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Charlie Mopps posted:Start buying used books. Its what i do and it saves a lot of money. Lots of books are pretty much in perfect condition and most of the time you can get hardcovers for less than the price of a new paperback. It owns. Actually I did buy all 3 books used. The cheapest copy of Killing Hope on amazon was like 22.75 before shipping used! http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Hope-C-I-Interventions-II--Updated/dp/1567512526/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1308156130&sr=8-4 It's actually up to $38.00 used now 
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Jun 15, 2011 17:44
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There are a couple of resources for getting books on the cheap: 1) If you don't live in Bumfuck, Midwest, your local library almost certainly has an ILL with Big City library. 2) https://www.paperbackswap.com is an excellent way to unload books you don't want anymore. It's typically not a very good source for finding specific books, as almost anything in demand has a huge queue, but if you think of it as a very large used bookstore and do some digging around you can find some very interesting stuff. 3) Other resources, which I'm happy to PM. 4) If you have a university affiliation, you have not only (in all probability) a strong library but also journal access. Although of course it's something different, you can learn a surprising amount just by surfing through articles. 5) A $2 soda or coffee will buy you enough time in a chain bookstore to read a short book (it also buys you a soda or coffee.) (The monetary danger here is that if you're like me you're liable to make an impulse purchase.) The quality of individual locations varies widely, but if there's a good big bookstore with a cafe near you, the opportunity to browse is excellent. 6) Almost anything a decade out of print on Amazon is like either a million dollars or a cent. Some of the penny (aka $4.01) books are great! Aside from all this, I'd be up for a bookswap if others are, though it probably deserves to be its own thread.
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Jun 15, 2011 18:14
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http://betterworldbooks.com is amazing because it has super super cheap books and bundle packages (3 for $10, 4 for $12) all with free shipping. You can find some neat old textbooks and fairly obscure books for super cheap.
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Jun 15, 2011 18:56
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Another that I guess would go under Economic History: I finished reading Michael Lewis' The Big Short last night. Lewis explains the lead up to our recent financial crisis from the vantage point of a handful of traders who were on the outside of Wall Street looking in. You'll learn how the housing bubble was inflated, just what all those cryptic finance acronyms mean, and that regardless of how much these outsiders profited from the collapse the big banks came out of a crisis of their own design unscathed thanks to the benevolence of the US Government. Its very well written and the language is easily digestible.
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Jun 15, 2011 19:03
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Killing Hope has been hard to find for free near me. Neither the Los Angeles nor Long Beach library systems have them, and that's two huge systems.
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Jun 15, 2011 19:31
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Is there a new edition of Killing Hope coming out soon? It seems surprisingly hard to come by.
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Jun 16, 2011 22:27
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rscott posted:I was wondering if you guys wanted to do a book exchange of some sort. ... Not sure if it's like that elsewhere, but here in Germany you can generally get a library card for University libraries for a small fee. You should try this if you live anywhere near a University. Also I bought the book From Columbus to Castro - The History of the Carribean 1492-1969 by Eric Williams at a flea market. I just began reading it, but I can definitely recommend it so far.
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Jun 17, 2011 02:42
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Just finished Nazi Culture by George L Mosse It's not a terrible read if you want to learn more about Nazism straight from the horses mouth I guess you could say. Mosse basically gathered the texts to various speeches, books, pamphlets, and other things and compiled them into a book with the chapters presenting Nazi views on art, science, labor, gov't, etc. based on their own writings with some introduction by himself for most chapters.
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Jun 17, 2011 03:35
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Can anyone recommend a good book on U.S. involvement in Latin America from the 20th century on? I've read Killing Hope, and it was informative, and the only thing that seems to come close on the book list is Open Veins of Latin America, but it spans several centuries and I don't know how specific it gets. Open Veins looks good though, so I may end up reading it anyway.
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Jun 19, 2011 16:38
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OregonDonor posted:Can anyone recommend a good book on U.S. involvement in Latin America from the 20th century on? I've read Killing Hope, and it was informative, and the only thing that seems to come close on the book list is Open Veins of Latin America, but it spans several centuries and I don't know how specific it gets. Open Veins looks good though, so I may end up reading it anyway. This isn't quite what you are looking for, but I am sure Open Veins and Killing Hope cite The Church Report at some point. It documents 10 years of covert action in Chile conducted mostly by the CIA and really extensively lays out the history of US involvement in Chile.
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Jun 19, 2011 16:54
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Has it been mentioned yet that you can buy Killing Hope directly from the author? http://killinghope.org/#order He even signs it for you!
