Activism Books

The 41st Century is full of mysteries. Like what happened to Ancient Yankees who lived in North America? Why did they die out and how did they live. One day a tomb, untouched, is found and it gives us a glimpse of what these Ancient Yankees were like in the 20th Century. Sacred items, musical instruments, and the sacred point will make you laugh and wonder how much of OUR knowledge is based on such conclusions?

Motel of the mysteries is a fun, easy read.
Everyday items are seen in the light of future archeologists, with interesting, funny and sometimes insightful interpretations. Good book to share with others.

My students are looking at ancient cultures and what a great book to start with. We learn about making inferences from observation and our own prior knowledge. This book is great on teaching this.

Absolutely enjoyable, all age readership done with genuine style and that utterly necessary dose of humor so lacking in our modern world. Motel of the Mysteries truly does show what happens when we, the "modern" researchers, imprint our beliefs and values on a prior culture. It is most definitely worth reading. I bought several copies for my friends.

Archaeologists spend so much time thinking about the past, and it's inevitable that occasionally we wonder just what those in the future will think about us. This does, of course, poke some fun at the profession and the logic employed in how we come about our conclusions, while making you wonder just how wrong we might be in that regard. A must-read for archaeologists with a sense of humor, though just about anyone will find this humorous and entertaining.

Longtime animal advocate Mark Hawthorne knows a thing or two about which methods are most effective in helping animals. Mark also happens to be a great writer, and his new book, "Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism," will prove helpful for everyone from armchair advocates to seasoned citizen lobbyists.

When writing the book, Hawthorne drew from his range of animal welfare experience, from volunteering for rabbit rescue groups to working with farm animal sanctuaries. He also interviewed countless people who are involved in the animal protection movement.

By bringing in the collective experiences and insights of those advocates, Hawthorne developed a valuable encyclopedia of the most successful strategies that bring about change for animals.

He discusses a wide variety of tools anyone can use, including leafleting, holding events, tabling, writing opinion pieces and corporate campaigning. Hawthorne included an in-depth section on the importance of using continually-evolving multimedia and electronic communications, such as websites, video and podcasts, blogs and more.

"Striking at the Roots" is packed with helpful tips and useful case studies of campaigns that are tangibly improving the lives of animals. Hawthorne's attention to those success stories is inspiring enough to make better advocates out of his readers.

"Striking at the Roots" is an important addition to the animal protection literature--an accessible, engaging book that's a useful read for anyone who wants to make a difference for animals.

This book is informative as a reference source, but can at times come off a little too strong. A good book for the beginner though!

Thoreau said "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root..." Mark Hawthorne has written a book to help activists in the many branches of animal rights to get closer to those roots, and to do so effectively.

Mark's writings have been seen in numerous publications; now his hands-on experience is combined with wisdom from a veritable who's who of the animal rights movement to clearly answer the question: what can I do?

From the shy animal lover to the flamboyant vegetarian, from the bookworm to the fearless animal liberator, this book offers tools and insights on how to accomplish your goals. Whether you want to take a bite out of cruel factory farming, teach compassion to your local fur store, rescue captive abused animals, or just help your family to eat healthier and more thoughtfully, this book delivers the goods.

"Striking at the Roots" details activities from letter writing to direct action, deals realistically with both potential benefits and consequences, and even gives lessons on what to expect from the police in various countries. It also provides a long list of relevant resources to learn and do even more.

Sydney J. Harris has been quoted as saying, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Animal cruelty is a problem we're all surrounded by, and one we cannot afford--in terms of morality, human health, air quality, water pollution, soil loss, germ resistance, tax subsidies, worker injuries, and common decency.

While each of us may not be at the root of the problem, we all have hold of some of the branches, however tenuously. Mark Hawthorne's very user-friendly book can help us to make a difference for our fellow earthlings who can't speak our language or vote. "Striking at the Roots" offers many tools to bring out the animal in us -- and to do so effectively.

