The pen-name Fred Alcaire is an anagram of free radical and this work, Throwback!, is described by the author as an historical docu-drama. He says it compares the conflicts of the 5^th century AD between Attila the Hun and the Roman Empire with the current conflict between Shaykh Usamah Bin Muhammad ibn Ladin and the USA.

            The book argues the inevitability of such clashes, which it claims are invited by empires because of the very fact and nature of their existence, and postulates that it is the notion of empire which we, as a species, must abandon in order to achieve true progress.

            Alcaire writes : But we would be making a grave mistake if we thought that scientific knowledge and understanding, allied to technical innovation combined with industrial and commercial development, can be used to measure human progress in terms of our being more or less civilised.

            The only true measure of our civilisation is that indicated by our behaviour, by the way we use our knowledge and our technology in our relations with one another as individuals and as national, religious, or cultural groups.

            If we behave like little children, in a self-centred, selfish way, throwing tantrums, and hurling objects at each other as we did hundreds and thousands of years ago; bullets, bombs, rockets and other missiles instead of rocks, spears and arrows, then we are not civilised; we are still savages.

            In alternating chapters the thoroughly researched Throwback! catalogues the events of both eras and with damning accuracy is especially scathing of the present administration of the USA under President George W Bush.

 

EYE ON THE TIMES a collection of published essays from 2006, 2007, and 2008

These essays are arranged in mixed order, as things came to my attention in the world, I wrote about them. I tried to take the most important issue of the day and give it some life for the average person. I put a homespun slant on the worlds issues, so the general public could get the idea of what was going on. The American public likes to be spoon fed the news, so I tied a bib around their necks and sat them down with the problems of the world and made it digestible and tasty. I did not dumb it down; I just made it agreeable with the general way of seeing things. Believe me when I say, the American reader has grown more sophisticated over the years and now needs the stimulation, which brings the world to them in an interesting and palatable form. Read on America and discover that I tried to tell you the truth and I did not sugar coat the obvious dangers we face every day through out the world.

Thank you, Thomas Emmon Pisano

Los Angeles Times Bestseller

Everything you need to know about Iraq in a nutshell!

From the region's ancient history to the 2007 surge, "Iraq in a Nutshell" offers everything one needs to know in order to understand Iraq's contemporary role in global politics.

The author uses highlighted terms, simple, short paragraphs, maps and sidebars to make "Iraq in a Nutshell" an easy-to-read resource. 

Amanda Roraback is a historian, and the author of the Nutshell Notes series of books including: "Iraq in a Nutshell," "Iran in a Nutshell," "Islam in a Nutshell," "Israel-Palestine in a Nutshell," "Afghanistan in a Nutshell," and "Pakistan in a Nutshell." She has appeared as a guest on CSPAN, KTLA, Voice of America, Fox and other radio/TV venues. Roraback is also the author of the news site, worldinanutshell.com

 

Thom Hartmann's comprehensive book, originally published in 1998, has become one of the fundamental handbooks of the environmental activist movement. Now, with fresh, updated material and a focus on political activism and its effect on corporate behavior, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight helps us understand--and heal--our relationship to the world, to each other, and to our natural resources.