Recommend Political Books You Think Everybody Should Read Here

Personally I find ideas the most interesting piece of the history puzzle, how is it people can believe slavery is OK, or women are inferior creatures, or nature doesn't matter. So to start this list, I'll note a few books on ideas. (I have not read Fukuyama's yet.)

This book is excellent: http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Mind-Intellectual-History-Century/dp/0060084383/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Another Watson book: http://www.amazon.com/Ideas-History-Thought-Invention-Freud/dp/0060935642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/b...s-of-political-order-by-francis-fukuyama.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/science/08fukuyama.html?src=me&ref=science

http://www.amazon.com/Passions-Interests-Albert-Hirschman/dp/0691015988/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8

American history

This may be the best history of America I have ever read. it gives you a sense of the times. http://www.amazon.com/Glory-Dream-Narrative-History-1932-1972/dp/0553345893/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Geogra...ness/dp/0813519098/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/b...a-by-gordon-s-wood-book-review.html?ref=books
http://www.amazon.com/Railroaded-Tr...rica/dp/0393061264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/Age-Reform-Richard-Hofstadter/dp/0394700953/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/Radicalism-Am...Wood/dp/0679736883/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/American-Scri...ence/dp/0679779086/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/Ratification-...tution-1787-1788/dp/B004Q7E0UY/ref=pd_sim_b_1
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/298016-1

Other history

The Rise and Fall of Communism - Archie Brown
http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Communism-Archie-Brown/dp/0061138797/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/World-Lit-Only-Fire-Renaissance/dp/0316545562/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/History-Civilizations-Fernand-Braudel/dp/0140124896/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/Civilization-Capitalism-15th-18th-Century-Vol/dp/0520081145/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/Postwar-History-Europe-Since-1945/dp/0143037757/ref=pd_cp_b_1

Essays and political thought

If you read only one book on politics read this one: http://www.amazon.com/Rhetoric-Reac...ity-Jeopardy/dp/067476868X/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8

review here: http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/HIRRHE.html?show=reviews

But read this too to understand the world we live in: http://www.amazon.com/Ill-Fares-Land-Tony-Judt/dp/0143118765/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/Night-Large-Collected-Essays-1938-1995/dp/0312169493/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Make-Believe-Derrick-Jensen/dp/1931498571/ref=pd_sim_b_10

http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Conte...s-Galbraith/dp/0140173668/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2
 
midcan5 said:
Personally I find ideas the most interesting piece of the history puzzle, how is it people can believe slavery is OK, or women are inferior creatures, or nature doesn't matter. So to start this list, I'll note a few books on ideas. (I have not read Fukuyama's yet.)

This book is excellent: http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Mind-Intellectual-History-Century/dp/0060084383/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Another Watson book: http://www.amazon.com/Ideas-History-Thought-Invention-Freud/dp/0060935642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/b...s-of-political-order-by-francis-fukuyama.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/science/08fukuyama.html?src=me&ref=science

http://www.amazon.com/Passions-Interests-Albert-Hirschman/dp/0691015988/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8

American history

This may be the best history of America I have ever read. it gives you a sense of the times. http://www.amazon.com/Glory-Dream-Narrative-History-1932-1972/dp/0553345893/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Geogra...ness/dp/0813519098/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/b...a-by-gordon-s-wood-book-review.html?ref=books
http://www.amazon.com/Railroaded-Tr...rica/dp/0393061264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/Age-Reform-Richard-Hofstadter/dp/0394700953/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/Radicalism-Am...Wood/dp/0679736883/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/American-Scri...ence/dp/0679779086/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/Ratification-...tution-1787-1788/dp/B004Q7E0UY/ref=pd_sim_b_1
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/298016-1

