Another Way of Knowing

Books

A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller Jr. I read this book in the early 70s and although I’m not much for science fiction, it has vividly stuck with me through all these years, something I can’t say about many books. A classic.

The Bean Trees : A Novel, by Barbara Kingsolver. This was Kingsolver’s first novel and, to my mind, still her best. A lyrical, gritty, heart-warming, progressive story about people taking care of each other - a great book for lifting your spirits a bit if you’re feeling overwhelmed and down about what’s happening in the world today.

The Constant Gardener : A Novel, by John le Carre. I’ve long been a fan of le Carre’s intelligent and grippingly well-written novels, but The Constant Gardener adds a new and compelling element - a biting critique of capitalism run rampant and its devastating impacts on Africa. (I see le Carre has a new book out, Absolute Friends, of which Publisher’s Weekly says: “Now his eloquent and white-hot indignation is turned on what he sees as a duplicitous war in Iraq and the devious means employed to tarnish those who oppose it.” Sounds great!)

Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo. Another book I read in the early 70s - it left me walking around in a daze for a week. A classic that should be required reading for anyone who thinks war is a good idea.

The Last Frontier, by Howard Fast. A “novelized” telling of the story about how 300 Cheyenne Indians - starving on an Oklahoma reservation - were relentlessly pursued by the U.S. cavalry as they tried to return to their Wyoming homeland.

Freedom Road (American History Through Literature), by Howard Fast. Another “novelized” slice of untold U.S. history, this time about the Reconstruction era in the post-Civil War South and the role of KKK terrorism in smashing the growing movement towards unity among former slaves and white farmers and workers. Beautifully written.

The Handmaid’s Tale : A Novel, by Margaret Atwood. A riveting novel of a post-nuclear war U.S., one in which right-wing fundamentalist Christians have taken over the government and women have lost all rights.

Into the Forest, by Jean Hegland. A novel about two teenage sisters who learn to live in the northern California forest when the electricity shuts off, the phones go out, their parents die and “life as we know it” ends. Not perfect but a good read nonetheless, especially for those interested in the practical applications of the primitivist critique of civilization.

Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, by Bartolome de Las Casas. A first-hand account by Dominican friar Bartolomé de Las Casas of the brutal Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and Mexico. First published in 1552. Includes woodcuts reproduced from a 17th century edition.

People’s History of the United States : 1492 to Present, by Howard Zinn. An excellent alternative to the white-washed propaganda that typically passes for history in the U.S.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, by Dee Brown. Meticulously researched and devastating narrative about the genocidal campaign by the U.S. government and European settlers against Native Americans during the Manifest Destiny era.

Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880, by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois. W.E.B. Du Bois’ landmark book about the Reconstruction era following the U.S. Civil War is both mesmerizing and inspiring. Essential reading for anyone interested in U.S. history.

Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America, by Hilton Als, Jon Lewis, Leon F. Litwack. Contrary to the bland passing references in high school history books, lynchings often involved far more than “just” the quick, spur-of-the-moment “extra-judicial” hanging of someone (usually African-American): They were often community-wide social events that included public torture, mutilation, burning and other grisly activities. This book is a collection of souvenir photographs and the commemorative postcards, complete with photographs, that were often available for purchase afterwards. See also the Without Sanctuary web site.

100 Years of Lynchings, by Ralph Ginzburg. A powerful book, first published in 1962, composed of newspaper reports about lynchings from 1880 to 1961.

Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South. This extraordinary book and CD set of first-person accounts compiled from interviews by the “Behind the Veil” project at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies document both the daily terror that African-Americans lived with during the Jim Crow era as well as their resistance to it.

Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, by Rodolfo Acuna. More untold U.S. history, this time about the brutal battle waged to seize California and the Southwest from Mexico.

Labor’s Untold Story, by Richard Boyer, Herbert Morais. First published in 1955 by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Union but still a timely and compelling read in this era of “downsizing” and “outsourcing.”

The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11, by David Ray Griffin.

The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, by Alfred W. McCoy.

Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion, by Gary Webb.