LEVER ACTION RETURNS! January 26, 2011
As some of my readers may be aware, I saw my first non-fiction
book, _Lever Action_, into print in 2001, a few weeks before the
“man-made disaster” we now call “9/11″. (The question is still hanging
in the air, which man made it?) _Lever Action_ was — and still is —
a selection of 87 essays I had written from some point in the mist-
shrouded past until it was all put together by my friends at Mountain
Media.
The book was — and still is — quite a bargain for $21.95, and
has what is possibly the best cover painting of any book I’ve ever
written, courtesy of my friend and colleague Scott Bieser. It shows my
popular character from _The Probability Broach_, Lucy Kropotkin, as a
young woman, armed with couple of sixguns and a big lever action rifle
(”lever action”, get it?) based on my wonderful .45/70 Marlin Model
1895CB. Behind Lucy lie the fresh carcasses of a donkey and an
elephant.
The bad news is that, lacking the distributive power of a major
northeastern publisher behind it, _Lever Action_ didn’t sell very
well, and has sort of languished in the decade since it first
appeared. In that time, a great many things have changed, but a great
many more remain the same, and what I said then remains applicable
today.
Notably, the gloves have come off: as of the most recent State of
the Union address, Republicans are now openly trying to marginalize
and dispose of the Tea Parties that put them into office in the first
place, against all odds. The cold shoulder that Fox News and other
“conservative” organs have turned to Michelle Bachmann’s response to
Obama should be viewed as the direst of warnings. Although, for the
most part, the Tea Parties have many aspects libertarians correctly
take issue with, we can’t allow this process to go on if we wish to
preserve this culture’s traditions of peace, freedom, progress, and
prosperity.
The good news is that _Lever Action_ is back, exactly when it’s
needed most. Although the site is still under construction — I wanted
everybody to know, well in advance — it will be an adjunct to my new
nonfiction e-book, _Where We Stand_ which you are invited to read at:
http colon slash slash www dot where-we-stand dot com
There is a great deal to absorb in both books on the site, and I
hope that you will turn to it frequently and pass the URL along to as
many other individuals as possible. What you’ll discover there is the
product of nearly 50 years’ personal experience with politics. There
are arguments there that you can make, not only against the left-wing
socialists who call themselves “liberals”, “progressives”, or
Democrats, but against the pompous, arrogant right-wing socialists who
call themselves “conservatives” or Republicans. Best of all, there are
countless arguments that you can make _to_ our Tea Party fellow
travelers.
You’ll be able to order the original dead-tree edition of _Lever
Action_ from the site, and before long, there will be a dead-tree
edition of _Where We Stand_. Electronic versions should be available,
too.
Once again, if there’s any subject or issue you think I should
cover in _Where We Stand_ before I close the book out and submit it
for publication, please let me know. I believe that we’re on a cusp —
or tipping-point, if you prefer — where we libertarians can have a
hand in determining the course of American history for the next
century.
- Posted in : Politics
- Author :Administrator
Comments»
I owe my awakening to “Lever Action” and have sent several people to the book in the years since. I will immediately blog this great news!
Thank you, Kent, you’re extremely kind. Ken Holder and I are preparing chapters as quickly as we can. I forgot to mention that there are a few funny ones, like “I Hate Breakfast”.
Actually, I think my “Open Letter To Robert K. Dornan” was pretty funny, although he probably didn’t, and you could scrub the names off and re-use it today.
I’d suggest our asinine Middle Eastern policy—in particular, our unthinking support for Israel. For decades, this couldn’t even be debated; even now, bringing it up guarantees all sorts of hullaballoo.
I’ve wondered what would happen if it were proven, to the point that even our round-heeled media had to acknowledge it, that Mossad (or elements within it; spy agencies often don’t have as complete control over their agents abroad as they like to think they do) had known in advance about the 9-11 attacks and deliberately let them go ahead? IOW, what if Justin Raimondo’s accusations were dead on target?
The one odd missing element in _Lever Action_ was a table of contents, which Mr. Smith promulgated online. I’m the one who socked that ToC into one of the Amazon.com review boxes.
I would hope that the electronic version going up has that ToC (suitably hyperlinked) incorporated.
As for a successor collection of more recent articles published by Mr. Smith, might I suggest the title of _Bolt Action_?
To be followed by _Full Auto_ and _Nuke Them From Orbit_, of course.
Followed by _Throw Rocks at them from the Moon_ of course.
Actually, I was thinking of _Son of Lever Action_, _Lever Action’s Revenge_, and _Lever Action Walks Among Us_ — but then I’m sort of an old _Creature from the Black Lagoon_ fan. Hence the title of this blog entry.
