Need a Book Recommendation

[hiphopnation]

My wife has heretofore been only peripherally involved in politics. She's now rapt with attention especially after the most recent election and is even of the mind that Bush cheated (yay honey!).

What I'd like to get for her is a good book that succinctly outlines the political and ideological differences between the left and right.

Anyone have any recommendations?

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Hmmm... Send her to my site

I have a couple of book reviews, but I also have some links to quizzes for determining ideology. :)

-----------------------------------
Fight the fraud; fund the recount!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[hiphopnation]

2. is that the link?

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Ayuh. :^)

-----------------------------------
Fight the fraud; fund the recount!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[flowomo]

9. hmmmm.... I took your "pick your candidate" survey

because I followed your link out of curiosity. And the Green Party candidate came up at 97% for me. I'm not ready to opt out of the Democratic party yet, but just thought I'd let you know. :)

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. The GP allows for dual party membership ;^) (Don't think the Dems

do at this time, though.)

-----------------------------------
Fight the fraud; fund the recount!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[RebelOne]

3. We now have 2 book groups here at DU.

One for fiction and the other for non-fiction. I think the people there could be of help. Check them out.

[hiphopnation]

6. Thanks I'll check that out.

[ReadTomPaine]

4. Robert Reich's "Reason : Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America"

Great place to start.

RTP

[classof56]

14. I just finished "Reason". Sure hope Reich is right about the left!

Or somethin' like that. Another book is "Cruel and Unusual" by Mark Crispin Miller. Think the right/left differences come through pretty clearly in these two books. Scary but clear!

[alfredo]

5. Al Franken's books are terrific.

Once past that, give her "Worse Than Watergate." by John Dean. It is well written, and a very credible.

[babylonsister]

8. And Franken's books aren't too loaded

politically to understand. His humor creeps in and makes the books an enjoyable read while learning.

[nostamj]

12. another vote for WORSE THAN WATERGATE

so many good one out there right now, but WTW if a fast, informative read.

I also loved Sen. Byrd's LOSING AMERICA

[alfredo]

15. Moore's "Dude Where's My Country", is a good read too.

chapter 8 is very good.

[Postman]

10. Any book by Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, Noam Chomsky...

A good start would be Howard Zinn's "Declarations of Independence" a critical examination of American ideology.

[Lone_Wolf]

17. I second this...

These are the "heavyweight" intellectuals on the left.

I highly recommend:

Noam Chomsky's "The Indespensible Chomsky" and Parenti's "Democracy for the Few."

[Shopaholic]

11. David Brock's

The Republican Noise Machine--it really gives an eye-opening look at the "liberal" media.

[hellbound-liberal]

16. Garrison Keillor's Homegrown Democrat is good

and I also like: The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro America
by John Sperling' here's a short review from Amazon:
<snip>

The Great Divide is a blueprint for how the Democratic Party can regain, and maintain, control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives. John Sperling and his co-authors acknowledge that the U.S. has seldom been truly united, and there currently exists such a wide gap that the U.S. is effectively two nations: "one traditional and rooted in the past, and one modern and focused on the future." They are divided along racial, ethnic, religious, cultural, political, and geographic lines. The battle, they write, is not Left versus Right; rather, it's Metro versus Retro America. Retro America is defined by the South, the Midwest, and the Rocky Mountain states; Metro America consists of the two coasts and the Great Lakes states. The authors argue that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are national parties, so there is no point in behaving as such. They recommend that the Democrats concede the Retro states and focus entirely on the Metro states, which should be their base. This would allow the party to develop a coherent message that would connect with voters and to take advantage of the fact that Metro states account for 65 percent of the population. Then, once a strong base is built, the Democrats can work on unifying America as a whole.

<snip>