Black Men and this book should not be either.

Tyree Amala

Years ago, I had a client who liked to remember his grandfather as saying, "Anyone who knows how, will always have a job; anyone who know why, will always be the other guy's boss."

kwami k. kwami's "THE TABLES HAVE TURNED: A Street Guide to Guerrilla Lawfare." has already been nominated for the 2001 Independent Publishers' Book Award in the area of politics and he has been asked to present it at the celebration of Small Press Month 2001 at New York University Law School. He will also present it at the 2001 BookExpo America convention in Chicago in June. Finally, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association has requested a copy to review. At Kwani's request, subscribers to the "Learning Electronically About Freedom" mailing service will be treated to nine independent reviews of his tour de force all from within "the Freedomlaw family."

In it, he tells you why it is so very important for everyone to "LEARN LAW" (two of the eight keywords atop every page at Freedomlaw.com). As kwami observes, "I have visted your website at minimum twice a month (over the last 4-5 years) to study and learn the things that I needed to know to successfully write "THE TABLES HAVE TURNED: A Street Guide to Guerrilla Lawfare." I matter-of-factly consider myself an alumnus of the freedomlaw.com law school."

You can visit your local college, university, of half-priced used bookstore and get a copy of the Prentice-Hall publication "Paralegal Practice and Procedure - A Practical Guide for the Legal Assistant" and thereby learn the ways of officially sanctioned how-to instruction. You can also visit the web and buy a copy of "The Underground Lawyer" by Michael Louis Minns, and there learn that Houston attorney Minns first wrote a manual to train one assistant, then saw his practice grow, so he re-wrote the book to train a staff of assistants, and, finally, he saw a need to address the "widespread disenchantment and confusion concerning the complexity of the law, politics, and the truth about the legal profession, of which few non-lawyers are knowledgeable."

Both of these books are worth the reading; both instruct the reader in the "how" of legal research. Minns' book even encourages people to read the Constitution and urges more people to question Government authority, publicly redress Government for change; and "give the non-lawyers a tour of the legal sewers, so they will not be so helpless."

kwami's "Street Guide" addresses the "WHY" of legal research and, in doing so, harnesses the power of the press with the power of the Internet to help those "helpless" as never before. As noted above, kwami's research material and sources can be found with ease by using the site search engine atop every page of Freedomlaw.com. In fact, this is the book MY mother always wanted me to write (but my 78 year old mom refuses to look at the Internet-book I have written online, so I am heartened by kwami's literary achievement since it "proves the concept" of my educational outreach activism which has been the exclusive focus of the last seven years of my life).

BE WARNED, however, that this is NOT your garden variety assemblage of quotations from Founding Fathers about the best defense against tyranny. This book expresses outrage at the militarization of our nations' "police powers" and takes swipes at the law enforcement and prison industry special interests in the same manner that "Hemp re-legalization Godfather" Jack Herer rails about the brutal fraud of the War on Citizens in the name of prohibition of drugs.

kwami's guide is a hands-on practice manual ("hands-on" like Rodney King and Amadou Diallo) for the frustrated and infuriated city-dwellers who overwhelming acquiesce in those money-laundering scams known as Government entitlement programs at the cost of their individual responsibility and, thereby, their personal freedom. THIS BOOK IS NOT COMFORTABLE READING! The Libertarians like to remind you that, "There's no such thing as a free lunch" to which kwami adds the refrain of the Last Poets (rappers of the civil rights era in the heat of the Black Power Movement whose verse was featured in the 1970 soundtrack recording from the milestone Mick Jagger film, "Performance.") "WAKE UP NIGGERS, OR YOU'RE ALL THROUGH!"

kwami, a.k.a. PHaTLiP a.k.a. the Chameleon catalogs the wake up calls in his young life, together with his informed, articulate responses, decrying the plight of dumbed-down "masses" in his contemporary "hip-hop" speech that conjures up an urgent stylistic referent to the essays of Albert Jay Nock. To this list of aliases, I would only add , kwami is CALEB (Citizen Against Law Enforcement Brutality).

Far from being a jailhouse lawyer or even one who has been in the stir, kwami didn't wait until it was his ox was being gored, he wrote this book to serve as a condom for Generation-X, a prophylactic literary device produced precisely because HE IS NOT A VICTIM!

The guerrilla lawfare rules are very simple: 1. KNOW THE DEFINITIONS 2. APPLY THE DEFINITIONS AS THEY RELATE TO YOU 3. QUESTION ALL AUTHORITY 4. ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS WITH QUESTIONS

The beauty of this manifesto is that the author has synthesized all of the "patriot" arguments (along with some of their mindless prattle), which was composed and intended for consumption by "free white men" or "non- 14th Amendment citizens," with the current police-state disaster that masquerades as "law and order."

This book is 225 pages of tough love from an erudite urbanite!

