building a democratic culture; and a final section on building a citizen movement, with some suggestions for an agenda for the '80s. The book concludes with nine appendices, including all kinds of organizational and educational resources. The Backyard Revolution provides history, perspective, fact and inspiration-it's a turn-on book that should be read by anyone interested in the promise of citizen participation. let's hope there's a paperback edition soon! -MR "Give Your Hands to Struggle," ruralamerica special issue, Dec./Jan., 50 cents from: ruralamerica 1346 Connecticut Ave. N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Missed last month in my roundup of resources on agrarian issues was one of the most fortifying of them all;: ruralamerica ' s special issue on rural organizing. This issue brings together grass roots success stories and resource lists for emulating them. There's an article by Jim Hightower, who ran for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission and almost won. "Run at them (it gets their attennonl" suggests with wit and insight that too many of us have forgotten that " you cannot have a mass movement without the masses. Nothing rallies them like candidates. . .." Other articles in this issue echo this attitude, but for the most part there is more of a " problem-response" organizing slant here than a "get yourself elected" one. Hightower might call that borrowing power. Nonetheless, people's struggles are having their effect and from New Hampshire (where citizens are rallying to prevent the exporting of their low-cost hydropower to New York) to Westfir, Oregon (where a company town is learning to stand on its own). "local selfreliance" is being practiced more than preached . -CC Citizen's Action Manual: A Guide to Recycling Vacant Property in Your Neigh 'borhood, by the Trust for Public Land, 1980, stock #024-016-00100-1, $2.40 from: Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20402 While familiar to most of us by name, the community land trust is largely an enigma. More often than not inadequate financiaL technical . and organizational information are the stumbling blocks to its effective usage. Two examples that [ am familiar with are from Boston, Massachusetts. In the first case, a neighborhood threatened by outside developers began researching the idea of a community land trust as a way to preserve itself. [n the other case, a community-based gardening network attempted to gain uwnership of open space for community gardens PEOPLE The Life and Adventures ofJohn Muir, by James Mitchell Clarke, 1980, 324 pp., $7.95 from: Sierra Club Books 530 Bush Street San Francisco, CA 94108 Where is John Muir now that we rea lly need him? [n the present grim political dimate, environmentally conscious people should April 1981 RAiN Page 17 take special inspiration from this exceJlent biography of the pioneer conservationist and Sierra Club founder. Muir had the appearance of a prophet and the eloquence necessary to convince policymakers of his day (like Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft) how important it was to save Yosemite and other wilderness areas from the hands of developers. Autl'ior James Mitchell Clarke notes that Muir was recently voted the most important figure in California history by that state's historicalsooety. Perhaps that is something which a very different Californian-JlOWresiding in the White Houseshould reflect on. - Jr Theodore Roosevelt with John Muir at Yosemite. that were being devoured by urban development. Utilizing examples of successful urban projects around the country, G tiun's Action Manual is a solid mtroductory primer on how to organize and develop a community land trust. The manual alternates between baSICorganizing concepts and concrete technical information {e.g., how to utilize taxdeductible non-profit status for gaining ownership of property). Though what technical information is presented is of high merit, [ was frustrated by its brevity. A fairly extensive resou rce list with suggestions on scrounging material and money as well as where to turn for technical assistance and general information helps compensate for this shortcoming. - LS
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