What books have YOU read?

[Arkana]

I'm sitting here looking up at my vast collection of anti-Bush books, and it got me wondering--which books have you guys read?

I have quite a few--I've tried to stay on top of my reading, but as of late I've stalled.

Here's the ones I own.

EDIT: Stupid bold HTML. I split it differently.

EDIT 2: Also have to add Clinton's "My Life". It took me a week, but I finished it while on vacation this summer

"Big Lies," Joe Conason

"FRAUD: The Strategy Behind the Bush Lies and What the Media Didn't Tell You," by Paul Waldman

"Had Enough?: A Handbook For Fighting Back," by James Carville

"Is Our Children Learning?: The Case Against President George W. Bush," by Paul Begala

"The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill," by Ron Suskind

"Against All Enemies," by Richard Clarke

"American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush," by Kevin Phillips

"Dude, Where's My Country?," by Michael Moore

"Stupid White Men," by Michael Moore

"Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right," by Al Franken

"Jews For Buchanan: Did You Hear The One About The Theft Of The American Presidency?," by John Nichols

"The Republican Noise Machine: Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy," by David Brock

"The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: The Truth About Corporate Cons, Globalization, and High-Finance Fraudsters," by Greg Palast

"The I Hate George W. Bush Reader: Why Dubya Is Wrong About Absolutely Everything," by Clint Willis

OK, this one isn't anti-Bush, but it's anti-O'Reilly, and that's as good in my book:

"The Oh Really? Factor: Unspinning Fox News' Bill O'Reilly," by Peter Hart

"What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News," by Eric Alterman (I'm reading this one now)

The rest:

"Bush At War," by Bob Woodward

"Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush," by John W. Dean

"Bushworld: Enter At Your Own Risk," by Maureen Dowd

"The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception," by David Corn

"Reason: Why Liberals Will Win The Battle For America," by Robert Reich

Don't tell me I have no life--I already know this. :)

So, what have you read?

[Columbia]

1. Wow, that's a lot

You should donate them to your local library after you are done with them. Spread the wealth.

[anarchy1999]

43. Have you read yet "America, what went wrong?" Bartlett and Steele,

or the Rich and The Super-Rich by Ferdinand Lundberg,

They Dare to Speak Out by Paul Findley, Congressman from Illinois,

or,

Worse Than Watergate by John W. Dean.


Add all of the above to your list of must reads..

[skooooo]

2. Right now I'm reading..

"The Republican Noise Machine: Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy," by David Brock

[oregon_dem1]

3. Exception to the Rulers

By Amy Goodman

A little dry, but overall a good read. I recommend it.

[rwenos]

4. Richard Hofstadter, "Anti-Intellectualism in America"

I know it was written in 1962, but the picture Hofstadter paints of evangelical Christianity could have been written LAST WEEK. There's a lot of history (back to 1740) of the schism between the Protestants who believed in an educated ministry (Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Anglicans) and those who believed in lay ministry, railed against "elitist" ministers and universities, and preached that "no minister with an education is any more qualified to preach the gospel than an ordinary uneducated man, because the only Book anyone needs in this life is the Good Book" (Baptists, Assemblies of God, Methodists).

Written forty years ago, and it sounds like it was written about the Evangelical Movement in 2004.

This populist religious politics is nothing new, apparently. Somehow I still want to puke.

[Arkana]

5. Scary, ain't it?

I watched a special on Watergate tonight, and it scared me as to how similar this White House is to the Nixon White House. Nixon too thought he was above the law. They operated then, like now, in complete secrecy. Dean, Woodward, and the others agreed at the end (they interviewed each and other members of the Senate Committee throughout the documentary) that the lessons of Watergate had obviously not been learned.

[rwenos]

8. You Got It, Air Napkin

The parallels are appalling. I was in college from 1971-1975, and Nixon was Topic A most all that time. What a bastard! And what bastards he had around him!

Funny thing: John Dean, the Karl Rove of that era, has recently written a book saying that the Bushies appall HIM! When you've crooked out John Dean, you're CROOKED, man.

