This little book efficiently catalogues some of the venom that has been spewed at all of our presidents, chronologically. Seems that vitriol is as old as politics, and was just as nasty 200 years ago as it is now. Fun for the political nerd in your life, it's a quick and easy read, and helps us keep our eyes on the fact that nobody in that job has made everybody happy.
For white people, this mind-blowing spotlight of a book pierces the shadows of what we've all been comfortable and complicit with for our entire lives. With what, in fact, our parents and grandparents were comfortable with, and on and on back from the time white folks stepped foot on this land. If only this were a required course in 9th grade, with continuing education beyond, things might start to change. However, the author cites numerous examples of groups of "enlightened" people (white) who came voluntarily to a course to learn more about how to diminish the effects of racism at work, school, etc. only to find that these people are more interested in pointing fingers of blame at others than examining their own shortcomings. The truth is, the problem is in the bedrock of our society and it will take a nuclear blast to unhinge it. That, or years and years and years of slow erosion of the system we have now. 100% recommend this book, although it is a bit painful at times. But that's where we start--by getting a little less fragile.
We've all heard these stories of how elders were left behind to fend for themselves (translation: die) when times were hard for Native American peoples back in the day. Are things really any different now? When oldsters can no longer gainfully contribute, they often get shuttled off to the "home". This book relates the traditional lore of such an abandonment in the harsh Yukon River Valley. When two old women are left behind at the cusp of winter, they have some serious choices to make. Do they surrender to the elements and die? Or do they fight and use the skills they honed as young women to change their fate? And what happened to the people who left them behind? There's a lot packed into this little book. It's a great, quick read, with layered lessons for all of us.