Activists always pay a price for being right and taking the high road, only to be stopped "Driving While Broke" or some other inane pretext. Everyone should read this book NOW! After reading it, you'll what to do, on your own, mindful of the late Abbie Hoffman's "FIRST RULE OF ACTIVISM" which is, "STAY OUT OF JAIL!" ...

Awesome and on target! Just the right amount of motivation I needed to take charge of my own direction in life. The authors ability to incorporate real life stories with the content made it easy to understand and apply to personal situations.

I have just finished consuming your book: "Taking Charge When You're Not in Control." THANK YOU SO MUCH! Aside from pushing lots of my buttons, you helped me finally explain my actions and attitudes for the past 25 years as an adult. Your book really put the final finishing touches to my own self-realization wellness program...

Did you ever get the feeling that you just were not in control of what was happening to you, but you had to do something? Wouldn't it be nice to have a professional advisor sitting next to you to guide you through the process? Meet Patricia Wiklund, a PhD psychotherapist who is nationally recognized for her expertise, effectiveness, and ability to help people make a difference in their lives.

Wiklund starts by helping readers understand that control is a myth. You can't always be in total control of every situation that will confront you, so you need some helpful coping mechanisms to empower yourself. In chapter after chapter, Wiklund shares techniques, seasoning her advice and insight with anecdotes, illustrations, and exercises.

When you apply what you'll find in this book, you may not be in control of the situation that surrounds you, but you'll be in better control of yourself. Your self-strength will enable you to survive the challenges with better outcomes. Valuable book for anyone feeling a bit overwhelmed by life in general-or some particular aspect of life that's sending you into a tailspin. The contents of this book will enable you to pull out of that tailspin and smooth your flight.

Dr. Wiklund takes a very practical approach to dealing with things that go wrong in life. Her thoughts about how people react emotionally to distressing life events and crises are right on target. As I read many parts of the book I found myself thinking, "YES, that's what's going on here." Then, she follows with useful ways to "take charge" of the situation.

The book was released right before I hit a major life crisis. A friend suggested I get Dr. Wiklund's book. Within 24 hours, I read it and started getting things more on track. Without Dr. Wiklund's insights and suggestions, I don't know how I would have managed through this situation.

Thank you, Dr. Wiklund, for a very powerful book!

I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Wiklund after she gave a keynote speech at an advising conference in California. Even though I don't buy "self-help" books anymore, I spontaneously bought this one "for the office staff", I thought to myself. She was there at the table, a woman with great magnetic charm and compassion, and we chatted for a moment. I left with the feeling of a subtle "blessing" for having come into contact with her. After I returned home from the conference, I picked the book up to give it a glance or two before taking it to the office. I could not put it down! I cannot think of anyone who would not gain a greater insight into human relations and personal experience by reading this book. A must.

While filling his role as an active United States Senator, Bill Frist has undertaken a task requiring a sense of history, perspective, and courage. His commitment to Tennessee history from the perspective of both information and inspiration is evident in his wide-ranging research into the careers of the seventeen Senators who are his subjects, and courage was surely necessary in his evaluation s of their constructive or detrimental contributions to their state and country. His introductory essay, "A Sense of Place and Time," provides an exemplary summary of the events and issues challenging the varied, fascinating, and intensely partisan group of twentieth century leaders who come to life in these pages. Their stories will remain a unique part of the Senator's legacy to history.

-Wilma Dykeman, Tennessee State Historian

Senator Bill Frist has captured the personal and political lives of Tennessee senators from the depression, through the critical post war era, and into the 1990's. Frist's straight shooting style offers rare, revealing, and thought provoking insights into the men and the times. His journey through Tennessee's history provides praise and criticism, but most importantly honesty. With former Senator Kenneth McKellar's 1942 work, Tennessee's Senators, we have a rare opportunity to look deep into Tennessee's political and social history.

-Gregory Harness, U.S. Senate Librarian

This book presents a lively and informative tour through a turbulent century of Tennessee and U.S. political experience. The author, Senator Bill Frist, has skillfully balanced the perspective of an incumbent senator with the insights of an accomplished historian. The story should appeal to a wide audience, both as a chronological story to be followed from start to end and as a rich reference source of specific information about Tennessee, the Senate and seventeen individual senators. Every state in the Union deserves such a richly textured study.

-Richard Baker, U.S. Senate Historian

The great state of Tennessee has produced some of the truly dynamic leaders of this century. One of the best of them is Senator Bill Frist, distinguished physician and surgeon and now a lodestar leader in the United States Senate. Reading this book is both informative and inspiring. You will gain a unique perspective on the twentieth century through the insightful biographical chapters on the Tennessee Senators who impacted the history of our nation and the world from 1911 to 2001. The theme of servant leadership, so evident in the author's own life, is illustrated in the lives of those benchmark Senators from Tennessee. This book is a very important study of leadership that forces us to redefine the title "politician". This book is a good, stimulating read!

