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Q4 2006 Nonfiction Book Suggestions

Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:19 pm
by Chris OConnor
Q4 2006 Nonfiction Book SuggestionsThis thread is for making nonfiction book suggestions for 4th quarter of 2006 (October, November & December). Please read everything that follows in this first post.Important1. Provide the title, author, and a copied and pasted review. Also provide a link to Amazon where we can read more. 2. Do not just suggest books that are already on your bookshelf. We are looking for books that will help BookTalk pull in more members and result in incredible discussions. So think about what will help our community.3. And PLEASE comment on other people's suggestions. This is probably the most important thing you can do. Don't make a suggestion and then vanish. Be ACTIVE in this thread.So what would you like to read and discuss for Q4, 2006? Edited by: Chris OConnorĀ  at: 9/14/06 2:19 am

How Are We to Live?: Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest.

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 4:14 am
by lizziebizzie
Nomination: How Are We to Live?: Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest.Midwest Book ReviewAs Peter Singer wrote, "The problem is that most people have only the vaguest idea of what it might be to lead an ethical life. They understand ethics as a system of rules forbidding us to do things. They do not grasp it as a basis for thinking about how we are to live. They live largely self-interested lives, not because they were born selfish, but because the alternatives seem awkward, embarrassing, or just plain pointless. They cannot see any way of making an impact on the world, and if they could, why should they bother?Amazon linkwww.amazon.com/gp/product/0879759666/ref=pd_sim_b_2/102-3391575-4240129?ie=UTF8I've read Singer's "Practical Ethics", now a classic applied ethics text, and I've just begun to read this book. I'll hold off reading it until end of polling. It will be great for me if it's selected.Peter Singer is a utilitarian philosopher who is known for his writings on applied ethics or practical ethics. The good thing about Singer is that his writing is very clear and he doesn't assume too much prior knowledge of philosophy or history or whatever. So you can get a good understanding of his ideas, which are thought provoking. Edited by: Chris OConnorĀ  at: 8/31/06 12:22 am

Re: How Are We to Live?: Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest.

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 9:25 am
by Mr. P
I have a feeling I know who is not going to be interested in this one!Mr. P. Mr. P's place. I warned you!!!The one thing of which I am positive is that there is much of which to be negative - Mr. P.The pain in hell has two sides. The kind you can touch with your hand; the kind you can feel in your heart...Scorsese's "Mean Streets"I came to kick ass and chew Bubble Gum...and I am all out of Bubble Gum - They Live, Roddy Piper

Re: How Are We to Live?: Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest.

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 9:41 am
by Chris OConnor
Tell us Nick.

Re: How Are We to Live?: Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest.

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 3:02 pm
by MadArchitect
If he means me, I'm actually the guy that suggested to LB that she nominate a Peter Singer book. So I'm certainly not uninterested.

Re: How Are We to Live?: Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest.

Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:24 pm
by Chris OConnor
The next poll needs to go up in about one week so start making some good suggestions folks.

Re: How Are We to Live?: Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest.

Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 12:07 am
by GOD defiles Reason
Conservatives Without ConscienceJohn Dean - Author Penguin Group linkQuote:John Dean takes a sobering look at how radical elements are destroying the Republican Party along with the very foundations of American democracyJohn Dean's last New York Times bestseller, Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush, offered the former White House insider's unique and telling perspective on George W. Bush's presidency. Once again, Dean employs his distinctive knowledge and understanding of Washington politics and process to examine the conservative movement's current inner circle of radical Republican leaders

suggestions

Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 3:19 pm
by MadArchitect
Okay, here comes a small suggestion flood. Starting with...Development as Freedom, by Amartya K. SenFrom Publishers WeeklyWhen Sen, an Indian-born Cambridge economist, won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Economic Science, he was praised by the Nobel Committee for bringing an "ethical dimension" to a field recently dominated by technical specialists. Sen here argues that open dialogue, civil freedoms and political liberties are prerequisites for sustainable development. He tests his theory with examples ranging from the former Soviet bloc to Africa, but he puts special emphasis on China and India. How does one explain the recent gulf in economic progress between authoritarian yet fast-growing China and democratic, economically laggard India? For Sen, the answer is clear: India, with its massive neglect of public education, basic health care and literacy, was poorly prepared for a widely shared economic expansion; China, on the other hand, having made substantial advances in those areas, was able to capitalize on its market reforms. Yet Sen demolishes the notion that a specific set of "Asian values" exists that might provide a justification for authoritarian regimes. He observes that China's coercive system has contributed to massive famine and that Beijing's compulsory birth control policyAonly one child per familyAhas led to fatal neglect of female children. Though not always easy reading for the layperson, Sen's book is an admirable and persuasive effort to define development not in terms of GDP but in terms of "the real freedoms that people enjoy."It's not the sort of thing we usually read (which is, I think, a plus), and I can think of at least one BookTalk regular who ought to like the theme. Sen won the damn prize, so at least we know his work is reputable.

Re: suggestions

Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 1:57 am
by JulianTheApostate
When a couple of people mentioned US slavery in the topics you want to know more about thread, I was reminded of this book.Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution by Simon SchamaHas there ever been a patch of history more celebrated than the American Revolution? The torrent is endless: volume after volume about the glory of 1776, the miracle of 1787 and enough biographies of the Founding Fathers to stretch from the Liberty Bell to Bunker Hill and back again. The Library of Congress catalogue lists 271 books or other items to do with George Washington's death and burial alone. Enough!By contrast with the usual hagiography, distinguished historian Schama has found a little-known story from this era that makes the Founding Fathers look not so glorious. The Revolution saw the first mass emancipation of slaves in the Americas

Re: suggestions

Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:14 am
by Chris OConnor
Looks like an awesome read, Julian! Have you just heard about that book or have you actually read it yourself? What a twist to the slavery story we're taught in school.