Title: Not the prayers one might expect
Product review: Writing epigrams in the great tradition of Palladas, Martial, and other satirists, Barth is hell on hypocrites, the pompous, and the chickenhawks who send others to war. About half of this collection reprints the best of a limited edition broadside of epigrams extravagantly attacking John Ashcroft's threat to civil liberties. Like the classical epigrammatists whose work he has taught, Barth is bitter but redeemingly witty and insightful. Every reader should find at least one epigram here that he or she will reread, remember, and pass along. Barth's earlier small-press publications, many about his war experiences in Viet Nam, are hard to find but well worth seeking. This desktop publishing chapbook should be enjoyed and then preserved against the day when Barth is widely recognized as one of the most honest, talented, and uncompromising veteran writers from any of our wars.
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