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A writer of history recommends a set of books to make you think again.
When we asked the author of Flags of Our Fathers and his most recent bestseller The Imperial Cruise, to recommend three favorite books, he responded with the following intriguing list, explaining: "One of my college professors told me that it's important to regularly read books to challenge my worldview. Here are three that present startling alternate realities."
By Naomi Klein
"Learn what Rahm Emanuel (Obama's Chief-of-Staff) meant when he said, 'You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.' Inform yourself so you can understand the rush to action the next time our leaders try to scare us into action, whether it's about the need for immediate war or a bailout."
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
By John Perkins
"Some wonder whether this is a true story or a paranoid piece of fiction, but it's a thought-provoking book worth the read. Perkins explains how and why third world countries accepted billions in development loans, how the money was funneled to U.S. engineering firms and how the borrowers' inability to repay forced them to forfeit much of their sovereignty."
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters
By James W. Douglass
"A remarkable story that changed the way I view the world. Douglass shows the connection between Kennedy's policies and his death. Read what former President Harry Truman wrote after JFK's assassination and how it was covered up and you will wonder."
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This emotionally taut novel of family dynamics and the limits of sacrifice presents a woman on the verge of giving up everything -- including her marriage -- to help her impassive brother fight his obesity.
A newly fired 20-something becomes an assistant to a filmmaker chronicling people’s failed ambitions in Alina Simone's sharp meditation on internet addiction, celebrity worship, and digital narcissism.
This new collection of some of the best of overseas reportage includes articles from Joan Didion, Tim Judah and Susan Sontag, with topics ranging from impromptu theater in conflict-ridden Sarajevo to a gravediggers’ strike in Liverpool.
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