Books everyone should read

nesf

I thought it'd be interesting to gather some book titles together on essential reading for the modern informed political person. If a book has a bias (i.e. Chomsky is leftish etc) then say it.


The Ascent of Money: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ascent_of_Money

If you're going to talk about the banking system you'd better know a bit about its history and why things are they way they are. A fascinating book, very informative and relatively neutral in analysis. Will not be satisfying to any committed Marxists I think.

karma_

Hopefully not too off topic, but all 6 episodes of the documentary version of Ascent of Money is on 4oD.

ILikeBananas

Great thread idea.

Here's my submission:



It's an absolute tome but I found it a very informative read. Fisk wouldn't be the biggest fan of the state of Israel or American foreign policy but there's a lot more to it than that angle. If nothing else this book will educate the reader about numerous conflicts, revolutions and tragedies throughout the Arab world as well as in Iran, Afghanistan, Israel and Turkey.

wiseguy

The leftie members of the site [an especially the "occupy movement" extremists] could do with a read of Animal Farm, before proceeding to read 1984 followed by The Gulag Archipelago

On the economic front
False Economy: A Surprising Economic History of the World
Is worth a read, here is an extract
the coverage of Argentina and its defaults as well as protectionist causes are covered


as for Niall Ferguson mentioned by op, read his latest
Civilization: The West and the Rest
Also available on 4od if you dont want to read.

His Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals is quite good if you are interested in history but thats going offtopic

anymore

The Bible - self explanatory,

matthew8

wiseguy wrote: »

The leftie members of the site [an especially the "occupy movement" extremists] could do with a read of Animal Farm, before proceeding to read 1984 followed by The Gulag Archipelago

I haven't read the Gulag one, but though I'm libertarian I cringe when people tell leftists to read some George Orwell. He was a leftist, a communist until after the Spanish civil war, when he was still left of left. His concerns were more based around the labour party than anything, as it was becoming rather authoritarian. The books are fiction, nothing more. Excellent reads though, I always felt that politics takes away from 1984 as a book as people don't appreciate it for what it is.

SamHarris

The State of Africa - A History of 50 years of independance.

Very good, an excellent overview of why Africa ended up the way it is. Especially important as we move out of the "Arab Spring".

Jeruslaem: The Biography.

It also deals with the surrounding area in some detail, from biblical times to present. Given the amount of outright lies so often laid out by people concerning the region it really is a must read. It gives an excellent basis for the Israeli Palestinian conflict, and really sheds a light on why the problems are so intractable.

The Opium War, by Julia Lovele.

Very good work for giving a basis on why the Chinese act as they do, and perceive the West as they do today.

Ostrom

Never understood why a reading of / appreciation for Marx should be synonymous with socialist leanings. Volume one of Capital is a classic (if only as historical oddity).

One of the first ambitious attempts at generating a coherent theory of history, critical discussion of previous economic thought, histories of the institutions of capitalism, commentaries on everything from classical philosophy to Darwin to the role of white bread in urban wage depression. Initiated a critical discussion which arguably laid the basis for modern economics via. the neoclassical labour theory of value debates.

Sergeant

An absolute tome, but a fascinating and very readable account of Europe in the aftermath of the 2nd world war.

Lockstep

+1 for 1984 and Animal Farm (although I say that as a Social Democrat )

Deterring Democracy by Noam Chomsky
Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman
Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman
The Return of Depression Economics by Krugman.
Political Ideologies by Andrew Haywood
The Communist Manifesto by Marx
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
The Earth Shall Weep: cracking book on Native American History. A glossed over part of American history.
Ditto for King Leopold's Ghost on BElgian colonialism.


Teach Yourself Politics by Joyce was a great for me, something I often reccomend to people

Politics in the Republic of Ireland by Coakley and Gallagher is excellent, encompassing everything from the court system to voting trends.

karma_

A People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn

Radical and controversial at the time, a great book that dispenses with the traditional method of detailing history.

