Give Me Liberty

September 1, 2008
Wolf, Naomi. Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for Americanionaries. S. & S. 2008. c.381p. bibliog. pap. POL SCI~ Acclaimed author and activist Wolf (The End of America) has written a passionate, practical guidebook to reclaiming and reinvigorating participatory democracy. Recommended for all public libraries. Background: After encountering frustrated, disengaged Americans on a book tour, Wolf rereads the words of American revolutionaries Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, who envisioned democracy as more than a static form of government, as a living, breathing philosophical discipline that must be continually practiced and perfected. The author documents how this dynamic interpretation of democratic principles has become obscured owing to, among other things, the demise of civics and government instruction in American schools. After offhandedly advising a woman to run for city council, Wolf investigates the election process and observes that the "access points" to political engagement--so carefully designed by the nation's founders--have been increasingly concealed under arcane language and bureaucracy.--Dennis J. Seese, Jefferson Madison Regional Lib., Charlottesville, VA.