Every significant social movement requires a manifesto and guidebook to coalesce individuals, organize actions, and instigate social change. Striking at the Roots covers everything any activist would need to know about how to successfully advocate on behalf of animals. Whether you are an armchair activist who prefers to write letters to the editor and opinion pieces, or someone who would rather get right into the thick of protests, demonstrations, and direct action, Hawthorne provides the map for how to do it. He covers all the questions you might have wondered about in private and didn't know whom to ask, as well as questions you may not have even known you had. In addition to providing answers, Hawthorne supplies endless ideas and resources, and he solicited the input of countless activists to motivate you to action and keep you energized and revved for the long haul. Striking at the Roots is a book all animal activists should have on their nightstands and in their backpacks and briefcases. It's a manifesto whose time has come.

This is an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to help animals. Mark Hawthorne's new book covers every tool in the toolbox for anyone who wants to be effective in stopping animal cruelty. From letter writing to leafleting, from corporate campaigning to using the media, this book demonstrates that everybody can find a way to speak out in defense of beings who cannot speak for themselves. You can be shy, you can be scared, and you can still be effective. Inspiring examples from people who are changing attitudes, laws, and conditions under which animals are suffering are included in every chapter.

Bruce Friedrich from Peta wrote the foreword, and leaders from virtually every animal protection organization in the country are featured in the book. Even the appendices are interesting (Appendix A: Recent Milestones for Animals is particularly heartening.)

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.

Fast service from the source.
Intriguing book which will affect your outlook on America.

Frances Moore Lappe is my hero in a "World Gone Mad". And if you haven't already read her first book, although the newest updated version, Hope's Edge: The New Diet for a Small Planet.

This book is the key to keeping it real. I find myself more productive after reading it.

I'm about 30 pages into the book. I read Diet for a Small Planet years ago. I had high expectations. This book is good if you can't attend one of her lectures. The style appears to be based on a conversation. It is missing some depth and includes information that is a bit dated. I prefer Chomsky's depth and perspective.

Francis Moore Lappe asks, "Why can't we stop wringing our hands over
poverty, hunger, species decimation, genocide, and death from curable
disease we know is all needless?" She reached into our lives and changed
our understanding of the causes of hunger some thirty years ago when she
wrote the groundbreaking book "Diet for a Small Planet." Now, after
years of research and writing, she has again responded to the questions
raised by her curiosity and has shared her analysis in "Getting a Grip:
clarity, creativity and courage in a world gone mad" It is easy to
identify with her intense desire for change, as she states,
"I'm ready. I'm past ready."

The book is hard to put down as Ms. Lappe shows us how to move from
powerlessness to empowerment. I was drawn by the intensity and clarity
of thought on the first few pages and, later, by the creativity,
insight, and determination of a woman who is committed to sharing her
perception of the work ahead so that we may join in getting a grip on
what seems "a world gone mad."

This is a great book. The book is easy to read and has all the information on Monte from the day he was born all the way to his death. It tells us how Monte gave his life to the Armenian nation. After reading the book I sent a thank you later to his brother for writing the book. This is a must read for anybody who is intereted in Armenian Heroes.

The above title are three words that come to mind after reading My Brother's Road. Markar Melkonian puts a human face on an "American-Armenian" legend, noting not only his brother's amazing accomplishments, but also his failings. Never-the-less, this book confirmed the fact that Monte Melkonian deserves the title of a national hero. His selfless ways and unstoppable drive for a cause bigger than himself are deliniated in the context of historical events. In short, one cannot help but admire Monte Melkonian while reading this book.
I thank Makar Melkonian for producing this fitting text about his brother, a revered son of Armenia.