Dr. John Lloyd Ogilvie, U.S. Senate Chaplain

With deftness, Senator Frist and Mr. Annis have mined a vein of Tennessee history rich in character and content. The reader will take delight in sifting through the settings, circumstances and fascinating personalities who have contributed so distinctly to a governing process which has led the United States to a pre-eminent position among all nations. Every student of Tennessee history will find in the content of this unique work a great storehouse of information, reminiscences, and intriguing insights concerning the unique individuals who have served their state and nation in the United States Senate. The book represents a valuable gift to every Tennessean.

-Governor Winfield Dunn

I own the affordable paperback version, and I'm glad I do because this is one of the best books out there on terrorism. Sure, the writing is a little scattered with snippets or profiles of different terrorist groups to illustrate various points, but the flow is great and the insights are just at a very high level. I particularly enjoyed how the book seems to read like a series of intelligence estimates, but this is due to the author's background, I guess. It's not only a great book on terrorism, but one that a reader may come back to time and time again to get some new insight out of it.

Within the broader framework of outlining the goals, motives and strategies of modern terrorist groups, Harmon documents some very specific examples of people, places and events.

This is not a catalog of terrorist groups or a chronology of individual terrorist acts. Rather, it is an in-depth look at the problem as a whole. Harmon uses examples from groups all over the world and in the process discredits such notions as "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter."

In the chapter dealing with future threats, Harmon all but predicted the events of September 11th.

Anyone interested in a scholarly look at the terrorist threat since the end of the cold war, should read this book.

difficult subject explained in terms a non-Jesuit can understand.

The market for books on terrorism has flourished in the months following September 11th. This has been a mixed blessing. On the one hand, quality works of enduring value have had increased exposure, on the other hand we have seen a flood of books of extremely dubious merit and sensationalism. This book belongs in the first category and deserves more exposure than it has had.

Harmon (a lecturer at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College) provides a readable and wide ranging overview of his subject; with coverage of the politics and effectiveness of terrorism, terrorist groups, counter-terrorism methods and a section debunking some of the many and varied misconceptions and popular myths regarding terrorist groups. The text is scattered with thumbnail descriptions of various leading terrorist groups, terrorists and important works of literature in the terrorism canon.

This book serves as an excellent general introduction to the subject and acts as a solid foundation upon which the newcomer to the subject can build. It belongs alongside the serious academic texts on terrorism rather than the sensational journalistic mush that is now common on the shelves of mainstream book shops and yet is still readable and easy to get into.

If you only ever read one book on the general theme of terrorism you could do worse than making it this one. Undergraduate students studying terrorism should make a point of giving it a look too.

Terrorism authority and foreign correspondent Ronald Payne reviewed TERRORISM TODAY in the August 18, 2000 edition of the prestigious "TLS"--Times Literary Supplement (London). Payne calls this book "a masterly survey of the big picture of world violence" and "a comprehensive survey of what can be done to cope with the problem..." The book "provides many useful strategy recommendations which Western governments would do well to study. It also provides an up-to-date glossary of operational terrorist groups." -CCH

The Third Freedom is an excellent book that gives countless suggestions, answers, and reasoning for World Hunger. After reading George McGovern's theories I now see how simple it is for the world to end starvation and to make a difference. I recommend The Third Freedom to anyone interested in the issues around World Hunger and to anyone who wants motivation to make a change in the world.

This is NOT a utopian dream. This basic blue print should not be objectionable to conservatives, moderates or liberals. The elder statesman and historian puts forward some straight forward and relatively inexpensive proposals to end world hunger in our time. Sen. McGovern goes out of his way to praise the contribution made by some of his Republican colleagues especially Robert Dole. He recognizes the need for open markets and the value of liberalized global trade while seeing the need for sensible adjustments to deal with the social and economic upheaval. He calls upon the U.S. to lead the United Nations in an integrated approach involving the private sector, the world market system, governments, NGO's, religious communities and grassroots organizations. This book is MUST reading for anyone looking for realistic and practical solutions to the world's gravest and cruelest injustice, malnutrition caused by poverty.

In his simple prose and humble middle-American manner, former Senator George McGovern addresses one of humankind's moral imperatives: world hunger. It is a great tragedy that the majority of Americans are overweight (or have access to three square meals, at the least), while people across the globe -or even across the city- suffer from hunger.

Mr. McGovern presents five possible solutions that may mitigate the plight of millions, among these worldwide WIC and school lunches, an increase in the food stamp program, and a minimum wage increase. Unfortunately, many of these measures seem implausible, for the ironic reason of their political inviability; FEW Americans favor an increase in taxes, to say the least.

I found this book to be more than an overview of hunger's politics. It is a window into the soul of a great man. In truth, world hunger would be a fading memory were we like Mr. McGovern: compassionate and selfless.

