Despite the fact that crime in America is at a 30-year low, minorities are earning more than ever before, and schools have never been safer, most people live in fear, a fear created by politicians and law enforcement officials to justify spying on fellow citizens, literally from cradle to grave.

In elementary school, students are encouraged to squeal on their classmates; some schools even pay for information. Students with "anti-social tendencies" are reported; what was normal schoolyard behavior now results in suspensions and expulsions ("zero tolerance"). In college, politically active professors are monitored by those who oppose them. Campus organizations are infiltrated, looking for demonstrations or controversial speakers. In the workplace, it gets worse for the average person. Internet use is monitored, spies report on employee discontent and background checks are commonplace. Neighbors and family members wait for the smallest sign of "unconventional" behavior, then immediately call the authorities.

This book doesn't stop there. Hundreds of grass-roots and public interest groups have been spied on for many years; not by the government or the police (though they are very active in the spying field), but by the Anti-Defamation league and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Today, a tip from a snitch leads to a military-style assault on a person's house, with machine guns armed and ready, shooting anyone who moves. Whether or not the police find whatever the snitch said was in the house (usually drugs) is immaterial. If the person in the house survives the assault, then they have todeal with the seizure of their property by the police under asset forfeiture laws. One of the newest targets of police and government surveillance is the growing anti-globalization movement. The mass media is an enthusiastic partner in whipping up public fear of Them (blacks, muslims, anarchists, etc).

This book is very spooky and extremely highly recommended.

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Snake oil salesmen have been selling all sorts of "cures" for many, many years, even up to the present. HMOs get their share of criticism. More than once, the author, an investigative reporter, has set up a table in a local shopping mall selling some very fake medical treatment. Wearing a white coat and with a stethoscope around his neck, people are more than happy to pay. He gives back their money when he tells them his real identity.

When a hospital decides that a doctor is really incompetent, the tendency is to let the doctor leave quietly rather than tell the state medical authorities (fearing the bad publicity). The same state authorities are also less than diligent in disciplining bad doctors (fearing the same bad publicity). For those doctors who know the system, Medicare and Medicaid fraud can represent a huge windfall.

Did you know that a license to practice plastic surgery is not required to do procedures like liposuction? It's legal to advertise as a plastic surgeon (for instance) with your only training being a weekend seminar. Fraud can happen even in dentist's offices and in the offices of "respected" doctors. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal rade Commission (FTC) have had some success in closing down fraud operations, but in these days of the internet, it's easier than ever to move somewhere else, and resume selling, For instance, diet pills without exercise.

There are two caveats to this book. The first is that the author makes it clear that he does not think much of "alternative" medicine. The second is that the first chapter, the story of a really incompetent doctor, is pretty graphic and hard to read. Stick with it.

The author's recommendations can best be reduced to Don't Be Afraid To Ask Questions. Ask the state medical board if the doctor is licensed in your state. Ask the doctor at what hospital(s) do they have privileges; call the hospital to be sure. Ask the Better Business Bureau about the doctor. If the doctor asks for money upfront, or asks you to sign a confidentiality agreement, or says that his treatment is being "suppressed" by the medical establishment, run, do not walk, out of that office. Also run away if the doctor says that an incurable disease is now curable with this treatment.

Despite the caveats, this book is a keeper. Read it before having to make use of the medical profession. It's better to be initiated into medical realities this way than the hard way. It's well worth the reader's time.

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Every few years, in response to constituent mail, Congress asks for a Task Force report on Indian problems. They all conclude that more money must be appropriated to help Indians. Congress isn't about to actually do such a thing, so the report gets added to the pile of other ignored Indian task force reports. Each summer, Indian country is flooded with anthropologists who make observations of Indian life with the intention of "explaining" Indians. These observations will turn into books and reports that no one will read. The reports are summarized and sent to government agencies to justify the previous summer's research, or to foundations to finance next summer's research. Religious missionaries have spent hundreds of years attempting to impose Christianity on Native Americans, forgetting, for instance, that Indians have a different view of the world than whites. Indian religious life was forbidden; any social activity other than church services on reservations brought in the cavalry with guns drawn. A Native American version of Christianity is also forbidden on reservations, as are Native clergy, because it would show that white Christianity is irrelevant.

