this red book box (#89063) with a black inner frame has the usual mix of fiction & nonfiction…read morebooks. reads: "Charlotte's Web" (E.B. White) classic children's book. -Fern Arable gets a piglet named Wilbur whom she raises. Wilbur isn't befriended by any animal. only a barn spider named Charlotte talks to Wilbur. soon Fern isn't concern about Wilbur either. -Wilbur hears he will be slaughtered upon maturity. Charlotte starts spinning messages on her web like "some pig!" & other phrases praising Wilbur. pig becomes a tourist attraction, is temporarily spared. -Wilbur is entered at a county fair and wins a special prize. Charlotte, about to die, knows that Wilbur will be spared. -Charlotte's descendents keep Wilbur company in the barn....

Yellow book box (#16105) has white sides and a tiled roof. contains a broad diversity of books…read more book box is made from leftover wood, supplies. reads: "America's Concentration Camps" (Allan Bosworth) intro to book: "..In winter ('42)...hundred thousand Americans were quietly taken from their West Coast homes, their land, their businesses, and placed in concentration camps in remote sections of the West.. reason: National Security." -not one evidence of espionage, sabotege has been credibly found in Hawaii or the mainland. -camps were guarded by guard towers. camp surrounded by barb wire, some camps lacked running water, uninhabitable. -entire families housed in one room locations of concentration camps: -Manzanar, Tule Lake, Ca. -Poston, Gila River, Az. -Granada, Co. -Heart Mountain, Wy. -Minidoka, IA. -Topaz, UT -Jerome, Rohwer, Ak.

this yellow library with black box has tiny xmas lites attached around it. small & medium sized…read morebooks, mostly fiction. some children's books. reads. "Escape From Freedom" (Erich Fromm) -the rise of market capitalism leaves the worker with freedom that isn't easily attainable. rather than pursuing it individually, the worker entrusts the task to the prevailing political wind. -after Nazism achieved political power. Germans, not wanting to be left out when other political parties were abolished, acquiesced to Nazi policies, going with a winner. -Nazism appealed to the lower middle class who were resentful, hateful of the petty bourgeois, loved the strong, hated the weak. they were petty, hostile, suspected and hated the stranger. to avoid Nazism, Fromm advises democracies to allow citizens to think/act independently in a freer society.

this brown book box (#2115) was the first free library in Alameda. it was made from repurposed wood…read morefrom a fence. A long note on the transparent pane explains in the the climate about George Floyd, B. Taylor et al., only books about the Black Experience, white privilege, anti-racism....should be left here. whoops! most of my books were donated earlier to another Alameda nonprofit. saving what i can find for here.... reads: "the souls of black folks" (W.E.B. Du Bois) -published in the early 1900's, collected essays offers a bit biography, some Black History, the evolution of the Black Church, the need for Black education beyond technical skills, the "contradictions" of being an American and a Black person while the "color line" exists..... from back jacket cover: "..In every essay, (Du Bois) shows the consequences of both a political color line and an internal one.... What emerges is a manifesto calling for a new class of African-American intellectuals and a transcendent program for change.."

This little Free Library is in natural wood color. It is well-constructed with a latch on the…read morefront that seems to be a little bit loose. But overall it's a pretty decent box. It's got a nice peaked roof as well. Lots of books inside. Could perhaps use a little TLC

this Little Free Library has a new signage and a fresh coat of paint recently. books within mostly…read morefiction with a few children's book on the upper right shelf. the 2 shelves were full with books lying flat in front of uprighted books. touched only one. mostly glanced at the titles. wasn't interested in any. parking right in front.

