I’ve just begun reading Wendy McElroy’s new book, The Art of Being Free: Politics versus the Everyman and Woman.*
Not far into it yet but on the very first page of the preface, I found a great quotable. Y’all know this already, but it’s good to be reminded:
Whatever happens within society — from the free market to war — begins with the individual who agrees or dissents. The individual says “yes” or “no” and it is this lever of consent at which freedom lives or dies. You have the right to say “yes” or “no” on matters concerning your own body and property, or you don’t. The former is freedom; the latter is enslavement.
(Not sure whether that’s meant to be “level” or “lever.” But it’s lever in the book and I like the idea that we have a lever — and a place to stand! — that can move the biggest obstacles.)
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* Changed link from Amazon to Laissez Faire Books. No commission for me but (surprisingly) better prices and selection for you.
Fredrick Douglas notably said: “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
True enough, but equally true is that while we always have the freedom to say “no” to the prevailing powers, we also have to be willing to cope with the consequences of our refusal to obey.
I read that “lever” thing as lever… the “yes” or “no” lever being up or down.
In any case, what seems to trip so many people up in this is some idea that they can’t exercise that yes or no without being “allowed” to do so – without government (or society’s) permission or at least tolerance. And it is this which stands in the way of a great many people who might otherwise reclaim self ownership… the idea that they have to wait for permission, or wait for a great many other people to take the risks inherent with bucking the system without permission.
But in the end I live, and therefore “I AM.” I don’t need permission, I don’t need excuses, and I don’t need to give reasons. I just have to live with the consequences of my yea or nay…
Darn! Too bad Wendy didn’t publish in kindle. RATS.
MamaLiberty — The book is available in several e-formats (including Kindle) from Laissez Faire Books:
http://lfb.org/shop/civil-liberties/the-art-of-being-free/
I used the Amazon link for purely self-serving reasons, not noticing that the availability there is so limited. Weird to publish in mobi format then not offer the book on Amazon!
Read this last year, it explains why no Amazon DRMed mobi:
http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.4450
I read in another article that she wouldn’t publish in any DRM format but can’t find it now.
Thanks, AlanR. It’s certainly understandable that she and husband Brad (who wrote the blog entry you linked to) want to avoid Kindle. As a reader, so do I! But Laissez Faire Books definitely has The Art of Being Free on e-formats, including Kindle. So something for everybody …
BTW, the snitch book will be published for Kindle and probably also via .pdf. I seriously wish Amazon would produce a privacy-enabled Kindle. But fact remains that Kindle is still the biggest godsend to writers since Gutenberg’s press.
” But fact remains that Kindle is still the biggest godsend to writers since Gutenberg’s press.”
What makes it so?
I’m asking for information. I’m so tempted to get an e-reader, but do not trust Amazon (for reasons that Brad mentioned) and, besides, I’m not sure I really need one. If I got something other than Kindle, it would probably be the Sony.
Well, that and all the other e-readers (though Kindle is the 800-pound gorilla) enable writers to self-publish and distribute without the cost of paper books or even the time-lag of shipping from a print-on-demand place. Publishing on Kindle via Amazon also allows writers to set their own prices. And terms are so advantageous that a $2.99 book on Kindle can net an author hearly as much as a $29.99 book from a “real” publisher. And way faster, too.
Amazon, all by itself, has taken away nearly all the stigma and impracticality of self-publishing and made it both respectable and practical.
From the cover it looks like you have to be braless and rail thin. WHY do women do this to each other??
FWIW, I doubt that Wendy chose the cover art. Book titles and cover art have always been the publisher’s prerogative — sometimes in consultation with the author, but quite often with none at all.
I’d also guess that’s a cheap stock image that the publisher could easily afford.
LOL, Better than Fabio
Thanks, Claire. I have an android tablet, so am not limited to kindle at all. As you say, it is the most common format, but if I can get a downloadable pdf, I’m happy.
I completed my first novel several months ago and have everything ready to upload to Amazon, but have been dragging my feet… not sure just what is bothering me, really, but I’m trying hard to overcome it so my book will be available. Two more stories are almost done as well, so it may be a group launch! 🙂
LOL, just waiting. While I’m inclined to agree that many, many, many things in this life are better on a book cover than Fabio, the attempt to picture Fabio on a Wendy McElroy book cover has got me in hysterics. Not sure whether they’re the laughing kind or the crying kind, but hysterics.
I’ve got a model ’94 lever of consent…