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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-20-04 03:26 PM
Original message
Book Club: Thread for nominating and seconding future books.
I needed somewhere to put the collected list of all nominees so far, so I thought I'd start a new thread, and we can also use this thread for future nominations and secondings of our future books.
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-20-04 03:28 PM
Response to Original message
1. Here's EVERYTHING we've nominated to date
In plain text so I get to keep the links.  Including the stuff
we're voting on now because not all of it will get to make the
cut.

1- Tesebria: "What's the Matter with Kansas", by
Thomas Frank
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805073396/qid=1100978876/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
Because it's new and relevant
**Seconded by Crispini
**Seconded by OrwellWasRight
**Seconded by 48percenter

2- Dem Bones Dem Bones: "Imperial Hubris" by
Anonymous 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1574888498/qid=1100978935/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
About why the U.S. does not understand Osama bin Laden's
motivations and why we will not succeed in establishing
democracy in 

the tribal Islamic society of Afghanistan, or fare much better
in Iraq.
**seconded by DebJ
**Seconded by 48percente

3- OMG:  "Chain of Command : The Road from 9/11 to Abu
Ghraib" by Seymour Hersh
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060195916/qid=1100980660/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
**seconded by Dem Bones Dem Bones

4- Dem Bones Dem Bones: "American Dynasty" by Kevin
Phillips 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670032646/qid=1100980729/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
(about the Bushes) 
**seconded by DebJ

5- Dem Bones Dem Bones: "Against All Enemies" by
Richard Clarke
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743260244/qid=1100980835/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
about the screw ups, and the right things done by, four
different American presidents that led us to our current
situation
**seconded by DebJ

6- Tesebria: "Charlie Wilson's War" by George Crile
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0871138549/qid=1100980925/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
Great book b/c it is funny, however horrifying, and very
revealing about how government really (?!) works
**Seconded by crispini

7- crispini: "Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your
Values and Frame the Debate" by George Lakoff
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1931498717/qid=1100981051/sr=2-2/ref=pd_ka_b_2_2/102-0812768-1832166
this book is great, very timely and practical. Short, an easy
read, and very good if you're wondering about
"framing." Howard 

Dean and John Kerry are both big fans of Lakoff. IMO this
should be required reading for every candidate or anyone
working on 

a campaign.
**Seconded by 48percenter

8- mike6640: "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard
Dawkins
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393315703/qid=1100981129/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
It is a thesis on evolution and the complexity of life, one
step at a time. Dawkins does a pretty good job quoting and 

rebutting the 'creationist' arguments.
**seconded by Tesibria

9- 48percenter: "Running On Empty - How The Democratic
and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What
Americans 

Can Do About It" Pete Petersen
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374252874/qid=1100981183/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
**seconded by Tangledog

10- Fleurs du Mal: "Freedom Evolves" by Daniel
Dennett
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670031860/qid=1100981273/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
**seconded by Tangledog 

Tesebria: Truth and Consequences: Seven who would not be
silenced, by Greg Mitchell (available used at www.amazon.com,
www.powells.com and www.abebooks.com ). Story of 7
whistleblowers - the good, bad and ugly. Just got this book -
Studs Terkel 
gave glowing review.

Tesebria: Pakistan: In the Shadow of Jihad and Afghanistan,
by Mary Anne Weaver. Quick read, fascinating insights into
both Pakistan and Afghanistan

Tesebria: The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death
of Democracy, by Noreena Hertz. Another book I just got on the

strong recommendation of several friends. "Fast becoming
the central text of the antiglobalization movement,"
according to 
Christian Science Monitor

Dem Bones Dem Bones: "Iron Triangle" is a must read.
It's about the Carlyle Group, as I recall.

OrwellwasRight: Wealth & Democracy--Phillips

OrwellwasRight: Best Democracy Money Can Buy (Revised
Edition)--Palast

OrwellwasRight: Downsizing Democracy--Crenson & Ginsberg

48percenter: Lakoff: Moral Politics

48percenter: Lou Dobbs: Exporting America

48percenter: Metaphors We Live By, Lakoff, 1983

billyoc: Hegemony or Survival -- Noam Chomsky. An analysis of
America's pursuit of total domination and the atastrophic 
consequences that are sure to follow.

