What are you reading? II [Archive]

Mala Tha Testa

8th March 2009, 04:55

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d9/Che.Guerrilla.Warfare.jpg/180px-Che.Guerrilla.Warfare.jpg

I'm not a Che fanatic but a friend bought me this. I'm actually really enjoying it; nice easy read.

Great book!
I finished it last year, and since then have almost constantly been thumbing through it.

I'm currently reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

MarxSchmarx

9th March 2009, 03:42

The Crab Ship & The Life of the Partisan,

both by Takiji Kobayashi

x359594

9th March 2009, 19:47

Complementing Che's Guerilla Warfare is Protrated People's War by Vo Nguyen Giap and The Philosophy of the Urban Guerilla by Abraham Guillen. These three books repreesent the main tendencies of armed struggle leading to revolution, and it's instructive to compare them.

Coggeh

9th March 2009, 22:04

Wednesdays child by Shane Dunphy

Its so unreal ! i'm glued to it . About a social childcare workers experiences in Ireland .

Makes me want to pursue that line of social care :)

FreeFocus

10th March 2009, 00:54

Resource Wars by Michael T. Klare.

Bilan

10th March 2009, 11:57

Reform of Revolution? - Rosa Luxemburg.

Plagueround

10th March 2009, 12:20

Just finished The Gunslinger by Stephen King, having neglected reading the Dark Tower series for some time. I've dying to read the second one, but I was stupid and promised I'd buy it from a friend's parent's bookstore (omg petit-bourgeoise!), so I've got to wait until they order it in.

I'm also reading a rather interesting book about the USSR during the 70s, but I can't find it (packing for a move), so I'll come back and give the title and author when I can.

brigadista

10th March 2009, 16:27

revisiting the wretched of the earth by Franz Fanon and also Guerilla war in ireland - Tom Barry

#FF0000

11th March 2009, 09:14

Crime and Punishment - F. Dostoevsky
Homage to Catalonia - George Orwell
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said - Philip K. Dick
Capital - Karl Marx
Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein

Can't decide which one to dedicate my time to, so I'm juggling them all at once. :/

DÃ³chas

11th March 2009, 09:28

The ABC of Anarchism - Alexander Berkman :thumbup1:

Trystan

11th March 2009, 09:50

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.:)

Bilan

11th March 2009, 14:05

Capital - Karl Marx/

I've been reading this one in stages. Part by part over a few weeks. It's been working out nice. Mixing in lighter stuff here and there as to not get burnt out.

Redmau5

12th March 2009, 01:42

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson.

..........for the 38th time.

Vahanian

12th March 2009, 23:00

Hellforged by Ben Counter

DÃ³chas

12th March 2009, 23:13

Reading (I usually read them in parallel): The Conquest of Bread - Kropotkin, The Spanish Anarchists - Bookchin, Critique of the Gotha Program - Marx, The Luxemburg Reader

Just finished Anarchism - Daniel Guerin (great read):)

whats the conquest of bread like? im reading it after the ABC of anarchism

bcbm

13th March 2009, 03:14

I'm reading the Faded Sun Trilogy by C.J. Cherryh.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._J._Cherryh)

Bright Banana Beard

13th March 2009, 03:28

whats the conquest of bread like? im reading it after the ABC of anarchism
It is understandable and you will able to grasp it theory.

I am reading ''Another side of Stalin'' by Ludo Martens. Although it would be nice if a comrade can pass the book to me for free of charge.

which doctor

13th March 2009, 05:00

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut.

Bilan

13th March 2009, 14:17

Re-reading the Society of the Spectacle - Guy debord.
Found out today that I had been pronouncing his name wrong.
Damn French, why isn't it phonetic.

which doctor

13th March 2009, 17:35

How do you pronounce it?

DÃ³chas

13th March 2009, 18:08

So far, great! Very understandable. But I have 13 chapters more to cover.:)

ok thanks was kinda intimidated when buying it because left wing theory as it tends to be pretty confusing!!

Trystan

13th March 2009, 19:27

How do you pronounce it?

geee deboor

Bilan

14th March 2009, 13:54

How do you pronounce it?

Gee Deboor.
Crafty French with their non-phonetic language.

Bilan

14th March 2009, 13:54

Oops, Trystan beat me to it. haha

Bilan

17th March 2009, 12:43

Finished Society of the Spectacle, and then picked up The Mass Strike by Rosa Luxemburg, but finished that too.

Pawn Power

17th March 2009, 14:05

I am reading Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Gracia Marquez

which doctor

17th March 2009, 19:25

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins

Random Precision

18th March 2009, 00:27

Anna Karenina.

MarxSchmarx

19th March 2009, 08:05

Anna Karenina.
Excellent choice! Someday I hope to read it in the Russian original.

Red_Storm

19th March 2009, 22:48

Bernhard Schlink

Weekend:thumbup:

Jack

19th March 2009, 23:06

The Ego And His Own by Max Stirner. I also just picked up How Nonviolence Protects The State by Peter Gederloos.

Captain Shiny Sides

19th March 2009, 23:19

Reflections on Violence by Georges Sorel.
Breaking Open the Head by Daniel Pinchbeck.

Killfacer

20th March 2009, 14:58

Catalina's Riddle - Tim Saylor

Top quality historical fair.

Bilan

22nd March 2009, 10:37

Origins of the Family - Engels.

which doctor

25th March 2009, 19:19

I just reread Eeeee Eee Eeee by Tao Lin and I've begun reading The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa and Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed.

Djehuti

25th March 2009, 21:26

Tariq Ali's "Clash of the fundamentalists". Great book!

DesertShark

25th March 2009, 21:36

I finished an excellent book called Three Cups of Tea. It was about an American who after a failed attempt a climbing K2 almost died and was saved by a small village in Pakistan. Once recovered, he got to know them and begin seeing what life was like for them. He asked the village leader about their school and after much persistence, he was shown the school: an empty muddy field where the children sat and did their lessons in the mud, they had a teacher that maybe came up once a week. Those children wanted to learn so badly that they would sit there rain or shine and practice their lessons. So he said he'd build them a school. Greg Mortenson is working on promoting the education of children, especially girls, and the direct result of that is the promotion of peace. My senior thesis was on this ideal, that promoting education (especially of females) improves lives. It's a great book, you should all read it.
http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
https://www.ikat.org/

Brother No. 1

25th March 2009, 23:17

I'm reading Young Stalin.
Tells about Stalin's life from Childhood to his years in the Revolution.