And it may surprise nobody here that I do not regard bolt actions as an advance on lever actions. Comparing, say, the ‘98 Mauser to Arthur Savage’s ten-shot attempt at getting an Army contract is revealing. It had a rotary magazine similar to his Model ‘99, and better than the rotary magazine of the famous Johnson rifle.
Hell, I’d rather go into battle (if I had to) with my Marlin 1895CB than my 1903 Springfield.
As for power, the Savage lock design was adapted to the FN-49, which was chambered for cartridges like 7×57, 8×57, and .30-06 and ultimately to the FN-FAL in .308. In the 1960s, Louis W. Seecamp, who had worked for Marlin, made a couple of lever action prototypes chambered for (as I recall) .375 H&H and maybe .458 Winchester, although it may have been one of the .300 Magnums.
One last thing: critics will say it’s hard to work a lever in the prone position. It’s even harder to rest a weapon like the M-16 or the AK-47 with its banana clip sticking out of the bottom.
But as usual, I have digressed …
Lever Action harks back to a time when a: the government wasn’t in your face so much.
and b) people had moving around room to avoid the Big G butting in on them.
I’l take copies however they are named! I’d LOVE to buy a DT version of lever action AND WWS, ASAP, PDQ!
Remember, my fellow O.D.D.FELLOWS To ALWAYS express your allegiance to the ONLY sane group around, the O.D.D.FELLOWS Conglomeration of political activists!
BTW, Richard (you must have brought this up in e-mail) I just asked my publisher if he’d like to do _Their Majesties’ Bucketeers_. We’ll see what he says. I also meant to tell you that there’s a serious error on the original cover. Can you tell me what it is?
On the original cover of “TMB” or Lever Action??
There is a glaring error on the cover of the Del Rey edition (the only edition there is) of _Their Majesties; Bucketeers_.
Or _Bride of Lever Action_ as Robert Anton Wilson called his sequel to +Illuminatus!_ after the Frankenstein franchise _Bride of Illuminatus!_.
Guess he never finished the novel. Read the first chapter in his magazine, whatever it was called.
As for lever action rifles, yes I wish I had a dozen more, I love ‘em (I only have 3). And Mr. Browning’s “potato digger” machine gun was almost lever-action.
All I can think of is guy in red jacket’s third eye isn’t shown.
Anent the Lamviin on the cover of the original and highly treasurable edition of _Their Majesties’ Bucketeers_, not only is the critter in the foreground and dressed in red lacking an eye (such a tragic hatching defect!) but the two visible eyes of the character in green are set much too closely together, and there is a singular absence of nostrils.
Terrible teratogenic deformities on both sides of this deadly struggle, no doubt.
The definitive depiction of Lamviin anatomy is of course to be found in the pages of _Roswell, Texas_, displayed online by way of this same server we’re accessing right now.
And on the bookshelves of all fans of graphic novels with good taste.
Well, I have to agree with Mr. Bartucci, as all three copies of “TMB” I own agree with his description. Of course, since, when the author is Smith, Heinlein, or L’Amour, I RARELY waste time looking at either cover art OR reading the description on the back- I just buy’em! Unfortunately, Henilein and L’Amour jest ain’t a’writin’ much new stuff these days! Go Figger! (like “I died 20 years ago!” is an acceptable excuse for failing to write more books.)
Poster’s edit; should have read as “Of course, since, when the author is Smith, Heinlein, or L’Amour, I RARELY waste time looking at either cover art OR reading the description on the back, so I don’t notice the mistakes- I just buy’em!
Will SOMEONE please either FIX OR REMOVE the webRing “Draft L. Neil Smith for President 2012″ from the openning page??? I can’t get here without AT LEAST 5-6 attempts. I know Neil won’t tolerate being drafted for ANYTHING! I don’t know about YOU guys, But I don’t need a .40 Liberty or a .45 WinMag through MY skull for trying, so I won’t sign on. But this damn campaign is rapidly becoming a spam attack, and it’s pissing me off. HELP!!!!!!
I assume that Mountain Media is no more, as the “Buy It” link for _The Black Arrow_ on Vin’s site goes to abebooks.com. Glad I got my DT copies of the first run of _Lever Action_, _Send in the Waco Killers_, _The Ballad of Carl Drega_ and _The Black Arrow_ (that last with both cardboard and leather covers).
Ward, if you go to the specified site, you’ll find it’s an independent location belonging to Vin and Amy, sort of under the wing of AbeBooks.com. I, too, assume that Mountain Media is gone, but these are all the same books that were originally published by MM. I signed a passle of them for Vin when Scott and I were in Las Vegas last year or whenever it was.
As I understand it, although I am not a gunsmith myself, part of the problem with lever-actions for military purposes (they were used some—see the Battle of Plevna in one of the Turco-Russian wars) is that sharp-pointed military-style bullets and tube magazines don’t mix so well. About the only lever I’ve ever seen with a box mag was chambered in .30-40 Government.
