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Reading that opens the mind - Books
- Thread starter midcan5
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #42
If you read one political science book in your lifetime, read Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville..
I didn't read the entire book but many excerpts, seems he understood Americans then, and Americans today ain't much different.
'In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own.'
'As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answer to this single question: how much money will it bring in?'
'In other words, a democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.'
All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.'
'I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America.'
Alexis de Tocqueville quotes
-----------------------------------------
Just finished three Cormac McCarthy novels, like Faulkner only darker and more evil, but beautifully done if you love words and writing. Thinking of attacking Vollmann's 'Rising up...' in the abridged edition. Even that is a bit of a monster read for the busy hard working liberal.
'Rising Up and Rising Down : Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means' by William T. Vollmann
- Thread starter
- #43
Just bought George Saunders' latest book, anyone in for a good laugh check out his work. 'CivilWarLand' first.
Read 36 of these with bits and pieces of others I could not finish or whatever. I still think Dostoevsky's 'Brothers Karamazov' the greatest novel of all time. Read Camus, Borges, Ellison, Faulkner, but where the heck are Golding, Greene, Malraux, Yeats, Shaw, Huxley, Stevens, Bellow, Steinbeck, Milton, T. Williams, Eliot, Maugham, etc in this list? Maybe I missed them?
'The 100 best books of all time' How many of these "100 best books of all time" have you read?
The 100 best books of all time - 'Things Fall Apart,' by Chinua Achebe - CSMonitor.com
“Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either.” Gore Vidal
Read 36 of these with bits and pieces of others I could not finish or whatever. I still think Dostoevsky's 'Brothers Karamazov' the greatest novel of all time. Read Camus, Borges, Ellison, Faulkner, but where the heck are Golding, Greene, Malraux, Yeats, Shaw, Huxley, Stevens, Bellow, Steinbeck, Milton, T. Williams, Eliot, Maugham, etc in this list? Maybe I missed them?
'The 100 best books of all time' How many of these "100 best books of all time" have you read?
The 100 best books of all time - 'Things Fall Apart,' by Chinua Achebe - CSMonitor.com
“Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either.” Gore Vidal
Just bought George Saunders' latest book, anyone in for a good laugh check out his work. 'CivilWarLand' first.
Read 36 of these with bits and pieces of others I could not finish or whatever. I still think Dostoevsky's 'Brothers Karamazov' the greatest novel of all time. Read Camus, Borges, Ellison, Faulkner, but where the heck are Golding, Greene, Malraux, Yeats, Shaw, Huxley, Stevens, Bellow, Steinbeck, Milton, T. Williams, Eliot, Maugham, etc in this list? Maybe I missed them?
'The 100 best books of all time' How many of these "100 best books of all time" have you read?
The 100 best books of all time - 'Things Fall Apart,' by Chinua Achebe - CSMonitor.com
Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either. Gore Vidal
I've got both "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline" and "Tenth of December" on hold at the library. There's a waiting list for both.
The Social Construction of Reality A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge
Society as a Human Product, Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann
The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois
When Affirmative Action Was White : Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America, Ira Katznelson
The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the Twenty-First Century, Robert McChesney
Class and Power in the New Deal: Corporate Moderates, Southern Democrats, and the Liberal-Labor Coalition, G. William Domhoff
unequal protection the rise of corporate dominance and the theft of human rights, Thom Hartman
Society as a Human Product, Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann
The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois
When Affirmative Action Was White : Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America, Ira Katznelson
The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the Twenty-First Century, Robert McChesney
Class and Power in the New Deal: Corporate Moderates, Southern Democrats, and the Liberal-Labor Coalition, G. William Domhoff
unequal protection the rise of corporate dominance and the theft of human rights, Thom Hartman
Wry Catcher
Diamond Member
- Banned
- #47
Too many books, too little time. Fiction can many times offer greater insight into humanity (or inhumanity) with greater clarity than the most researched tomes of non fiction.