Every caring person will be glad that she or he reads this book, because each of us can help eliminate world hunger in our lifetimes. The reference to the third freedom is to the idea of creating "freedom from want" that is found in FDR's famous speech about the four freedoms.

Senator McGovern has been close to the issue of hunger for many years, having first headed the Food for Peace program for President Kennedy and more recently working with the United Nations on food issues for President Clinton. In this book, he describes many of the lessons learned about allievating hunger in the United States and elsewhere around the world, the benefits from eliminating hunger, the barriers to making faster progress, the plans for making the next steps, and his proposal for eliminating world hunger for humans by 2015.

I remember hearing much about this subject in the 1960s, and especially recall the CBC special from 1968. Historically, American farmers had excess production that was hurting farm prices while people were hungry. During the Kennedy administration this was turned into a series of initiatives to reduce the surpluses to strengthen the prices and feed more people. Large gains were made in students attending school and in their academic performance through free school breakfasts and lunches for the poor.

What has happened since then? Well, the good news is that these and many other good ideas have been expanded around the world. The number of hungry people is still enormous, 800 million, but it is many fewer than 40 years ago. As Senator McGovern rightly points out, we now have the technology, expertise in food distribution, and financial resources to eliminate hunger for the final 800 million. All we lack is a focus on the issue, and the will to make a difference.

The U.S. contribution would be less than the cost of a building a B-2 bomber annually. It turns out that most people think that more than 10 percent of the Federal budget goes for foreign aid, and that is almost all food. Actually, foreign aid is less than 1 percent and most of that is armaments. In recent polls, over 70 percent of Americans favor ending world hunger. Throughout the last presidential campaign this issue got lost. That's a shame, because here is an area where we pretty much agree.

His proposal focuses on the following elements:

(1) Extend the school lunch program around the world (the bulk of the poor hungry are children, and this gets them to school and improves their ability to learn)

(2) Favor women and children in food distribution (because of their better use of the resources and the fact that this by-passes corruption the most) usually by providing the food at the schools for pick-up

(3) Create local food reserves around the world of the sort we have in the United States so that emergency food can be more readily available to respond to natural disasters and wars

(4) Train local farmers to be better at what they do and provide them with better technology, appropriate for their part of the world (especially better ways to irrigate that don't harm the soil)

(5) Support research into better agricultural practices, including biotechnology

(6) Reduce the arms made available to countries where on-going wars are likely since such wars cause much hunger

(7) Clean-up the water supplies to reduce disease at the same time, and eliminate the risk of future wars over water

(8) Further encourage democracies since they make avoiding famines a high priority.

One of the nasty surprises I got from reading the book is that despite world progress, hunger is growing again in the United States due to cut backs in food stamps and other programs aimed at hunger. If we have been making mistakes in this area, that's pretty bad . . . at a time of unprecedented prosperity and government surpluses.

I also hope that private companies and individuals will step up their efforts to take a hand in eliminating hunger. I suspect that the know-how of these individuals is probably even more valuable than their money and time.

I strongly encourage you to read this book. Write to your congressional leaders and to our new president about this subject.

Also, I suggest that if you can afford it, that you allocate $30 per person per year in your household for donations aimed at eliminating hunger. That's about what it would take. At least you would know you are doing your part, even if the rest of society sleeps. Ultimately, that's all any of us can be sure of, is that we have stood up and been counted.

This book should be shared. If you belong to a book reading group, I hope you will suggest it. I also ask that you give a copy to your spiritual advisor. This book could become the basis of some good projects for your house of worship.

Love thy brother as thyself.

George McGovern, former senator from South Dakota, has written a compact, layman's guide, The Third Freedom, on the politics of hunger. McGovern, long-time workhorse of food and agriculture policies, makes the case for a 5-point program to end hunger. The book's biographical anecdotes are as compelling as the case he makes. The author, World War II bomber pilot and Democratic presidential nominee, draws upon experiences from the Great Depression to the Clinton administration. Along the way, the reader learns how McGovern's father, farmers, Franklin Roosevelt, Henry Wallace, John Kennedy, Maryknoll missionaries and Pope John XXIII infulenced his thinking.

In the 1960s, McGovern's origination and stewardship of food and agriculture policies led to programs that benefited the U.S. economy. In the new century, McGovern uses his national visibility and standing to propose fresh political remedies: food policies that favor women and children; universal school lunch; genetically modified crops; fresh water; and agricultural aid modeled on the Peace Corps. The author endorses government action, rooted in biblical teachings, to feed the hungry. While the book is short on documentation, it is long on policy. The title from Gary Hart's memoir of McGoven's ill-fated presidential bid, Right from the Start, may aptly sum up this new work.

As Christian Potholm's former student, I've seen first-hand his enthusiasm for Maine politics and his depth of knowledge on the subject. Therefore, I was not surprised to find This Splendid Game to be a wonderfully entertaining account of politics in the Pine Tree State and a must-read for anyone with an interest in Maine's political history. Potholm captures the importance of the campaign effort and proves that the outcomes of political races are never preordained. He shows that while a candidate's personal qualities are a factor in being elected, it is the "ebb and flow" of the campaign that inevitably distinguishes victory from defeat.

