"The article discusses Somali refugees who decided to resettle in Lewiston, Maine, to the surprise of town officials. The Somalis farm small plots and sell their produce to area restaurants. AmeriCorps volunteer William Burke, working for the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project, persuaded chefs to buy from the Somalis. The Somalis arrived in Lewiston by the hundreds, prompting protests from Mayor Laurier Raymond and neo-Nazis."

"Just as "Uncle Tom's Cabin" gave ammunition to the American abolitionist movement, "Max Havelaar" became the weapon for a growing liberal movement in the Netherlands, which fought to bring about reform in Indonesia. Helped by "Max Havelaar," the energized liberal movement was able to shame the Dutch Government into creating a new policy known as the ethical policy, the major goals of which were to promote irrigation, interisland migration and education in the Dutch Indies."

via http://www.cambridgeforum.org/publicity/pr050907.html "This intriguing and lively imagery correspondence is interleaved with Bakke's historical essays about Alcott's life, which provide a concise biography of the women's-movement pioneer. Bakke also expresses an affinity for Alcott's abolitionist stance, which leads her to gloss over the violent acts of Alcott's great hero, John Brown, just as Alcott did. Bakke also reflects on her own radical past. As a former member of the Weather Underground, Bakke has experience with a revolutionary movement and the controversy it engendered and finds in Alcott a kindred spirit. Alcott fans will enjoy the biographical essays and keen manner in which Bakke assumes Alcott's voice and connects two distant eras. Readers interested in the 1960s protest movement will also find much to consider in Bakke's frank assessments of her own turbulent young adulthood. Colleen Mondor Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. "