I'm currently rereading "Crashing the Gate" and learning much to dismay me about the establishment forces within the Democrats, the party I (currently) support. But also on my reading list lately is the fascinating
48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. For those who haven't heard of this book, its an extremely engaging and challenging collection of axioms and short historical narratives on how to maximize power, both politically and personally, and it dovetails with much of what Kos writes in his book.
Robert Greene also has a blog...
...which he launched this year, and a recent post on "How To Crush Karl Rove in 5 Easy Steps". According to Greene, the Democrats are in
"tactical hell".
Greene turns off a lot of progressives because he seems at first like an Ayn Randian type. But his amorality doesn't mean that his tactics can not be applied by progressives with their own moral goal.
Very interesting post from him that has a lot in common with "Crashing the Gate" as it refers to entrenched special interest groups that are contributing to the "laundry list" mentality instead of the overall vision.