Suryavarman

Defending the Undefendable by Walter Block. It is a great defense of the more "undesirable" members of our society such as the pimp, the blackmailer, the person that shouts fire in a crowded theater and many more. Available for free online here.

Milton Friedman's Free to Choose. The book was made into a TV series which is available for free on Youtube here. The TV series did more to turn me into a libertarian than any other work.

I'd also second the previous mentions of 1984 and Capitalism and Freedom.

Finally I'll recommend the infamous Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. A survey once found that it was the most influential book behind the Bible. When it was first released it was widely panned by critics. A widely divisive book but one that I personally consider a masterpiece.

goose2005

Collapse by Jared Diamond

Ellian

Pretty much anything by Thomas Paine.

PRAF

goose2005 wrote: »

Collapse by Jared Diamond

Read it, one of the best books I ever read. Reads a bit like a college manual but cracking content in it. Guns, Germs and Steel by the same author is similarly great.

nesf

PRAF wrote: »

Read it, one of the best books I ever read. Reads a bit like a college manual but cracking content in it. Guns, Germs and Steel by the same author is similarly great.

Yeah, I'd second Guns, Germs and Steel.


I'd also add Steven Pinker's The Blank Slate and his Angels or our better Nature as well as good preps on human nature in the first instance and the decline of violence in the second.

doomed

Suryavarman wrote: »

Finally I'll recommend the infamous Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. A survey once found that it was the most influential book behind the Bible. When it was first released it was widely panned by critics. A widely divisive book but one that I personally consider a masterpiece.

I suspect that survey had a fair bit in common with the one that voted Ronnie O'Brien as Juventus player of the century.

Valmont

Great idea for a thread! I can think of a few I want to read already.

It's a work of fiction but also a philosophical treatise and a meditation on the real nature of the engines of progress: rational self-interest, individual rights, and a free economy.

Chuck Stone

The Road to 9/11: Peter Dale Scott

Essential Chomsky

Kinski

matthew8 wrote: »

The books are fiction, nothing more. Excellent reads though, I always felt that politics takes away from 1984 as a book as people don't appreciate it for what it is.

1984 is a highly political novel by a highly political author; it's counter-intuitive to assert that discussing politics in relation to his work somehow detracts from our understanding of it.

efla wrote: »

Never understood why a reading of / appreciation for Marx should be synonymous with socialist leanings. Volume one of Capital is a classic (if only as historical oddity).

One of the first ambitious attempts at generating a coherent theory of history, critical discussion of previous economic thought, histories of the institutions of capitalism, commentaries on everything from classical philosophy to Darwin to the role of white bread in urban wage depression. Initiated a critical discussion which arguably laid the basis for modern economics via. the neoclassical labour theory of value debates.

How can you claim that it kicked off a "discussion which arguably laid the basis for modern economics", and yet also describe it is as an "historical oddity"?

Though anyone who is interested in reading Capital: Volume One could view the videos of David Harvey's seminar course while reading the book; and if they are interested in following that up with a Marxist interpretation of the current crisis, they could also read Harvey's The Enigma of Capital.

pragmatic1

The 48 laws of power.

Ostrom

Kinski wrote: »

How can you claim that it kicked off a "discussion which arguably laid the basis for modern economics", and yet also describe it is as an "historical oddity"?

Because it did?

The neoclassical turn came about primarily due to the marginal utility / labour theory of value debates around the turn of the century and later. Arguably one of the single most influential academic debates in human history which formed a new paradigmatic basis for later 'strong programme' quantitative economics.

Harvey himself states as much in The Limits to Capital

The 'historical oddity' comment is not my own view - it seemed a less threatening invitation to read

Kinski

efla wrote: »

The 'historical oddity' comment is not my own view - it seemed a less threatening invitation to read

That was all I was picking you up on. I'd consider a book like Ignatius L. Donnelly's Atlantis: The Antediluvian World to be an example of an "historical oddity"; it seemed a strange description to apply to such a famous and influential text, but I understand now why you used it!

