What Should Be Required Political Reading?

[clk]

Four Books I think everybody should read on Politics:

The Prince
By: Niccolo Machiavelli

The Anatomy of a Revolution
By: Crane Brinton

A People's History of the United States (1492 - Present)
By: Howard Zinn

The Politics of History
By: Howard Zinn

OK, where did you plaigiarize that list from? You haven't read a single one of those books, have you?

 

[corplinx]

I see that a few people here have mentioned "The Prince".

Am I the only person who doesn't recommend reading it? Its mandatory reading in most poly-sci 101 type classes and I really don't the point other than giving people cool quotes to sound learned.

I think what people need to know about "The Prince" and the lessons it teaches can be summed up in a page at best.

I tried to find something of value to add, but most of the big names have already been mentioned so I thought I would throw a curveball. Read Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle.

There are many lessons there about commerce and the role government can play in hindering it through overregulation, confiscation, war, mixing religion with governing, and a myriad of other things.

 

[Theodore Kurita]

OK, where did you plaigiarize that list from? You haven't read a single one of those books, have you?

No, I have read every one of them.

And I see you still haven't dropped using childish flamming tactics and ad hominem's to prove a point.

Most all of those books are avaliable online to read anyways, just look around for Project Guttenburg.

 

[Theodore Kurita]

I see that a few people here have mentioned "The Prince".

Am I the only person who doesn't recommend reading it? Its mandatory reading in most poly-sci 101 type classes and I really don't the point other than giving people cool quotes to sound learned.

I think what people need to know about "The Prince" and the lessons it teaches can be summed up in a page at best.

I tried to find something of value to add, but most of the big names have already been mentioned so I thought I would throw a curveball. Read Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle.

There are many lessons there about commerce and the role government can play in hindering it through overregulation, confiscation, war, mixing religion with governing, and a myriad of other things.

(Side Note on The Prince)

Then again, you have to consider the fact that The Prince was a book completely for the idea of Realpolitik. The German Philosophy of foreign policy based on practical, and not theoretical terms.

Realpolitik is suppose to be the core of American Foreign Policy, but I have a feeling that it is shifting away from that and headed towards Neoconservative theory.

Oh well, I guess I'll find out in these next 4 years if that is completely true or not.

 

[clk]

No, I have read every one of them.

And I see you still haven't dropped using childish flamming tactics and ad hominem's to prove a point.

Most all of those books are avaliable online to read anyways, just look around for Project Guttenburg.

In the past you have:
claimed that you were a medical student
claimed that you had Masters degree in Astronomy
claimed to be an expert hacker
claimed that you possess a painting that had mysterious blood on it
claimed to author this essay

All of the above claims were false. Why should anyone believe you this time?

 

[Theodore Kurita]

In the past you have:
claimed that you were a medical student
claimed that you had Masters degree in Astronomy
claimed to be an expert hacker
claimed that you possess a painting that had mysterious blood on it
claimed to author this essay

All of the above claims were false. Why should anyone believe you this time?

Lets see here, you are really wanting to bait me again. sheeesh.

Well, I'll just put it bluntly. I've come clean about my identity already. I've been posting coherently for the past 9 - 10 months, and I have actually made myself established.

Oh, BTW if you are really wanting to know who I am, just click the f**king www link! I have my own webpage setup now.

That, and I am also a resident of Electronox, a forum that consists of... well... just my friends and I really.

Here are links to both websites, and please don't derail this topic any further:

www.electronox.net
www.xanga.com/socialdemocracy


And yes, about the time I claimed to be an expert hacker. I wasn't at the time, to be honest, I was just a script kiddie.

 

[clk]

Lets see here, you are really wanting to bait me again. sheeesh.

How am I trying to bait you? I'm just pointing out that you've made many seemingly impressive claims in the past which turned out to be false.

And yes, about the time I claimed to be an expert hacker. I wasn't at the time, to be honest, I was just a script kiddie.

If I recall correctly, you weren't even a script kiddy. You were a layman at best. What gave you away, you ask? Probably when you claimed that you had overclocked your Gameboy to run Windows.

 

[Theodore Kurita]

How am I trying to bait you? I'm just pointing out that you've made many seemingly impressive claims in the past which turned out to be false.



If I recall correctly, you weren't even a script kiddy. You were a layman at best. What gave you away, you ask? Probably when you claimed that you had overclocked your Gameboy to run Windows. [/B]

No, that "Overclocked Gameboy" thing was just something that was started by LeFevre. I still remember when I was on Paltalk that day when I posted asking about the supposed 5 GHZ overclock of a stock AMD 1 GHZ processor.


That, and this thread has become horribly derailed.

Besides, I've changed. I am much more mature than I was.


Looking back at it, I really was an illogical @sshole troll when I first joined the forums.



Anywho, back to the topic, what books would you recommend clk?

 

[clk]

No, that "Overclocked Gameboy" thing was just something that was started by LeFevre. I still remember when I was on Paltalk that day when I posted asking about the supposed 5 GHZ overclock of a stock AMD 1 GHZ processor.


That, and this thread has become horribly derailed.

Besides, I've changed. I am much more mature than I was.


Looking back at it, I really was an illogical @sshole troll when I first joined the forums.



Anywho, back to the topic, what books would you recommend clk?

Well, you haven't trolled in quite a while, which is a good thing. That's why this is the first time in a long time I've replied to one of your posts. But really...don't make stuff up in an attempt to impress people...it's usually obvious when you do it.

Regarding which books I'd recommend...quite frankly, I rarely have time to read for fun, so I haven't read that many political books. The most recent book I read was Al Franken's "Lies...", which was pretty funny. The parts he had about O'Reilly's sexual comments proved to be quite accurate.

