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Freedom Book of the Month for April, 2003:
Shattered Dreams: 100 Stories of Government AbuseLet's face it -- this book reviewing gig is pretty sweet. I get books that are by definition of at least some interest to me sent to me free, and I get to read 'em and write about the best ones. And I get paid for this ... as I said, pretty sweet.
Sometimes, though, it isn't all that sweet. Last month's choice, The Rule of Lawyers, is a good case in point; it's an excellent book offering truly frightening evidence for lost ground in the courts. As good as a book can be, it can still be downright depressing to read about egregious abuses of state power, and other challenges to liberty. At first glance, one might think I'd feel similarly about this month's Freedom Book of the Month, Shattered Dreams: 100 Stories of Government Abuse.
One would be very wrong. As I read through the stories, my spirits began to lift. By the end, I knew that this would be a Freedom Book of the Month, and the prospect of writing about the book delighted me.
No, this isn't some secret insight into a previously-hidden masochistic streak. I realized that Shattered Dreams offers lovers of liberty an excellent -- arguably the best I've seen in a long time -- means of effectively sharing our message with mainstream individuals. The staff at the National Center for Public Policy Research who compiled the fourth edition of this volume stayed out of the way, letting the stories tell themselves. And they do -- poignantly, persistently hammering on the same idea: Americans are losing their freedoms to increasingly capricious, avaricious state bureaucracies and officials who abuse their power.
Know a friend's "hot button" issue? Let's say it's medical care. One need only look at the table of contents to find a story that speaks to it. In this case one can choose between two stories that tell of FDA meddling in patient care. Many will speak to the left as effectively as the right, particularly on conservation ("Man serves hard time for cleaning dump") and civil liberties issues ("Environmentalists deprive slavery descendants of wealth"). "Shattered Dreams" has no scary libertarian phrases -- nor even that word itself -- to frighten away the, er, unenlightened. Resources for the story are included so that readers who wish to follow up can do so. A very helpful index organizes the stories by state as well as alphabetically by victim name; there's also a glossary.
Each story is short and to the point -- the longest I recall spans 3 pages. Shattered Dreams' oversize format makes photocopying individual stories for sharing very easy. The National Center for Public Policy Research doesn't seem to mind generous distribution of the stories -- the Cybercast News Service has been featuring a story a day from it, and the NCPPR's own site offers PDF format free downloads of the book.
Even so, I highly recommend purchasing a copy. First, for many people nothing works like the printed word placed in their hands. I've a hard time imagining a reader not wanting to share at least some of the stories in Shattered Dreams with others. Second, when a product this good comes along, it behooves us freedom-lovers to "vote with our wallets". Supporting the NCPPR in this important work will help keep future editions coming -- and will help them continue their work to limit the number of future editions we need.
Order from NCPPR, $15.00
More book information for April 2003
edited by Sunni Maravillosa
March 2003: The Rule of Lawyers by Walter K. Olson
February 2003: Global Warming and Other Eco-Myths, edited by Ronald Bailey
Freedom Book of the Year 2002: The Ballad of Carl Drega by Vin Suprynowicz
December 2002: Blood of the Roses, by Alex Gabbard
November 2002: The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science, by Ludwig von Mises
October 2002: The Haunted Air, by F. Paul Wilson
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 Congress from 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.
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