This volume provides a history of tax limitation movements in America, showing how direct democracy can, ironically, lead to diminished public involvement in government. Contrary to conventional wisdom, recent ballot initiatives to limit state taxes in the USA have not been the result of a groundswell of public outrage. Instead, they have been carefully orchestrated from the top down by professional tax crusaders: political entrepreneurs with their own agenda.

Winner of the 2013 BEST INDIE BOOK AWARD, Storykeeper is an epic adventure, based on historic sixteenth-century Spanish documents from the expedition of Hernando de Soto through the southern regions of the United States. However, the story is told from the perspective of the people of the Mississippi River Valley, who lived and survived America's deadliest invasion. One hundred cold winters have passed since that first encounter with Europeans when Manaha, Mother-of-None steps before the village fire. Rejecting the taboos of her tribe, the old woman demands that the children be allowed to hear stories and the truth about their ancient homeland, decimated and abandoned not long after the Conquistadors departed. Before Manaha can finish her first story, her fire is doused, and the listeners frightened away by Ta-kawa, a devious but respected warrior. He convinces their struggling tribe of survivors to reject Manaha and her stories. Manaha refuses to stop, even though her listeners must hide in the shadows. The only hope for the last essence of those ancient nations, their unique stories, and history to survive is with a Storykeeper.

13:34-35, the Jerusalem Logion, aligns the rejection of the speaker by Jerusalem both with the abandonment of Jerusalem's house and with the future invisibility and return of the speaker: you will not see me until you say, Blessed is the Coming One in the name of the Lord' (13:35b). The coincidence of not seeing language with a reference to a future coming is reminiscent of the connection, in Jewish literature especially, between the assumption and eschatological function. The book proposes that this reference to Jesus' assumption is a clue to how Q conceives of the post-mortem vindication of Jesus, since numerous Q sayings presuppose a knowledge of Jesus' death. In support of this, the book argues that in Hellenistic Jewish writings assumption was not always considered to be an escape from death (as in the biblical instances of Enoch and Elijah), but could happen at or after death, as was more clearly the case in Greek thought. Such a strategy of vindication is necessary for Q because it evidences a belief in Jesus' ongoing existence and future return as the Son of Man, and because resurrection though a feature of Q's eschatology is not individually applied to Jesus. A similar view is presupposed by the pre-Markan empty tomb tradition, which describes the disappearance of Jesus' body but narrates neither the resurrection itself nor an appearance of the risen Jesus. The book also draws out implications of the thesis for the place of the Sayings Gospel Q within the early Christian movements, particularly vis-vis the vindication of Jesus.

"This body of research not only passes academic muster but is the best guidepost in existence for activists who are trying to use the ballot initiative process for larger policy and political objectives."
--Kristina Wilfore, Executive Director, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center and Foundation

"Educated by Initiative" moves beyond previous evaluations of public policy to emphasize the educational importance of the initiative process itself. Since a majority of ballots ultimately fail or get overturned by the courts, Smith and Tolbert suggest that the educational consequences of initiative voting may be more important than the outcomes of the ballots themselves. The result is a fascinating and thoroughly-researched book about how direct democracy teaches citizens about politics, voting, civic engagement and the influence of special interests and political parties. Designed to be accessible to anyone interested in the future of American democracy, the book includes boxes (titled "What Matters") that succinctly summarize the authors' data into easily readable analyses.

Daniel A. Smith is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida.

Caroline J. Tolbert is Associate Professor of Political Science at Kent State University.