Hunter Thompson said it best: "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

Only problem is, I don't see a Senator Sam Ervin on the horizon. Do you?

[Eloriel]

36. You've got it really wrong about Dean -- he's one of my heroes

He is, IMO, the ONE principled man from that whole administration. Yes, he got caught up in it as it was happening, but he wasn't a prime mover in any way. Further, before he actually understood all of what was going on, he tried to warn Nixon.

When the thing finally started to break open (i.e., the Senate Watergate hearings), he told all -- and yes, he got some special treatment because of it (tho he did spend some time in prison, IIRC).

I watched a LOT of the Watergate Hearings. My son was an infant, and I was privileged to be able to watch a lot of it as it happened. You talk about your reality tv. Whoooboy. It was RiVETING, simply riveting. Too, it was a time when (a) either people told the truth under oath or you could often tell when they were lying; (b) lying to Congress was still treated as something serious and PUNISHABLE; (c) there were (if you can believe this) still statesmen in the Senate, on both sides. I don't even think you could tell from how they talked what party they belonged to.

Dean's performance, over several lonnnnng days, was stellar. The man had a photographic memory, and he spilled his guts with details, details, details, details like you would NOT believe. It was awesome to watch. His testimony was thoughtful, honest, articulate and well-spoken --IOW, brilliant. Were it not for him and his testimony, the horror that was Watergate (at the time -- nowadays it wouldn't even be given a second thought) would not have ended in the way it did.

IIRC the Republicans tried to smear his statuesque and incredibly beautiful wife, Maureen, who sat in the hearings day after day, by insinuating that she had been a prostitute. They are still married to this day. He stopped practicing law and became a West Coast investment banker. If you ever see him on TV, and he's been on occasionally over the last 3+ years, you will be impressed with him. Not in the least noisy, always just extremely well-spoken, honest (tho with the caution of an attorney, since that's his training) and frankly elegant. He's as impressive as Krugman, though more classy (and I don't mean any disrespect re Krugman, but he's professorial looking and sounding while Dean is principled business-man/attorney looking and sounding). When you see him, you'll see that while he served in a Republican administration, at this time in his life he's definitely a liberal.

He's written a number of extraordinary articles for FindLaw. They are worth reading. His perspective, being on the RIGHT side of administration corruption, is pricelss. And with his legal training and experience in a failed administration, his insight into Constitutional and related matters is remarkable for its insight.

Now, don't EVER diss him again, or you'll have me to deal with. :evilgrin:

Edited to add: he was nothing like Rove in ANY way. Dean was White House counsel. His job didn't have anything to do with political matters, but rather legal issues. Nor was Dean in any way as scheming, conniving, sinister, and Machiavellian as Rove. Haldeman, Erlichman, some of the others were more involved in politics. In fact, Rove is the first purely "political" person -- that is, with politics as his only job -- to have a position in any White house. If Dean is Rove-like, then GWBush is Kennedy-like. There is just that much difference between them.

[anarchy1999]

44. We'll take your back.

N/T Always and forever.

[Kanary]

55. Maaaaan, I wish I still had a memory! I watched every day, also

and I definitely remember Maureen, sitting behind him, in the "pews", and I remember that earnest look on his face, but I can't remember any of the proceedings at all.

It would be great if it could be on tape somewhere to look at.

Memory or not, I do see John Dean as a person of integrity..... sure wish he as listened to more!

Kanary, who, when she saw your subject line, thought you were talking about Dr Dean. :hi:

[Samantha]

62. "There's a cancer on the presidency"

I agree with you. Dean is on my top five heroes list. His current book, Worse than Watergate, I feel, will become a classic. His first book, Blind Ambition, is wonderful. I have a first edition.

As far as the question asked by this thread's author, I have read many of the books on his list. A couple of them I have but have not yet read. I am currently reading Kitty Kelley's The Family. It's difficult to put it down, it's that interesting.

[Mr_Spock]

9. Very interesting. I always marvel at how Dumbo in the WH has repeated

so many errors of the past because of his ignorance, arrogance and just general ass-holedness! I like my new word!

