Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by J. D. Vance
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Two books by Claudia Koonz are indispensable for understanding how fascism becomes consolidated and normalized, shutting down not just protest but civil society itself, a process we are witnessing right now. "Mothers in the Fatherland: Women, the Family and Nazi Politics" and “The Nazi Conscience”
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I’d suggest “The True Believer, Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements” by Eric Hoffer. Written in 1951, it reads today like a textbook for the Republican effort to create a “movement” to destroy democracy in the US.
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Collusion is AMAZING. I think I’m going to read it again (well, listen - I do audiobooks!).
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So many good, new recs. Thanks everybody!
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On my Amazon wish list!
Ian Kershaw’s “To Hell and Back” for the history-repeats-itself factor. His Hitler biogs are great, but this sweeping look at 20th century European history is extraordinary.
Brilliant! Audiobooks are something I really need to get into.
I agree, Collusion is a good read. I want to read his book, ‘The Snowden Files’ next.
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Just joined up, but here’s 2 timely books to recommend:
Harry G. Frankfurt “On Bullshit” - written in 2005 under GW Bush, but it’s got a whole new relevance. A serious work on the difference between lies and bullshit - I’m convinced Trump is not a liar, he’s a bullshitter. And it matters. (Frankfurt has a companion volume “On Truth”)
Daniel J. Levitin “Weaponized Lies: How to Think Critically in the Post-Truth Era” (previously titled “A Field Guide to Lies and Statistics: A Neuroscientist on How to Make Sense of a Complex World”) - a 2017 treatment of how to identify when people lie with numbers, with language, with anti-science, and with false logic.
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“On Tyranny” and “Between the World and Me” are a couple of my favorites. Glad to see they are so popular in this group.
I would also suggest “Fighting Words: A Toolkit for Combating the Religious Right”
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This actually sounds fascinating. Because honestly, I have no idea how to make sense of anything that comes out of most politicians’ mouths right now.
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An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back by Elisabeth Rosenthal
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Daniel Kahneman (2011): “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” Penguin. An exposition of how and why we make the choices we make. Intellectual and psychoanalytical. Not a quick read, but rewarding
How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS, by David France, describes how men and women ignored by the U.S. government became their own researchers and lobbyists who wouldn’t sit down and shut up.
The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President
The New York Times bestseller! More than two dozen psychiatrists and psychologists offer their consensus view that Trump’s mental state presents a clear and present danger to our nation and individual well-being.
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Geez!..1984 by George Orwell
I would recommend Philip Roth’s “The Plot against America” as an excellent description of how demagogues come to power.
“You’re More Powerful than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide” by Eric Liu
Let us not forget “Farenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, about the destruction of literature. Apply this to today’s destruction of information available to the public through all forms of media and it seems especially relevant.
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Democracy In Chains; The Deep History or the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America
by Nancy MacLean; Random House, 2017 offers historical perspective on the wealthy land and business owners who favor property rights above all else. It is deeply and meticulously researched, and well written and highly readable.
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