In May 1988 Claudia Brenner and her lover Rebecca Wight were shot because a man observed their sexual play in a remote camp ground on the Appalachian Trail and was offended. Claudia lived to write their story. Sadly, Rebecca did not.

These events, as well as this book, are compelling testimony to this country's need for hate crime legislation.

This book tells the story from the onslaught of the crime, including the emotions and trauma experienced by the women involved, and go through to the legal conclusions that were a result of this shocking event.

It is apparent from beginning to end that the reverberations from this crime will never stop their rippling effect on not only these women's lives, but our own as well.

That said the only criticisms I have of this book would be with the asides and commentary on the events as they happened. I found the commentary to be distracting, repetitive and detracted from the impact of the unfolding events. Additionally, my sense was that the commentary and reflections were based upon societal attitudes and events of the year 2000, while the event itself occurred in 1988. Due to the changing landscapes between the two time periods, I would sometimes find myself caught up in a type of history test wherein I would find myself checking my own memory against the author's.

While Eight Bullets can be a disturbing book, I still strongly recommend this book to everyone -- not only as a human drama, but also as a chronicle of a historical account of just one of the atrocities committed against lesbians/gays during our time.

Read it, and see if you still question this country's need for hate crime legislation. And when your brother-in-law pushes the special rights button too many times, give it to him to read. Who knows - perhaps he can be educated.

Since we're talking about books, I would like to suggest you join us in sharing a little about your favorite book, or books you find indispensable.

Until next time...