Having been personally involved in many of the campaigns discussed in this book, Potholm skillfully provides an insider's perspective while remaining balanced and objective in his analysis. He avoids the partisan sentiments that dominate so much of today's commentary, and in turn provides a refreshing and honest look at politics in the state.

There is no doubt that one would be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensive assessment of Maine politics. Potholm acknowledges every person who has ran for major political office in the state in the last five decades, and provides biographical information for some of Maine's past and present political titans. However, his scholarly interest is clearly directed more toward the inner-workings of the campaign effort, as well as the many staffers, pollsters, consultants, journalists, and others that make politics so exciting to watch and be a part of.

From the story behind William Cohen's 600-mile walk across the 2nd Congressional District to the strategy behind both James Longley and Angus King's electoral success as Independents, This Splendid Game is truly a splendid read, one that undoubtedly fills a literary void in Maine and honors the countless men and women who have participated in the state's political process over the years.

With this feat to add to his ever-growing list of achievements, Christian Potholm has made yet another indelible impact on the academic discourse in the state and further solidified his reputation as the professor of Maine politics.

Do you ever wonder how Maine Government reached its current size and scope?

Perhaps you have a historical interest in the strategies and unique abilities of the winners and losers of high political office in Maine over the last 60 years.

Or maybe you're curious about the decisions and influences of the key people behind the political leaders of our time- from Margaret Chase Smith and Ed Muskie to Angus King.

Whether you're a student of politics or just wondered how our government has evolved to where we are today, you will find Bowdoin College's Dr. Christian P. Potholm's new book This Splendid Game answer these questions and more from his intellectual and first hand account of the people and policies which have created the Maine we know today.

From the rise of Margaret Chase Smith by virtue her strategy of a "personal campaign organization" over the traditional political party campaign; to the "Muskie Revolution" in the 1950's where he deployed television for the first time in Maine elections combined with "retail politics" which converged to toppled the reign of Republican Party dominance.

Chris Potholm's insight and wit enables the reader to wade past the tedious attention he paid to dates and election results percentages, which well serve the researcher of Maine politics and those of us with a curious eye about the people and issues that has defined and branded Maine.

His success in interviewing candidates, their family and advisors enabled him to paint a vivid picture of our political leaders. Here is a glimpse. He traces Ken Curtis' victory from the jaws defeat in the 1960's and the baker's son Bill Cohen's rise to the rank of United States Secretary of Defense beginning with an arduous 600 mile walk across Maine's 2nd Congressional District in 1972 resulting in the reemergence of the Republican Party.

No account of Maine political history would be complete without an understanding of how the referendum process has enabled special interest groups to get their proposed law decided by the public and not their legislature. Here Dr. Potholm takes you inside the dynamics of why referendums are so different from candidate elections. His political science and keen instincts show you how; the Maine Yankee Power Plant earned the support of Maine voters and remained open.

Potholm proves his theory that Angus King duplicated the dynamics and savvy of Jim Longley's amazing election as Governor in the 1970's worked again in the 1990's when King upset the two-party system to be elected Maine's second Independent Governor.

Finally, Dr. Potholm weaves together the realities of how the press, political insiders and scientific polling determined the eventual outcome of most all races long before Election Day. Along the way he rightly acknowledges the courage and integrity of the men and women who at the end of the long election season did not have the sweet pleasure of giving a victory speech. For the scholar and the casual observer of political dynamics alike, reading This Splendid Game is time well invested.

Philip Harriman is a former Town Councilor and State Senator. He actively participated in many of the elections covered and for 25 years has operated a financial services business in Portland Maine.

In the first chapter of Chris Potholm's latest book, he opines, "Lecturing on the important figures and campaigns over the years [in Maine], I often wished I had a single book to assign, one that would put the past fifty years of accomplishment and failures in some common perspective."

Well, Potholm has answered his wish with the publication of This Splendid Game. If there was one feeling that I had to put aside while reading the book it was that I should be making notes on the chapters as there was surely going to be a test in the near future.

Politics has always been an interest of mine and Maine politics has been a consuming one for a part of my life as I served eight years in municipal government as a city councilman and mayor and was elected to two terms as Chair of the Maine Republican State Committee following my municipal service. I have been active in several gubernatorial campaigns in varying capacities as well as most of Bill Cohen's many campaigns going back to the time when we were both mayors of our respective cities.

The book that Pothom has produced is an analysis of what he deems to be the seminal elections of each decade since 1940 and in it he also weaves through the years the lessons that were learned or not learned by those that were invoved in "this splendid game.

