Fred Thompson has enjoyed a remarkable career in Hollywood and politics, but when he sat down to write a memoir about how he got to be the person he is, he discovered that his best stories all seemed to come out of the years he spent growing up in and around his hometown of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. It was a small town but not the smallest—after all, it was the county seat and it did have a courthouse, a couple of movie theaters, and its own Davy Crockett statue. For truly small, you had to travel to nearby Summertown, where the regular Sunday dinner was possum and chocolate gravy. But Lawrenceburg is where Fred got to be a kid, get in his share of trouble and scrapes, get to know folks he didn’t realize were so colorful at the time but sure does now, get married, have a few kids, become a man, and start his career as a country lawyer (pretty much in that order). And as Fred tells it, getting that law degree was something of a surprise for him, since in school he’d been less than stellar as a scholar. “Teaching Latin to someone like me,” he says, “was like trying to teach a pig to dance. It’s a waste of the teacher’s time and it irritates the pig.”
In these reflections, as hilarious as they are honest and warm, Fred touches on the influences—family, hometown neighbors and teachers, team sports, jobs, romances, and personal crises—that molded his character, his politics, and the way he looks at life today. We get to know the unforgettable characters who congregated at the Blue Ribbon Café, like the rotund gentleman called “Shorty” whose claim to fame was his ability to quickly suck in his stomach and cause his pants to fall to the floor. Or Fred’s Grandma Thompson, who became an early TV adopter for the sole purpose of watching “Wrestling from Hollywood” and who once had a “gourder” removed from her neck and subsequently walked around town with it in a handkerchief showing it to folks. One day Fred and an accomplice placed small explosive Fourth of July “cracker balls” under the four legs of their teacher’s chair. Mrs. Garner sat down and, despite the racket, didn’t flinch so much as a muscle—but Fred felt a twinge of the one emotion he hated most—shame. Fred idolized Coach Staggs from his high school football days, even though he was “like Captain Ahab without the humor” and didn’t like smart alecks, comics, or individualists, which put the young Fred at a disadvantage. More than anyone else from those days though, Fred remembers his mom and dad, who taught him that kids are shaped most of all by the love and support they can take for granted.
Teaching the Pig to Dance will delight everyone who admires Fred Thompson for his contributions to politics or for his work in movies and on TV, along with all those who just love to hear rollicking but unforgettable stories about growing up in a place where, as one of the local old timers put it, “We weren’t big enough to have a town drunk, so a few of us had to take turns.”

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Fred Thompson - Teaching the Pig to Dance, A Memoi r of Growing Up and Second Chances (2010).epub

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Joshua Horwitz - Guns, Democracy, and the Insurrec tionist Idea (2009).jpg

The NRA steadfastly maintains that the 30,000 gun-related deaths and 300,000 assaults with firearms in the United States every year are a small price to pay to guarantee freedom. As former NRA President Charlton Heston put it, "freedom isn't free."
And when gun enthusiasts talk about Constitutional liberties guaranteed by the Second Amendment, they are referring to freedom in a general sense, but they also have something more specific in mind---freedom from government oppression. They argue that the only way to keep federal authority in check is to arm individual citizens who can, if necessary, defend themselves from an aggressive government.
In the past decade, this view of the proper relationship between government and individual rights and the insistence on a role for private violence in a democracy has been co-opted by the conservative movement. As a result, it has spread beyond extreme "militia" groups to influence state and national policy.
In Guns, Democracy, and the Insurrectionist Idea, Josh Horwitz and Casey Anderson reveal that the proponents of this view base their argument on a deliberate misreading of history. The Insurrectionist myth has been forged by twisting the facts of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, the denial of civil rights to African-Americans after the Civil War, and the rise of the Third Reich under Adolf Hitler. Here, Horwitz and Anderson set the record straight. Then, challenging the proposition that more guns equal more freedom, they expose Insurrectionism---not government oppression---as the true threat to freedom in the U.S. today.
Joshua Horwitz received a law degree from George Washington University and is currently a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. He has spent nearly two decades working on gun violence prevention issues. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.
Casey Anderson holds a law degree from Georgetown University and is currently a lawyer in private practice in Washington, D.C. He has served in senior staff positions with the U.S. Congress, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and Americans for Gun Safety. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.

