I think this book gives a full explanation of racial harmony. I recommend this for project use. I think the comments about racial harmony are very useful; I find it is very informative.

Sharanya

Many of the reviews posted are so obviously biased for and against taxes or big governement as to make their review worthless.

The book has 38 chapters, nearly every one discusses taxation in a different society starting in ancient Egypt and disucsses taxation by the Greeks, Roman, Russians, French, English, and finally Americans among others. The point is not that taxation is bad, but that corrupt systems of taxation are bad and that taxation above a certain level is bound to fail since people will find ways to avoid it. This is not made up history, there are 23 pages of endnotes and a twelve page bibliography.

There are a number of illustrations, as well as, well written stories from the Rosetta Stone (it was actually a grant of tax immunity); to how Muslims taxed infidels more in order to get them to convert; to Lady Godiva (she made her ride get the King, her husband, to remit the heavy taxes he imposed on the Coventry);, to taxation as one cause of the Civil War that few are aware of (there are 16 endnotes on this chapter alone, many from articles written during the Civil War).

This is a facinating book that should be required reading for every member of Congress.

It's unfortunate that so many American citizens are guilty of imposing willful ignorance upon themselves, otherwise our political leaders would be subject to a tighter leash. Charles Adams wrote this most informative book in the early 1990's and it has resonated with me ever since. He covers the history of taxation from the time of the first recording of history. Indeed the Rosetta stone was a tax document, and like the rest of the book it's a follow-the-money theory of history.

As Adams points out, figurative "mafia families", who have always run countries, have managed to compensate their armies by taxing the productive capacity of their subjects. Adam's central theme is that governments who overtax their citizens are nearly always "hoisted on their own petard." He cites ancient Greece, Rome, indeed governments from all over the world. His end game is to warn America's political elite that they've gone too far in a game where all great cultures have collapsed from within i.e. rotted at their moral core. And, he's right!

This book has many pages of cites and a long bibliography. It's a bit repetitious to read as he covers so many examples to make his point, but it's well worth the attention of every citizen if only they would spare the time.

Every single person who has ever paid taxes should read this book. No ifs, ands, or buts.