Governments

I just finished reading this book and I must say it's one of the most influential books I've ever read. I knew there are starving people in America, but the sheer number is almost unbelievable. Let's tell our politicians to stop trying to garner more votes by the sob stories they tell about developing nations needing food, and to start saving the lives of our hungry friends and neighbors.

This book was part of a project in school. I have been back to school for over a year and this is the first time that I felt so passionate about something I was reading. Even though some of the stories are horrific, I really felt moved to do something about this awful epidemic. We see commercials on TV or magazines about helping the hungry in other countries. These are very noble causes. But what about America? There are millions of people in our own country, so many of them children, who don't know where their next meal will come from. It really shows the sad truth of what is happening in America. So much food in this country is wasted (www.secondharvest.org) and people are starving, yet there is also a problem with obesity in this country. I work for WA state and work in a welfare office. Many things the book states are true, and frustrating for me as a worker, and I know for so many of the clients we are supposed to be helping. I urge those of you who are thinking of buying this book, please do. It is a wonderful read, but be prepared with a box of tissue if you are soft at heart. Some parts are tear jerking.

You can't put this book down. It is heartbreaking and makes you take action. First thing Monday morning, I'm going to deliver a load of food to the local food bank and ask about volunteering there. It is frustrating to realize that I cannot do too much to solve the overall problem, thinking that it is better to teach someone to fish than to give them a fish.The stories in the book are also frustrating because there are a lot of unanswered questions. The middle-class woman whose doctor husband left her- why couldn't she rent out part of the house and get some money? And then rent another room at a reduced rate to a student, with partial exchange for child care. Then she can work or go to school. I was also intrigued by the army man whose children are starving. Meanwhile, he is smoking cigarettes. (They are expensive!)

Although I loved and think everybody should read the book, "The Harvey Milk Story" by Kari Krakow, I have to admit in the beginning before I read the story I thought the story would be like "Harvey Milk was born in ? and died in ?" . I got a big surprise when the first sentence was "No one every guessed that the little kid with big ears would one day make history."
I think the book really changed how I thought about gay and lesbian. It must have been very hard for Harvey Milk not to tell anyone about how he felt. My favorite part is that Harvey actually makes a living at a camera shop and it sort of turns into a place where people can talk with him. He ends up getting a very nice partner. I won't tell you more, but I really, really hope kari krakow will write another book.

As a teacher, I highly recommend this book to young people who want to read about courageous Americans. The author did a good job of highlighting Harvey Milk, a man who stood for freedom for all people, regardless of life style. Children need to see more positive examples of people from diverse backgrounds making a difference in the world.

Finally, an engaging way to introduce children to Harvey Milk -- a moving story, told with sensitivity, and lively illustrations. One politician's life and untimely end are chronicled here with passion. This book will inspire children (and adults!) to make their world a better place for us all. I loved it.

Wow! If you read this book with an open mind, it will really make you think about the viability of a common-sense approach to solving the world's problems (poverty, war, pollution, etc.). Dr. Ruwart proposes that we should simply interact in society by the same basic unwritten rules we use in being a good friend or good neighbor. She shows, over and over, that when we break these rules (usually for well-intentioned goals), things go wrong and we hurt the ones we want to help.

Her philosophy should be of great interest to both liberals and conservatives as I believe it can achieve the ultimate objectives of both sides of the political spectrum: peace, freedom, and prosperity. Or if you currently find yourself politically homeless, with your beliefs not fitting either label, you just may find in here a philosophy that fits your convictions.

Besides all that, "Healing Our World" is an easy and enjoyable read, with just enough historical references to illustrate the author's points without getting tedious. And I liked all the great quotations in the margins (from Julius Ceasar to Lao-tsu to Ann Landers).

I read every edition. I just ordered a half dozen for my family. It is the most important book of our time, period. In a clear and compelling manner, Dr. Ruwart describes society's biggest problem and the solution. A fitting title.

Like Murray Rothbard's classic _For a New Liberty_ from years ago, _Healing Our World_ -- despite having a title and cover one might associate with leftist-liberals -- is a fantastic sort of updated "total" defense of libertarianism and introduction to the concept.

