Updated:  Current Reading List

The Great Libertarian Offer by Harry Browne

The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker

How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker

Freedom In Chains by James Bovard

It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Treason by Ann Coulter

Rekindled Flame by Steve Fry

The Question of God by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi Jr. 

W.  Revenge of the Bush Dynasty by Elizabeth Mitchell

The Seat of The Soul by Gary Zukav

Okay as promised, here is a rundown of why I chose these books to begin with. 

The Great Libertarian Offer by Harry Browne

gRegor recommended this book to me a few months before I actually read it.  That was back when I dismissed gRegor’s political views as crazy.  When I finally did get around to reading it I was pleasantly surprised by how much sense it made.  Browne identifies all of the problems and issues that I am personally concerned with and offers solutions that make sense.  I chose to put this book on the list because the first time I read it I didn’t write down my thoughts, concerns, or questions and that is my intention this time. 

The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker

This is a book recommend, nay raved about, by Jim.  He mentions it several times on his weblog.  I chose this book for three reasons:  (1) Jim assured me I would like it.  (2) I’m very interested in understanding human nature.  And (3) Perhaps it will help me to understand better where Jim is coming from in his arguments. 

How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker

When looking for The Blank Slate I happened across this and other books by Pinker.  I decided to read it when I read this line from the book jacket “He explains what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and ponder the mysteries of life.”  “Hmm….”  I said to myself.  Thus it is on the list. 

Freedom In Chains by James Bovard

Upon gRegor’s recommendation I listened to Harry Browne’s September 13 broadcast of his radio show with James Bovard as his guest.  I had originally planned to include Bovard’s latest book, Terrorism and Tyranny but was unable to get it at the library.  Instead I happened upon this book.  I was intrigued by Bovard when I learned that this man really does his research.  Terrorism and Tyranny has over 2000 references and he has read every single speech that President Bush has delivered since 9-11. 

It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

I first happened upon this book when perusing a used book store.  Like George Orwell’s 1984 (1949) or Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) or Nathanael West’s A Cool Million (1934), this book (1935) warns about how fragile our liberty is.  Considering the current condition of our country I thought it would be interesting to read this classic work of fiction.  I must say, I have not read any of the other books I mentioned here and will likely be adding them to the list in the future. 

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

I’ve been meaning to read more of C.S. Lewis’s work and now is just a good a time as any.  That’s all.

Treason by Ann Coulter

I’d heard many good things about Coulter and Slander and I saw this book on the shelf and decided to give it a read.  I do not regret that decision because I now know to not waste my time on anything else by her.  For more of my thoughts on this book read my previous post.

Rekindled Flame by Steve Fry

What I am most interested in is the topic of freedom.  What is true freedom and how can I be truly free.  Jesus was all about freedom.  God sent him to die so that we could be free.  The most freedom I’ve ever felt has been in worship.  So, a large part of my studies include getting God’s perspective on freedom and I think the beginning of that pursuit lies in worship.  This book is about rekindling a passion for pursuing God.  I believe, from my own experience and the experience of others, that only by passionately pursuing God will we even begin to understand real freedom.  Despite my political and intellectual pursuits, I know that they will never come close to making me really free.  (/tangent)

The Question of God by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi Jr. 

This is my number one favorite book of all time.  We can learn a lot by studying these two fascinating and important men in parallel of one another.  These two men asked the same questions and sought for answers all their lives.  They came to two very different conclusions and thus the conclusions of their stories were very different.  But similar to my first reading of The Great Libertarian Offer I have not read through this book with pen in hand to record my thoughts and questions.  

W.  Revenge of the Bush Dynasty by Elizabeth Mitchell

So far in my reading of this book Mitchell seems to be doing a very good job of being objective in her biography of President Bush.  This book was originally published before the 2000 election but has since been updated with information about the election fiasco.  I am reading this book in an effort to understand our President better. 

Treason by Ann Coulter

I’m fed up with this book.  I’ve read about half of it now and I’m not sure if I’ll even be able to finish it.  It’s pure propaganda and it disgusts me.  I have absolutely no more tolerance for name calling and whining.  This book is a prime example of why I lean towards the Libertarian Party. 

Bush is the new Hitler!  McCarthyism!  McCarthyism!  Democrats are Communists! 

Grow up people!  Seriously.  I’m so aggravated right now that this post is likely to look like one of Jim’s rants. 

I’m not going to only include bipartisan books on my reading list but I am going to insist that all books that I read be fair, factual, and un-whiny!  I really doubt I’ll finish reading Coulter’s Treason and I will also be unlikely to read anything else by her either.  There’s not enough time in a lifetime to read all the great books, so I will not waste my time with trivial books that do not matter.  And for that reason I will now quickly sum up why I hated this book and move on to a new one.

