\"My life is not important. It\'s not even very interesting. Ideas are all that\'s important.\"—Eric HofferTHE EXCEPTIONAL LIFE OF THE \"LONGSHOREMAN PHILOSOPHER\"A truly original American writer and thinker, Eric Hoffer was free of the practical pressures that steer many people of an intellectual disposition into conventional channels of thought....

Social Security, long a \"third rail\" in American politics, became a battleground during the 2000 presidential campaigns....