I'm interested in finding new books to read, and I assume that others are too. So, I'd like to start a running thread where people post books that they've read in the not too distant past. Titles shouldn't neccessarily be limited to non-fiction, but they should cover something that's TSB thread worthy (even if a thread on the topic doesn't exist).

An ideal book posting would include the title, author, and a brief synopsis of the book (preferably written by you and not cut-'n-pasted from somewhere else).

The Working Poor by David Shipler
Basically, a series of anecdotes about various individuals in poverty. The individual stories run the gamut from those who are poor because they're lazy to those who are poor through circumstance. It is interesting because Shipler periodically visited with his subjects, so you get to see how their situations evolve over time. Shipler also includes sketches of those who work closely with the poor--schools, charities, businesses, social workers, etc. Definitely very interesting to see the troubles and concerns of the poor and those who deal directly with them. If nothing else, this book will probably make you thankful for what you do have.

White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era by Shelby Steele
Steele's argument is that white guilt and it's resulting policies (affirmative action) are essentially the new slavery--blacks become trapped by low expectations. He also argues that affirmative action type programs are nothing more than a mechanism for legitimizing continued white dominance, with little or no value to those it's ostensibly designed to help; i.e., affirmative action serves white interests, not black. The book is more of a personal narrative rather than a strict argument, so some of his examples/points I felt were a bit tenuous (I'll just have to do further reading). Nevertheless, it was a good read.

11/26/2007 5:35:56 PM

The European Dream by Some Guy (I don't have it anymore)
This dealt with the current differences between America and EU countries. It talks about what the American Dream was and is now and tries to explain how Europeans live their lives. Fairly insightful into the daily cultural differences between us. I only read about 100 pages of it because they guy is incredibly long winded but it made me feel kinda sad about how far The American Dream has fallen.

11/26/2007 5:41:55 PM

cool thread. i like it.

i guess my most recent read that could be included here is:

Undaunted Courage. Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose

The title says it all really. It's the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition, mainly from the viewpoint of Lewis. The first few chapters briefly recount Lewis's early life in Virginia including his time running the family plantation, his time in the militia and his time as Jefferson's secretary/aide. After the brief introduction to his early life the book recounts the entire expedition from the origins (Louisiana purchase, search for water route to pacific, etc...) up to the end. Much of the book includes excerpts from Lewis's writings. After the background info in the beginning the book reads like an adventure story. Very enjoyable read if you're into history/early exploration/the american west.


[Edited on November 26, 2007 at 5:47 PM. Reason : .]

11/26/2007 5:45:11 PM

^ Anything by Stephen Ambrose is great. Citizen Soldiers is probably the best book that I've ever read.

I've also been meaning to read Up From Slavery by Booker T Washington. I've seen a number of quotes from it that seem extremely applicable to the present.

11/26/2007 5:58:56 PM

my g/f's reading conscience of a liberal by paul krugman right now. sidenote: krugman will be at quail ridge books tomorrow night (tuesday) if anyone is interested

11/26/2007 6:04:07 PM

Some books I've really enjoyed are:

The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell
Chasing Ghosts

(both about personal accounts of Iraq, very good reads...pretty short)

Inside The Wire (also a great read, personal account of a translator working in gitmo at camp delta.)

11/26/2007 6:06:51 PM

tempting faith by david kuo

incredibly good, and not too long

11/26/2007 6:50:18 PM

This will be one of those threads where people only post what they are reading to show off, not actually read what anyone else posts.

[Edited on November 26, 2007 at 7:09 PM. Reason : .]

11/26/2007 7:09:09 PM

excellent contribution

i've picked up several books people have recommended in the entertainment book thread

11/26/2007 7:37:52 PM

Quote :

"sarijoul: my g/f's reading conscience of a liberal by paul krugman right now. sidenote: krugman will be at quail ridge books tomorrow night (tuesday) if anyone is interested"

Same here.

11/26/2007 8:08:36 PM

Hard America, Soft America
On Killing

don't remember all of the info offhand...will post it later.

i want to read The Constitution In Exile, but have yet to get around to it.

11/26/2007 8:26:17 PM

I'm going to go ahead and say My Pet Goat before someone else can mention it.

