Customer Reviews

The Progressives' Handbook: Get the Facts and Make a Difference Now, Vol. 1: US Weapons of Mass Destruction, Women's Issues, Education, Mainstream Media

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I consider myself informed but was stunned at the information presented here. I've read Wokusch for years and waited for this book, and it lives up to all expectations. She's got a way of making complex topics understandable and getting across how big political issues affect each of us personally.

The US Weapons of Mass Destruction chapter is amazing, and should be mandatory reading for all Americans. I don't think anyone else has brought out so much information about US biological/chemical/nuclear weapons programs before. Readers will be stunned at how much money is being diverted to these secretive programs and how much danger they pose to all of us.

The Education chapter comprehensively covers threats to American public education. As Wokusch writes: "Put it all together and the Bush administration's scam seems clear: force public schools to meet impossible demands through NCLB testing, don't give them enough money to make the required changes, and then question the patriotism of anyone who disagrees. Shut down the many schools which inevitably fail and offer vouchers as the solution, thereby privatising education and mandating that taxpayers fund religion in the classroom. Nifty way to institutionalize huge corporate profits with almost no accountability."

The Women's Issues chapter is a great review of rollbacks in women's rights under Bush, with witty subsections like "Back to the Kitchen, Betty" and well-documented facts. It's worth buying the book just for the Mainstream Media section on Jeff Gannon alone ("Snow job or blow job?"). Hysterical.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Wokusch describes the problems America is facing but then gives tons of ideas for how each of us can make the situation better. Can't wait to start reading Volume 2.

This November 2007 updated version of The Progressives' Handbook (Volume 1) is even better than the first one, including a lot of new links and information. I've never read a better summary of the Bush administration's hidden weapons of mass destruction programs anywhere else and Wokusch's rundown of rollbacks in women's issues, education and media should be recommended reading for all Americans. She has a fun and accessible writing style, but the information packs a punch. Buy one for your best progressive friend - buy two for your right-wing relatives.

This book is a Progressives' dream.

Here comes a relentless chronicle of what the Bush Administration has brought us in so many areas [US Weapons of mass Destruction, Women's Issues, Education, Mainstream Media, Elections & Voting, Environment, Foreign Policy...]. Heather Wokusch tells us very concisely where we stand as a result, with simple suggestions on what we can do about it.
Chock-full of well-documented facts yet very easy to read, lively, uncompromising, here's the perfect Reference Book for our troubled times.

This was a colossal undertaking, no doubt, on the behalf of us the *real* people who may get confused at times by the thickness of the lies raining on us. This book feeds our mind and also frees our intuition and vision for a better world.

It also provides countless tips on what we can do to hold on to this vision and help it unfold.

What a Must-Read, we have much to thank Heather Wokusch for!

While I enjoyed this book, I found it to be heavy on "women's issues" and light on other progressive issues of importance right now, particularly ENDA and marriage/civil union rights for GLBT persons. I also couldn't help but wonder why this book came out so close to the end of the Bush 43 administration, when it would have been much more helpful to have the information earlier in his term(s) so that one could use the information to take political action.