Ruwart introduces the groundwork of the non-aggression axiom with less attention on natural rights and private property arguments and more on accessible, plain moral reasoning that is pretty much unassailable. She then introduces the reader to the consequences of aggression, particularly the government's aggression, on society. The government's use of aggression disrupts free interaction between people and thus makes us worse off. As Scott Ryan says below, she shows that liberty is a win-win situation.

Like Rothbard, she mounts a compelling case on numerous issues: Pollution, monopoly, war, foreign policy, welfare, courts, business regulation, minimum wage, police, et cetera et cetera. Her examination of education doesn't give much attention to the actual fact of the State influencing children but focuses on private schooling solutions.

Older versions of _For a New Liberty_ lacked a discussion of one of the most dangerous powers of the State: control over the (fiat) money supply. Ruwart explains fractional reserve banking, the consequences of a central banking system in a way that is _very_ easy to understand.

_For a New Liberty_ has nothing specifically about healthcare. Ruwart fortunately explores two government elements very detrimental to our health: the Food & Drug Administration and licensing/regulation of health care services.

She also expands on some out the arguments Rothbard made briefly in his chapter "Personal Liberty". For one, she looks at armed citizens and the effect of right-to-carry laws on crime rates (citing lots of Bruce Benson's important work). Her chapter on illegal drugs is definitive, showing plainly that creating a black market for drugs is worse than the drugs themselves.

The book mounts a consistent case with nary a concession given to government. Therefore, she makes an anarchocapitalist case without saying she is an anarchist (although she says she is in her libertarian autobiography over at Lew Rockwell's site).

Ruwart does not involve herself much in an "anatomy of the State" (pun intended of course) and its very nature being immoral and criminal, although the overtone is obviously there. The State does bad things and is therefore bad, but the book is about the effects on those things and not the fact that the State is bad. If that makes sense. I think it does.

And, perhaps as a corollary of that Ruwart's overall tone is very accessible and positive. For this reason, she seems more likely than anyone I can think of to prevail on skeptics, whether they are "conservative" or "liberal" (as Ruwart herself once was -- might not impress cold-hearted neo-cons though. Marxists are very deluded too).

And it's really beautifully written and essential for all good people. this review is getting way too long, but I think you should buy it.

This was the first book of hers I read and it is the best book. Here is a breif rundown of what the book is about. Kates husband Tony is in the FBI and is killed. Her life is threatened, so the FBI gives her a new life and a new husband (Mark Iverson). She marries Mark and the both assume new identities in a new town with some FUN and intersting neighbors. They must find a way to keep eachother alive and solve a mystery. This book is so much fun and a great love story. After you read it you will want to read more of Betsys books. Definaly read this book before you read (Above Suspision). Kate & Mark Iverson along with the ladies from Haggerty are in that book too. They are also in (Until Proven Guilty), but not as much. Hope this helps.

This is a great mystery story. I had the unabridged audio tape and I found myself hating to get out of the car. It is a book that had a great story without the bad language and raw sex scenes. I wish more mystery writers would take this approach and focus on great writing that leaves you hanging on until the final chapter. It was an excellent book. I hope this writer will continue to write all these lines. She shows you can write good books without the filth thrown in. 6 stars for Ms. Green.

I fully enjoyed every moment in the book. It made me laugh a lot at the humorous side..It made me hold on as i turned page after page to find out what was going to happen. I stayed up til late at night until i finally made myself go to sleep saying i'll enjoy it more in the morning, and not being able to sleep because i wanted to turn the light back on and read more...It was a great romance as well..It had my heart pounding through out the whole thing. That was my favorite part. It wasn't over done either. Just enough to make me happy. I loved it. Good job to Betsy. I hope to see more in the future!

This is fiction in a true life mystery setting that is scary; Vietnamese immigrants oppressed and murdered by modern Nazis. The action starts in Chapter 1 and continues throughout with an exciting and suspensful ending. The story flows and the book, once started, is hard to put down.