I really dont know what else to say. This book details his constant resolve to better the Armenian cause. Though it involves conflicts with other Armenians, his focus is for the Armenian nation (past, during the cold war, present, and future).
He literally gave his life for the Armenian people. Though drawn into political conflicts, he was clearly an apolitical nationalist, and a true hero. May God bless his memory, and his brother, who wrote this book.
I thank Monte and Markar for teaching me so much about Armenian history. Like you, Monte, I am reborn and my spirit will rise up like a phoenix. I am more an Armenian, having learned of your life. You gave yourself for (our) my future, and I will always honor you for it.

In reading My Brother's Road, one can't help being made aware of the inevitable reciprocity of history. Monte, and others like him, were modern-day Maccabees, that cultural paradox of virtue and brutality, ideological fervor and compassion. To his added credit, Markar does not shy away from discussing the hard realities of the NKR conflict. In the end, that kind of honesty is the least his brother would have required.

Every Armenian and non-Armenian alike should pick up this book and read it.

Swanee's book is interesting and is on a nice, high level of intellect. Prior to her book I had read about her dad, and I have known one of her nieces, although she is "half niece" and is older (older than her aunt!). Swanee was interesting to read, and pictures of her has her looking like a pretty woman, which is not true of all of the Hunt folks. I enjoyed reading her comments in regards to Southern Baptist, since I am a Southern Baptist, too. I recommend it if your interest can run along such lanes of thought.

Jack

I am just one-half way through this book but must say, at this point, it is probably one of the "best" books I have ever encountered. The factors contributing to this assessment are readibility, candor, lessons learned that I might use, subject matter and on and on. The author has led an unusual life, not just because she could because of her fortune and fame,but equally because she had the drive and desire to explore, explore and explore so many untested avenues and, in doing so, strengthened her own confidence in pushing even further. At one point she said that she was determined to take on one new challenge every year. She tends to defy the odds--pervailing all along. She climbed in Nepal, ran a marathon while not really in great shape, overcame her fears regarding being in leadership positions, etc., etc. To this point, her life gives me an inspiration that I have not gained from any other reading. I can't recommend it enough. I anticipate reading the section dealing with her diplomatic career. I was at the high end of my mid level employement at the State Department during that period. I am curious to see how we agree, or not, with situations at that time.

"Swanee Hunt has taken a phenomenal journey through life and written all about it in her new book and autobiography called 'Half-Life of a Zealot.' I found this book one of the most revealing autobiographies I have ever read. It takes an incredible amount of courage to strip herself bare the way she did so much of the time in this book, and I value that because I really felt I had an opportunity to get to know her. It was not just some kind of political exercise and that's rare -- particularly in politics." -- Barry Gordon on the progressive talk radio show "Barry Gordon From Left Field" (for which I am the producer)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't rave enough about it! Swanee, through her life's work, is an incredible inspiration.

Half-Life of a Zealot is a remarkable book, and Swanee Hunt is a remarkable person. In her introduction, the author quotes Jill Ker Conway who wrote: "The woman autobiographer...cannot depart too dramatically from popularly accepted stereotypes, which affirm the man of action and the suffering or redemptive female. To do so is to risk losing persuasive power." A statement Ms. Hunt agrees with, but; she writes, "rather than feel reluctant about showing my vulnerability, I've wondered if it's safe to show strength." In those two sentences, Ms. Hunt beautifully sets the book's tone of the dualities of her life, one that was lived in isolation, and the other in public; one where love was given freely by her gentle mother, the other often held at bay by her powerful, famous father. With razor sharp intellect, openness, and candor, Ms. Hunt weaves her many lives as politician, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and peace maker into a wonderfully complex tapestry that pulls readers in deeper with each flip of the page. For even with her family's enormous wealth, Half-Life is a universal tale of a child's longings for family, love, and acceptance; and a triumphant story of a woman who grew into her own power and self-worth. Written in a casual and easy to read narrative, Half-Life is filled with unforgettable characters, fascinating events, and enough twists and turns that both mend and break the hearts to make it an engaging read.