Other history

The Rise and Fall of Communism - Archie Brown
http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Communism-Archie-Brown/dp/0061138797/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/World-Lit-Only-Fire-Renaissance/dp/0316545562/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/History-Civilizations-Fernand-Braudel/dp/0140124896/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/Civilization-Capitalism-15th-18th-Century-Vol/dp/0520081145/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8
http://www.amazon.com/Postwar-History-Europe-Since-1945/dp/0143037757/ref=pd_cp_b_1

Essays and political thought

If you read only one book on politics read this one: http://www.amazon.com/Rhetoric-Reac...ity-Jeopardy/dp/067476868X/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8

review here: http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/HIRRHE.html?show=reviews

But read this too to understand the world we live in: http://www.amazon.com/Ill-Fares-Land-Tony-Judt/dp/0143118765/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/Night-Large-Collected-Essays-1938-1995/dp/0312169493/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Make-Believe-Derrick-Jensen/dp/1931498571/ref=pd_sim_b_10

http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Conte...s-Galbraith/dp/0140173668/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2
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Sellar and Yeatnan's '1066 and All That' comprising all the history you can remember in 52 chapters, and for those too unfortunate to have a history, Bill Nye's 'History of the United States'.
Politics should be more humourous. Of course there are those who consider it already the funniest invention since the sinking of the Ark with the loss of all hands.
 
The Shock Doctrine - by Naomi Klein
Griftopia - by Matt Taibbi
Fiasco - by Thomas Ricks
Armed Madhouse - by Greg Palast
Crimes Against Nature - by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Confessions of an Economic Hitman - by John Perkins


....a few of my favorites. :D
 
Lowaicue said:
Sellar and Yeatnan's '1066 and All That' comprising all the history you can remember in 52 chapters, and for those too unfortunate to have a history, Bill Nye's 'History of the United States'.
Politics should be more humourous. Of course there are those who consider it already the funniest invention since the sinking of the Ark with the loss of all hands.
Click to expand...

Aside from English, Roman, and Greek histories, I really don't find any others to be as fiscinating as US History, brief as it may be.
 
History:

A People's History of the United States - by Howard Zinn
Lies My Teacher Told Me - by James Loewen
Open Veins of Latin America - by Eduardo Galeano
 
I originally posted here August, 2011 post#81 which is linked below, but rather than provide links, here are some authors and books that are worth your time and challenge your mind.

The Culture of Contentment' John Kenneth Galbraith - anything he wrote is worth a read.
'The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932-1972' William Manchester - best narrative history I have read
'Political Liberalism' John Rawls
'The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy' Albert O. Hirschman - understand the roots of conservatism
'The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin' Corey Robin - recent and very good
"The Modern Mind: An Intellectual History of the 20Th Century' Peter Watson - ideas see his other work
'Ill Fares the Land' Tony Judt - excellent excellent
'The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener' Martin Gardner - essays worth a thought
'Invisible Hands: The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan' Kim Phillips-Fein - reading
'What Orwell Didn't Know: Propaganda and the New Face of American Politics' Andras Szanto, Editor
'The Sense of Reality: Studies in Ideas and Their History' Isaiah Berlin (check his other work too)
'Liberal Rights: Collected Papers 1981-1991' Jeremy Waldron - good stuff
'The Harm in Hate Speech' Jeremy Waldron -- check out his other work too
'The Idea of America: Reflections on the Birth of the United States' Gordon S. Wood
'The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan' Michael Hastings
'Race Matters' Cornell West
'The Culture of Make Believe' Derrick Jensen

And while Howard Zinn's history is anathema to conservatives as it tells a bit of history's truth, check it out too. The names near the top are all thinkers worth your time.

'Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing' James Waller
Science and Human Values, Jacob Bronowski
Derek Parfit ethics


These look promising but I have not read, yet.

'The Swerve: How the World Became Modern' Stephen Greenblatt
'The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution' Francis Fukuyama
'The Making of the Modern Self: Identity and Culture in Eighteenth-Century England' Dror Wahrman
'The American Mind: An Interpretation of American Thought and Character Since the 1880's' Henry Steele Commage

http://www.justplainpolitics.com/sh...verybody-Should-Read-Here&p=857668#post857668

Other political writers some of whom I have read bits of or have a book to read.