11/26/2007 9:05:15 PM

on political philosophy in general but also in the spirit of true change and groundswell/grassroots organizing

anything buy Saul Alinsky. dont judge the man, judge his ideas

Particularly I have enjoyed the Alinsky epitome: Rules for Radicals

11/26/2007 9:45:04 PM

I would recommend "The Incredible Bread Machine: A Study of Capitalism, Freedom and the State"
by R.W. Grant. Fox & Wilkes press 1999.

A celebration of liberty and free markets with some interesting historical notes.

"The most dangerous animal on the planet is not the cape buffalo, but the intellectual with 'a plan.' Especially the intellectual willing to impose his creation upon others by force."

11/26/2007 10:29:16 PM

jesus christ

11/26/2007 10:41:17 PM

Quote :

"This will be one of those threads where people only post what they are reading to show off, not actually read what anyone else posts."

not really. It will be like any 'customer/user review comments' for example reading customer reviews on apple.com before you buy or don't buy a product. You aren't going to post a comment saying "ok thanks guys!" but you may post your own review after you buy it.

so basically the people who use this thread to find good books aren't going to write about it until they actually read the damn book.

[Edited on November 27, 2007 at 12:14 AM. Reason : asdf]

11/27/2007 12:14:19 AM

The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America by Philip K. Howard

This excerpt from a review by Scott London says it better than I can right now:

Quote :

"Our modern system of regulatory law can be traced back to the Enlightenment ideal of rationalism, according to Howard. From this ideal grew the notion that government should be 'self-executing' and dispassionate, by functioning according to highly specific rules designed to anticipate every eventuality, preserve uniformity, and avoid discretion and abuse by officials. But the '"rationalists" promise that all can be set out before we get there' has resulted in a system that is not only inefficient but also 'precludes the exercise of judgement.' Howard maintains that the growing dependence on law and regulation has had serious consequences for the quality of public discourse in America. Instead of fostering cooperation, our legal culture in effect undermines it. By emphasizing violations rather than problems, regulation promotes bitterness and conflict. This is exemplified, Howard says, by our fixation with rights. While rights are 'as American as apple pie' and a quintessential part of our Constitution, they have taken on a new role in recent years. Today they are used not as they were originally intended -- as protections against coercion by the state -- but as 'a new, and often invisible, form of subsidy.' Legislating open-ended rights, Howard believes, undermines our capacity for deliberation and collective decision-making and thereby weakens democracy. 'It also invites a free-for-all as different groups' entitlements begin to collide with each other and the rest of society.'"

[Edited on November 27, 2007 at 12:26 AM. Reason : .]

11/27/2007 12:25:19 AM

I'm reading:

The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
John Mearsheimer (Harvard) and Stephen Walt (Univ. Chicago)

Quote :

"For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides. -- London Review of Books (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html) "

So, anyhow... I took this book with me on my commute to work a few times while back and left it laying on my desk not inconspicuously



within 2 weeks, I no longer had a job. My position was terminated.

of course, i believe the reason they gave me: the were restructuring the company, had hired a couple PhDs in the R&D dept where i worked, and decided they needed to remove the junior level EE position.

yes, my brothers, your humble narrator was out on the street with nothing. (i mean, besides 4 weeks severance cash, fully vested profit sharing, med/dental, and solid references... other than that? NOTHING!)

its all cool now. i start at Microsoft as SDE this week for 20K more than I was making... but why, i ask, are the Jooz trying to keep a white man down?





[Edited on November 27, 2007 at 8:48 PM. Reason : ]

11/27/2007 8:46:53 PM

Figures of Speech: 60 Ways to Turn a Phrase by Arthur Quinn.



No matter how well-read you are, I guarantee that this book contains dozens of rhetorical devices that you've never even heard of. Try a zeugma and you'll see what I'm talking about.

At the same time, you are probably using some of them and are simply unaware of the technical name for the device. As examples, most of you have probably used anastrophe, antithesis, and catachresis.

This is a fun and informative read. It examines quotations from the Bible to Shakespeare to James Joyce. I highly recommend this book.

[Edited on November 28, 2007 at 3:24 PM. Reason : .]

11/28/2007 3:23:29 PM

That actually looks pretty interesting, I'll check that one out soon

11/28/2007 3:25:39 PM

Quote :

"The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America by Philip K. Howard"

I read that. Good book.

11/28/2007 3:30:28 PM

Oracle Bones: Peter Hessler
Pretty good look at China from the ground level but not a good read if you want history or politics on a national level.

11/28/2007 3:31:43 PM

^^^ and ^^ It really is.

