cover image The Dissenters: Voices

The Dissenters: Voices

John L. Gwaltney. Random House (NY), $19.95 (321pp) ISBN 978-0-394-52725-3

Those who contributed to this oral history of principled dissent by University of Syracuse anthropology professor Gwaltney (Drylongso, etc.) have in common their rebellion against institutions and pursuit of what they perceive as truth and justice. Lack of such dissent, cautions the author, allows tyrants like Hitler to prevail. Each of these ""soldiers of conscience''men and women of all ages, races, creeds and occupationsrecounts issues that led to their confrontation with authority, sometimes at the cost of jobs and reputation. Dissenters included here range from a Puerto Rican mother protesting conditions at her daughter's school, clergymen offering sanctuary to Central American refugees and nuns rebelling against a patriarchal heirarchy, to a daughter's court action against the army for her father's death in a ``chemical warfare'' experiment. The threat of a nuclear holocaust and proliferation of toxic wastes engender the most widespread dissent. Photos not seen by PW. (July 24)