And, being left-handed and left-eyed, I’m not wild about most bolt actions, although I _can_ use them.
You’re right, Eric, that lever actions tend to be ambidextrous in use. And it’s equally true that Winchester (and Marlin) types have historically used blunt bullets, and there are plenty of photos of blown-up tubular magazines to prove the wisdom of that.
I’m hearing good things about new bullets that have rubbery tips, safe in the magazine, aerodynamic when fired. I was surprised to see you can get them in .45/70. I’ll try them as soon as I can.
The problem with lever actions that don’t use tubular magazines is that they’re pretty much limited to the capacity of bolt actions. The one you’re thinking of is the five-round 1895 Winchester. I had one in .30-40 Krag and it was less than a splendid experience. Another is the vastly more modern Browning BLR, but it’s limited to 3-4 rounds. The 1899 Savage is five, I think, or six.
Arthur Savage’s stab at a military rifle had a guppy-bellied ten-round capacity, but never got beyond the prototype stage.
Neil- what about the Lever-gun with the slightly twisted tubular magazine specifically designed for pointed bullets? I mis-remember the manufacturer, but I remember the mag- was it practical? I think it was desigend for a 30-06. I’d also like to know if you WANT to be drafted to run for Pres. If so, I’ll work my ass off for you. But if’n y’all don’t want to do it, well, I value my skin un-perforated.
I don’t believe I’ve heard of that gun, Neale. Can you find out more?
All that stuff about my being drafted for President is very old news. You’re right, I have no interest in running for or being President (although I’m thinking about sequel to _Hope_).
Emperor, maybe …
I did not say this.
I was not here.
Savage model 99?? I only remember it from Gunsmithing school, nearly 2 decades ago!! I think it was a tubular mag, where the tube had a slight spiral to it, so each ppointed bullt would rest it’s tip on the rim, rather than the primer, preventing the chainfire problem.
On the whole President thang, How about “Neil and Neale, 2016. Two Neils are better than one!” as a slogan?? We’d be the first openly (and heavily) armed candidates since Teddy least! I don’t even know if TR carried on the campaign trail. How about Ken Hamblin for campaign manager (he refused to speak at places they prohibited him from carrying his Browning Hi-Power. You run for pres, I’ll do the campaigning, and Cathy can tell me when I screw up! If you got 20+% of that Denver vote for $44, what can we do with a few thousand bucks??
OK, I have had it. I need to be able to find these WebRing assholes and rip them a new one. It took me LITERALLY 11 minutes to finally get to log on to this site. EVERY time I clicked here, it took me to the ring. Open this page and sit still, it went there. Open the page and head to the scrolling arrow, it went there. Try to open TLE, it went there. I want names and e-mail addresses, ’cause i’m gonna rip someone’s head off and shit in the hole, THEN I’m gonna get nasty. If I want to go to the Neil Smith Blog Site, THAT’S WHERE I WANT TO GO, NOT TO SOME OTHER PLACE!! GRRRRRRR!!!!! I am so fucking pissed right now, I forgot what I REALLY came here to say!!
AHHH, NOW I remember it. Recently, the Detroit Public School system expelled a boy for possession of a butter knife in his lunch bag due to their “Zero Intelligence Policy” on weapons in school. So, today they announce that Sikh children,( required from the time they are “baptized” they are REQUIRED by religious dictates to carry a dagger as a symbol of their dedication to the fighting of evil wherever it may rear it’s head) may now carry those daggers in school, reversing their decision before Christmas about a 4th grader’s Kirpan dagger. This decision sets a precedent I want us to consider exploiting. I now announce the Ameerican branch of the Sikh/Smith faith. Our new faith requires ALL members of the faith to be armed with a weapon capable of firing a MINIMUM of 5 rounds without reloading and two tactical re-loads at all times. The prospective member must have read “The Probability Broach”, “Pallas” and at LEAST 5 essays of our particular branch’s prophet, Mahaneilie, ElNeil Smith. We have NO dietary, dress, or worship requirements. We DO, however, require STRICT adherence to the Z.A.P. As an established religion (if scientology is a religion, THIS can certainly pass as one), prevention of our RTKBA would be a violation of freedom of religion. Are you with me????
HA! I’ve got an autographed copy of Lever Action, still in very good condition. I still flip through it on occasion.
Curious, why do you always provide the link as “http colon slash slash www dot where-we-stand dot com” rather than providing a real hypertext link?
“NO dietary…requirements”?
Not even pizza?
-
How about a koan?
“A thief is shot in the night. Whose hand is on the bow?”