Bilan

26th March 2009, 03:06

Anti-Critique - Luxemburg.
Though, I think I might return it borrow some other political writings of Luxemburg, or perhaps, The Accumulation of Capital.

Black_Flag

29th March 2009, 21:37

The Man in The High Castle - Philip K. Dick
Dawn of the Dumb - Charlie Brooker

Chapter 24

29th March 2009, 21:49

Pink Floyd and Philosophy. I just started reading it a couple of days ago and so far it's really amazing. Gives the philosophical insights to their songs, album concepts and whatnot. Turns out Syd Barrett, the original Floyd vocalist and lead guitarist, was not only a loon, but a lot of the songs' lyrics were in direct or indirect reference to him. Who knew.
Anyway, definitely a recommended read for any Pink Floyd fan. I think I'm about to go read s'more.

hugsandmarxism

29th March 2009, 21:58

Genocide, War Crimes and the West: History and Complicity by Adam Jones (I'm reading it for my Sociology of Genocide class, and i recommend it highly

MarxSchmarx

30th March 2009, 04:58

"Everyday Stalinism" By Sheila Fitzpatrick.

If any Maoist/Stalinist types comrades have read this, I would be fascinated to hear your opinions of the book. PM me and I'll start a thread on it because from a very selfish perspective it would be really intriguing discussion to have.

Red_Storm

30th March 2009, 11:18

Looking into western marxsism
Peri Anderson

ComradeOm

30th March 2009, 19:11

"Everyday Stalinism" By Sheila FitzpatrickAny good? I'm a big fan of Fitzpatrick and am currently working through Beyond Totalitarianism which is edited by her

Che_shall_Live

30th March 2009, 22:07

I'm reading : Exposing Che Guevara and the useful idiots who idolize him.
the auther is Homberto Fantova.
simply a Capitalist junk trying to destroy Che and his legacy. Nice try CIA.

MarxSchmarx

1st April 2009, 06:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarxSchmarx http://www.revleft.com/vb/../../revleft/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.revleft.com/vb/../../showthread.php?p=1398332#post1398332)
"Everyday Stalinism" By Sheila Fitzpatrick
Any good? I'm a big fan of Fitzpatrick and am currently working through Beyond Totalitarianism which is edited by her Just got started. It's definitely readable and well written, but so far I wish she'd give more credit to the real accomplishments of the early USSR.

Brother No. 1

1st April 2009, 06:16

I am also reading The Lenin Anthology. Tells about Lenin's life and all of his works.

Trystan

1st April 2009, 06:54

I've been reading a few pages of Berlin Alexanderplatz. But I might drop it and give Ulysses another go. Have also been flicking through Philip Larkin's poetry. Awesome stuff, truly.

RHIZOMES

3rd April 2009, 08:51

A few:

Two books for two seperate English papers I'm doing:
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg

And one for my own leasure:
Tank Girl Vol. 2

After I've finished all those I plan to go onto "League of Extraordinary Gentleman" a friend lent me, then the copy of The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson I brought at a second-hand book sale and then Ubik by Philip K. Dick which my friend got me for my bday.

Christ.

Random Precision

3rd April 2009, 20:32

Midnight in the Century by Victor Serge

Killfacer

3rd April 2009, 21:04

All any of you read is just boring political books. They're okay every now and then but where are the pleasure books?

I'm currently reading "Never let me go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's about an england in which kids are grown up in special schools and when they are older they are basically harvested for their organs. It's a great read and i would reccomend it to anyone./

ComradeOm

3rd April 2009, 21:28

All any of you read is just boring political books. They're okay every now and then but where are the pleasure books?Political books are a pleasure to read. Duh ;)

an apple

5th April 2009, 02:44

I'm finishing up reading Africa: A Modern History by Guy Arnold and are about to start on Che Guevara's Bolivia Diaries.

Bilan

5th April 2009, 16:19

Finishing off Capital vol. 1.

Awesome quote:

The slavery in which the bourgeoisie has bound the proletariat, comes nowhere more plainly into daylight than in the factory system. In it all freedom comes to an end both at law and in fact. The workman must be in the factory at half past five. If he come a few minutes late, he is punished; if he come 10 minutes late, he is not allowed to enter until after breakfast, and thus loses a quarter of a day’s wage. He must eat, drink and sleep at word of command.... The despotic bell calls him from his bed, calls him from breakfast and dinner. And how does he fare in the mill? There the master is the absolute law-giver. He makes what regulations he pleases; he alters and makes additions to his code at pleasure; and if he insert the veriest nonsense, the courts say to the workman: Since you have entered into this contract voluntarily, you must now carry it out .... These workmen are condemned to live, from their ninth year till their death, under this mental and bodily torture.” (F. Engels, l.c., p. 217, sq.)

Marx rulz.

Communist Theory

6th April 2009, 19:02

Little Brother.

which doctor

6th April 2009, 19:31

If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

StalinFanboy

6th April 2009, 20:23

Race Traitor - A quaterly journal by Noel Ignatiev
At Daggers Drawn - Anon.
The coming Insurrection - The Invisible Committee
Combating Fascism -Chicago ARA

Karp

7th April 2009, 22:28

Homage to Catalonia George Orwell

Absolut

8th April 2009, 00:07

The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, Engels
Anarchism, Kropotkin
Kurdistan, Elin Clason and Mahmut Baksi
The Good Soldiers Svejk, Jaroslav Hasek

Pawn Power

8th April 2009, 16:53

Ben Fletecher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly by Peter Cole

Armand Iskra

8th April 2009, 18:26

Philippine Society and Revolution by Amado Guerrero
Animal Farm by George Orwell
My writeups.

Sam_b

10th April 2009, 21:41

I'm currently re-reading The Trial by Franz Kafka for my Czech literature class.