Indians are able to laugh at themselves; there is a tradition of teasing between tribes. Popular subjects for jokes are General Custer and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the federal agency that handles all Native affairs.

For most people, this will not be an easy book to read, as it starts to show that the policy of the white man toward the Indian has ranged from oppression to outright slaughter. Anyone who wants to get past Indian stereotypes, and get an honest look at the lives of real Indians, would be very well advised to start with this book.

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At the Navajo hospital, a young Navajo boy, Joseph Williams, is brought in suffering from high fever, labored breathing and a very rapid pulse, among other symptoms. The initial diagnosis is that he has a strong case of pneumonia, and treatment is started, to little effect. The boy's grandmother, Mary Begay, reaches the hospital and demands the right to take Joseph home, now, and have a Sing to heal him. It is a Navajo restoring-of-balance ceremony that involves many people and can last up to a week.

While the Sing is going on, the hospital lab gets the results on Joseph. He doesn't have pneumonia, he has a very contagious form of the plague. Several hospital staff members contract the disease, leading to near panic between whites and Indians in Gallup. The town's leading citizens would like to seal off the reservation, quarantine the hospital, and send any Indian non-plague cases to another hospital a considerable distance away. Meantime, before he contracts the disease, John convinces those at the Sing that coming to the hospital and taking daily doses of antibiotics is a very good idea.

Did I mention that the person who brought Joseph to the hospital was Sam Spencer, the Secretary of State, a native of New Mexico who was attending his mother-in-law's funeral?

This one is pretty good. Others are more qualified than I to judge the accuracy of the protrayal of the Navajo. Otherwise, it has good characters, it's a quick read, and it provides a glimpse at one part of Navajo culture. It's worth reading.

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In the fifteenth century, the Moslem capture of Istanbul (then Constantinople) and the eastern Mediterranean seaboard closed off the usual land routes to India and China for European traders. Portugal put its money behind the sea route around Africa, Italy was happily profiting from those same Moslem traders, and France and England weren't ready to bankroll an expedition to the West. Spain was the only choice for Columbus.

On the first voyage, when land was reached and the westerners met the Indians for the first time, one of Columbus' first thoughts was that they would make good servants, and could easily be made into Christians. "With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want." Many Indians were taken prisoner, with the intention of bringing them back to Spain; almost all died on the return trip.

The second voyage set the pattern for the next several centuries. The wonder of discovery had faded. The Indians were now considered savages. The talk was of gold and slavery. A colony was left behind from the first voyage. The inhabitants roamed the island in gangs, obsessed with gold, taking whomever, or whatever, they wanted along the way. The Indians finally killed the colonists in a pitched battle.

Hundreds of Indians were rounded up and sent back to Spain as slaves. In a certain province, every Indian had to bring a certain amount of gold to one of the Spanish forts. For those who fulfilled the demand, a copper token was made to be hung around the neck, keeping them safe for another three months. Anyone caught without a token was killed by having their hands cut off. Those who tried to escape into the mountains were hunted down with dogs. When all the gold was gone, the Indians became property to work on what became Spanish estates, or they became part of labor gangs to work anywhere on the island.

This is a very short bok, only 128 pages, but it says a lot. It's very interesting, more than a little sickening, and gives a very different view of a famous person in early Western history. It's very much worth reading.

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The story starts in 1528, when a Spanish expedition to Florida ran into heat, dosease and unfriendly natives. In five ships, they escaped into the Gulf of Mexico. Four of the ships sank, and the fifth washed up near present-day Galveston, Texas. Eight years later, the four survivors told the Spanish Viceroy in Mexico City tales of cities full of gold that they had heard from the local Indians. That was all the Spanish needed to hear; expeditions were sent north, but after more than a decade of exploring, the effort was abandoned with no gold found.

