📚 Recommended reading for the resistance (books)

Carmina_Dub19 · January 9, 2018, 8:48pm

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild
What’s the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank

Both of these books are must-reads for anyone who is trying understand why otherwise likeable, salt-of-the-earth people continue to vote for politicians who actively undermine their interests. Frank’s book explains how the Republican Party made a devil’s bargain with anti-choice advocates to shore up its flagging numbers, leading to the birth of the Tea Party and much of the pain we’ve suffered since.

celena · January 10, 2018, 10:00pm

Fire and Fury got a (preliminary, maybe?) work-up from Politifact, which might be worth perusing.

cpicciolini · January 11, 2018, 2:00am

harsh, Matt! lol

mouseam · February 14, 2018, 7:15pm

Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic by David Frum

David Frum is a former speechwriter for George W Bush, but he is also the author of the article, The Conservative Case for Voting for Clinton published before the election (11/2/16).
David writes in the beginning of the book (addressing non-Conservatives presumably) about why everyone should care about the erosion of the GOP:

"Maybe you do not much care about the future of the Republican Party. You should. Conservatives will always be with us. If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy. The stability of American society depends on conservatives’ ability to find a way forward from the Trump dead end, toward a conservatism that can not only win elections but also govern responsibly, a conservatism that is culturally modern, economically inclusive, and environmentally responsible, that upholds markets at home and US leadership internationally.”

Masha Gessen Is Worried About Outrage Fatigue (article)

I had flagged this article in my notes from when I was reading Trumpocracy, I can’t totally remember why - I’m assuming because it’s a profile of Masha Gessen for her new book (I haven’t read the book yet tho). Masha Gessen is Russian-American and a longtime activist and critic of Putin.

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh

This is only a paper, not a book - but I’ve read this many, many times for school, but I still always re-read it at least once a year because it has invaluable reminders (even though it was written in 1989). I recently meet quite a few people who have never heard of this paper, so I thought I’d share. (Here is also a link to the full length version too.)

anon95374541 · June 17, 2019, 2:25am

How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt

The book argues that “democracies erode slowly, in barely visible steps.” They rot from the inside, poisoned by leaders who “subvert the very process that brought them to power.”

Don’t have time to read? listen to this interview with Ezra Klein from VOX.

anon95374541 · March 16, 2018, 1:39am

Just started Russian Roulette by David Corn and Michael Isikoff. Fuuuuuck. A must read so far…

Don’t have time to read the whole book, Terry Gross has you covered.

Gadget · March 17, 2018, 8:08pm

There was a book just published yesterday called “Russian Roulette” about Trump and Russia

dragonfly9 · March 27, 2018, 11:47pm

Ari Berman who used to write for The Nation, but now is a writer for Mother Jones - but he knows a lot about voting rights, ballot issues.

Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America Paperback – August 2, 2016
by Ari Berman

mouseam · March 27, 2018, 5:49pm

Listened to this twice already! There’s so much in it - there were so many things I missed the first time around! It’s amazing tho! Great companion to Luke Harding’s book too!

anon95374541 · March 27, 2018, 5:55pm

Yes, yes, yes, I’ve been dying to talk to someone about this book! The Harry Ried letter, the Mother Jones article and the article by Slate, make more sense in the context of that book.

Maxfacter · July 12, 2018, 4:17am

It is probably the training book for the Heritage Foundation …

callmemayday · July 17, 2018, 9:25pm

Has anyone mentioned The World As It Is by Been Rhodes? I found it particularly interesting to look into some of the decisions I disagreed with Obama on (and it’s nice to take a dip into the past where presidential norms were a thing and careful thought was put into matters of national security). It might have been a little bit self serving but it also was a more unfiltered look into Obama’s White House than I’ve seen.

dragonfly9 · July 17, 2018, 9:00pm

Supposed to be really good, and the unvarnished truth.

It was mentioned by Obama on his FB reading list…he writes

The World As It Is by Ben Rhodes
It’s true, Ben does not have African blood running through his veins. But few others so closely see the world through my eyes like he can. Ben’s one of the few who’ve been with me since that first presidential campaign. His memoir is one of the smartest reflections I’ve seen as to how we approached foreign policy, and one of the most compelling stories I’ve seen about what it’s actually like to serve the American people for eight years in the White House.

dragonfly9 · November 20, 2018, 4:55am

Longtime journalist Craig Unger his new book, House of Trump, House of Putin looks full of well researched detail.

"Dear friends, respected colleagues!” Nikonov said. “Three minutes ago, Hillary Clinton admitted her defeat in US presidential elections, and a second ago Trump started his speech as an elected president of the United States of America, and I congratulate you on this.”

Nikonov is a leader in the pro-Putin United Russia Party and, incidentally, the grandson of Vyacheslav Molotov — after whom the “Molotov cocktail” was named. His announcement that day was a clear signal that Trump’s victory was, in fact, a victory for Putin’s Russia.