HuckleB: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. 
Confessions is simply something that doesn't come along very 
often. This book should be required reading for every
American. Period. Anyone who even begins to wonder why we are
in Iraq,
why we ousted Allende, why we foment uprisings against Chavez,
and on and on and on can no longer wonder, once they have read
this book. It's a first-hand account that leaves no question
behind.

HuckleB: Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's
Perilous Path in the Middle East by Rashid Khalidi... In my 
opinion, Resurrecting Empire, is the most history-based
evaluation of administration policy around. It definitely
should have 
gotten better coverage, and bigger sales. Much of what Khalidi
informs us, remains outside the debate today, though the 
content is absolutely necessary to the debate.

AP: Twilight of Equality by Lisa Duggan.
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Fleurs du Mal Donating Member (511 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-02-04 06:32 PM
Response to Reply #1
4. Feb nominations
Seems quick having just started by shouldn't we be doing nominations for the Feb book now so we can have the vote done by mid-December?
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 12:05 AM
Response to Reply #4
6. Righty-ho.
do you think we need a new thread?

we have so many here already. I was hoping this one would do fine for all noms......
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fishnfla Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-21-04 06:46 PM
Response to Original message
2. thanks for your hard work crispini
and this good idea. Methink the current list is quite extensive and good for awhile. i suppose the readers think (yes i am a mind reader ;) that we can just work off it for awhile. hopefully this project will sustain and evolve
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Nov-22-04 11:27 AM
Response to Reply #2
3. aw, you're most welcome.
:) I don't think we're hurting for noms either... I mostly just wanted somewhere to put it.
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nagbacalan Donating Member (93 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-02-04 11:15 PM
Response to Original message
5. A secret Al Qaeda decoder ring for the best entry,
To date, I haven't encountered a critical analysis of "My Pet Goat." Perhaps it's time for a little nanny deconstruction.
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TaleWgnDg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 12:32 AM
Response to Original message
7. there's a great informational book . . .
Edited on Fri Dec-03-04 12:32 AM by TaleWgnDg
by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is an environmental attorney as well as an environmental activist. Kennedy gives fantastic insight and information about GWBush's environmental catastrophe. It's done with factual information backed up with sources, cites, and endnotes.

Crimes Against Nature, by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

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Tafiti Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 03:01 PM
Response to Reply #7
8. I agree that we have plenty to work with on the list...
...but if we can add one more, I would like to second Kennedy's "Crimes Against Nature".
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Fleurs du Mal Donating Member (511 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 06:12 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. I'd like to knock this one out as well
So I second Crimes Against Nature in addition to The Blind Watchmaker.
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TaleWgnDg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 09:03 PM
Response to Reply #11
14. indeed. ty . . . n/t
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TaleWgnDg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 08:59 PM
Response to Reply #8
13. ty and a great choice it is too! n/t



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NMDemDist2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 05:14 PM
Response to Reply #7
10. Crimes against Nature has my vote for Feb
now if I can just get my hands on "Kansas".......
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TaleWgnDg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 09:04 PM
Response to Reply #10
15. hear, hear!! ty
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 05:01 PM
Response to Original message
9. NOMS / SECONDS for FEB BOOK will close Wed. 8th!
Because we already have a lot of books, I figure that the next nomination / seconding period can be a little shorter.

In this thread! Have at it!
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Fleurs du Mal Donating Member (511 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 06:19 PM
Response to Original message
12. Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court Vs. the American People
by Jamin B. Raskin. I'd like to get some books on the Supreme Court in the mix for future consideration. If you think you might be interested in seconding it, check out the Table of Contents, Excerpt, Index, etc. at amazon.
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 09:52 PM
Response to Original message
16. Ordering online? Don't forget the DU link.
Order from Amazon.com on the home page or through here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=democraticund-20&path=subst/home/home.html

and part of your purchase will go to DU.
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 10:40 PM
Response to Original message
17. A practical handbook on activism
Edited on Fri Dec-03-04 10:42 PM by crispini
I'd really like to read something that's of a practical bent, about how to organize and effect change out on the streets. I went looking on Amazon and found these.

"Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky, which appears to be an "oldie but goodie."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679721134/qid=1102130705/sr=8-10/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i10_xgl14/103-5308093-5243033?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

"The Activists' Handbook, A Primer" by Randy Shaw. More recent, blurbs give it high praise.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0520229282/qid=1102131080/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-5308093-5243033?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

"Organizing for Social Change:Midwest Academy Manual for Activists"

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/092976594X/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/103-5308093-5243033?v=glance&s=books&st=*

Understand, I haven't read any of these myself yet. I've read MoveOn.org's "Fifty Ways to Love Your Country," which was good, but pretty insubstantial. It had lots of good ideas, but I'm really looking for concrete strategies and tactics as well.

Since I haven't read any of these I'd really like to hear from someone who has read any of them about their recommendation.
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katinmn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-03-04 11:28 PM
Response to Reply #17
18. Garrison Keillor's "Homegrown Democrat"
Don't think I'm playing favorites just because I'm a Minnesotan. I think this book would be a good bonding experience.:)
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Maddy McCall Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Dec-04-04 12:29 AM
Response to Original message
19. I would like to nominate Will D. Campbell's Brother to a Dragonfly
I am a professional historian--ethnohistory--and I'd like to suggest a book for February. Will D. Campbell's "Brother to a Dragonfly." It's about growing up in the south during Jim Crow from the white perspective, and it details the events that led him to be a founding member of MLK's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Simultaneously, while he was fighting for black civil rights (he was with the Little Rock nine when they tried to integrate Little Rock high school), he was trying to nurse his brother through drug addiction. I PROMISE that this book will not disappoint.

I am suggesting it for Feb, because I am sure that most people will have to order it through Amazon or BN.

Please trust me on this book. Please. Everyone to whom I have lent it has said that it was life altering, as far as their perspective on race relations in the South. The stories of white progressives are rarely told. Will D. Campbell deserves hero status.
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-06-04 11:31 AM
Response to Original message
20. Here's one that Keith Olbermann recommends
in his latest blog: "Fraud of the Century"

From the Amazon.com review: "Stop me if you've heard this one: election night comes and goes and the race between two American presidential candidates is too close to call. The popular vote supports the reticent Democrat, but the well-connected Republican is named president after a lengthy and controversial fight over recounts and electoral votes. Of course, we're speaking of the 1876 contest between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden as chronicled in Fraud of the Century by historian Roy Morris Jr."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743223861/qid%3D1102287007/sr%3D2-1/ref%3Dpd%5Fka%5Fb%5F2%5F1/103-5308093-5243033

Sounds good!
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-07-04 01:44 PM
Response to Original message
21. Here's the revised collection.
Right now there are nine books that have been both nominated and seconded. So there is a spot for one more to be seconded and get into the poll. After that we'll have to cut it off simply because there are only 10 spots in the polls.

1-- Dem Bones Dem Bones: "Imperial Hubris" by Anonymous
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1574888498/qid=1100978935/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
About why the U.S. does not understand Osama bin Laden's motivations and why we will not succeed in establishing democracy in the tribal Islamic society of Afghanistan, or fare much better in Iraq.
**seconded by DebJ
**Seconded by 48percente

2-- TaleWgnDg: "Crimes Against Nature" by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
who is an environmental attorney as well as an environmental activist. Kennedy gives fantastic insight and information about GWBush's environmental catastrophe. It's done with factual information backed up with sources, cites, and endnotes.
seconded by Tafiti
seconded by Fleurs du Mal
seconded by AZDemDist6

3-- OMG: "Chain of Command : The Road from 9/11 to Abu
Ghraib" by Seymour Hersh
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060195916/qid=1100980660/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
**seconded by Dem Bones Dem Bones

4-- Dem Bones Dem Bones: "American Dynasty" by Kevin Phillips
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670032646/qid=1100980729/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
(about the Bushes)
**seconded by DebJ

5-- Dem Bones Dem Bones: "Against All Enemies" byRichard Clarke
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743260244/qid=1100980835/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
about the screw ups, and the right things done by, four different American presidents that led us to our current situation
**seconded by DebJ