A. L. Macfie
Amartya Sen
Charles R. Beitz
David Harvey
Jon Elster
Jonathan Wolff
Joshua Cohen
Knud Haakonssen
Martha C. Nussbaum
Michael J. Sandel
Robert Nozick
Slavoj Zizek
Will Kymlicka

"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'
 
After a quick perusal of the posts I noticed no one mentioned The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum.

Excerpt from a review "First, she (the witch) sends her 40 great wolves to kill them. Tin Woodman manages to kill them all. Then the Wicked Witch of the West sends her 40 crows to peck their eyes out. Scarecrow manages to kill them by grabbing them and breaking their necks. Then the Wicked Witch summons a swarm of bees to sting them to death. Using the Scarecrow's extra straw, the others hide underneath them while the bees try to sting Tin Woodman. Then the Wicked Witch of the West uses her Winkie soldiers to attack them. They were scared off by the Cowardly Lion.........

Baum explores the theme of self-contradiction in The Wizard of Oz. He created characters who—like humans—have complex, contradictory natures. The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion all lack self-confidence. The Scarecrow believes that he has no brains, though he comes up with clever solutions to several problems that they encounter on their journey. The Tin Woodman believes that he lacks a heart, but is moved to tears when misfortune befalls the various creatures they meet. The Cowardly Lion believes that he has no courage even though he is consistently brave through their journey. Carl L. Bankston III of Salem Press noted that "These three characters embody the classical human virtues of intelligence, caring, and courage, but their self-doubts keep them from being reduced to mere symbols of these qualities." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz

Working together, support from others, realizing everyone possesses noble values within....those are the qualities that build a great nation. The opposite is prejudice, racism, not caring about others....those are the things that ultimately doom a nation.

Sometimes just doing the right thing has enormous benefits for many.
 
Lowaicue said:
For people who truly understand American politics:

The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde.

Why? Because no book is ever going to persuade any voter to change his or her mind. All the do is preach to the choir, so it would be better for all to read the wit and wisdom of the above.
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Amen!
 
I am going to go with some easy reads that are still quite powerful.

Aint Nobody's Business if You Do:The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country - Peter McWilliams .... Reno/Clinton you will always be aholes in my book for that one
Economics in One Lesson - Henry Hazlitt

Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
Anthem - Ayn Rand
Animal Farm - George Orwell
 
I just finished Gulliver's Travels again... I was going to come on and suggest it, but somebody else has.
 
Damocles said:
I just finished Gulliver's Travels again... I was going to come on and suggest it, but somebody else has.
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Most people completely miss the point of it. It's been a long time since I read it... but the whole big endian little endian stuff is hillarious. Some of the other stuff, like the Brobdingnag stuff has not aged as well, but at the time it was pretty relevant.
 
I'm concurrently reading Tom Wolf's "The Right Stuff" and the only authorized biography on Neil Armstrong. His biographer did an outstanding job. I'm reading about his early life and the author has nailed the culture and values of the west central Ohio region. It's also interesting for me as some of the people described in the book I have either known or met. Not surprizing considering my grandparents lived on the same street as Neil's parents. Neils mother Viola was a lot like my Grandmother, personality wise.
 
"No They Can't" by John Stossel

"Don't Vote, It Just Encourages The Bastards" by P. J. O'Rourke

"Teddy And Franklin" by Judge Andrew Napolitano
 
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Books Liberals Should read:

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
The Wealth of Nations - Adam Smith
Challengers to Capitalism - John G. Gurley

Books Libertarians should read.

The Prince - Machiavelli
The Art of War - Sun Tzu

Books Conservatives should read.....if they can.

Fun with Dick and Jane - William S. Gray
Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak
Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Suess
 
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