[Edited on November 28, 2007 at 3:32 PM. Reason : .]

11/28/2007 3:32:28 PM

The Dhammapada: Verses on the Way: Buddha (probably controversial that all of the sayings are truly from Buddha, but whatever) -- Translated by Glenn Wallis.

Basic scripture of Buddhism, basically. Has some teachings and suggestions from the Buddha about how to live your daily life, how to view things, how to act in your mental life, etc. I've read this three or so times and different things keep striking me.

It's hard to really classify this among other religious texts (I'd probably file it under philosophy). I think Nietzsche characterized Buddhism properly when he said it was a "system of hygiene" rather than a religion. It's like a system of hygiene for your mind (and thus, body in a roundabout way) -- a way to keep yourself from acting in an unrestrained manner and polluting yourself with "toxins" (or negative thoughts, feelings, emotions, actions, tendencies, etc). All in all a good book and sound advice, especially for people like me who get way too attached to emotions.

11/28/2007 3:53:28 PM

Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance and Why They Fall by Amy Chua. I've only read a few chapters. It seems its a pain in ass to be a hyperpower. Better to be one of many superpowers.

The Lexus and The Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization by Thomas L. Friedman. Read this when it came out. It is almost prophetic. Some people accuse it of being a Neocon handbook.

11/28/2007 6:48:38 PM

^ The World is Flat by Friedman is good too, there's another one too, just can't remember the name of it.

11/28/2007 7:01:08 PM

I just think this thread needs a bump because there is entirely too much stupid in here lately.

12/10/2007 11:00:28 PM

damn straight.

here's two more ive recently started.



http://spamwars.com/book.html


and




http://www.maximonline.com/entertainment/reviews.aspx?p_id=10279





neither of them are too Soap Boxy... but I've concluded that it's just too dangerous to tote
this Jew book back and forth to work on my commute.



I lost my last job about 2 weeks after i started taking it to work.







[Edited on December 11, 2007 at 12:03 AM. Reason : ]

12/10/2007 11:56:58 PM

i'm reading Death of a Dissident right now- it is one of the best books i have read in a while... and I especially like the politics behind the whole ordeal. Makes me wish I paid more attention to these things when I was younger...




[Edited on December 24, 2007 at 1:53 AM. Reason : pic]

12/24/2007 1:53:11 AM

^i think i would enjoy that book very much

12/24/2007 4:02:09 AM

just finished Dissident- and it was outstanding. anybody who cares about the politics in that area of the world should read this.

12/27/2007 5:25:49 PM

pm sent

12/27/2007 5:42:31 PM

bttt by request

3/28/2008 11:19:15 AM

http://www.amazon.com/Doing-Nothing-History-Loungers-Slackers/dp/086547737X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206719438&sr=1-2


http://www.amazon.com/War-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0192807161/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206719702&sr=1-1


http://www.amazon.com/Making-Atomic-Bomb-Richard-Rhodes/dp/0684813785/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206719752&sr=1-2

3/28/2008 11:23:36 AM

Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy by Thomas Sowell

3/28/2008 11:24:03 AM

ATLAS SHRUGGED

for you libertarians out there.

3/28/2008 11:35:30 AM

So what book would you recommend for an aspiring internet neckbeard such as yourself?

You know, the kind that's better than everyone else and needs to make them aware of it. Enlighten us all.

3/28/2008 11:50:07 AM

TSB Books I've Read I'm So Smrt Club

3/28/2008 2:16:09 PM

Thomas Sowell is a genius

3/28/2008 2:47:13 PM

Lifting the Veil (PAPERBACK MOTHERFUCKER)
by David Icke (Fucking Author)

3/28/2008 3:29:52 PM

Ain't he the guy that the said the royal family was all a bunch of lizard aliens?

3/28/2008 3:32:54 PM

Dude, he is the MOST CONTROVERSIAL SPEAKER IN THE FUCKING WORLD

3/28/2008 3:34:39 PM

that book might as well be written by salisburyboy

^^yeah according to him, people like Queen Elizabeth, George Bush, Hillary Clinton, etc are all reptilians from the Draconian galaxy whose reptilian DNA allows them to be shapeshifters...and obviously if they breed with a regular human, the offspring will be a hybrid reptilian, which of course is under the total mind control of the pure reptilians

a real down to earth perspective of how the world is run.....

3/28/2008 3:37:30 PM

Yeah, it's a great read! It makes a lot of sense!