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Jun 19, 2011 22:52
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Just finished reading The Black Jacobins, (which I highly recommend) and it got me interested in the history of the french revolution. Anyone know any good books on that subject, preferably from a left perspective?
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Jun 21, 2011 03:40
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Babylon the Bright posted:Just finished reading The Black Jacobins, (which I highly recommend) and it got me interested in the history of the french revolution. Anyone know any good books on that subject, preferably from a left perspective? The book that I read as an introduction to the French Revoluton was the Oxford History of The French Revolution. As you can imagine, it's a pretty dense that discusses the events with depth. I like it because it touches upon most aspects of French society that were affected, such as the economic, cultural and political factors while still allowing for a discussion of major political players and important wars. It also has quite a bit on the end of Louis XVI's reign which makes for a well-rounded understanding. As for leanings, it probably contains the liberal norms and biases found among academia but the author is professional enough to keep the narrative mainly objective to the best of his ability.
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Jun 21, 2011 03:56
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Funny, I just picked that up at the library. Good to know it was a good choice.
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Jun 21, 2011 04:09
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If you're interested in leftist, anarchism, autonomism, latin america or general anti-imperialism; or at the core: rights for people living in the land their fathers have always lived in. I cannot recommend ¡Ya Basta! enough! It's an anthology of writings about the Zapatista movement. Most of the writing is from Subcomadante Marcos though, so you could say the book is a little biased. You will be absolutely hard-pressed to beat this book as a primary source. And the book really does just illustrate the gulf of differences between the EZLN and say, ETA or the IRA.
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Jun 21, 2011 15:15
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Babylon the Bright posted:Just finished reading The Black Jacobins, (which I highly recommend) and it got me interested in the history of the french revolution. Anyone know any good books on that subject, preferably from a left perspective? I'm almost finished with Twelve Who Ruled by R. R. Palmer. It's an in-depth look at the Committee For Public Safety, who ran the country during the Year of Terror, and how they were a lot more complex than the received notion of Robespierre the bloodthirsty madman and his cowering lapdogs. It's considered the definitive work on the subject and the writing is very engaging.
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Jun 21, 2011 20:07
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What does the thread recommend for books on the whats, hows and whys of the 2008 financial crisis?
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Jun 21, 2011 21:09
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Peel posted:What does the thread recommend for books on the whats, hows and whys of the 2008 financial crisis? The Enigma of Capital by Thread Favorite David Harvey is great edit: I'll be updating the OP shortly (trimming down and fleshing out).
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Jun 21, 2011 21:19
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Peel posted:What does the thread recommend for books on the whats, hows and whys of the 2008 financial crisis? Taibbi's Griftopia gives you a good Cliff Notes version of what happened, though it's hardly an academic work.
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Jun 22, 2011 00:09
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Michael Lewis's Big Short is very good on how some people saw how hosed the whole thing was but nobody in charge at the banks paid any attention, it's really well written as well.
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Jun 22, 2011 00:12
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Peel posted:What does the thread recommend for books on the whats, hows and whys of the 2008 financial crisis? Too Big to Fail, which is a good read, despite the fact that the author has become a disgusting sellout for Goldman. If you can spot the bias towards Hank Paulson etc, it's not bad. House of Cards - on the fall of Lehman by Roger Cohan. Gives you a good insight into just how far off the reservation these guys were. Griftopia, the Big Short, and Enigma of Capital have already been mentioned.
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Jun 22, 2011 11:33
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Peel posted:What does the thread recommend for books on the whats, hows and whys of the 2008 financial crisis? Another recommendation for Enigma of Capital here. I also quite enjoyed John Lanchester's Whoops: Why everyone owes everyone and no one can pay. It has a very conversational tone and is easy to breeze through, being specifically geared towards a lay audience.
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Jun 22, 2011 11:57
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kik2dagroin posted:Another that I guess would go under Economic History: I finished reading Michael Lewis' The Big Short last night. Lewis explains the lead up to our recent financial crisis from the vantage point of a handful of traders who were on the outside of Wall Street looking in. You'll learn how the housing bubble was inflated, just what all those cryptic finance acronyms mean, and that regardless of how much these outsiders profited from the collapse the big banks came out of a crisis of their own design unscathed thanks to the benevolence of the US Government. The Big Short is a highly flawed account of the crisis: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/03/debunking-michael-lewis-subprime-short-hagiography.html Best, easily digestible book on the crisis is John Lanchester's 'Whoops!'
