Events Books

Excellent theory and an easy to read book. Will use the strengths perspective in my profession.

At first I was concerned because the web site listed a substantial wait time before the text could be shipped, but I ended up receiving it within two weeks. The book arrived in excellent condition.

The book came fairly quickly,the price was fair, and the book was in good shape

Informative book. I used for my class

I am a substance abuse therapist (part-time) and a Senior Juvenile Court Officer (full-time) for 17 years working with adolescents here in Lansing, Michigan. I am also strength-based (asset-building) in my personal practice approach with teens. I believe that we've heard the call before to work from the successful side, the resilient side of people, but we were never given the techniques as we are now with this book. That is what I see as the most promising aspect of this current strengths movement...the one-two punch of mindset and techniques. Any helping professional owes it to themselves to read this book. It is a real career changer. Most asset-building is aimed at the community level or agency/policy level. I am greatly concerned with asset-building on a one-to-one level of interpersonal work and how this can be used to approach people for more effective work. It looks to what the client can do vs. can't do, what they've been successful at rather than what they've failed at, what they have, vs. what they don't have. It runs counter to the "medical model" of deficit-based work that centers in on "flaw-fixing." I have published several articles and do trainings for raising motivation and cooperation with adolescents in the juvenile justice system through strength-based strategies. Most of my work, and this tremendous change in my practice, came from this book and the first volume published in 1992. Among many methods in my training I use a joke about a drunk man to change mindset. It's an old joke but very applicable: In the middle of the city, a beat cop encounters a drunk, crawling around on his hands and knees seemingly looking for something at night,directly under a street lamp. When the cop stops and inquires what he's doing, the drunk responds, "I'm looking for my car keys that I lost in the bushes!" The cop laughs and says, "Hey buddy, if you lost your keys over there in the bushes,why are you looking here under the street light?" To which the drunk replies indignantly, "Boy are you stupid, it's too dark to look for them over in the bushes!!" Old joke. But, we in the helping professions are so much like the drunk man. We look for the "keys" to clients problems in the area of greatest illumination which is always the PROBLEM, the failures, what's missing, wrong, etc. We have specialized tests to look there, interviewing strategies that look there, that is where all the attention is placed. Yet the "keys" are in the dark, in the "bushes" which certainly represents anyone's strengths, talents, past successes and perseverance (etc.) .............so why no methods to look in these areas? That's where strength-based practice comes in to give methods to elicit and amplify these areas. Check this book out, I believe you'll be thinking and working differently after you finish.

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 the victorious American (mainly) outcome to World War II then this book is for you. This book is part of a continuing series of the writings of James P. Cannon that were published by the organization he founded, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), in the 1970's, a few years after his death in 1974. Look in this space for other related reviews of this series on this important American Communist.

In their introduction here the editors motivate the purpose for the publication of this 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 SWP so their perspective is obvious. What does the documentation provided here show?

This is certainly a continuation of the period of Cannon's political maturation after a long journeymanship working with Trotsky. The period under discussion starts as Cannon reaches his mid 50's, shortly after his release from federal prison for his principled (along with 17 other leaders of the SWP and Minneapolis Teamsters Union) opposition to America's entry into World War II. The party at that time needed to adjust strategy in order to come to terms with the ramifications of a victorious American imperialism in that war, some internal opposition (to be discussed below) from those who wanted to, again, fight out the "Russian" question that seemingly had been firmly resolved in 1940 and the fight to determine whether it was appropriate to "unite" with that opposition that split from the party and formed its own organization (also addressed below). One thing is sure- in his prime which, arguably, includes this period Cannon had the instincts to want to lead a revolution and had the evident capacity to do so.

It is almost axiomatic in the Marxist movement to state that war is the mother of revolution. Certainly the experiences of World War I would serve those formed by those years as a signpost. Trotsky, in his various manifestoes, pamphlets and other writings from shortly before the outbreak of World War II in Europe until his murder by a Stalinist assassin in Mexico in 1940 hammered away on this theme. With the proviso that the forces around the Fourth International, including importantly the SWP, had to redouble their efforts at programmatic clarity and cadre recruitment in order to take advantage of the post-war possibilities (if not before).

