Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution

Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution by Mark Puls.

This is one of the best biographies of Adams I've ever read. If you aren't familiar with anything more than the role he played according to your high school history teacher, you need to read this book. Seriously.

You've probably guessed from the logo picture to the left and on my other blog at MilitantLibertarian.org that I am a huge Samuel Adams fan. Why? Because he was the original Patriot, the Rabble Rouser, the man who made the Revolution happen.

For a dozen years before the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams worked to push the issue of freedom, liberty, and independence for America.

This book chronicles as much of the role that he played as can be known. Unlike most of the other Founding Fathers, Adams didn't write a diary, keep a lot of correspondence, or write a memoir of his life. Samuel Adams wasn't worried about being remembered or given credit. He told his cousin John Adams that he wasn't interested in money, fame, power, or a legacy. He was only interested in securing independence for the millions of Americans yet unborn.

That was the kind of man that Samuel Adams was. In 1775, only two people had warrants out for their arrest when the redcoats marched towards Lexington: John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Hancock was wanted because he was Adams' financier.

This is one of the greatest books you can read regarding the American Revolution and the first years of our nation once established. It details Adams' life throughout, but focuses specifically on the dozen or so years before 1776 and a decade after the Revolution and the writing of the Constitution. These are the times when Adams was relentlessly writing, speaking, stirring up crowds, working the back rooms of political meetings, and getting the job done.

Adams was a master at political intrigue, back-room dealing, convincing people to join his cause, to rally in the streets, and to always push for freedom and liberty.

In short, the title says it all. Samuel Adams was the Father of the American Revolution and the reason our nation began. He is George Washington's equal, if not greater. His example is perfect for the times we live in today.

I highly recommend this book.

Kull: Exile of Atlantis

I love Robert E. Howard. I'm a big fan of Conan. I hadn't read any of the stories in a long time and decided to buff out my collection of books with Howard's name on them. So I did a little search on Amazon and found a LOT of stuff.

Well, I knew that Howard had written some westerns and other stories, but was really only interested in Conan (I thought). I got a good book that is a definitive collection of Conan stories in the order they were published. I'll be reviewing that one soon.

I also found this book of Kull and a couple of other books that I only vaguely was aware existed. Since they are all from the same publisher in the same series of Howard books with his stories in the original (unedited, uncommented) forms, I decided to get others as well.

Boy am I glad I did. Kull is every bit as cool as Conan. In fact, I'm glad Howard didn't do too much with Conan as king, because it would have just been a ripoff of Kull anyway. Kull was Howard's first popular character, by the way, and Conan was actually a construct of Kull--Howard needed a new character and he had some unpublished Kull stories that didn't quite fit the Kull personality, so they became Conan.

This book contains every story of Kull the Exile from Atlantis (aka "Kull the Conqueror" aka "Kull the King"). They're awesome! With his Pict friends, his ignorance of kingly fashion and ways, and his unabashed curiosity and lack of fear set him apart.

Very awesome and I highly recommend you read these. Even if you think you've already read everything Robert E. Howard. Expect to see more books from Howard's collected stories getting reviewed here, I have several now...

Boondock Saints

Boondock Saints is one of my favorite movies. The movie is full of great cinematics, has some really good acting, and an awesome soundtrack.

It's the story of two Irish brothers who work in a slaughterhouse and whose lives take a turn when they find themselves face-to-face with the Russian mafia. They run afoul of the mafia boys while defending their local pub--a matter of pride for any Irishman.

This leads them onto a path of vigilantism, along with their friend who's a local Italian mob "runner," and introduces a gay FBI agent to their cause.

The visuals are awesome, the adventure is great, and the plot is very well written. This movie is highly recommended and definitely one you should own on DVD/BlueRay/whatever.

Defensive Racism

Defensive Racism

Edgar J. Steele, a trial lawyer who has taken on several high-profile First Amendment cases - many of which centered around the question of "hate speech" or "hate crimes," has written an unapologetic book describing racism and what it really means to America: "Defensive Racism: An Unapologetic Examination of Racial Differences."

This is a book that everyone should read, regardless of your racial outlook and beliefs. The back of the book says it bluntly: "Two types of people will pick up this book because of its title: those who support racism in some form; those who oppose racism in any form. Both will be surprised to find something here for them."

The final chapter, "New America," contains a poignant entry which summarizes the state of our nation today:

"We have suffered affirmative action and all that it meant, due to a false sense of guilt engendered in us by others about the treatment of Blacks that we never knew by Whites with whom we have nothing in common except skin color. We didn't realize that we merely were trading places with those discriminated against in the past.

"We have endured the spectacle of renaming schools in cities like New Orleans after Blacks, both notable and unmemorable, thereby erasing the memory of our founding fathers. We have allowed streets, buildings and all manner of public property to be renamed, taking off "Washington," "Jefferson" and the like, to be replaced with "Martin Luther King, Jr." and others whose primary contribution to American society has been their skin color.

"Not a single one of the founding fathers has a holiday named solely for himself. Martin Luther King, Jr., has one, though. We know why."

"We witnessed the spectacle of a statue of American heroes, three firefighters captured forever in a photograph raising the American flag over the WTC ruins, mongrelized in the name of diversity, whereby two of the three White figures were displaced by a Black and a Latino, respectively. We know the truth." (pg. 346, emphasis supplied)

Today's climate is one of "reverse racism" in which the only race capable of being "racist" are white people. We pretend that racial differences do not exist and that "we're all the same," ignoring what we know to be fact (both scientific and historical). Only non-white "culture" is allowed in our schools, parks, and venues to be freely practiced without being labeled "racist." Witness the teenager who was kicked out of school for wearing a t-shirt depicting the nativity during Christmas, but the children wearing "Kwanzaa" shirts were celebrated.

This book is about more than just racism. It's about our nation's current lack of tolerance and suppression of diversity in the name of tolerance and diversity. It's about our nation's teetering on the edge, about to fall into the abyss of empires past, never to return intact. It's about the New World Order and who's really behind it and how it will pan out.

In our nation's (and even the world's) coming downfall, race will be the deciding factor and motivator. Not because one race is better than another, but because we refuse to see the differences and understand the consequences of our actions. Our ancient forefathers knew what racial differences were, but we (somehow) have forgotten them, to our own detriment.

Relearn them again and rise about the hate-mongers currently running our society.

Why Government Doesn't Work

Why Government Doesn't Work by Harry Browne - This is the book written to explain the Libertarian Platform and ideal to voters during Harry Browne's 1996 Presidential campaign.

For fans of Ron Paul today, this book is a great read as Harry Browne set much of Paul's platform for his campaign after Browne's.

This book convinced me that the Libertarian Party's ideal was very close to my own.