More About LEVER ACTION

Essays on Liberty by L. Neil Smith

The Cover

The young lady on the cover of LEVER ACTION is Lucille Gallegos Kropotkin, whom readers met as a 136-year-old woman in my 1980 novel, The Probability Broach. Lucy was "born in the shadow of the Alamo" and comes from a culture, the North American Confederacy, capable of completely reversing old age, a process she's undergoing when we meet her.

It's easy to see why men in that parallel reality -- including Russia's anarchist prince, Peter Kropotkin -- are unable to resist her charms.

A reviewer once described Lucy as someone who hates government and loves politics. She's also my most autobiographical character, in the sense that, what I think about doing, Lucy is uninhibited enough to go ahead with -- like quieting a room by firing a couple shots into the ceiling.

In her hands, Lucy holds the "cowboy" version of a Model 95 Marlin rifle chambered for .45/70. Looks like it did a pretty good job on the former elephant and donkey behind her. My wife's first deer rifle was a Marlin Model 95. I don't know what's in Lucy's holsters -- usually she carries a .50 caliber Gabbett-Fairfax "Mars", an autopistol famous for causing strong men to tremble at the thought of shooting a second time.

The cover of LEVER ACTION was conceived and executed by my friend -- the most versatile and intelligent artist I've ever known -- Scott Bieser of Riverside, California. We'll see Lucy again in The American Zone, coming from Tor Books this November. They'll also be releasing a new edition of The Probability Broach just in time for Christmas.

The Contents

Those who've already acquired copies of LEVER ACTION may find the following expanded table of contents useful. For those who haven't, here's a peek at what you can expect to find within its covers.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: My Purloined Letters

INTRODUCTION: My Willingness to be Drafted to Run for President

Section I: LIBERTARIAN PHILOSOPHY

1. The LP's First Priority
2. The Atlanta Declaration
3. Bill of Wrongs
4. A New Approach to Social Darwinism
5. The Tyranny of Democracy (Majoritarianism Versus Unanimous Consent)
6. Shop Now and Avoid the Rush

Section II: LIBERTARIAN POLITICS

7. Lever Action -- Accept No Substitutes
8. Hillary Behind Bars
9. Libertarian Second Amendment Caucus Statement of Principles
10. Libertarian Second Amendment Caucus General Resolution
11. The Twenty-Ninth Amendment
12. Tea in a Whole New Bag
13. My Three Tax Programs
14. My China Policy
15. Operation Safe Streets
16. A Desperate Suspension of Disbelief
17. A Lesson in Practical Politics
18. The Return of the Creature
19. Rally Me Not on the Lone Prairie
20. Tactical Reflections

Section III: THE SECOND AMENDMENT

21. Suppose You Were Fond of Books ...
22. Ban a Gun -- Go to Jail
23. The Atrocity Engineers
24. What About England?
25. Nipponese, Ted!
26. Twelve Tips for Safer Schools
27. Kids and Guns at School
28. Murder by Gun Control
29. Armies of Chaos
30. On Concealed Carry and the NRA
31. Screen, Scran, Screwn
32. We Don't Need No Stinkin' Bodges
33. Am I the NRA?
34. How Much Do You Want to Keep Your Guns?
35. Clinton's Crimes Are Hitler's Crimes
36. Diana DeGette Wants You Dead
37. Whodunit? Wellington Webb!
38. Listen to the Women
39. Taking the Mag Pledge
40. Smith & Wesson Must Die
41. Right-Wing Socialism
42. Why Did It Have to Be Guns?
43. A Conspiracy Theory -- Sort Of

Section IV: REPUBLICRAT POLITICS

44. Prometheus Bound -- and Gagged
45. "Do It to Julia"
46. Feeding the Ducks
47. A Revolutionary Proposal
48. Advice to Flat Taxers: Go Jump Off the Edge
49. Bill Clinton's Reichstag Fire
50. Rumplestiltsclinton
51. No, No, Kosovo! No, No, Kosovo!
52. A Note to My Political Allies
53. Security
54. Stars and Bars
55. It's the Stupidity, Stupid!
56. A Tale of Two Hoovers

Section V: A RANT FOR ALL SEASONS

57. An Ant for All Seasons (formerly "Of Ants and Men")
58. The American Lenin
59. When They Came for the Smokers ...
60. Antismokers: Get a Life!
61. The Smoking Goons
62. The Lies of Texas
63. Weird Science
64. When You Wish Upon a Star ...
65. Big Brother is Watching You -- Again
66. I Hate Breakfast
67. Some Not-Quite-Random Thoughts on Americans and Their Cars
68. Sex, Drugs, and Voter Registration
69. The Most Thoroughly "Sanitized" City in America
70. Patching the Patches
71. Scalping Elmo
72. A Culture of Harmlessness
73. The Spider at the Center of the Web

Section VI: SCIENCE FICTION AND LESSER MEDIA

74. On a Clear Day You Can See Bulgaria -- But Who Wants to Look?
75. Merchants of Fear
76. The Manchurian Lobbyist
77. Getting Back at TV Propagandists
78. The Medium is a Massage
79. Parallax
80. I'll Show You Mine If You'll Show Me Yours -- A Challenge to the Canadian Mass Media
81. Robert Heinlein Remembered
82. Don Henley's Revenge (An Open Letter to America's Old Media)
83. Who's the Wacko?
84. A Maple-Leaf Rag
85. Stop the Nagging
86. Unanimous Consent and the Utopian Vision

The Pitch

As you can see, LEVER ACTION is a pretty good bargain, and it's not too early to buy one as an Independence Day present for everyone you know or want to annoy. You can get your cop(y/ies) in three different ways:

[1] To order by phone, call (800) 244-2224. Order-takers are standing by (9-5 Pacific time) to accept credit card orders, at $21.95 plus $3 postage and handling -- $6 for priority handling -- $24.95 or $27.95 total.

[2] To order by mail, send a check, money order, cash, or silver to:

LEVER ACTION
561 Keystone Ave. #684
Reno, NV 89503

Make checks payable to Mountain Media. The price, again, is $21.95 plus $3 postage and handling -- $6 for priority handling -- $24.95 or $27.95 total.

[3] To get a FREE copy, sign up for Vin Suprynowicz's newsletter, Privacy Alert. The charter-subscription fee is $72; LEVER ACTION is your premium for signing up. Send a check made out to _Privacy Alert_ to:

Privacy Alert
561 Keystone Ave. #684
Reno, NV 89503

For multiple copies, the following discount schedule applies:

1-4 books: $21.95 ea.
5-8 books: $17.50 ea.
9 or more books: $13.00 ea.

[4] On-Line Order: By popular request, you can now order my infuriating and funny collection of articles, essays, columns, and speeches directly online, by credit card, paypal, e-gold or check. Simply click on this link, or cut-and-paste it into your browser:

ORDER FROM AMAZON.COM

Thanks for listening,

L. Neil Smith

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