Political Economy Book Summaries

War and Politics

Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century. By Christian Caryl. Basic; 400 pages
argues that 1979 belongs to the select club of real turning-points: "years in which one era ended and another was born. 1917 proved to be a bloody dead end and 1848 proved to be, in A.J.P. Taylor’s phrase, “a turning-point in history when history failed to turn”. But others, such as 1789 (when France’s ancient régime collapsed) and 1517 (when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door), resound down the ages." Editors note: Was the liberalism of the 20th century coming to an end a turning point?

Free Trade Doesn't Work by Ian Fletcher, adjunct fellow at the United States Business and Industry Council, and CPA' In his effective 267 pages of text, Ian Fletcher dissects and often demolishes fundamental teachings about the benefits and risks of trade and replaces them with evidence based updates. He then recommends a practical alternative based on clear objectives.

Nemesis by Chalmers Johnson from Stephen Lendman of counter currents "Our democracy and way of life are now threatened because of our single-minded pursuit of empire with a well-entrenched militarism driving it that's become so powerful and pervasive it's now an uncontrollable state within the state."

How You Can Kill Al-Qaeda in Three Easy Steps review from Boing Boing
I just got done reading Howard Clark's new book "How You Can Kill Al-Qaeda (in Three Easy Steps). He's an ex-Marine and former Homeland Security adviser who says the way to win the war on terrorism is to help empower the mainstream Muslim community, who in recent years has been overshadowed in the public spotlight by fringe Al-Qaeda extremists. The whole idea of fighting terrorism with ideas and not weapons is definitely nothing new, but Clark's populist tone and foreign policy street cred was a refreshing perspective to have in the discussion. "Click on the link below in the next 30 minutes and I'll throw in this egg slicer absolutely free! Here's how to order!" Book's official site...
One Nation Under Contract: The Outsourcing of American Power and the Future of Foreign Policy
In this CSPAN2 book interview, Allison Stanger talks of her book which looks at the increasing use of private contractors by the U.S. government and argues that with proper oversight contractors can be valuable tools for carrying out our foreign policy. Includes audience Q&A.

Guns, Germs, and Steel - the fates of human societies '...attempts to explain why Eurasia civilizations, as a whole, have survived and conquered others, while attempting to refute the belief that Eurasian hegemony is due to any form of Eurasian intellectual, moral, or inherent genetic superiority."

The Limits of Power The End of American Exceptionalism, Bill Moyers sits down with history and international relations expert and former US Army Colonel Andrew J. Bacevich who identifies three major problems facing our democracy: the crises of economy, government and militarism, and calls for a redefinition of the American way of life. The Limits of Power Democracy Now interviews Andrew Bacevich, a conservative historian who spent twenty-three years serving in the US Army.

Flow of History

Our Leaders

Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century "Why We' re in a New Gilded Age" by Thomas Piketty 2014

The Shifts and Shock What We Learned from the Financial Crisis by Martin Wolf 9/11/14

Seven Bad Ideas How Mainstream Economists Have Damaged America and the World by Jeff Madrick Reviewed by Peter Richardson 2014

Hoodwinked An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded--and What We Need to Do to Remake Them, by John Perkins

Education and Income Inequality, chapter 21 The Age of Turbulence, Adventures in a New World, by Alan Greenspan

"This Time Is Different" is a history of financial collapse from 1300 to the present.

"The Shock Doctrine: The evil of “Disaster Capitalism”, a book report video was posted to the Crooks and Liars blog on December 1, 2007

"Nickel and Dimed" On (Not) Getting By in America is a book written by Barbara Ehrenreich. Written from the perspective of the undercover journalist, ...

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism is critical and a good source of the twenty-three items

Videos by Economist
Ha-Joon Chang Part I Part II Part III

The Center Holds Obama and His Enemies is "the thrilling story of one of the most momentous contests in American history, the Battle Royale between Obama and his enemies from the 2010 midterms through the 2013 inauguration." Video by Jonathan Alter, 2013