-
And I want a Nobel Peace Prize for our Mahaneilie.
In the words of the great Prophet Keith Laumer
“Ain’t nobody as peaceful as a dead trouble-maker.”
Neale, no need to start a religion (remind me to tell you setime about the Rational Libertarian Church). If they’ll let a Sikh carry a kirpan, then under the 14th Amendment, they _must let you carry a Bowie knife (or whatever).
BTW, I like Sikhs — they’re nature’s Klingons.
TWH, why do you always give us your initials instead of providing us with your name? Actually, I do URLs that way because this software deletes them if I do them the right way. I don’t know why, I don’t know how to fix it (although there is a way) and I don’t have tme to screw with it.
And there _is_ a dietary requirement, Doc. Communion is taken in the form of barbecue and Mexican beer.
Prefer bourbon and water chaser with my barbecue.
Am getting tired of public schools and other b’crats who think common sense is not required to make law work.
Richard- I meant more on the lines of “Dietary RESTRICTIONS” There ain’t nothin’ we CAIN’T eat.
As to the NPP for MHN, done! We can’t have our prophet living with a mortgage and bills, and there ain’t no such thing as an offertory plate here! (A beer and barbecue plate……..)
Neil- what I like the most of Sikhs is that it really isn’t much of a religion, it’s more like a philosophy of how to survive amongst the Phillistines (at least, that’s MY interpretation from the little I know of them). As to the Mexican beer, Sorry, but I don’t LIKE beer. I will, however, hoist a flagon of mead, a Jack and Coke, or a Southern Comfort and lemonade (the last being summertime only) as a replacement beverage.
Also, as to the 14th Amendment, sorry, but that dog won’t hunt. They are allowing Muslims to have Bhurkas on for ID pictures, but forced my mother in law, undergoing chemo and at the super straggly stage, to remove a bandana from her head for the DL photo. I even brought up the Bhurke thing, and the answer was “If it isn’t for a recognized religious purpose, you may not conceal any part of the head in ID photos!” Unfortunately, as with the Bill of Rights, the14th is void where prohibited by law (or bureaucratic whim).
Al- why the hell do you think I call it a “Zero Intelligence Policy”????
For your knowledge, I intend my Sikh/Smith gunpan (the proper term for a Sikh/Smith religiously mandated sidearm) shall be a ParaOrdnance P12/.45 for formal situations, and a P14/45 for informal conversations. Following the dictates of SS teachings, that means that at all times, I’d have either 37 or 43 rounds of religious discussion materials on me at all times. “Can you say Hydrashok, infidel dog?”
Notice the two fun/important things about the Sikh/Smith faith? First off, the pun in the name. Second, with the American passion for using only initials means the media will shit their pants once one of them first refers to us as the “American SS” Hmmm, Maybe it SHOULD be the Sikh/NeilSmith branch…… Any comments?
Neil, just habit from email threads at work where we litter our comments with our initials to indicate who said what.
Since I’m a Matrix fan, my suggestion would be _Lever Action Reloaded_.
Another sect that might seek 14th Amendment protection of their religious rights in schools would be worshipers of the Norse gods.
“Unless I have my unsheathed sword in my hand at the moment of death, they won’t let me into Valhalla!”
“So we can’t even peace-bond the damned thing?” demands the vice-principal.
“Odin’s blood, no! What kind of gods-hating monstrosities are you people, anyway?”
“Mr. O’Reilly, you’re not Scandanavian in descent. We’ve traced your family back on your father’s side, and they came over during the Potato Famine. On your mother’s side, you’re Jewish and Mexican. You CAN’T claim legitimate Norse ethnicity.”
The student sniffs dramatically. “My people practiced the old faith in secret, in spite of the priests of Rome and the Church of Ireland. All through those centuries of oppression….”
“Mr. O’Reilly!”
“Look, are you going to let me carry my broadsword or not?”
“This is about those kids making fun of your red hair, isn’t it?”
“Oh, they’ve quit doing that ever since I started wearing chain mail and a steel helmet to class. No, the sword is just in case the school catches fire or I have a heart attack or something like that and - Odin forbid - I can’t get to my locker before I depart Midgard.”
“Mr. O’Reilly, you’re fifteen years old. I doubt that you’re going to have a heart attack.”
“You never know,” cautions the student. “All this stress over standardized testing….”
&One of my students used to wear chain mail to school. D&D thing.
The thing is…I _am_ Scandinavian (pure Norwegian on Dad’s side; Mom’s side was English/Scottish, which means a large admixture of Norse and Saxon genes) so I might have been able to get away with that.
Except that they knew me too well, and knew that my patron god was/is Loki.
Let’s not forget that Heimdall is the Norse god of freedom… ’cause the price of freedom is eternal vigilance!
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