[LisaLynne]

19. I am finishing my Master's, taking my first class in 7 years ...

and the instructor in one of my classes asked us, with deep doubt in her voice, if we really thought there was anti-intellectual sentiments in America. I almost burst out laughing. I thought it was fairly apparent. A friend of mine and I were accosted outside a movie theater for discussing some themes in a movie we had just seen -- by someone we didn't even know! See -- intellectual-wannabees verbally attacked on the street! Anti-intellectualism at it's worst!

[rwenos]

25. Buy the Prof a Copy of Hofstadter's Book

If the prof is over 55, they've probably read it. If they're not, they probably don't even remember who Hofstadter is -- one of the most prominent historians of the 1960's.

It's always fun to show a prof they don't know it all, eh?

;P

[LisaLynne]

26. Yes, that would be great ...

and I think she's younger than I am! Which is bothering me for entirely different reasons. ;)

[rwenos]

If She's Younger --

All the more reason to knock her on her ass, intellectually speaking. They take a job as a prof, they run the risk of being exposed to new ideas from their students.

They knew the job was risky when they took it, in my book.

On the other hand, do nothing that would jeopardize your grade. "Donsmanship first."

[AgadorSparticus]

53. this sounds really interesting. i'm going to have to put it down on

my list. i've got too many books right now to read to add any more to the collection.

[BiggJawn]

6. "It can't happen HERE" by Lewis.

and "When you ride ALONE, you ride with Bin Laden"

And everything I've been able to find on the activities of the Maquis in WWII...

[JanMichael]

13. I've read it, it's awesome. BUT I'll raise you an "Iron Heel"...

...by Jack London...

[BiggJawn]

18. That's on the list...

Right after this book about the German Resistance...Not as exciting as the Maquis. This is mostly about the organization of ranking officers who tried to off Adolph

[nankerphelge]

7. The Family

It's at #1.

[George W. Dunce]

10. What's the matter with Kansas

by Thomas Frank. ... excellent.Just finished it.

[rwenos]

17. Got a Summary?

Should I buy it? read it? Why?

[LisaLynne]

21. Just started it! :) nt

[Wwagsthedog]

11. Read four from your list and a few others

but I get really depressed and have to read some fiction to recover. All of them, including Sorrows of Empire ... by Chalmers Johnson, made me realize that like many Americans, I've been duped by our form of "democracy". Yes, I will show up and try to vote the village idiot out of office but how many others have spent anything more than listening to sound bites on TV to try to understand what is happening to our country. Sputter, sputter........

[rwenos]

16. Fiction is a Needed Escape

From all this downer stuff. When I consider how much science fiction I'll be reading in the next four years, if Bushie is re-elected. Also noir fiction (although I've read just about all of it), classics and crime fiction -- my paperback book budget screams out for mercy!

We're all going to need some escapist literature if this toad wins again.

[Cleita]

12. I'm not into anti-Bush as much as I am into the truth.

The truth, of course is anti-Bush. I just picked up our own DUer Paul Thompson's book, "The Terror Timeline". I am riveted and it's so journalistically written, (like the old fashioned journalists like Dan Rather that I heard trashed tonight on Bill Maher). I had to sit in my husband's clinic for three and a half hours while he received therapy, so I was reading the book. People asked me what I was reading. I told them and I explained the background. I read them excerpts from the book on their request and this was only the first part.

Everyone thinks Bush is an ass!

[onehandle]

14. "The Pet Goat"

I couldn't put it down for Anything!

[Kanary]

15. Thanks to your list,

I remembered to look to see if my library yet has a cassette version of Dean's book, and, indeedy it does, so I have it on hold.

Thanks! :hi:

Kanary

[Arkana]

22. You're welcome

I also recommend Alterman's book "What Liberal Media?" I'm in the middle of it right now, and he savages the pundits pretty well.

The Moore and Franken books are must-reads as well, and the Waldman book "Fraud." In fact, the only ones I wouldn't recommend to the less intense reader would be "American Dynasty" and "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy." Phillips is a bit long-winded, and Palast is good, but he can be confusing at times.

