Small Plastic Summer: A Novel

by T. Gate Elton

 

ISBN: 978-0-9766423-5-0

Released 2008-10-20

Size: 6" x 9"

Length: 226 pages

Small Plastic Summer, the debut novel from Pacific Northwest author T. Gate Elton is a self-described "Anti-war, pro-foosball, fictionalized manifesto on the search for God in the 21st century." Elton's tale of Adam Bannerman begins when, along with his loving wife Trish, he moves cross-country to escape a dark family past full of war-time death, suicide, and alcohol-soaked manslaughter. An attempt at a fresh start in the California sun causes Adam to reassess the nature of his own reality, sparked by the discovery of a badly burned Children's book questioning the nature of God.

When Adam unexpectedly finds himself involved in a local Foosball League, he is surprised that this simple game begins to reconnect him with the humanity, both loving and savage, that had been buried in a heart he had kept numb to all but his wife.

In the course of the Summer that follows, Adam will face off in plastic warfare against his friends and demons and ultimately gain a clear understanding of how Foosball holds the key to life's simplest truths.

Full of memorable characters, ridiculous situations, and an inordinate amount of Foosball; this deeply relevant, highly modern work is witty, philosophical, and at times romantic.

The Everstone

by Jon P. Rigby

 

ISBN: No ISBN number.

Released 2008-06-02

Size: 5.125" x 8"

Length: 36 pages

With seven beautiful full-color paintings printed as full-page illustrations, this artistic book presents a delightful story for children or perhaps an allegory for adults. A wizard who has possession of a stone with magical powers befriends two lost children who end up rescuing him and perhaps the world.

Calliope In Time

by Holly St. Clair

 

ISBN: 978-0-9766423-1-2

Released 2008-07-31

Size: 4.375" x 7.125"

Length: 226 pages

Calliope in Time evolved out of the sense that true life is science fiction. The novel follows a timeline reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s "Slaughterhouse Five" as it tells the life story of central character Calliope Wolfe from childhood, through college in the late 1960's, and down the weaving paths of relationships and many road trips, into her carreer choices as an adult, always emphasizing her quirky perspective and spirituality. Calliope struggles through the death of a mentor, converses with a hyper-dimensional entity named Charles, and finds her role in the universe. The story is fun, original, and unpredictable. Author Holly St. Clair invites her readers to run away with the convoluted thinking patterns evidenced in this tale, and blessed be.

Calliope in Time is available from Basementia Publications for $12.50 plus shipping.

The Military-Industrial Complex

by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
With an Introduction by Jesse Smith

 

ISBN: 978-0-9766423-9-8

Released 2006-10-16

Size: 2.75" x 3.75"

Length: 38 pages

A back-pocket-sized book newly available from Basementia Publications contains President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s famous farewell address to the nation, in which he coined the term, “The Military-Industrial Complex.” The Basementia edition features an introduction by Jesse Smith, which explores the historical context and modern-day relevance of Eisenhower’s speech.

Its publishers say that this little paperback, aptly titled The Military-Industrial Complex, was released just in time for the 2006 mid-term elections, but is also timely in a broader context. “Nearly fifty years ago, President Eisenhower was talking about mechanized agriculture and the dawn of the computer age,” says Jesse Smith, the book’s editor and the owner of Basementia. “And now we see in political ascendency exactly the sort of situation he was describing, with an ideologically motivated military conflict of indefinite duration, and this uncontrollable economic monster that feeds off it. Eisenhower still has some lessons for us.”

The Military-Industrial Complex is available from Basementia Publications, with secure payment processing online at www.basementiapublications.com. The little book sells for the very small price of $4.95, plus shipping and handling.

Principles for a Self-Directed Society

by Jesse S. Smith

 

ISBN: 978-0-9766423-0-5

Released 2008-09-01

Size: 4.375" x 7.125"

Length: 226 pages

Principles for a Self-Directed Society is a new book by Jesse S. Smith, which advocates specific long-term policies for government and economic reform in order to advance some very simple goals: Peace, Environmental Restoration, Health and Prosperity, and Basic Rights

Taking the long view, Smith first presents a brief overview of the origins and prehistory of human society, according to science.

The discussion continues with a consideration of the many challenges which must be overcome in pursuit of the four basic stated goals, and some of the means which may be adapted by a self-aware global society in pursuit of a more perfect union. These means include economic reform, political reform to achieve the economic reform, and broader social reform in the interest of freeing society from its historical tendency to be steered by a small minority.

Smith's discussion of debt is particularly interesting in light of the present financial crisis. Check out the selfdirectedsociety.com blog for an overview of how the economic meltdown was the direct result of the dominant free-market theory of economics.

The book then discusses a number of specific political and economic considerations and reforms which are recommended in order to better pursue those goals. After a final brief discussion of the problematic nature of some of the most deeply ingrained fundamentalist aspects of our society, the text concludes with creative visions for a future world, and additional strategies for, as the closing chapter is titled, Consciously Creating Positive Social Change.

Visit the author's blog to participate in the ongoing discussion of the principles and their application to the daily news.