He's one of my favourite authors, so this definitely isn't a chore.

Communist

12th April 2009, 19:36

I'm rereading "Toward Soviet America" by William Z. Foster. Love it...

Jack

13th April 2009, 20:20

Just finished How Nonviolence Protects The State by Peter Gederloos. Now I'm on Patriarchy & Acumulation on a World Scale: Women in the International Division of Labor by Maria Mies.

Pawn Power

13th April 2009, 20:39

Just finished How Nonviolence Protects The State by Peter Gederloos.

Yeah, how was that? I was about to get that the other day.

UndergroundConnexion

13th April 2009, 22:10

Yeah, how was that? I was about to get that the other day.

Yes me too actualy, could you just give us some brief general impressions and what points are made?

Absolut

14th April 2009, 00:52

Basically, he analyses the history of non-violence, how it is percieved and how effective it actually was/is. As examples, he use the civil rights movement in the US and the fight for Indian independence, and how the non-violent movements actually didnt pose as big a threat as the militant ones.

He also describes non-violence to be ineffective, racist, statist, patriarchal, deluded and strategically and tactically inferior (incidentally, those are the titles of the chapters in the book).

I thought the book was really good, and although he might take some things a bit far, he has a quite good point, non-violence isnt going to bring about any significant changes, and it is a good way for liberals "concerned" with the inequalities in society to feel that theyre doing something right, so that they then can go to their safe suburbs and continue their comfortable lifestyles.

Even if you disagree with him, it is a good read and I really recommend it.

Hoxhaist

14th April 2009, 01:07

The Artful Albanian by Enver Hoxha edited by John Halliday

Dooga Aetrus Blackrazor

14th April 2009, 01:38

MarxSchmarx

14th April 2009, 06:45

Do you guys all avoid "normal" books? I'm reading the Wheel of Time series. Oh, and I will probably finish reading Anarchy, State, and Utopia when I get a chance. Might as well given that I'm 2/3rds through.

Read the thread, mate. Hell on this page alone:

I'm currently re-reading The Trial by Franz Kafka for my Czech literature class.
"As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner.

The Good Soldiers Svejk, Jaroslav Hasek All pretty "normal", widely-read books.
Unless by "normal" you mean Tom Clancy and Jane Austen. But those have shone up time to time.

Oh and here's my "normal" book I was reading just before logging on:

The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

OneNamedNameLess

15th April 2009, 17:46

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517982B8YHL._SL500_.jpg

Hoxhaist

15th April 2009, 19:02

The Wave is a good book and thought-provoking

which doctor

16th April 2009, 19:14

Blood and Guts in High School by Kathy Acker

Coggeh

16th April 2009, 22:51

World war z -Max Brooks

(Mindtoaster is WIN ) :thumbup1:

Sarah Palin

18th April 2009, 23:04

Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London. After that his Keep the Aspidistra Flying.

Hoxhaist

19th April 2009, 05:16

Albania Defiant by Jan Myrdal and Gun Kessle

rocker935

19th April 2009, 22:22

Just finished A Clockwork Orange, moving onto a book that just came out last year called The Army of The Republic by Stuart Archer Cohen.

MarxSchmarx

22nd April 2009, 05:34

A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951 - The Demise of the Lamaist State

by M. Goldstein

Trystan

22nd April 2009, 05:52

I'm reading a book called The Process by Brion Gysin. It's about an African-American historian who makes a drug-inspired dream journey through the Sahara, starting from Tangiers. I can't believe the book and the author are so little well known. It's really good.

ComradeOm

22nd April 2009, 12:10

Detlev Peukert, The Weimar Republic

eisidisirock

23rd April 2009, 23:31

V for vendetta

Cymru

24th April 2009, 22:50

Just working my way through of Chomsky's H or S

Random Precision

25th April 2009, 18:33

Man's Fate by André Malraux.

Y Chwyldro Comiwnyddol Cymraeg

26th April 2009, 19:41

Political book...Workers' Council's by Anton Panekoek.

Light reading : PG Woodhouse Carry On, Jeeves!

MarxSchmarx

27th April 2009, 07:33

Just working my way through of Chomsky's H or S

ThAT'S presumably "Hegemony or Survival" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegemony_or_Survival)for those interested.

Trystan

27th April 2009, 18:07

I am now reading Ulysses. I've put Gysin on hold for a bit. Ulysses intrigues me too much.

DÃ³chas

29th April 2009, 08:18

The Conquest of Bread - Peter Kropotkin

Andropov

29th April 2009, 19:32

Im reading a few at the minute.
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - Robert Tressel
Freedom Next Time - John Pilger
The Foundations of Leninism - J.V. Stalin

29th April 2009, 20:07

David Ricardo - The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation
Jared Diamond - Guns, Germs & Steel
Some book on Kondratieff Waves.

Cymru

29th April 2009, 21:09

I am now reading Ulysses. I've put Gysin on hold for a bit. Ulysses intrigues me too much.

I was going to start it last week , but decided against.
You recommend?

JohannGE

29th April 2009, 22:50

The Steel Bonnets: Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers, George MacDonald Fraser. A uniquely turbulent and little understood period of Anglo - Scottish history. There is a lot of romantic tosh writen about the reivers but this book examines the complex international and interpersonal politics, warts and all.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DZS49E73L._SS500_.jpg
Well researched history by a craftsman story teller, a great combination. Fraser better known for the Flashman novels which I enjoyed in my youth untill they became rather repetative.

-marx-

30th April 2009, 01:58

I'm not a Che fanatic but a friend bought me this. I'm actually really enjoying it; nice easy read.
This is a good book, also guerrilla warfare by Mao Tse Tung is apparently really good too. I own a copy of Mao's book but I haven't got around to reading it yet.

I'm reading "Selected Works Volume 1" by Marx & Engels.

Pawn Power

30th April 2009, 02:21

Pathologies of Power- Paul Farmer

Mujer Libre

30th April 2009, 09:44

A Room With a View by E.M. Forster.

cleef

30th April 2009, 13:57

How to Talk Dirty and Influence People by Lenny Bruce :thumbup:

Bilan

30th April 2009, 15:17

Communism vol. 1, Communism's not a nice idea but a material necessity.
Taking a break from Capital.