Linda's personal account of her journey to becoming one of the most thoughtful political organizers in our nation is both inspiring and provocative. Her writing style is simple and compelling. Her reflections on growing up poor, and organizing for power with poor people is a 101 in Social Activism that should be read by anyone who has ever yearned to change the world. Linda continues her work to this day, striving to knit together a stronger, more cohesive and effective social change movement. That she's also blessed with real writing talent is a gift to us all.

This is a great book because it has vivid stories that make the work of Linda Stout and Piedmont Peace Project come alive. Along with enjoying these stories, all those who want to create a better world will glean practical advice on how to make their visions a reality.

This book should is a must read for everyone! I was first assigned this book in a college course, and it became the best book I ever read to help me understand how change happens. It gave me hope and motivated me to change my life to work for social justice. Because the author is not a college graduate, her language is clear, simple and powerful.

If you want to create change in the world, this is the book to read.

Even if you're not interested in social change, this book gives you an insight to what happens to people who grow up in poverty and other oppressive conditions. Great stories!

Linda Stout's book is a very timely reminder of what it will take to create a true cross-class community in this country, and reduce the polarization that plagues our political life. I highly recommend this book.

Bridging the Class Divide is a "must read" for anyone with an interest in community organizing at any level. Not only is Linda Stout's personal story riveting, but the book also provides concrete steps for how to go about galvanizing groups and individuals. Stout has a great way of reaching out to everyone, not just people who do this full-time, but anyone who wants to make a difference in their community. It is at once inspiring and practical. I read it when it was first published and have referred to it many times since then. My 14-year old recently began bringing together kids to organize around school issues, and I passed it along to him. And if you're not interested in organizing, Stout's personal journey is inspiring all on its own.

"How to Win A Fight With A Conservative" made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe. Which is why all my "knuckle-dragging troglodyte" neocon" business associates got a copy. I happen to work with way too many "Rapturefarians", "Enron-omists" and "Gunfederates" in drag as "Spongebob-ophobes" If they can't take a joke ...

Using the "Basic Training" and "How To Win Friends While Antagonizing People" techniques, I finally put the body slam on my self-righteous Conservative associates. Some of those pompous doofuses deserve a little satirical bloodletting every now and then. It keeps them from reproducing too rapidly. I simply adore zapping Conservative blow hards who have their heads so far up their behinds that they can tickle their pancreas with their elbows. Ah, what a relief to zing them and still maintain a friendship and business relationship afterward. Thanks, Dan Kurtzman. Your books have lowered my blood pressure about 30 points!

Witty and incisive, this book is filled with all those fun facts you wish you could recite when talking politics with a mouth-breathing conservative. Kurtzman has done a nice job in exposing all the frauds in the Republican party in his "Hall of Shame" (unfortunately, a list that grows longer by the day--maybe a revised edition will be needed?). My favorite line from the book comes from the Day in the Life of a Conservative: "Gas up Hummer, reposition Confederate flag on window, clean homeless person off grille." Funny stuff!

A friend gave me this book for Christmas this year because she knew how much I enjoyed ranting about politics. While it is not truly a self-help book, and I doubt anyone will win a fight with a conservative by following its directions, it is an enjoyable little diversion that made me laugh. Daniel Kurtzman is a good satirist and his jabs are hilarious. For instance, he divides the conservative movement into several cleverly named segments:
(1) Rapturfarians--Christian fundamentalists.
(2) Enron-omists--über capitalists.
(3) Big Brethren--militant authoritarians.
(4) Gunfederates--people with confederate flags and gun racks in their pickup trucks.
(5) Spongebob-ophobes--militant anti-gay activists.
(6) Crusadomasochists--imperialistic neoconservatives.
Clever names to be sure, but the descriptions are just as humorous. The rest of the book is just as much fun. I should mention that Daniel Kurtzman is an equal opportunity satirist; he also published in 2007 another guide, "How to Win a Fight with a Liberal," that takes aim at those on the left. It is just as humorous.