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Jun 22, 2011 13:58
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Peel posted:What does the thread recommend for books on the whats, hows and whys of the 2008 financial crisis? Zizek's First As Tragedy, Then As Farce is really interesting if you already have a grasp on the "whats" of the crisis
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Jun 23, 2011 17:39
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Anime Dad posted:Zizek's First As Tragedy, Then As Farce is really interesting if you already have a grasp on the "whats" of the crisis I've actually read that and found it pretty interesting, although the more technical passages went straight over my head. I'll pick up the Enigma of Capital and one of the lighter ones for a more digestible introduction. Thanks guys.
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Jun 24, 2011 21:04
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Reading Killing Hope is taking me much longer than I expected, every chapter just pisses me off so much I don't have the volition to sit there and read it all night like I normally do 
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Jun 24, 2011 21:19
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I see that A Brief History of Neoliberalism has been covered already, along with First as Comedy then as Farce, two excellent books. I love Harvey's work, but I think that the Enigma of Capital is very pedestrian and inadequately covers a subject that other authors with greater expertise have done a better job with. His work, "The Condition of Postmodernity" is very, very good. Do these books have to be of a certain political bent? How about something from the other side of the fence? I recommend the dense but essential "The Open Society and its Enemies" by Karl Popper, a seminal and essential work of political philosophy. It is billed generally as Democracy's answer to communism and fascism; Popper wrote it during his exile in New Zealand as a refugee from the Nazis. It is accessible, but very tightly written and researched. Expect slow reading, not from incomprehensibility, but from sheer density. It is interesting to note that Karl Popper was also one of the founding members of Mont Pelerin Society, along with Von Hayek, Friedman, and Mises, so one could call his brand of political philosophy as one of the immediate predecessors of neo-liberalism. I would consider his book an absolute essential. It is dated, but I find that this just gives his analysis a quality of distance and perspective.
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Jun 25, 2011 03:25
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Making "book recommendations" is really difficult. But I'd recommend reading Hegel's the Phenomenology of Spirit. Seems like an entry-level suggestion. But I don't think many have read it! To go with it, too: Genesis and Structure of Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, by Jean Hyppolite, and Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, by Martin Heidegger. And this! (http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/help/findlay.htm). Also I should mention the P.O.S. (heh) is on the web! Once the P.O.S. is understood, I think it's worth reading Satre's Critique of Dialectical Reason, then the German Ideology (again, even if you already have, it's worth reevaluating it with a better understanding of the dialectic). Maybe it'll change the way you think of Marx. Maybe not! Additionally, I'm reading J R, and enjoying it! Seems appropriate to reccomend for a D&D book thread! wevs fucked around with this message at 03:43 on Jun 25, 2011 |
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Jun 25, 2011 03:41
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Cahal posted:The Big Short is a highly flawed account of the crisis: That's a fair critique of the book. The flaw with Lewis' book is its restricted narrative more than anything else. The traders didn't know what Goldman, Deutsche Bank, or Paulson were up to because no one would divulge any information other than a few scraps of information here and there from other small time players. I don't think the omissions were intentional malice on Lewis part, rather it didn't fit with the narrative he was writing to. Smith says as much in her critique. Moreover, Lewis fails to communicate that the traders involved are not saints themselves. Given that these guys still made millions off of people fraudulently sold the American dream, its somewhat of an injustice that he sets Eisman up to be "Wall Street's first socialist" and it ends the way it does. By no means take it as gospel that what Lewis said is the ultimate truth. I don't think I implied that anywhere in my recommendation. However I feel that despite the books flaws, the narrative is still well written and explains much of the word-salad financial terms to a layman that has no background on the crisis whatsoever. Smith recommends The Greatest Trade Ever by Gregory Zuckerman, which is next in my reading pile. The book addresses her problems with Lewis' book by focusing on the major players in the crisis rather than a handful of small traders.
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Jun 25, 2011 08:54
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Martin Random posted:I see that A Brief History of Neoliberalism has been covered already, along with First as Comedy then as Farce, two excellent books. I love Harvey's work, but I think that the Enigma of Capital is very pedestrian and inadequately covers a subject that other authors with greater expertise have done a better job with. His work, "The Condition of Postmodernity" is very, very good. In The Poverty of Historicism he made the same mistake. He made up his own meaning for the word historicism (and subsequently comes up with the term historism which pretty much means what historicism normally means  ) and goes on to attack people with it.