It is that spirit that animated the worldview of the SWP in the immediate post-war period. The party had been recruiting based on its black liberation perspective and its opposition to the various Communist Party and AFL and CIO labor bureaucracy efforts to enforce a war time no strike pledge. There were other empirical examples such as increased readership and efforts in the GI movement that further buttressed their upbeat prognosis. Moreover, as a practical matter, in the hard, hard tasks of trying to create a new society by overturning the old one completely revolutionaries better be animated, at least in part, by optimism.

That said, the post-war program prognosis got totally undermined from the beginning by the virulent campaign by the American ruling class to clamp down on "reds", especially in light of the foreign policy disputes with an emergent and militarily strong Soviet Union and the domestic fights by organized labor for wage increases to play catch up after the wage stagnations of the war period. Reading the SWP programmatic notes of this period, the rather Pollyannaish expectations in light of what really happened and a certain denial of reality did not stand the party in good stead for the oncoming "red scare" that effectively politically defeated a whole generation of militants- Stalinist, Trotskyist and others- for at least a decade. We, those of us who came of political age later, have faced other such periods such as during the Reagan years and partially in the 9/11 period where we were also isolated so we are painfully aware of that optimistic/ pessimistic dichotomy that runs through every revolutionary movement.

Many of the articles in this book center around Cannon's leadership of the fight against an internal opposition, the so-called Morrow-Goldman faction, that formed based on an reflexive anti-Sovietism, a conciliation toward American imperialism and, more importantly, a craven desire to forge unity with the previously-mentioned 1940 anti-Soviet opposition that split from the SWP and formed the Workers Party, led by former Cannon associate Max Shachtman, with a rightward social democratic orientation. Moreover, the glue that held the whole cabal together was the inevitable question of the party "regime", meaning always the leadership of one James P. Cannon.

In the American revolutionary socialist milieu the so-called "Russian question", that is, practically, the need for militants to military defend the Soviet Union as the blemished but fundamental example of the baseline for socialist evolution was fought out in the SWP in 1939-40. The results were that a significant minority of the party, led by Shachtman, split and formed the Workers Party. During the war years both organizations led very separate and different existences. In the immediate post-war period, at a time when the question of defense of the Soviet Union was NOT a burning issue there was considerable talk about a unification of the two organizations. This is the impact of the so-called Morrow-Goldman dispute that takes up much of this book. In the end no unification came about, nor was one truly possible under any rational standard of political discourse, especially as the American-led anti-Soviet Cold war heated up with the introduction of the Truman Doctrine and the ratcheting up of the "reds scare". The later personal fates of Morrow and Goldman (and Shachtman's and his various organizational incarnations, as well) as apologists for American imperialists only highlight the differences between Cannon's party of the Russian Revolution and Shachtman's "State Department" socialism- that is craven support for every American imperialist adventure they could get their hands on.

Although this dispute, seemingly, is strictly for insiders or aficionados of the esoterica of extreme left-wing politics there are many points made by Cannon that still ring true today for those of us who still wish to create a revolutionary party capable of making the revolution. Those include the role of the press as a party organizer (Cannon gives a very good description of prior socialist practice in this regard.), a serious attitude toward the question of unification and splits as a means for creating a revolutionary party unlike the SWP-WP fiasco, the very different tasks and obligations that confront a propaganda group as a opposed to a mass party (and the former's stronger need to have a homogenous political and organizational line) and, most importantly, as has been true since 1917 a correct evaluation of that thorny "Russian Question". Although defense of the Soviet Union is not an issue today that issue is still with us in the form of the question of China (and other non-capitalist states like Cuba). China is that Russian Question for today's militants. For a still relevant analysis of what to do (and what not to do) about Stalinism in its Chinese form Cannon's long article here "American Stalinism and Anti-Stalinism" reads, in part, like it was written today.

