By Matthew Dunn
If you
are in the mood to learn about the world that we live in this summer, any of
the following books might be good.
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein: The history of the free-market economic
revolution. Klein challenges the popular
myth of this movement’s peaceful global victory. Klein shows how the followers have repeatedly
harnessed terrible shocks and violence to implement free market policies.
Dirty Wars: The
World is a Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill:
A story describing the evolution of the War on Terror. This work of investigative journalism details
the rise of Joint Special Operations Command or JSOC and how it has changed the
face of warfare, and what the implications are for the world.
Fordlandia by Greg Grandin. A
history of Henry Ford’s unsuccessful business venture into the heart of the
Amazon Rainforest. A story that is
interwoven with the history of the Ford company and how one very famous
capitalist tried to re-create society.
The Death and Life of the American School System by
Diane Ravitch. Diane Ravitch sifts
through the headlines about the problems facing public education and constructs
a narrative detailing the great changes that have arose from the educational
reform movement.
Ill Fares the Land by Tony Judt. A dying historian’s take on how the world has
changed in his lifetime for the worse and recommendations for how the world
could precede for the better.
Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games we Love
by Dave Zirin. This book details the
policies and practices of many sports owners.
These policies and practices have led to overpriced tickets, robbing of
public funds, and not necessarily good sports teams.
Tropic of Chaos by Christian Parenti: This book outlines the problem of climate
change and how it has intersected with other world factors to make some areas
of the world very violent places.
If you have any other suggestions about good books about
current events please let me know about them in the comments section.
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