Fiction which influenced me and in no particular order:
"The Red Badge of Courage"
"The Ox Bow Incident"
"All Quiet on the Western Front"
"The Grapes of Wrath"
"Brave New World"
"Johnny Got his Gun"
"The Jungle"
"The Octopus"
Fiction which influenced me and in no particular order:
"The Red Badge of Courage"
"The Ox Bow Incident"
"All Quiet on the Western Front"
"The Grapes of Wrath"
"Brave New World"
"Johnny Got his Gun"
"The Jungle"
"The Octopus"
- Thread starter
- #48
Just bought a slightly used copy of this book, it looks fascinating, check the index on Amazon, I'll put the link at bottom.
"A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government' by Garry Wills
This too looks fascinating, although I doubt I will read it someone else may find the topic interesting. Only so much time in this short life.
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Invention-Heterosexual-Culture-Louis-Georges-Tin/dp/0262017709/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8]The Invention of Heterosexual Culture: Louis-Georges Tin: 9780262017701: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
Another odd but maybe interesting topic - Bombs.
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/A-History-Bombing-Sven-Lindqvist/dp/1565848160/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8]A History of Bombing: Sven Lindqvist, Linda Haverty Rugg: 9781565848160: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
A lawyer defends the sometimes indefensible.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EXECUTION | Twelve Books
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Necessary-Evil-American-Distrust-Government/dp/0684870266/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8]A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government: Garry Wills: 9780684870267: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
"A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government' by Garry Wills
This too looks fascinating, although I doubt I will read it someone else may find the topic interesting. Only so much time in this short life.
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Invention-Heterosexual-Culture-Louis-Georges-Tin/dp/0262017709/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8]The Invention of Heterosexual Culture: Louis-Georges Tin: 9780262017701: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
Another odd but maybe interesting topic - Bombs.
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/A-History-Bombing-Sven-Lindqvist/dp/1565848160/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8]A History of Bombing: Sven Lindqvist, Linda Haverty Rugg: 9781565848160: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
A lawyer defends the sometimes indefensible.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EXECUTION | Twelve Books
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Necessary-Evil-American-Distrust-Government/dp/0684870266/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8]A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government: Garry Wills: 9780684870267: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
- May 23, 2012
- 10,511
- 2,333
- 280
A pretty good read is "War is a Racket" by General Butler. After retirement he started thinking about his career and realized he had been nothing but a hit man for corporate america. I'm not sure those were his exact words but basically he realized war is a business or racket and the very wealthy always make a bundle and of course they never put their lives on the line by putting on a uniform. Nothing changes. I bought the book but it can be found online free I think.
Last edited:
- Aug 16, 2011
- 128,154
- 24,184
- 2,180
A pretty good read is "War is a Racket" by General Butler. After retirement he started thinking about his career and realized he had been nothing but a hit man for corporate america. I'm not sure those were his exact words but basically he realized war is a business or racket and the very wealthy always make a bundle and of course they never put their lives on the line by putting on a uniform. Nothing changes. I bought the book but it can be found online free I think.
Some people actually make money manufacturing surgical devices
eek. This is clearly proof that surgery is just a racket some greedy sons-of-bitches came up with to line their pockets. I mean, these charlatans don't go under the knife or do the cutting themselves if they can possibly help it, do they? What a scam.
you forgot to mention The Communist Manifesto By Karl Marx.Someone asked recently which writer influenced you most, and I list three, Albert Camus, Thomas Wolfe, and Feodor Dostoevsky. For Camus it was all his writings, Wolfe's 'You can't go home,' and D's 'Devils' and 'Brothers Karamazov.'
So I complied a more modern list of reading that challenges and will surely make you think. And raise your IQ as well. Four asterisks are excellent first reads. Most is nonfiction, I will add fiction writers at end.
What We Leave Behind By Derrick Jensen
Amazon.com: What We Leave Behind (9781583228678): Derrick Jensen, Aric McBay: Books
Media / Hate / Ecology ****
Amazon.com: The Culture of Make Believe (9781931498579): Derrick Jensen: Books
Amazon.com: Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (9780375714498): Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky: Books
Burning All Illusions : A Guide to Personal and Political Freedom by David Edwards
Amazon.com: Burning All Illusions : A Guide to Personal and Political Freedom (9780896085312): David Edwards: Books
Politics - rhetorical thought - excellent ****
Amazon.com: The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy (9780674768680): Albert O. Hirschman: Books
Deer hunting with Jesus ****- excellent picture from a hick on hicks - said with respect.
