The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) has been active in the United States officially since 1997, causing more than $45 million in damages to various entities. As the organization continues to grow and expand its range of targets, ELF has taken an extreme position against individuals, corporations, and governments that, in the organization?s view, places monetary gain ahead of the natural environment. Rejecting state sanctioned means of legal protest, ELF uses economic sabotage to inflict financial suffering on those deemed objectionable.

In February 2002, the FBI listed the ELF as the largest and most active US-based terrorist group. Although no one has died in any of these operations, ELF?s campaign against loggers, SUV dealerships, and others it considers threats to the planet have galvanized and polarized the environmental movement.

Former ELF spokesperson Rosebraugh charts the history and ideology of ELF and explores their tactics, successes, and limitations. He shows how ELFers offer an uncompromising vision of an earth under assault from the forces of greed and corporate violence, and how they employ direct action against those they deem a threat to the planet.

Rosebraugh also examines the issues of whether violence is or is not justifiable, and the short- and long-term political benefits and drawbacks of using violence. Finally, he offers a trenchant vision of the future of the environmental movement, radical politics, and US democracy under the so-called Patriot Act.

Whatever your view of direct action or violence, Burning Rage of a Dying Planet is essential reading for those trying to understand the mindset and motivations of contemporary radical environmentalists.

"For five years the aboveground face of the underground environmental group Earth Liberation Front (ELF), Rosebraugh is a man of unrepentant revolutionary convictions. From 1997 until 2001, the Portland, Ore., activist funneled 'communiques' from the anonymous and loosely organized 'elves' of ELF to local and national media. This role as spokesperson-publicizing ELF's acts of vandalism, arson and bombing directed against logging companies, 'fur farms,' businesses that develop suburban housing, a Vail ski resort and even SUV dealerships-quickly brought him to the attention of the FBI. Over the years, his several offices and homes were repeatedly raided, he was subpoenaed seven times to appear before Portland grand juries investigating ELF actions, and in 2002-by which time the FBI had dubbed the shadowy Earth Liberation Front America's largest and most active terrorist organization-he was called before a congressional committee investigating ecoterrorism. This candid memoir of a young revolutionary (he was 30 when he wrote the book) is often good-natured and even genial, particularly in its account of those police raids and grand jury appearances. But it's also controversial, as Rosebraugh, though thoughtful and articulate, stands firm in his belief that violence is a legitimate tool in the fight for radical change in America." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Essential reading for those trying to understand the mindset and motivations of contemporary radical environmentalists.

Former Earth Liberation Front (ELF) spokesman Craig Rosebraugh chronicles the history and ideology of the ELF, a group that has stirred controversy with its radical approach to protecting the environment.

Craig Rosebraugh was a spokesman for the Earth Liberation Front from its inception in 1997 to September 2001. In February 2002, he was called to testify before Congress, where he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 50 times. Rosebaugh has appeared in numerous publications, such as the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, National Geographic, and others, and has written for Earth First!, No Compromise, and other radical journals. He lives in Portland, Oregon.