LeftWord Book Reviews http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php en http://backend.userland.com/rss092 Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:10:31 +0000 info@blogdig.net info@blogdig.net <![CDATA[Progressive Logic: Framing a Unified Field Theory of Values for Progressive]]> Every liberal / progressive (or forward thinking human being for that matter) should not only read this book but keep a copy in their back pocket. I just finished reading Dr. Kelleher's "Progressive Logic" and frankly it's impressive. I was left with a sense of hope and clarity as I begin to fully understand the source of my own values and ideals.

"Progressive Logic"  points out with amazing clarity the underlying value premise that unites all liberal progressives. Until now this basic premise has only been recognized by liberals in purely an intuitive way. Kelleher shows us why we need to understand it on a conscious level and Begin to re frame the issues with our new understanding as the guide.

Product Description:
This book actually presents a unified field theory of values for progressives. It articulates the logic of values followed by American progressives for over 200 years. Using examples from American history, the narrative clearly illustrates how this logic has operated in the past. Progressive logic can be used by activists, speechwriters, and campaigners to clarify the basic reasons for all progressive policies, measures, and political reforms. Progressive logic is the unifying element among the current variety of progressive groups. This is an easy read; yet, Progressive Logic has the potential to affect American politics on a scale like that of Thomas Paine's Common Sense.

About the Author:
Dr. Kelleher earned his B.A. and M.A. from San Francisco State College during the tumultuous anti-Viet Nam war days. He received h ..]]> http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=26 Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:09:31 +0000 General http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=26#cmt <![CDATA[The Strange Death of Liberal America]]> Book Description:
Ralph Brauer defines Liberal America as a place where "government exists to keep the playing field level." The success of the American experiment, he argues, depends on how well we maintain this equity and its four cornerstones: economic justice, educational equity, voting rights, and media fairness. His book is both a political and intellectual history examining the various threats to these cornerstones, and a social and cultural chronicle. Touching on music, television, movies, and sports, Brauer's thesis is underscored by a historical discussion that begins with the New Deal and works its way to the present, ending with Global Warming and the Iraq War.

Jim Hightower actually described the book best: " The corporate and political powers have led us astray, into an alien sphere of plutocracy and autocracy. For our country to find its way home back to our democratic ideals we must have pathblazers. Ralph Brauer's book gives us a map for returning to America's founding values of fairness, justice, and opportunity for all." Unlike every other book about what is wrong with the Democratic Party and the left this one has three unique perspectives: 1) it focuses on values, 2) it explains how and why we got here covering events from the great Depression to Katrina (which forms the focus of the final chapter), 3) it makes a convincing case for what are the central values of Liberal America.

BUY THIS BOOK: "At a time when "political persuasion" consists of little more than hurled epithets, Jim Derych gifts progressives with a lucid manual for rescuing their fellow Americans from the clutches of the Right. Having just made that difficult transition himself, Deyrich's fascinating insights into the mind of the "dittohead" are invaluable for formulating persuasive tactics that actually work in today's political battlefield. This will undoubtedly be one of the most important political books of the year." --Markos Moulitsas, Founder of Daily Kos

BUY THIS BOOK: confessions of a former dittohead

]]> http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=12 Thu, 25 May 2006 10:03:37 +0000 General http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=12#cmt <![CDATA[F.U.B.A.R. : America's Right-Wing Nightmare By Sam Seder, Stephen Sherrill]]> Amazon: The United States has survived clueless presidential administrations before. But no matter how enormous the crisis -- the Great Depression, Vietnam, Watergate, Monica Lewinsky's thong -- America's always come out looking like, well, America.

This time, however, something's different. Things aren't just screwed up; they're f&#!$d up beyond all recognition. Wel-come to F.U.B.A.R., a hilarious and scathing satire of the American Right's bad behavior, by the creators of Air America's Majority Report.

If you're a liberal who's somehow not panicked over the state of our Union, or if you're a Republican who's just having voter's remorse, or if you think what's happening to the country is just politics as usual, F.U.B.A.R. will open your eyes to our current national nightmare. With completely unfair and unbalanced analysis, authors Sam Seder and Stephen Sherrill take readers on a whirlwind tour of what's left of the United States, exposing the truth about the Right's blueprint for total domination -- over your money, your mind, your sex life, and even your place in the afterlife (yes, they have a plan for that, too).