Amazon.com: Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War (9780307339379): Joe Bageant: Books
Two excellent introductions to political thinking
Amazon.com: Political Philosophy: A Beginners' Guide for Students and Politicians (9780745635323): Adam Swift: Books
Amazon.com: An Introduction to Political Philosophy (9780199296095): Jonathan Wolff: Books
Great Depression and Bubbles
Amazon.com: The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (9780195326345): Eric Rauchway: Books
Amazon.com: A Short History of Financial Euphoria (Penguin business) (9780140238563): John Kenneth Galbraith: Books
Poverty Global Issues
Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey D. Sachs
Amazon.com: Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (9780143114871): Jeffrey D. Sachs: Books
Amazon.com: The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (9780143036586): Jeffrey Sachs: Books
Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph E. Stiglitz
Amazon.com: Globalization and Its Discontents (9780393324396): Joseph E. Stiglitz: Books
Economics
Amazon.com: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation Of The Industrial World (9780465031092): Nathan Rosenberg, L.E. Birdzell Jr.: Books
Great Depression
Amazon.com: Invisible Hands: The Businessmen's Crusade Against the New Deal (9780393337662): Kim Phillips-Fein: Books
Amazon.com: A Propensity to Self-Subversion (9780674715585): Albert O. Hirschman: Books
Liberal thought - Waldron is excellent
Amazon.com: God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Locke's Political Thought (9780521890571): Jeremy Waldron: Books
Amazon.com: Justice as Fairness: A Restatement (9780674005112): John Rawls, Erin Kelly: Books
Serious fun, thought provoking.
Amazon.com: What Have You Changed Your Mind About?: Today's Leading Minds Rethink Everything (9780061686542): John Brockman: Books
Amazon.com: What We Believe but Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty (9780060841812): John Brockman: Books
EDGE
History
Amazon.com: The Age of Extremes: A History of the World, 1914-1991 (9780679730057): Eric Hobsbawm: Books
Evil - understanding a topic that confuses all.
Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing by James Waller
Amazon.com: Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing (9780195189490): James Waller: Books
Ideas - a survey from fire to ....
Amazon.com: Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud (9780060935641): Peter Watson: Books
Ethics - profound and deep
Amazon.com: Reasons and Persons (Oxford Paperbacks) (9780198249085): Derek Parfit: Books
Other stuff to challenge you.
"Is Democracy Possible Here? Principles for a New Political Debate" By Ronald Dworkin
"The Morality of Freedom" By Joseph Raz.
Amazon.com: The Morality of Freedom (Clarendon Paperbacks) (9780198248156): Joseph Raz: Books
Liberal Rights" Jeremy Waldron See Chapter 2 Page 35
Liberal rights: collected papers ... - Google Books
Amazon.com: Ideology: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (9780192802811): Michael Freeden: Books
Amazon.com: Liberty before Liberalism (9780521638760): Quentin Skinner: Books
Modern writers worth reading William Vollman, Richard Powers, and the books below are all excellent.
* Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance By Robert Pirsig
Darkness At Noon By Arthur Koestler
Angle Of Repose By Wallace Stegner
Go Tell It On The Mountain By James Baldwin
Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison
Man's Fate, André Malraux
Sophie's Choice By William Styron
The Fall, The Plague, Albert Camus
An American Tragedy By Theodore Dreiser
The Heart Of The Matter By Graham Greene
The Sound And The Fury By William Faulkner
To The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf
Wry Catcher
Diamond Member
- Banned
- #52
Someone asked recently which writer influenced you most, and I list three, Albert Camus, Thomas Wolfe, and Feodor Dostoevsky. For Camus it was all his writings, Wolfe's 'You can't go home,' and D's 'Devils' and 'Brothers Karamazov.'
