From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation

Written by: Gene Sharp

First line: One of my major concerns for many years has been how people could prevent and destroy dictatorships.

Why you should read this book: Based on a study of numerous countries that made a shift from dictatorship to democracy, Sharp outlines the process of employing proven tactics of nonviolent struggle to overthrow fascist regimes. His findings can be summarized in two words—solidarity and persistence—and the very short book does an excellent job of explaining how to employ these tactics, and why they work. The appendix comprises a list of 198 nonviolent actions that can be employed by the resistance to chip away at a regime's power, generate sympathy for the cause, and cause oppressive governments to crumble and cede power to the people.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You support a fascist dictator.

Granddaddy's Turn: A Journey to the Ballot Box

Written by: Michael S. Bandy, Eric Stein, and James E. Ransome

First line: Where we lived, I didn't need an alarm clock.

Why you should read this book: Based on historical events, this picture book shows the reality of voter suppression in the American south before the 1965 Voting Rights Act. A small boy admires his grandfather's strength in working their farm and in not responding to the culture of racism that violated his civil rights at the voting booth, and reminds young readers never to take their own rights for granted. The story is never heavy-handed and even the youngest listeners should be able to follow the characters' journey and begin to comprehend the injustice, and the author's determination to remember.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You have a tendency to lose your temper in the face of injustice; you've ever been arrested for speaking truth to power.

Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite

Written by: Suki Kim

First line: Time there seemed to pass differently.

Why you should read this book: I know I'm not the only American fascinated, bewildered, and curious about life in North Korea, as evidenced by the number of months I had to wait for this library reserve, and it did not disappoint in terms of sheer, mind-blowing insanity, and its descriptions of a world that is hardly imaginable. Suki Kim, born in South Korea, immigrated to America at age 13, and was also curious about the closed country where some of her relatives had disappeared before she was born, so she disguised herself as a Christian missionary among a group of Christian missionaries disguised as teachers, and spent two semesters living in a virtual prison while gathering intelligence about the most closed country on the planet. I devoured this fascinating narrative in a few hours and highly recommend it to anyone with the least interest in North Korea, oppressive regimes, the meaning of freedom, human rights, or brainwashing an entire country.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are a Christian missionary disguised as a teacher for the purpose of maintaining a presence in North Korea in case the country should ever open up enough to enable you to proselytize there.

It's Just a Plant

Written by: Ricardo Cortes

First line: Jackie loved to go to sleep at night.

Why you should read this book: When Jackie walks in on her parents smoking a joint, her mom decides to take her on a educational bike ride to talk to Farmer Bob and Doctor Eden about marijuana. Jackie receives honest and factual information about some of the plant's most interesting properties, how and why people have been using it for a very long time time, and the reasons that children shouldn't try drugs, even if it OK for adults. Later, watching an encounter between the police and some pot smokers, she learns even more truths about the political reasons for marijuana prohibition and the fact that the government sometimes makes legislative mistakes, which can be rectified through the democratic process.

Why you shouldn't read this book: One time your cousin's roommate's neighbor's daughter took marijuana and her eyes exploded out the back of her head and she died and you know that the only way to protect people from danger is to prohibit the spread of any information on the subject.

The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Ka'iulani of Hawai'i

Written by: Fay Stanley

First line: The life of Princess Ka'iulani of Hawai'i began like the happiest of fairy tales.

Why you should read this book: Informative but heartbreaking, this is the true story of the last princess of Hawai'i, and her desperate attempts to save her homeland from the effects of American capitalist colonialism. From her idyllic infancy, to her British education, her fruitless pleas before the American government, and her tragically early death of either inflammatory rheumatism or a broken heart, this honest biography for young readers outlines the political and commercial reality and travesty of her life. An important, and often overlooked, moment in American history.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Still carrying the white man's burden, toiling to civilize the noble savage, can't understand why they resist your help so persistently.

What to Do about Alice?

Written by: Barbara Kerley

Why you should read this book: A rollicking biography of Teddy Roosevelt's spitfire oldest daughter, the child of his first marriage, who is determined to eat up the world, sampling all its delights, and scandalizing proper society in the process. A tomboy, proto-feminist, free spirit, Alice serves as a successful ambassador, drives a car (fast) and travels the world. Eventually she marries and congressman and proves that she's not such a problem child after all.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't want your kids jumping on your head and riding you like a pig.

Time for Outrage

Written by: Stéphane Hessel

First line: Ninety-three years old. The last leg of my journey. The end is in sight.