Sam_b

1st May 2009, 12:04

I'm currently reading Milan Kundera's The Joke.

Bitter Ashes

1st May 2009, 13:35

I'm reading Stormrider by David Gemmel

ComradeOm

1st May 2009, 13:50

Finished The Weimar Republic. It was an excellent introduction to the period that traces political instability to the social and economic contradictions in German society at the time. Well written and you can tell that Peukert's background was Marxist. I'd definitely recommend it as one of the more informative books I've read recently

About to start Mark Thompson's The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915-1919

bellyscratch

1st May 2009, 13:57

Rosa Luxemburg- Reform or Revolution

Random Precision

2nd May 2009, 06:37

While impatiently waiting for my copy of Victor Serge's Year One of the Russian Revolution to arrive I am reading Assorted Fire Events by David Means, one of my professors.

Random Precision

4th May 2009, 01:35

2666 by Roberto Bolaño.

Linkse-Denker

7th May 2009, 11:25

I'm reading now: Ché's diary of Bolivia. But I'm just started:cool:

which doctor

7th May 2009, 14:52

Just finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami and just started Go Tell it On the Mountain by James Baldwin.

ComradeOm

7th May 2009, 19:03

About to start Mark Thompson's The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915-1919Finished this quickly. Both because it was a real page turner (its great reading history that you don't know the outcome to... well, except that the Allies won of course) and because I wanted to get it out of the way before I leave for a month. I'm not into either narrative or operational history (I like my social trends and tables of economic data) but this was a good read that vividly conveyed both the futility of the fighting on the Italian front, the immense suffering of individual soldiers at the hands of their officers, and consequences that it would have for the rise of fascism in the following years

I'll definitely be returning to Italian history in the near future but for now my attention turns to Spain. I've a tradition that whenever I visit a country I read up on its history. I was originally going to pick something to do with the Reconquista or SCW but eventually settled on Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, largely because its a) something that I've been meaning to read for years and b) very light to carry. I'm also taking along a copy of selected writings from Gramsci's Prison Notebooks... largely because I just have it lying around

Killfacer

7th May 2009, 22:03

J G Ballard's The Drowned World.

It's a really good science fiction book about the ice caps melting (written before the whole global warming thing) and shit hitting the fan. It's difficult some of the more complicated tangents about the human mind etc but i would certainly recommend it over some of the other boring guff others have posted.

Cumannach

7th May 2009, 22:34

"Gods and Fighting Men"

Lady Gregory

To hell with Tolkien. This is the real shit.

free (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14465)

Bilan

8th May 2009, 15:47

Rosa Luxemburg- Reform or Revolution

Good book.

Bilan

8th May 2009, 15:52

Finished Communism Vol. 1. (ICC), now finishing Capital Vol. 1.
Also picked up The Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde) and look forward to reading it.
Also got "The Mighty Book of Boosh". An excellent source of political analysis.

"MY name is Bruno. My name is Bruno.
I live in the corners of your eyes.
Fishes for breakfast,
Fishes for tea.
If you look inside your knees
you will find a frozen me.
My name is Bruno.
I ride a Zebra down the silver mine. The winch-men all crazy, in groups of 3 - "If you look inside your knees, you will find a frozen me!"

Il Medico

10th May 2009, 08:26

As of current I am reading The Sun Also Rises, by Hemingway. Not as good as For Whom the Bells Tolls or A Farewell to Arms, but still good. Also nit picking from Writers in Revolt, interesting though not always leftist book.:D It has some great Sartre.

mykittyhasaboner

10th May 2009, 21:40

Jumping between Doors of Perception and Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War.

I haven't had enough time to read them though. :(

Vincent P.

11th May 2009, 00:35

I just finished Kropotkin's Mutual Aid. It's a good reading and quite a blow to the pseudo-scientific social Darwinism which came back on the scene in the neo-con era, but it's a bit dated and (as Kropotkin itself admitted) a bit too optimistic about some cases of "primitive communism".

Now what am I going to read? I plan to read Marx's Wage-Labour and Capital and Wages, Prices and Profit in spanish. It won't take long, and after that I plan to read either Nietzsche's Human, Too Human or J.S Mill's Utilitarianism/On Liberty or Spinoza's Ethics. I try to read at least one book per week, although it's getting hard now that I've got to work my ass off in a full time job...

Vincent P.

11th May 2009, 00:40

Vincent

11th May 2009, 00:45

Umberto Eco - The Island of the Day Before

gowavescene

13th May 2009, 07:07

I know he may, quite rightly, get criticized for his politics, but I just finished "Journey to the End of the Night" by Louis Celine and found it fantastic. I wouldn't consider myself an avowed nihilist just yet, but it's certainly the strongest case made yet for not-giving-a-fuck-about-anything.

Bilan

13th May 2009, 14:41

Half-way through The Portrait of Dorian Gray. It's an amazing book. I am really enjoying it.
Though, no doubt some of the bits and pieces are certainly archaic, and the prejudices certainly make me feel a bit uncomfortable (such as the reference to 'the Jew' who works at the theater) but aside from that it's a wonderful book.

"The only artists I have ever known who are personally delightful are bad artists. Good artists exist simply in what they make, and consequently are perfectly uninteresting in what they are. A great poet, a really great poet, is the most unpoetical of all creatures. But inferior poets are absolutely fascinating. The worse their rhymes are, the more picturesque they look. The mere fact of having published a book of second-rate sonnets makes a man quite irresistible. He lives the poetry that he cannot write. The others write the poetry that they dare not realize."

Sort It Out Frosty

13th May 2009, 20:27

I am currently reading the Bible, specifically Revelations.

Killfacer

13th May 2009, 22:32

Oh and I'm "reading" Bakunin's God and the State in the audiobook format while doing sport. It gives a very interesting analysis of religion (as of chapter 5), but it doesn't say much about anarchism :p.

I don't beleive you. Know one can read that much boring crap without reading something for fun in between.

Vincent P.

