Friday, December 21, 2007

Top Political Books

I wasn't very involved in politics before the 2004 campaign. I did vote in most elections. However, in 2004 I got more involved in the general election by canvassing a couple times. After the 2004 election, I made the goal to read 1 political book each month in hopes that I would learn more about politics and the issues. Now I haven't been able to accomplish this goal each month, but for the most part I have done pretty well.

Here are the top 10 political books that I have read since then...

10. Big Coal by Jeff Goodell - outlines the influence the coal industry has in our political system

9. The Argument by Matt Bai - a detailed portrayal of the battle for the heart of the Democratic party

8. How Would a Patriot Act by Glenn Greenwald - great background on warrantless wiretapping the Bush's theory of unitary executive

7. Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff - made me aware that using the correct wording is half the battle

6. Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Wellstone - Wellstone laid out a vision that is still being fought for today

5. Hostile Takeover by David Sirota - shows how corporations are taking over our government on each issue

4. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Joe Trippi - an interesting look at the Iowa caucuses, the Dean campaign in 2004, and how the internet is changing politics.

3. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins - gives you background on why we are in Iraq and how the U.S. has built an empire through economic means

2. Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaren - a must read about how bad the planning in Iraq after the fall of Saddam really was

1. Homegrown Democrat by Garrison Keillor - a humorous look at what it really means to be a Democrat

Chime in with any good books you have read.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

"American Dreamer" by John Culver

noneed4thneed said...

That's one of the next books that I will be reading.

Anonymous said...

Juan Williams' "Enough" is a great book.

I may not be 100% objective on this, but Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" is a great read and very inspiring.

Anonymous said...

These are old books, but Robert Entman's Democracy without Citizens is a great indictment of the media's approach to covering politics and campaigns.

Also I enjoyed Eric Alterman's Sound and Fury, about the "punditocracy."

Most of the books I've read the in last few years have been about parenting, though...I can recommend tons of good books on those topics!

desmoinesdem

Anonymous said...

Blinded by the Right by David Brock was an eye-opener for me, all about the vast right wing conspiracy that Hillary fingered.

What Liberal Media? by Eric Alterman really shows the way Gore and Bush were treated in 2000.

Republican Noise Machine, also by Brock is a virtual reference book of how the right rules the media.