6-- Tesebria: "Charlie Wilson's War" by George Crile
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0871138549/qid=1100980925/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
Great book b/c it is funny, however horrifying, and very revealing about how government really (?!) works
**Seconded by crispini

7-- mike6640: "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393315703/qid=1100981129/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
It is a thesis on evolution and the complexity of life, one step at a time. Dawkins does a pretty good job quoting and rebutting the 'creationist' arguments.
**seconded by Tesibria

8-- 48percenter: "Running On Empty - How The Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It" Pete Petersen
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374252874/qid=1100981183/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
**seconded by Tangledog

9-- Fleurs du Mal: "Freedom Evolves" by Daniel Dennett
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670031860/qid=1100981273/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0812768-1832166
**seconded by Tangledog

======================================================

Tesebria: Truth and Consequences: Seven who would not besilenced, by Greg Mitchell (available used at www.amazon.com, www.powells.com and www.abebooks.com ). Story of 7 whistleblowers - the good, bad and gly. Just got this book - Studs Terkel gave glowing review.

Fleurs du Mal: Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court Vs. the American People by Jamin B. Raskin.

Tesebria: Pakistan: In the Shadow of Jihad and Afghanistan, by Mary Anne Weaver. Quick read, fascinating insights into both Pakistan and Afghanistan

Tesebria: The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy, by Noreena Hertz. Another book I just got on the strong recommendation of several friends. "Fast becoming the central text of the antiglobalization movement," according to Christian Science Monitor

Dem Bones Dem Bones: "Iron Triangle" is a must read. It's about the Carlyle Group, as I recall.

OrwellwasRight: Wealth & Democracy--Phillips

OrwellwasRight: Best Democracy Money Can Buy (Revised Edition)--Palast

OrwellwasRight: Downsizing Democracy--Crenson & Ginsberg

48percenter: Lakoff: Moral Politics

48percenter: Lou Dobbs: Exporting America

48percenter: Metaphors We Live By, Lakoff, 1983

billyoc: Hegemony or Survival -- Noam Chomsky. An analysis of America's pursuit of total domination and the catastrophic consequences that are sure to follow.

HuckleB: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. Confessions is simply something that doesn't come along very often. This book should be required reading for every American. Period. Anyone who even begins to wonder why we are in Iraq, why we ousted Allende, why we foment uprisings against Chavez, and on and on and on can no longer wonder, once they have read this book. It's a first-hand account that leaves no question behind.

HuckleB: Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East by Rashid Khalidi... In my opinion, Resurrecting Empire, is the most history-based evaluation of
administration policy around. It definitely should have gotten better coverage, and bigger sales. Much of what Khalidi informs us, remains outside the debate today, though the content is absolutely necessary to the debate.

AP: Twilight of Equality by Lisa Duggan.

katinmn: Garrison Keillor's "Homegrown Democrat"

Crispini: Request for "Something about Organizing" with three links (below)
"Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky, which appears to be an "oldie but goodie."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679721134/qid=1102130705/sr=8-10/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i10_xgl
14/103-5308093-5243033?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

"The Activists' Handbook, A Primer" by Randy Shaw. More recent, blurbs give it high praise.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0520229282/qid=1102131080/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14
/103-5308093-5243033?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

"Organizing for Social Change:Midwest Academy Manual for Activists"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/092976594X/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/103-5308093-5243033?v=glan
ce&s=books&st=*

Maddy McCall: Will D. Campbell's Brother to a Dragonfly.
It's about growing up in the south during Jim Crow from the white perspective, and it details the events that led him to be a founding member of MLK's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
Simultaneously, while he was fighting for black civil rights (he was with the Little Rock nine when they tried to integrate Little Rock high school), he was trying to nurse his brother through drug
addiction. I PROMISE that this book will not disappoint. Please trust me on this book. Please. Everyone to whom I have lent it has said that it was life altering, as far as their perspective on
race relations in the South. The stories of white progressives are rarely told. Will D. Campbell deserves hero status.