Along the way, they'll answer your most pressing questions, like:

I'm gay. Can I still be a Republican?

Do I need to own my own congressman, or is a time share okay?

Is New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman's mustache, in fact, the sign of the Beast?

I thought we ran the media. What happened?

Finally, Seder and Sherrill offer a helpful and hopeful vision for a future that remarkably doesn't look l ..]]> http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=11 Mon, 22 May 2006 16:39:25 +0000 General http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=11#cmt <![CDATA[Saving General Washington By J.R. Norton]]> Amazon: An edgy work of political journalism that debunks conservative contentions tying the right-wing political agenda to the visionary ideas of America's founders, while reclaiming the progressive legacy of the Founding Fathers.

Modern Republicans have made a smart bet. They're wagering that Americans have gotten so far from their own history that a timely grab could put a "Founding Fathers" stamp of approval on the party that brought us policies as fundamentally un-American as the PATRIOT Act, as well as the war in Iraq.

But the more you learn about the Founding Fathers, the more broad and powerful parallels emerge between their practical--and revolutionary-political ideas and the modern progressive movement. The Founders loved reason and strenuous debate, not the quashing of dissent. They believed in checks and balances, and certainly not an imperial presidency. There were no "deferments" from the Colonial army. There were no "Schooner Ship Vets" to bail them out by making George Washington look like a deceptive medal hound.

With wryness and a touch of understated outrage, J. R. Norton reintroduces a generation (or two) to their Founders, men who were more dangerous and exciting than Che Guevara, Joe Strummer, and 50 Cent combined. We had toughies killed in politically motivated gunfights (Hamilton) and presidents who were also frontline heroes of war (Washington). Nowadays, the politicians who claim fraternity with these men are pampered oil heirs appointed to the presidency by the Supreme Court, leaders who spend "working weekends" on their ranches in the midst of a ..]]> http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=10 Fri, 19 May 2006 15:27:48 +0000 General http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=10#cmt <![CDATA[Lapdogs : How the Press Rolled Over for Bush By Eric Boehlert]]> Amazon: Lapdogs is the first book to demonstrate that, for the entire George W. Bush presidency, the news media have utterly failed in their duty as watchdog for the public. In blistering prose, Eric Boehlert reveals how, time after time, the press chose a soft approach to covering the government, and as a result reported and analyzed crucial events incompletely and even inaccurately. From WMDs to Valerie Plame to the NSA's domestic spying, mainstream fixtures such as The New York Times, CBS, CNN, and Time magazine too often ignored the administration's missteps and misleading words, and did not call out the public officials who betrayed the country's trust. Throughout both presidential campaigns and the entire Iraq war to date, the media acted as a virtual mouthpiece for the White House, giving watered-down coverage of major policy decisions, wartime abuses of power, and egregious mistakes -- and sometimes these events never made it into the news at all. Finally, in Lapdogs, the press is being held accountable by one of its own.

Boehlert homes in on the reasons the press did not do its job: a personal affinity for Bush that journalists rarely displayed toward his predecessor, Bill Clinton; a Republican White House that threatened to deny access to members of the media who asked challenging questions or voiced criticism; and a press that feared being tainted by accusations of liberal bias. Moreover, journalists -- who may have wanted to report accurately on the important stories -- often found themselves at cross-purposes with media executives, many of whom were increasingly driven by economic concerns. Cowed by all of these factors, the media a ..]]> http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=8 Wed, 17 May 2006 09:42:28 +0000 General http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=8#cmt <![CDATA[Wait! Don't Move to Canada By Bill Scher]]> Amazon: Popular political pundit Bill Scher—whom the Hartford Advocate has called "one of the sharpest political minds around"—presents a bold, pragmatic plan to revitalize America

Frustrated liberals are mired in the political wilderness, while disgruntled Democrats and Republicans have grown weary of unprincipled politics, shoddy governance, and the general ineptitude of our public servants. "Look, it would be a lot easier to cut and run to Canada," say Janeane and Sam in their foreword, "but we all have an obligation not to." To those willing to stay and fight, Bill Scher offers a 10-step plan to rally popular support for a better, more effective, more liberal vision of government.