So I complied a more modern list of reading that challenges and will surely make you think. And raise your IQ as well. Four asterisks are excellent first reads. Most is nonfiction, I will add fiction writers at end.
What We Leave Behind By Derrick Jensen
Amazon.com: What We Leave Behind (9781583228678): Derrick Jensen, Aric McBay: Books
Media / Hate / Ecology ****
Amazon.com: The Culture of Make Believe (9781931498579): Derrick Jensen: Books
Amazon.com: Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (9780375714498): Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky: Books
Burning All Illusions : A Guide to Personal and Political Freedom by David Edwards
Amazon.com: Burning All Illusions : A Guide to Personal and Political Freedom (9780896085312): David Edwards: Books
Politics - rhetorical thought - excellent ****
Amazon.com: The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy (9780674768680): Albert O. Hirschman: Books
Deer hunting with Jesus ****- excellent picture from a hick on hicks - said with respect.
Amazon.com: Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War (9780307339379): Joe Bageant: Books
Two excellent introductions to political thinking
Amazon.com: Political Philosophy: A Beginners' Guide for Students and Politicians (9780745635323): Adam Swift: Books
Amazon.com: An Introduction to Political Philosophy (9780199296095): Jonathan Wolff: Books
Great Depression and Bubbles
Amazon.com: The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (9780195326345): Eric Rauchway: Books
Amazon.com: A Short History of Financial Euphoria (Penguin business) (9780140238563): John Kenneth Galbraith: Books
Poverty Global Issues
Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey D. Sachs
Amazon.com: Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (9780143114871): Jeffrey D. Sachs: Books
Amazon.com: The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (9780143036586): Jeffrey Sachs: Books
Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph E. Stiglitz
Amazon.com: Globalization and Its Discontents (9780393324396): Joseph E. Stiglitz: Books
Economics
Amazon.com: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation Of The Industrial World (9780465031092): Nathan Rosenberg, L.E. Birdzell Jr.: Books
Great Depression
Amazon.com: Invisible Hands: The Businessmen's Crusade Against the New Deal (9780393337662): Kim Phillips-Fein: Books
Amazon.com: A Propensity to Self-Subversion (9780674715585): Albert O. Hirschman: Books
Liberal thought - Waldron is excellent
Amazon.com: God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Locke's Political Thought (9780521890571): Jeremy Waldron: Books
Amazon.com: Justice as Fairness: A Restatement (9780674005112): John Rawls, Erin Kelly: Books
Serious fun, thought provoking.
Amazon.com: What Have You Changed Your Mind About?: Today's Leading Minds Rethink Everything (9780061686542): John Brockman: Books
Amazon.com: What We Believe but Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty (9780060841812): John Brockman: Books
EDGE
History
Amazon.com: The Age of Extremes: A History of the World, 1914-1991 (9780679730057): Eric Hobsbawm: Books
Evil - understanding a topic that confuses all.
Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing by James Waller
Amazon.com: Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing (9780195189490): James Waller: Books
Ideas - a survey from fire to ....
Amazon.com: Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud (9780060935641): Peter Watson: Books
Ethics - profound and deep
Amazon.com: Reasons and Persons (Oxford Paperbacks) (9780198249085): Derek Parfit: Books
Other stuff to challenge you.
"Is Democracy Possible Here? Principles for a New Political Debate" By Ronald Dworkin
"The Morality of Freedom" By Joseph Raz.
Amazon.com: The Morality of Freedom (Clarendon Paperbacks) (9780198248156): Joseph Raz: Books
Liberal Rights" Jeremy Waldron See Chapter 2 Page 35
Liberal rights: collected papers ... - Google Books
Amazon.com: Ideology: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (9780192802811): Michael Freeden: Books
Amazon.com: Liberty before Liberalism (9780521638760): Quentin Skinner: Books
Modern writers worth reading William Vollman, Richard Powers, and the books below are all excellent.
* Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance By Robert Pirsig
Darkness At Noon By Arthur Koestler
Angle Of Repose By Wallace Stegner
Go Tell It On The Mountain By James Baldwin
Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison
Man's Fate, André Malraux
Sophie's Choice By William Styron
The Fall, The Plague, Albert Camus
An American Tragedy By Theodore Dreiser
The Heart Of The Matter By Graham Greene
The Sound And The Fury By William Faulkner
To The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf
Camus books still remain on my book shelf. Every couple of years I 'try' to reread The Myth of Sisyphus and/or The Rebel. The pages are yellowing with age and I doubt I will every fully understand his Philosophical standing. Each paragraph of each essay is tightly structured and logically leads one down the path. But many times each paragraph requires critical thinking, my mind wanders off topic in that effort, making the reading some of the most difficult I've every experienced.
Even Sisyphus remains clouded when he and his toils and 'happiness' are considered in terms of rebellion and suicide.
Do you know of any forums wherein his works are the sole topic of discussion?
Wry Catcher
Diamond Member
- Banned
- #53
Someone asked recently which writer influenced you most, and I list three, Albert Camus, Thomas Wolfe, and Feodor Dostoevsky. For Camus it was all his writings, Wolfe's 'You can't go home,' and D's 'Devils' and 'Brothers Karamazov.'
So I complied a more modern list of reading that challenges and will surely make you think. And raise your IQ as well. Four asterisks are excellent first reads. Most is nonfiction, I will add fiction writers at end.
What We Leave Behind By Derrick Jensen
Amazon.com: What We Leave Behind (9781583228678): Derrick Jensen, Aric McBay: Books
Media / Hate / Ecology ****
Amazon.com: The Culture of Make Believe (9781931498579): Derrick Jensen: Books
Amazon.com: Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (9780375714498): Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky: Books
Burning All Illusions : A Guide to Personal and Political Freedom by David Edwards
Amazon.com: Burning All Illusions : A Guide to Personal and Political Freedom (9780896085312): David Edwards: Books
Politics - rhetorical thought - excellent ****
Amazon.com: The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy (9780674768680): Albert O. Hirschman: Books
Deer hunting with Jesus ****- excellent picture from a hick on hicks - said with respect.
Amazon.com: Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War (9780307339379): Joe Bageant: Books
Two excellent introductions to political thinking
Amazon.com: Political Philosophy: A Beginners' Guide for Students and Politicians (9780745635323): Adam Swift: Books
Amazon.com: An Introduction to Political Philosophy (9780199296095): Jonathan Wolff: Books
Great Depression and Bubbles
Amazon.com: The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (9780195326345): Eric Rauchway: Books
Amazon.com: A Short History of Financial Euphoria (Penguin business) (9780140238563): John Kenneth Galbraith: Books
Poverty Global Issues
Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey D. Sachs
Amazon.com: Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (9780143114871): Jeffrey D. Sachs: Books
Amazon.com: The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (9780143036586): Jeffrey Sachs: Books
Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph E. Stiglitz
Amazon.com: Globalization and Its Discontents (9780393324396): Joseph E. Stiglitz: Books
Economics
Amazon.com: How The West Grew Rich: The Economic Transformation Of The Industrial World (9780465031092): Nathan Rosenberg, L.E. Birdzell Jr.: Books
Great Depression
Amazon.com: Invisible Hands: The Businessmen's Crusade Against the New Deal (9780393337662): Kim Phillips-Fein: Books
Amazon.com: A Propensity to Self-Subversion (9780674715585): Albert O. Hirschman: Books
Liberal thought - Waldron is excellent
Amazon.com: God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Locke's Political Thought (9780521890571): Jeremy Waldron: Books
Amazon.com: Justice as Fairness: A Restatement (9780674005112): John Rawls, Erin Kelly: Books
Serious fun, thought provoking.
Amazon.com: What Have You Changed Your Mind About?: Today's Leading Minds Rethink Everything (9780061686542): John Brockman: Books
Amazon.com: What We Believe but Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty (9780060841812): John Brockman: Books
EDGE
History
Amazon.com: The Age of Extremes: A History of the World, 1914-1991 (9780679730057): Eric Hobsbawm: Books
Evil - understanding a topic that confuses all.
Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing by James Waller
Amazon.com: Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing (9780195189490): James Waller: Books
Ideas - a survey from fire to ....
Amazon.com: Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud (9780060935641): Peter Watson: Books
Ethics - profound and deep
Amazon.com: Reasons and Persons (Oxford Paperbacks) (9780198249085): Derek Parfit: Books
Other stuff to challenge you.
"Is Democracy Possible Here? Principles for a New Political Debate" By Ronald Dworkin
"The Morality of Freedom" By Joseph Raz.
Amazon.com: The Morality of Freedom (Clarendon Paperbacks) (9780198248156): Joseph Raz: Books
Liberal Rights" Jeremy Waldron See Chapter 2 Page 35
Liberal rights: collected papers ... - Google Books
Amazon.com: Ideology: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (9780192802811): Michael Freeden: Books
Amazon.com: Liberty before Liberalism (9780521638760): Quentin Skinner: Books
Modern writers worth reading William Vollman, Richard Powers, and the books below are all excellent.
* Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance By Robert Pirsig
Darkness At Noon By Arthur Koestler
Angle Of Repose By Wallace Stegner
Go Tell It On The Mountain By James Baldwin
Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison
Man's Fate, André Malraux
Sophie's Choice By William Styron
The Fall, The Plague, Albert Camus
An American Tragedy By Theodore Dreiser
The Heart Of The Matter By Graham Greene
The Sound And The Fury By William Faulkner
To The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf
Camus books still remain on my book shelf. Every couple of years I 'try' to reread The Myth of Sisyphus and/or The Rebel. The pages are yellowing with age and I doubt I will every fully understand his Philosophical standing. Each paragraph of each essay is tightly structured and logically leads one down the path. But many times each paragraph requires critical thinking, my mind wanders off topic in that effort, making the reading some of the most difficult I've every experienced.
Even Sisyphus remains clouded when he and his toils and 'happiness' are considered in terms of rebellion and suicide.
Do you know of any forums wherein his works are the sole topic of discussion?
- Thread starter
- #54
Do you know of any forums wherein his works are the sole topic of discussion?
I re-read 'The Stranger' not long ago and wish there was a new translation of "The Fall.' I found these two sites, check them out.
Philosophy Now Forum ? View topic - Albert Camus
Albert Camus Critical Interpretation Homepage
===============================================
'Workin' on our night moves in the summertime
In the sweet summertime...' B.S.
Ah summer, time to sweat, swat mosquitoes, drink lots, burn in the sun, oh and hopefully read. A few suggestions.
Read this if nothing else, American corporations and their marriage to congress.
'The Betrayal of the American Dream' Donald L. Barlett, James B. Steele
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Betrayal-American-Dream-Donald-Barlett/dp/1586489690/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8]The Betrayal of the American Dream: Donald L. Barlett, James B. Steele: 9781586489694: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
I also read 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog' by Muriel Barbery. I wasn't sure I'd like this but both the writing even in translation and the story were well done. The idea of class contained in the plot is a bit odd for Americans. Americans like to think class doesn't exist here.
These look interesting for the bibliophile of ideas.
'The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America' George Packer
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Unwinding-Inner-History-New-America/dp/0374102414/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8]The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America: George Packer: 9780374102418: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
'Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865'
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-National-Destruction-Slavery-1861-1865/dp/0393065316/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8]Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865: James Oakes: 9780393065312: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
'Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes on American Politics'
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Chain-Reaction-Impact-American-Politics/dp/0393309037/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8]Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes on American Politics: Mary D. Edsall, Thomas Byrne Edsall: 9780393309034: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
'The Unraveling of America: A History of Liberalism in the 1960s'
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Unraveling-America-History-Liberalism-1960s/dp/0820334057/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8]The Unraveling of America: A History of Liberalism in the 1960s: Allen J. Matusow: 9780820334059: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
I don't agree completely with this even though it is an important aspect of the current educational and economic situation in America. I do think there is a level of privilege that few recognize or even acknowledge.
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Race-between-Education-Technology/dp/0674035305/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8]The Race between Education and Technology: Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz: 9780674035300: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
A few sites worth your time if your time is too short for books.
