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New and Notable
Stealth Juror, by Trent Hammerstein
"The ultimate defense against bad laws and government tyranny," says the cover. The book doesn't quite measure up to that, but it is a valuable, very readable treatise on the importance of freedom-loving individuals serving on juries. Solid, general tactical information, examples, and resources too.
from Amazon.com, $10.50.
In the Teeth of the Wind, by Shelly Waxman
A series of case-based stories that's likely to astonish even the most jaded with respect to the justice system. Waxman exposes the behind-the-scenes shenanigans that appear to be commonplace in the U.S. courts, and offers insightful commentary on the state of our personal freedom.
from Amazon.com, $16.95.
The Libertarian Idea, by Jan Narveson
A reissue of a thorough, eminently readable exploration and justification of libertarianism. Given the muddying of freedom's waters by recent world events, this re-publication couldn't have come at a better time. If you missed it the first time around, be sure to get The Libertarian Idea now.
from Laissez Faire Books, $16.95.
The Way Back Machine: Halloween Fun
For those of you who haven't touched any of F. Paul Wilson's "horror" novels because of the, well, horror, get ready for a great surprise. Many of them contain a steady current of pro-freedom ideas, courtesy of the protagonist, Repairman Jack. Furthermore, Wilson's horror is unlike any other I've read, most notably in that it is not anti-reason.
Let me back up a little. I don't like horror novels -- never have. But when a dear friend whose judgment I trust kept suggesting I read a Repairman Jack novel, I decided it was time to try the first one, which is The Tomb, originally published in 1984. I devoured it, enjoying every bit, then waited impatiently for my partner to finish the second in the series so that I could immerse myself in it. Now I've read them all, and find myself waiting impatiently to get my next Repairman Jack ("RJ") fix. Probably labeled horror because of the supernatural content, the most accurate term for the RJ novels is "action thriller."
Repairman Jack is a man who lives outside the system, outside its laws. He's a "fixer" of problems that individuals can't take to the justice system. Despite being a "criminal," Jack's integrity and adherence to a strict moral code make him more upstanding than most good little citizens. He is quite possibly the most complex fictional character I've come across to date -- driven to do right by his code, yet utterly capable of killing and enjoying it under the right circumstances. Jack's personal life is similarly complex and challenging, and Wilson never lets him take the easy way out.
The supernatural content of the RJ novels revolves around the nature of good and evil, with Wilson's own take on the issue. Although Jack deals with otherworldly elements, such as the rakoshi and ghosts, there are no magic solutions. His fixes are always based in reality; Jack reasons his way through every problem, with a stubbornness that also endears him to libertarians.
In The Tomb, the first RJ novel, Jack is sought out by an Indian diplomat who wants him to find an irreplaceable family heirloom stolen during a mugging. His former lover also seeks his services to locate an aunt who's disappeared. Legacies has Jack caught up in a bizarre inheritance situation between a brother and sister that somehow involves big-time American, Saudi, and Japanese interests. Conspiracies is a clever RJ romp through the shadowy world of conspiracy theories that is at times laugh-out-loud funny, too. In All the Rage some of the pieces of the puzzle regarding the Otherness forces begin to come together for Jack, as he takes on the dangerous world of designer drug makers. Hosts reveals more, as Jack is immersed in a fix that has immense personal stakes, as well as for the future of the human race. The most recent RJ novel is The Haunted Air, this month's Freedom Book of the Month.
Each Repairman Jack novel offers something new within the comfortable structure of the novels. Jack grows and develops over the years, and Wilson is masterful in melding plot, characters, and atmosphere into story after story that grips your imagination and won't shake loose. For some extra zing, and good freedom-oriented content this Halloween, pick up The Tomb for starters -- the books are best taken in sequence, although that isn't necessary to understand each novel -- turn down the lights, and enter the shadowy, challenging world of Repairman Jack. You won't be disappointed.
from Amazon.com, $6.99.
from Amazon.com, $6.99.
from Amazon.com, $6.99.
from Amazon.com, $7.99.
from Amazon.com, $18.17.
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edited by Sunni Maravillosa
September 2002: Lead Astray and Out of Bounds, Out of Control by Peter Samuel and James V. DeLong respectively
August 2002: Boston's Gun Bible II by Boston T. Party
July 2002: Economics for Real People by Gene Callahan
June 2002: Net Assets by Carl Bussjaeger
May 2002: The Ballad of Carl Drega by Vin Suprynowicz
April 2002: Toward Liberty: The Idea that is Changing the World edited by David Boaz
March 2002: Liberty for Women edited by Wendy McElroy
February 2002: The State vs. the People by Aaron Zelman and Claire Wolfe
Freedom Book of the Year, 2001: Hope by Aaron Zelman and L. Neil Smith.
January 2002: Death by Gun Control by Aaron Zelman and Richard W. Stevens
December 2001: The American Zone by L. Neil Smith
November 2001: Ayn Rand and Business by Donna Greiner and Theodore Kinni
October 2001: Junk Science Judo by Steven J. Milloy
September 2001: Jonathan Gullible by Ken Schoolland
August 2001: Hope by L. Neil Smith and Aaron Zelman
July 2001: Dissenting Electorate edited by Wendy McElroy and Carl Watner
June 2001: Tethered Citizens by Sheldon Richman
May 2001: Lever Action by L. Neil Smith
April 2001: The Cato Handbook for Congressfrom the Cato Institute
March 2001: The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand by David Kelley
February 2001: Crypto by Steven Levy
January 2001: Total Freedom by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
Freedom Book of the Year 2000: Forge of the Elders by L. Neil Smith
December 2000: The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto
November 2000: Escape from Leviathan by J.C. Lester
October 2000: The Art of Political War by David Horowitz
September 2000: An Enemy of the State by Justin Raimondo
August 2000: The Triumph of Liberty by Jim Powell
July 2000: A Generation Divided by Rebecca Klatch
June 2000: Law's Order by David Friedman
May 2000: Forge of the Elders by L. Neil Smith
April 2000: Reciprocia by Richard G. Rieben
March 2000: The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers by Ayn Rand
February 2000: Addiction is a Choice by Jeffrey A. Schaler
January 2000: Revolutionary Language by David C. Calderwood
Special December 1999 Feature: The Freedom Book of the Year: Send in the Waco Killers: Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998 by Vin Suprynowicz
November 1999: Conquests and Cultures by Thomas Sowell
October 1999: A Way To Be Free by Robert LeFevre, edited by Wendy McElroy
September 1999: Assassins (Left Behind) by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
August 1999: Don't Shoot the Bastards (Yet): 101 More Ways to Salvage Freedom by Claire Wolfe
July 1999: The Mitzvah by L. Neil Smith and Aaron Zelman
June 1999: The Incredible Bread Machine by R.W. Grant
May 1999: Send in the Waco Killers by Vin Suprynowicz
April 1999: It Still Begins with Ayn Rand by Jerome Tuccille
March 1999: The Dictionary of Free-Market Economics by Fred Foldvary
February 1999: Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand edited by Mimi Reisel Gladstein and Chris Matthew Sciabarra
In December 2004 this page was modified significantly from its original form for archiving purposes.
, founded in 1995, is now a part of ISIL.
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