Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty [Hardcover]

James Bovard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1994

From Justice Department officials seizing people's homes based on mere rumors to the IRS and its master plan to prohibit the nation's self-employed from working for themselves to the perpetrators of the Waco siege, government officials are tearing the Bill of Rights to pieces. Today's citizen is now more likely than ever to violate some unknown law or regulation and be placed at the mercy of an administrator or politician hungering for publicity. Unfortunately, the only way many government agencies can measure their "public service" is by the number of citizens they harass, hinder, restrain, or jail. Already a major issue in the deliberations of the Congress that took office in January of 1995, the power and size of government is certain to be a prominent factor in the 1996 presidential elections. Lost Rights provides a highly entertaining analysis of the bloated excess of government and the plight of contemporary Americans beaten into submission by a horrible parody of the Founding Fathers' dream.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A critic of governmental hypocrisy in his exposes The Fair Trade Fraud and The Farm Fiasco , Bovard over-extends himself in this libertarian broadside against government interventions such as school condom-giveaway programs and the minimum wage. He makes worthy points, however, arguing, for example, that only those who can afford to sue can protect their property rights and that the need for drunk-driving checkpoints results from police incompetence in controlling previously convicted drunken drivers. But Bovard proffers sweeping statements like "Civil rights law has gone from letting black people sit at luncheon counters to entitling people with infectious diseases to prepare and serve them lunch." Another shocker: "The federal tax system has turned individuals into sharecroppers of their own lives ." A bit less bluster and more discretion would have produced a more effective polemic.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

Praise for James Bovard's Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty:

"Remarkable...Mr. Bovard's unrivaled research has resulted in a virtual encyclopedia of modern government abuse." --The Wall Street Journal

"There may be no more cogent critic of today's welfare state than journalist James Bovard...Lost Rights is his finest work yet." --National Review

"A gold mine...a virtually bottomless pit of government incompetence, dishonesty or outright repression at all levels." --The Washington Times

"I would go out of my way to recommend the remarkable book--400 densely packed pages about the mounting war on poverty and contract, the tyranny of taxation, and the growth of federal power in the guise of expanding our rights. In this field, Bovard is surely the leading researcher in the country...Brilliant!" --American Spectator

"Chilling...James Bovard has collected in one volume the evidence of what Americans' willingness to trade freedom for security has cost them...Bovard's catalogue of petty tyrannies is worth your attention. Read it to be reminded why eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." --Los Angeles Daily News --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (March 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312103514
• ISBN-13: 978-0312103514
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,355,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Bovard is the author of Attention Deficit Democracy (St. Martin's/Palgrave, 2006), and eight other books. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New Republic, Reader's Digest, and many other publications. His books have been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean. He is a contributing editor for the American Conservative and a frequent contributor to Freedom Daily.

The Wall Street Journal called Bovard 'the roving inspector general of the modern state,' and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a 'one-man truth squad.' His 1994 book Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty received the Free Press Association's Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism and Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner Award for the Best Book on Liberty in 2003. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought, and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association.

His writings have been been publicly denounced by the chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great but frightening book., August 23, 1998

By 

Greg B. Shoom (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (Paperback)

The United States of America is the greatest country in human history because it is the only nation ever founded on the noblest political principle possible: the principle of inalienable individual rights. But today this principle is undergoing an all-out assault by the enemies of liberty, and the United States is being destroyed in the process. This book presents, in terrifying detail, just how far the destruction of American liberties has gone. Bovard presents a wide range of examples of the arbitrary, viscious use of government power against defenseless citizens, and of the cost in death and ruined lives that this power produces. It is shocking to discover how far the destruction of freedom has already gone in America. Any person interested in protecting liberty ought to read this book.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Government Abuses are Everywhere, October 31, 1999

By 

Bryan Carey "Bryan Carey" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (Paperback)

Do you think the institution of government is generally good? Do you think that politicians have your best interests in mind? Are you a believer in the idea that important decisions should be made by a government authority?

If you truly believe in the sanctity of government, Lost Rights could very well change your mind for good. You will discover that government abuses run far and wide, from police harassment, to IRS intimidation, to government censorship of television and radio.

These abuses are far worse than many people realize. The American public has become too apathetic, too vulnerable to political rambling, and too accepting of abusive, coercive government rules and regulations.

James Bovard provides an excellent account of these government abuses. This book is well documented and convincing. It will change the minds of many liberals.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, December 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (Paperback)

A guaranteed eye-opener for anyone. This book catalouges atrocities that reveal how far we've come from the ideas this country was founded on. The book uses inflammatory language to sway emotions, but even when wary of this, you can't help but be swayed. Read and become aware of our rights and how they are being violated.