Still, I think there should be a list of books that EVERY liberal should read, and a lot of these would be on it.

My dad has actually gotten ahead of me...he's read Dean's book, along with Maureen Dowd's. He really liked both, and I plan to tackle them once I get through Alterman. Even after the election I'll read--I'll be able to feel better with President Kerry in the White House.

[Kanary]

24. I enjoyed Franken's book on tape

and am currently waiting for The People's History of the United States to get here.

I'd really like to find Kitty Kelley's book on tape, but so far it's only available abridged, and that's one book I can't imagine abridged. :-/

For some reason, I had a hard time with Moore's book. :shrug:

I'm itching to "read" a book about Eugene Debs.

Kanary
edited to add: the worst part is not having the memory to retain what I've read. :)

[Kierkegaard]

20. Everything by Vonnegut, Twain,

Hemingway, Whitman, Poe, Dickinson.
Some Melville, Sandburg(who doesn't like Fog?), Eliot, H.D. Thoreau, Irving, Longfellow, other classics.

Shelley, Shakespeare, Beowulf(literature requirements, otherwise, probably not a huge priority)

Tolstoy: War and Peace, Karenina.
Dostoyevsky: Crime and Punishment, Karamazov.

Everything by John Farris, Douglas Adams.

Big Dog: My Life
Getting to Hillary's book (wifey has it now)

Lots of other stuff!

[rwenos]

27. Vonnegut - "Schlochthof Funf"

Especially Slaughterhouse Five. Main theme (lurking under the stupid science fiction facade) is that governments LIE -- even OUR government! (Loud thumping sound.)

[Kierkegaard]

29. Breakfast of Champions and Cat's Cradle are at the top

of my Vonnegut list. I actually saw the movie Slaughterhouse Five before I read the book, so it kind of spoiled it for me.

On edit: I MADE IT OUT OF THE 700 CLUB! WOOHOO!

[rwenos]

31. Ice Nine

Isn't Cat's cradle the one with Bokononism and Ice Nine (which was invented by the Pentagon, and escaped, then froze the world's oceans, thereby killing 90% of humanity)?

Memory fails. Vonnegut is a kewl writer, eh?

[Kierkegaard]

47. Your memory is actually pretty good.

Ice Nine made a simple change to the water molecule that caused it to freeze at a much higher temperature, and thus, once released, ended civilization.

Nuclear fission, essentially. Hot topic of the times when it was written. He has such an odd way using association.

[AlCzervik]

23. so many, almost too many

Blinded by the Right-David Brock

Shrub, the short happy politcal life of GW bush-Milly Ivins, Lou Dubose

Bushwacked, life GW Bush's America-Molly Ivins

American Dynasty-Kevin Phillips

Lies, and the lying liars that tell them-Al franken-read in 6 hours, love that book

Fortunate Son-JH Hatfield-a must for all Bush dislikers

Big Lies-Joe Conason

The O'Really Factor-Peter Hart

The Price of Loyalty-Ron Suskind

And then some fiction. No more Bush books for a good while although rereading Bushwacked was good because i had forgotten some of the less covered but very important assholery that Bush has gotten away with in terms of domestic matters.

[Kanary]

28. Interestingly...... I don't see Joe Wilson's book on anyone's list.....

Reason?

Kanary, because perspiring minds need to know. :)

[Hamlette]

32. I read Wilson's book, loved it

he's had an interesting life and most of the book was not very political so a nice rest from my outrage.

[rockymountaindem]

30. Recently I've read...

Fighting Back
Against All Enemies
Bush at War
The Sun Also Rises
A Farewell to Arms
Homage to Catalonia

[rwenos]

34. Homage to Catalonia

is the best thing I've ever read on the Spanish Civil War. Better by far than "For Whom the Bell Tolls," which ain't bad either, eh?

