Scan barcode
laurarmz's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.0
Very very interesting information and insights. But way too descriptive; instead of focusing on key points and what brought them there, there was a lot of dialogue, names and things that were more information than I needed but not quite a story. Certainly well-researched.
- Pros: I learned a lot.
- Cons: it was kind of boring, even when the events were so emotional.
The last chapter was excellent though.
- Pros: I learned a lot.
- Cons: it was kind of boring, even when the events were so emotional.
The last chapter was excellent though.
pattricejones's review against another edition
5.0
Essential information within an always gripping, sometimes humorous, and at times heart-breaking narrative.
Will Potter begins this book by sharing his own experiences with the blood-chilling fear induced by a visit by FBI agents wielding the word "terrorist" after he had been arrested for leafleting in a wealthy neighborhood. He then recounts the investigative journey into "terrorism" that fear prompted him to undertake. Along the way we meet smug judges, altruistic anarchists, power-crazed prosecutors, and the corporate cabals whose behind-the-scenes machinations result in nonsensical atrocities like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and a special prison for "low-risk terrorists."
If you care about civil liberties or prisons, you need to read this book. If you care about corporate influence in politics, you need to read this book. If you care about the Constitution, you need to read this book. And, oh yeah, if you're an environmental or animal liberation activist--or any kind of activist at all--then, for your own protection, you definitely need to read this book.
Will Potter begins this book by sharing his own experiences with the blood-chilling fear induced by a visit by FBI agents wielding the word "terrorist" after he had been arrested for leafleting in a wealthy neighborhood. He then recounts the investigative journey into "terrorism" that fear prompted him to undertake. Along the way we meet smug judges, altruistic anarchists, power-crazed prosecutors, and the corporate cabals whose behind-the-scenes machinations result in nonsensical atrocities like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and a special prison for "low-risk terrorists."
If you care about civil liberties or prisons, you need to read this book. If you care about corporate influence in politics, you need to read this book. If you care about the Constitution, you need to read this book. And, oh yeah, if you're an environmental or animal liberation activist--or any kind of activist at all--then, for your own protection, you definitely need to read this book.
nathanielcrossinggum's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
This book is so so important for radical activists (especially my friends in the States) and the general public alike. It's a really in depth and accessible look at how the corporate government has weaponised post 9-11 paranoia against environmental and animal rights activists.
I literally could not put this book down. I just had to keep reading and reading and reading. Will Potter really artistically puts together this story of folks just trying to save the environment being met with unbelievable consequences.
I'll be thinking about this for the rest of my life, for sure. Always always ACAB
I literally could not put this book down. I just had to keep reading and reading and reading. Will Potter really artistically puts together this story of folks just trying to save the environment being met with unbelievable consequences.
I'll be thinking about this for the rest of my life, for sure. Always always ACAB
meghan111's review against another edition
5.0
Traces the history of environmental activism and the ways in which activists have been targeted by the FBI in ways similar to COINTELPRO in the 1960s. Potter details the amount of resources devoted to fighting animal activists and the Earth Liberation Front as the number-one domestic terrorism threat - pure insanity. And don't we all love it when undercover FBI agents infiltrate vegan potlucks and try to incite some violence? This book makes me so upset.
linneym's review against another edition
5.0
In 2005, the FBI labeled the "eco-terrorism, animal rights movement" as the nation's top domestic terrorist threat. Will Potter serves up an engrossing account of what happens when corporate money corrupts the US political system.
misterfix's review against another edition
5.0
Having seen the excellent doc 'If A Tree Falls' I was somewhat familiar with the subject but Mr Potter takes the subject and deepens the readers perception in unexpected and powerful ways. He manages to straddle the delicate line of reporting as an "objective" outsider with his own first hand, insider perspective and passions and the result is a stunning examination of a critical issue. The final chapter is a leap of a sort but his research and narrative allow him to make the case for his sobering assessment.
Highly recommend!
Highly recommend!
rica165's review against another edition
5.0
Will Potter has explained the attacks on animal/environmental rights activists in a thorough, thought provoking, enraging and inspiring way. His explanations and accounts of the Animal Enterprise Terrorist Act and its subsequent use in the American judicial system is amazing. To know that there is no official definition of the term "terrorism" in the government is frightening as it is now so freely applied to anyone who leaflets or joins in a protest for the rights of animals or the environment. He illustrates so clearly how history continues to repeat itself when it comes to Americans who apply civil disobedience and the right to free speech when standing up to government and corporations who continue to strip away our rights as citizens of this country. Always in retrospect we see how wrong we were to arrest and kill those who stand up and demand basic human (animal, environmental) rights. From our sister suffragists to Dr. King to Daniel McGowan. Truly this book is an amazing account of our current struggles with our government.
int's review against another edition
4.0
The subject of the book is revolving around “eco-terrorism”, term invented by Ron Arnold in 1983 and defined as being “a crime committed to save nature.” Exploring both famous investigations that caught media’s attention as well as rather small incidents that went unnoticed for one reason or the other, the narrative really keeps you engaged as you turn each page. Since “Earth Liberation Front (ELF)” and “Animal Liberation Front (ALF)” were the primary groups targeted by the American government, a rather large portion of the book covers specifically their members, leaders and their suffered consequences.
Will Potter started down on this path of investigating why animal rights and environmental activists have become the number one domestic terrorism threat, and it seemed as though the reasoning behind it was the same one operative in so many aspects of American politics: money. Anyone, including journalists, could be labelled a terrorist for exposing activities that industry would rather keep secret.
One of the specific cases that can be analyzed even further if the book caught your attention is being highlighted through Adam Durand, a nonviolent activist, that has received 180 days in jail, plus $1,500 in fines, plus probation, plus 100 hours of community service, all for producing an undercover documentary about a factory farm.
Will Potter started down on this path of investigating why animal rights and environmental activists have become the number one domestic terrorism threat, and it seemed as though the reasoning behind it was the same one operative in so many aspects of American politics: money. Anyone, including journalists, could be labelled a terrorist for exposing activities that industry would rather keep secret.
One of the specific cases that can be analyzed even further if the book caught your attention is being highlighted through Adam Durand, a nonviolent activist, that has received 180 days in jail, plus $1,500 in fines, plus probation, plus 100 hours of community service, all for producing an undercover documentary about a factory farm.
daytonm's review against another edition
5.0
Green is the new red, terrorism is the new communism (when it comes to civil liberties), and somehow ecoterrorists and animal rights "extremists" are te FBI's number one domestic terror threat. This is a gripping account of surveillance, the perversion of the word "terrorism," and a totally overreaching government crackdown. Regardless of whether you're a bike-riding vegan or not, this is a scary and readable portrait of how little the First Amendment can mean when powerful interests oppose your cause. If you *are* a bike-riding vegan, it's terrifying and necessary because you might be put on a terrorist watchlist for distributing flyers about a research lab or your friends might be put in secret prisons for burning an SUV--and it's important to understand that we face risks (not as many risks as some, but certainly not risks worth scoffing at), how these risks were put in place so we know how to deal with them, and that these risks are worth it.