Crispini: "Fraud of the Century" by Roy Morris Jr.
From the Amazon.com review: "Stop me if you've heard this one: election night comes and goes and the race between two American presidential candidates is too close to call. The popular vote supports the reticent Democrat, but the well-connected Republican is named president after a lengthy and controversial fight over recounts and electoral votes. Of course, we're speaking of the 1876 contest between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden as chronicled in Fraud of the Century by historian Roy Morris Jr."
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hfojvt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-09-04 02:17 AM
Response to Original message
22. Is it still Wednesday
Since this matter will be coming before Congress, I would suggest this book that I bought for my brother:

"Social Security: The Phony Crisis"
Dean Baker; Paperback; $9.00
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Dec-09-04 05:58 PM
Response to Reply #22
23. I'll put it on the big list,
but since poll choices only have 10 spots, I can only put the ones that have been seconded on the poll.... :shrug:
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-21-04 03:51 PM
Response to Original message
24. I'd like to nominate for some future point
"The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media like Real People and Places." by Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass.

This is a seminal work for understanding how human beings react to TV, computers, movies, etc. It's very well written and entertaining and it will surprise the hell out of you. Also, since a lot of people on this forum are interested in media specifically, I thought it might be of interest.
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CitySky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-21-04 05:01 PM
Response to Original message
25. a second, and more
I will second Confessions of an Economic Hitman, if it's not too late.

Would also like to join in for:
Homegrown Democrat
Wealth and Democracy.

Another non-fiction book I've been wanting to read but haven't yet (maybe I'm just a tad behind the curve?) is:
A People's History of the United States (Zinn)

there are others, but for general DU interest, those are some of the tops.
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-14-05 02:47 PM
Response to Original message
26. Call for nominations and seconds for the March book!
Let's say they close Wed. Jan 19th? That'll give us about half a week. I'm not sure we need more than that since there are already so many noms on the list.

NOTE: If you like a book, make sure to second it! Because the seconds are what determine that they make it on the list! I'll take them in the order of the number of seconds that they make, because we can only have 10 in the poll. Does that make sense?
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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-14-05 02:52 PM
Response to Original message
27. Here's the new updated list
Contains all noms and seconds to this point. The stuff with seconds is on the top of the list. (I have withdrawn some of my nominations, since I got the books and I don't like them!) :)

1-- TaleWgnDg: "Crimes Against Nature" by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
who is an environmental attorney as well as an environmental activist. Kennedy gives fantastic insight and information about GWBush's environmental catastrophe. It's done with factual information backed up with sources, cites, and endnotes.
**seconded by Tafiti
**seconded by Fleurs du Mal
**seconded by AZDemDist6

2-- Dem Bones Dem Bones: "Imperial Hubris" by Anonymous
About why the U.S. does not understand Osama bin Laden's motivations and why we will not succeed in establishing democracy in the tribal Islamic society of Afghanistan, or fare much better in Iraq.
**seconded by DebJ
**Seconded by 48percenter

3-- OMG: "Chain of Command : The Road from 9/11 to Abu
Ghraib" by Seymour Hersh
**seconded by Dem Bones Dem Bones

4-- Dem Bones Dem Bones: "American Dynasty" by Kevin Phillips
(about the Bushes)
**seconded by DebJ

5-- Dem Bones Dem Bones: "Against All Enemies" byRichard Clarke
about the screw ups, and the right things done by, four different American presidents that led us to our current situation
**seconded by DebJ

6-- Tesebria: "Charlie Wilson's War" by George Crile
Great book b/c it is funny, however horrifying, and very revealing about how government really (?!) works
**Seconded by crispini

7-- mike6640: "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393315703/qid=1...
It is a thesis on evolution and the complexity of life, one step at a time. Dawkins does a pretty good job quoting and rebutting the 'creationist' arguments.
**seconded by Tesibria

8-- Fleurs du Mal: "Freedom Evolves" by Daniel Dennett
**seconded by Tangledog

9-- HuckleB: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. Confessions is simply something that doesn't come along very often. This book should be required reading for every American. Period. Anyone who even begins to wonder why we are in Iraq, why we ousted Allende, why we foment uprisings against Chavez, and on and on and on can no longer wonder, once they have read this book. It's a first-hand account that leaves no question behind.
**seconded by CitySky

10--katinmn: Garrison Keillor's "Homegrown Democrat"
seconded by CitySky

11- OrwellwasRight: Wealth & Democracy--Phillips
seconded by CitySky
======================================================

Tesebria: Truth and Consequences: Seven who would not besilenced, by Greg Mitchell (available used at www.amazon.com, www.powells.com and www.abebooks.com ). Story of 7 whistleblowers - the good, bad and gly. Just got this book - Studs Terkel gave glowing review.

