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Politics thread recommended book list?

andyandy

anthropomorphic ape
andyandy
Joined
Apr 30, 2006
Messages
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We have a permanent sticky thread in the science section for book recommendations, how about a similar idea being used in the politics section?

I've just finished "Descent into Chaos" by Ahmed Rashid which documents the various agents involved in the war on terror in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. For an understanding of the complexities of the situation in Pakistan,it is exceptionally informative. There is plenty of discussion on ISI (the Pakistan intelligence agency) complicity in supporting the Taliban as a counterweight to Indian influence in Afghanistan and use of terrorist training camps to provide the next generation of Kashmiri separatist fighters. Discussion on the relationship between the US administration and President Musharaf, on the role of the CIA and extraordinary rendition, on the invasion of Afghanistan and failures of policy, the flight of Al Qaeda into the tribal regions of Pakistan, and the Taliban insurgency of the past couple of years. I would definitely recommend this to anyone with an interest in the region.

I'm also part way through "Terror and Consent" by Philip Bobbitt, which is a brilliant analysis of terrorism in the 21st century. I might write more when I have finished it, but suffice to say so far it is excellent. :)

If you think that a politics booklist is a good idea, please petition your local moderator to let them know your support ;)
 
Probably stetching it to call that politics--I only have a tag of "political science" though. You would find that book in the sociology section really. I don't think I rated it that highly anyway.
 
Well, I thought I would write up my review of "terror and consent"

I wrote this for Amazon but it seemed to get lost in the system. The book presents a compelling argument for how the global nature of terrorism is in itself the product of our shift to globalisation. Where the terrorists create a virtual state through the internet which plays the role of virtual community, propaganda disseminator, fund raiser, recruiter, and knowledge circulator. Where terrorists employ the same outsourcing techniques as big business in providing a franchise model, where supporters can use the Al Qaeda "brand" anywhere in the world and however they see fit after having received centrally provided training.

There is in-depth discussion of the Iraq war, Al Qaeda's justification for targeting civilians, Al Qaeda's pursuit of chemical/biological/nuclear weapons and potential impacts on society, and an examination of how society might change in response to a prolonged and heightened risk of terrorist attack.

It is a very intelligently written discussion, with literally hundreds of footnotes, citations, and references to expert analysis. It is also very readable and a fascinating examination of how globalised terrorism will affect 21st century politics.

Edited to add: whilst it has no reviews on the UK Amazon site, it has quite a few on the American site. Mostly very positive (except from the writer of a rival book on terrorism, maybe touting his own wares ;) )
 
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None dare call it Treason.

Printed in the 50's.

Given the current vitriol in American politics, it will fit right in.

DR
 
I have just read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Kleine, and I thought it was an excellent read. She documents the damage that wholesale deregulation/privatisation/free market reforms can have when pressed upon a country against democratic will and at an extremely accelerated pace. Chile, Argentina, Russia, and more recently Iraq provide more than enough evidence of the massive societal shock, western profiteering and widening of the social divisions that such policies result in.

I only read the book as a result of it being recommended on this forum, what I had previously read about the book/author (quite a lot negative) I found to be largely inaccurate. It was nice therefore to find it a thought provoking and intelligent read..... the most interesting aspect of the book is how it deals with the changing face of war, where Army functions are outsourced to private contractors in ever greater numbers. This creation of a massive private industry with tens of thousands of employees, state-of-the-art military hardware and multibillion-dollar turnovers certainly does raise questions about how future wars will be fought, and in whose interest they will be entered into. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in politics, regardless of political persuasion.
 
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If you want a single book that will tell you why the Middle East is such a mess, I recommend "The Peace To End All Peace" by David Fromkin. It is a history of the last years of the Ottoman empire and the Rise of the modern Mideast in it's wake.
 
I wonder if a kindly moderator could make this into a sticky? I have already added a couple of new books to my Amazon basket.......:)
 
Darth Rotor said:
None dare call it Treason.

Printed in the 50's.

Given the current vitriol in American politics, it will fit right in.

DR
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Isn’t that a John Birch Society book? I’m surprise you would recommend it.
 
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes is a must read. It pretty much sets up the core assumptions in Western political philosophy.
 
Tsukasa Buddha said:
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes is a must read. It pretty much sets up the core assumptions in Western political philosophy.
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Hmmm, I'd have to de-recommend that ;) having just grappled with 700 pages of 17th century English prose ("Liberty or Freedome signifieth properly the absence of Opposition (by Opposition, I mean externall impediments to motion); and may be applyed no lesse to Irrationall and Inanimate creatures, than to Rationall") and sort-of lost.

I would recommend reading shorter summary/criticism by scholars of Hobbes instead, such as Crawford Macpherson.

