The
Anti-Capitalist Reader
edited by Joel Schalit
Usually
when I read a book, I like to read it straight through and relatively
quickly, but The Anti-Capitalist Reader took me several weeks to
read. It’s comprised of a
series of essays and interviews that are divided into a few broad
categories. With my
admitted lack of knowledge about Marxism, Leninism, and economics, some
of these essays and interviews were over my head, causing my eyes to
glaze over. However, the
rest of the pieces were informative and brought together the many
effects of capitalism that I’d been unaware of.
Also, I was pleased to see criticisms of the anti-capitalist
movement included as well as notes on how the movement ties in
historically.
Beyond Beef: The Rise
and Fall of Cattle Culture by Jeremy Rifkin
I
picked up Beyond Beef at the local library in preparation for a
talk about veganism that Sean and I were giving to a local environmental
group. I was just looking
for a few facts and figures about the beef industry and the amounts of
land and water it uses and pollutes, and also the amounts of grain used
to produce beef. I found
all that information as well as an interesting history of cattle’s
place in the life and religions of ancient civilizations until now.
Something else I learned from Beyond Beef was the history
behind the Taylor Grazing Act, which allows ranchers to graze cattle on
public lands for nominal fees. Beyond
Beef compiles a strong case against the cattle industrial complex
using information from a range of sources, and attacks it from all
imaginable aspects. I’d
recommend Beyond Beef to those who don’t know much about the
environmental reasons behind veganism.
Dancing at
Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times by Richard G.
Mitchell Jr.
Through
my readings in alternative press works and my own interest in sustainable
living, I’ve often heard the term survivalist and seen ads for
survival-related products and projects. Dancing at Armageddon is Richard Mitchell’s
(professor of sociology at Oregon State University) attempt to infiltrate
and examine the survivalists in his area, and then in other organizations
around the United States. Mitchell
is successful in meeting several survivalists and attends quite a few
different survival meetings and gatherings, including local meetings in
people’s homes, outdoor/field training missions involving weapon
training, larger religious/survival retreats, and even the Aryan World
Congress meeting of the Aryan Nations.
Mitchell provides in depth analysis of the wide variety of beliefs
that fall into the category of survivalism, and readily exposes the
contradictions, weaknesses, and many shortcomings that he encounters in
the movement. Though I found the subject to be highly interesting, I felt
stifled by Mitchell’s dense, overly academic writing style.
However, Dancing at Armageddon contains experiences that not
many people get the chance to have and write about, so it is worthwhile.
Hard Men
Humble: Vietnam Veterans Who Wouldn’t Come Home by Jonathan
Stevenson
I
picked up Hard Men Humble
searching for further understanding on the Vietnam Conflict and also to
see some personal stories surrounding that time period.
Jonathan Stevenson meets and interviews quite a few American men
who fought in the war and are still living in Southeast Asia.
Some of them have temporarily returned to the US, and others have
stayed there the entire time. Most
interesting to me were the explanations for why the men have decided to
leave the US, some personal, some political, some cultural, and Stevenson
has grouped the many reasons by chapter to allow a cohesive reading
experience. Stevenson also
pays close attention to the ex-pats, specifically and carefully
exposing how some of them lie about their past military lives, which is
quite common. Vietnam,
Cambodia, and Laos are all fascinating countries, and Hard
Men Humble provides a glimpse
of their history and unique culture.
Quiet
Rumors: An Anarcha-Feminist Reader
texts compiled by Dark Star
This
collection of essays and interviews shows the importance of the
relationship between feminism and anarchism.
I enjoyed the variety of perspectives offered, since the texts
spanned most of the last 100 years and included writings by or about
women such as Emma Goldman and Voltairine de Cleyre, as well as pieces
about many aspects of both feminism and anarchism.
As a whole, the collection was too much for me to read all at
once, so I’ve been enjoying it over several months.
Sometimes the language and terminology seems above my head, but
it’s worth the extra effort to understand the history behind this
movement and the possible goals for the future.
Also, Quiet
Rumors is nicely laid out with many beautiful woodcut prints throughout.
Red Dust:
A Path Through China by Ma Jian
Facing
personal as well as professional difficulties (as a government photographer
and writer), Ma Jian flees Beijing to avoid further problems, and becomes a
fugitive on a mission to explore his homeland.
In order to avoid further suspicion from the government and local
authorities, Ma Jian travels with forged letters of introduction, using
aliases and often lying about himself.
He travels to the edges of China and Tibet, exploring both the land
and his beliefs. Questioning
his government, his religion, and himself, Red Dust is filled with
adventure and reflective travel writings.
Red Dust made me want to study China further, including the
Cultural Revolution, Spiritual Pollution, and the treatment of the citizens
by the government.
Reefer Madness
by Eric Schlosser
After
his successful book Fast
Food Nation,
Eric Schlosser is back with a look into the black market and its three
main components in the U.S. In
the first section, marijuana production, sale, and use, drug laws, and
the prison system are discussed and shown in the context of the economy
of other legal crops. The
second section looks into the strawberry fields in California and the
many migrant workers that struggle to survive while working in harsh and
unfair conditions. In the
final section, pornography and the sex industry are exposed with a close
look at Reuben Sturman, a previously unknown man who is most responsible
for creating the pornography market as we know it today.
