Book Reviews
by Andrea Garvey • Huntington

THE CATTLE
by Greg M. Sarwa
Ampol Publishing, Inc.
212 pgs. $23.95
Missing children, lost pets, quick access to medical records, security measures to prevent another terrorist attack and a trendy way to put your purchase on your tab (who wants to carry a wallet anyway?). What do these have in common? They play on people’s fears and the need to keep up with the latest technological fad making them compelling reasons for the government to implant an electronic chip under the skin. In Greg Sarwa’s book The Cattle, it is not only good reason; it is the law! In The Cattle, the fear factor has prompted U.S. citizens to willingly trade away their freedoms for questionable protection. Through Homeland Security, everyone, including visitors, is required to have a small electronic device implanted in their hand. They are guaranteed that the device is passive and harmless – to be used for identification purposes only. However, something is terribly wrong. A Homeland Security computer technician makes a horrifying discovery and lives only long enough to pass it on. Although this exciting page-turner makes for great reading, the reality is that Sarwa’s science fiction is happening now! Recently, it was reported in World Net Daily, that CityWatcher.com had “implanted two of its employees in the triceps area of the arm, with the VeriChip,” a radio frequency I.D. tag. This device is being marketed as a way to access secure areas, link medical records and make purchases. Skillfully contrived by the current administration (code orange, yellow, etc.), the fear factor continues to wreak havoc with our anxiety levels. As a result, many of us search desperately for that ever-elusive “sense of security.” In this desperation, we often abdicate our responsibilities. This only exacerbates the problem. When we hand over our personal responsibility to any one else, including our government, we must then be prepared to live with the consequences.

LEFT TO TELL: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust
by Immaculee Ilibagiza
with Steve Erwin
Hay House, Inc., www.hayhouse.com
227 pgs.
Publication Date March 2006
As the ugly, horrific side of history continues to repeat itself, we are presented with one young woman’s story of the depravity to which human beings can fall, as well as the highest expression of humanity through the power of love and forgiveness. Only a decade ago, in the country of Rwanda, over 1 million people including men, women and children were slaughtered in a government-condoned genocide. “How can this happen?” we ask in disbelief. Through the dehumanization process, people can justifiably commit all kinds of atrocities. The Tutsi people, who were the main focus of the genocide, were referred to as cockroaches or snakes, loathsome creatures to be exterminated. It is easy to wipe out a cockroach. We may be disgusted by the mess, but not think twice about taking its’ life. Perhaps when we devalue any other forms of life, we are just one tiny step away from devaluing human life. How else can we explain the continuing outbreaks of genocide throughout the world that continue to this day? During the horrors, Immaculee is lucky enough to be hidden with 7 other women in a preachers’ 3’ x 3’ bathroom. For 90 days, they hid with little food, unable to speak or move about and listening to stories of their families’ slaughter and country’s holocaust. The truly amazing part of this story is that in the midst of death, horror and torture, Immaculee finds God and true forgiveness. Through her we experience the incredible power “of a love for God that was so strong that hatred and revenge were forced to dissolve in its presence.”

Andrea Garvey is Creations’ co-publisher as well as a yoga instructor and singer/songwriter. You can contact her at 631-424-3594 or by email at: Andrea@creationsmagazine.com.