Fleurs du Mal: Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court Vs. the American People by Jamin B. Raskin.

Tesebria: Pakistan: In the Shadow of Jihad and Afghanistan, by Mary Anne Weaver. Quick read, fascinating insights into both Pakistan and Afghanistan

Tesebria: The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy, by Noreena Hertz. Another book I just got on the strong recommendation of several friends. "Fast becoming the central text of the antiglobalization movement," according to Christian Science Monitor

Dem Bones Dem Bones: "Iron Triangle" is a must read. It's about the Carlyle Group, as I recall.

OrwellwasRight: Best Democracy Money Can Buy (Revised Edition)--Palast

OrwellwasRight: Downsizing Democracy--Crenson & Ginsberg

48percenter: Lakoff: Moral Politics

48percenter: Lou Dobbs: Exporting America

48percenter: Metaphors We Live By, Lakoff, 1983

billyoc: Hegemony or Survival -- Noam Chomsky. An analysis of America's pursuit of total domination and the catastrophic consequences that are sure to follow.


HuckleB: Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East by Rashid Khalidi... In my opinion, Resurrecting Empire, is the most history-based evaluation of
administration policy around. It definitely should have gotten better coverage, and bigger sales. Much of what Khalidi informs us, remains outside the debate today, though the content is absolutely necessary to the debate.

AP: Twilight of Equality by Lisa Duggan.


Maddy McCall: Will D. Campbell's Brother to a Dragonfly.
It's about growing up in the south during Jim Crow from the white perspective, and it details the events that led him to be a founding member of MLK's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
Simultaneously, while he was fighting for black civil rights (he was with the Little Rock nine when they tried to integrate Little Rock high school), he was trying to nurse his brother through drug
addiction. I PROMISE that this book will not disappoint. Please trust me on this book. Please. Everyone to whom I have lent it has said that it was life altering, as far as their perspective on
race relations in the South. The stories of white progressives are rarely told. Will D. Campbell deserves hero status.

Crispini: "Fraud of the Century" by Roy Morris Jr.
From the Amazon.com review: "Stop me if you've heard this one: election night comes and goes and the race between two American presidential candidates is too close to call. The popular vote supports the reticent Democrat, but the well-connected Republican is named president after a lengthy and controversial fight over recounts and electoral votes. Of course, we're speaking of the 1876 contest between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden as chronicled in Fraud of the Century by historian Roy Morris Jr."

hfojvt: "Social Security: The Phony Crisis"
Dean Baker; Paperback; $9.00

crispini: "The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media like Real People and Places." by Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass.

CitySky: People's History of the United States
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stevebreeze Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-14-05 11:26 PM
Response to Reply #27
28. I would like to second Social Security the phony crises
now is the time to fight this.

Sorry I am an economic geek and I feel that more people should understand how much this is the drive of most of the fight wing agenda. I would also like to suggest Krugman's the great unraveling and Perfectly Legal: The Secret Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super-Rich and Cheat Everybody Else
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OrwellwasRight Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-15-05 08:33 PM
Response to Reply #27
29. More nominations:
I just want to give a little plug for Wealth and Democracy by Kevin Phillips. Here's a blurb on it from Amazon.Com:

Most American conservatives take it as an article of faith that the less governmental involvement in affairs of the market and pocketbook the better. The rich do not, whatever they might say--for much of their wealth comes from the "power and preferment of government." So writes Kevin Phillips, the accomplished historian and one-time Washington insider, in this extraordinary survey of plutocracy, excess, and reform. "Laissez-faire is a pretense," he argues; as the wealth of the rich has grown, so has its control over government, making politics a hostage of money. Examining cycles of economic growth and decline from the founding days of the republic to the recent collapse of technology stocks, Phillips dispels notions of trickle-down wealth creation, pricks holes in speculative bubbles, and decries the ever-increasing "financialization" of the economy--all of which, he argues, have served to reduce the well-being of ordinary Americans and government alike.

