What political books have you read recently? (regular, regime, Obama)

[mollyblythe]

Read and enjoyed A Higher Loyalty by James Comey. A good read including the non-political stuff.

Have begun House of Trump, House of Putin by Craig Unger. Trump's connection to the American and Russian mafias and the Russian hierarchy goes back decades.


Interesting notes:

Connections to the New Jersey mob-

Kellyanne Conway is a granddaughter of Jimmy "The Brute" DiNatale, an associate of Little Nicky Scarfo.

White House lawyer Don McGahn is a nephew of Paddy McGahn and Sen. Joseph McGahn.

Can't spit from where Trump stands without hitting mobsters, Russians, crooks and bad guys. No surprise there, but sometimes surprising what the actual connection IS.

[Ohiogirl81]

I read a lot of memoirs of political figures and journalists, which of course describe heavily the political figures and events covered by the author.

[phantompilot]

Interesting mix of responses so far! Very cool to see some of the thoughtful things people are reading. But I guess the big surprise was that half of the poll respondents don't read political books. I knew that many people don't just because they aren't interested...but had no idea what the percentage would be.

So far there are several distinct categories of books:

-books about political theory/philosophy
-political memoirs
-books about political history and/or current events (the latest trend is every political altercation inspires a quick flurry of books)
-political fiction/thriller/intrigue

[travis t]

I'm reading Breakthrough from 2013 by James O'Keefe, the guy who does conservative video stings. He did the ACORN sting years ago, and currently has some 'deep state' stings of government workers.

It's pretty wild what he has been through, including being tossed in jail, and almost getting killed by a boulder while working on a kind of 'chain gang' breaking up rocks with pick-axes. I had no idea they still did that kind of thing.

I'm not much of a fan of sting operations in any form, including by police. It originally was a con-artist technique. The stinger controls the show, and can distort and contort to get whatever result they wish.

At one point he justifies himself by comparing himself to the old TV show 'To Catch a Predator,' which featured real life prostitution stings. That's probably a comparison he should have left alone, since that show was sued into extinction, IIRC.

[chiociolliscalves]

Originally Posted by Clintone

I've been reading bits and pieces of "The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to Radical Capitalism" by David Friedman. It's about anarcho-capitalism, which be a system of government...without any real central government or taxation.

We have a lot of ideological anarcho capitalists here on this website (Hey folks...I think your philosophy ranges from garbage to slightly less than garbage). As an ideology, anarcho-capitalism is a destructive idea that should probably be thought of as more of a destructive force than communism for our society. It's one of those virulent mental problems that spreads because it sounds catchy and cool to be part of something so new...but the ideological variant, the one where people delude themselves into thinking the ultra-individualist route of anarcho capitalism, where taxes don't exist, is the only ethically acceptable path, is a silly and destructive thought process.

David Friedman doesn't push for that ideological brand of anarcho-capitalism, and if I remember right, he actually discourages it. He, instead, talks about possible practical advantages of an anarcho-capitalistic government. It's a tough read, and I'm not done with it yet, but I've pretty much maintained the same stance I had before starting the book, that it could very well be useful for very small communities, but it won't work for large societies, so far as I can see, and even trying it out would be risky. Large societies require too much organization to not rely on a central government, supported by a reliable tax base, for at least some things.

Also, Friedman outright admits there are certain environmental issues he wouldn't know how to solve in an anarcho-capitalistic government.

But I learned some things from it. I recommend it for people trying to learn about the completely un-centralized system of government known as anarcho-capitalism, and how an anarcho-capitalist society might work, and some of the weaknesses of centralized government, particularly the one in America.

That's the only political book I've ever even began to read, actually.

I think anarcho-capitalism is just another trick for Republicans to try to get votes. It's like saying "I love Jesus" but for the Conservatives who aren't devout Christians, myself. It just sounds spiffy enough to get followers.

Ah, fiction. I was never big into fiction, myself.

[travis t]

By the way, for those who don't know, David Friedman is the son of the late economist Milton Friedman. Both super-smart, but the son is even crazier than the Dad.

[Heidi60]

Originally Posted by phma

I just ordered my first book. Tucker Carlson's book "Ship of Fools"
He made the best sales pitch I have ever heard.
He said he wanted to knock Bob Woodward's book off its perch.
It's kind of like getting a two for one.

I hope you enjoyed the book. I am just about done with my copy and appreciate Tucker's honest assessment of the political scene today. Sadly, he is correct about level of stupidity on display now but it is my hope that he is shining a bright light on the dark clintion/obama corners of the room.

[Thoreau424]

I'll never waste money and time with a political book.

[desertdetroiter]

Fear. And it was an amazing book.

[Goodnight]

Jon Meacham's Soul of America gives a great historical perspective, also the Price of Civilization by Jeffrey Sachs gives a very good background on our budget. Also read a few of Bob Woodward's books on Obama and Bush but found them much to detailed.