I picked up a copy of this book before taking a flight home for Thanksgiving. I come from an ultra-conservative family, and figured I could use a little ammunition just in case things turned ugly at the dinner table, like they usually do. I found some surprisingly useful tips, especially the chapter on how to detect logical fallacies. But most of all, the book made me laugh. My favorite parts were the dueling Liberal and Conservative Manifestos ("Conservatives believe in beautiful Hummers befouling spacious skies, amber waves of abstinent teens, and crowning thy good with estate tax cuts"). I'm planning to give out copies to a few friends whose families are even crazier than mine.

This is a really funny, enjoyable book. It has lots of great quizzes, lists, and do's and don'ts that make it easy to jump into at any point. And I loved all the quotes from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Great stuff!

What an amazing book. Marvelously written, highly informative, i was shocked and entertained, page after page.

A compassionate, humorous, meticulous and nothing short of brilliant piece of writing.

One most definitely does NOT have to be transgendered as am i, to marvel at what is in this book. As a matter of fact, since we already know what we are going through, it should be required reading for the part of humanity that needs to know, that is not transgendered.

Bravo Deborah, bravo.

Jamie Antonia Symonanis - author of 'You're Lost Little Girl'

I was most impressed with the information that was included in the book relative to my own identity problems (?). It gave me some insight into the emotional battles that have brewed within my self over the years. I wish that I had this information many years ago. We are really not male or female, rather, we are a blend of human nature.

Thank you,

Herb

This is the best Gender-related book I've read thus far. It delves far beyond the woman-in-man's body metaphor to cover historical and current theories about gender and why, like any other human phenomenon, gender is represented best by a biological diversity not necessarily aligned with one's natal genitalia. It also delves with style into recent history offering a chilling echo from Nazi Germany into what intolerance holds towards gender variance. This is a book that everyone over age of 18 ought to read. The personal accounts were also very telling. Great book.

For the past couple years, I have been devouring every book I can get my hands on about gender variance, and I have read some really good ones. The one I just finished is among the very best yet. It's a recent offering (published 2005) by Deborah Rudacille. It's called The Riddle of Gender: Science, Activism, and Transgender Rights.

It is refreshing in that it has no axes to grind, and it is written by someone who is sensitive to the subject matter (she began the research when I friend chose to transition); knowledgeable of the general body humanistic thought that comes from feminism, postmodernist philosophy, gender studies and queer studies; and who knows reaearch and science (she's a science writer working at Johns Hopkins). What's more, she is uniquely knoweldgeable about the special area of environmental estrogens and endocrine disrupting chemicals like DES. Rudacille is a powerful advocate, and I believe her so proficiently bringing together the science, the history, and the voices of transpeople will have a profound effect.

As a science writer, she is, first and foremost, a talented writer. The book is especially valuable for presenting lots of different perspectives and distinctive forms of information and thought without recourse to jargon or the conventions of speech typical of academic publications.

Each chapter includes an extended interview with a trans person. Most of these subjects are successful professionals and/or activist advocates. They are articulate and experienced voices that manage to say, in their totality and unity, "We are not mentally ill. We are not moral degenerates. We are products of biochemistry, and we are interesting human beings worth getting to know."

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I learned a lot I didn't know!

Dan Mouer, Ph.D.

As somebody in the midst of transition myself I have devoured many of the "must read" books on this subject and more besides. At this point I have started to be cautious about my selections since similar information is often duplicated, especially in the non-biographical works.

What a joy then to read this book, which introduced me to so much new information without ever feeling like hard going!

If you think this is purely looking through research for why we (TG's) exist you are grossly underestimating the author. True, she examines that research, but puts it in the context of politics, public opinion, and ethics of the time. She also asks some tough questions that made me re-consider my position on several issues.

Whether you identify as transgendered or are interested in understanding you have to add this to your compulsory reading list!