This is a large little Free Library with excellent brass hardware and one shelf inside. It's mostly…read morestocked with novels. It's pretty large, and I think it will hold lots of books. What's really interesting is there as an attic upstairs which is very attractive. Excellent design

brown box with a gray roof (#18846) with a variety of nonfiction, fiction, sci fi, fantasy books…read morelying on their sides. books are jam packed. didn't take them out for a view, just perused. reads: "Goliath: The 100-year war between Monopoly Power and Democacy" (Matt Stoller) -an ambiguous review of America's last hundred years when monopolies, trusts and banking concentrations were established and later decentralized. and how they were allowed later to GO BIG! -most relevatory section is when the Democratic Party began to embrace, big business, big banks, & big tech & ignoring the working people and small businesses in the US. notes: -book is pricey ($25) saw it in the library when it was still open, *most of books either from library or bought in thrift shops, seldom new.

This is a well-constructed, pretty little free library in the front yard of a very attractive…read moreresidence. There's a nice latch that works well on the front and the boxes colored in blue and rust color. It's got a glass front that also well constructed.

this green book box has a purple roof and a red frame. within are a mix of medical, nonfiction &…read morefiction books. reads: "the black american writer, vol. 1:fiction" (edited by c.w.e. bigsby)'69 *a collection of interviews and literary critiques by a literature lecturer -literary critiques mostly by white writers of black writers-long winded, not interesting, some remarked about "bitterness" tone of negro writers. -interviews of james baldwin, ralph ellison, various black authors insightful regarding themes, character development, sources for narratives in novels. *not recommended, just the interviews are worthwhile -book was "withdrawn"/discontinued? from a mass. library. saw it in a free library.

this troquoise book box with a purple triangle is in front of Little House Cafe contains mix of…read morefictions, nonfiction books. reads: "Identity: the Demand for dignity and the politics of resentment" (Frances Fukuyama) -Fukuyama traced political identity from Plato to the present day. main themes are the human desire for recognition and dignity. *short book identifying identity politics but offers no realistic solutions. themes: -identity politics = beliefs based on ethnicity, race, religion, sexuality or other parameters, not on politics of equality and brotherhood. -declared liberal democracies in the Western world would defeat communism. ("The End of History....) and is abolute top rendition of the fromer. now he's concern identity politics will derail liberal democracies. -claims identity politics are exclusive in nature and doesn't work for the common good. examples: a)"upper class form identify politics on campuses that ignores glaring inequaities of the top 1% & the remaining 99%". b)"newer groups draw attention away from older, large groups, whose 'serious problems' have been ignored" c)"focus on lived experience threatens free speech in the public sphere".. -identity political led to "politics of resentment" a)which claim mexicans are ruining the country b)and they are not permitted to talk about it. c)facilitated the emergence of Donald Trump et al. who performed as a fighter for right-wing identity against political correctness and oppossed changes to the national, ethnic and racial makeup ot the US. D.T. was also a trojan horse who gave away America's assets to the 1% in the name of freedom while further improversing the 99%. note: identity political & "politics of resentment" seem mirror images of each other. Fukayama's book is based on US history only. he opposed Trump's ascent. Trump's identity politics is similar to the nationalism trends in India, Italy, Sweden, China, and most of Eastern Europe. Fukayama's identity politics thesis doesn't address the entitlement, subjagation, & privilege issues in America that gave rise to identity politics. his preordained solutions are too simple, his analysis of identity politics is too narrow. Fukayama's book is thinly researched per his narrow focus. it's still a great book. focusing on what's happening in real time, not pre-ordained will enhance the creation of a a realistic narrative and/or solution.

this grey book box with a white frame door (#100134) has a mix of fictions & nonfictions…read more reads: "Snoopy and the Red Baron" (Charles Schulz)- -Snoopy is Charlie Brown's dog in the "Peanuts" comic strip, main characters are Charlie Brown, Lucy (the one who yanks the football away), Linus, Schroeder, Woodstock... -Snoopy is my fav, daydreaming dogfighting with WWI German ace pilot Red Baron. Snoopy always gets shot down. it's his tenacity and gung-ho, can do attitude i like. unlike Charlie Brown's fatalistic attitude that Lucy will yank away the football before he can kick it. -when Snoopy isn't fighting the Red Baron, he's laying on top of his dog house daydreaming. what a life!