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Joshua Horwitz - Guns, Democracy, and the Insurrec tionist Idea (2009).pdf

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Samuel G. Jr. London - Seventh-day Adventists and the Civil Rights Movement (2009).jpg

Seventh-day Adventists and the Civil Rights Movement is the first in-depth study of the denomination's participation in civil rights politics. It considers the extent to which the denomination's theology influenced how its members responded. This book explores why a brave few Adventists became social and political activists, and why a majority of the faithful eschewed the movement.
Samuel G. London, Jr., provides a clear, yet critical understanding of the history and theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church while highlighting the contributions of its members to political reform. Community awareness, the example of early Adventist pioneers, liberationist interpretations of the Bible, as well as various intellectual and theological justifications motivated the civil rights activities of some Adventists. For those who participated in the civil rights movement, these factors superseded the conservative ideology and theology that came to dominate the church after the passing of its founders. Covering the end of the 1800s through the 1970s, the book discusses how Christian fundamentalism, the curse of Ham, the philosophy of Booker T. Washington, pragmatism, the aversion to ecumenism and the Social Gospel, belief in the separation of church and state, and American individualism converged to impact Adventist sociopolitical thought.

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Samuel G. Jr. London - Seventh-day Adventists and the Civil Rights Movement (2009).pdf

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William Issel - For Both Cross and Flag, Catholic Action, Anti-Catholicism, and National Security Po litics in World War II San Francisco (2009).jpg

USA Books - William Issel - For Both Cross and Flag, Catholic Acti...l Security Politics in World War II San Francisco 2009.jpg

In this fascinating, detailed history, William Issel recounts the civil right abuses suffered by Sylvester Andriano, an Italian American Catholic civil leader whose religious and political activism in San Francisco provoked an Anti-Catholic campaign against him. A leading figure in the Catholic Action movement, Andriano was falsely accused in state and federal Un-American Activities Committee hearings of having Fascist sympathies prior to and during World War II. As his ordeal began, Andriano was subjected to a hostile investigation by the FBI, whose confidential informants were his political rivals. Furthermore, the U.S. Army ordered him to be relocated on the grounds that he was a security risk. "For Both Cross and Flag" provides a dramatic illustration of what can happen when parties to urban political rivalries, rooted in religious and ideological differences, seize the opportunity provided by a wartime national security emergency to demonize their enemy as 'a potentially dangerous person.' Issel presents a cast of characters that includes archbishops, radicals, the Kremlin, J. Edgar Hoover, and more to examine the significant role faith-based political activism played in the political culture that violated Andriano's constitutional rights. Exploring the ramifications of this story, "For Both Cross and Flag" presents interesting implications for contemporary events and issues relating to urban politics, ethnic groups, and religion in a time of war.

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William Issel - For Both Cross and Flag, Catholic Action, Anti-Catholicism, and National Security Po litics in World War II San Francisco (2009).pdf

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Jerry L Simich, Thomas C. Wright - The Peoples Of Las Vegas, One City, Many Faces (2005).jpg

Las Vegas is known the world over as an oasis of entertainment in the Nevada desert, but to more than a million people of exceptionally varied origins, it is also home. Yet this city is rarely mentioned in studies of ethnicity or immigration, and the rich diversity of its population is largely invisible to Las Vegans and visitors alike.

Such ignorance can be partly explained by the effects of the city’s rapid growth. Las Vegas largely lacks traditional ethnic neighborhoods, and the restaurants and markets that cater to its diverse population groups are mostly hidden away in anonymous strip malls. Nonetheless, a remarkable variety of nationalities and ethnic groups has been drawn here since the city’s beginnings in 1905, and today Las Vegas’s vital service industry, entrepreneurial opportunities, reasonable cost of living, and appeal as a retirement center attract many more. Recent world events and international currents of immigration have only enhanced this diversity.

In The Peoples of Las Vegas, seventeen scholars profile thirteen of the ethnic groups that make up their city’s population. The book’s introduction provides a historical and demographic context for the kaleidoscope of ethnicity that helps define Las Vegas today and analyzes the economic and social conditions that make Las Vegas so attractive to recent immigrants. The individual contributors--most of whom are members of the groups they write about, and who come from a broad array of disciplines--discuss the motivations and processes of their group’s migration to Las Vegas, economic pursuits, institutions and other means of preserving and transmitting their culture, involvement with the broader community, ties with their homelands, and recent demographic trends affecting each group. This collection of essays provides a provocative look into the vibrant ethnic life that lies just beneath the glittering surface of one of America’s most unusual cities.

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Jerry L Simich, Thomas C. Wright - The Peoples Of Las Vegas, One City, Many Faces (2005).pdf

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Harold Bloom - Jack London (2011).jpg

Jack London remains both a phenomenon of imaginative literature and a permanent figure in the American mythology. This edition of Bloom’s Major Short Story Writers examines London's short stories, including "For the Love of a Man," "The She-Wolf," "The Apostate," and "To Build a Fire."

