Through a mirror, darkly

Discovering America: Travels in the Land of Guns, God & Corporate Gurus is a interesting read that I happened to see at the local bookshop recently. It's a sort of travelogue cum expose written by a Canadian who spent several years looking for America in places few natives would ever dare go. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote a similar book in the 1800s, Democracy in America which a surprising number of Americans haven't read. He interviews the Michigan Militia, takes a gun class at the Smith & Wesson factory, follows an abortionist in her mission, visits Huntsville Texas for an execution among others.

While he hits all the hot spots there are parts that sting, even for me, in his observations about America so I give the author much credit in doing his homework and being quite observant. It's not a balanced look at the country but then that's pretty evident in the title. Even so, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in exploring how the rest of the world sees the US and are interested in beginning to understand why. It is not unbiased and it will piss you off in places but sometimes the truth hurts.