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Learn More about Bill's Books


“PUT YOUR PENCILS DOWN, I AM GOING TO TELL YOU A STORY”


THAT’S ALWAYS BEEN MY APPROACH TO LIFE.



Bill Meulemans

My primary focus has been the study of opposing political groups in the United
States, Israel, and Northern Ireland. At the beginning of my career, I was
appointed to a post at Southern Oregon College (now Southern Oregon University)
where I brought revolutionary members of the left and right into my classroom.
Working with my students, we developed models that illustrated the sources of
political attitudes and methods for resolving community conflicts. My early
research was centered in Oregon and California, but later I moved into the
southern and eastern areas of the United States where I did a series of
interviews with members of the Ku Klux Klan and various racial and ethnic groups
in urban areas.

After a long tenure as a professor of political science at Southern Oregon
University, I was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Israel. I spent my days
with the Israelis in Jerusalem and my evenings with Palestinians in Ramallah.
One year later, I accepted a teaching post as a professor of politics at The
Queen's University of Belfast where I split my teaching duties with the task of
developing contacts inside paramilitary units on both sides of the conflict in
Ulster. I conducted on-the-ground research on a daily basis in both Catholic and
Protestant working-class neighborhoods. After more than a decade in the North of
Ireland, I returned to the US as a professor of political science at Portland
State University where I offered a course titled "War and Peace in Northern
Ireland."

Looking back on my work, I began studying Democrats and Republicans, then I
moved on to liberals and conservatives, later I began to focus on radicals and
reactionaries, then I went international contacting Israelis and Palestinians,
and finally my work today is centered on the Catholics and Protestants of
Northern Ireland.



My two most recent books are a product of my evolution toward direct-action
politics.




BELFAST FLASHBACKS

This book tells the story of the Northern Ireland conflict during some of the
darkest days. I present 28 personal stories written through the eyes of both
Irish nationalists and British unionists. There was considerable risk for me in
gaining access to the rank and file members of both warring parties. My contacts
included paramilitary members, prisoners, government officials, taxi drivers,
clergy, community workers, journalists, writers, college students, ordinary
people, and the police. My best stories are about situations where unexpected
factors came into play. I learned the most when I was immersed in circumstances
that were far beyond my control.

I spent nearly all my 14 years in Ireland inside the small embattled Catholic
and Protestant neighborhoods of Belfast. I knew all the nooks and crannies of
the City better than I knew my hometown back in the United States. I had more
friends in Ulster than I did back home.

It was important in my work that I had no ties to either side of the conflict.
My neutral approach paid off as I gained the individual confidence of people who
seldom trusted anyone outside their neighborhoods. Belfast was my home away from
home. In addition to my individual connections, I had contact with hundreds of
young people through The Queen’s University where I taught the “Politics in the
USA” course for 11 years. It was one of the most rewarding times of my life.


Amazon



DYNAMITING THE SISKIYOU PASS

I’ve spent a good part of my life covering stories that seemed nearly
unbelievable. Four men that I knew planned to blow up a section of Interstate 5
to block hordes of Chinese Communists who they believed were ready to pour over
the border from California into Oregon and sweep up into Portland and Seattle.

Other stories in this book include the time I spent with a guru from India who
advocated “free love” for his 7,000 followers inside an armed camp. I’ve covered
a state governor who set up an illegal rock festival to save a large city from a
devastating urban riot. I was threatened by a small-town dictator who
alledegedly ordered a contract killing on one of his enemies. And my weekly
radio talkshow was shut down when a listener said “the cross-hairs of our rifles
are on the back of your neck.”

Getting off the beaten path opened a lot of doors for me and enabled me to bring
the “real political world” into my college classroom where I was a professor of
political science. Sometimes my exploits upset a few folks. For example, the
members of the local John Birch Society tried to get me fired. But I confronted
them by inviting myself to their John Birch Christmas party. We had a lively
discussion of the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. My career
was never dull.


Amazon

 * “Meuleman’s attitude reminds me very much of two of my favorite commentators,
   Robert Reich and Paul Krugman: solid, practical, down to earth, compassionate
   and caring, science based, but also fully aware of human nature. It is
   reasoned and reasonable in every respect. I can’t recall one instance where I
   didn’t agree with and/or admire his analyses.” - Dean Silver 06/23/2023

 * “There are so many fine books to read that my practice is to rarely read a
   book twice. But I think this one may be an exception.”

 * “Bill Meuleman’s latest book takes full advantage of his unique story telling
   style to correct the misconception that Portland is Oregon and offers us a
   new corrected cultural political map of Oregon.”



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