Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by LShieldes on January 30, 2013 at 2:28pm

Agreed with your first, really enjoyed Lies My Teacher Told Me

 

For me a lot of them are on the other end of the political spectrum and usually involve more humor.

 

Enjoyed most of Frankin's books, like Lieing Liars as well as Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot

 

Years and years ago I picked up for dirt cheap a great one from James Carville called Fighting Back

 

Also the New Rules books from Bill Maher both humor and some good insights.

Permalink Reply by Cisco Carson on January 30, 2013 at 9:05pm

 

Created Equal: Why Gay Rights Matter to America. Makes the case I shouldn't have to beg others for my rights. Opened my eyes.

The Cross in the Closet. Straight conservative man who lived a year pretending to be a gay man to learn empathy. It transformed him as a man and as a Christian.

Their Own Receive Them Not: African American Lesbians and Gays in Black
Churches. Shows the hypocrisy of the black church with it's displays of homophobia.

Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin. The gay man behind Martin Luther King that history tried to wipe out.

Permalink Reply by Hampton Kennedy on January 30, 2013 at 9:25pm

End the Fed by Ron Paul

The Constitution in Exile by Judge Andrew Napolitano

A Patriots history of the United States by Larry Schweikart 

Liberty Defined by Ron Paul

Also a lot of war books, such as Lone Survivor, No Easy Day, American Sniper, Marine Sniper, Outlaw Platoon, they are very informative about foreign policy and military engagements overseas

Permalink Reply by C.C. Dolph on March 11, 2013 at 5:30pm

Most of the political reading I've done is for college. So most of the members of my list I will only have read in part, and they will also be well-known to you all.

"Is There a Duty to Obey the Law" co-authored by Christopher Wellman and A. John Simmons. Wellman's 'Samaritan' theory for legitmate state coercion interests me. Simmons' scholarship impresses me, but I found his 'philosophical anarchism' unpersuasive.

"The Federalist Papers" by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay. The essays are both historically significant and philosophically weighty. These men were geniuses

"Leviathan" by Thomas Hobbes. A few things I enjoyed about reading Hobbes were his clarity and his occasional humor. One portion of Leviathan that made me chuckle was his argument for the equality of mental capacities. He states something to the effect that there is no better sign of an equal distrubtion among persons than each being content with his own share, suggesting that men tend to think of themselves as being just so smart. Also, reading Hobbes (or at least those most famous portions) was helpful in having a richer understanding of the Federalist Papers. I was able to read a definite Hobbesian strain into Publius, particularly those essays attributed to Hamilton.

"Two Treatises of Government" by John Locke. Here's an important work. I don't think anyone could understand the theorectical underpinnings of the Declaration aright without having read this first. I think Locke's theory paints a rosier picture of human nature and restrains more the power of government than does Hobbes. Also, inherent natural rights is much more appealing than rights by convention. These ideas, along with our liberal heritage, make Locke's theory teneble to modern readers. So, it's not suprising to see Locke invoked in political arguments still, though perhaps a little ironically given the rise of natuaralism. I wonder how it is that naturalists can account for natural rights? I'll have to ask my atheist libertarian friend where he thinks his rights come from.

I might add more later.

Permalink Reply by Nick H on March 11, 2013 at 6:30pm

PJ O'Rourke: On the Wealth of Nations (gives a good overview of Smith's famous book)

PJ O'Rourke: Don't Vote, It just encourages the bastards (good look into American politics without taking itself too serious)

I have not read enough political books to comment fully I think.