And actually, I find Hobbes' conclusions to be a sign of the (then) times--written as they are from the perspective of a shocked survivor of the English civil war. Hence the central thesis of the need for a "leviathan" faded away somewhat since.
 
"How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World" by Harry Browne

This book blew my mind. Currently out of print, but worth chasing down.

Amazon link

Highly recommended for left-wingers, right-wingers, moderates, and those who think the bulk of politics is a scam. Just a fantastic perspective to consider, in my opinion.
 
Tsukasa Buddha said:
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes is a must read. It pretty much sets up the core assumptions in Western political philosophy.
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Which are....?

Francesca R said:
And actually, I find Hobbes' conclusions to be a sign of the (then) times--written as they are from the perspective of a shocked survivor of the English civil war. Hence the central thesis of the need for a "leviathan" faded away somewhat since.
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Bingo. Also, it is a gross misapplication of "physics" to politics.

Still, there are some insights buried in his state of nature teachings.
 
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D'rok said:
Also, it is a gross misapplication of "physics" to politics.
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That reminded me somewhat of Socrates (Plato) recommending that rulers spend 5 years studying geometry, astronomy and harmonics before they learn dialectic. Except in the case of The Republic it is more to hone the "love of truth" than to generate socio-political models.
 
D'rok said:
Which are....?
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Social Contract Theory, the concept of Rights, the selfish individual perspective on the nature of humanity, etc.

Of course, his attempt at bringing in physics was silly, but his ideas are fundamental to our world view.
 
Of course, I will get slammed for this, but I think the most important, current book you can read involving politics is Ron Paul's The Revolution/A Manifesto. Also, Hans-Hermann Hoppe A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism, Ludwig von Mises Human Action, Murray N. Rothbard The Ethics of Liberty and Bastiat's The Law. I don't care if people detest Ron Paul and all he stands for as long as they take the time to actually read and understand what they are detesting rather than relying on what they have been told
 
I'm surprised no one's mentioned The Selling of the President. It's dated and maybe common knowledge now. But it is still worth reading if you haven't already.

Along that same line but with more information about current politics, two books by Amy Goodman and her brother are well worth reading: The Exception to the Rulers and Static.

I think it's great to read all about theory and reality in politics, but one also needs to read more about the part of history of governments that are rarely discussed in such books. I also recommend, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions. I learned incredible lessons about the real US government in the real world when I traveled in Central America in the late 70s. This book reinforced that experience.
 
Two books on economics, but closely related to politics, especially these days. Recommend 2 reviews (Chalmers Johnson, Nicholas von Hoffman). Read others before considering picking up either.....

Bad Money- Kevin Phillips
Bad Samaritans - Ban Joon Chang

Have started on the first one.

Michael
 
Steve Coll's Ghost Wars - really changed my outlook on US foreign policy

Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas Not one I agree with, but a good perspective.

Hobbes is a must read to understand western political thought. As is John Stuart Mill.

My best recommendation is to stay away from the hacks. Neither Franken nor Coulter is going to aid your understanding of politics.
 
Charlotte Dennett and Gerard Colby’s Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon

- an “expose of the manipulation of missionary efforts in South America by the Rockefeller family to lay the groundwork for the economic domination of the Amazon region by Rockefeller corporate interests.”

http://www.cephas-library.com/church_n_state_rockefeller_and_evangelism.html


Michael Ruppert’s Crossing the Rubicon. The Decline of the American empire an the End of the Age of Oil

“describes the horrendous crisis our civilization is headed into because of the coming end of the age of oil.” A must-read!

http://freepress.org/departments/display/17/2004/791


I’ve got Russ Baker's Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America on order. Anyone read it yet?

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Family-of-Secrets/Russ-Baker/e/9781596915572
 
I can recommend "The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies" by Brian Caplan, although it's at least as much economics as politics (and because of that it may switch off non-economists, not that I'm an economist). Anyway I wrote this review:
The author calls a spade a spade in ways that no politician ever would (if they knew the mic was on, that is)--voters are not just rationally ignorant, they are irrationally daft. And that includes you.

In precis: rational ignorance is not the cause of democratic folly, because via the wisdom of crowds, the smartest non-ignorant voter on every issue would prevail over the randomised noise, and the result would be policymaking at its finest. Instead, the errors are not random, but reflect the insidious working of Caplan's four main biases that voters have: 1) the market does not know best all that often, 2) foreigners are foes, 3) jobs are better than efficiency and 4) yesterday was better than today. Apparently these systematic biases previal because they feel good, and the return of good feeling is demanded by folks, so they supply the biases to get it. From another ten miles high, this actually all seems optimal (the people get what they want), but only in the same way as belief in Santa or faith healing are similarly demanded because they feel good to the mistaken.

