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05/16/2005 Archived Entry: "Books, books, books, books -- and universal ID"

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS! That's the theme of the day.

For starters, in a remarkable (if not exactly Twilight Zone caliber) coincidence, I sent the manuscript of one book to the publisher today -- on the very same day another of my books is being officially published. In fact, I was at the P.O. sending off the manuscript about the same time the finished books were being loaded on a truck.

RebelFire: Out of the Gray Zone is on its way from the printer! Give it a couple of days to reach the warehouse ... and all those pre-orders should be on their way to buyers by Wednesday or Thursday. YEEEEEEEEHAWWWWW!

I haven't been this excited about a book since ... well, I've never been this excited about one of my own books. Not even when 101 Things was published. If you haven't ordered your copy or copies ... GO. DO IT. What are you waiting for??? And buy an extra copy for your 12-to-18-year-old friends and relatives. You'll enjoy the novel, I hope. But it's for their future.

And a huge thank you to Aaron Zelman, who was not only my writing partner but who made the entire project possible.

Your Work -- Your Way is the manuscript that went off to Loompanics this afternoon. That's only its tentative title; might change before publication. But the subtitle tells the story: "Spring the job trap and give the Job Culture the boot."

More on books (and on national ID) that came in today:

Wendy McElroy is making a special offer on the anthology she co-edited with Carl Watner, National Identification Systems: Essays in Opposition. The book retails for $45 (trade paperback). Ouch. But now there's a better way. Wendy will send an autographed copy to anyone who donates $40 to her McBlog. I'd go for that.

I have a copy of that anthology, which features both historic and contemporary essays. It includes two or three of my own articles, as well as works by Sunni Maravillosa, Carl Watner, and many well-known and respected scholars. Check it out at Wendy's site, and follow her link to the book's table of contents. It's a fascinating and comprehensive collection that covers everything from Jeremy Bentham's conception of the panopticon to the forcing of surnames upon conquored Indians to "ID Without Big Brother."

Finally, since I seem to be in book promotion mode and on the subject of national ID, I'd like to remind anybody who's concerned about the Real ID Act to read -- or re-read -- I Am Not a Number!

I originally wrote it in the late 1990s after Congress's earlier spate of sneaky ID and database coups. Updated it in 2002. IANAN isn't really the book for the lone wolf who wants to evade (or fake) ID. It could be useful to such a person, for sure. But it's really for those of us who foresee a day -- all too soon -- when universal ID control will make life so difficult for real freedom seekers that we'll all have to band together in outlaw networks and outlaw communities if we want to stay alive and stay independent.

Back in 1998, that seemed like a radical idea -- forming communities to provide the UnNumbered with everything from employment and trade to health services. Now ... it's something we'd better start doing if we want to survive the tyrannical times that are rapidly descending on us.

Posted by Claire @ 08:58 PM CST
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