Review of "Enemies Foreign and Domestic"

Enemies Foreign and Domestic | 5 September, 2003 | Marktwain

[marktwain]

Enemies Foreign and Domestic by Matthew Bracken, Steelcutter Publishing, San Diego CA.

www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com

I recieved my copy of Enemies Foreign And Domestic on Tuesday evening this week. By Thursday morning, I had devoured the 568 pages. This book was eagerly awaited, as it belongs to that small but growing genre, the distopic future brought about by civil war over the Constitution of the United States, triggered by ruthless suppression of the 2nd amendment.

Only three books of this genre have recieved prominence. They are: The Turner Diaries, a racist, hate filled account where the "heros" are willing to kill off 75% of the people on earth in order to gain political power; Unintended Consequences, a well written, racy, techno-thriller in the Tom Clancy style that I heartily recommend; and Enemies Foreign and Domestic, or EFAD, as I will refer to it in the rest of this review.

EFAD refers to part of the oath that all U.S. government officials and military personel take upon the assumption of their duties to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. A basic premise of the book is that there still are men and women who actually have honor and integrity, who beleive these words when they speak them, and who actively work to follow their oath. Members of freerepublic will recognize themselves in this work.

EFAD is very well written, well plotted, and has good character development. I felt as if I could name friends and enemies who could have been the characters in the book. This book grabs you. The major premises are easily believable. Matthew Bracken knows his subject, and he uses credible human faults and errors to keep the plot plausible. A major strength is that there are no supermen or superwomen in this book. Matthew teaches us subtly by the things that are not mentioned. An astute reader will realize early on that we are at a crucial cross roads. We can move backward, keep the Assault Weapons ban, enlarge it, outlaw private sales of weapons via the "gun show loophole" and continue the march toward the chilling distopia that the author so clearly sees. Or we can move forward, sunset the Assault Weapon ban in September of 2004, and continue to move forward to a renewed era of Constitutional freedom in America.

Read this book. Pass it on to friends. Distribute it at gun shows. Buy lots of copies. I will.

[marktwain]

Perhaps someone will kindly post the link to www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com, as my HTML skills are sorely lacking?

Thank you

[tomakaze]

sure thing
www.enemiesforeignanddomestic.com

[AdamSelene235]

Bang!

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Maybe Matt will help.

Way to go, Travis McGee.

[Travis McGee]

This is what the book cover looks like.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

I sent an order to you.

[Larry Lucido]

Excellent. Can't wait to get my copy! I'll have to get an extra copy or two for friends.

[El Laton Caliente]

How do you expect me to spend $20 when you list AR-15.com on your website links and not AK-47.net!

;^)

El Laton Caliente
Team AK-47.net
Silver Contributor

I'l try to order tonight...

[Travis McGee]

Is AK-47 back up? I was checking a while ago and I couldn't find it. I'll be glad to put a link to AK-47 up, just wait a minute.

[El Laton Caliente]

I was on last night and this morning. They have been slow with the internet worms running around lately, but bowhunt has kept them on line.

Gunboards.com has had trouble recently but it is back up with new software & equipment. I just hadn't been over there lately so I didn't know.

[nonsporting]

My first impression: The cover art leaves much to be desired.

It looks "cheesy", even though we all know
the reference is to the Gadsden Flag (Don't Tread on Me.)

[Travis McGee]

Thank you for your input. My first edition is not meant to be pulled off of the shelves at B&N by soccer moms looking for something to go with their Nora Roberts. It's meant to be in your face, and unmistakeable, so that by word of mouth all gun enthusiasts will be able to recognize it and know what they are ordering.

Future hard cover editions may include some roses twined around the rifle for soccer moms and sensitive souls like yourself.

[Travis McGee]

The link is up now, thanks. I was looking for AK-47 months ago and was under the impression that it had gone under, happily, I was wrong.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I can't wait to get my copies!

It was a great read in the web excerpts, and I understand that it is even better in its final version.

It will be on lots of Christmas lists this year (I already ordered in bulk.)

[Atlas Sneezed]

Only three books of this genre have recieved prominence. They are: The Turner Diaries, a racist, hate filled account where the "heros" are willing to kill off 75% of the people on earth in order to gain political power; Unintended Consequences, a well written, racy, techno-thriller in the Tom Clancy style that I heartily recommend; and Enemies Foreign and Domestic, or EFAD, as I will refer to it in the rest of this review.

---

I would add the gripping and informative "Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse" by James Wesley, Rawles, which has been describes as: either a survival manual disguised as a novel, or a novel disguised as a survival manual.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/156384155X

[bc2]

Another of interest (also by a FReeper, "Ohioan"). I began reading ROTG last night and am already 5 chapters in. As soon as that is competed, I'll start reading EFAD! Go FReepers!!!

Return Of The Gods

A novel based on the Kipling poem The Gods of the Copybook Headings, which confronts the egalitarian fantasies of late 20th Century liberalism, in a riveting tale of intrigue, voluptuosity and violence, as the political economy breaks down under the weight of entitlements.

Charles Stuart, wealthy Virginia patrician, is running for the U.S. Senate as an independent conservative on an anti-feminist, "politically incorrect" platform--better suited to the 18th than the 20th Century. He is gaining ground, but is vulnerable because of a brawling womanizing past.

Maggie Robertson, Sarah Lawrence '92, pretty, intelligent young feminist journalist, is assigned by the New York Times to cover the race. Although considered the perfect antidote to the Virginia "Neanderthal," Maggie is troubled because she does not have an answer to Stuart's rhetoric. She must also come to grips with her own healthy libido and with challenges to her journalistic integrity. Throughout the novel, she wrestles with questions of values and priorities; with the conflicting demands of career and desire; and with some of the more strident realities of human interaction, for which her Ivy League education has not prepared her.

While Congress tries to salvage a collapsing Welfare State, major world banks prepare to withdraw funds before the coming chaos; and ex-C.I.A. operatives, on both the right and left, maneuver for advantage in the expected crisis.

As though to shadow the social deterioration outside, the girls at "Michelle's," an upscale brothel in Virginia, report a sharp increase in requests for the weird and kinky; causing Sarah, a beautiful and successful young whore, whose reaction to Stuart's rhetorical celebration of sex-roles and sexuality is the exact opposite to Maggie's, to reexamine her chosen path, and to embark on a surprising new career.

[bc2]

PS: I am getting a lot of hits at the mirror of the Violence Policy Center page you're featured in!

for better or for worse...

any suggestions if I get served with a "cease and desist" or worse, sued for copyright infringement?

[soundbits]

Thanks for posting your review. I received my copy ysterday, but I have to wait till the weekend to have time to read. I did sneak a peek at the Prologue, though.

[Travis McGee]

They should be glad to get the hits, I'd guess.

The irony of that picture being on the VPC site is really incredible.

[bc2]

no, Travis... I am the one hosting the material (possibly copyrighted by VPC) on my friend's personal web server, so I am the one getting the hits.

In the event that they want to get nasty, either he or I, or both or us, will be served with the "Cease and Desist" papers.

But yeah, the irony is why I mirrored it for posterity :)