THUNDER OF ANGELS helps introduce E.D. Nixon to the rest of the world who may not realize the scope of his tremendous influence on the structure and foundation of the Civil Rights Movement in America.
Because of his guidance, strength, organizational skills, and ceaseless courageous actions; he set in motion a force greater than himself or any other one man.
Though not an eloquent speaker, his convictions and sincerity, his drive and leadership, and his tenacious ability to identify strength and potential in those around him should have secured his place in history. It did not.
THUNDER OF ANGELS should help rectify this gross oversight and help E.D. Nixon receive the credit due for all of his efforts and accomplishments.
Rodney Knolton/Davis-Kidd Booksellers/Memphis, Tn.

This remarkable book is a joy to read and it made a great gift for the holidays.

It just goes to tell you that the really important histories of this turbulent era can be written from the voice of the people down south who lived the experiences.

I applaud Mr. Donnie Williams and all the civil rights historical chroniclers for their sacrifice and literary expertise. I highly, highly recommend this book.

I hope Mr. Williams writes another book!

Donnie Williams put incredible effort into research and interviewing people who were there (in the mid century south) and people who remember racial events of this historical time period. This book brought out hard and sad times in our nation's history when innocent men, women, and children suffered unbelievable discrimination and even death. This book makes everyone aware that our knowledge of the time period is only a tip of the iceberg. Many suffered and their stories will never be heard, but Donnie Williams took time to go into their homes and their histories to learn many untold stories of unsung heroes (white and black) who fought for freedom, equality, and unity for all races. This book is well worth the read and I look forward to Donnie's upcoming books with more information on this historical time period.

This book is the best on this historical subject to come down the pike in decades. It illuminates more than the events. It makes us "feel" the people. Don't miss this chance to gain an indepth understanding of what it was like to be there that day in that city when American began to change.

Although it is pretty early in the new year I suspect that "The Thunder of Angels" just might be one of the best books I will read in 2006. Donnie Williams and Wayne Greenhaw have the uncanny knack of transporting the reader right back into the middle of the historic events that were taking place in Montgomery, Al back in 1955 and 1956. More importantly, the authors introduce us to E.D.Nixon, a humble Pullman car porter and largely unknown figure up to this point, who in myriad ways over a period of two decades helped to create what we all know today as the civil rights movement in America. "The Thunder of Angels" reveals the untold story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. You cannot help but be struck by the courage and determination displayed by so many people during those troubled times in Alabama's capitol city.
If ever there was an unlikely figure to lead such a historic movement it was E.D Nixon. As a young man he learned first hand the hard life of a sharecropper. Determined to make a better life for himself, E.D. Nixon found work as a baggage porter in Mobile in the mid 1920's. Shortly thereafter he landed a job as a Pullman car porter. The new job gave young Mr. Nixon the opportunity to travel to a great many U.S. cities including Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco and New York. Growing up in a segregated city like Montgomery, he naturally assumed that Negroes were treated in the same way everywhere else. But in his travels he discovered that this simply was not the case. He saw firsthand that blacks were faring substantially better than he had been led to believe in many towns and cities across America. He quietly vowed to do whatever he could to instigate change in this beloved Montgomery. He bided his time and in December 1955 the Rosa Parks case presented itself. Because so much of the groundwork had been laid over the years by E.D. Nixon the emerging leadership of the Black community in Montgomery as well as the black man in the street correctly sensed that the time was right to demand change in their city. It proved to be a knock-down, dragged out fight but the storied case of the Montgomery Bus Boycott would go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
I found "The Thunder of Angels" to be one of those books that I simply could not put down. This one held my interest from cover to cover. There was so much new information that I have never seen anywhere else. I learned about many courageous men and women, black and white, the famous and the not so famous who rose to the occasion and demanded an end to segregation in Montgomery. What happened there would have a profound effect on the history of race relations in America. "The Thunder of Angels" is a "must" read for all students of U.S. history. Very highly recommended!!!

A bottom-up social history of some of the most important radical struggles in the last two decades; a critical, first-person account of revolutionary movements, their successes as well as failures, their potential as well as their flaws. Ryan's radical anthropology of a dozen different movements reads like an ethnography of activism, from Ireland to Kurdistan to Guatemala and Chiapas.