13th May 2009, 23:30

I don't beleive you. Know one can read that much boring crap without reading something for fun in between.
Lol. I like Socratic irony :lol:.

No but really, I just don't have time for reading funny stuff. My brain is turned off 8h/day now that I've got this fucking store clerk job, I play guitar (I'm a semi-pro) for about 2 hours and I read (serious stuff) for another 3 hours. It requires discipline, but I told myself that capitalist won't touch my self-teaching time. For the next week I'll stop reading and work on some private english, guitar and spanish lessons (I'm in a french speaking town), so that I'll be able to quit my job in a few weeks (I hope) and get more time for reading philosophy and learning languages and physics and political economy and....

Comrade Anarchist

14th May 2009, 00:20

american physco

gowavescene

14th May 2009, 00:21

Vincent P.

14th May 2009, 00:25

Just started another book by an author (potentially) frowned upon in these parts because of his opinion of the Bolsheviks: Ivan Bunin. "Dark Avenues" contains some of the most beautiful prose I've ever read.

Well I don't see what's wrong with him. I wouldn't like to live in a country where art is censored either if I were a writter.

Melon

15th May 2009, 17:57

Finished WAR AND PEACE BY Leo Tolstoy..........now reading CRIME AND PUNISHMENT by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

AN INSPIRATIONAL BOOK i recently read and recommend to all......is GREG MORTENSON'S non'fictional book THREE CUPS OF TEA.

Delirium

15th May 2009, 18:55

Toolbox for Sustainable City Living, A DIY guide

Its pretty good, covers aquaculture, microlivestock, rainwater collection, bioremediation, constructed wetlands, autonomous energy, biofuels, etc....

Apparently you can make wind turbines out of old bicycles.

which doctor

15th May 2009, 20:11

Just finished Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami and Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell. Just started Norwegian Wood, also by Murakami.

Melon

15th May 2009, 22:32

Just finished Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami and Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell. Just started Norwegian Wood, also by Murakami.
Haruki Murakami's novels are brilliant. The ones i most enjoyed was the Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. His works are addictive!

Sarah Palin

16th May 2009, 17:34

Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

hugsandmarxism

16th May 2009, 17:37

Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide by Andrea Smith

then I'm reading The State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin :)

which doctor

16th May 2009, 20:05

Haruki Murakami's novels are brilliant. The ones i most enjoyed was the Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. His works are addictive!
He is a fantastic writer. I first read the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and was captivated and have since read Kafka on the Shore and I just finished Norwegian Wood today, all in about the span of a month. I think it's his seamless blending of fantasy and reality that really draws me. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle remains my favorite, I even briefly flirted with the idea of changing my user name to Mr. Wind-Up Bird.

Random Precision

18th May 2009, 17:39

The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

Pawn Power

22nd May 2009, 03:50

Just started The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Chabon.

Bilan

25th May 2009, 13:55

I finished the Portrait of Dorian Gray.
Picked up The Prison Notebooks - Gramsci from my library, recommended by my Tutor.

which doctor

25th May 2009, 16:23

Germinal by Emile Zola

Pirate Utopian

25th May 2009, 17:34

The War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells.

Cymru

25th May 2009, 20:09

Onions in the stew

MarxSchmarx

28th May 2009, 09:45

The House at Sugar Beach
by Helene Cooper

Random Precision

30th May 2009, 01:01

VALIS by Philip K. Dick

Random Precision

2nd June 2009, 15:45

Finished! Now I'm on to Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.

Pawn Power

9th June 2009, 00:52

I finished the Portrait of Dorian Gray.
Picked up The Prison Notebooks - Gramsci from my library, recommended by my Tutor.

Who is your 'Tutor'?

I am reading Rogue States by Chomsky.

which doctor

9th June 2009, 04:29

Of Time and the River by Thomas Wolfe

The last of his novels I have yet to read.

JimmyJazz

9th June 2009, 04:52

Towards the Understanding of Karl Marx: A Revolutionary Interpretation by Sidney Hook.

This is one of the best political books I have ever read.

As of current I am reading The Sun Also Rises, by Hemingway. Not as good as For Whom the Bells Tolls or A Farewell to Arms, but still good.

I agree with your line on Hemingway.

berlitz23

9th June 2009, 05:02

Molloy-Beckett
Cinematic Mode of Production-Bellamy
Chutzpah-Ficklestein
The Theater and its double-Artaud

Incendiarism

10th June 2009, 02:31

Towards the Understanding of Karl Marx: A Revolutionary Interpretation by Sidney Hook.

This is one of the best political books I have ever read.

I see this book everywhere, but I've held out on reading it because of Sidney Hook's pragmatism. Care to tell me anything about the book?

I'm currently reading Family by Ba Jin

DecDoom

10th June 2009, 02:35

How Nonviolence Protects the State, by Peter Gelderloos

Bilan

10th June 2009, 14:02

Who is your 'Tutor'?
.

Tutorial teacher thing.

Also,
reading Godard on Godard, and the Accumulation of Capital - Luxemburg.

amandevsingh

12th June 2009, 04:23

Iron Heel and Story About a Real Man[soviet book, no longer availiable]

Tomhet

12th June 2009, 04:37

An old classic, the original call of the wild.
absolutely fantastic.

MarxSchmarx

12th June 2009, 05:43

"Into thin Air" by John Krakaur

Iron Heel

Apparently it's Jack London's most socialistic work, but I remember being distinctly disappointed by it after reading "White Fang" and "Call of the Wild".

amandevsingh

12th June 2009, 22:55

Really, I have yet to read any of London's other works, but I love this one:thumbup1:

-marx-

13th June 2009, 02:08

Just got a new book, "Marx Engels Marxism" by Lenin, so far so good.

amandevsingh

13th June 2009, 04:12

Just got a new book, "Marx Engels Marxism" by Lenin, so far so good.

