Lists of the best books of the year are an exercise in hubris. Even if I was to narrow things down to the relevant books for this site — most of the works published by independent left publishing houses like South End Press and AK, a sizable number of titles from academic publishers like Temple [...]
Beyond nostalgia for polyester leisure suits, disco and “Charlie’s Angels,” the ’70s are emerging as a subject of serious historical investigation. In paticular, a number of recent works have called attention to the troubles of the labor movement in that decade. Economic conditions worsened as the U.S. faced competition from European and Japanese industry and rising [...]
“The Barbarian Nurseries” is the second novel of Hector Tobar; he is author of “Translation Nation” and, according to his website, he is ”a novelist, a journalist, the son of Guatemalan immigrants and a proud native of the city of Los Angeles.” This tale of racial and class divisions within one Southern Californian household sounds promising. Publishers Weekly [...]
Tony Horowitz, author of numerous books including “Confederates in the Attic,” turns to a historical subject in his new book, “Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War.” The focus on an individual fighting for social change, rather than either the founding fathers or obscure individuals, is fairly unusual in mainstream [...]
“Rape New York” is an only-too-timely look at the interaction between sexual violence and institutional power (We need a reviewer for this book. Reviewer gets a free copy. Please contact us at Steve (@) lefteyeonbooks.com if interested). From Publisher’s Weekly: “In a harrowing and intimate account Leo candidly recounts her own “nonviolent” rape of January [...]
“Black Flags and Windmills: Hope, Anarchy, and the Common Ground Collective“ is the forthcoming book from scott crow, whose experiences with FBI surveillance were chronicled in the New York Times. Publisher’s description: “Tracing a life of radical activism and the emergence of a grassroots organization in the face of disaster, this chronicle describes scott crow’s headlong rush into the political storm surrounding the catastrophic [...]
Publisher’s Description: “Featuring the testimony of close to seventy Iraqis from all backgrounds and occupations – from onetime Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi to insurgents speaking on the condition of anonymity - Voices from Iraq: A People’s History, 2003-2009 builds a riveting chronological history unmatched for its insight and revelations. Beginning in 2003, this intimate narrative [...]
Publisher’s description: “In Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression, writer Dale Maharidge and photographer Michael S. Williamson take us to the working-class heart of America, bringing to life–through shoe leather reporting, memoir, vivid stories, stunning photographs, and thoughtful analysis–the deepening crises of poverty and homelessness. The story begins in 1980, when the [...]
Publisher’s info: “Greg Mortenson has built a global reputation as a selfless humanitarian and children’s crusader, and he’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is also not what he appears to be. As acclaimed author Jon Krakauer discovered, Mortenson has not only fabricated substantial parts of his bestselling books Three Cups of Tea [...]
Publisher’s description: “Unraveling the complicated details surrounding the world’s present economic and political climate, this collection of interviews addresses the faulty underpinnings of capitalism and discusses why the future must be economically founded otherwise. Probing into the roots of the global economic crisis, the role that debt and privatization play in dampening social revolt, and [...]
Publisher’s description: “Stephane Hessel, Resistance fighter and concentration camp survivor, tells the young of today that their lives and liberties are worth fighting for. Remembering the ideals for which he risked his life, while never forgetting the evils against which he struggled, the now 94-year-old writer and diplomat calls on all of us to take [...]
Author Ross Perlin has an op-ed in today’s New York Times. Here’s what his book is about (publisher’s comments): “Every year, at least half a million Americans work as interns. They famously shuttle coffee in a thousand newsrooms, congressional offices, and Hollywood studios, but they also deliver aid in Afghanistan, build the human genome, and [...]
Generally, we wait until a book is officially released to ‘pick’ it. But today we honor Manning Marable, who just passed away at the age of 60. Here’s back cover info on his exciting new book: “Of the great figure in twentieth-century American history perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly [...]
From the back cover: “THIRTY YEARS ago, an international movement utilizing boycott, divestment, and sanction (BDS) tactics rose in solidarity with those suffering under the brutal apartheid regime of South Africa. The historic acts of BDS activists from around the world isolated South Africa as a pariah state and heralded the end of apartheid. Now, [...]
Some of the blurbs: “Catherine Eschle and Bice Maiguashca address a very timely and important theme in their wonderful, accessibly written book on the often invisible and unacknowledged work by feminist activists within the global justice movement. In the process, they develop a feminist framework for understanding that movement. But, more importantly, the book is [...]
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