And it's less innocuous than that too (as may be the faith-healing market)--if special interest groups (those poised to reap concentrated gains) can exploit the rationally not-bothered public (they pay diffuse costs), then they sure can do a job on the irrationally wrong public. Or so it would seem. Mancur Olson's thesis on collective action (renamed "classical public choice") gets an airing for this important reason.

What's the solution? It would seem that some of it is to let the market decide more often, and some of it is perhaps more devolution of policy to arms-length technocrats. So Churchill's proclamation that democracy is the "worst" form of government "except for all the others" seems to get the response: "Not always". And of course, democratic societies already know this to be true, since they have independent judiciaries and monetary authorities. However, this reviewer did not get to sense an abundamce of solutions. And at times, she wondered if the text was edging towards rule by Plato's philosopher kings (except that they would more likely be economist kings).

In that regard, it is possible to run away with the idea that the author is merely lamenting the failure of electorates to choose policies that he approves of. Non-economists would be quite likely to get rather irritated by chapter three, which had a persistent tendency to give this reviewer the impression that if she wasn't one, then by default her views were less correct. She suspects that this charge is going to seriously limit the penetration of Caplan's thesis in popular assessment, even if she can get over it herself. But in doing this, Caplan appears to trip himself up a little, since the rest of the text is noticably dotted with pockets of defence of dismal scientists against the foes he apparently imagines are already banging at the door. More likely--and this is unfortunate--they stopped reading some time ago.
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A couple of recommendations for books on Al Qaeda :

The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda's Road to 9/11
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Looming-Tow...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234647114&sr=8-1

The Search For Al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Al-Q...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234647298&sr=1-1

the first book is a meticulously researched account of the rise of Islamic extremism and its culmination in 911. It provides detailed biographical accounts of some of the main figures in the Islamic movements, dissects the various terrorist attacks which served as precursors to the attack on the American mainland, and exposes the ideological tensions, infighting and some of the mythology which has grown up around the group. It is an absolutely fascinating read, in fact I would go as far to say an essential read for anyone with an interest in how terrorism has and will continue to shape modern western democracy.

The second book is a much shorter read at only 150 pages. It's written by a former senior CIA operative and includes analysis of Al Qaeda post 911 up to the present day. It is also a well written and interesting account of the terrorist group, with the last couple of chapters devoted to looking at the current state of the group and laying out policy recommendations for the future "war on terror".
 
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1) Politics by Aristotle. This book discusses reality, not fantasy like Plato's Republic. It is also a good antidote to all the modern day political correctness. A quote from the Politics reads,

"Another cause of revolution is difference of races that do not at once acquire a common spirit, for a state is not the growth of a day, anymore than it grows out of a multitude brought together by accident. Hence the reception of strangers in colonies, either at the time of their foundation or afterwards, has generally produced revolution."

2) Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. This book explains why America is the way it is and what separates us from other countries both present and past.

3) The writings of John Adams. John Adams was one of our greatest political thinkers, a moral man, and an honorable politician. The recent biography by David McCullough and the HBO mini-series has helped to bring him out of Thomas Jefferson's shadow.
 
"Full Employment in a Free Society" W H Beveridge. 1944 Essentially a follow up to the "Beveridge Report" of 1942

A fascinating book, more mentioned than read I suspect. I inherited a copy from my mother (it had been her father's) a couple of years ago and decide I ought to read it. It is not an easy read but is clearly written with a wealth of information in the Appendices at the end, Appendix A on Trade Cycles is particularly aposite at the current time.

Given the passage time it's also interesting to look back on what he got right and what he got wrong and how the world has changed from the one he was planning for.

The title page also contains a quote that should be indelibly imprinted on the minds of all politicians -

"Misery generates hate" (Charlotte Bronte)

Steve
 
It doesn't strictly fit under politics, but I just finished reading God's Terrorists: The Wahhabi Cult and the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad by Charles Allen. From a political perspective it's a must for anyone interested in that particular subject.

It traces the history of the Wahhabi cult primarily in India and the frontier with Afghanistan during the British Raj, through the British-Afghan Wars, the Sepoy Mutiny, the creation of Saudi Arabia, to the modern day and both Al Qaeda and the Taliban. I found it truly fascinating. It's an excellent companion piece to works like The Looming Tower which cover the parallel evolution of Radical Islam in the Middle East via the Muslim Brotherhood and the teachings of Sayyed Qutb.
 
The best book I ever read on politics was written by Eleanor Clift and (her late husband) Tom Brazaitis in 1996 called War Without Bloodshed. It concerns the Hillary Clinton health care initiative in the mid-1990s and examines the battle from the standpoint of various players in the political arena. It's a terrific primer on how American politics really works.
 
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