That one is definitely one of my favourites :marx:

ComradeOm

14th June 2009, 10:04

I'll definitely be returning to Italian history in the near future but for now my attention turns to Spain. I've a tradition that whenever I visit a country I read up on its history. I was originally going to pick something to do with the Reconquista or SCW but eventually settled on Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, largely because its a) something that I've been meaning to read for years and b) very light to carry. I'm also taking along a copy of selected writings from Gramsci's Prison Notebooks... largely because I just have it lying aroundOrwell was a disappointment. Not nearly as good as his fictional works, I found that Homage to Catalonia very... flat. Orwell describes but never manages to convey the sense of revolutionary excitement he encountered and, secondly, he was, by his own admission, only aware of the periphery of events, ie he was almost permanently in the dark. Compare to John Reed's superb Ten Days where both the revolutionary atmosphere and major events are vividly described

Gramsci was an interesting read. The copy I had was The Modern Prince: And Other Writings which was very much a mixed bag. Both the early published articles and the first extracts from his prison notebooks (the latter difficult to read as they lack formatting or purpose) were not as good as I had expected. Plenty of illuminating insights (and historical titbits) but nothing really special. I was disappointed until arriving at the Modern Prince itself and this was where the scattergun approach comes good. Sorel and spontaneity*, political parties, national identity/will, human nature, free trade, syndicalism, hegemony, economism, bureaucracy... these are just a few of the topics he touched on (from my notes) in this rambling but always interesting work

*There are a couple of great quotes in this work. My favourite probably being: "Behind spontaneity is presupposed pure mechanicalism"

Bilan

14th June 2009, 11:30

The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde.

bellyscratch

14th June 2009, 11:38

Anti-Fascist by Martin Lux

amandevsingh

14th June 2009, 21:18

Notes from the Gallows - Julius Fucik

Amazing book, can usually be found online. No longer printed, though.

Comrade Ian

19th June 2009, 04:38

Karl Marx's Theory of Revolution: The Politics of Social Classes - Hal Draper

-marx-

23rd June 2009, 02:44

A new book just arrived yesterday, V.I.Lenin: On The Great October Socialist Revolution.
Its speeches and articles by Lenin from 1917 to 1922, I've only read a couple of chapters but this is exactly the kind of book I have been looking for for a while, its great! I'll have to get some more books with speeches by Lenin I think.

Bilan

24th June 2009, 15:28

Nausea - Jean-Paul Sartre.
Almost finished it one day. I was determined to do it. But I failed. Damnit!

Invariance

24th June 2009, 15:29

The Death of Economics, Paul Ormerod. Interesting, I would recommend it.

Fictional

24th June 2009, 15:41

A walk in the woods - Bill Bryson
He has no political standing as I'm aware, and certainly doesn't write about Communism, but he's an excellent writer and his books are hilarious, I'd promote his books to anyone.

amandevsingh

25th June 2009, 00:52

Chomsky on Anarchism. :lol:

25th June 2009, 02:08

Testimonials for the civil war and greek Left.-Stelios Kouloglou(in greek of course)
For once a book i can have and most of you dont!:lol::p

amandevsingh

25th June 2009, 03:38

I actually have that one^

...Just Kidding, but I'm always reading ancient CPI(M) Pamphlets, also.;)

which doctor

25th June 2009, 05:58

Transparent Things by Vladimir Nabokov.

makesi

27th June 2009, 01:28

Finished reading a few days ago Balzac's Cousin Pons.
Tonight, hopefully, I will finish Steven Ozment's The Age of Reform 1250-1550.
And after that I have 2 more library books to go on to: Treadgold's short history of Byzantium and Huizinga's Waning of the Middle Ages.
I really should be reading in preparation for a high school science teacher certification exam I'll be taking on July 10th but I figure its too late now to do much about that thing. Perhaps someone else on here has experience taking the teacher's science 8-12 certification test??

Hopefully the next books will Harman's People's History of the World, Sergei Kara-Murza's Манипуляция Сознанием, and some fiction book, I've been wanting to return to Proust for sometime, next up for me is his Sodom and Gomorrah.

-marx-

27th June 2009, 03:15

Another book arrived today and I cant wait to read it. Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, put out by Foreign Languages Publishing House Moscow, 1963. It seems like a really good book, from just skimming it, and is made up of articles etc by Lenin, Marx, Engels and a few others but the majority of the content is by Lenin. It seems like it would be a good primer for new Socialists and at over 700 pages there's a lot of content in it.

Mala Tha Testa

27th June 2009, 03:21

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.
It's Long Overdue.
I've Wanted To Read It For A Long Time.

And I must say that if they make a new film adaptation, Johnny Whitney should play Alex "DeLarge."

Bilan

3rd July 2009, 15:43

The Plague - Albert Camus

Random Precision

3rd July 2009, 19:04

I've been wanting to return to Proust for sometime, next up for me is his Sodom and Gomorrah.

LOL, I burned out on Proust right after starting Sodom and Gomorrah something like two years ago. I don't really feel the need to return to it now though.

And I'm finally embarking on Marx's Kapital currently.

LeninBalls

4th July 2009, 11:59

Hate to be a generic fuck reading communist things but well...

Fidel Castro: My Life
The Exile and Murder of Leon Trotsky

Sean

4th July 2009, 12:02

Richard Dawkins - The Selfish Gene

Sarah Palin

4th July 2009, 16:12

Irvine Welsh- Trianspotting ftw. The language is a little tough to get used to, but so far a great book.

Anarkiwi

4th July 2009, 17:27

socialisim and revolution-andre groz
granny made me an anarchist-stuart christie
che-a revolutionary life-jon lee anderson
stalin and the struggle for democratic change-grover furr
terrorisim and communisim-leon trotsky
equality-william batchelder greene

MarxSchmarx

6th July 2009, 05:28

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Surprisingly not as patronizing as I was lead to believe.

Brother No. 1

6th July 2009, 05:37

finished: "Once Again on the Trade Unions"

Starting: "Socialism and War."

LOLseph Stalin

6th July 2009, 05:44

George Orwell: The Complete Novels.