If you were any kind of a player during those decades, you are most likely mentioned in the book. In fact the book reminded me of many people whose names had dimmed in my memory and also revealed to me that people I had known growing up were involved in Maine politics in ways I did not know, If you are from Oregon, some of the details of the past might make your eyes tend to close from time to time, but if you are from here or have been here "from away" for some time, you will find it interesting to realize how much you have forgotten.

From the 1970's on, Potholm brings a special perspective to the matters he writes about as he was in the middle of all of it in one capacity or another.However, this is not a chatty, tell-all about Maine politics. It is an analysis and a chronicle of a system in the poltical microcosim of Maine. That a state with Maine small population has harbored and nurtured some of the larger political names in US history remains a mystery to me, but it is a fact. Margaret Chase Smith, Edmund Sixtus Muskie, William Cohen and George Mitchell are clearly in the elite section of such people. But their stories and the stories of other elections have hundreds of names invoved in that melange of political activity. In stirring and disecting the melange, Potholm has no peer.

If you lived through those times you will enjoy a studious analysis of what you thought you already knew. If politics is something you are considering, this is required reading. No matter your reason for reading this book, you will be the wiser for it and I'm pretty sure there will be no test.

Potholm's Splendid Game

Although our lives are governed by politics, few understand how the political game is played and even fewer participate as an active player.
There is one man in Maine who understands and plays the game better than any other: Bowdoin College professor, Dr. Christian Potholm, a nationally recognized pollster and strategist whose campaign won/lost record is the envy of all who aspire to political office and participate in our electoral system.
In Maine, Potholm has dominated what he calls "This Splendid Game," since he managed Bill Cohen's first Congressional campaign in 1972. Few venture into a major political campaign without making a pilgrimage to Potholm's office in the Bowdoin Tower.
Potholm's new book, "This Splendid Game," is a fascinating and informative tour through all of Maine's major elections and campaigns from the 1940s to the 1990s. The professor has been working on this book for ten years and his final product is impressive. Published by Lexington Books of Lanham, Maryland, these 241 pages describe the election results of all major races in each decade, and then focuses on what Potholm calls the "seminal election" - the most critical and defining - in each decade.
I must disclose that the button collection on the book's cover is mine. Look carefully and you will spot a smiling "Smith" button in the middle of the collection. And it was my privilege to work on several of Potholm's seminal election campaigns in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Potholm offers amazing insight into these campaigns and wins my admiration for being able to step outside campaigns in which he participated to present objective and illuminative analyses of these campaigns. He does this well.
In the introduction, Potholm asks, "Over the last 50 years, what were the sea changes in Maine political processes? What changed over time in terms of how to run and win a campaign? What are the enduring patterns and trends? Why did some candidates succeed and others fail? What techniques were introduced when and what impacts did they have?"
And then he answers all of these questions and more. While other books have focused on the political leaders, none has looked with such scrutiny at the campaigns that elected those leaders.
I learned a lot from this book. I did not realize, for example, that Republicans were so slow to grasp the power of television and that my friend Jim Erwin lost the governor's race in 1970 "in large part because he did not make use of it."
Did you know that Angus King and Jim Longley won with identical coalitions of Franco American voters and small town Republicans?
The Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel win Potholm's praise, while other larger daily newspapers are criticized for poor campaign news coverage and an "interventionist endorsement style and a rush to assist one candidate over a need to inform the public as to the actual state of affairs."
"The Sun Journal, Central Maine (Morning) Sentinel, and Kennebec Journal seem to routinely do a better job at keeping their editorial comment separate from their reporting arm and their endorsements seem to be more balanced than their larger rivals," writes Potholm.
Potholm's premise is that the outcomes of the major elections that shaped Maine's political system and government were determined not by the candidates, but by the campaigns. And he effectively proves his case.
In these pages you will learn about how Maine's dominant politicians succeeded - but you will also learn about the smaller - but vitally important - roles played by others, including one of my favorite unsung political leaders, Judge Frank Coffin.
I found the description of Margaret Chase Smith's 1948 U.S. Senate race to be particularly captivating - and the account of how Smith won four congressional elections in one 6-month period.
The special sections describing the reasons the seminal campaigns were victorious, and the impacts of those campaigns on Maine politics, make this book particularly valuable.
It is when Potholm turns to referenda that the professor offers insightful lessons that campaigns pay big bucks to learn today. His analysis of the 1980 anti-nuclear referenda includes his ten ballot measure rules and an explanation of why Franco Americans and women who work in the home are Maine's key swing voters.
There is so much fascinating material in this book that I can't begin to do it justice in this short column.
I have purchased several copies of "This Splendid Game" for the leaders of an upcoming referendum, because no one should enter the Maine political arena without the lifetime of knowledge and experience provided in this book by Maine's foremost political guru.
And all citizens should read the book to understand how their votes are influenced by political campaigns - and why they should be paying attention to and participating in this splendid game that rules their lives.

