I recently finished reading and reviewing The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck. According to the publisher's description, John Steinbeck labelled his work as a "celebration of the durability of democracy."
Steinbeck's quote started me thinking about other books I've read about democracy, fascism, or how things in society could go or have gone awry.
The first five books listed are ones I have already read. The remaining six books listed are ones I would like to read.
1. Animal Farm by George Orwell
2. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
3. The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck
4. Shameless by Brian Tyler Cohen
5. Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Albright
6. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder
10.The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism by Steven Kornacki
11. What You Should Know About Politics. . . But Don't by Jessamyn Conrad
Have you read any of the above listed books? If so, did you like them? Share your thoughts!
1. Animal Farm by George Orwell
2. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
3. The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck
4. Shameless by Brian Tyler Cohen
5. Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Albright
6. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder
7. How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them by Jason Stanley
8. Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future by Jason Stanley
9. How Propaganda Works by Jason Stanley
8. Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future by Jason Stanley
9. How Propaganda Works by Jason Stanley
11. What You Should Know About Politics. . . But Don't by Jessamyn Conrad
Have you read any of the above listed books? If so, did you like them? Share your thoughts!
I've read #s1 and 3 and I liked them, but didn't love them. One of my favorite books dealing with the ills of socialism is Atlas Shrugged. Have you ever read that one?
ReplyDeleteI have not read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I've been kind of intimidated by its length and Ayn Rand's philosophy.
DeleteI have read the first three titles on your list - all of them quite long ago and I can't say that I actually recall much about them. I can't say that I actually "enjoyed" them but they were definitely interesting and contained warnings that were very applicable to this era.
ReplyDeleteI think I enjoyed how applicable the warnings were for the first three novels. I think The Handmaid's Tale would have been a good edition to this list!
DeleteGood list! I read 'Animal Farm' a million years ago and remember liking it. I read 'It Can't Happen Here' back in March '21 and was rather impressed. I haven't read any of the others but a few are on my List.
ReplyDeleteAs part of Trump 2.0 I've been reading a few good ones:
How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them by Barbara F Walter
The Shortest History of Democracy by John Keane
Our Own Worst Enemy – The Assault From Within on Modern Democracy by Tom Nichols
...and then for the first time around...
Divided – Why We’re Living in an Age of Walls by Tim Marshall
National Populism – The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy by Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin
America in Retreat – The Decline of US Leadership from WW2 to Covid-19 by Michael Pembroke
America in Retreat – The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder by Bret Stephens
SO many good books out there.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and book recommendations. I will checkout the books you've listed.
DeleteI've only read Animal Farm from your list but I've read lots of other books that fit this theme. So important.
ReplyDeleteMost of them are on my Utopia/Dystopia list:
https://momobookblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Utopia%2FDystopia
Thank you for stopping by and leaving me a comment, Marianne. I will have a look at your Utopia/Dystopia list.
DeleteNot the same as your post but it has some good books on that topic.
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