This book seems so real that whenever I go through Denver, I look sideways at all those normal people and wonder. You can't but like the FBI agent T.K. MacNaughton -- for the first time in a thriller, the FBI agent isn't some hard-a creep pushing his weight around. This character has a heart and it gets broken. But for all the horror, this is a story of hope. Do we have to keep killing our kids? Do we have to keep killing our future? All for ideologies that twist into hatred. Incredible book!

Despite Amazon.com saying it is out of print, Herrenrasse is indeed available (Spies in Deo Publ. at $22.50, Montrose, CO 81401-8713). The book begins with a nightmare and ends with hope. It is based on actual skinhead and extremist activities in the Denver metro area in the late 1980s and early 1990's: "slamming," murder of traitors, murder of innocents just because they are in the path of hate-filled people. The author's association with extremists and anti-government groups, as well as government agents, makes this novel more than real. The center of the story isn't the murder, kidnapping and tagedies, but the courage of the people who face them. A great book!

This three-volume set constitutes the most stimulating and thought-provoking item I've read so far this century, and it is likely to remain so. I stumbled on it by chance in the Bookshop at the British Museum in early 2001. I read it in the United States later that spring and since then a day doesn't go by but what I remember some insight that I gleaned from it. It is history in the grand style, but with a message that is simple and powerful: people are pack animals. They will be governed -- sometimes in a haphazard or mediocre manner, often appallingly, once in a while really well. Not least among its many virtues, the set shows better than a thousand stumps speeches just what is so distinctive about the tradition of liberal democracy, and how it came into being (for more detail, pop over to the separate Amazon page for Volume 2 of this set and read the instructive comments of "Amazon Customer").

A motivational message to prospective readers who are dismayed by the prospect of a three-volume set. You don't need to read all of it to get value for your money. You don't even need to read it in sequence (I did not). Perhaps the most accessible parts are in Volume III, especially Books IV ("The Re-creation of the State in Europe) and Book V ("Pathways to the Modern State"). From there you might want to go back to Volume II, specifically Part III of Book III, more precisely still Chapter 7 on "The Republican Alternatie: Florence and Venice," followed by Chapter 8 and its magisterial discussion of "Representative Assemblies." From there a natural course is back to Volume I and its discussion of Athens and Jerusalem (Finer is particularly good on the distinctive contribution to governance from the tradition of the prophets). This is a Western-centered view, and should not be read to distrct attention from Finer's extraordinary treatment of the Chinese, the Indians and the societies of the Middle East. But these are in some sense self-contained units and can be addressed on their own terms.

This backwards progression would leave for last the stuff that Finer put first: the "Conceptual Prologue," which is perhaps better understood as a summary and analysis. But whatever route you take, surely there is no end of riches in this extraordinary capstone to a great scholarly life, well lived.

This book is one of those rare works that is so very good, that you cannot really describe it: language is not rich enough to do it justice. I can do little more than quote from the review of the prestigious The Economist:

"If there were a Nobel prize for political science, Sammy Finer would deserve to win one for this extraordinary trilogy--a work of scholarship so broad in its sympathies, so ambitious in scope and so elegantly crafted that it leaves the reader gasping, literally, with astonishment and delight...[L]ikely to be read as long as Aristotle. No finer work of political science...has been published in this century."--The Economist

Finer's triumphant work of comparative government history is a rare gem. It is not often that a historical study is both deeply informative and perspective changing. This book is both. Finer does not simply outline the devolopment of government, but constructs an entirely new intellectual system for viewing, interpreting, and discussing government. From there he moves on to trace the evolution of government from Sumer to the Industrial Revolution. Every major development is explored, and many minor ones are also included.

Finer shows a mastery of every time and place in history. It is amazing that he can conver accurately and informatively Han civilization and then switch to an excellent discussion of Roman civilization. The same skill with which he reconstructs the governments of Sumer and Egypt is applied later to the constitutional monarchies and revolutionary governments in modern Europe.

Finer's masterpiece ought to be read by anyone interested in an objective study in how societies orgzanize themselves. It is a highly useful reference that should be owned by anyone who works with history on a regular basis.

I'm not much for history as it is taught in our schools, but this book is great. It is a perfect blend of history, present day (in the form of the author's trip), and thoughts and stories from the author's personal life.

