Parties Books

I believe that third and fourth graders would really enjoy this text about this Mexican American youngster. Children would also enjoy the occasional Spanish included in the text. The only problem: Soto does not include a glossary this time. Oh well, Soto does a great job of portraying a family that understands what it means to really work for a living and teaches kids not to take everything for granted. Soto stays away from the sterotypical "lazy mexican".

The Pool Party by Gary Soto is a great story of a little hispanic boy named Rudy that gets invited to a pool party of a wealthy friend. Rudy's family is concerned that Rudy will not fit in and proceed to give him advice on what way he should act at the party. In the mean time Rudy decided that he is going to take an inner tube to the party against the wishes of his sister who told him that in a pool party, people don't actually go into the water and just chat by the side of the pool. Rudy listens to everyones advice, but at the end he does what he thinks is right and goes to the party and just does what is right for himself. The inner tube that he takes to the party is well received by everyone and he has a good time. This book is great for children in the fifth grade and on to read because it teaches them that being yourself is the right thing to do.

Gary Soto expresses the issue of fitting in and family life while using Rudy to guide us in a humorous way. This book is a great choice for young readers because they are able to relate with Rudy's dilema of fitting in and being liked by a new group of friends. One major concern was when Rudy finally goes to the pool party with his inner tube. One can't help but think of poor Rudy returning home early from the party crying and feeling dreadfull. The family unity is prevelant through out this book and it is expressed with how everyone is trying to give Rudy advice on how to act, talk and greet people while he's at the party. Over all this book is a great book that I had the pleasure of reading. I would recommend it to any student regardless of their ethnic background.

I remember being so captivated when reading this book in the fifth grade that I read it in one sitting! I had hated reading books before that. Soto is a great author and his story's will appeal to all kids.

I buy these books for the public library at home. I felt that this one was a bit different from the rest It's totally unlike Max to believe that the members of the Saddle Club would be responsible for anything that would endanger the horses in his stable. The best part is that while the girls manage to get back at spoiled brat Veronica D'Angelo, this time Stevie, Lisa and Carole have help in the form of veterinarian Judy Barker. Plus, Veronica's horse "Danny" was the life of the party they all attended. Couldn't have ended better.

I like this book because the Saddle Club gets even with Veronica....always fun to read about...and they have fun at a dance as well!

Stevie is up to her jokes. Lisa's and Carole's school is having a dance. Everything should be normal. Then the stable snob decides to get Revenge. She sticks the Saddle Club up at Pine Hollow for the night caring for her horse while she is at the dance. Then Judy shows up with a horse vaccum cleans up Danny.the girls take danny to the dance with them. Rock and Roll will never be the same!!

I've read this book and think it's great! I have two friends and we're just like the Saddle Club. I can't wait till they read it! I loved their plan to take Veronica Di Angelo's horse to the dance. It was a fun and sneaky way to get back at her. Veronica is such a jerk. But her horse is beautiful and talented. He has great taste for music! Please read this book.(And of course a rock and roll soul!) More great books to read are HORSE CARE #76 and HORSE WHISPERS. Please continue writing Ms. Bryant so I can continue reading.

This is the story of 2 sock monkey. They are invited to a party! Join them as they get ready for it. The pictures are just too cute!

Even a craft idea is included!

I stumbled upon this in my local bookstore BookPeople, and I just loved it. Very cute!

ROCKO AND SPANKY GO TO A PARTY is a nice book cleverly illustrated by Jenna LaReau and written by Kara LaReau. The two animals are drawn with verve and their adventures transpire in a blaze of green and pink 50's inspired decor, though they have a hip-hop twist to their vocabulary speak which appeals to the young. I tried this book out with four kids of different races and all enjoyed watching the sock monkeys cavort to their own party; even the one little girl who spoke no English at all, laughed out loud at the two monkeys, Rocko and Spanky, hugging each other as tightly as they could, perhaps reminding the little girl of her childhood in Cambodia.

