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Freedom Book of the Month
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Free-Market.Net's F r e e d o m B o o k o f t h e M o n t h
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Edited by Thomas L. Knapp. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this and
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August 2001:
HOPE
by Aaron Zelman and L. Neil Smith,
Mazel Freedom Press 2001,
paperback, 430 pp., $14.95
(Note: This month's book review was guest-written by Sunni Maravillosa, due
to Freedom Book of the Month Editor Tom Knapp's connection with a political
campaign to draft "Hope" co-author L. Neil Smith as a presidential
candidate. Tom will return to this spot next month.)
"How would you feel if you no longer feared your government?" is the
question on the cover of "Hope," the second novel by Aaron Zelman and L.
Neil Smith. It's a provocative question, one every individual should
contemplate. The question isn't directly answered by any characters as the
action unfolds. Instead, the reader is drawn into the story, and his or her
reactions to the developments in the novel provide an implicit response.
"Hope" is not exactly a sequel to Zelman and Smith's first collaborative
effort, "The Mitzvah" (Freedom Book of the Month for July, 1999), although
several characters from that novel reappear. One needn't be familiar with
them or that story, however, to follow this one.
Alexander Hope is an industrialist and historian who, through a series of
events that are somewhat contrived, becomes the libertarian candidate for
President. Less contrived are the elements -- among them voter apathy and
bad judgment among the Beltway elite -- that lead to Hope winning the
election. He proceeds to live up to his one campaign promise, that being
enforcing the Bill of Rights as the highest law of the land. How he
accomplishes this, and the responses of the people -- from the Secret
Service who have to protect a President who goes about armed and refuses to
let them disarm audiences, to the Congresscritters who are hamstrung by his
executive orders and vetoes of their business-as-usual legislation, to
private citizens of varying political stripes -- is the bulk of the story.
And an interesting story it is. While light on the political sparring that
one would expect to happen if a libertarian President were to take office
in a near- future DC populated by the likes of Schumer, Feinstein, et al,
Hope is not an "and they all lived happily ever after" story either. Alex
Hope has real challenges to deal with, including convincing the people that
his vision is a better one than that of "Socialist Party 'A' or 'B'," and
several assassination attempts. Although having the main character
occupying the White House gives Zelman and Smith plenty of room for lengthy
speeches and soliloquies spelling out libertarian philosophy and policy,
their touch is deft. Sure, there's some speechifying, but nothing near what
some pro-freedom authors have done, and it's all quite credible.
Zelman and Smith's less confrontational (than in "The Mitzvah")
presentation of libertarian ideas results in a novel that will serve as
effective outreach to nonlibertarians, particularly Constitutionalists,
patriots and conservatives.
Reading Alex Hope's party nomination acceptance speech (pp. 112-122), in
which he sets the stage for his Bill of Rights enforcement agenda, will be
inspiring for libertarians and likely an eye-opener for nonlibertarians.
The messages of the benefits of freedom, and how to get there from here,
are consistently, yet not overpoweringly, presented. The messenger, in the
form of Alex Hope -- a man with a fundamentally positive sense of life and
a practical way of handling challenges -- is an engaging, realistic
portrayal of a Randian hero that many readers can relate to on some level.
The chapter lead-ins -- "quotations" culled from a book Alexander Hope
authored -- are also savory freedom nuggets (many of which Neil Smith fans
will doubtless recognize).
I highly recommend sharing "Hope" with others. Libertarian or not, that
question on the front cover should impel them to open the book, and explore
how to peaceably take back our lost freedoms.
(Sunni Maravillosa is the publisher of Doing Freedom!, a 'zine devoted to
helping individuals create more freedom in their lives.)
o Order "Hope" from Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
($14.95; bulk discounts available):
http://www.jpfo.org/hope.htm
o Visit JPFO's home page for more information on victim disarmament and
its connection with police states and genocide:
http://www.jpfo.org/
o Visit L. Neil Smith's Webley Page:
http://www.webleyweb.com/lneil/
o Visit the campaign to draft L. Neil Smith as a presidential candidate:
http://www.smith2004.org/
Other Freedom Books of the Month from Aaron Zelman and/or L. Neil Smith:
o "The Mitzvah" by Aaron Zelman and L. Neil Smith:
http://www.free-market.net/features/bookofthemonth/zelman.html
o "Forge of the Elders" by L. Neil Smith:
http://www.free-market.net/features/bookofthemonth/smith.html
o Lever Action" by L. Neil Smith:
http://www.free-market.net/features/bookofthemonth/leveraction.html
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