Around 1600, the Spanish tried again, founding a colony near present day Santa Fe, New Mexico. They were accompanied by friars whose job was to turn the Indians into Catholics. The colony almost failed more than once, because the Spanish hadn't forgotten their gold hunger, and were more interested in that than in building up the colony. The Spanish were less cruel to the Indians than in other parts of the empire, but oppression was still oppression.

The province went through a number of governors, of widely varying degrees of competence. The Spanish civil authorities wanted the Indians to spend all day tilling the fields, herding the animals and building houses for the Spanish. The friars complained that then the Indians would have no time or energy to build the churches or worship in them. A compromise was reached just before relations reached the point of civil war. The friars conducted periodic purges of the pueblos, removing and destroying all native artifacts. By the 1660s, the Indians had had enough, and began to quietly talk revolt.

The "leader" of the revolt, an Indian named Pope, took his time, talking to only a few allies at each pueblo. They would then talk to their fellow residents of the pueblo. When the day of the revolt neared, lengths of knotted cord were sent to each pueblo, each knot signifying one day until the revolt. The cords were carried by messengers who faced death if they confessed to the Spanish. In 1680, the Indians attacked, killing hundreds of Spanish and driving them out of the colony. The Indians were free of the Spanish.

The Indian coalition began to break down almost immediately. Pope, the leader, proclaimed himself the new governor and insisted on the same pomp and tribute from the Indians as the previous Spanish governor. After 12 years of near-anarchy, the Indians were happy to return to Spanish rule when they returned to reestablish their colony. But the Spanish hd learned that easing their control over the Indians was a good idea.

This book is best for those who are history buffs. It's still an interesting story that is well worth the reader's time.

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AIM was founded in 1968 in Minneapolis by young Indian men who had been in and out of jail. They wanted to help drunk and desperate Indians to reconnect with their Indian roots, and to unite disparate groups. Since US policy has always been to keep Indians weak and divided, AIM was targeted, as early as 1971, for destruction by the US Government.

Whenever an Indian is killed by a white man, on or near a reservation, the local authorities shrug it off like it's nothing. The intention of AIM was to change that by nonviolently pressuring the authorities to investigate. If a white man is actually put on trial, he is either acquitted or given a very light sentence. But. let an Indian be suspected, let alone guilty, of something minor like breach of peace, and they are treated like Public Enemy Number One.

The US policy toward AIM was one of harassment, forcing them into long trials, shootings, jailhouse beatings, driving them underground, and, in too many cases, murder.

The author also gives an account of two well-known court cases. AIM leaders Dennis Banks and Russell Means went through a lengthy trial because of their involvement in the 1973 siege at Wounded Knee. All charges were eventually dismissed after government lying and manipulation got to be too much for the judge to swallow. The judge in the "trial" of Leonard Peltier seemed to have decided before the trial started that peltier was going to jail. Therefore, he simply refused to allow any evidence that might reduce the chance of a guilty verdict.

For those who think that oppression of indigenous peoples doesn't happen any more, or happens only in other countries, think again. This is an unforgettable book, and is highly recommended.

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Only Indians have been subject to a conscious policy of genocide by the American government, and have been denied freedom of religion by the same American government. Orders are on file with the Departments of the Army and Interior authorizing the destruction of all vestiges of Indian religion.

Indian education was another attempt to turn Indians into whites. Set up several hundred miles from the reservations they were supposed to serve, in many cases Indian boarding schools equaled concentration camps, with beatings, and worse, for anyone who spoke their native language or tried to practice their native religion. Before the coming of the white man, archaeological evidence shows that North America was almost totally free of infectious disease; smallpox killed more Indians than all the wars with the white man.