Kara LaReau should receive the Newbery Award for her work on this book. Farfetched? Not when you consider she was instrumental in securing a Newbery award for BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE. Her little creations have all the appeal of Curious George PLUS the animals of BABAR, lacking only the unique charm of the first and the majesty of the second. The Newbery, in case we forget, went to Hugh Lofting the Dr Doolittle author, so it is not out of the range of possibility to suggest that Rocko and Spanky deserve it too. And if the author gets an award, I vote also that we give one to sister Jenna, whose illustrations prove one more time the truth of the old adage, that you can throw everything but the kitchen sink into your drawings, but if there isn't heart there, than you have nothing. And she has heart to burn!

Check out the drawings of Rocko on skates or behind the wheel of his miniature Vespa. He's an excitable boy! Stand clear, here comes Rocko. In the meantime, his quieter twin Spanky looks at you with those big soft eyes and you melt a little, even a hard hearted old grownup like myself. Looking forward to the next adventures of these two. If Curious George could have fifteen books, why not thirty for Rocko and Spanky?

Rocko and Spanky are a couple of sock monkeys-twins, actually. They've been invited to a birthday party so they hop on their yellow motorcycle and zoom on down to the Gift-o-Rama to pick up the perfect gift. Rocko wants to buy something fast, flashy, and fun. Spanky prefers something a bit more glamorous. They finally settle on the perfect compromise: socks. (Which look suspiciously like themselves.) "Socks are so practical," says Spanky. "And SO us," says Rocko.

After deciding what to wear, they arrive to find the party is actually for them. They'd forgotten their own birthdays! Thanks to their friends, they are able to celebrate their special day in style.

The text includes a double-page spread titled "Rocko and Spanky's Wrapper's Delight." Here the pair demonstrate how to wrap presents the Rocko and Spanky way.

This buoyant, fast-paced tale was an instant hit with the first graders to whom we read it. The cartoon illustrations are done in a 50s retro style, complete with period details such as poodle prints, coconut monkeys, and the ever-present pink and green.

A deliciously fun retro-read. Who knew a couple of sock monkeys could be so hip? Highly recommended.

Artist's Discalimer: "No socks, monkeys, or sock monkeys were harmed during the making of this book. Honest."

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff.

I love Rose Levy Beranbaum's cookbooks, but this one is one of her best! The recipes are explained in full detail, with tips on how to avoid the most common problems. There are gorgeous full color photos and well thought out serving ideas. The recipes are all wonderful, especially the chocolate orange cheesecake, lamb osso buco, graavlax, cookies, and of course her beautifully decorated cakes. The book also includes staple recipes, and listings of where to buy some of the more exotic ingredients and suggestions for those that are less daring. An all around wonderful cookbook

`Rose's Celebrations' by noted author of authoritative `Bibles' on baking cakes, pastries, and bread, Rose Levy Beranbaum has all the appearances of a `throwaway book, given its picture laden cover, oversized format, and the author's aforementioned expertise in baking rather than in savory cooking.

While the book has some limitations as a source of savory recipes, it has many virtues that should appeal to most foodies and amateur cooks.

The very first virtue is Ms. Beranbaum's enthusiasm for cooking and baking of all sorts. Her genuine love of culinary arts and her ability to communicate this passion in words is unmatched, in my opinion, by all but Julia Child, Rick Bayless (see `Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures'), and Grace Young (see `Breath of a Wok'). I'm not saying there are not lots of great cookbook writers, it's just that Ms. Beranbaum seems to be able to draw one into her culinary world with an unrivaled attraction. For starters, she has one of the very best descriptions of the differences between baking and savory cooking. Everyone who has read a book on baking knows that measurements are much more important in baking than in savory cooking. What is less evident is that this doesn't mean savory cooking is easier. It means that the skills of constant triage needed to monitor the progress of savory cooking require just as much, if not more practical experience to get right. Add to this the variability of meats and vegetables when compared to the high level of uniformity among flours, sugars, butter, and eggs and you start to see that there is more to expert savory cooking than may meet the eye. And this from a baker.