Why you should read this book: More of a small pamphlet, these are the thoughts of a veteran of the French Resistance who survived World War II and helped draft the U.N.’s Universal Declaration on Human Rights. With the perspective of years, he explains why the gap between rich and poor is unconscionable, how indifference is the most dangerous attitude, and why peaceful insurrection is required to fulfill the promise of human rights. Mass media, mass consumption, relentless competition, and an overall lack of respect, he argues, feed the injustices of our world, and must be resisted.

Why you shouldn’t read this book:  You refuse to compromise your support for aggression on either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

A Renegade History of the United States

Written by: Thaddeus Russell

First line: This is a new story.

Why you should read this book: This hugely controversial book reframes American history as the losing battle of the Puritan, socially conservative ruling class, epitomized by the work ethic and abnegation of men like John Adams, against the true authors of our beloved American freedoms: alcoholics, prostitutes, mobsters, gamblers, sexual deviants, people conforming to racist stereotypes, and those engaged in the production of music, movies, and comic books that failed to conform to a relentless Christian perspective. Dancing with abandon, mixing with other races, conspicuous material consumption, and other hallmarks of modern American freedom are examined with surprising candor from a historical perspective, as the author documents conservative resistance to equality, diversity, and open-mindedness. Although he selects his evidence carefully, in service of his thesis, the overall effect of the work is eye-opening, allowing the reader to appreciate the historical perspective and how little the doctrine of conformity, self-denial, and ceaseless work that supposedly defined the American citizen truly reflects the culture of our American character and opportunity.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't consider "pursuit of happiness" a legitimate freedom.

Amistad

Author: David Pesci

First line: A cold touch woke him from a dreamless sleep.

Why you should read this book: Singbe was just going to the next village to see about some livestock he might want to buy when he was set upon by thugs, sold into slavery, and shipped across the ocean by men who would steal his humanity, beat his independence out of him, and offer him up as an animal to the highest bidder. But Singbe turns the tables on his oppressors, overtaking the Amistad and its crew, using every resource in his arsenal to point the ship in the direction of his wife and children, and eventually bringing his case to the highest court in the United States, forcing those who interpret the laws to confront the racism and hypocrisy inherent in a system that purports to value equality but only offers true rights to those who already control all the power. A pulse-pounding account of the struggle for liberty and human rights, the back-room machinations of the nineteenth century's political-economic machine, and the true meaning of freedom in a world of limited choices.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're always in secret meetings with judges to ensure rulings favorable to your industry.

A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present

Author: Howard Zinn

First line: Arawak men and women, naked, tawny, and full of wonder, emerged from their villages on the island's big beaches and swam out to get a closer look at the strange boat.

Why you should read this book: One of the most important books ever written, A People's History seeks to correct the mistakes of official history by restoring the perspective of Native Americans, African-Americans, women, immigrants, pacifists, the working class, and all others (the vast majority of Americans) who are not represented by the wealthy, heterosexual, white men who have been running the show for five hundred plus years in a country where government policy caters to corporate greed, the almighty military-industrial complex, and the minuscule percentage of families controlling the majority of the nation's wealth. At seven hundred pages, it is densely packed with cases of outrageous class inequality as well as positive uprising in the name of social justice, and still, the author feels compelled to apologize, in the afterword, for those people whose points of view remain underrepresented in his massive history. This book ought to be required reading for every American.

Why you shouldn't read this book: As a single mother working eighty hours a week at minimum wage who still can't afford health care, you just don't have time to read.

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

Author: Barack Obama

First line: It's been almost ten years since I first ran for political office.

Why you should read this book: In language precise and sincere, Obama details his understanding of the American political process and the dreams of the American nation, laying out all the problems facing the American people and outlining potential solutions to those problem. Those who accuse the candidate of having little experience or understanding of politics must read this book to understand his wealth of knowledge, not just about the Constitution, the legislature, our history, the economy, morality, and foreign affairs, but also his in-depth comprehension of diplomacy, compromise, and ways to unite a divided nation. This is clear-headed doctrine that ought to hit the reading list of anyone (regardless of affiliation) who senses that America could be a healthier country than it is, and anyone who is ready to bring their nation into the twenty-first century with honor.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Neither the outcome of the 2008 American presidential election nor the position of the US in global policy have any bearing on your life.

Second Treatise of Government

Author: John Locke

Quote: To understand political power right, and derive it from its original, we must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave, or depending upon the will of any other man.

Why you should read this book: Locke, one of the authors of the Enlightenment, set out his ideas about government in a perfectly rational world, according to his understanding of reason, applying scientific principles to the organization of society. Thomas Jefferson and America's founding fathers drew heavily on his ideas about freedom and equality in penning the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Nearly everything in this book makes perfect sense, and it's interesting to see how American democracy developed from these ideas, and where it's deviated.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're not interested in being a member of society.