Most people would call them fraudulent real estate deals at gunpoint; the US government called them "treaties," and broke all 371 of them signed with the Indians. In 1954, Public Law 280 gave five states almost complete jurisdiction over the reservations within their borders. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, two of the states, authorities used their power to remove Indian children from the custody of their parents and place them in foster homes, even if both parents lived at home. It was another way to break up the culture and penalize Indian mothers who applied for welfare.

The authors also look at tribal government, which they characterize as a blueprint for corruption. There is also an account of the Indian occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs building in Washington just before the 1972 election, and an account of just what happened in 1973 at Wounded Knee.

The treatment of Native Americans by the US Government chronicled in this book will make most people sick. When it happens in other countries, the US is the first to talk about human rights and the rule of law, but it has a hard time delivering those same rights here at home. For those with a strong stomach, this is very highly recommended.

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Rather than deal with the problem directly, most people prefer to blame a "gap" between certain parts of society, like the "generation gap." Deloria considers the 60s movements to be based on the emergence of the group as a group. In his view, the emergence of the group and community development is actually a form of neo-tribalism, and that blacks, hippies, Indians, etc., are really a collection of tribes.

The US Constitution was written by people of Western European descent who accepted the philosophy of John Locke plus Protestant religious doctrines of individual salvation. Deloria doesn't advocate rewriting the Constitution, but does suggest tht there should be a place in the framework of the Constitution for aspirations of the group without reference to individualism. Perhaps it's time to change "we the people" to we the peoples".

The author also suggests that the present roles of profit and non-profit groups, the two main vehicles of human organization, be merged into something like the Community Development Corporation as proposed by CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality. A CDC recognizes that all elected and appointed officials must be answerable to those they serve, which is why there is a residence requirement that only local people can be hired. Also, a corporation would be allowed to expand beyind its original service area to provide services for a noncontiguous area.

Deloria's idea that some sort of group identity, like a tribe, is needed to help solve America's social problems is really interesting and though-provoking, and just as plausible today as when this book was first published. This one is well worth reading.

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With the help of Johnson's guitar, left in Thomas' truck, the band Coyote Springs is born. Thomas is on lead vocals, Victor Joseph plays Johnson's guitar (sometimes it seems like Johnson's guitar plays Victor), Jumior Polatkin is on drums, and twin sisters from a Montana reservation, Chess and Checkers Warm Water, handle the backup vocals. They call their music "four-and-a-hlaf chord rock and blues," being part blues, part rock, part folk and part Unknown. They get a couple of gigs in small-town bars, plus a gig in Seattle. They attract a couple of female groupies, white women named Betty and Veronica, who "get it on" with Victor and Junior. This is not appreciated by Chess and Checkers, and by the tribal council back on the reservation, who don't think much of fraternization between Indians and non-Indians.

Chess temporarily leaves the group to return to singing in the chruch choir. She also has a major crush on the priest, Father Arnold. He realizes this, and asks his bishop to be reassigned elsewhere. The bishop refuses, so Father Arnold leaves the church completely.

The record company flies them back home, but, after that, Coyote Springs fades quickly into the sunset.

I really liked this book. The author does a fine job at mixing humor with the reality of '90s reservation life. This is my first exposure to Sherman Alexie, but it will not be my last.

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The author srarts with the story of John Chewie, a full-blood Cherokee from eastern Oklahoma, arrested for deer hunting out of season, and for hunting without a license. Chewie didn't deny the charges; in that part of the state, $500 was the annual income for Indians. He killed the deer out of necessity on land that the US Government held in trust for the Cherokee tribe. When word got out about his arrest, the town where he was held, population 1,100, was flooded with over 400 armed Indians, just sitting around like a normal day. But their message was clear: put John Chewie in jail, and blood will flow.

Since many tribes have a strong oral tradition, it's common for stories to be passed down from generation to generation; the tale can be told orally of something that happened 300 years ago as if it happened last week.

The US Government has built several suburban housing projects intended for Indians; all are empty. To people used to a dirt floor, or cooking over a wood fire, the houses looked too much like suburban Cleveland, or Long Island, or like a hotel. It seemed like another case of the government telling the Indians what's best for them; no one though of asking the Indians what sort of dwelling they would inhabit.

