Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies
A collection of 5 Chomsky essays. I've read one so far, and it was excellent, as he always is. The interesting thing about this volume is that it has 5 appendices of supplemental material, one for each essay, whose combined length is longer than the main text. I haven't decided if I should read each appendix as I read its corresponding chapter, or just read it all in a row.
Teaching As a Subversive Activity
Originally published in 1969, about a philosophy of teaching and criticism of the existing school structures. I've read the first chapter and found myself vigorously nodding my head in agreement.
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq
I'm about a quarter of the way into this scathing critical analysis of the execution of the Iraq invasion and occupation. To an extent, I think this subject is unnecessary, since I'd contend we had no justification for invasion regardless of how ineptly things were planned and managed. But the book seems very well researched and written, and offers a great deal of information that supports my position regardless of the author's intention or views. It also provides insights into the minds of various government and military figures, which is interesting for me, given my interest in political psychology.
The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution
Richard Dawkins writing about evolution is always delightful. I'm about halfway through. The book has a very cool premise: start with humans, and go back in time meeting each common ancestor along our evolutionary family tree all the way back to the origins of life. So I've met all the apes, and then monkeys, other primates, etc. He structures the book in the fashion of The Canterbury Tales. A very cool idea for a book, and very good reading.
1984 (Signet Classics)
I started this classic work of fiction a while ago, but haven't touched it for a long time because I can just read the news and get the real thing. Orwell was truly a genius.
Unexceptional: America's Empire in the Persian Gulf, 1941-2007
I met the author at a lecture and he sent me an advance copy of his book. I've read most of his concluding chapter, which he said he originally planned to read as part of the lecture (but changed his approach to fit the audience). I'm not sure if I'll end up reading the whole thing, since I feel like I already know most of the material on a basic level, and might not be especially interested in learning it in more detail.
God Is Not Great
The Christopher Hitchens polemic, subtitled "How Religion poisons everything." I read the first few pages last night because I was excited when it arrived in the mail. I anticipated it would be lighter reading for me, but I found Hitchens' style to be more dense than I expected (I've never read a book of his before). So I might pretend I never started it and move this into the next group of books.
The next group includes at least these 5 on my reading pile:
What We Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World
In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines
Les Misérables (Signet Classics)
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
I'm declaring a reading binge, to begin immediately. How long until I finish all 12? Does the end of February seem realistic?
2 comments:
I tried leaving a comment but my browser keeps fucking up. ANyway, the giste is that my essay today on the GRE drew from two instances where science thwarted Church doctrine. Hopefully the religious studies grad student who will grade it won't be offended.
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