 

[Nikk]

I see that a few people here have mentioned "The Prince".

Am I the only person who doesn't recommend reading it? Its mandatory reading in most poly-sci 101 type classes and I really don't the point other than giving people cool quotes to sound learned.

I think what people need to know about "The Prince" and the lessons it teaches can be summed up in a page at best.

I agree. Machiavelli never understood the importance of the human factor in politics, not surprising as he despised pretty much everybody and chose to associate with, in his own words, "vermin".

If one wishes to study politics in depth the book is worth reading, but far from being essential it is actively misleading as part of an introduction to the subject.

 

[tedly]

Most of the above, but I'd add Voltaire's Bastards by John Ralston Saul. You can read his subsequent books if you like, including On Equilibrium, but it's really more of the same.

The guy's obviously a gourmand, too. A man after my heart!

But we do need a bathroom book, like The Devil's Dictionary , so may I recommend Saul's The Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense

The gourmand influence is obvious in his discussion of the importance of royalty in the spread of good deserts.

 

[Savagemutt]

'Parliament of Whores' by P.J. O'Rourke

Damn. I hate that someone beat me to this one. But let me just add Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail: '73. Thompson's one great epic before his long, slow slide into incoherence.

 

[gnome]

Thomas Sowell's Knowledge and Decisions, while not entirely political, is a great look into the conservative fiscal philosophy. Until I had read this book, I thought conservatives stood only for bashing the left. Now if only I can find a book that helps me understand liberal philosophies I'll be set.

This isn't perfect, but it's a good start:

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/LiberalFAQ.htm

The best part of it is where it defines liberalism and positions it among various political lines.

The treatment of myths is well done but more people will find issue with it.

 

[gnome]

It's a great book indeed. But in my opinion it needs to be read in the context of, "you heard the good now here's the bad..."

Yes, I can see it that way. A good companion to a standard history text.

 

[Mr Manifesto]

But we do need a bathroom book, like The Devil's Dictionary , so may I recommend Saul's The Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense

The gourmand influence is obvious in his discussion of the importance of royalty in the spread of good deserts.

I especially like his entries on Xenophobia, particularly Xenophobia (passive):

The English are fair, French bread is the best, Americans are individualists, Italian women are beautiful, Germans are real men because they are not circumcised, Canadians are nice, the Russians are courageous, the Welsh are poetic, Greece is the cradle of democracy, Argentinians are the essence of the male, Sedes are fair, the English are courageous, the Swiss are hardworking, Frenchmen are the best lovers, American culture is an expression of freedom, Australians are tough, the Chinese are smart, the Poles should have been superior to everybody, the Italians have style, language is the great love of the Irish, the English don't queue-jump, Canadians are courageous, God speaks directly to the Iranians, Que la France est belle, Germans are efficient, Scots are smart, the Spanish are tough, Brazilians are not racists, Norwegians are good looking, Czechs are efficient, the English are at their best in a crisis, the Germans are courageous, the French are individualists, Canadians are hardy, the Swiss are efficient, the British are masters of understatement, Israelis are the best soldiers, Italians are romantic, Americans are courageous, the Scots are diligent and other reassuring, repetitive and boring fetishes.

John Ralston Saul, The Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense, 1994 Penguin books, Canada.

I can also highly recommend his cure for dandruff (cider vinegar): It really is all you need to get rid of it.

 

[headscratcher4]

Many good books mentioned here...here are a couple additions...

The Autobiography of Malcom X -- Halley/Malcom X

1984 & Animal Farm -- Orwell

We -- Zimyatin (sp?)

Darkness at Noon -- Arthur Koestler

The French Revolution -- Carlyle

 

[Luke T.]

I tried to find something of value to add, but most of the big names have already been mentioned so I thought I would throw a curveball. Read Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle.

Whoa! I'm 3/4 of the way through Quicksilver right now!

For those who don't know, The Baroque Cycle is a massive trilogy by one of the greatest sci-fi writers of all time. Quicksilver is the first of the trilogy.

I consider Snow Crash his best, but the research Stephenson must have put into this new trilogy is mindblowing. It has all the greats. Newton, Hooke, Liebnitz, and various other founding members of the Royal Society.

 

[Luke T.]

The Autobiography of Malcom X -- Halley/Malcom X

Yes! I can't recommend this book highly enough. Forget about the movie. Read the book. Alex Halley, of Roots fame, is the actual author, but it is told in the first person of Malcom X as dictated to Halley.

I gained a newfound respect for Malcolm X after reading it.

 

[shanek]

State in this topic what book(s) with which you think every American should be familiar.

I'll second de Tocqueville (I still haven't read Democracy ini America, but I've read enough of his other stuff to know that I like him) and 1984.

O'Rourke is great. The Peter McWilliams book is as well—and you can read all of his books online for free. It's such a shame the government murdered him; who knows what else he had to contribute? His death was a great loss to humanity.

Aside from the obvious stuff (Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist and anti-Federalist papers, and Josephy Story's Commentaries on the Constitution (more of something you'd reference than read)) I'd add The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein and Why Government Doesn't Work by Harry Browne (those recommendations should come as no surprise to anyone here).

 

[Mr Manifesto]

But we do need a bathroom book, like The Devil's Dictionary , so may I recommend Saul's The Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense

The gourmand influence is obvious in his discussion of the importance of royalty in the spread of good deserts.

Holy spit! Have you seen who the Govenor General of Canada is?

I have to move back to the mother country... Wonder how I can convince my girlf to come with me?