The Browser - Writing worth reading
Exclusive Opinion, Commentary and Op-ed from today's Top Economists and Public Intellectuals - Project Syndicate
Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics
Crooked Timber ? Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made
Home | Boston Review
Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion
"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley wrote in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984 Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us...This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right." Neil Postman 'Amusing Ourselves to Death'
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- Thread starter
- #55
How do we know we don't know? For my generation smoking was the issue that today would be a topic of the partisan divide. Odd huh. Most who have smoked, as I did young, know its consequences first hand, but there was so much doubt and so much corporate, and so called scientific counter argument, that many smoked just to prove something. Today global warming has enlisted the same corporate doubt machine and it works well as much of the debate demonstrates. I started reading 'Agnotology' and thought how easy it is to create ignorance and to make ignorance into knowledge. Worth a read for those willing to look into the telescope.
"Sweeping and comprehensive… Oreskes and Conway do an excellent job of bringing to life a complex and important environmental battle… [a] darkly fascinating history… Merchants of Doubt is an important book. How important? If you read just one book on climate change this year, read Merchants of Doubt. And if you have time to read two, reread Merchants of Doubt." Grist.org
"Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance' by Robert Proctor (Editor) , Londa Schiebinger (Editor)
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Agnotology-The-Making-Unmaking-Ignorance/dp/0804759014#]Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance: Robert Proctor, Londa Schiebinger: 9780804759014: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
"Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming"
by Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. M. Conway
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608193942/ref=rdr_ext_sb_ti_sims_3[/ame]
"There can be no science without doubt: brute dogma leaves no room for inquiry. But over the last half century, a tiny minority of scientists have wielded doubt as a political weapon to halt what they did not want said: that tobacco kills or that the climate is warming because of what we humans are doing. ‘Doubt is our product’ read a tobacco memo--and indeed, millions of dollars have gone into creating the impression of scientific controversy where there has not been one. This book about the politics of doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway explores the long, connected, and intentional obfuscation of science by manufactured controversy. It is clear, scientifically responsible, and historically compelling—it is an essential and passionate book about our times." Peter Galison, Joseph Pellegrino University Professor, Harvard University
http://www.usmessageboard.com/science-and-technology/299118-what-you-really-believe-that.html
"Sweeping and comprehensive… Oreskes and Conway do an excellent job of bringing to life a complex and important environmental battle… [a] darkly fascinating history… Merchants of Doubt is an important book. How important? If you read just one book on climate change this year, read Merchants of Doubt. And if you have time to read two, reread Merchants of Doubt." Grist.org
"Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance' by Robert Proctor (Editor) , Londa Schiebinger (Editor)
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Agnotology-The-Making-Unmaking-Ignorance/dp/0804759014#]Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance: Robert Proctor, Londa Schiebinger: 9780804759014: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
"Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming"
by Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. M. Conway
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608193942/ref=rdr_ext_sb_ti_sims_3[/ame]
"There can be no science without doubt: brute dogma leaves no room for inquiry. But over the last half century, a tiny minority of scientists have wielded doubt as a political weapon to halt what they did not want said: that tobacco kills or that the climate is warming because of what we humans are doing. ‘Doubt is our product’ read a tobacco memo--and indeed, millions of dollars have gone into creating the impression of scientific controversy where there has not been one. This book about the politics of doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway explores the long, connected, and intentional obfuscation of science by manufactured controversy. It is clear, scientifically responsible, and historically compelling—it is an essential and passionate book about our times." Peter Galison, Joseph Pellegrino University Professor, Harvard University
http://www.usmessageboard.com/science-and-technology/299118-what-you-really-believe-that.html
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- Thread starter
- #56
Here's a book that should be read by every thoughtful person.
'Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West' by John Ralston Saul
'Reason is a narrow system
swollen into an ideology.
With time and power it has
become a dogma, devoid of
direction and disguised as
disinterested inquiry.
