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[mouse]

I am reading a book at the moment called "the girl in the glass box" by James Grippando.  I have read some of James Grippando's books before and they seemed to be quite good so I got this one from the library last week.  It is a new one, dated 2019, and all his books are set in Florida, the Bahama islands or around that area.  He always talks about the X Cuban population in Miami and other nationalities have "bit parts".  However, now this book seems to be a work specifically designed to drum up support for illegal immigrants from every South American country, every Island in the vicinity and African countries just for good measure.

It is an over emotional story of woman and her teenage daughter who "escaped" poverty and gang violence in El Salvador, and "drips poignancy from every page".  They are living happily in a wonderful melting pot of multiculturalism in Miami only for the mother to be "tackled to the ground" and handcuffed by an ICE officer who is built like a linebacker just as she is about to reach her front door to warn her daughter that 'ICE are coming", then she is taken (while bleeding) to a detention centre some hours away, which the author takes great pains to point out, is just like a prison.  The daughter escapes detention by the evil "ICE" because she knows the law and knows that ICE officers can not come into the house of an "undocumented immigrant" without a warrant if the door is shut (they even sit in a van outside her house waiting for her to come out, for 5 hours but finally give up).

I've only got up to page 87 so far but I think the rest of the book is about her teenage daughter's valiant struggle to get a lawyer and free her mother.

When did so many books from America go through to the rest of the world, criticising American policy?  It seems weird.  Books aren't supposed to be telling the world "how awful is the Whitehouse and the American government", they're supposed to be telling us the opposite.  When I came to "Jack had officially heard everything:  A legal argument based on Whitehouse policy ………… which meant that the attorney general could direct immigration judges on how to interpret the law, and if the attorney general didn't like that interpretation, he could fire them" I thought "am I reading a novel or an editorial from the Washington Post?

I'm sure that pre-2017 (or so) books weren't like this.  Dang, another of my favourite authors "gone over to the dark side".

Can anyone recommend any good books that could be described as "political thrillers" that have a "freedom" theme?  (Ok, maybe "political thriller" and "freedom" is an oxymoron, so how about a political or legal thriller by someone who is not suffering from "Trump derangement syndrome"?)

Are there any authors left who haven't been bitten by the "Trump derangement syndrome" bug?

[jamie]

1776 by David McCullough is a terrific book

and I have to recommend Unintended Consequences.

[Tahn L.]

1776 by David McCullough is a terrific book

and I have to recommend Unintended Consequences.

Unintended Consequences. 

[mouse]

Is "Unintended Consequences" authored by David McCullough too?  Sometimes you get better results by typing in the author's name.

I looked it up on the library site and the only book called that, that came up, was a book about the unintended consequences of dieting, "why we are obsessed with losing weight".

I got "1776" though but I have to wait until it becomes available, it is "on loan" at the moment, so "pending".

Thanks.

[jamie]

Is "Unintended Consequences" authored by David McCullough too?  Sometimes you get better results by typing in the author's name.

I looked it up on the library site and the only book called that, that came up, was a book about the unintended consequences of dieting, "why we are obsessed with losing weight".

I got "1776" though but I have to wait until it becomes available, it is "on loan" at the moment, so "pending".

Thanks.

Unintended Consequences is a novel by John Ross, first published in 1996 by Accurate Press. The story chronicles the history of the gun culture, gun rights, and gun control in the United States from the early 1900s through the late 1990s. Although clearly a work of fiction, the story is heavily laced with historical information, including real-life historical figures who play minor supporting roles. The novel also features unusually detailed and intricate facts, figures and explanations of many firearms-related topics. The cover has a picture of Lady Justice being assaulted by an ATF agent. The book was listed by The New York Times' Sunday Book Review as one of the most sought after out-of-print books of 2013. (less)


I think but don't know that it is out in paperback.  If you aren't a member of the gun culture or at least have a pretty good historical  knowledge of guns there are parts that you won't understand and might not like.

It is one of the seminal works of American freedom.

[mouse]

That stupid library site still says that that book doesn't exist, and I typed in the author's name and it came up with "Jack Ross".  I'll have to go into the library and see if I can find it.  Failing that, there is a 2nd hand bookshop in town, that's where I got the books about the "Waco siege", David Ray Griffin's one about "9.11" and some of my other favourite books.  I'll check there next time I go into town, I'll just have to wait for a good excuse to go.

Thanks again.

[slidemansailor]

When I read that the ATF were harassing gun shops and traders at gun shows for selling a book, I was smart enough to buy a copy.  Holey Smokes!  Not only a great read, but were I so inclined, a great investment.  I have a hardbound, gently read by two book lovers that in like new condition is selling for $200 and UP!