The ability to share her enthusiasm is oddly paired with a highly technical approach to recipes, both savory and baked. As with her baking recipes, many measurements are given in multiple units, by volume, by metric weight, and by Imperial units' weight. This means that the units most familiar to the average amateur are here, but if you happen to be in a position where you have to multiply a recipe by two or four or eight, the weights make this very easy. I also give Ms. Beranbaum high marks for admitting to rounding off the Imperial to metric conversions. I have seen very good cookbook writers have close to 20% discrepancies between Imperial and metric weights or volumes with nary a word of warning.

This level of detail in various units means that this is an excellent book for a caterer. As it happens to be a series of recipes for holidays, the utility to caterers and large-scale entertainers is doubled. This is the only book other than Martha Stewart's classic `Entertaining' which gives good resources for cooking for a crowd of any size. That is, this is the only non-baking book for the amateur that fits this bill. I have seen expensive books for professionals which do this, but they are expensive and not friendly to a non-professional reader.

This book is divided into the four seasons and within each season there are sets of recipes for entertaining various events.

The major events for Winter are New Year's Eve, Washington's Birthday (dessert only), Winter Dinner for Friends and St. Patrick's Day. Spring events are Easter, Passover, and Mother's Day plus miscellaneous dishes for a spring luncheon and a wedding shower. Summer events are Father's Day, Fourth of July, Birthdays, and Labor Day. Fall events are Columbus Day, Halloween (dessert only), Election Day (dessert only), Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas. A very special bonus is recipes for Glace de Viande and Glace de Volaille (Beef and Poultry Essences or glazes).

The book also contains an alternate table of dishes by type / principle ingredient which identifies dishes of Beverages, Breads, Soups and Stocks, Sauces, Beef, Lamb, Poultry and so on. You get the idea.

If, like me, your main interest is simply collecting good cookbooks and gleaning good ideas from them, this book is definitely a winner. One of the more interesting items I found was a merging of the principles of a court bouillon and a buerre blanc. Ms Beranbaum poached fish in a simple wine, vinegar, shallots, herbs, and oyster liqueur bouillon, then reduced the poaching liquid and added butter to create the buerre blanc. I may want to ask Miss Rose if she possibly forgot to mention anything about straining the chopped shallots from the reduction before adding the butter, but the idea is still a great `two birds with one stone' method.

In looking over her Italian based recipes, you may not want to discard your Marcella Hazan or Mario Batali recipes for these, but they do have some novel ideas, such as the addition of Angostura bitters to the spaghetti (tomato) sauce.

If you are especially fond of formal entertaining more than four people at a time, this may be the best source of recipes you will find. It does not cover as broad a range of events as, for example, Sheila Lukins' `Celebrate', but the recipes are much more impressive for formal occasions.

To make the book a really good resource, it probably should have been about twice this size with better coverage of many events, but at a list price of only $25 and the likelihood of a good discount, I recommend this book as a great `sleeper' find for foodies, culinary readers, and entertainers.

This is a colorful, well-illustrated cookbook with recipes for many kinds of celebrations. The recipes I've tried work well and are delicious, and the author's obsessively detailed style makes it easy to follow her recipes. It is worth trying to find this book.

The photography is spectacular as always with Roses books. I just made my first recipe from the book: Lavender Ice Cream on pg 93 and came across a discrepancy that I hope does not echo throughout the entire tome. The first one is the fact that you're to use a SMALL saucepan and stir the yolks (5.25 ozs), part of the sugar and salt and add 32 ozs. of hot cream/milk to this mixture. A small saucepan is usually 1 qt to 1-1/2 qts and too small for a recipe this size. In addition, the lavender does not get strained as is shown in the photo. In terms of visuals and texture, it doesn't get high marks, although the flavor is absolutely heavenly. I would suggest steeping the lavender in the hot cream/milk, making the creme anglaise and then straining the entire thing. Since this is my first recipe, it would be unfair to rate all the recipes as problematic. The recipes do seem very good.

This book is wonderful and my daughter enjoys it every time we read together. Highly recommend!

