Michael DeM
12/16/07, 10:17 am
In the past year or so, I've had the pleasure of reading a number of books that I liked a lot. Now for this thread I'm going to share some of them with you all. All of the books on this list are highly recommended. I also plan to eventually add more as I read more. The ones here are listed in the chronological order that I read them.
Peace is the Way by Deepak Chopra. In this book Chopra examines war and peace from a more spiritual perspective and adds his own recommendations of how we can bring war to an end. He challenges the whole us-versus-them mentality and what he calls toxic nationalism. A lot of it, though, focuses on the internal causes of violence and more spiritual solutions to problems. Not so much of the it is about actual policy, but it's a positive, optimistic book that I've enjoyed reading.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I love this book. It's one of my favorite novels. In addition to being laugh out loud funny, it's got a solid anti-war theme and reminds readers to start questioning authority.
Failed States by Noam Chomsky. This book is a must-read. It deals with issue after issue: nuclear proliferation, global warming, the war in Iraq, the myth of American exceptionalism, universality, the Middle East, neoliberal globalization, along with domestic issues such as social security and healthcare just to name a few. Chomsky doesn't just make claims; he backs them up with sources, many of them mainstream. This is the best book I've read on foreign policy all year. Neocon Newbie would do himself some good to read it.
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. edited by Clayborne Carson. Very inspiring and worth a read if you're interested in learning more about the man and what he stood for.
Democracy's Edge by Frances Moore Lappe. This book is probably my favorite on the list. Among other things, Lappe challenges prevailing ideas about the free market, the roles of corporations, education, security, the state of the media, and really the whole way we look at democracy while providing solutions that engage people and countless stories of regular citizens who have already made positive changes in their communities. This is another must-read.
Peace is the Way by Deepak Chopra. In this book Chopra examines war and peace from a more spiritual perspective and adds his own recommendations of how we can bring war to an end. He challenges the whole us-versus-them mentality and what he calls toxic nationalism. A lot of it, though, focuses on the internal causes of violence and more spiritual solutions to problems. Not so much of the it is about actual policy, but it's a positive, optimistic book that I've enjoyed reading.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I love this book. It's one of my favorite novels. In addition to being laugh out loud funny, it's got a solid anti-war theme and reminds readers to start questioning authority.
Failed States by Noam Chomsky. This book is a must-read. It deals with issue after issue: nuclear proliferation, global warming, the war in Iraq, the myth of American exceptionalism, universality, the Middle East, neoliberal globalization, along with domestic issues such as social security and healthcare just to name a few. Chomsky doesn't just make claims; he backs them up with sources, many of them mainstream. This is the best book I've read on foreign policy all year. Neocon Newbie would do himself some good to read it.
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. edited by Clayborne Carson. Very inspiring and worth a read if you're interested in learning more about the man and what he stood for.
Democracy's Edge by Frances Moore Lappe. This book is probably my favorite on the list. Among other things, Lappe challenges prevailing ideas about the free market, the roles of corporations, education, security, the state of the media, and really the whole way we look at democracy while providing solutions that engage people and countless stories of regular citizens who have already made positive changes in their communities. This is another must-read.