The part in treaties about "as long as the grass shall grow" is pretty meaningless, considering that the huge majority of Indian land has moderate to severe erosion problems. Much of it is out west, where the yearly rainfall is not much. If there is a decent-sized river nearby, there is either a dam on it or most of the water has been diverted to irrigate white farms and ranches.

Steiner covers a number of other subjects, including the changing role of women, the "war on poverty," Uncle Tomahawks, politics on the reservations, urban Indians, and the government's desire to "help" poor reservations with huge factories (whether or not they employ any Indians is something else entirely), when all the tribe might need is something small-scale like a coffee shop or gas station.

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In 1874, gold had been discovered in the Black Hills of Dakota Territory, an area sacred to many tribes and that was supposed to be off-limits to white settlement according to the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. When the Indians refused to sell the Black Hills, the Treay was set aside and the commissioner of Indian Affairs decreed that all Indians not in reservations by January of 1876 would be considered hostile. The intention on General Custer's part was to split up the 7th Cavalry, and come at the Indians from more than one direction, catching them in a pincer movement. The trouble is, Custer and his men didn't know just how many Indians there were. Custer intended to attack at night, but the shooting mentioned above was witnessed by a couple of Sioux boys who made it back to camp to raise the alarm. Custer was forced to move the attack to midday. Meantime, back at the Indian camp, many of the leaders knew that this was a day that would be remembered for a very long time.

Once the fighting got underway, there was no communication between the groups of cavalry, so there was no way for Custer to know that the first wave was being slaughtered by a numerically superior force of Indian warriors.

Custer found out for himself later in the day. A group of Indians were on one side of the Little Big Horn (a rather shallow river about twenty to forty yards across) facing a cavalry charge across the river. All of a sudden, the charge stopped and went back the way they came. The Indians didn't know they were facing Long-Hair (Custer) himself; the author speculates that the charge was reversed because this is where Custer himself was shot. The fight seemed to go out of the cavalry at that point; afterwards, it was just a mopping-up operation for the Indians. That night, while everyone else was celebrating their victory, Sitting Bull (later to join Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show) knew that Washington would send more troops and eventually overwhelm the Indians, like at Wounded Knee, several years later.

Over the years, the legend of General Custer has been built up to the point where one could be forgiven for thinking that, while grievously wounded, Custer singlehandedly held off the entire Indian "army". The author, in his many years of interviews with Indians who were there, gives a very different opinion. This is a fascinating book (perhaps best for histroians and armchair military commanders) that is highly recommended.

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In northern New York, the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation is next door to a General Motors motor train plant (and Superfund site) containing over 800,000 cubic yards of material contaminated with PCBs and downstream from some of the most extensive pollution on the continent, in and around the Great Lakes. In northern Quebec, the Innu and Cree peoples are fighting hunting restrictions in their traditional lands, the James Bay dam projects that would flood huge pieces of land and low-level flights from NATO planes, all courtesy of the Canadian Government. They also face a proposed mine that would create 71 million tons of waste rock for 150 million tons of nickel, cobalt and copper.

The Northern Cheyenne reservation sits on top of some very rich and very high quality coal. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has leased much, or all, of that land to multinational coal companies at bargain basement prices without even telling the Cheyenne, let alone consulting them. The US Government would like to make Yucca Mountain, inside the Western Shoshone reservation, into a permanent nuclear waste storage facility. There is also the story of diversion of water, loss of topsoil and near extermination of the buffalo, all the way from Canada to mexico. The people of Hawai'i also have to deal with the militarization of their land (along with the entire Pacific), and a tourist population that is six times greater than the number of actual residents.

This is a half-Native American and half-environmental book that works on both levels. It shows that Native struggles to keep control of their land still go on today. It's very interesting, and well worth reading.