I recommend this tome to anyone that likes travel stories. Especially if you dont know, or want to know more about, the Cheyenne Exodus. Expensive, but worth the money.

This is a magical walk through a dark time in American History...Alan's own experiences are so materfully intertwined with history on this voyage, the past truly comes alive as you feel every step and face every fear. With each step, with every encounter along the way, you can feel the ghosts of the Cheyenne people walking in your own shadow. Make no mistake, HOLDING STONE HANDS is a Masterpiece...you'll feel the pain of endless walking, the anger for what the Cheyenne people were forced to endure, and the sorrow for the pointless death as they tried to make their way to the only land they would ever call home.

This is a story of heartache and strength, of hope and struggle...it is the story of a man's love of the land and a people's fight to keep their homeland. Boye is a gifted and talented writer whose words flow as he leads us from page to page, back into the past and then gently into the present. He is a writer that truly cares about his story and the people that inhabit it. He opens his heart and the words come tumbling out. A wonderful MUST READ for all nature lovers and history buffs.

It should be clear by now that we have too much government. Strip searches, confiscated homes, stolen children, denial of due process, war without end. Sounds like life in a Third World country, doesn't it? But this is our own federal government "for, of, and by the people," invading our personal lives, supposedly for our own good.

Government Creep: What the Government Is Doing That You Don't Know About shows how Uncle Sam has now become a dysfunctional parent - standing guard in our bedrooms to "protect" consenting adults from each other, peering at what we read to see if we're "corrupting" ourselves or someone else, making it impossible to run a small business, incarcerating our children and confiscating our homes under laws that make freedom lovers shudder.

It has been a long time since such an explosive and well-written title has been released. Some of the most respectable civil libertarians in the nation - including ACLU President Nadine Strossen - have come out and stated that this is the THE book to read if your concerned about your freedoms.

"Government Creep will give you the creeps about the increasingly invasive role of government in every aspect of our lives - our homes, our workplaces and even our bodies and minds."

~ Nadine Strossen, President of The American Civil Liberties Union

"A clear and concise look into the inner workings of a modern day persecution... A significant chronicle in the evolution of [the] First Amendment Political Debate."

~ Wisconsin Lawyer

Some books just explore injustice. This one exposes it.

Our government passes laws they think are helping us, but in fact, many of the laws are designed to create more beaurocracy and then to create more money to keep the behometh it has created, running. Law abiding folks find themselves backed into a corner, forced into breaking laws that are not designed to help, but to hinder the pursuit of happiness, or simple survival even. Politicians call for less government out of one side of their mouth while creating more with the other. Most of us are too busy trying to put food on the table to be able to follow the machinations of politicians, even when the laws passed make it more difficult to do the former. Government Creep give examples of what can happen when Big Brother becomes the oppressive and overprotective parent. Loompanics does it again with an insightful book about the way it is. Check their site or call 8003802230.

Author of "The Government Vs. Erotica", Philip Harvey details in this great, provocative book why well-intended laws have caused horrible pain and suffering. The examples he points out include witch hunts for adult-oriented materials, government regulations undermining small business, complicating a divorce with criminal prosecution via a victimless crime law, and peaceful people being harrassed due to new national security laws. Harvey explains, all of this shinanegans is being done in order to "'protect' consenting adults from each other" and "to see if we're 'corrupting' ourselves or someone else." Philip Harvey was the victim of a witch hunt where government officials hounded him for 8 years for selling Erotica via his mail order business until he ended up prevailing in court. He points out five ways to protect ourselves so that the reader doesn't become a victim of any of the circumstances he outlines.

As a professional colleague once said about another author, he got the story right but the facts wrong.

This is a difficult book to evaluate. It basically gets the story of the North Korean famine right, but it is misleading or wrong in many of the specifics, starting with the first sentence of the book "In September 1995 the North Korean government, in a rare admission of vulnerability announced to the outside world that severe flooding had devastated its agricultural regions and that subsequent failure had caused widespread food shortages." Narrowly true, perhaps - the government of North Korea may well have made such a statement in September 1995 - but thoroughly misleading. The government of North Korea had publicly admitted it had food shortages and successfully reached agreements with Japan and South Korea to supply emergency food aid in May 1995 - before the floods hit in June. So unless time moves backwards on the Korean peninsula, floods in June could not be the cause of agreements reached in May. As evidenced by the September statement that Natsios uses to begin the book, the flooding proved politically useful to both the North Koreans (the famine was an act of God and not a combination of their own incompetence and malevolence) and to the donor community (easier to supply aid in response to victims of natural disasters than victims of a thoroughly odious regime).