That said, let's place Cannon in prospective. Earl Browder, William Z. Foster, Jay Lovestone, Max Shachtman, Albert Glotzer, these now obscure names who were political associates of James P. Cannon's at various stages of his political development as a communist. Some became hardened Stalinist leaders; some became hardened social democratic leaders but a comparison of the political profiles of them shows that they lacked one thing that Cannon did not. That evident capacity to lead a socialist revolution in America, if circumstances arose to permit such a fight. No one can read Cannon's works from early in his career as a rising Communist functionary in the 1920's through to his adherence to Trotsky and not notice that here was a man who was trying to work these problems through. Of course, to his opponents, particularly those who one way or the other split from the Trotskyist movement and who always placed their opposition in the context of the abhorrence of the "regime" meaning basically they could not do just as they pleased he was like their worst political nightmare. They, in turn, however had not problems touting the virtues of American imperialism when the political situation warranted their essentially literary inputs thereafter.

Finally, no one has to take Cannon for a political saint to realize that on the record the various "regimes" that he ran based on a workers cadre would cause the so-called `free spirits" to chaff at his acknowledged policy of not suffering fools gladly (if at all). This reviewer having personally been in and around, as a youth, various Stalinist organizations before coming over to Trotskyism knows that the mere fact that there were vigorous factions and other political oppositions INSIDE the SWP and that they survived leaves the charges of Cannon as a Stalinist, or better, a Zinovievist, as so much hot air. Read Cannon's Struggle For A Proletarian Party along with this book to see what I mean.

Now forgotten by most people, after World War II, this country saw one of the biggest upsurges of struggle by working people against capitalism in its history. There was a seemingly unstoppable strike wave. Hundreds of thousands of troops and sailors in Europe and Asia demonstrated demanding to be sent home and not to war against the Chinese Revolution and other enemies of American big business. Within the labor movement and civil rights groups like the NAACP youth, local fights for civil rights spread that would lay the basis for the struggles of the 1950s and 1960s. The Socialist Workers Party that had been persecuted during the War gained hundreds and hundreds of members, mostly African Americans and trade unionists.
This book encapsulates the political struggle that broke out in the party. What is the future for the workers movement given the big changes after the war? Were the outbreak of struggles, the new signs of action by Blacks and Mexican Americans, and the opposition to Washington's War signs of a revolutionary future for America, or a passing phase?
Cannon and the majority of the party's leadership answered this question by developing the American Theses, which examined the basic contradictions of American imperialism, how its national and international advances during and after the war would eventually lead to deeper struggles, and even a revolution in America. Cannon explains the realities of the revolutionary future and building a real workers party against dispirited middle class elements who were caving in to the might of American imperialism and becoming anticommunism.
As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the deepening economic crisis workers in this country and around the world face, show, we are in the future Cannon pointed to. American imperialism cannot solve its problems. It can only inflict them on working people around the world. Now more than ever, we need to build a revolutionary movement of working people and oppressed nationalities as Cannon explains in this book.
Like everything Cannon writes, there is so much wit, witticism, and plain wisdom here that The Struggle for Socialism in the American Century is a very enjoyable read.

Looking forward to Washington's expected victory in World War II, Time magazine in 1941 proclaimed a vision of postwar peace and prosperity under U.S. hegemony dubbed the "American Century." The Socialist Workers Party proclaimed a different point of view.
The SWP said the U.S. victory over its imperialist rivals in Germany and Japan would, instead, accelerate an economic and social crisis of capitalism on a world scale. This crisis would plunge millions into deeper poverty as well as foster the outbreak of new imperialist wars.
This, in turn, would propel a critical new revolutionary force onto the stage of history: the U.S. working class. Workers here in their millions would awaken politically and join the worldwide struggle for socialism, the SWP insisted, just as earlier, during the 1930s, they had achieved trade-union consciousness in massive numbers. Far from being monolithic, the U.S. is a class-divided society whose workers and farmers are a potentially powerful ally of those fighting imperialism around the world.
The SWP's 1946 "American Theses" (whose preparation and contents are a central focus of this book) anticipated that this crisis and revolutionary upsurge would emerge more rapidly than it has. But it's clear from today's vantage point that the "American Century" had already begun to decline before it could arise. The bloody history of wars from Korea to Vietnam, the anticommunist witch hunt of the 1950s, the heroic struggle for Black rights, are just a few of the developments that expose the contradictory reality of the post World War II boom.
The economic and political analysis the SWP made in 1946-47 offers an uncannily accurate view of what can be seen unfolding since the 1987 stock market crash signaled the actual beginning of the big downward segment of the curve of capitalist development that the SWP had expected to take place sooner.
The book's description of the SWP's efforts during this time to build a party rooted in the industrial unions and capable of leading the next phase of the struggle should be food for thought to those opposed to Washington's arrogant brutality and war making today. We can be grateful that the efforts of Cannon and other leaders have ensured the ongoing survival of such a party and the availability through Pathfinder books like this one of its legacy to new generations of fighters.

