As anyone who knows me will tell you, I happen to be an avid reader. In fact, when I'm not working or trying to stay in shape, you will usually find some sort of print media in my hands, with my nose buried somewhere within its pages. As such, I figured that perhaps if anyone is interested, I will provide an ongoing reading list of books that I either am currently devouring, or have recently digested. Hopefully, this list will provide for the readers out there an insight into who I am, and how I have arrived at my own personal beliefs. So without further ado, here is the list thus far. Also, I may decide to start adding comments about each selection. The books are in no particular order. Additions will be added later:
1) Manufacturing Consent Noam Chomsky
2) The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Ancient Rome Michael Parenti
3) 1421: The Year China Discovered America Gavin Menzies
4) IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance between Nazi Germany and America's Most Powerful Corporation Edwin Black
5) Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography Dominic Streatfeild
6) Conspirators: Secrets of an Iran Contra Insider Al Martin
7) The Trial of Henry Kissinger Christopher Hitchens
8) A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present Howard Zinn
9) Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism Sean Hannity
10) Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets Frank Partnoy
11) Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right Ann Coulter
12) The Best Democracy Money Can Buy Greg Palast
13) Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President James H. Hatfield
14) Rainbow's End: The Crash of 1929 Maury Klein
15) Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair
16) Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money -- That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! Robert T. Kiyosaki, Sharon L. Lechter
17) Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance Noam Chomsky
18) Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them...A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right Al Franken
As a side note, you probably have noticed (if, of course you took a little time to peruse my reading list) that I try to read as many sides of a debate as possible. What I have found is that there's never a completely objective view of history or current events. In my opinion, in order to be a good and responsible citizen, one must not educate his or herself in history from as many different and disparate sources as possible, but also stay abreast of current events in such a way that a full understanding and perspective can be realized. Otherwise, we become like so many automatons, going about our lives as mere robots, unable to discern true right from wrong. As they say in computer parlance, it's the GIGO effect. Garbage in, garbage out. Is this an argument for historical revisionism or moral relativism? Not at all. However, conquered nations rarely articulate their collective narratives within the annals of history. We would wise to keep that in mind, and always remember that rarely is there one side to any story.