Permabear

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latenia

The Great Crash,1929 by JK Galbraith. Accessible and readable for anyone and remarkably prescient when applied to Ireland. Almost every paragraph contains one beautifully written sentence that shines with insight and truth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Crash,_1929

Byron85

Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda - Lt. Gen Romeo Dallaire
The New Rulers of the World - John Pilger
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine - Ilan Pappe
Discipline and Punish - Micheal Foucault
The Moral Landscape - Sam Harris (Not politics related per se, but the possible implications of what is discussed in it definitely applies to politics.)
Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History - Norman Finkelstein

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Would you be able to recommend any Friedman actually?


Also, I read Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land not long ago. Great read!

Sergeant

Hayek: The Road to Serfdom. A compelling treatise that propagates the theory that socialism and fascism have/had common roots in their desire to have ultimate control over the individual. Doesn't really deal with social democracy, or how the early exponents envisaged it.

Francis Spufford: Red Plenty. A wonderful and very eccentric book that details some of the economic policies of the Soviet Union under Khrushchev. It's fiction, but it's a book about economics at the same time. Told in a series of short stories. I highly recommend it, without being able to properly explain or elucidate what it's about.

nesf

latenia wrote: »

The Great Crash,1929 by JK Galbraith. Accessible and readable for anyone and remarkably prescient when applied to Ireland. Almost every paragraph contains one beautifully written sentence that shines with insight and truth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Crash,_1929

Great book that one. Never more relevant.

Valmont

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Reading this right now but the laughter is papering over the educational benefits I think...

Soldie

Byron85 wrote: »

Would you be able to recommend any Friedman actually?

Capitalism and Freedom is an informative and concise book.

Byron85

Soldie wrote: »

Capitalism and Freedom is an informative and concise book.

Cheers. Will add it to the list of roughly 15 other books i've to through in the mean time.

Permabear

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SupaNova

I much prefer Rothbard's America's Great Depression. Rothbard begins presenting the different theories of the boom bust and the flaws of each before going on to give an account from a Misean perspective. There is also a recording of Rothbard criticizing Friedman available on mises.org. Friedman's view of the Great Depression is covered:
http://mises.org/media/2322/On-Milton-Friedman

I really would not recommend Human Action lightly. I am re-reading from start to finish at the moment. The first time i gave up and selectively came back to it and read parts of it as i pleased, it is not for the feint of heart. For someone who wants to get a very good feel for Mises without reading a 1000 page treatise, he gave 6 lectures to a lay audience in Buenos Aires that is available as a pdf. For the average person I would highly recommend reading this instead of Human Action:
http://mises.org/etexts/ecopol.pdf

If one is enthusiastic, and has the time to consume a treatise on Economics, and wants the Austrian perspective, i would recommend Man Economy and State over Human Action, but if you have the time to read a treatise you probably have the time to read both.

Manach

From a conservative PoV that I've read:

• The Uses of Pessimism: and the Danger of False Hope by Rodger Scruton
• Parliament of Whores by P. J. O'Rourke
• History of the peloponnesian war by Thucydides
• Reflections on the revolution in France By Burke
• Sacred Causes: Religion and Politics from the European Dictators to Al Qaeda by Michael Burleigh

Fergus_Nash

I don't have any books but what is the general consensus of Hayek?



(I love watching the Keynes vs Hayek rap video)

Lockstep

Soldie wrote: »

Capitalism and Freedom is an informative and concise book.

Yes, I found it a very good read (albeit I disagree with Friedman on most issues)

Lockstep

I should also add Globalisation and its Discontent by Stiglitz.

That was the book that got me interested in both politics and economics.