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Human James Mowry is recruited to be such a person. Foe the previous 10 months, Earth has been at war with the Sirian Combine. It's pretty much of a stalemate; the war has yet to reach Earth. The Earth authorities know that such a state of affairs will not last forever, since the Combine outnumbers Earth in several vital areas. Mowry is one of a number of "wasps" placed on planets in the Combine, one per planet, to disrupt the Sirian war effort from the inside.

The planet Jaimec is full of humanoids with purple skin. It helps that Mowry was actually born there, so he has the accent all set. It's also a police state, a place of informants, patrols and sudden police searches in public. Mowry must change identities, and locations, every few days, in order to keep away from the kaitempi, the interrogators. The only way to not give information to the kaitempi is to be dead. Mowry spends his time putting stickers all over the town in which he is staying, talking about the Sirian Freedom Party (which, of course, doesn't exist). There is the occasional political assassination; boxes are sent to various leading officials, containing inexpensive clocks and wires. The recipients are left with the unmistakable impression that it could very easily have been a bomb.

As time goes on, Mowry begins to have an effect on the population. At first, he is ignored, then notices reach the official press about members and leaders of the Party being arrested and executed. Blurbs also reach the Jaimec press about this planet or that planet being abandoned for "strategic" reasons. Also, the enemy (Human) fleet is either severly damaged, decimated, or wiped out, seemingly every week (according to the official press). Then, Mowry gets the word that the official attack from Earth is coming, to end the war, once and for all.

This book is pretty good. It has a very interesting central premise, it has plenty of action, and it will keep the reader entertained. It's worth reading.

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Each 32-page black and white issue (printed on newsprint) consists of a couple of short stories. Included are a story of love from afar, an autobiography of one of the creators, a story about urban homelessness, and a snapshot of life in the big city. Each issue is rounded out with several smaller comics of a general anti-Iraq war and anti-military perspective.

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Satan is in the form of a man in his 40s who needs a shave, and not the traditional horns and pitchfork. After convincing the priest of his identity by a quick trip back in time to the Silver City, from which he was outcast millennia ago, the two return to the present. In the confessional, they discuss the nature of things. Satan thinks that mankind is doing pretty well, by itself, as God's adversary. The priest is convinced that for people to know God's goodness, there has to be something for them to run from. The term is "good and evil," not "good and...nothing." If there was no Satan, according to the priest, everything would just fall apart.

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Baron Meliadus, the right-hand man to the Granbretan king, pays a visit to talk alliance between Kamarg and Granbretan. Count Brass is not interested. Meliadus is infatuated with Brass's daughter, Yisselda, and attempts to kidnap her. It doesn't work, and Meliadus is thrown out of the castle.

Back in Granbretan, Meliadus decides to send someone else to kidnap Yisselda. Dorian Hawkmoon, Duke of Koln, is a recent loser against Granbretan, and has been held prisoner for a while. Promised his lands and title if he succeeds, his loyalty is assured by a black jewel implanted in his forehead. It will let Granbretan see everything Hawkmoon sees, and it can be used to destroy Hawkmoon's mind, if necessary.

The people of Castle Brass are able to temporarily neutralize the black jewel, rendering it useless to Granbretan. A large force is sent from Granbretan, to take care of Hawkmoon and Castle Brass, once and for all. Even with a 20 to 1 advantage, a combination of Hawkmoon's military knowledge and several high-tech weapons stationed around the castle leads to a huge defeat for Granbretan.

The neutralizing of the black jewel will not last forever, so Hawkmoon undertakes a journey far to the southwest (approximately present-day Iran) to find Malagigi, the only person with enough sorcery to permanently neutralize the jewel. When he arrives, Hawkmoon finds himself in the middle of a civil war brought about by an attack from Granbretan and Meliadus.

This one is really good. It has plenty of action. Moorcock is a veteran in the fantasy field, so he very much knows what he is doing. For Conan fans looking for something else to read, look here. It is well worth reading.