What we love about this book series is that Gigi, the main character little girl, isn't perfect. She is flawed and yet she has good qualities and discovers what makes a person special to God. We are all human and flawed and I think children can better relate to "real" kids not perfect pristine children that are supposed to be the "perfect" example. Our 6 year old and 3 year old girls enjoy these books tremendously. We hope you will too.

What a WONDERFUL book that brings out the nature of little girls but realizing how special it is to be God's. I don't have girls, but it's my favorite gift to little girls.

What a sweet book for all the King's daughters! I purchased the first Gigi book at Women of Faith convention in 2005, for my then three-year old daughter. After seeing how much she loved that one, I knew I had to get Sheila's latest addition to the collection. The Royal Tea Party is just as good!! A special story to show our daughters that we are ALL daughters of the King!!! A definite must-have, in my opinion.

Insightful book on our broken political process, made an enjoyable read due to Hillsman's slightly subversive sense of humor.
Provides a great insider's view of campaigns from Nader to Ventura.
No one else is covering this territory as well as this author.

After the press has built up its latest darling political candidates and subsequently torn them back down again we are often left with a bad taste in our mouths. This book lays the blame on our political system itself. But what I found most interesting were the behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Bill's experiences on various campaign trails. Those are the stories the press all too often overlooks and the ones voters want to know about most.

Bill Hillsman builds an interesting case for revamping our political system. His experience from the national to the local political arenas is impressive. He is funny and witty and provides a great read! This book is lots of fun for everyone interesting in learning how elections are really won and lost!! Have fun.

I highly recommend this book. This book works because while it points out the fault of both political parties it shares awesome stories of the little guy winning. The information about Ventura is fascinating and heart warming. I also found the info about McCain to be very interesting. I was surprised to find out how close he was to running as an independent candidate. You will also learn what the parties did to keep him from running.

wow. this book is sooooooo good, i started reading it and i didnt put it down until i was done (at about 11 pm). Its all about how 5 girls' lives are changed by one saturday night dance.

This book is great! I recomend this book to anyone who likes good romance books with a little twist!

Not surprisingly, though. Good, solid plot, vivid, seemingly alive characters- a powerful examintion of woman, their hopes, dreams, and nightmares. I liked it

Ok, starting off.. this book was EXCELLENT! It was realistic and it just got to ya somehow.. and it wasn't one of those happy-ever-after kinda deals, this showed the joys and pains of four girls in high school. The ending was really good, and unless you already knew it you wouldn't think of there being a continuation, but there is, and its called "Last Dance". Now all that i am asking of you is that if you know the other book in this "series" or what not (i already have the 3rd book New Year's Eve) PLEASE TELL ME THE NAME OF THE OTHER BOOKS! thanks

With 38 more days of Blair's premiership to go I thought that this might be a good time to remind myself of how it all looked and felt in the year 2000 when the book was published. I am a regular reader of Andrew Rawnsley's weekly political commentary in The Observer, and he can always be relied on for an intelligent and fair-minded view, with an engaging public-schoolboy sense of the aspects of the matter (many) that are slightly or more than slightly ridiculous.

Rawnsley does his homework. For obvious reasons he can't name most of his sources or they would not remain sources for long, but I see no reason not to believe his claim that he found them at the top, in the middle and at the bottom of the parliamentary pile. His main text starts with Labour's election victory in 1997, but his short preface is in some ways the most interesting thing in the book, recapitulating the history of the `New Labour Project' that restored Labour to government after many had given up on it as being unelectable. Blair obviously occupies centre-stage, but the book is about his party and his government in general, not about him solely or even mainly. Blair had snatched the crown from under the nose of the longtime leader in waiting Gordon Brown, whom he had to placate with unprecedented power and influence as Chancellor and whose turn is now at last about to come. Never far from the spotlight except when he chose to be is also the machiavellian figure of Peter Mandelson, and manipulating the spotlights is of course Tony's loyal and brutal press supremo Alastair Campbell.

