BOOK CLUB: Nominations for April book.

[crispini]

This is a fresh thread for nominations. No old nominations from previous months count-- everything must be nominated anew. This is to ensure that the nominations don't get clogged up and that the list doesn't get too long. This thread will stay open all the way through February, and then we'll lock it and start new nominations for the following month.

Since there are only 10 places on the poll, it is very important that people also "second" other people's books. The numbers of "seconds" will determine what makes it on the poll.

You have one nomination and unlimited "seconds," OK?

Edited to add:
It's probably a good idea to tell us a little bit about the book, most especially WHY you like it and think everyone should read it. And an amazon.com link wouldn't hurt either.

Help out DU: If you buy through Amazon, part of your purchase will go to DU if you buy through this link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=democraticund-20&path=subst/home/home.html

[hector459]

1. "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins

eom

[Coexist]

2. Ooh, I wanted to read that too

I second Confessions of an Economic Hitman

[stray cat]

4. Link for economic hit man - consider this a second or third

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576753018/qid=1107821940/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-7528196-9625611?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[HuckleB]

7. I nominate "Confessions..." too.

How about I second it, as well?

[erpowers]

3. I like It

I would like to read that book also.

[CrispyQ]

5. Unequal Protection

"Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights" by Thom Hartmann

I'm half way through this book & it such an eye-opener. I believe that the issue of corporate personhood is critical to the survival of democracy. Also, if we don't recind this awful (& mistaken!) Supreme Court ruling, I question if we will survive the Global Corporate Persons.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1579549551/qid=1107912342/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/104-9413927-6616722?v=glance&s=books

Product Description:

Was the Boston Tea Party the first WTO-style protest against transnational corporations? Did Supreme Court sell out America's citizens in the nineteenth century, with consequences lasting to this day? Is there a way for American citizens to recover democracy of, by, and for the people?

Thom Hartmann takes on these most difficult questions and tells a startling story that will forever change your understanding of American history. He begins by uncovering an original eyewitness account of the Boston Tea Party and demonstrates that it was provoked not by "taxation without representation" as is commonly suggested but by the specific actions of the East India Company, which represented the commericial interests of the British elite.

Hartmann then describes the history of the Fourteenth Amendment--created at the end of the Civil War to grant basic rights to freed slaves--and how it has been used by lawyers representing corporate interests to extend additional rights to businesses far more frequently than to freed slaves. Prior to 1886, corporations were referred to in U.S. law as "artificial persons." but in 1886, after a series of cases brought by lawyers representing the expanding railroad interests, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations were "persons" and entitled to the same rights granted to people under the Bill of Rights. Since this ruling, America has lost the legal structures that allowed for people to control corporate behavior.

As a result, the largest transnational corporations fill a role today that has historically been filled by kings. They control most of the world's wealth and exert power over the lives of most of the world's citizens. Their CEOs are unapproachable and live lives of nearly unimaginable wealth and luxury. They've become the rudder that steers the ship of much human experience, and they're steering it by their prime value--growth and profit and any expense--a value that has become destructive for life on Earth. This new feudalism was not what our Founders--Federalists and Democratic Republicans alike--envisioned for America.

It's time for "we, the people" to take back our lives. Hartmann proposes specific legal remedies that could truly save the world from political, economic, and ecological disaster.

[crispini]

11. Seconded. This sounds great! nt

[erpowers]

6. Nominations

I would like to nominate Paul Krugman's "The Great Unraveling", David Johnson's "Perfectly Legal", "No Place To Hide", and "Corporateering: How Corporate Power Steals Your Personal Freedom and What You Can Do About It". I have almost finished reading "The Great Unraveling". It has been a very informative book. In addition, it was an easy read. I have not read the other books, but I think they may be informative books. I just heard of the last two books this morning. The last two books were not written by David Johnson.

[crispini]

8. Choose one, please... only one nom per person per month.

Thanks! :hi:

[stray cat]

12. I'll nominate Paul Krugman's "the Great Unraveling"

However, we need a second.

[hfojvt]

14. I found it to be kinda dry

and I like economics. I read the first 20 to 30 pages before I gave it to my sister. Another drawback is that I have probably already read half of it since I have been reading Krugman's NYT columns for the last three or four years.

[stray cat]

22. Thanks for the info

[Coexist]

9. I would like to nominate Reading Lolita in Tehran

I just finished it recently. It is about a book club founded by an Iranian professor of western literature in Tehran, after she leaves the University. The club is secret. The book takes you from the Shah's Iran through the revolution and the war with Iraq.