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Jun 25, 2011 10:15
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Charlie Mopps posted:Popper is terrible and didnt understand a loving thing about Marx (or Hegel). His whole book is based on his delusions of what he thinks Marxism is. Dont read him. "Karl Popper is terrible and doesn't understand Marx, don't read him!" Has it occurred to you that the purpose of studying political philosophy might be to achieve something other than a more doctrinally accepted and perfect understanding of Marx? Charlie Mopps posted:[Popper] made up his own meaning for the word historicism and goes on to attack people with it. He's a philosopher. Philosophers often try to define or redefine entire fields of thinking, which he has done successfully in other areas, such as the philosophy of science. In Open Society, he also tried redefining other things like what a "democracy" is. Attempting a new definition and riding it through arguments to get new perspectives and insight on a field is very, very common, and is totally fair play. Charlie Mopps posted:[Popper] made up his own meaning for the word historicism I don't agree with his proposed definitions of historicism or democracy either, and I think he takes some questionable shots in the interest of having everything tied up neatly so that an "open society" is the only answer. That is because this book is designed both as a philosophical work and as propaganda, to counter the very effective propaganda of fascism and communism of the time. Charlie Mopps posted:Popper is terrible and didnt understand a loving thing about Marx (or Hegel). ... Don't read him. Your reaction to his book strikes me as narrow minded and benighted. You are discouraging people from reading a foundational work that defined a significant strain of political philosophy (in fact, a strain in the main school of thought that contemporary marxist scholars critique) because it doesn't present an acceptable interpretation of Marx. That's totalitarian bullshit. Do you see the irony of following a field of critical theory and then reading only works contained within that field and refusing to read foundational, sustaining works from the dominant, oppositional perspective? That leads to some serious intellectual poverty and loss of perspective. In fact, I don't see the loving point of studying critical theory if you refuse to also study what it criticises. I disagree with his book. While he really shines in his critique of Plato and the instincts that give fascism its appeal, I don't think Popper did read anything but an abridged compilation of Hegel's works when he wrote it. I think he's also unfair to Marx. I can't deny, however, that it is exceptionally written, and an undeniably important, cornerstone work of contemporary political philosophy. Unlike you, I don't shut my eyes and ears to things I disagree with, so I still recommend reading it. I would count it as an essential read, in fact, especially for critical theorists. It helps give perspective by showing neoliberalism came from, and, I think, where it will eventually go. It helped me understand the roots of the arguments I see today spouted in support of neoliberal ideologies by his intellectual progeny. This is the very first propaganda piece. Martin Random fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Jun 25, 2011 |
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Jun 25, 2011 19:32
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TheOtherContraGuy fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Jun 26, 2011 |
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Jun 26, 2011 00:09
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rscott posted:Reading Killing Hope is taking me much longer than I expected, every chapter just pisses me off so much I don't have the volition to sit there and read it all night like I normally do Took me two months to get through. Its main value is as a reference text anyway. Want to know why a country is completely hosed up? Just flip to the appropriate chapter!
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Jun 26, 2011 00:50
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I saw this picture and then immediately got out my credit card and bought the book, if this thread still exists by the time it comes in the mail I'll give an update if this seems as hilarious as the index makes it seem like it is: http://i.imgur.com/RwoZB.jpg
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Jun 29, 2011 13:30
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I've recently realized that I know nothing about the founding fathers, which is something I want to change, but I'm kind of weary to just buy a random book considering all the fetishism that surrounds them. Just wondering if someone has any recommendations on a book that introduces their beliefs, what they did, and so on. Thanks.
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Jul 1, 2011 04:06
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Pretty light, but Broke, USA: From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc. - How the Working Poor Became Big Business by Gary Rivlin is a decent read about the rise of pawn shops, check cashing businesses, refund anticipation loans, and everything else that screws the poor.
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Jul 1, 2011 05:46
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Even though it's not on the same level as some of the other books recommended, I'm really enjoying Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed. She basically decides to go "undercover" as a working class divorcee with little to no experience and see how hard it is to live.
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Jul 2, 2011 16:39
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Polly Toynbee's 'Hard Work' does the same thing for Britain.
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Jul 2, 2011 16:45
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I'd recommend Adam's Fallacy, which details the problem with the separation of the economic sphere as one where self interest always leads to preferred outcomes. This is what led to policymakers saying things like 'there is no need for laws against fraud' on the run up to the crisis.
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Jul 2, 2011 19:12
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diphenhydramine posted:I've recently realized that I know nothing about the founding fathers, which is something I want to change, but I'm kind of weary to just buy a random book considering all the fetishism that surrounds them. Just wondering if someone has any recommendations on a book that introduces their beliefs, what they did, and so on. I found The American Revolution: A History by Gordon S. Wood to be a pretty concise read on the socio-political situation surrounding the colonies' break from Britain. He also wrote a longer one called The Radicalism of the American Revolution purely about its ideological side, but the one I mentioned gives you a great overview along with an amazing bibliography about pretty much every facet of the American Revolution imaginable.
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Jul 3, 2011 00:41
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