Suryavarman

SupaNova wrote: »

I much prefer Rothbard's America's Great Depression. Rothbard begins presenting the different theories of the boom bust and the flaws of each before going on to give an account from a Misean perspective. There is also a recording of Rothbard criticizing Friedman available on mises.org. Friedman's view of the Great Depression is covered:
http://mises.org/media/2322/On-Milton-Friedman

Excellent book. Give's a really good insight into what caused the Great Depression and what Hoover attempted to do to try bring it to an end. I don't think it's possible to believe that capitalism caused the Great Depression or that Hoover was a laissez-faire president after reading this book.

I really would not recommend Human Action lightly. I am re-reading from start to finish at the moment. The first time i gave up and selectively came back to it and read parts of it as i pleased, it is not for the feint of heart. For someone who wants to get a very good feel for Mises without reading a 1000 page treatise, he gave 6 lectures to a lay audience in Buenos Aires that is available as a pdf. For the average person I would highly recommend reading this instead of Human Action:
http://mises.org/etexts/ecopol.pdf

If one is enthusiastic, and has the time to consume a treatise on Economics, and wants the Austrian perspective, i would recommend Man Economy and State over Human Action, but if you have the time to read a treatise you probably have the time to read both.

If your having trouble with Human action then maybe you could try Robert Murphy's study guide.

He has one for Man Economy and State as well.

I can't say that I've read either, but they are there if anyone wants them.

RandomName2

The Republic - Plato
The Bible - Multiple authors
Magna Carta - Multiple authors
Leviathan - Hobbes
95 Theses - Luther
Social Contract and Discourses - Rousseau
The Prince - Machiavelli
Vindiciae contra tyrannos - "Stephen Junius Brutus"
Elements of the Philosophy of Right - Hegel
Beyond Good and Evil - Nietzche
A house divided against itself cannot stand - Lincoln
Mein Kampf - Hitler
Schuman Declaration - Schuman
Strategies of Containment - Gaddis

as per the OP.

And all of the above are very biased

Benny_Cake

I recently read Francis Wheen's biography of Karl Marx. It was a superb and entertaining read, from a non-Marxist writer which explodes a few of the myths surrounding Marx. The one conclusion I drew from reading it is that Marx wouldn't have got on too well with many of those who called themselves his disciples over the course of the 20th century.

Ostrom

Benny_Cake wrote: »

I recently read Francis Wheen's biography of Karl Marx. It was a superb and entertaining read, from a non-Marxist writer which explodes a few of the myths surrounding Marx. The one conclusion I drew from reading it is that Marx wouldn't have got on too well with many of those who called themselves his disciples over the course of the 20th century.

Aye, a very enjoyable read. On that point, there are a few books all professing Marxists should read;

John Hutnyk's Bad Marxism - more of an insiders auto-critique, but does a good job of separating more relevant applications from the distortions of cultural studies

Raymond Aron's The Opium of the Intellectuals - timeless account of academic institutionalisation and political philosophy

Joseph Schumpeter's Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy - for one of the more balanced critiques of Marxism (particularly part one - which is presented in a manner similar to that of Aron)

Plautus

Manach wrote: »

From a conservative PoV that I've read:

• The Uses of Pessimism: and the Danger of False Hope by Rodger Scruton
• Parliament of Whores by P. J. O'Rourke
• History of the peloponnesian war by Thucydides
• Reflections on the revolution in France By Burke
• Sacred Causes: Religion and Politics from the European Dictators to Al Qaeda by Michael Burleigh

Would Thucydides really be a 'conservative' though? I know he's a fall back for foreign policy realists, who claim him as a prototype, but I think that might lie in a misinterpretation of the Melian Dialogue.

bradlente

RandomName2 wrote: »

The Republic - Plato
The Bible - Multiple authors
Magna Carta - Multiple authors
Leviathan - Hobbes
95 Theses - Luther
Social Contract and Discourses - Rousseau
The Prince - Machiavelli
Vindiciae contra tyrannos - "Stephen Junius Brutus"
Elements of the Philosophy of Right - Hegel
Beyond Good and Evil - Nietzche
A house divided against itself cannot stand - Lincoln
Mein Kampf - Hitler
Schuman Declaration - Schuman
Strategies of Containment - Gaddis

as per the OP.