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One day, he woke up in a beautiful garden, with no memories before that day. Physically, he was an adult, but mentally and emotionally, he was like a newborn child. His father gave him no guidance, no idea what to expect. Adam (that is what he calls himself) had to find out for himself what happened when he pricked his finger on a thorn or ate the wrong berries. His father told him not to eat from the tree in the center of the garden. Sound familiar? Adam had no concept of "Do Not..." His life became complete when Eve, his mate, arrived (yes, that Adam and Eve). After they ate from the forbidden tree, because Eve was never told not to do it, they are thrown out of the garden by Adam's father (Jehovah) and forbidden to return.

They eventually found a place to live, and Eve gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel (if there was only the four of them, where did the concept of murder come from?) and disappeared. This seems to suck the life out of Eve. She got sicker and sicker, until she just stopped breathing. Holding her in his arms, Adam swore vengeance on his father.

Adam has little good to say about many of the major figures of the Bible, like Abraham and David. He talks about this tribe and that tribe that are not just defeated by the Israelites, but totally wiped out. After many years of wandering, Adam met a freelance prophet in the south, and realized that this was Jehovah in the flesh (his vow has not been forgotten). His teachings are either vague, bloodthirsty or taken from other groups. Adam became one of the Disciples, using the name Judas, and waited for the chance to carry out his vow.

As someone who was born and raised a Catholic, my initial reaction to this is: Holy Cow! The author also includes over 270 references to specific Bible verses, so the reader can see for themselves. For a very different, and very uncomplimentary, view of Christianity, this book is very much recommended.

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Some of the actions included require little or no effort. Join a progressive group, be it local or international. Take back control of the American political vocabulary. Donate a subscription to a progressive magazine to your local library. Become familiar with the parts of the Bible that support progressive positions. Visit alternative news web sites. Also, visit right-wing sites to begin to understand the Right.

Some actions require a little more effort. Adopt a blog. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper (even if your letter is not printed, it might encourage the editor to print a similar letter). Did you know that the Pledge of Allegiance was written by a Christian socialist named Francis Bellamy? Talk to your neighbors, and to your congressperson's local office. Attend local meetings, like school board, city council or planning and zoning commission; the Right will be there. Support public education, along with local arts and artists. Stand up for science in the classroom. Volunteer for a political campaign.

For the committed individual, become an expert on a particular subject. Look for right-wing spin in your local media. Start your own media. On Election Day, become a poll watcher. Spread the word the "person of faith" does not automatically equal "conservative." Last, but not least, why don't you run for office?

The only part of this book that may cause disagreement is the assertion of the publishers that the Democratic Party needs to be reformed back into the progressive party it once was. Like it or not, America is a 2-party system, and reforming the Democratic Party is easier than starting over with a third party. On the other hand, many people in America believe that the Democrats are just as bad as the Republicans, and, therefore, not worth saving.

Aside from that, this is a gem of a book. It contains plenty of inspiration for people of any age or income level. Even if the reader can do only 1 or 2 of the things mentioned in this book, it will help to change the tide in America. This book is very much worth reading.

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In part two, Migration, Mac is called to a grand conference of all beings in the Interspecies Union, of which Earth is a member, with any knowledge of this matter, to figure out, once and for all, how to stop it. Far from being the "victims," the Dhryn are actually the race behind the Chasm. Also, the area of interstellar devastation is getting closer to Earth.

If the Dhryn are some sort of invasion force, they certainly don't act like it. After they devastate a planet, they just pick up and move to the next one; they don't leave any occupying forces behind. Mac thinks that they are migrating; not normal Dhryn behavior. If some other race are using the Dhryn as some sort of weapon, holding out "bait" for them to follow, who could it be and why? Suddenly, a large number of Dhryn ships, each of which can split into many smaller ships, arrive in Earth orbit.

Individually, these books are excellent. Collectively, they constitute a wonderful piece of writing. The author does a fine job from start to finish with the science, the speculation and the storytelling. She also gives the aliens real personalities; more than just "aliens." This trilogy is very highly recommended.

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