Much of this book is built on such half-truths. In part, this is due to its author's intended or inadvertent tendency to place himself at the center of all events. This gives the book a certain strength: the first-hand accounts -- I visited this orphanage on this date and this is what I observed -- are compelling. But either Natsios is disturbingly self-promoting or simply doesn't know what he is talking about. Time and time again, he makes false claims that he was the first (or the only) participant to see or understand some aspect of the famine. For example, in chapter 4 he makes much of his June 1998 trip to the Chinese border region and interviews with North Koreans refugees there. Not for another 150 pages does he mention in passing that his own colleague at the US Institute for Peace, Scott Snyder, had done the same border trip, interviewed the same refugees, and published a report on this a year earlier. To cite another example, the following chapter argues that no one except Natsios and Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen understood that famines are economic phenomenon, and as a consequence everyone misread what was occurring in North Korea. Problem is, two economists, Marcus Noland, a Korea specialist associated with the Institution for International Economics, and Sherman Robinson, an agricultural economist affiliated with the International Food Policy Research Institute, had read their Sen, understood the economic basis of famines, and had produced an economic analysis of the North Korean famine, similar to the one that Natsios lays out in this book, in 1998. Indeed, as in the case of Snyder, Noland and Robinson's work is listed in the reference list - so Natsios clearly new of its existence - though oddly it is never mentioned in the text. I could go on. Individuals are misidentified, private informal emails are quoted as "trip reports" etc.

It is unfortunate that this book is so error-filled, since it is unlikely that another comprehensive account of the North Korean famine will be produced in the near future. Moreover, Natsios has been appointed director of the US Agency for International Development, so his view on these issues counts. But while he got the broad outlines of the story right, he is wrong on many specifics, and one should not regard this book as the final authority on the North Korean famine.

I was stationed in South Korea at the height of the North Korean Famine 1996-1997 and remember watching South Korean newsreports of the malnurished children. This book told me how this famine came about and helped me to understand what I had heard and seen back then. I recommend this book to all interested in or studying about Korea.

I am very impressed with the new USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios's book "The Great North Korean Famine." If you are a student of famine or interested in what is happening in North Korea, you should read this book. A book like this is hard to come by because information from North Korea is so limited. Gathered and compiled diligently, this is a very well written account of causes and conditions of famine in North Korea that may have killed as many as a couple of million or more people, about 10 percent of the population.

According to the Nobel winning author/economist Amartya Sen (whose book on right-based development I have just read recently), no democratic government has ever let famine happen. Famine is preventable if the government cares about its people.

You should read this book if you are interested in North Korea or on the politics of famine.

If you've heard about the Austrian extreme rightist, Joerg Haider, then this is a book that you'd be interested in. It's full of modern political history in Austria. It delves into the fears that many Austrians have whether Haider is the next Hitler by discussing his political strategy.

I used this book when I did a thesis for college.

Sully's book "The Haider Phenomenon" is outstanding. It portrays an exquisite portrait of Jorg Haider's ideas, and the state of Austrain Politics. I couldn't put it down. The Way the book is written makes it interesting. It is Explained so even the "politically-unfamiliar" can comprehend it's ideas. This books is a great read for anyone.

Sully's book The Haider Phenomenon is most welcome and should be required reading for media pundits and politicians who love one liners and 30 second sound bites. The book is especially important and topical in view of the Freedom party's entry into the Austrian government and the attendant international uproar. Sully presents the complexity of the picture in clear authoritative language. She provides also the context of the original statements by Haider which have given rise to so much negative publicity.The book neither praises nor blames Haider and his Freedom party but just gives the facts. This is a most welcome exception to the propaganda the American public is constantly subjected to. Thank you and congratulations Ms. Sully