This title also features a biography of Jack London, a user guide, a detailed thematic analysis of each short story, a list of characters in each story, a complete bibliography of London’s works, an index of themes and ideas, and editor’s notes and introduction by Harold Bloom.

This series, Bloom’s Major Short Story Writers, is edited by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University; Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Professor of English, New York University Graduate School; preeminent literary critic of our time. The world’s most prominent writers of short stories are covered in one series with expert analysis by Bloom and other critics. These titles contain a wealth of information on the writers and short stories that are most commonly read in high schools, colleges, and universities.

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Harold Bloom - Jack London (2011).pdf

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United States Presidents - Anne Welsbacher - Georg e Washington (1998).jpg

A simple biography of the nation's first president, who came to be known as the "Father of Our Country."

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United States Presidents - Anne Welsbacher - Georg e Washington (1998).pdf

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J. Donald Smith - Right-to-Die Policies in the Ame rican States (2002).jpg

Examining policy reinvention and the interaction between state courts and legislatures, Smith offers a general theory of "permissive" or "morality-based" policy adoption and tests hypotheses by examining state adoption of right-to-die policies (living will laws, durable power of attorney statutes, and surrogate decision making rules). The results of statistical (event history) models and comparative case studies indicate that controversial policy adoption is a function of political, institutional, regional, and vertical influences. Different factors dominate policy making in the judicial and legislative branches of the state governments. Smith's is one of the first studies to explicitly model the interplay between these two types of institutions during the policy diffusion process.

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J. Donald Smith - Right-to-Die Policies in the Ame rican States (2002).pdf

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United States Presidents - Bob Italia - Election 2 000, A Lesson in Civics (2001).jpg

Gr 1-3-The brief biography of President Bush covers the basics adequately for report writers. The format is inviting, and includes many clear, color and black-and-white photographs and charts. Election 2000 is more problematic. Divided into two sections, it first describes the election and the legal wrangling that followed. Care was taken to maintain an objective tone in describing all of the various lawsuits. Part II, "A Lesson in Civics," explains many terms children will have heard in election coverage. It offers a simple description of the electoral college; the role of primaries and caucuses; and how a bill becomes a law, highlighting the role of the president.

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United States Presidents - Bob Italia - Election 2 000, A Lesson in Civics (2001).pdf

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Kenneth Silverman - Begin Again, A Biography of Jo hn Cage (2010).jpg

John Cage, whose pieces dazzled and confounded audiences for six decades, hardly seems the easiest of subjects for the biographer, but this is a well-researched, coherent, quite readable account of the composer and his work. What comes across is a man who was ferociously driven to create music and to promote it to those who could most effectively advance it. Cage was an iconoclast, yet he developed relationships—often symbiotic—with some of the iconic artists of the past century, including Arnold Schoenberg, Jasper Johns, Marcel Duchamp, Buckminster Fuller, Pierre Boulez, Robert Rauschenberg, and longtime companion Merce Cunningham.

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Judith Harlan - Feminism, A Reference Handbook (19 98).jpg

While its primary focus is the United States, Feminism also examines how multiculturalism and global thinking have infused today's feminists with a sense of widened responsibility for girls and women worldwide. Readers will find a cultural overview of society's changing perception of women and a thoughtful analysis of the directions feminism is taking today.
Other sections include a chronology of significant events, a collection of biographical sketches, and annotated listings of organizations and print and nonprint resources, including Internet coverage. Rounded out by a comprehensive index, this volume is excellent for anyone seeking a one-stop reference work on feminism.

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Judith Harlan - Feminism, A Reference Handbook (19 98).CHM

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Marta E. Sanchez - ''Shakin' Up'' Race and Gender (2006).jpg

The second phase of the civil rights movement (1965-1973) was a pivotal period in the development of ethnic groups in the United States. In the years since then, new generations have asked new questions to cast light on this watershed era. No longer is it productive to consider only the differences between ethnic groups; we must also study them in relation to one another and to U.S. mainstream society. In "Shakin' Up Race and Gender", Marta E. Sanchez creates an intercultural frame to study the historical and cultural connections among Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and Chicanos/as since the 1960s.Her frame opens up the black/white binary that dominated the 1960s and 1970s.