You're one of the few folks besides me who's read it. I heard about it from a prof in college 30 years ago (who contrasted Hemingway's faux macho with Orwell's real thing). How'd you hear about it?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

33. add The Iron Triangle (Carlyle Group)and The Halliburton Agenda and......

The Price of Loyalty

[Senior citizen]

35. The Children of NAFTA by David Bacon

I hadn't realized that maquiladora wages just across the Mexican border could be only 10% more than comparable wages in China.

And I'm dumbstruck thinking of the impossibility of maquiladora workers getting to court and proving any connection between the pollution from the border factories or the toxic conditions they worked in and the 169 babies born with anancephaly (no brain).

I already knew of the 284 women murdered and the other 450 disappeared in Juarez (60% maquiladora workers, average age 16) but hadn't connected it with NAFTA.

And I hadn't realized that many of the things that the pukes want to do here, have already been done in Mexico.

Excellent book. Just finished it and keep picking it up to reread sections.

[LWolf]

37. Too many books to post on an internet forum!

I'm just estimating here, of course. Give or take several hundred books, I'd say I've probably read about 5,000 books in my lifetime.

anti-bush books? A couple. I didn't need to read them; I knew Bush II was a disaster when he ran for governor of TX. But I've got a couple around here somewhere.

[aaronbees]

38. I read ...

Clinton's book too, and it was definitely stirring to recall a time when we had someone with intelligence, understanding and a clear, vision in the White House.

I've leafed through many a page of "Stupid White Men."

Everyone should read Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed." Though not about BushCo, it's a great primer on trying to eke out a living on the edge of the economy.

[hiphopnation]

39. Currently reading

"Rise and Fall of the Third Reich"

"Michael Dyson Reader"

"Best Contemporary Jewish Writing"

[donheld]

40. Thank God for Harry Potter

I've read my share of political books i some times think i over did it.

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning - Chris Hedges

The Culture of Fear - Barry Glassner

Pigs At The Trough - Arianna Huffington

The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception - David Corn

Big Lies - Joe Conason

The Republican Noise Machine: Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy - David Brock

Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush - John W. Dean

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: The Truth About Corporate Cons, Globalization, and High-Finance Fraudsters - Greg Palast

What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News - Eric Alterman

The Exception To The Rulers - Amy Goodman

The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill - by Ron Suskind

Against All Enemies - Richard Clarke

American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush - by Kevin Phillips

House of Bush House Of Saud - Craig Unger

Dude, Where's My Country? - by Michael Moore

Stupid White Men - Michael Moore

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right - Al Franken

The Iron Triangle - Dan Brody

Shrub and Bushwacked - Molly Ivins

The Great Unraveling - Paul Krugman

The War on Freedom: How and Why America was Attacked, September 11, 2001 - Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, John Leonard

Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta - Gore Vidal
Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace - Gore Vidal

Forbidden Truth: U.S.-Taliban Secret Oil Diplomacy, Saudi Arabia and the Failed Search for bin Laden - Jean-Charles Brisard, et al


ok maybe i have no life either but i also have a job where i can read a lot:bounce:

[athena]

41. I'm reading:

1. What's the Matter with Kansas (by Thomas Frank)
2. The Republican Noise Machine (by David Brock)
3. Democracy and the Problem of Free Speech (by Cass Sunstein)

I recommend all three. I'm trying to read them all at once, while keeping up with The Nation and The Progressive -- needless to say, I'm not making a lot of progress. There is so much more I want to read!

[Disturbed]

42. Some catching up to do.

The last 4 books I have read are:

"Clash of Fundamentalisms"- Tariq Ali

" People's History..." Howard Zinn

"War Is a Force That gives Us Meaning" Chris Hedges

"The Warrior's Honor"- Michael Ignatieff (About the Red Cross)

It is refreshing to read here how many actually read books. ;)

[RollergirlVT]

45. Does anyone know

After less than four years in office it seems as though there are more anti-* books than for any former president. Does anyone know if he has broken that record as well. For that matter does anyone know the complete list of Anti* books?

[0007]

46. Probably one of the best is missing from your list.

"Fortunate Son" by J.H. Hatfield.