3/28/2008 3:47:25 PM

^

3/29/2008 12:06:08 AM

The Politically Incorrect Guide To US History by a Hurf Durf Gurf....

j/k, I read books by sane people. Also, stay away from Regenery Press, kids.

Read these recently:

Bad Samaritans: Rich Nations, Poor Policies and the Threat to the Developing World by Ha-Joon Chang.

Chang out-Friedmans (that's Thomas) Friedman by actually examining economic history and clearly illustrating what has worked and what hasn't worked in developmental economics and why the phrase "free trade with free nations" should be just the beginning of any free trade agreements. There's a reason why nations who have followed the suggestions of the World Bank and IMF so closely have yet to meet the levels of development found in South Korea, Taiwan and even in the largely misunderstood miracle countries from Singapore to China, who all had more closely managed investment and trade policies than are typically suggested to countries who have failed constantly at implementing IMF policies (like Bolivia). He builds on his initial theory of "kicking away the ladder" and shows how most free trade policies as we currently know them are not in the interest of a country with little economic base. Remember, the first great free trade zone was the British Empire, and Britain itself was protectionist. Most reviewers I've read have been impressed, no matter their economic opinions. It's not going to hold up what most people believe with regards to trade policy in here, but it makes a solid argument for national sovereignty in development by pointing to, especially, Chang's native South Korea. Free trade works when it's among nations sharing similar levels of quality, developed industries (ala the EU, or parts of NAFTA).

Against the Tide by Lincoln Chafee

Reading this one right now. The best part of this book is Chafee rescuing the history of the Republican Party from the memory hole. It didn't begin with Bob Taft and it only came to be defined by the hard right following the mobilization of the anti-Civil Rights block and other members of the far-right and the Goldwater block in 1964 against liberal Republicans who wanted to preserve the elements of compromise and pragmatism seen through the Eisenhower years. It's interesting though to read what exactly went on with the old line of the northern GOP in its twilight days, who have been undermined by the national party image despite large amounts of support in their home states.

These are just recent reads but I'll throw some other favorites out, some religious stuff, some philosophical: God's Politics by Jim Wallis, The Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton, Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard, Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill, Stranger than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk (has more social commentary than other books, and even covers Kierkegaard, who knew?), and I'm delving into Thomas Aquinas and John Rawls now, as well. I could probably name more history books than you can imagine. Start with the best in American history, John Brown by W.E.B. DuBois.

3/30/2008 11:11:10 PM

Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning by Jonah Goldberg

3/31/2008 3:25:56 AM

I don't get to read as much as I used to. I used to think I didn't have any spare time in school until I started working...AND going to school (yet I still have time for t-dubbing, my priorities are a joke).

But one great read for anyone interested on understanding the current wars in Iraq and Afganistan is Imperial Hubris. It may seem a little dated in parts now, but it really helped me better understand the motivation of terrorists (it ain't because we're rich and they're poor or because they're muslim and we ain't) and I don't think that has changed.


[Edited on March 31, 2008 at 5:29 AM. Reason : ``]

3/31/2008 5:26:52 AM

Quote :

"Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning by Jonah Goldberg"

Ah, yes, historians are having a field day ripping this one apart. Well, maybe a couple. Most realize it's just a troll job and the author all but admits as much in the last chapter.

Also, Godwin.

Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Than

This was originally written by Nhat Than to simply point out the similarities in the life of Christ and the path to the divine for many Buddhists. It ended up drawing the attention and forging a community of interfaith study, promoted and partaken in by Martin Luther King and the trappist monk Thomas Merton (see previous post). While there are obviously theological differences which aren't exactly reconcilable, it illustrates clearly that the path to peace in both religions is remarkably similar for those who choose to not tie themselves so strongly to the desires of this world and who agree in pursuing goals of peace, respect for all life, and understanding on earth. The lives of Than and Merton, two men devout in their individual faiths and yet so interested in learning from each other's faiths and the similarities between some of the most important actions of those who strive for their ultimate fulfillment really should have ended in a Nobel Prize, especially in a decade where Sartre was being snooty and rejecting his (not to take away from Sartre's work, but damn).

[Edited on April 1, 2008 at 12:05 AM. Reason : .]

3/31/2008 11:57:58 PM

How I Accidentally Joined the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy (and Found Inner Peace) by Harry Stein

4/1/2008 6:17:23 AM