I forgot I even bought that book. :lol:

Bilan

6th July 2009, 15:52

Crime and Punishment - Dostoevsky
De Profundis - Oscar Wilde

GrouchoMarxist

7th July 2009, 00:36

A People's History Of The United States- Howard Zinn

Been meaning to read this for AGES it ain't even funny.

dogfooddi

7th July 2009, 20:50

ballad of the whiskey robber by julian rubenstein

badass book about this hungarian folk hero who snuck over from transylvania under a freight train, became the worst, most underpaid pro hockey goalie ever, and pulled off 29 bank heists drunk out of his mind. did i mention it's a true story?

Ravenbm

9th July 2009, 04:43

im ready
CHE: A Revolutionary Life (BIO)
and
In The Spirt OF Crazy Horse
both are great.:laugh:

which doctor

9th July 2009, 06:20

Therese Raquin by Emile Zola

Manzil

12th July 2009, 21:52

Dee Brown's "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee"

Random Precision

12th July 2009, 23:22

The Hindus: An Alternative History by Wendy Doniger

13th July 2009, 01:10

Murray Bookchin -The Spanish Revolution of 1936

Sarah Palin

13th July 2009, 02:57

Right now, I'm halfway through Irvine Welsh's "Filth." Quite humorous and very well written.

RedAnarchist

13th July 2009, 03:49

Facing The Enemy, by Alexandre Skirda.

RMHaggis

19th July 2009, 15:26

false gods-graham mcneil

book 2 of the 'horus heresy' series

*Viva La Revolucion*

19th July 2009, 16:19

I'm re-reading 1984.
and I'm also going to read The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker because it has been sitting on my bookshelf since Christmas.

Oh, and also Ulysses. I don't really think that counts because I'm not 'reading' it, I'm just looking at the words.

Sarah Palin

19th July 2009, 17:21

I just finished Filth by Irvine Welsh and plan on reading another Welsh book next. All I have to say about Filth is that it was the best book ever and deserves to sell more copies then the Bible.

*Viva La Revolucion*

19th July 2009, 18:58

Most books deserve to sell more copies than the Bible. ;)

MarxSchmarx

20th July 2009, 07:56

New Worlds, Ancient texts: The Power of Tradition and the Shock of Discovery By Anthony Grafton.

Coggeh

26th July 2009, 00:17

Science, Marxism and the big bang and The origins of species . Good reads.

26th July 2009, 00:19

Ernesto Guevara also known as Che by Pako Ignasio Taimbo II (i dont think thats how the name spelled but anw).
Have actually finished it, but now i read the notes, who arent that few..

Bilan

28th July 2009, 15:10

Finished Crime and Punishment last night. I've now started on Machiavelli's the Prince.

which doctor

28th July 2009, 16:05

La Debacle by Emile Zola

Bilan

30th July 2009, 02:58

Also, the Plague - Albert Camus. Again.

Il Medico

30th July 2009, 13:28

Finished Crime and Punishment last night. I've now started on Machiavelli's the Prince.
I found the Prince was a good read when I read it. It has been a few years though.

simras

30th July 2009, 20:23

I am reading "Rosa Luxemburg: A life" by Elzbieta Ettinger
and "Lenin" by Robert Service

Beemers

31st July 2009, 21:35

Currently I read once again:
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Axle

31st July 2009, 23:46

"Ten Days that Shook the World" and "American Gods".

Manifesto

1st August 2009, 03:54

Che Guevara A Revolutionary Life. Its taking me forever since its so long.

Pol Pot

2nd August 2009, 03:26

I have recently tried to read some BS book from Croatian puppet collaborator with german reich named Ante Pavelic nemaed "Strahote Zabluda" or the "Terror of false belief".

But all the guy rants on is how its uncomprehencible that soviet revolution would ever hapend anywhere except in the "wild and exotic orient" (yeah like russia is the prime example of "wild orient" lol) bla bla, just typicall BS like you can hear any regual fash ranting on in RL.

Random Precision

3rd August 2009, 00:12

The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham

Bilan

4th August 2009, 00:36

I found the Prince was a good read when I read it. It has been a few years though.

It depends how you define 'good'. It is certainly 'good' in the sense that it illustrates the fact that the quest for power, and absolute power at that, requires the most coercive, and violent means, not to mention the necessity of illusions to solidify that power.
This as a goal in itself, however, I don't think I'd define as 'good'.

Sarah Palin

4th August 2009, 03:51

Children of Men. FUCKING EPICLY AMAZING. I love it.

Random Precision

4th August 2009, 04:29

The Tin Drum by Günter Grass

bawbag

4th August 2009, 15:33

reading Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore, was recommended from someone on this site, good read, taking me a while, but enjoying it so far.

SubcomandanteJames

4th August 2009, 20:34

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. It's not Peter Singer, but it speaks to the average meat eater. NYT's Book of the Year.

MarxSchmarx

5th August 2009, 08:47

The private life of Chairman Mao by Li Zhisui

kalu

7th August 2009, 01:00

The Magic of the State by Michael Taussig. Trippy.

Pawn Power

7th August 2009, 14:48

The Magic of the State by Michael Taussig. Trippy.

Taussig is insufferable.

kalu

7th August 2009, 17:59

Taussig is insufferable.

Lol, how so?

Pawn Power

8th August 2009, 01:47

Just, as far as anthropology writing go, I don't find his work very accessible, which I think should be an important aspect of anthropology.

kalu

8th August 2009, 02:14

Just, as far as anthropology writing go, I don't find his work very accessible, which I think should be an important aspect of anthropology.

Perhaps, but he really takes to heart Brecht's dictum of "estrangement." Very surrealist obviously, but yeah he does lay on the theory thick (let's see, he mentioned Bataille, Nietzsche and Hegel on one page:scared:). Still, he has some fantastic ideas about a possible Marxist theory of magic.

If you're looking for an accessible work of Anthropology, read Anna Tsing's Friction. Cheers.

Bilan

8th August 2009, 11:22

The Stranger - Albert Camus

Pawn Power

8th August 2009, 13:55

Perhaps, but he really takes to heart Brecht's dictum of "estrangement." Very surrealist obviously, but yeah he does lay on the theory thick (let's see, he mentioned Bataille, Nietzsche and Hegel on one page:scared:). Still, he has some fantastic ideas about a possible Marxist theory of magic.

