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Thread: Political Book Reviews

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    Featured Member Lilith's Avatar
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    Default Political Book Reviews

    We're top-full of political junkies in this forum; it stands to reason that at least some of us also read political commentary books. I adore such books for a multitude of reasons; they're insightful, intellectually stimulating, good sources of information and- best of all- usually quite funny. It's still a bit disappointing to come across a dud; poorly researched, nonsensical or stultifyingly boring (and these are usually the more expensive such books). Then there's always the question, once you've finished your most recent purchase, of what to read next.

    I thought a book review thread was in order. Something fairly simple and straightforward; summary, political leaning if applicable, what you thought and how you would rate it. Like this:

    Title, Author

    Summary: Blah blah blah.

    Orientation: Liberal, Liberal-leaning, Centrist, Conservative-leaning, Conservative, Apolitical.

    Review: Etc etc, yadda yadda.

    Rating: B+, (Insert political orientation here) would likely give this book a (rating here).

    All right then. Ready, set, go!
    He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

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    Featured Member Lilith's Avatar
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    Default Re: Political Book Reviews

    Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich.

    Summary: In an effort to further the "living wage" debate, a mainstream media journalist submerges herself into minimum wage jobs and the lifestyle of poverty in diverse American cities. Here she reports on what it is like to live and work below the poverty level for one year.

    Orientation: Slightly liberal-leaning in concept

    Review: Quite a good book. Ms. Ehrenreich really does dive into the world of the working poor- owns cheap household goods, lives in whatever slum her wage can support, associates with poor co-workers- in short, comes as close as would be possible for the upper middle class to know what poverty is really like. Not that she dispenses with health care, of course. Her protestations at "feeling and knowing" exactly the pain of a poor American lack the ring of truth; after all, at the end of the day she knows that she has a hefty bank account and large, comfortable home awaiting in her native city. Still and all, an excellent read. Straightforward account of what poverty feels like without a lot of finger-pointing or grandiose solutions.

    Rating: B+, and I think readers of any political orientation would feel the same. A definite recommendation.
    He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

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    Featured Member Lilith's Avatar
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    Default Re: Political Book Reviews

    Pigs At the Trough, by Arianna Huffington

    Summary: A book about the excesses and illegal machinations of huge corporations, with particular attention paid to "perp walks" and exceptionally greedy CEOs.

    Orientation: Liberal

    Review: All the information you wanted (or not) to know about mammoth corporations, including their methods for illicit profits and how the CEO spent it. Nike was conspicuously absent, though, as was Wal-Mart. Ms. Huffington is rather a cerebral Michael Moore and this book a technical Roger and Me... without the fun. It's a bit slow reading. This is not a book to be read for entertainment value (it has none); read it instead for the facts which are thick, plentiful and accurate.

    Rating: A for research, C for readability; I imagine that would be a typical sentiment regardless of the reader's politics. Big fans of Ms. Huffington would likely up that some, though, for the name factor.
    He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

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