"Shooting War"
a graphic novel about an indie blogger in Iraq
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Beyond Bullets: The Suppression of Dissent in the United States
This is a great one for all the activists. When you suddenly hear rumors that a fellow activist is a "cop" or an "agent" do you ever wonder where those rumors come from? Well, this book shows the historical pattern: the FBI and other police agencies have a tactic called "bad-jacketing." They deliberately start those kinds of rumors, so that activists will distrust and destroy one another.
I remember the 90's in the Lower East Side, squatter activist Brad Will was really active in the punk and anarchist circles. But there were rumors going around that he was a cop. Last year, Brad died on the barricades of Oaxaca, Mexico, supporting a teachers strike there. He put those vicious rumors to rest for good, with his life.
Now we know, thanks to books like this, that "badjacketing" wasn't just a tactic in the 70's with the Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement, it's still going on today. Our best response is to spread knowledge about how the corrupt US Federal government destroys the progressives, and radicals trying to create a better world.
-Sander
from the publisher:
Focusing on a variety of movements for political, social, and economic change in the US, Jules Boykoff shows the tools used by government agents to undermine the long-term viability of opposition in this country. Despite the pretense of democratic ideals, the US government has ruthlessly suppressed dissent, using hard-to-detect and rarely acknowledged tactics.
Boykoff breaks it down for readers, using a methodical, step-by-step analysis to open the government's bag of tricks for all to see.
Beyond Bullets offers indispensable lessons to on-the-ground activists—those most likely to suffer the effects of infiltration, "snitchjacketing," surveillance, "black propaganda," and other insidious practices—as well as to those studying the forms of authoritarian rule in democratic societies.
"When there is every reason to believe there's a 'bad moon rising on the right,' leftists need to understand how the state suppresses the rising tide of popular resentment. The strategy is multifaceted and sophisticated, as Jules Boykoff explains in this timely analysis of how the government has marginalized, channeled, infiltrated, co-opted, and repressed progressive movements in the US over the past hundred years. Paranoia and freak-out only play into their hands. Read Boykoff to understand where the real danger lies and how best to defend against it." —Robin Hahnel
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WHAT THE HECK IS THIS BOOK DOING HERE?
Why My Staff Pick is:
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
reviewed by Sander Hicks
This is a staff pick I wrote, out of a conversation with a customer. She first got in touch with me through the Vox Pop suggestion box. She was offended that a "radical, revolutionary café" would sell a book called "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind." Well, I have empathy. I too was skeptical about this book when my friends first turned me onto this. But here's why this book is so liberating:
Dear L eft-Winger, (and everyone ELSE)
It's time to Confront the "damaged financial blueprint" you were raised with!
Harv Eker says we all have the brains and creativity to learn to think the way millionaires do. YES, the word, "millionaire" is problematic--it sounds idle and luxurious, right? But substitute other terms like "wealth-generator", "socially-responsible investor", "job-creator", "enterprise launcher", and the book can become more palatable to progressives, to the dedicated activists of the Left.
We're in a world obsessed with money. Capitalism teaches consumers to think of products as alive, (what Marx called the "fetishization of the commodities.
) In this system, people lose sense of what's real. They accept big lies. The two-party system doesn't produce any leaders willing to challenge the big lies. Just the opposite.
And yet, this book taught me to develop my "millionaire mind." It taught me to appreciate and build up the wealth-generating, job-creating traits that create companies, help neighborhoods, and build community. The millionaire mind is a set of learnable habits. Yes, class, race, etc. have a big impact on your chances to become successful in life. Harv Eker recognizes that in his book (well, at least the class part). But what's insightful is that he doesn't limit himself to the assumptions of liberal "left" stereotypes. Most people are interested in personal development. Poor and working-class people especially are interested in discovering which of our own internal thought-processes could be contributing to all the other social constraints that we have to face in daily life.
Maybe, sometimes, the most radical thing we can do is to re-examine some of our out-dated thoughts about money. Saying that kind of thing has gotten me ejected from "left" political parties in the past. But the revolution needs funding, like anything else. This is a book that can really change your life. If more revolutionaries read it, we'd be a lot closer to serious, unstoppable, social change.
Repeat after me: I have a Millionaire Mind! Destroy Poverty! Revolution!
[PS.... by writing this and laminating it and displaying this review in the store, we sold 9 books in a couple weeks. Thanks!]
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My Mother Wears Combat Boots: A Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us
Jessica Mills is a touring musician, artist, activist, writer, teacher, and mother of two. Disappointed by run-of-the-mill parenting books that didn't speak to her experience, she set out to write a book tackling the issues faced by a new generation of moms and dads. The result is a parenting guide like no other. Written with humor, extensive research, and much trial and error, My Mother Wears Combat Boots delivers sound advice for parents of all stripes. Amid stories of bringing kids (and grandparents) to women's rights demonstrations, taking baby on tour with her band, and organizing cooperative childcare, Jessica gives detailed nuts-and-bolts information about weaning, cloth vs. disposable diapers, the psychological effects of co-sleeping, and even how to get free infant gear. This book provides a clever, hip, and entertaining mix of advice, anecdotes, political analysis, and factual sidebars that will help parents as they navigate the first years of their child's life.
"Jessica Mills is a great writer with a lot to say and the heart, guts, brains, and perseverance it takes to do it. My Mother Wears Combat Boots is an instant classic, the latest in the evolution of punk sensibilities into sustainable community action: full of real life experience and well-researched inquiry. It will take another generation before a parenting book has the cutting edge insight, yet stable strength, of this collection."
—China Martens, author of The Future Generation: A Zine-Book for Subculture Parents, Kids, Friends & Others
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