If you're looking for an accessible work of Anthropology, read Anna Tsing's Friction. Cheers.

Yes, I have read it, it is a great ethnography.

JohannGE

9th August 2009, 14:35

Anthony Beevor's update of The Spanish Civil War, retitled The Battle for Spain and incorporating recently released archival information.

imo the best account yet.

I would also strongly recomend the same authors Stalingrad

The Author

12th August 2009, 05:29

Market Socialism in Yugoslavia by Christopher Prout.

Delirium

12th August 2009, 05:46

Memoirs of an Italian Terrorist : Giorgio

Pawn Power

13th August 2009, 04:16

Homage to Catalonia - Orwell

LeninBalls

14th August 2009, 18:49

Rebel Hearts - Kevin Toolis

Искра

14th August 2009, 19:03

Quotes of president Mao Tse Tung.
This little red book has given to my grandfather by some big shoot from CCP when he was in China back in 70s.
I have to say that me and my comrades are ROFLing on this one.

MarxSchmarx

15th August 2009, 04:13

Mephisto

17th August 2009, 19:15

A selection of essays written bei Alexander Woronski, the book is called "Die Kunst die Welt zu sehen" ("The Art of seeing the World") and was compilated by Frederick Choates.

Pawn Power

18th August 2009, 00:32

Can you give us a particularly sucky quote?

"To read too many books is harmful." Mao

MarxSchmarx

18th August 2009, 05:52

"To read too many books is harmful." Mao

How ironic. According to his biography I'm reading right now, Mao was incredibly well read and loved surrounding himself with books that he would devour at an amazing rate.

Bilan

22nd August 2009, 14:00

The Mandarins - Simone de Beauvoir

which doctor

22nd August 2009, 16:01

Journey to the End of Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine

Bandito

22nd August 2009, 16:16

Rocky Road To Dublin, irish poetry.

The Author

23rd August 2009, 05:36

Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore by Bettany Hughes.

pierrotlefou

23rd August 2009, 06:07

the coming insurrection and also the western lands by Burroughs.

Ismail

23rd August 2009, 16:22

Stalin: Man of History (1979) by Ian Grey.

It's a pretty good book so far and was written by a bourgeois historian. Grey seems to have pretty much wrote it as a counterpart to Isaac Deutscher's Stain: a Political Biography (1949), only unlike Deutscher (who was a Marxist and quasi-Trotskyist), Grey was a conservative. Besides the inevitable stuff (Stalin was ultimately an "inhuman tyrant," kulaks were just hard-working self-made peasants, Bolsheviks were fanatics, etc.) it does a good job presenting an objective view of Stalin's life, rise to power, and government while also being nicely sourced. All of those I've talked to who have read it said that it is the best biography of Stalin written by a non-Marxist.

The other book I'm reading is Spain: the Unfinished Revolution (1973) by Arthur H. Landis. It's basically the Spanish Civil War from the perspective of a pro-PCE Communist and International Brigades participant, so fans of the POUM and other anti-"Stalinist" groups know what to expect, but it's still a solid book that discusses in quite a lot of detail how the Spanish Republic fell, from the hours in preparation of the uprising to the uprising itself, to the reaction of the rest of the world and to the death of the Spanish Republic. It's also well sourced.

It should be easy to find both books for cheap in used conditions.

El ChiChe

24th August 2009, 01:06

Player piano by kurt vonnegut

Bastable

26th August 2009, 06:44

Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh

Rusty Shackleford

26th August 2009, 07:12

Capital: Volume 1 - Karl Marx

Red Dug

26th August 2009, 22:54

1984
Perdido Street Station - China Mieville
The Hymns of Orpheus

The Author

31st August 2009, 20:35

Higher by Neal Bascomb.

Random Precision

2nd September 2009, 20:03

which doctor

2nd September 2009, 20:33

Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 by Romila Thapar
L'Assomoir by Émile Zola

Also I just finished After Dark by Haruki Murakami, which was disappointingly pointless and reminiscent of all the worst parts of the other book of his I've read, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
I almost just bought After Dark, but after reading a bunch of reviews, it really didn't look that great. I got Dance Dance Dance instead, the sequel to Wild Sheep Chase. I'm a big Murakami fan and Wind-Up Bird is my favorite. If you liked Wind-Up Bird I would recommend Kafka on the Shore.

Random Precision

2nd September 2009, 20:47

I almost just bought After Dark, but after reading a bunch of reviews, it really didn't look that great. I got Dance Dance Dance instead, the sequel to Wild Sheep Chase. I'm a big Murakami fan and Wind-Up Bird is my favorite. If you liked Wind-Up Bird I would recommend Kafka on the Shore.

Funnily enough... well, check your PM. :)

Lyev

2nd September 2009, 21:05

I'm reading The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe. I love his quirky, colourful writing style. I've never really read anything quite like it. It's especially interesting after recently reading One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, which by the way is fantastic, as Kesey, is the protagonist of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

Other than that I've got about 10 pages left of The State and Revolution to get through. :)

OneNamedNameLess

2nd September 2009, 23:07

Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 by Romila Thapar
L'Assomoir by Émile Zola

Also I just finished After Dark by Haruki Murakami, which was disappointingly pointless and reminiscent of all the worst parts of the other book of his I've read, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

After Dark is very poor indeed. I suggest you read Norwegian Wood or Kafka On The Shore. I really enjoyed South Of The Border West Of The Sun too. His short stories are not bad either.

I am reading Brave New World now which has been recommended to me for years.

Durruti's Ghost

8th September 2009, 06:33

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut and Exquisite Rebel: The Essays of Voltairine de Cleyre.

ComradeOm

8th September 2009, 13:48

Taken a break from Russia to breeze through Lucy Riall's Risorgimento: The History of Italy from Napoleon to Nation State which was more a review of recent scholarship than anything else. Now reading Donald Sassoon's Mussolini and the Rise of Fascism (good, if lightweight) and am looking forward to jumping into a dense history of the French Third Republic that I've sitting on my desk

Edit: I may not stay away from Russia for long - I just got a copy of the Central Committee Minutes of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party (Bolshevik) August 1917 - February 1918. *Drool*