[Arkana]

48. Actually

I've been meaning to add that one to my list...is it really that good?

[nostamj]

49. "Losing America" by Robert Byrd

I think this one kinda got lost but I'm about halfway through and it is excellent!

I won't list all I've read but, if you haven't read "Worse Than Watergate" it is an absolute MUST.

just finished Kelley's "The Family" and, frankly, it was not really worth the time. not much new that was really of substance.

you're better off reading Phillip's 'American Dynasty" for the story of the Bushes.

[Kanary]

50. How could we forget Byrd! Thanks!

And, thanks for the reminder about "American Dynasty".... gotta look for that one.

Kanary

[Kanary]

51. Two others to add -- Powers and Peterson

Peter Peterson, ""Running on Empty", a Republican who is writing about the disastrous financial policies of this misadminstration. He'll be on BookTV Sunday morning...... see my thread about that.

Also, John Powers, "Sore Winners", about the RW having all the branches of government under their control, and *stil* blaming liberals, and acting like it's all our fault.

Kanary

[deadparrot]

52. Haven't read too many political books in awhile, but...

these are a few:

MM, "Stupid White Men"
MM, "Dude, Where's My Country?"

Franken, "Lies..."
Franken, "Rush Limbaugh..."
Franken, "Why Not Me?"

Carville, "Stickin'- The Case for Loyalty"

Suskind, "The Price of Loyalty"

Press, "Bush Must Go"

Podhoretz, "Hell of a Ride: Backstage at the White House Follies, 1989-1993"

Woodward, "Plan of Attack"

Maher, "When you Ride Alone..."

[AgadorSparticus]

54. my first anti bush book was Shrub by Molly Ivins back in 2000

But here's my list of anti bush books:

"Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right," by Al Franken

"Against All Enemies," by Richard Clarke

"Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush," by John W. Dean

"The Politics of Truth" by Joseph Wilson

[Tracer]

56. Geez! I stopped counting the books I've read at 16!!

For a while there, I was bringing home one of these books every week from the library Ñ to the point where my daughter would say "Oh, I see you've got another 'I hate Bush' book".

Here's two more that I didn't see listed above.

Ñ "The Age of Sacred Terror" by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon.
This book is a thorough examination of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and is well worth the read to understand the background of why were in the mess that we're in.

Ñ "Sleeping With the Devil" by Robert Baer
This one lays out the spider web of Saudi Arabian influence in the government of the U.S.

[ben_packard]

57. Any one read any neo-con rubbish?

Just for the whincing, kinda like watching the office

[Wind Dancer]

58. Also

"Crimes Against Nature" - Robert Kennedy, Jr

"Cruel and Unusual" - Mark Crispin Miller

[Senior citizen]

59. Greed to Green by David Gottfried

I haven't read this yet--just got it from the library. It is the personal story of a real estate developer who changed his life and his industry , founded the U.S. Green Building Council and the World Green Building Council which is now in eight countries. The late David Brower was his friend and mentor, and the foreword to the book is by Paul Hawken. Looks good to me.

I also got, "How to Succeed at Globalization," a cartoon book by El Fisgon (Rafael Barajas Duran). Very powerful and clever dissection of Capitalism.

This is a great thread -- I've found lots of books that I haven't read yet, got online to my library and found most of them available or reservable.

[waldnorm]

60. The W Effect, edited by Laura Flanders

An excellent collection of essays and interviews, of the terrible policies and appointees that demonstrate a backlash against women, including the women we supposedly "liberated" from Afghanistan and Iraq (in the case of Iraq, women's rights have been stripped since our occupation). A must read for men and women alike.

[Tracer]

61. Here's a new one:

I just took this out of the library today Ñ it's brand new.

"Crusade: Chronicles of an Unjust War" by James Carroll.

I've only read the intro, but it is a compilation of Carroll's columns in the Boston Globe starting just a few days after September 11, 2001 up until the very recent times.

It should be interesting, because I think people can't quite remember what they were thinking just 3 years ago. It's gotten too bound up in the politics and events that have happened since.