At the end of World War II the rulers of the United States proclaimed the "American Century." Their aim was a global empire dominated by American technology and capital. To many, it seemed that the epoch of socialist revolutions opened by the Bolshevik uprising of October 1917 in Russia had ended with the formation of two great oppressive world powers; the United States, representing old-line imperialism, and the Soviet Union, where capitalism had been swept away by a socialist revolution only to be replaced with a new tyranny. What place was there in the postwar world for revolutionary Marxists, striving to construct Leninist, working class political parties to fight for a genuine socialist society?

This volume of the writings and speeches of veteran communist and socialist leader James P. Cannon traces the response of the Socialist Workers Party to the challenge of the postwar world. Cannon and the American Trotskyists rejected the idea that American imperialism would be unshakeable for a whole historic period, or that the struggle for socialism was outmoded. Included here are Cannon's writings on the 1945-46 strike wave; the rebuilding of Trotskyists parties in Europe; the beginning of the cold war; and the SWP's assessment of the Soviet Union and Stalinism - what remained progressive in the USSR and what must be opposed by champions of socialist democracy.

James P. Cannon (1890-1974) was a unique figure in American socialist and labor history. He was an organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World from 1911 to 1918, and a member of the left wing of the Socialist Party. In 1919 he became a founding leader of the American Communist Party, was elected to its Political Committee, and served on the Presidium of the Communist International in Moscow in 1922-23, where he worked with Trotsky, Zinoviev, and other Communist leaders. Won to Trotsky's side in 1928 in the dispute with Stalin, Cannon was expelled from the CP and founded the American Trotskyist movement, represented since 1938 by the Socialist Workers Party. (from the back cover)

In January 1945, James P Cannon, veteran communist and Socialist Workers Party leader was released from Sandstone Penitentiary where he and 17 other members of the SWP and the Minneapolis Teamsters Union served prison terms as a result of their opposition to World War II.

Through Cannon's speeches and writings you get a feel for the new world relationship of forces taking shape: the domination of the United States in the postwar period and the debate over perspectives for socialism that unfolded in the international revolutionary Marxist movement as a result.

Cannon and the Socialist Workers Party rejected the idea that U.S. imperialism would be unshakeable for the whole historic period to come, or that the struggle for socialism had become outmoded. They argued that the U.S imperialists would not subvert the laws of history, abolish the class struggle or dominate all peoples of the world.

This book of Cannon's writings and speeches traces the response of the Socialist Workers Party to these challenges of the postwar world. One of the greatest things about this book is that Cannon's answers to the questions that the debate centered on, serve as important lessons that are as valuable to those who want to participate in the fight for socialism today, as they were to the fighters who prepared the party for such a fight then.

This was a very concise, excellent study on the problem of terror. I think anyone interested in why our world is the way it is today should read this book. Friedman writes from having 'been there', and his documentation is good, too.

Suprising amount of information in a compact book. I really liked it, and give it a high recommendation.

I am not one to sit down and read a book cover to cover, but I did so with Sudden Terror in about 24 hours. The reason why this book excedes others on the topic is because the author has extensive academic knowledge and personal experience. Dr. Friedman has a master's degree in Arabic and is very well versed in Islamic history as this book illustrates. He is also an Israeli with quite a bit of first-hand personal and military experience on the subject at hand. Not only does he do a fabulous job in writing this book, but he does so with an amazing amount of integrity and character.