To achieve this vision, Scher arms his readers with an arsenal of attitude and practical, actionable advice on how to:

• defuse the right-wing culture war

• communicate directly with the news media and encourage them to cover underreported stories

• protest in a way that reaches those outside the ranks of activist organizations

• join the growing online liberal community to effectively exert pressure on the political establishment

• embrace the term liberal as often and as openly as possible

Scher, whose Web log LiberalOasis.com is one of the go-to political sites in the rapidly expanding—and increasingly influential—blogosphere, articulates his strategies in a straightforward, vibrant, and accessible style that explodes the stereotypes of the liberal wimp or egghead.

BUY THIS BOOK: Let me start out by saying that Tom Hartmann is one of my personal heroes. If you are not familiar with his radio show I implore you to go to tomharmann.com and check out the live stream.

"What Would Jefferson Do?" is everything I have come to expect from Hartmann. The book is of course well thought out and thoroughly researched, but what's more is how uplifting and reaffirming it's message truly is. That our founders (though flowed) shared our liberal / progressive values should give us all hope and the courage of our convictions.

From the Inside Flap
When the Founding Fathers were searching for the best and fairest form of government, they studied the models of Athenian democracy, the Roman republic, and the Iroquois Confederacy and created what is now called a modern liberal democracy. Today, 81 nations can be described as fully democratic. Yet in numerous countries around the world democracy has failed or is tottering, and in the United States its principles are increasingly under siege from corporate and other forces. Americans pr ..]]> http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=6 Fri, 12 May 2006 15:31:15 +0000 General http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=6#cmt <![CDATA[How Would a Patriot Act? By Glenn Greenwald]]> Amazon: "Glenn Greenwald was not a political man. Not liberal, not conservative. Politicians were all the same and it didn’t matter which party was in power. Extremists on both ends canceled each other out, and the United States would essentially remain forever centrist. Or so he thought.

Then came September 11, 2001. Greenwald’s disinterest in politics was replaced by patriotism, and he supported the war in Afghanistan. He also gave President Bush the benefit of the doubt over his decision to invade Iraq. But, as he saw Americans and others being disappeared, jailed and tortured, without charges or legal representation, he began to worry. And when he learned his president had seized the power to spy on American citizens on American soil, without the oversight required by law, he could stand no more. At the heart of these actions, Greenwald saw unprecedented and extremist theories of presidential power, theories that flout the Constitution and make President Bush accountable to no one, and no law.

How Would a Patriot Act? is one man’s story of being galvanized into action to defend America’s founding principles, and a reasoned argument for what must be done. Greenwald’s penetrating words should inspire a nation to defend the Constitution from a president who secretly bestowed upon himself the powers of a monarch. If we are to remain a constitutional republic, Greenwald writes, we cannot abide radical theories of executive power, which are transforming the very core of our national character, and moving us from democracy toward despotism. This is not hyperbole. This is the crisis all Americans—liberals and conservatives ..]]> http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=5 Fri, 12 May 2006 11:00:56 +0000 General http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=5#cmt <![CDATA[Hostile Takeover By David Sirota]]> Hostile Takeover by David Sirota "raises important questions about our country's political system, questions that both parties must confront. Hostile Takeover makes a strong case that American democracy is under attack. Every politically engaged citizen who wants to know what challenges we face and how we can rebuild our country's democracy should read this book." - Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States

“Here are the horrifying facts about how our government works today—and for whom it works—delivered in a tone of outrage that is not only merited but appropriate. Read it and scream.” —Thomas Frank, author of What’s the Matter with Kansas?

“David Sirota is a genuine American hero: he speaks the truth—forcefully, courageously, straightforwardly—with no apologies, and with thorough documentation. This book is an invaluable guide to how the hostile takeover of our government affects you, and what you can do about it.” —George Lakoff, author of Don’t Think of an Elephant!

“A ..]]> http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=4 Thu, 11 May 2006 14:23:25 +0000 General http://leftword.blogdig.net/blog/book-reviews.php?id=4#cmt