This week's book diary asks the literary question:
What books are essential reading for progressives?
Those of you who have followed this series so far might have noticed that I mostly read fiction, so I need everyone's help with this. My non-fiction side is pretty weak. Not that I haven't read them, just that I can't remember them in the blaze of exciting unreality that followed.
Continued below...
What books would you recommend to progressives, the converted, or those who just want to learn more about history, philosophy, and open-minded thinking?
My list would be relatively short-like I said, I read mostly fiction.
"Stranger in a Strange Land"... for understanding from an outsider's standpoint of how our world works, how humans think, and the inherent dangers of organized religion...especially when organized by the hopelessly corrupt. Michael Valentine Smith's revelation on Humor has stuck with me for most of my lifetime, and I tend to always question exactly what we're laughing at, now.
A new one to me, but highly recommended, is "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis. Basically, a fascist dictator gets elected as president of the US by campaigning as a "man of the people" and a "plain speaker" and promising "money for everyone"... sound familiar yet? Read it.
"Animal Farm" by George Orwell. "1984" is also good, but to my mind, too much in your face.. "Animal Farm" is a much more engaging story, and more insidious. Of course, most people have read those books before they get out of high school.
Khalil Gibran-Anything. A gentle way to learn to think in beauty.
"A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking. The illustrated version is very beautiful, but the original is also very good. Makes you feel kind of small in the grand scheme of things.
"A Brief History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. Essential reading for a good rounded look at many different aspects of environment, science, and human nature.
"I'm a Stranger Here Myself" by Bill Bryson... a look at the US from a returning expat. Very insightful.
"The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. How NOT to do foreign relations... and excruciatingly well-written.
"Haroun and the Sea of Stories" by Salman Rushdie. Simply one of the most wonderful fables I've ever read, touching, moral in the most basic ways, and filled with thought provoking insight and terrific characters.
I'm sure once I submit this diary, I'll think of 20 more worthy entries, but for now I'm drawing a blank.
So, what's on your list?