Labour had been out of office for 18 years. Neither Blair nor Brown nor any minister other than one fairly minor officeholder had any experience of government whatsoever. In addition the swarm of political analysts, pundits and commentators that had done much to wreck Blair's hapless predecessor John Major now buzzed incessantly round their heads, and the new government was unsurprisingly fixated on presentation. They were put through their presentational paces from the outset and after claiming to wash whiter than white they soon found they had plenty of whitewashing to do. The foreign secretary was forced into an abrupt and vicious parting from his wife: a highly questionable gift to the party was first accepted then denied then disowned; and a farcical folly called the Millennium Dome was devouring money in an inaccessible location on the Thames. However the public mood of trust in honest-faced Tony continued. Purely from that point of view Blair acquitted himself brilliantly over the public reaction to the death of Princess Diana, and a genuine masterstroke of real substance was achieved by Brown in giving independence in monetary policy to the Bank of England.

As it started, so it has gone on. New Labour had puffed themselves as inaugurating a new era, but behind the scenes they were just human beings - prima donnas, ego-trippers, inexperienced and sometimes incompetent, quarrelsome and jealous, but still perceived behind their dashing young leader as an improvement on what we had been used to, and astonishingly surefooted in putting themselves across. Rawnsley comments as well as reporting, but it is always clear what the basis is for his opinions, and that is the least and the most he should do. If I were to criticise anything in the book it might be that I would have welcomed some more of his own point of view, because it is always reasonable in never in support of any rigid standpoint. The narrative is slightly jerky, reflecting I suppose its origins in separate pieces for the BBC or the press. The writing is mainly good too, although I grimaced at the lordly metaphor `on such accidents...does the river of events turn.' Rivers bend surely, but I never heard of a river turning before and I hope I never do again; and who was the proofreader who let him away with the noun `perplexion'?

There is a real air of authenticity about this book, a sense of genuine endeavour to get to the bottom of things through the maelstrom of what we now call `spin'. It recaptures for me the real feel of the time and although I and the whole long-suffering British public are inundated with comment to the point of boredom and disgust Rawnsley's freshness of attitude, simple clarity and patent honesty keep my attention. I would say that I hope he will let us have some more of it all, but I sense that that is not so much a hope as a stone-cold certainty.

This is a well-researched and riotously funny account of the first term of Tony Blair's premiership (1997-2001). The author is a prominent political columnist for a leftish newspaper in the UK and has an extremely rich array of New Labour contacts, so his information comes straight from the horses' mouths. The style of Rawnsley's writing, however, is what makes this book such a gem: it's straightforward reporting mixed with wry wit and the regular puncturing of politicians' most cherished illusions about themselves. I defy any reader to keep a straight face at the end of the chapter on the foot and mouth crisis, in which Blair desperately maneuvers to save the life of an especially popular calf ("Phoenix") after having overseen the slaughter of thousands of less photogenic victims. Some familiarity with the British system of government is probably helpful, but it is possible to pick up quite a bit from context. Anyone who enjoys watching "Yes, Minister" reruns on PBS is almost guaranteed to like this book.

Andrew Rawnsley is an established and respected political journalist. This is a studied and thoughtful account of the early years of Tony Blair's New Labour Government - following eighteen years of Conservative Rule. He takes us behind the personalities who had shown unity at all costs as Labour fought desperately to regain power.

We gain an insight into the minds of the major players. Who is in and who is out. The power struggle is played against the background of major events - The Northern Ireland Peace Process, Kosova etc. In particular he gives a real insight into the rivalry and dependancy of Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown. A fascinating insight into the working of Government.

It must be true - the spin doctors slammed it! Rawnsley, a respected political journalist and commentator, got a strong reaction when this book was published with some very senior figures indeed coming forward to rubbish it. For anyone who hasn't read it that may give an unfair impression of a book which struck me at least as an attempt at a reasonable and balanced account of the early fortunes of Britain's first Labour government in decades. Rawnsley is happy to give praise where it is due - for Tony Blair's intervention in the Northern Ireland peace process for example. It was also billed as a bright light shone into the darkest corners of the Labour Party and this too underplays its strengths. Rawnsley turns his expertise to deconstructing the 'New Labour' phenomenon and examining the extraordinary current of feeling which propelled Blair into Number 10. Gordon Brown, Britain's 'Iron Chancellor', is also under the microscope and the relationship between the two provides a central, and controversial, feature of the book. It's got its share of scandal and gossip, it's written with a disrespectful humour, and many of its conclusions may be contentious. Also the anonymity of many sources is preserved, so the reader can't judge their validity. But it's a cracking read, convincing and entertaining. Is it true? Well, there's an anecdote about how Blair and his press henchman Alistair Campbell were thrown into a flurry on election night by their own unexpected success. The two men were on their way to the Labour victory rally in Blair's newly-acquired armoured car. Blair jumped out of the car while it was still moving and Cambell, following out of duty, had his foot run over by the heavy vehicle. The stuff of farce - but later confirmed by Campbell...

