Reviews for Protest Politics: Cause Groups and Campaigns, Vol. 7

The average rating for Protest Politics: Cause Groups and Campaigns, Vol. 7 based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-09-09 00:00:00 Heri Arshal Deceived is a true crime book with such an amazing hook that I'm surprised it hasn't been turned into a Hollywood movie: In the early 90s, at the height of the IRA bombings in Britain, student Sarah Smith is approached by an undercover police officer, Robert, who tells her that her life is in danger from the IRA. He convinces her that she must flee (with him and two others of her student friends) and live anonymously, on the lam, in order to save her own life and the lives of her family. EXCEPT. The supposed undercover officer is just a psychopath with a God complex who wants to see how completely he can control her life. (Answer: a whole hell of a lot, apparently, because for ten years Sarah and her friends do exactly what he says.) The true story behind Deceived is so incredible that I was surprised at how much of a wet fish the actual book turned out to be. A big problem is that the narrative is organised in a bizarre way: partly written in Sarah's first person narrative; partly written in 3rd person, describing the actions of the story's other players; and partly written in an outside authorial voice that explains the psychology behind Robert's actions. The constant shifts in POV, plus the utterly rote style of the description, makes a genuinely exciting story quite boring to read. The book also fails in one crucial aspect: it doesn't convince. I see no reason for Sarah Smith to lie about what happened, but the narrative presented in this book is completely unconvincing. That can only be the result of poor interviewing and poor writing on the part of her co-author, Kate Snell.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-06-16 00:00:00 Marva Harrison Read this awhile ago but couldn't remember the name. This is a true story that had my interest from the beginning. From Amazon: This powerful memoir introduces student Sarah Smith, whose peaceful existence was shattered one day in 1993 when an IRA bomb exploded near her college. In the aftermath of this terrorist attack, Robert Freegard, a barman she had recently befriended, revealed his true identity to Sarah and two of her friends'he was an MI5 spy investigating IRA cells in the area. Because of their knowledge of his true identity, Freegard convinced the three of them that they must go into hiding or risk being killed. Thus began a nightmare for Sarah, becoming a half-starved fugitive living in slums. During this time she lived under multiple pseudonyms and worked menial jobs. Freegard became the only person she trusted. But a decade later, police confronted her with the knowledge that Freegard was not an MI5 agent. He was a conman, and she was one of his many victims. By brainwashing Sarah with such sophisticated techniques that psychologists are still baffled, he had stolen 10 precious years and more than $600,000 from her. This is Sarah Stephens' shocking true story, and a profile of a modern-day criminal genius and master manipulator.