On page 9 she quotes ex-communist and informant, Whittaker Chambers.  Communism he said, is “the vision of man without God.”  It was man’s second oldest faith”  “it’s promise was whispered in the first days of the Creation under the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil ‘Ye shall be as gods.’”   These were the irreconcilable opposites – God or Man, Soul or Mind, Freedom or Communism.”  In the next paragraph she says “Liberals chose Man.  Conservatives chose God.”  Is she hinting that liberals are Commies? 

Well any doubt that she was indeed calling liberals and in fact all Democrats Communists was cleared up as I read the pages that followed.  I was annoyed by this continual obvious name calling.  I mean, say that liberals don’t back things up with facts, say that they are whiny name callers, but don’t go around calling them Communists.  Don’t play their game! 

To be fair, she does provide a lot of historical evidence that to me sounds rather compelling.  It’s not the evidence I take issue with but the manner in which it is presented.  As I said, I am not going to limit my reading list to bipartisan books.  For example, I rather enjoyed reading Harry Browne’s The Great Libertarian Offer because it presented facts without telling me what to think and without petty name calling.  Unlike Treason, it’s a grown up book. 

On page 37 Coulter says, “McCarthy was accused of labeling “anyone with liberal views” a Communist.  As we now know, that wouldn’t have been a half-bad system.”  Upon reading that statement I wanted to throw the book out right then and there.  I continued reading although with a very bad taste in my mouth.  I intended to continue reading in order to be fair to conservatives such as my good friend Jim who are fans of Coulter’s work.  However I realized that subjecting myself to this would only aggravate me and make me unpleasant to debate with.  So for the sake of our friendship and my sanity, I stopped reading that book.

My opinion of Ann Coulter is this:  I see her as another conservative trying to impose her views on others.  I have no patience or tolerance for this and I am certain that no one will ever win an argument with an intelligent, free thinking individual by this method.

I’ll close with one final thought.  As I said in my first paragraph, it’s books like this that are a prime example of why I lean towards libertarianism.  In this country our two parties are indistinguishable.  All I hear from either side is whining, complaining, bitching, and name calling.  It makes me wanna plug my ears and say “Shut the hell up!!”  The Libertarian Party may be idealistic and I’m still not quite sure how possible it is to carry out what they propose, but at least they are trying to come up with a solution.  Among the current two party system all that I hear is yelling.  No one is being heard, least of all me… a young woman from Indiana.  I am 21 years old and I was old enough to vote in the 2000 presidential election, but I chose not to.  I have yet to register to vote because I used to be under the impression that my vote didn’t matter and my voice could never be heard. I still have my doubts, but call me an idealist I’m gonna try anyway.

I went to the library and it was so hard to only get the books on my list.  I saw so many books that I want to read.  I did cave in and get one book that wasn't on the list.  Treason by Ann Coulter.  Now I have added four new books to my Current Reading List.  I know you're probably thinking that I'm crazy.  Don't worry, 10 is my limit.  I will not add a new book until I have finished a book.  Also, two of the books are re-reads and will thus not take me long at all.  I'm a fast reader and can multi task pretty well when it comes to books.  Oh yeah and notice that I have linked each title to the amazon.com listing for each book.  Well I'm off to take a shower and then read and a job interview tonight at six.  I plan to write out a short explanation for why I've chosen each book by the end of the weekend. 

Current Reading List

The Great Libertarian Offer by Harry Browne

The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker

How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker

Freedom In Chains by James Bovard

It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Treason by Ann Coulter

Rekindled Flame by Steve Fry

The Question of God by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi Jr. 

W.  Revenge of the Bush Dynasty by Elizabeth Mitchell

Throught this weblog you'll very likely hear me talking about gRegor and Jim, so I ought to just introduce them right now.  These are two very good friends of mine who happen to have nearly opposite political view points.  They are also two of my favorite people to talk politics with.  I respect both of them very much for their well read and intellegent perspectives.  Many of the books and articles I read are reccomendations from these guys.  If they reccommend it, I prioritize it and read it at my next opporunity. 

Forgive me guys for my descriptions of you.. feel free to comment and introduce yourselves. 

Jim is conservative.  We've been good friends for three years.  He's in favor of the war and plans to vote for Bush in 2004.  He's interested in understanding the deeper reasons for political beliefs and philosphies.  He has reccomended books such as The Blank Slate and A Conflict of Visions. 

gRegor is fairly liberal and a small "l" libertarian.  We've known eachother for almost a year but we're just now beginning to get to know oneanother better.  He is opposed to the war and will definitly not be voting for Bush in 2004.  He's interested in liberty and freedom as our founding fathers intended in the Constitution.  He has reccommended authors such as Harry Browne and Fred Reed. 

That is as far as I will venture in attempting to define these two men.  Take a look at their weblogs and see better who they are in their own words.