All three topics are often hotly debated and it was most
interesting to read about all three in relation to each other. Again, Eric Schlosser has produced a very readable book that
is filled with real life examples, history and statistics, and lots of
criticism. Reading Reefer Madness
raised a lot of questions about our government and what its goals really
are.
Saying Yes: In
Defense of Drug Use
by Jacob Sullum
I
must admit that Saying
Yes
is one of the most convincing books I’ve read, and Jacob Sullum has a
lot of common sense things to say about a subject that’s often taboo.
Basically, he refutes the stereotypes and common perceptions that
are used to sway people from using drugs:
that they will ruin your life, make you go insane or crazy, make
you have sex resulting in pregnancy and disease, cause you to get
hooked, and most importantly that you will die.
He uses results from studies to show how many people try
different drugs and the frequency that they use them as evidence that
these stereotypes are simply untrue.
Also, he looks at the differences between legal and illegal
drugs, the history of prohibition, and the role of religion in this.
I liked all the relevant descriptions of everyday folks who use
drugs and are just fine that were interspersed to break up the
statistics. Saying Yes
is an assault on the government and how its war on drugs isn’t really
saving anyone, but is in fact making many people’s lives worse through
the spread of misinformation and the unfair laws that result in long
jail sentences. I hope that
Saying Yes achieves its goal and opens up discussion about the
moderate drug use that many Americans enjoy.
The Scalpel and the Butterfly: The War Between Animal
Research and Animal Protection by Deborah Rudachille
I’ve been vegetarian/vegan for quite awhile now, but to be honest, I’ve
never really read much on the history of the animal rights movement.
So, when I saw The Scalpel and the Butterfly on the new
nonfiction shelf at my local public library, I decided to check it out.
Deborah Rudacille does an excellent job of presenting both sides of the
debate on animal testing, without using too much scientific jargon.
She outlines the histories of several vegetarian societies and animal
rights groups, including PETA and the ALF, and the politics and actions of
such groups. This book is filled
with lots of current, well documented, global information on a rather
controversial subject.
Secrets: The
CIA’s War at Home by
Angus Mackenzie
Secrets
chronicles the CIA’s attempts at domestic counterintelligence from the
1950s to present, discussing tactics such as secrecy oaths, government
censors, cover-ups, fronts, and planted spies.
Using many specific cases, Angus Mackenzie explains the history of the
CIA and the legislation and policy it’s influenced and created in order to
protect its ability to continue to withhold information from the public.
Mackenzie won a lawsuit against the CIA, under the Freedom of
Information Act, in order to gain the information he needed to publish this
book. Though Secrets is a bit technical, I learned a lot
from it, in particular how disjointed and powerful our government is.
Seize the
Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton
by Bobby Seale
Seize
the Time is an interesting book to read because the text is mostly
transcribed from several audio recordings made by Bobby Seale while he was in
prison, so his personality and style of speaking are clear.
He describes the formation and rise of The Black Panther Party as a
natural reaction to the social and political climate of the late 1960s.
Bobby Seale clearly explains his relationship to Huey P. Newton, the
beliefs of The Black Panthers, and their history. The Black Panther party earned much attention from the media,
police, and government for its actions and ability to unite the black
community. Seize the Time
dispels a lot of the myths and misinformation that are commonly believed about
this radical group. The Black
Panthers were one of the first revolutionary groups in the United States to
attempt to unite, educate, and empower its community to provide an alternative
to America’s racist, classist, capitalistic system.
To me, the most striking element of Seize the Time was the
extent to which the government was willing to go to suppress the Black
Panthers.
Tearing
Down the Steets: Adventures in Urban Anarchy by Jeff Ferrell
I
heard brief mention of this book on NPR and was surprised to find it on the
shelf of my local library. Jeff
Ferrell is a professor of Criminal Justice in Arizona and has spent much
time traveling the streets in the United States and Europe, thus meeting
many different radical groups, including graffiti writers, street musicians,
gutter punks, bicycle activists, pirate radio operators, skateboarders, and
BASE jumpers. In Tearing
Down the Streets he explains a bit of history and insight into each of
these groups, as well as talking to different participants.
Ferrell makes many comparisons between the groups and their
individual struggles for freedom and places to exist in our society.
Sometimes Tearing Down the Streets appeared to make too many
generalizations, but overall these groups are connected both in their
struggles and lack of recognition by mainstream media and society.
When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer
Rouge
by Chanrithy Him
Naturally, what I learned in school about the Vietnam War was only how it
affected the United States. Chanrithy
Him grew up in Cambodia during the rise and rule of the Khmer Rouge, and her
story fills in some of the much needed information I had missed.
As an adult living in the US, Chanrithy recounts her childhood memories
of being forced from her home into work camps, through times of being near
death, and losing much of her family to both separation and death.
Her uncertainty of what each new day will bring and the risks she takes
for herself and her family’s survival are very difficult to read about.
Both the psychological trauma and the obvious physical abuse endured by
the Cambodians are unimaginable. When
Broken Glass Floats is an enlightening historical lesson told through the
eyes of a young girl.
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