...The Assault on Free Speech, Public Assembly, and Dissent: A National Lawyers Guild Report on Government Violations of First Amendment Rights in the United States (August 25, 2004) details dozens of such violations in 20 cities since 1999, most in the context of protest against war and corporate globalization. the Nuclear Resister has chronicled many more such incidents in other cities and towns: this report includes those where NLG members were involved as legal observers, defenders or in subsequent civil rights litigation. The report's political and legal analysis of media, police, prosecutorial and judicial restraint on First Amendment protected liberties is important reading for protest defendants and their attorneys. Available for free download at www.nlg.org, or in print from North River Press, (800)486-2665 www.northriverpress.com

...Keeping America a Free Speech Zone (or what to do when George Bush comes to town) is a fine companion volume to the report noted above. It's "a primer on working with police when protesting the president," based on the experience of Brett Bursey and the South Carolina Progressive Network (see Day by Day, 10/24/2004, Columbia, SC) Available online at http://www.scpronet.com/free_speech_manual.pdf or call 803-808-3384.

...A Space for Peace is an excellent video introduction to space warfare, with images of nonviolent resistance at Vandenberg AFB in California.. Young filmmaker Daniel Reilly made the film with a personal touch and designed it to appeal to younger people and those new to the peace movement. Features Helen Caldicott, Loring Wirbel (author, Star Wars, US Tools of Space Supremacy and Phil Coyle former assistant secretary of Defense. $10 includes postage from the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, POB 652, Brunswick ME 04011. Specify DVD or VHS.

...Prison Book Program (110 Arlington St., Boston, MA 02116, (617)423-3298, info@prisonbookprogram.org), and Inside Book Project, (12th St. Books, 827 W 12th St., Austin TX 78701) are two of several volunteer efforts sending books to prisoners. PBP notes that " Education is the only tool proven to help prevent people from returning to prison again and again." Both welcome donations of postage money and paperback books in good condition. Preferred topics: African American, Native American, Latino and Puerto Rican culture and heritage; dictionaries, GED prep; libros en español; self-help and health; Wicca/Occult; gay/bisexual/transgender studies; trades; psychology and philosophy; classic lit and popular novels.

...Disturbing the Peace - The Story of Father Roy Bourgeois and the Movement to Close the School of the Americas by James Hodge and Linda Cooper (Orbis Books). Paperback, 240 pp. $20. Order at 1-800-258-5838.

...America's Military Today is a critical look at the military from the recruit's perspective, by soldier's rights activist and Citizen Soldier attorney Tod Ensign. (W. W. Norton, publishers) Hardcover, 408 pp. $27.95.

...Nonviolence Speaks: Communicating Against Repression by Brian Martin and Wendy Varney (Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2003) US$23.95 (paper). Within the nonviolence literature, communication has been almost entirely neglected, while within the communication literature, nonviolent action is seldom mentioned. This is the first major study to focus on the joint dynamics of nonviolence and communication. Case studies and analysis to develop effective communication strategies for the struggle.