Thirteen years ago, when I was trying to learn about compassionate conservatives of the late 19th century, Arthur Bonner's book on rescue mission pioneer Jerry McAuley came to my attention. In an unspectacular but convincing fashion, Mr. Bonner told of how God's grace changed an ordinary human being -- sub-human, the Social Darwinists would say, pointing at McAuley's criminal record -- into a rough-cut evangelist who helped to save thousands from the gutters he knew well.
Now Mr. Bonner has extended that story to the present, with straigthforward decriptions of McAuley Mission descendants in Grand Rapids, Syracuse, St. Paul, and other unspectatacular cities which writers looking for the trendy would be likely to disdain ... Tens of thousands of self-sacrificing men and woemn are at work in those rescue missions across the country that are among the best. Rescuers who want to do the job right can learn from the account in this book of ordinary folks who did and do the extraordinary by helping to mend the lives of addicts, offer new oportunities for released prisoners, and give hope to abandoned mothers and children.

In "Alas! What Brought Thee Hither?" Arthur Bonner has done a magnificent job researching virtually every printed word about New York's Chinatown from the 1840's until just after World War II, often quoting long-unheard Chinese voices in the process. His well-organized text is crammed full of fascinating vignettes, detailing the development of that intriguing neighborhood, and the crushingly-hard path that the first couple of Chinese-American generations followed to make a life in this country. Every paragraph reveals some meaty tidbit, with a plethora of period illustrations to round them out. It is not a book that one would normally read cover to cover, but dip into here and there -- a buffet, rather than a banquet. Unfortunately, Mr. Bonner doesn't go any deeper than these journalistic accounts, leaving the tale somewhat bloodless. Women, especially, are given short shrift in Mr. Bonner's tale. Take as an example his claim that the lavishly-dressed ladies lining the walls of grand banquets of 100 years ago were merely prostitutes or concubines waiting for their patrons. Not so, Mr. Bonner. As the great-grandson of one of those women, I can safely say they were simply the wives of the male diners, as the womenfolk were always separated from the men in such public social situations. He also says that the infamous tunnels supposedly used as escape routes for Tong warriors were inventions of the taboid press of the day. Not only were these tunnels real, anyone can visit them today, as they have been turned into a shopping arcade to relieve the overcrowding at street level. Although there are other such missteps, "Alas..." is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in the history of New York City's Chinatown.

A remarkably resiliant traveler, Arthur Bonner chronicles his travels through Afghanistan in the worst years of the war. Actual accounts of battles as well as the state of the resistance abound and are surprisingly informative. However, given the scope of this book as well as the authors own superficial understanding of the situation in Afghanistan renders some conclusions hopelessly floating on the statements of the locals. But despite all this, the book is a good reading and certainly recommended.

What do you visualize when you think about India? Women with dots on their foreheads wearing flowing, silken saris? Ravi Shankar playing strange sounding melodies on the sitar? Beatle George Harrison sitting in the yoga lotus position in deep meditation while patchouli incense wafts through the air? Gentle Mother Teresa ministering to the poor? The language of love in the Kamasutra? Brahman cattle wandering the streets, free from facing the slaughterhouse? India paints a peaceful picture in your mind. In truth, the cattle are treated more humanely than the majority of people in India.

A caste elite dominates India, totally monopolizing the nation's power and wealth. Members of the highest caste, the Brahmin caste, use their power to suppress dissent from those who are not members of their caste. We learn from incidents cited in this book that their suppression has included the use of unspeakable torture, racially based and religiously based exclusion from educational and economic opportunities, and an appalling inhumanity towards non-Hindus. In India, there is no social democracy for the lower castes and non-Hindus. This book repeatedly reinforces this theme.

Caste is a condition determined by birth. There are no social classes in India; there is only caste. In 1980, an appointed commission counted 3,743 castes composed of people who are socially and educationally deprived. Each caste is defined by their traits, such as dialect, and their occupation, such as leather workers or weavers. Over half of India's population are denied opportunities that Brahmins claim as exclusive to their caste.

When the British made India their colony, they assisted in legitimizing the Brahmin position by employing them and collaborating with them by using their existing power over the Muslim minority and the Shudra majority. When India gained its independence, the transfer of power went to the Brahmins, or from the "white" British to the "brown" British. But power over the lower castes had never left the Brahmin Hindus.

In 1938, Mohandas Gandhi, known as the Father of India, defended tradition in The Story of My Experiments with Truth. He did not want to upset the status quo too much, tending toward "separate, but equal" when talking about providing opportunities to Shudras and breaking down the barriers between Brahmins and untouchables. Gandhi saw caste as a natural division of labor. Although Gandhi had visions of a nonsectarian society for India, his words and ideas are largely forgotten in today's India.

At the same time, another leader named Bhim Rao Ambedkar emerged. An untouchable who was educated to the doctorate level in New York and London, Ambedkar called for the complete annihilation of caste. The culture of caste, he said, is "a four-storied building without a staircase." The ideas of another leader are also forgotten. Jawaharal Nehru preached Hindu secularism and called for a national government based upon truth and justice. He wrote: "There can be no equality of status and opportunity within the framework [of caste], nor can there be political democracy, and much less, economic democracy." His attempts to eliminate caste by forced economic development were ultimately a failure. Today, the government, the legal system and law enforcement represent the Hindu elite. Members of the lower castes cannot expect truth and justice from religious and racial bigots.

Statistics about India are staggering - slum and street dwellers account for one half of the main cities' population. This equates to 4.38 million people in Calcutta, 4.12 million in Bombay, 3.2 million in Delhi and 2.1 million in Madras. The top one percent of the people controls 14 percent of the wealth while the bottom fifty percent of the population accounts for seven percent of the monetary resources. In rural areas, only one out of a hundred girls who begin school will finish class twelve. Eighty percent of illnesses are caused by water-borne diseases. Out of 142 major cities, 72 have no sewage systems at all. In New Delhi, with a population of 9.4 million people, untreated wastewater, including 450 tons of solid waste, is dumped daily - directly into the Yumuna river. Unequal land distribution, social inequality, threats of disease, rampant illiteracy, alcoholism, and poverty seem like insurmountable problems when Democracy in India reveals the huge numbers of people affected by the problems.

The population of India is estimated to increase to one billion people by 2000 and 1.7 billion by 2025, but these projections are dependent upon changes in social policies that encourage education of females and improved health care vice sterilization. The government's sterilization efforts are viewed as anti-Hindu, particularly since Muslims may have several wives and many children.

This book brings the reader greater understanding about the institution of caste and how it causes social inequality. The economic health of India suffers because of the immense inequality. India's only hope is mass education, training and human resource development that reaches all of India's people, without regard to their caste, race, gender or religion. Until the population is educated, inequality will cause continued religious intolerance, racial and gender discrimination, and will result in further acts of violence. Although there is a slight editorial error (missing text between pages 133 and 135) in Democracy in India, the authors present a large amount of factual information and clearly interpret the information in the context of caste.