I think I went almost nuts when I couldn't find my childhood copy of this book! It was by far my favorite children's book and remains one of my favorite books now, some thirty years later. The story is charming and teaches children the value of true friends. The illustrations are delightful. I can't recommend this book highly enough--I wish I could give it 10 stars!

Amber T Kingston
Author and Illustrator of Laura and the Leprechauns

I loved this book when I was a kid and was so happy to recently track down a copy. It's about Sloth, who is a horrible housekeeper but is blessed with truly good friends who pull together and help him out at the end of the story. Almost thirty years later, it's still a story I would highly recommend to today's kids.

I'm just crazy about this book. A wonderful story with a great message to children about looking beyond material possessions and what it means to be a true friend.

This is a really sweet book about a messy sloth and his friends. The pictures are darling and really cute. This book has a lot of personality and charm.

We are commonly told that World War II was the ýgood war.ý That maybe Vietnam was ýbad,ý but in World War II, the US was fighting against fascism and for freedom. This book will force anyone to reexamine that view and come to a more realistic idea of what the second World War was all about--groups of imperialist countries fighting to redivide the markets, raw materials and territory of the world. The record of the SWP in that war shows just how far the US government was willing to go to silence dissent--leaders of the party who were influential in building up the Teamsters union in Minnesota were imprisoned; and the partyýs newspaper was banned from the mails. Despite this, as James Cannon shows, the party never abandoned its principles and actually succeeded in gaining members as the war dragged on. This is a fine example to all people today as the US drags us to war in Iraq in the name of freedom and fighting ýterrorism.ý

For those who reject U.S. President George W. Bush and U.K President Anthony Blair-led imperialist flag waving and the current war drive, this book is must reading.

"As weeks and weeks went by, I didn't hear a single one of the defendants say a single word of loyalty to this government and this flag...." So declared the federal judge as he sentenced 18 leaders of the Socialist Workers Party and labor movement to prison for opposing WWII on the day the U.S. entered it.

The loyalty of these leaders was to the working class of the world. This meant opposing their own ruling class and its government, and leading a movement to replace it with a workers and farmers government.

If you are interested in the history of the American Left or are a militant trying to understand some of the past lessons of our history concerning the socialist response to imperialist war this book is for you. This book is part of a continuing series of the writings of James P. Cannon that was published by the organization he founded, the Socialist Workers Party, in the late 1970's shortly after his death in 1974. Look in this space for other related reviews of this series on this important American Communist.

In the introduction the editors motivate the purpose for the publication of the book by stating the Cannon was the finest Communist leader that America had ever produced. This an intriguing question. The editors trace their political lineage back to Cannon's leadership of the early Communist Party and later after his expulsion to the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party so their perspective is obvious. What does the documentation provided here show? This certainly is the period of Cannon's political maturation after a long journeymanship working with Trotsky. The period under discussion started with his leadership of the fight against those who no longer wanted to defend the gains of the Russian Revolution despite the Stalinist degeneration of that revolution. He won his spurs in that fight and in his struggle to orient the party toward World War II. One thing is sure- in his prime which includes this period Cannon had the instincts to want to lead a revolution and had the evident capacity to do so.