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Marta E. Sanchez - ''Shakin' Up'' Race and Gender (2006).pdf

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James Callanan - Covert Action in the Cold War, US Policy, Intelligence and CIA Operation (2009).jpg

Born out of the ashes of World War II, the covert action arm of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created to counter the challenge posed by the Soviet Union and its allies and bolster American interests worldwide. It evolved rapidly into an eclectic, well-resourced organization whose activities provided a substitute for overt military action and afforded essential backup when the Cold War turned hot in Korea and Vietnam.

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Osprey - Fortress 99 - Steven J Zaloga - Defense o f Japan 1945 (2010).jpg

In 1945, with her fleet destroyed and her armies beaten, the only thing that stood between Japan and an Allied invasion was the numerous coastal defence positions that surrounded the islands. This is the first book to take a detailed look at the Japanese home island fortifications that were constructed during 1941-45. Utilizing diagrams, specially commissioned artwork, and sources previously unavailable in English, Steven Zaloga examines these defences in the context of a possible Allied invasion, constructing various arguments for one of the greatest 'what if' scenarios of World War II, and helping to explain why the Americans decided to go ahead with a nuclear option.

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Wilfred M. Mcclay - Students Guide To U.S. History , U.S. History Guide (2007).jpg

No nation in modern history has had a more powerful sense of its own distinctiveness than the United States. Yet few Americans understand the immensely varied sources of that sense and the fascinating debates that have always swirled around our attempts to define America with greater precision. In this introduction to the study of American history, Wilfred M. McClay invites us to experience the perennial freshness and vitality of this great subject as he explores some of the enduring commitments and persistent tensions that have made America what it is.

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Wilfred M. Mcclay - Students Guide To U.S. History , U.S. History Guide (2007).pdf

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Jae Young Kim - Sorting Out Deregulation, Protecti ng Free Speech and Internet Access in the United S tates, Germany, and Japan (2002).jpg

USA Books - Jae Young Kim - Sorting Out Deregulation, Protecting F... Access in the United States, Germany, and Japan 2002.jpg

This book, as one of the series of law and society studies, deals with the problem of telecommunications deregulation from a viewpoint of political economy. The author tries to provide a clearer account of the complex public interest issues as to universal service and freedom of speech on the Internet. Distinguishably from the mainstream of recent literature of this kind, the study pays little attention to the structural or technological feature of Internet itself. Instead, the author tries to search for the power relations between actors such as government and corporations. For this purpose, the study aims to use empirical as well as normative instruments. It is also a rich comparative study, based on the empirical observations made by comparing the situations of three countries: the United States, Germany, and Japan.

The book allocates almost half of its total pages to the theoretical problems of political economy. Vincent Mosco’s work on telecommunications policy is widely drawn on. However, despite its subtitle, only two chapters are provided for the empirical and comparative analysis of the tree countries: the situation of universal service (chapter 5) and free speech (chapter 6).

The author maintains that the political economy is a way of exploring the social totality. However, in my impression, the study is too much inclined to government-centered analysis. For example, as to Japan, he stresses that the government has taken a very important role in realising telecommunications deregulation, just as in the post-war economic miracle (p 96). This seems an oversimplification. The initiative of government was indeed important in advancing deregulation in Japan. However, without the maturity of private industrial sectors, deregulation can never achieve a competitive and efficient marketplace that has the capacity to sustain public interests such as universal service and free speech. In Japan, many venture companies such as Yahoo BB are also playing a very important role for promoting wider service areas as well as low-cost provision of Internet. The government, gradually losing the trust of people in these days, seems to be seeking a new role as the coordinator of the society. Deregulation inevitably makes the government abandon its controlling position even partially.

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Jae Young Kim - Sorting Out Deregulation, Protecti ng Free Speech and Internet Access in the United S tates, Germany, and Japan (2002).pdf

The government oriented character is also clear from the author’s final recommendations to the developing countries: (1) government interventions should be made for securing universal service of the Internet; (2) government must characterise Internet as an open and public communication medium (p 150).

This book inevitably reminds me of Lawrence Lessig’s work: The Future of Ideas (Random House, 2001). In his book, Lessig deals with the same problem of how the public interest is threatened on the Internet. However, Lessig is acute to the technological structure of Internet, which sometimes is deceptive to ordinary people. Under its artificial structure, the public intertes is restricted without giving any warning to the people or even to the government. The study based on political economy perhaps started from the presumption that human actors can always choose to take the right measures to realise any social objectives which they want. This presumption itself seems to be strongly dubious on the Internet.

Despite these criticisms, the book remains an important contribution, which tries to shed light on recent telecommunication problems from the angle of political economy. The empirical analysis of three nations provides useful introductory observations for anyone who would like to research these matters.

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