Longtime journalist Craig Unger opens his new book, House of Trump, House of Putin, with this anecdote. The book is an impressive attempt to gather up all the evidence we have of Trump’s numerous connections to the Russian mafia and government and lay it all out in a clear, comprehensive narrative.

dragonfly9 · February 14, 2019, 5:55pm

Coming from the front lines of the FBI, this book is hitting the news.

In McCabe’s new book, The Threat which is excerpted here is a full-throated response to how strange-acting, mercurial and revengeful T can be in the face of what kinds of threats and/or control the FBI would have on T’s tenure and the Russia investigation question.

Andrew McCabe, formerly head of FBI, who was fired by T within a day of his resigning was also the Acting head of FBI (May, 2017 - Aug 2017.) Christopher Wray followed as head of FBI, starting in Aug 2017) .

McCabe is a lifelong FBI man, who seems to work by the book, and knows his stuff. When T fires Comey, T also tries to influence and manipulate what the FBI felt about it, asserting that everyone at the FBI was glad. McCabe certainly felt the opposite, and saw that T was a threat (see title!)

Reading his discussions on then Deputy head of DOJ, Rod Rosenstein, who did plot to wear a wire and record T in an effort to make of record of how crazy T seemed (Rosenstein still refutes this for some reason) it was true that the 25th amendment was heavily considered.

So read this excerpt from his book…McCabe is scheduled to be interviewed on 60 minutes this Sunday.

And a tweet from Benjamin Wittes, referring to some kind of release of information or denial on McCabe’s part, not sure, but it was an untruth which McCabe said and they nailed him for it. (My best recollection of what happened.)

anon95374541 · February 14, 2019, 6:42pm

Re: The Atlantic excerpt,

On the afternoon of May 17, Rosenstein and I sat at the end of a long conference table in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol. We were there to brief the so-called Gang of Eight—the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate and the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Rosenstein had, I knew, made a decision to appoint a special counsel in the Russia case. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic senator from New York, was to our right. Mitch McConnell, the Republican senator from Kentucky and the Senate majority leader, was to our left. The mood in the room was sober.

McConnell has known this whole time! Where’s the oversight Mitch? Where the fuck is it?!

dragonfly9 · February 14, 2019, 7:16pm

Mitch is blind in both eyes…he would no more let T take a hit than smile.

Mitch also knew when Obama pulled him in pre-election that there WAS Russian meddling and refused to let Obama announce this. Mitch wanted it quiet.

Mitch’s sins of omission are legion…he’s a tool of the Russians, the Koch’s, the Republican Alt Right…and he does not factor in ANY moral reasoning.

Atrocious.

dragonfly9 · February 15, 2019, 12:27am

He didn’t read intelligence reports and mixed up classified material with what he had seen in newspaper clips. He seemed confused about the structure and purpose of organizations and became overwhelmed when meetings covered multiple subjects. He blamed immigrants for nearly every societal problem and uttered racist sentiments with shocking callousness.

This isn’t how President Trump is depicted in a new book by former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe. Instead, it’s McCabe’s account of what it was like to work for then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The FBI was better off when “you all only hired Irishmen,” Sessions said in one diatribe about the bureau’s workforce. “They were drunks but they could be trusted. Not like all those new people with nose rings and tattoos — who knows what they’re doing?”

…

The description of Sessions is one of the most striking revelations in “The Threat,” a McCabe memoir that adds to a rapidly expanding collection of score-settling insider accounts of Trump-era Washington. McCabe’s is an important voice because of his position at the top of the bureau during a critical series of events, including the firing of FBI chief James Comey, the appointment of special counsel Robert S. Mueller, and the ensuing scorched-earth effort by Trump and his Republican allies to discredit the Russia probe and destroy public confidence in the nation’s top law enforcement agency. The work is insightful and occasionally provocative. The subtitle, “How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump,” all but equates the danger posed by al-Qaeda and the Islamic State to that of the current president.

McCabe is a keen observer of detail, particularly when it comes to the president’s pettiness. He describes how Trump arranges Oval Office encounters so that his advisers are forced to sit before him in “little schoolboy chairs” across the Resolute Desk. Prior presidents met with aides on couches in the center of the room, but Trump is always angling to make others feel smaller.

Maxfacter · February 20, 2019, 5:21am

What it is…is the Russians have both parties emails, including the GOP and that kind of explains Lindsey Graham… and money in McConnell’s senate PAC - last count I heard reported (or known) was $3.5M. There was a good story in NYT magazine recently - 2 weeks ago on McConnell. One thought was they could get what they wanted on - taxes, judges etc., and the Trump thing would blow over with no damage to the country or our institutions. Losing while wining - or just don’t give a shit because you have had a life long hard on for this agenda? At this point it is the same thing. Citizen United…the gift that keeps on giving!

Maxfacter · February 20, 2019, 5:49am

That one kept me up at night when I first read it!