The pseudonymous author of this entertaining and insightful book bases his analysis on three problems faced by the American electorate: (1) We do not understand basic economics, and are therefore driven primarily by envy and greed, (2) We do not understand the purpose of government, and therefore cannot recognize that the State is out of control, and (3) We are not aware of the 'Orwellian semantics game' politicians and bureaucrats use to win popular support for their power-grabbing schemes.

Three hundred pages hardly seems like enough room to pull the scales from our eyes, but 'John Galt' makes a valiant effort to instruct us on 'government and politics as if freedom mattered.' Where I found him most interesting and instructive was when he addressed the aforementioned 'semantic game.' Galt argues that there are critical differences between terms many Americans treat nearly as synonyms: law and morality; money and currency; needs and rights; government spending and private investment; political action and economic results; 'politicians and responsible individuals.' Until we recognize and understand these differences, not only will we never be free -- we will never even be able to *conceive of* what 'being free' really means.

After presenting us with The Ten Natural Laws of Economics, Galt takes us through nearly 100 brief chapters, each one dedicated to a single topic, like Deflation, Envy, Postal Service, Prophecy, Unemployment, and more. While his focus tends to lean toward economic matters, you don't need to be a specialist to understand his arguments.

Most entertaining are the many brief quotations Galt uses to open each chapter. Ranging from Will Rogers and Kin Hubbard ('If there's anything a public servant hates to do, it's something for the public.') to Murray Rothbard and HL Mencken ('A good politician is as unthinkable as an honest burglar.'), these set the flavor for the chapter to come. More importantly, brief excerpts from important works like Isabel Paterson's 'God of the Machine' or Schoeck's 'Envy: A Theory of Social Behavior' tempt the reader to discover these essential books more fully.

Though this book is fifteen years old, the ideas behind it stand the test of time. For a great introduction to freedom and why it matters, this book is hard to beat.

We here in scifi-stories.com just finished reading the last book of this TIMESHIFT trilogy 'What Price Paradise?' and it is very interesting, well thought out and well written. The one that will definitely intrigue you until the end. We can't recommended it enough. For this last book Phillip Ellis Jackson teamed up with author John William Galt, an award winning movie talent, screenwriter, and actor.

In the third book of the Timeshift trilogy we find Elias Putnam discovering a way to send a jumper (what time travelers are called) back in time. Keith Maravich is sent back to save Alicia York and her mother from being murdered, believing that this could fix the calamities mankind has caused.

Carson Gilmore, Keith Maravich's friend, is sent back on a mission to stop Maravich from changing the past. In the middle of the desperation that mankind finds itself in the future, Maravich believes he will do good by affecting the past, bringing the scenario of changing events from the past that could cause irreversible consequences and an uncertain future.

This book is never boring and all connects together very well.

When finishing this books we now wonder, with what new ideas will Phillip Jackson come up with next? We have become his fans as a 'story teller' just as we know many of those that will read these books.