These days, rural Oklahoma is the last place anybody would look for leftist revolutionaries, but in 1917 the area exploded into full-blown insurrection. The state's tenant farmers, many of whom were Socialist Party members, viewed the Great War in Europe as a conflict that benefited only the rich. When the federal government enacted a draft, an uprising in eastern Oklahoma saw local townspeople skirmishing with rebellious farmers, including whites, blacks, and American Indians. More than 250 men were arrested -- some sentenced for up to ten years' imprisonment.

This is the backdrop of William Cunningham's powerful novel "The Green Corn Rebellion." First published in 1935, it tells the story of Jim Tetley, who wants simply to be a good farmer -- if the banks will only let him. As Jim copes with poverty, family rivalries, and community tensions, he must also weigh the need to respond to the call for armed rebellion.

Although the insurrection itself succeeded only in undermining the socialist movement and fueling the Red Scare of the 1920s, Cunningham's incendiary writing has been compared to that of Erskine Caldwell. A uniquely American story with roots set deep in Oklahoma soil, "The Green Corn Rebellion" will attract all readers interested in the state's tumultuous history and in populist causes.

The Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies, a radical labor union, played an important role in Oklahoma between the founding of the union in 1905 and its demise in 1930. In Oil, Wheat, & Wobblies, Nigel Anthony Sellars describes IWW efforts to organize migratory harvest hands and oil-field workers in the state and relationships between the union and other radical and labor groups such as the Socialist Party and the American Federation of Labor.

Focusing on the emergence of migratory labor and the nature of the work itself in industrializing the region, Sellars provides a social history of labor in the Oklahoma wheat belt and the mid-continent oil fields. Using court cases and legislation, he examines the role of state and federal government in suppressing the union during World War I.

Oil, Wheat, & Wobblies concludes with a description of the IWW revival and subsequent decline after the war, suggesting that the decline is attributable more to the union's failure to adapt to postwar technological change, its rigid attachment to outmoded tactics, and its internal policy disputes, than to political repression.

A sixth collection of captivating courtroom dramas, starring Julian Rhind-Tutt as Horace Rumpole Rumpole and the Way Through the Woods Rumpole makes friends with a dog named Sir Lancelot, and finds himself defending a hunt saboteur who claims to be guilty of murder. But Horace is convinced that the true culprit is among the hunting fraternity. Rumpole for the Prosecution Rumpole's personal commandment is 'Thou Shalt Not Prosecute' - but he breaks this rule to take on a private prosecution brought by a dead girl's father. However, an obscure literary reference and a piece of evidence that doesn't fit bring his defender's instincts to the fore... Rumpole and the Quacks Temporarily indisposed, Rumpole consults a charming Indian doctor who later asks for Horace's help when he is accused of molesting a patient. Meanwhile, Rumpole's friendship with Phillida Erskine-Brown deepens as both their marriages hit a tricky patch. Julian Rhind-Tutt stars as Rumpole, with Jasmine Hyde as Hilda, Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown and Cathy Sara as Phillida.

Laos, 1976. The monarchy has been deposed, the Communist Pathet Lao have taken over. Most of the educated class has fled, but Dr Siri Paiboun, a Paris-trained doctor remains. And so this 72-year-old physician is appointed state coroner, despite having no training, equipment, experience or even inclination for the job. But the job's not that bad and Siri quickly settles into a routine of studying outdated medical texts, scrounging scarce supplies, and circumnavigating bureaucratic red tape to arrive at justice. The fact that the recently departed are prone to pay Siri the odd, unwanted nocturnal visit turns out to be an added bonus in his new line of work. But when the wife of a party leader turns up dead and the bodies of tortured Vietnamese soldiers start bobbing to the surface of a Laotian lake, all eyes turn to Siri. Faced with official cover-ups and an emerging international crisis, the doctor enlists old friends, village shamans, forest spirits, dream visits from the dead - and even the occasional bit of medical deduction - to solve the crimes.

Julian Rhind-Tutt takes on the role of Rumpole in this fifth collection of cracking court cases. Rumpole on Trial Suffering from toothache, Rumpole is in no mood for his client's boring testimony or Justice Gwent-Evans' impatience. But when he argues with the judge, he is warned in no uncertain terms about his future conduct. Soon, Rumpole finds himself on trial and facing the end of his career... Rumpole and Hilda Rumpole's long-suffering wife Hilda ('She Who Must Be Obeyed') narrates a fascinating tale of murder and romance that Horace would prefer to remain untold, and gives Rumpole - and us - a glimpse of her true, passionate nature. Rumpole and Memories of Christmas Past Rumpole spends an unexpectedly rewarding Christmas in Norfolk; discusses the spirit of Christmas with the Mad Monk; and learns that the season of goodwill is shared by barristers and criminals alike. Rumpole and the New Year's Resolutions Rumpole has an interesting encounter with Santa Claus at a Chambers Christmas party, finds himself on babysitting duty after a blackmail trial, and attends a traditional British panto - where he recognises a familiar face. Starring Julian Rhind-Tutt as Rumpole, Jasmine Hyde as Hilda and Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown. A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.