Also, I don't think anyone has nominated the Republican Noise Machines by David Brock. I nominate it. Here's a blurb from Publisher's Weekly:

In this blistering j'accuse, Brock mounts a less gossipy and more systematic assault on the right-wing media juggernaut of think tanks, publishers, talk radio shows, Web sites and cable networks. He treats it as a disciplined political movement, inspired by Communist subversion techniques, bankrolled by a handful of right-wing zillionaires through corporate and foundation spigots, tightly yoked to the Republican policy agenda and masterminded by arch-conservative Grover Norquist at weekly strategy meetings. By Brock's account, it constitutes a seamless propaganda machine conveying dubious scholarship, Republican talking points and antiliberal smear campaigns from think tanks and Internet rumor mills to the FOX News and talk radio echo chambers and thence through a network of conservative pundits into the quality press. Meanwhile, Brock charges, the mainstream media, cowed by spurious charges of "liberal bias," have abandoned their role as objective arbiters of truth in favor of an uncritical airing of partisan ideology in the name of "balance." The result, he says, is a public discourse in which the line between fact and opinion is blurred, poorly funded liberal voices get shouted down, "no issue can be honestly debated and no election can be fairly decided."

I would also like to second Homegrown Democrat by Garrison Keillor.
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rhite5 Donating Member (510 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-19-05 02:19 AM
Response to Reply #27
30. A couple of seconds to earlier nominations:
I would like to second this book:

"The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy" by Noreena Hertz.

I am also an economic geek. We need to fully understand what globalization is all about and the essential part it plays in the world domination agenda. This is what makes it all possible

And this one:

"Brother to a Dragonfly" by Will Campbell. Sounds interesting and important.
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Fleurs du Mal Donating Member (511 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-19-05 11:49 AM
Response to Reply #27
31. lol, at least half of these noms
are from folks who haven't made a single post in either of the first two book threads. Something a little strange about that imo.
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rhite5 Donating Member (510 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-19-05 02:35 PM
Response to Reply #31
32. You probably did not mean to, but
you make it sound like people are not welcome to join if they weren't here at the beginning.:shrug:
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Fleurs du Mal Donating Member (511 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-19-05 07:17 PM
Response to Reply #32
33. Not at all
I'm talking about nominations that have been there since the beginning yet the nominator has never even contributed. The poll ends up being overrun by one or two people's reading preferences and the noms from newer people don't even get a chance.
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OrwellwasRight Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jan-19-05 09:30 PM
Response to Reply #33
34. Or perhaps it just got started so fast that people who were
interested couldn't keep up.

I thought the December book meant "read in December," and discuss in January, so when the discussion started December 1, I knew all the good discussion would be over before I even had a chance to find an affordable copy of the book.

I didn't even get either book until Christmas and they are both sitting on my coffee table unopened, waiting for me to finish some of the books I had already started before I start more (I really didn't see the need to rush since I knew I would never catch up on those books). And the book I nominated, btw, are the books I had already started reading (at least that way if they get picked I'll know I can keep up with the reading).

I can imagine that there are lots of people who are interested but who, like me, didn't understand how fast it was going to move, lost time over the holidays, didn't know that we were picking books only available in hardcover and oversubscribed at the local libraries, etc.

Perhaps there are lots of legitimate reasons that people nominated books and have not posted to the Book Club thread.