As many Mainers know, Bowdoin College Professor Chris Potholm is Maine's premier political pollster and campaign strategy guru. He has been an insider in some of the state's biggest and most important political battles and is regularly quoted by the press on Maine issues. Naturally, this book will be especially interesting to people who are into Maine history and politics -- but it's not just for Mainers. It provides a lot of basic political insights that will be interesting and useful to anyone who's involved or interested in candidate or ballot measure campaigns. Each chapter reviews the reasons why a particular campaign succeeded or failed, providing excellent lessons that apply to campaigns in any state. The chapter about the referendum campaign on the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant is probably the best analysis of a ballot measaure campaign that I've ever read. As a professional political consultant and a former Mainer, I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

A good poem may take the reader to a different time, or may bring a character from a different time to the present. Azriel's best poems do both. Starting with the creation "Do you wish to know how light, can find a voice and sing", many of the Genesis stories are included. By giving a modern voice to "Ancient" names, we can begin to understand how they feel, or give new perspectives to events in our own time. For example in 'Question for Eve", "In the camps / In the predawn Polish cold? / You cloth yourself in the luxury of fig leaves ...." A poet picks what stores to include, and here there is even a poem about Zebulum (Jacob and Leahs 6th son). Voice is given to many of the important women, "My Dinah" gives voices to the family after the rape of Dinah. It us surprising to me that some of Genesis richer stores like the Binding of Isaac or Jacob's wrestling in the night are not further explored.

Yakov Azriel's lyrical re-creation of Biblical stories, woven with rich imagistic detail, pulls the reader into the Biblical landscape, magnetizing him to the Biblical scene. Familiar Biblical characters spring to life on Azriel's colorful canvases replete with olive trees and Mediterranean sun.
Threads from a Coat of Many Colors is a must (re-)read for every lover of true poetry, the Bible and mysticism.

The title to Yaakov Azriel's new book of poetry refers to Joseph's coat in Genesis. Indeed these "Threads" spell out much more than the one metaphor. The threads of Yakov Azriel invoke a wide range of religious and cultural Jewish sources and genres. His subjects are not only Biblical, but vividly so, exponentially so, as Azriel enriches his words with Jewish imagery. All of Torah can be found in almost every poem. And that means all of life

The first book of the Bible, Genesis is one which has inspired worlds of literature and commentary. In `Threads from a Coat of Many Colors' Yakov Azriel writes poems of commentary on `Genesis.' These poems seem to make use of all the contemporary learning Azriel has, instilling the text with new meaning.
Here are the closing two stanzas from the poem,' Photosynthesis' a commentary on Genesis 1. 11 on the creation of the vegetative world.

"When I look into myself,
Water's no problem,
And plenty of hot air and dirt,
But where is the cholorophyll
That can capture
The Light
That infiltrates, invades, pervades and surrounds me?

To photosynthesize
The chlorophyll of Torah
Will grant you a gardener's green thumb
So that whatever you touch
Grows sacred green"
Was this my imagination?
Or did the leavens on the bushes whisper their secret to me?

Azriel knows the Biblical text well, and has a rich imagination. And it is a relief to read a poet who does not scream out the pleasures of Nihilism, or confine himself to some minor empty corner of his own psyche. Azriel's poetry gives pleasure in that it provides a certain knowledge, a certain information about the worlds he is talking about. His concerns and questions are real ones. And he does not provide dogmatic solutions, but rather writes out of a religious faith, which is both real and yet questioning of itself.
He often imagines himself into the heart of the Biblical character and extends the story in new ways.
And one senses throughout the book that there a world of religious values informing it, an intelligence that believes in goodness and truth and beauty.
In some ways the poems though more complex and ambitious remind me of the poetry of the late Jerusalem poet Abe Weiss, whose special goodness and faith in Israel gave his poetry a simple strength.

Yakov Azriel is an award winning poet who lives in Israel. This first full length book is a shining example of why his tenderly crafted work wins awards. As he leads readers step by step through the book of Genesis, God's words and covenants come to life in human form. And yet, it isn't necessary
that we be Jewish, Christian, or religious to appreciate Azriel's poetry. His blending of modern day humanity with the ancient historical icons of Genesis is that skillful.

Scriptures from Genesis introduce each poem, starting with the Creation and ending with Joseph's Coat of Many Colors. Each poem, regardless of topic, melds the modern with the historical in insightful ways. Consider, for example, this excerpt from "Questions for Eve":
Why did you talk to the serpent?
Don't you know that even then he was planning the gas chambers,
Blueprinting the crematoria?
How can a mother be so naieve?
Snakes devour
Dust, like the cinder
Of children belched from the chimneys.
Lucky you -- only one son will be murdered.

Azriel uses various poetic forms, from formal rhyme to free verse to haunting metaphor as he shares the Song of Songs and the Generations of Jacob. One of the most chilling works in this book, and ultimately the most glorious, is "As the Stars, As the Sand", based on God's promise to ancient Israel in Genesis 22:17: "For I will surely bless you and surely multiply your seed, as the stars of the heavens and as the sand on the sea-shore."