Like most religions. reason
presents itself as the solution
to the problems it has created.' from book
from Amazon review: 'The Western world is full of paradoxes. We talk endlessly of individual freedom, yet we’ve never been under more pressure to conform. Our business leaders describe themselves as capitalists, yet most are corporate employees and financial speculators. We call our governments democracies, yet few of us participate in politics. We complain about invasive government, yet our legal, educational, financial, social, cultural and legislative systems are deteriorating.'
'Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West' by John Ralston Saul
'Reason is a narrow system
swollen into an ideology.
With time and power it has
become a dogma, devoid of
direction and disguised as
disinterested inquiry.
Like most religions. reason
presents itself as the solution
to the problems it has created.' from book
from Amazon review: 'The Western world is full of paradoxes. We talk endlessly of individual freedom, yet we’ve never been under more pressure to conform. Our business leaders describe themselves as capitalists, yet most are corporate employees and financial speculators. We call our governments democracies, yet few of us participate in politics. We complain about invasive government, yet our legal, educational, financial, social, cultural and legislative systems are deteriorating.'
Peterf
Active Member
Too many books, too little time. Fiction can many times offer greater insight into humanity (or inhumanity) with greater clarity than the most researched tomes of non fiction.
Fiction which influenced me and in no particular order:
"The Red Badge of Courage"
"The Ox Bow Incident"
"All Quiet on the Western Front"
"The Grapes of Wrath"
"Brave New World"
"Johnny Got his Gun"
"The Jungle"
"The Octopus"
Even at its best fiction is reality filtered through someone else's mind. I read fiction sometimes but generally prefer reality raw and unprocessed.
- Thread starter
- #59
'Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing' Vaclav Smil
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Made-USA-Retreat-American-Manufacturing/dp/0262019388/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8]Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing: Vaclav Smil: 9780262019385: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
"... But, asks Smil, do we want a society that consists of a small population of workers doing high-value-added work and masses of unemployed? Smil assesses various suggestions for solving America's manufacturing crisis, including lowering corporate tax rates, promoting research and development, and improving public education." from review
"In every society, manufacturing builds the lower middle class. If you give up manufacturing, you end up with haves and have-nots and you get social polarization. The whole lower middle class sinks." Vaclav Smil
This Is the Man Bill Gates Thinks You Absolutely Should Be Reading - Wired Science
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Made-USA-Retreat-American-Manufacturing/dp/0262019388/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8]Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing: Vaclav Smil: 9780262019385: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
"... But, asks Smil, do we want a society that consists of a small population of workers doing high-value-added work and masses of unemployed? Smil assesses various suggestions for solving America's manufacturing crisis, including lowering corporate tax rates, promoting research and development, and improving public education." from review
"In every society, manufacturing builds the lower middle class. If you give up manufacturing, you end up with haves and have-nots and you get social polarization. The whole lower middle class sinks." Vaclav Smil
This Is the Man Bill Gates Thinks You Absolutely Should Be Reading - Wired Science
- Thread starter
- #60
"Countrymen is a fascinating study in the ambiguity of virtue."
Denmark in the Holocaust: Bo Lidegaard's "Countrymen," Reviewed | New Republic
Also:
'The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives' Sasha Abramsky
'The Betrayal of the American Dream Hardcover' Donald L. Barlett, James B. Steele
'To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise' Bethany Moreton
'Invisible Hands: The Businessmen's Crusade Against the New Deal' Kim Phillips-Fein
'Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming' Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. M. Conway
'The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy' Albert O. Hirschman
'The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin' Corey Robin
'Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West' by John Ralston Saul
"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking." Haruki Murakami
Denmark in the Holocaust: Bo Lidegaard's "Countrymen," Reviewed | New Republic
Also:
'The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives' Sasha Abramsky
'The Betrayal of the American Dream Hardcover' Donald L. Barlett, James B. Steele
'To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise' Bethany Moreton
'Invisible Hands: The Businessmen's Crusade Against the New Deal' Kim Phillips-Fein
'Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming' Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. M. Conway
'The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy' Albert O. Hirschman
'The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin' Corey Robin
'Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West' by John Ralston Saul
"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking." Haruki Murakami
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