As I write this review we are in the midst of commemerrating the 3rd Anniversary of the start of the American invasion of Iraq. As I have argued elsewhere in this space militants must support the call for immediate, unconditional United States and Allied forces withdrawal from that war-torn country. More drastic action is needed, much more, over the long haul including a fundamental change in government but that demand is the minimum basis for action today. If you want to find a more profound response initiated by revolutionary socialists to World War II the Cannon's writing here will assist you. I draw your attention to three aspects of policy which highlight this book; the historic socialist anti-war policy; the ambiguous Proletarian Military Policy of the Socialist Workers Party; and, revolutionary socialist defense policy against governmental persecution and suppression.

Historically, at least in peace time, most socialist tendencies before World War I had a formal policy against the war policies and military buildup of their respective goverments. At the start of World War I most European socialist parties' capitulation to their respective imperialist states's war aims are rightly understood as a betrayal of that policy. The Russian Bolshevik Party led by Lenin and preciously few other European parties and individuals upheld the Marxist policy against war and militarism. Moreover, one of the most enduring lessons of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917 was that the only way to successfully fight against imperialist war aims and stop war is to overthrow the capitalist system of your own country. As developed during World War I that understanding of socialist policy had two prongs. First, socialists must not vote for or otherwise support the war aims of their own imperialist state. Second, in order to end war and bring in the prospect of a socialist organization of society dedicated to ending war one must actively seek to turn the imperialist war into a civil war. This is the perspective the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party, led by James P. Cannon, operated from prior to and during World War II. Thus, they operated within an orthodox Leninist revolutionary perspective. They did this forthrightly and paid the price for it with the imprisonment of its leaders, including Cannon, and virtual suppression of its newspaper. These were severe blows to that small party.

Although the Socialist Workers Party honorably upheld the revolutionary socialist position on imperialist war during this period that party pursued what can only be considered an ambiguous policy that has come down in history as the 'Proletarian Military Policy'. In this perspective the organization was influenced by Trotsky's theses on permanent war and total militarism. That policy had two parts when it was elaborated just prior to American participation in World War II. One was trade union control of worker military training in case of conscription and the other was control of worker-officer training. The fundamental flaw in this policy is that it contradicts the Marxist understanding of the state which is that in the final analysis the state is an armed body of men (women) in the service of the ruling class. To call for such controls is either utopian or opportunism and blunted the other orthodox actions that proved the worth of the party. Yes, oppose conscription. Yes, oppose the war budget. Yes, sent your youthful cadre into the army when drafted to influence working class and minority youth. No, to this scheme.

As a result of their open and defiant opposition to Roosevelt's war aims the leadership of the Socialist Workers Party was indicted before the opening of United States involvement in World War II. Ultimately most of those indicted were convicted and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. This is the price revolutionaries know in their bones they will have to pay for such fundamental opposition. All honor to those courageous individuals. The Socialist Workers Party in response to this governmental persecution created a broad based defense organization to both raise funds and call attention to the plight of their comrades. This was both appropriate and useful. Moreover, the organization properly used the trial as a forum on socialism. This is also a proper response to such persecutions by the government. Cannon has some interesting things to say about his experiences in the legal vs. illegal party debate and the proper tone to take during wartime to protect your legal status when you oppose the government. If you oppose the United States occupation in Iraq read this book. Before we are done you and I may need to use some of the lessons drawn from this source.

Jim Cannon's books are filled with wit, wisdom. As the book opens in the summer of 1940, the party hadsuffered its biggest split, as middle class elements left to get out of the way of fighting Roosevelt. Shortly afterward, Trotsky was assassinated, and Cannon, who had become Trotsky's closest collaborator in the world revolutionary movement gives his assessment of the murder, and of Trotsky's place in history. Then, the SWP faced persecution from the FBI, from the Roosevelt Administration, and from the bureaucracy of the Teamsters Union. The SWP chose to stand and fight for revolutionary internationalist principles. Cannon's also to bring younger working class members of the party into the leadership as he and other leaders were threatened with prison Cannon's struggle led to the biggest expansion of the party in the working class, in the black, and in the immigrant community in the party's history. When you fight you win. To read what happened next, read his books Letters from Prison and then The Socialist Workers Party in the American Century also from Pathfinder.