Monopoly Capital – Baran and Sweezy
The main unit under monopolistic capitalism is the giant corporation. The book describes how contradictions arise in this system and how they are resolved and the effect they have on the society at large.
Tear Gas – Anna Feigenbaum
Dr. Feigenbaum traces the incorporation of tear gas into the modern day strategy of crowd control, its historical transformation from a barbaric chemical weapon to a weapon of choice and the role of corporations in this process.
The Green New Deal – Jeremy Rifkin
Rifkin outlines a pro-market and growth oriented plan for the transition to a green economy in the US. For Rifkin, the harbingers of hope are to be found in the business community.
The Case for the Green New Deal – Ann Pettifor
Ann Pettifor argues that we have the resources to do what we have to do to transition our economies. With more monetary and policy autonomy, countries implement solutions to avoid a climate disaster.
Permanent Record – Edward Snowden
In this autobiography, Snowden sheds light on his life. decisions and events that led him to disclose classified information on mass surveillance programs run by the US government.
Red Star Over the Third World – Vijay Prashad
Prashad analyzes and describes the effects of the Russian Revolution of 1917 on the Third World. It shows how it inspired generations of workers to dream of a different world.
Abolish ICE – Natascha Elena Uhlmann
"We are here because you were there." In Abolish ICE, Uhlmann offers a passionate plea for justice and humanity, detailing the abuses immigrants suffer at the hands of successive US administrations
Ghost Work – Mary L. Gray and Siddharth Suri
Do we know who are the people that moderate content on social media? Who caption, label, and tag to feed the ostensible omnipotence of artificial intelligence?
Carlos Slim – Diego Osorno
Carlos Slim: the Power, Money, and Morality of One of the World’s Richest Men, Diego Osorno, Verso, 2019, pp. 311, ISBN 978-1-78663-437-5 As Osorno states, “the powerful create a cloak of silence around them, which in countries like Mexico, is difficult to pierce.” It took Diego Osorno eight years, hundreds
Erdoğan Rising – Hannah Lucinda Smith
Erdoğan Rising: The Battle for the Soul of Turkey, Hannah Lucinda Smith, William Collins, 2019, pp. 395, ISBN 978-0-00-830884-1 Speaking in Ankara two weeks ago before heading off to Washington, Erdoğan repeated his oft-cited threat to allow the refugees to come to Europe. He was responding to the rebuke by the EU
We, the Survivors – Tash Aw (fiction)
We, the Survivors, Tash Aw, Hamish Hamilton, 2019, pp.326, ISBN 978-0-7352-3855-8 After British Malaya on the brink of Japanese invasion (The Harmony Silk Factory), post-colonial crackdown on leftists in Indonesia and Malaysia (Map of the Invisible World) and bustling Shanghai (Five Star Billionaire), Tash Aw has turned his narrative lens
Food or War – Julian Cribb
Food or War, Julian Cribb, Cambridge University Press, 2019, pp. 336, ISBN 978-1-108-71290-3 Paul R. Ehrlich claims to have understood overpopulation intellectually for a long time before the publications of his The Population Bomb in 1968. In the first chapter of the bestseller, Ehrlich recounts how he came to understand
The Five Hundred Year Rebellion – Benjamin Dangl
The Five Hundred Year Rebellion: Indigenous Movements and the Decolonization of History in Bolivia, Benjamin Dangl, AK Press, 2019, pp. 215, ISBN 978-1849353465 Dangl argues that an indigenous oral history of past struggles played a “crucial element for empowering, orienting, and legitimizing indigenous movements from the 1970s post-revolutionary Bolivia to
The BBC – Tom Mills
The BBC: Myth of a Public Service, Tom Mills, Verso Books, 2016, pp. 266, ISBN 978-1-78478-482-9 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) occupies a mythical position in the field of journalism. Praised as the standard-bearer of ethical journalism, it is to this outlet that people turn to get their information. As
Keywords – John Patrick Leary
Keywords: the New Language of Capitalism, John Patrick Leary, Haymarket Books, 2019, pp. 206, ISBN 978-1-60846-962-8 Valentin Nikolaevich Voloshinov, a Soviet literary theorist, published his influential book Marxism and the Philosophy of Language in 1929, in which he maintained that the word is an ideological sign par excellence. A sign
Karl Marx – Shlomo Avineri
Karl Marx: Philosophy and Revolution, Shlomo Avinery, Yale University Press, 2019, pp. 217, ISBN 978-0-300-21170-2 Shlomo Avineri’s new intellectual biography of Karl Marx is a part of Yale University Press’ “Jewish Lives Series,” which is, according to the publisher, “aimed at exploring the many facets of Jewish identity” and the
Brazillionaires – Alex Cuadros
Brazillionaires: Wealth, Power, Decadence, and Hope in an American Country, Alex Cuadros, 2016, Spiegel & Grau, pp. 346, ISBN 978-0-8129,9676-0 Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva thrice ran for the presidency of Brazil before finally being elected in 2002. He started his political career by involving himself with the metalworker’s union
The Return of Depression Economics – Paul Krugman
Krugman lays bare the 2008 financial crisis—the greatest since the 1930s—tracing it to the failure of regulation to keep pace with an out-of-control financial system. He also tells us how to contain the crisis and turn around a world economy sliding into a deep recession.
España – Giles Tremlett
In España, Giles Tremlett swiftly traces every stretch of Spain's history to argue that a lack of a homogenous identity is Spain's defining trait.
The Truth About Modern Slavery – Emily Kenway
The Truth About Modern Slavery reveals how modern slavery has been created as a political tool by those in power. It shows how anti-slavery action acts as a moral cloak, hiding the harms of the ‘hostile environment’ towards migrants, legitimising big brands’ exploitation of the poorest workers and oppressing sex