Moreover, perhaps people keep nominating because their original nominations didn't get to be part of either of the first two votes (mine didn't), so they are trying to suggest lots of things that are in their own interest in hopes that other people will find at least one of them interesting as well so it can make it into the vote.
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HuckleB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-20-05 02:31 PM
Response to Reply #31
35. Not really.
When folks have already read a book a while ago, or don't have immediate access to a book, or are in the midst of reading books for work, they can't participate. That's just the reality. Many of these books cost a bundle and have long waits at libraries.
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bettyellen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-25-05 04:30 AM
Response to Original message
36. America's Right Turn: How Conservatives Used New and Alternative Media ...
...... to Take Over America
Ricjhard Viguerie


"Richard A. Viguerie of American Target Advertising, a direct marketing advertising company, pioneered political/ideological direct mail in the 1960s and 1970s. That marriage of direct mail and politics enabled grassroots Americans to participate in the political process to a greater degree than ever before and built the conservative movement that elected President Reagan in 1980. Viguerie's effort was so important that John F. Kennedy Jr.'s magazine, GEORGE, included it on its list of the defining political moments of the 20th century. In December 1999, Lee Edwards in a WASHINGTON TIMES column listed Richard Viguerie as one of 13 "Conservatives of the Century." He is now pioneering the use of the Internet on behalf of conservative free-market politicians and organizations.

The WASHINGTON POST called him the "conservatives' Voice of America." He has been credited with forming dozens of conservative organizations and with helping them grow stronger through political action, think tanks, publications, and representation in the U.S. House and Senate, state legislatures and other levels of government.
In 1979, TIME magazine named him one of 50 future leaders of America.

"America's Right Turn takes a close look at liberals' conspiracy theories, weighs the prospects for Al Franken's new liberal radio venture, Air America, and puts Al Gore's new TV network under the same scrutiny. Save your money, say authors Richard A. Viguerie and David Franke - you're barking up the wrong tree. Citing the conservative experience, they show liberals exactly what they must do to regain the power they once held. But the medicine they prescribe is tough, and not the easy answers many liberals want to hear." "At the same time, Viguerie and Franke warn conservatives that they are making two critical mistakes today - mistakes that can return the liberals to power in a closely divided nation." The advice comes from two Washington insiders with impeccable credentials. Richard A. Viguerie started the conservatives' alternative media revolution in the 1960s and '70s, and is credited by liberals and conservatives alike for transforming American politics.


you guys probably already read it but......i had never seen it before.
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bettyellen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-25-05 02:10 PM
Response to Reply #36
37. two things: okay, i have never posted here before and haven't read a
book with you guys yet. i am guilty. just trying to pass along something that might be intereesting, there's nothing more to it than that.
second, i know the book is by the enemy, i saw someone who's posts i like mention this guy appearing on TV and they thought this book might be worthwhile. it might be bullshit or strategically, it might be interesting.
it really got me thinking how the majority of mail i recieved from Dems was fundraising,and not educating me as a voter. there was a NYT article just after the election giving the direct mail campaign using targeted demographics as the biggest factor giving the election to bush in november.
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bettyellen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-25-05 07:30 PM
Response to Reply #36
38. okay, if anyone cares to see, he's on the Daily Show rerun @11:30
tonight promoting the book....
some highlights:

JS: dispassionate, how to guide how to use direct mail..
rv: for anyone needing to understand.....how we used it to get around the"blockage" of the (60's- cronkite, rather) media
js: afraid you are giving away the store? ... you explain where to target an operation of that kind....it's a how to guide.
rv: direct mail (+internet) is the untold story of this election..
rv: conservatives are not in power yet...????
we are planning to nominate elect and serve as CONSERVATIVES not republicans...
js: marketing an issue that's unpalatable?
rv: repub "phones in his message" (re Bush phoning in support to abortion protesters-rv is more conservative than he is a bush supporter) thank you for bringing it up.
the liberals are not as organized, not a movement.... it's a long march- not a sprint, for us...
js: direct mail is an old sort of medium but this can be applied to the internet.

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crispini Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-29-05 03:46 PM
Response to Original message
39. Well, I hate to say it, but the new input has made the situation worse,
not better.

We have three nominations that have two or three people seconding them. I certainly don't want to cut it down that far.

We have ELEVEN nominations that have one person seconding them. For a total of fourteen. Neither eleven, nor fourteen, will fit on the poll.

I haven't been much help, I'm afraid, because I haven't been around much lately to encourage participation. (I'll address that in a different post.)

Ok, I'm gonna post this and think for a minute. What to do, what to do....
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