For Those Looking to Expand Their Minds
History, culture, psychology, philosophy, politics, money, economics, and more
Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Spring is a marvelous season. And for most of us in the northern hemisphere, it's in full force. Despite always being a busy time of year for me, it's also a meditative one, as much of what I need to do is physical. Cleaning up after winter storms, sowing seeds, starting more seedlings under cover, etc.
So as TPTB continue to seek to suppress and control thought, speech, and the spread of information, I got to thinking about the importance of owning books. (Unless you're a nomad, of course.)
I have encyclopedia sets and dictionaries that are many decades old. Want to see how much TPTB have redefined important words and historical events? Look them up and compare such entries with what Google or a newly published dictionary tells you. The contrast is stark.
TBTB disorients us by altering history and definitions online, but you're less likely to fall prey to the digital tyranny if you have the right books. The government can't control your access to such information without seizing them.
So, as advertisements and bookstores start "suggesting" their summer reading, I thought I'd put out a list of not-so-light recommended reading in case anyone wants to be turned on to some sharp writers and thinkers. By TPTB's standards, this reading list is subversive.
I won't link the books here, so you can buy any you're interested in from your favorite bookseller.
If you're in the US or Canada, ThriftBooks offers free shipping on orders over $15. They have a good selection of new and used books. Fair warning: if you buy used books, don't buy any books that are less than the "Very Good" condition status. (Read: "good" condition is not good!)
My favorite worldwide bookseller (free shipping), Book Depository, is sadly closing down, but they are still accepting orders through April 26th (12 noon British Standard Time).
This differs from my typical article style, but if people are interested, I can always put together a couple more (including some novels).
*Note: The links above are not affiliate links.
The List
The Unsettling of America (Wendell Berry) — Despite being written in 1977, Berry’s words are more prescient than ever. He writes about Americans’ disconnection from the land and how replacing small, family-run farms with big agribusiness destroys the culture and meaning of a place. It may be about the US, but he speaks a truth that people in almost any country can resonate with.
The Power of the Powerless (Václav Havel) — Before Havel became the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic, he was a poet, playwright, and political dissident. This essay resonates deeply—even 45 years after its writing—since most Western “democracies” today are attempting to usher in full-blown tyranny and communism. It’s why so many ordinary people have become dissidents, despite never thinking they had a subversive bone in their bodies. Illuminating and loaded with (un)common sense, Havel helps all make sense of where we’ve been and where our world is headed.
Economics Facts & Fallacies (Thomas Sowell) — If you really want to understand how economics works—not the garbage we’ve all been force-fed through the decades—this is the book for you. At 92, Thomas Sowell might be the greatest living American thinker. What makes him truly brilliant, though, is his ability to explain complex concepts in a manner that all can understand.
Sowell should be required reading for those in most developed nations. But if you want to get a dose of his genius before buying any of the 4 dozen books he’s written, check out this interview from 2011:
Anarchy, State, and Utopia (Robert Nozick) — The death of Robert Nozick over 20 years ago was a great loss to the world of ideas regarding those of a political and social nature. But you need not have been one of the privileged few to study under him at Harvard in the 1980s to feel like you had. You can read this book instead. It’s essential reading for anyone interested in 360-degree examinations of different political positions. (Winner of the 1975 National Book Award.)
Vanishing New York: How a Great City Lost Its Soul (Jeremiah Moss) — If anyone is remotely interested in the history of New York in the last 150 years, that’s reason enough to pick up this book. As part of that historical tapestry, Moss weaves the reality of how big money and monoculture managed to take over this once-great city, stripping it of its character.
While he writes about New York, much of what Moss explores has happened in other cities. London is a perfect example. He explains how big money and monoculture usurp a city and strip it of any character it has. Between crooked corporations (banks included) and an even more crooked government, you will see how this legendary city met its undoing. His blog, Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, is illuminating. (He’s only made a few posts since 2020, but his archives are worth exploring.)
Money Mischief (Milton Friedman) — In this book, the late Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman explains the history of money, how it works, and how it’s become corrupted (and bastardized) over the years. And better yet, he takes the discussion global. Like Thomas Sowell, Friedman had a gift for distilling complex concepts into digestible and practical books, and Money Mischief is no different.
Final Comments
I’m currently reading James Howard Kunstler’s World Made By Hand. I picked it up because Jim, the author of
, recommended it in the comments section of a previous article. It’s a compelling novel about what life could be like in a post-fossil fuel world ripped apart by disease, terrorism, and the collapse of globalism. And you know what that looks like? Local. Very, very local. If you have book suggestions you think others might find to be valuable reads, post them in the comments below.Lastly, I’ll be away for the next two weeks but will return with regular articles on Wednesday, May 3rd. From here on out, articles will be posted every Wednesday until further notice. Happy spring (or autumn), wherever you are.
Catch up on the articles you missed:
How Banks Create "Money" Out of Thin Air
How to Thrive in Uncertain Times
The US Will Lose Its World Reserve Currency
Central Bank Digital Currencies: The Wet Dream of Aspiring Totalitarians
As the Banks Fall (Part 4): Deutsche Bank, The Jim Cramer Effect & Bank Consolidations
As the Banks Fall (Part 3) and Digital Authoritarianism
As the Banks Fall (Part 2): Bankruptcies and Consolidations
As the Banks Fall (Part 1): The Beginning of the End of the Modern Slave System
Regarding James Howard Kunstler, his entire “World Made by Hand” series is great fiction. I also recommend his 2005 non-fiction book “The Long Emergency”. It is a prophecy that we are seeing happening right now. The follow-up to that is “Too Much Magic”, which points out the fallacies of our attempts to deal with it.