Never one to blithely proceed as a militant tourist, Ryan consistently critiques his own role in the narratives he recounts, exploring tensions of race, class and nationality in the brave new world of global neoliberalism. Nor is he simply a lifestyle radical, playing mount-the-barricades in a dozen different cities. "Unconditional solidarity for any political party or movement is a foolish stance," he writes after discovering the new neoliberalized version of Sandinistas in Nicaragua, "especially when one has no participation in the process of decision-making or ideological direction. But one's loyalty remains to the idea and the revolutionary actions of a movement in a particular time." (264)

Who are the "clandestines"? As Ryan describes it, "clandestinity is about protecting ourselves, our rebel spaces and allowing the seed to germinate underground." (273) His description of developing, maintaining and deploying these spaces will be interesting to anyone pursuing radical social change.

Written by diehard anti-capitalist Ramor Ryan, Clandestines: The Pirate Journals Of An Irish Exile gathers memories of an anarchist's travels and exploits across the world during the 1980's and 1990's. From the hovels of Berlin during the fall of the wall, to a mystery in the Zapatista Autonomous Zone, to a Croatian Rainbow Gathering following G8 protests in Genoa, to a Kurdish guerilla camp, Clandestines tracks the struggles of a world in flux, on the cusp of transforming into a post-Cold War society. A sharp-eyed perspective from an author who despises all forms of imperialism and is utterly unafraid to declare it.

I can honestly say that I learned a great deal from reading this book, and enjoyed every minute of it. Ryan's stories are full of grit, hope, morality and rebelliousness. Highly recommended.

I never thought I would enjoy a travel journal, but Ramor Ryan changed my mind. At first I thought it was going to be an over-romantic story of this guy traveling around the world in order to avoid himself, in the way that a lot of Crimethinc type of stuff reads. I'm really not into that kind of stuff. However, he really surprised me, and I'm ashamed I thought that of him in the first place in association with Crimethinc, because this guy is a real character, a great writer, and no one can call him fake for leaving out the messy details. In fact, read about his review of the two different "Days of War and Nights of Love" (one by Crimethinc, and one by Eduardo Galeano) online.

In the great tradition of Irish story-tellers, Ryan recalls experiences from the squats of West Berlin, the war zone of Kurdistan, the revolution and post-revolution repression in Nicauragua, his youth in Ireland watching the British army attack a Republican demonstration, and much more. He is an exile from his native land, moving from situations of struggle across the planet with a keen analysis of each. Ryan left Ireland in the 1980s for Nicaragua to help defend the Revolution there, and ended up seeing the Sandinistas crumble under the might of the US-funded Contras, alienating Indigenous peoples struggling for autonomy in the process. He remarks that a generation of international solidarity activists in the 1980s got their start in Nicaragua; much like many saw the same in Chiapas in the 1990s.

If you've never heard of Ramor Ryan, look him up. I would love to meet him, because this guy has such a wealth of information and has seen so much without thinking he is better than anyone else for having done so. He brings a personal touch to bloody places stormed by revolution, repression, and fights for a better world. By the end of it, I thought to myself that he had really lived his life thus far to the fullest, and brought a whole new meaning to what I thought of as an "international solidarity" activist. Much of what he writes is exciting in that revolutionary situations are very much within reach, but at the same time depressing when he discusses the aftermath in the case of defeat (like in Kurdistan or in Nicaragua).

If you want to find an inspirational person, you have to meet Ramor Ryan by reading his Clandestines.

I have read numerous engrossing and exciting novels this year, but this book tops all of those, and these stories are true! If you like adventure, or want to simply know more about the world, read this book. He puts a very human face on the trials and tribulations of so many varied people, you ultimately feel like you were there. This book is your chance at a small piece of Ramor's varied experiences. Don't miss-out on the adventures.