A great synopsis of our situation in the world today. I think this is as concise a study on terrorism as I have ever seen. It is relevant for both Americans and Israelis and anyone interested in understanding why the world is in the mess it's in. He does a great job documenting his sources.

Awesome book,from a real different perspective. I liked the fact that the author isn't just writing from an ivory tower, but has first hand experience and knowledge of what makes terrorism tick. He suggests alot of ways to cope with being victims of terrorism that have helped me through September 11th. I really recommend it to everyone, especially anyone who wants to know what it's like being a victim of fundamentalist Muslim terror in Israel.

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!" ...

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.

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...

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.

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

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

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

They say that farewarned is forearmed, and if that's the case, then Anthony Davis' book is a fantastic weapon in the continuing goal to protect ourselves. He tackles so many things I never would have even begun to consider. It was hard for me to stop reading this book.

My wife suggested I read this book. I am glad I did. So much goes into understanding how our country is protected and needs to be protected.

The author is very knowledgeable as he was a former maritime investigator and a prior maritime intelligence officer. I trust what he says in his book.

This book helped me understand exactly what we are up against when it comes to criminals and terrorists.

I highly recommend this book to people so they can understand what is all involved in protecting our country.

"Terrorism and the Maritime Transportation System Are We on a Collision Course?" by Anthony M. Davis USCG, Ret. is an interesting book on the challenges our law enforcement and other agencies have to keep the USA safe.

The book describes the agonizing steps the officers have to go through to determine if the incident in question is a crime or a terrorist act.

The book will educate you on the new laws passed due to terrorism.

Anthony M. Davis does a wonderful job explaining why the Middle East does not get along with the Jewish people. The fact may surprise you that it is not about religion.

The book further describes all of the work we as a nation need to be doing to keep ourselves protected. There are so many areas that terrorists could threaten our citizens.

I am glad I read this book to further educate myself. We as citizens of the USA need to be aware of what is going on to keep ourselves safe. I suggest you read this fascinating and educational book. Then writing our congressmen to make the necessary changes to keep our families safe!

Brilliantly written to easily read and understand.

I have to admit that I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy Terrorism and the Maritime Transportation System, but I am so glad I read it! Anthony Davis obviously has the background to put together such an awesome piece on a topic that, to my knowledge, hasn't been full covered before.

I learned so much about the military, how terrorism can and will affect us, security, and even the ships themselves! I've learned more in this one book than I've ever learned from reading any other reference piece before.

After reading Terrorism and the Maritime Transportation System, I have a new found respect for those in the field and I'm thankful that Mr. Davis has put this book together to educate the public without making the content dull or boring. I found it difficult to put this book down as I wanted to keep learning more through every turn of the page.

Terrorism and the Maritime Transportation System is an honest-to-goodness factual book written by my good friend Tony Davis. I think that his writing style not only keeps you aware of what can happen and has happened, but what can be done to reduce the risk from his actual hands-on experience and background. Tony's factual accounts of what are encountered in our cargo and the security as a whole makes this a valuable book. [...]
He reiterates some great reminders, what could have been done and experiences with what he lived and worked with from 9-11 forward. I highly recommend this book for pleasure or for a reference book.

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

My "aha!" moment in this short and not at all new book came when John Seed says that the refusal to change everything right now that we all have with the problems the planet faces is not from apathy but despair.

"Experience with group work has shown that this despair, greef and anger can be confronted, experienced and creatively channeled. Far from being crushed by it, new energy, creativity, and empowerment can be released."

Deep and thought provoking is how I found this book. Quotes and theories and musings upon how we are all connected and the impacts we have on one another on this green earth. Something in this book warmed my heart. Knowing there are others out there with incredible respect for even the most tiniest and seemingly insignificant creatures was very heartening. Other books that may compare are Machelle Wrights "Behaving as if the God in all life mattered" and any book concerning the spiritual community of Findhorn. I highly recommend this book to those of you who like a thoughtful read on Nature and spirit. Thanks Brenda Tataryn.

