National Nurses United

and the filmmaker suggests that Schwarz- enegger was propelled into the Governor's mansion on an Enron-fueled rocket. So the film leaves us with another why? to chew on: How was it that the corporation that caused the California energy crisis and essentially forced Gray Davis out of office met with the eventual governor while he was still just a movie star and almost two and a half years re- moved from declaring his candidacy? —Anna Denham THE GOOD FIGHT: DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDENCE & CLOSE THE DEMOCRACY GAP, by Ralph Nader, 294 pp., $25.95. R alph Nader never fails to tell it like it is. In this most recent book by the tireless activist and consumer advocate, he sys- tematically lays out all the different ways cor- porations have taken control over our lives: our jobs, our healthcare, our electoral system, our justice system, our educa- tion system, our culture, our media, our environment, our atti- tudes, and even our faith that each of us can do something about all the injustice around us. And not just Americans, but working people in other countries, too, since corporations are global en- terprises with global strategies. The two main political parties can't be counted on to chal- lenge the corporations since both the Democrats and Republicans depend on their money to bankroll their campaigns and power. So Nader calls on us, ordinary Americans, to reclaim civic life. Write your congressional representative, get educated about what's re- ally going on, discuss our views with our family, friends, and neigh- bors, support public financing of elections. Learn what motivates you, he says. Is it anger? Tragedy? Indignation? The fight? People have all sorts of hobbies, he says. Why not start one called "Con- gress watching"? Active citizens could form watchdog clubs to col- lect information and hold their elected representatives accountable. If we all become these "supervoters," we will start to see change. "Without such civic engagement, and without candidates for office who faithfully represent their con- stituents, our broken politics cannot be re- paired," he writes. —Lucia Hwang THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SMALLPOX, by Ian and Jenifer Glynn, 278 pp., $24.95 I an and Jenifer Glynn present an interest- ing and informative account of the history of smallpox. The book provides cultural, social, economic, political, and military in- sights into the history of this tragic human ill- ness which, over the course of its activity, took lives too numerous to count. The highly accessible and engaging text, which uses personal stories and anecdotes cou- pled with (not overly) technical medical ma- terial, presents an array of issues surrounding the historical debates concerning inoculation, disease transmission and treatment, and vac- cination. Living in the present world of med- ical organizations and institutions, clinical tri- als, and speedy information transmission, one realizes how much we take for granted when reading about the not-so-distant past when these things did not exist. The only shortfall of the book is that it is too heavily weighted to the time period up to the 19th century. The contemporary history of smallpox (in the 20th century) and its eventual eradication is not given nearly the same atten- tion as earlier time periods and a reader can get overwhelmed with the facts and information provided in the later sections of the text. Furthermore, although the authors pres- ent the recent debate surrounding bio-terror- ism and smallpox vaccination, this timely and significant set of issues needs further devel- opment. Overall, The Life and Death of Smallpox provides a broad and appealing historical in- troduction to a topic which has relevance to current world events. On this basis alone it is a suggested read not only for healthcare professionals, but for anyone. —Mary Orisich NURSING AGAINST THE ODDS, by Suzanne Gordon, 489 pp., $29.95 T he depressing cover of Suzanne Gordon's Nursing Against the Odds immediately sets the tone for the whole book: An extremely defeated, burned-out looking RN sits slumped with her head buried in her hands. For years RNs (individually and in some instances collec- tively) have been engaged in changing the traditional image of being the physician's and administration's handmaiden into being a strong and decisive advocate for their patients and profession. Gordon provides a very accurate description of how RNs are stereotyped in the media and, with a few exceptions, in the en- tertainment industry as well. She is right on the mark in describ- ing the unholy alliance of the nurse managers and administrators with the industry profit mongers, and how nurse managers and administrators have abandoned their patient advocacy duties in favor of promoting corporate interest—creat- ing tension within the nursing profession. Gordon is also on point when she de- scribes the appreciation of nurses by lay peo- ple. The notion of caring, the holistic approach to patient interaction, and the special nurse- patient relationship is particularly appealing. It offers the promise of someone on your side who will escort you through an alien, scary world and "fight for you." This is what patient advocacy is all about. Real patient advocacy got started in the early 1980s with the adoption of the primary nursing care model, where, for the first time in history, the RN direct care and patient advo- cacy role became intertwined. In primary nurs- ing, RNs became patient advocates because RNs planned and provided the care, and col- laborated with other nurses and health practi- tioners about the needs of their patients. Don't C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 5 15

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