This collection of powerful and illuminating essays by the likes of Alexander Cockburn, Michael Donnelley, Jeffrey St. Clair, JoAnn Wypijewski, and Kevin Gray, among others, makes clear the oft-repeated but fuzzily understood fact that there is ultimately little difference between the two dominant political parties in the US. Even if Democratic candidates talk a slightly more ideologically sound game, their platforms and promises are often just words: Cockburn calls the Democratic Party a "graveyard of movements for social change." The message of this book is not totally cynical, however; it stresses the importance of grassroots efforts and the power of common citizens. In this sea of bland, insincere, greed-fueled politicking, we have to do the work ourselves.