The book is a collection of unique essays, essays with a single aim in mind - to spark a radical expansion of human consciousness. With a lofty goal as this, how does it fair? How deep is deep ecology? How vital is it, given the current massive environmental decline? Should we be concerned with the earth? These are some of the questions that will be tackled in this volume. To begin with, let us look into the text itself. Midway into the text, the reader is intentionally awed by an imposition of a radically different view of himself: "What are you? What am I? Intersecting cycles of water, earth, air and fire, that's what I am, that's what you are" (John Seed 1988, 41). The best way to characterize the text in a couple of words is - meditations on the earth. However, saying these words invariably undercuts the intricacy of exquisite poetic alliterations, metaphoric presence and a penetrating gaze, that the authors invoke on each page. Their work began in Australia, as a small grass-roots circle that held environmental rituals. They traveled, published, inspired, protested, performed, they traveled again. A journey of commitment to something beyond individual goals, their personal stories and essays seem more unified than a story of one man's life. The resulting book is filled with a sense of unceasing directed education, education that transcends classrooms and all conversation - powerful, meaningful words, cerebrally integral to the human being, penetrate the reader, and it is impossible to remain indifferent to the message.

I read this book while sitting under a cottonwood tree at the bottom of the Grand Canyon (a "mountain lying down"). This collection of deep-ecology essays, teachings, meditations, and poems allowed me to experience my surroundings in a new way: "Every atom in this body existed before organic life emerged 4000 million years ago. Remember our childhood as minerals, as lava, as rocks? Rocks have the potentiality to weave themselves into such stuff as this. We are the rocks dancing" (p. 36).

This book's title is taken from the 1949 SAND COUNTY ALMANAC, in which Aldo Leopold warned us that unless we attempt to connect with our ecosystem by thinking like a mountain, disaster is inevitable. Stated differently by Thich Nhat Hanh, we must listen within ourselves to "the sounds of the earth crying" (p. 7). Contributors to this 122-page book include, among others, John Seed, Joanna Macy, Pat Fleming, Arne Naess, Gary Snyder, and Chief Seattle. John Seed recognizes that "nothing short of a total revolution in consciousness will be of lasting use in preserving the life-support systems of our planet" (p. 9). He reminds us that we are "part of the rainforest recently emerged into thinking" (p. 36). Joanna Macy observes that we touch the Earth by touching our face, by touching our brothers and sisters (pp. 60-61).

This thin book contains a mountain of deep thinking, including exercises designed to "help make us more conscious of our embeddedness in the web of life" (p. 80), and meditations to protect the Earth "from the blades of men unhinged by greed, prestige and authority" (p. 91): "Relax and breathe in, breathe in Mountain, I feel my rock-roots go deep deep down to where the Earth herself is very hot" (p. 80). Reading this book could change the way you think about your life. "When you think like a mountain, one also thinks like the black bear, so that honey dribbles down your fur as you catch the bus to work" (p. 39).

G. Merritt

"Thinking Like a Mountain" is an elegant tapestry of writings, poems, and observations which plumb the depths of Ecological Philosophy. This little book is a labor of love,crafted skillfully, with fascinating illustrations that convey the harmony, complexity, and uniqueness of the Natural World.

the Reoccurring Theme which is centeral to this book is that in order for Humans to be Balanced and Functional, it is necessary that they open themselves and learn to develop an increased sensitivity to the incredible diversity and richness of Nature. Within this context the Human Self, over time, becomes gradually transformed into the "Ecological Self" in an intricately and infinitely bonded universe within which the boundaries between Humans and their Ecological Selves become merged and indistinguishable from each other.

From the different, yet complementary perspectives of the three authors, the reader will come to realize that "whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of Earth," and that Man himself does not "weave the Web of Life" but instead exists as a mere "strand" within this interactively intricate web.

This is a simplistic, yet profound, book of "Discovery," where we learn that Gaia is becoming increasingly aware of Herself, and the intricate cycles and interactions of her countless Life-Forms within the Global Biosphere. For anyone who loves Nature, and wishes to better comprehend the philosophical interactions between Humans and Natural World, this book will prove to be a rich resource for both Mind and Spirit. Elliott Maynard, Arcos Cielos Research Center.

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.