Form a micro-book-club and buy a copy or two.  They are apparently good investments.

https://www.amazon.com/Unintended-Consequences-John-Ross-dp-1888118040/dp/1888118040/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=

[slidemansailor]

Much easier on the pocketbook and along the same line are the Mathew Bracken books, starting with
Enemies Foreign and Domestic.  I have not found one I did not enjoy reading. 
No.
Stated more accurately, I enjoyed every single one he has written.

[mouse]

I went to the website and found Brad Thor, I have read at least one of his books (The Lions of Lucerne), maybe others but I don't remember.  On the library site there were several of his so I "earmarked" 3 of them.  You have to be careful as some of them are audio books or kindle and I only want hard copies.

A search for Matthew Bracken came up negative.  I'll have to rely on the bookshop for that.

[jamie]

Mouse, here is a review of Unintended Consequences. the first time you read the book you might want to read it again and maybe a third time. I haven't read it for years but I think I will again. There are a lot of typos and such in the book, it isn't well edited but it is a very compelling read as are the Matt Bracken books.  I haven't finished his last but the one before that Castigo Cay was pretty good too.  Did you ever read Bracken's short story "what I  saw at the coup" ?

 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2929658/posts

It Changed My Thinking
By Thriftbooks.com User, April 27, 2003

I'm a pretty conservative guy. I follow rules because I find it comfortable to do so. I stop at stop lights and do a lot of things I would rather not do as well as not doing things I would like to do because I find this an orderly and secure way to live.I do recognize that there are many stupid poorly conceived laws and rules but I still comply. I have never thought about starting a revolution because the trivial moronic little rules and regulations that we are requested to comply with are unreasonable in a free society. But that is the topic of this book.Few books in my life have changed my thinking over the long term. Unintended Consequences did this. This book is about the gun culture. How it began and where it is today. I never never never thought about how not only many of the Federal firearms regulations are but in a more global sense how many of our regulations are ridiculous.This may sound like a vague description of a 800+ page book. But this book is so global. It talks specifically about Henry Bowman who grows up shooting guns as a hobby like many others collect stamps or ride motorcycles. Yet he explains very slowly and methodically how his life experiences with his hobby are hampered unreasonably by Federal regulations. You do not have to be a gun lover or hater to appreciate this book. You only have to have a hobby or passion; any hobby or passion. You will see how our Constitution and Bill of Rights have been beaten and changed, how we are losing our individual rights and how dangerous the repurcussions.Please read this book for the message, it will change you.

[Bill St. Clair]

I have a PDF copy of Unintended Consequences. It's been out of print for a long time, and all you can find are expensive used copies.

https://billstclair.com/Unintended-Consequences.pdf

[mouse]

You and Tahn have convinced me to read "unintended consequences" and books by Matthew Bracken, but I'm getting really annoyed with "search engines" for the library and various bookshops coming up with dumb statements like "did you mean 'might break' or 'match brass' - or something equally as stupid when I search for Matthew Bracken like "did you mean 'Jeremy Rose' or 'Jeff Rosset'" when I type in "John Ross".

I will find these books eventually, but it seems that the only way to do it is to physically go to bookstores or the library and go through what they've got.  I'll have to wait for the school holidays to finish unless I want to take three bored grandchildren along, who want things bought for them every day.  (At least they're not teenagers yet.  Out of the 3 grandkids in my custody, the oldest is turning 11 on Sunday and has accepted that he can't have a cell phone or a tattoo until he is 18 and so has settled for a remote control car and some aftershave lotion - even though he doesn't shave yet).  There is another grandchild on the way but I'm not taking any more.  My daughter has a 2 year old, a 3 month old and is planning another one for next year or soon after but doesn't know what to do with her 2 school age stepchildren so brings them over every day.  So my time is not my own - at least until school starts up again.

However, I will get to book searching as soon as I can.

[mouse]

I have a PDF copy of Unintended Consequences. It's been out of print for a long time, and all you can find are expensive used copies.

https://billstclair.com/Unintended-Consequences.pdf

Wow, thank you so much Bill.  That solves a lot of problems.

[Tahn L.]

Bill, I would like to thank you also! It's been years since I have read it and I have given all my copies away. Many Thanks for preserving Liberty, in all the ways you do. Wow!

[Tahn L.]

Mouse,

 In reading the foreword to "Unintended Consequences" , I was reminded of another book I could recommend, Mila 18 by Leon Uris.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mila_18