Considering how likely it is that Iran will be *s next target, it certainly wouldn't behoove us to learn more about it's recent history from an inside perspective.

It is a good read - it flows nicely, and gives a lot of insight into the faceless masses we see on t.v.

also (on edit) it is on the Barnes and Noble buy 2 get 1 free table, along with Fast Food Nation, Don't Think of an Elephant and several other great titles that people here might be interested in.

[crispini]

13. Since this is so short so far,

Seconded. This one sounds good!

[erpowers]

10. Corporateering

I would like to nominate "Corporateering: How Corporate Power Steals Your Personal Freedom and What You Can Do About It" to be read by the DU book club.

[pstans]

15. Crimes against Nature by Robert Kennedy Jr.

That would be my first choice, but I'd second "Confessions of the Econimic Hitman."

[pstans]

16. Sorry, just saw March's poll

I second for Confessions of an Economic Hitman then.

[crispini]

17. Just because it didn't get chosen in March

doesn't mean it can't get re-nominated.... in fact, I think a LOT of books we've mentioned probably *should* get re-nominated. :hi:

[CrispyQ]

25. I second "Crimes Against Nature"

With the exception of the fundamentalists, many, many republicans do care about the environment. I'm seconding this book because I would like to have an aresenal of facts to throw at them & possibly come up with some good ideas for framing the ecology debate.

[Hamlette]

18. 1st choice

Confessions of an EHM (the acronym he uses in the book for: economic hit man)

I started reading it last night. It's worse than I thought. Our country is doing evil things. The rest of what is going on, the war in Iraq and the elimination of social security, is a side show to keep us from noticing our immoral conduct thoughout the 3rd world.

My second choice would be Arc of Justice. I read it last month. It is an excellent read with a touch of politics and much history. If/when you burn out on politics, pick up this book.

[CrispyQ]

19. Has the April book been decided? ...eom

[crispini]

20. No, next we poll.

Wanna start the poll on Tuesday? ;)

[CrispyQ]

21. Sure, I'd love to help. ...eom

[northzax]

23. Collapse- Jarend Diamond

it's a big book, but well written. Basically, he takes several past societies and tries to determine why those societies failed while others succeeded (Easter Isalnd, Mayas are two of them) and uses several others as a control group.

the lesson is that there are central threads in the collapse of every society that has vanished or declined dramatically from a peak, and by using the4se lessons we can attept to avoid he same fate for ourselves.

[crispini]

24. Looks like we've got three that have been seconded:

Looks like we've got:
"Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins
Nominated by: hector459, FLDem5, dmordue, HuckleB, erpowers, pstans, Hamlette

"Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights" by Thom Hartmann
Nominated by: CrispyQGirl, crispini
Hartmann then describes the history of the Fourteenth Amendment--created at the end of the Civil War to grant basic rights to freed slaves--and how it has been used by lawyers representing corporate interests to extend additional rights to businesses far more frequently than to freed slaves. Prior to 1886, corporations were referred to in U.S. law as "artificial persons." but in 1886, after a series of cases brought by lawyers representing the expanding railroad interests, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations were "persons" and entitled to the same rights granted to people under the Bill of Rights. Since this ruling, America has lost the legal structures that allowed for people to control corporate behavior.

As a result, the largest transnational corporations fill a role today that has historically been filled by kings. They control most of the world's wealth and exert power over the lives of most of the world's citizens. Their CEOs are unapproachable and live lives of nearly unimaginable wealth and luxury. They've become the rudder that steers the ship of much human experience, and they're steering it by their prime value--growth and profit and any expense--a value that has become destructive for life on Earth. This new feudalism was not what our Founders--Federalists and Democratic Republicans alike--envisioned for America.

It's time for "we, the people" to take back our lives. Hartmann proposes specific legal remedies that could truly save the world from political, economic, and ecological disaster.


Reading Lolita in Tehran
Nominated by FLDem5, crispini
It is about a book club founded by an Iranian professor of western literature in Tehran, after she leaves the University. The club is secret. The book takes you from the Shah's Iran through the revolution and the war with Iraq.

I guess unless we get some more seconds on Monday, that's the poll. Maybe we should include some Amazon links for additonal info?

Anyway, fire it up when ready, CrispyQGirl! :hi:

[CrownPrinceBandar]

26. Nominations are closed..........

thread locked at the request of OP.