And all of the above are very biased

Surely you jest good sir?

AhSureTisGrand

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. The one that gets compared to 1984. It's not as overtly political as its companion, but it really gets you thinking about your views, whatever they may be. By my reading, it is anti-utilitarianism and anti-materialism

Duke Leonal Felmet

A look at the short twentieth century through the eyes of a communist, although I didn't sense an enormous bias (bar the glossing over of the odd communist mishap). I would also recommend:




However, for both books, I would recommend some basic knowledge of these eras, as he makes assumptions on the readers knowledge.

Benny_Cake

Manach wrote: »

From a conservative PoV that I've read:

• The Uses of Pessimism: and the Danger of False Hope by Rodger Scruton
• Parliament of Whores by P. J. O'Rourke
• History of the peloponnesian war by Thucydides
• Reflections on the revolution in France By Burke
• Sacred Causes: Religion and Politics from the European Dictators to Al Qaeda by Michael Burleigh

I really enjoyed Michael Burleigh's "The Third Reich: A Complete History" but I found Sacred Causes bizarre - he seemed to have nothing good to say about the modern world and the bits about Ireland were highly inaccurate and like something out of Punch magazine.

Sand

Id second PBs reccomendation of "The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else" by Hernando de Soto. Its an excellent book which explores the reasons for why the West >>>> Rest in the modern economic order. And what the Rest can do about it.

"Banana Republic: The Failure of the Irish State and How to Fix It" - Anthony Sweeney - Well written exploration of the problems within the Irish state and policymaking, with the presentation of solutions and ideas. It challenges a lot of the pessimism that surrounds us.

"We did nothing" by Linda Polman - account of a reporters presence in several UN missions. The Rwanda episode is particularly tragic.

"The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad" by Fareed Zakaria - explores if individual freedom is actually served by more and more democracy, which is a common view these days.

"Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic" by Tom Holland - basically a case study of the dangers of illiberal democracy and populist "reformers" laid out by Fareed Zakaria. Everything Caesar did was in the cause of the common working man...

"Empires of the Sea: The Final Battle for the Mediterranean, 1521-1580" by Roger Crowley - Not quite sure this is a political book as such, but its a brilliant book covering an earlier, nearly forgotten "clash of civillisations" when Ottoman fleets ravaged the coasts of Europe from Cyprus to Italy to France to Spain punctuated by the terrible siege of Malta and the Battle of Lepanto, a naval battle up there with Salamis, Trafalgar and Midway in terms of historical import. Fantastic read.

ILikeBananas

RandomName2 wrote: »

A house divided against itself cannot stand - Lincoln

Sounds very relevant to US politics these days

pacquiao

ILikeBananas wrote: »

Great thread idea.

Here's my submission:



It's an absolute tome but I found it a very informative read. Fisk wouldn't be the biggest fan of the state of Israel or American foreign policy but there's a lot more to it than that angle. If nothing else this book will educate the reader about numerous conflicts, revolutions and tragedies throughout the Arab world as well as in Iran, Afghanistan, Israel and Turkey.

Serious question. Does he mention Churchill being a Zionist?

My own recommendation would be


Currency Wars
The Making of the Next Global Crisis

JustinDee

Manach wrote: »

Sacred Causes: Religion and Politics from the European Dictators to Al Qaeda by Michael Burleigh

Utter tosh from a pro-agendaic curmudgeon and shows not much more than an inability to transcribe research properly if researched at all.

Duke Leonal Felmet

JustinDee wrote: »

Manach wrote: »

Sacred Causes: Religion and Politics from the European Dictators to Al Qaeda by Michael Burleigh

Utter tosh from a pro-agendaic curmudgeon and shows not much more than an inability to transcribe research properly if researched at all.

Just a suggestion, but could we leave this sort of posting out of the thread? Or else it is just doomed to being closed at some future date. What do people/mods think?