Threads From a Coat of Many Colors is a wistful paean, a universal spirit prayer carried on hot desert winds. Azriel transports us to a time of miracles and promises, detailing a rich history we all share in one way or another.

Like its companion, The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib, Torture and Truth is an essential resource for scholars or researchers on this subject. However, because of its length (500+ pages)and scope it is an excellent choice for the more general reader. It is a compilation of reports and letters, mostly from the Bush Administration, on the Iraq War and torture issues. Because of its primary source components, it is invaluable for anyone doing research on the subject. It is well-organized, and will find a place in many dissertations in the years to come.

This book offers a chilling rendition of the events that occured at Abu Gharib. It fairly reviews the events through official reports, which are quite chilling! A must read!!

This is by far the best journalistic account of the torture of suspects at Abu Ghraib. This is also the best book to read after reading the books of documents, which give you the vital context for understanding Danner's book. Read them first and then this one - you will then be able to understand what really happened and why. British and US troops really did commit terribe acts against their prisoners, with tragic consequences for the reputation of both nations in the Middle East. Read Danner and the documents books to discove why. Christopher Catherwood (author of CHURCHILL'S FOLLY: HOW WINSTON CHURCHILL CREATED MODERN IRAQ: Carroll and Graf, hardcover 2004, paperback 2005)

The author strongly makes the case that the Abu Ghraib torture scandal was not caused by a few rotten apples on the night shift, but was systematic torture as policy. The Red Cross report and other valid reports are in the book so that the reader can see for himself that the torture at Abu Ghraib was certainly far more than a few rotten apples that were military police serving in the reserves that were sent to Abu Ghraib.

There was sadism at Abu Ghraib. There was a breakdown in law and order at Abu Ghraib. There was a breakdown in discipline at Abu Ghraib. This, of course, puts our entire Country and our entire military at risk.

Not only is the torture wrong, but, beyond that, torture is ineffective and many of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib had no intelligence value in the first place. Torture is very harmful to our Country politically speaking. It is certainly the case that any information that was obtained by torture would be overshadowed by the political damage caused by the activities.

I bought Mark Danner's TORTURE AND TRUTH several months ago from Amazon, and find it ever more relevant to current events. For the numbers of people detained and tortured in the War on Terror-- many of them believed by reputable individuals and organizations to be innocent-- continues to rise, and extends far beyond Abu Ghraib. The very fact that the majority of these people have never been formally charged with involvement in terrorist activity nor tried seems to prove their innocence, for it would be very easy to keep someone in jail these days if one could present solid evidence of their involvment in terrorism. Those who object that the tortures inflicted on these detaninees is not as bad as that which some totalitarian governments inflict upon their victims ignore the fact that the "soft torture" techniques in development since the end of World War II have been found to be more effective in "breaking" victims than simple brutality (see Alfred McCoy, A QUESTION OF TORTURE: CIA INTERROGATION FROM THE COLD WAR TO THE WAR ON TERROR). The suffering of these wretched detainees keeps me awake at night, yet to this day most people seem unconcerned about their plight. Danner's comment from the Introduction to his book still holds true: "Like other scandals that have erupted during the Iraq War and the war on terror, it is not about revelation or disclosure but about the failure, once wrongdoing is disclosed, of politicians, officials, the press, and, ultimately, citizens to act."

Demetrius D. Jackson opens his book TRANSITIONS: Through Tumultuous Events...A Man Will Rise with a six page poem that reads like a short story and continues these long narrative poetic pieces throughout the book. The book details the life of Marcellous Thompson as he proceeds through childhood, starting with the separation of his parents and on through other high points of his life.

Adjusting to the format was a little hard at first as I've never read such long pieces of poetry, but the more I read, the more I began to enjoy the story being brought to fruition in the pages of TRANSITIONS. What I really enjoyed was the author's open display of emotion from piece to piece. The anger and pain was pushed onto the reader, just as heavily as the love and happy times. Yet, time after time, he kept coming back from whatever issue faced, growing as a result. It shows the commitment of one to take life by the horns and make the best of it, to reach the top.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I really enjoyed reading an entire book in poetic form. It was refreshing to see the story unfold uniquely with pure heartfelt honesty. It definitely left the reader wanting more. Great job!

Given a glimpse into Marcellous' life, readers will be emotionally provoked as they travel along through his journey. Taken from a male perspective, readers of all ages and genders will able to identify and have insight into the Black male's world. Transitions is an inspirational read for anyone facing adversity. It is a confirmation that God is awesome and dreams do come true.

Creatively written with a modern day twist. I've recommended this book to many friends and family

Great read! I've never experienced an entire story being told in poetic prose. Very creative. Great storyline! I can't wait to see what becomes of Sasha! Even those who aren't interested in poetry will love this book!