One book for someone who has never engaged with politics before

[ska invita]

Where would you start?
I guess it kind of depends on the person, but lets presume they are someone who normally goes out of their way to avoid thinking about politics.
Maybe books arent the place to start with someone like this (a newspaper instead? )

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

what sort of book do they normally like?

 

[ska invita]

what sort of book do they normally like?

this is a hypothetical one really but the person who brought it on is interested in music and film...and female if that makes a difference

 

[Geri]

What kind of politics?

 

[ska invita]

What kind of politics?

all kinds!

 

[Quartz]

Where would you start?
I guess it kind of depends on the person, but lets presume they are someone who normally goes out of their way to avoid thinking about politics.

How about the novelisations of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister?

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

all kinds!

fuck off and stop wasting our time

 

[ska invita]

 

[Scutta]

Revolution - Russell Brand

 

[Pickman's model]

downing street years by one m thatcher ought to get them energised.

 

[yield]

Fiction or non fiction?

Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein is a good introduction. Easy to read and that

 

[Pickman's model]

that undercover book, even though it's by guardian journalists

 

[killer b]

Fear & loathing on the campaign trail '72, by Hunter S Thompson

 

[twentythreedom]

They should take part in SHARED ACCTIVITIES GROUPS FOR PEOPLE IN THERE 20s for starters

 

[hot air baboon]

....the new ed. is a bit pricey...

 

[imposs1904]

Thank me later.

 

[8115]

This changes everything Capitalism vs the Climate by Naomi Klein could be good? It's new, so they'll have that motivation to read it, it's pretty pop-politics so probably not too hard to read. It does only present one view obviously.

I didn't rate The Shock Doctrine too highly.

No Logo is pretty good actually. It's kind of political with a very small p.

 

[Ming]

Deterring Democracy, The Chomsky Reader and Manufacturing Consent by the big C changed my politics and outlook completely. I don't think they're particularly heavy reads and the weight of the truth in them is compelling.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

You need something that will get them angry but is readable and engaging. Open Veins of Latin America by Galeano?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Deterring Democracy, The Chomsky Reader and Manufacturing Consent by the big C changed my politics and outlook completely. I don't think they're particularly heavy reads and the weight of the truth in them is compelling.

Yes it is. Same can be said of Galeano too.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

You need a present day Chronicles of Dissent.

 

[Epona]

Hmm tbh I would really recommend The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould. It's not overtly political as in it is not directly about politics and political parties, it's actually a book about human biology, but it is very political in looking at how human potential is measured in a very limited way (with emphasis on how worth to society over the last 100 or so years has been measured in terms of race, class, and gender) - really excellent book. Tbh I am a political person, but I would far rather read something like that than something historical or a dry biography.

 

[Ming]

Yes it is. Same can be said of Galeano too.

Never read any Galeano. I'll give him a read (David Harvey's: A Brief History of Neo-Liberalism and David Graeber's Debt: The First 5000 Years are both good also).

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Important thing for me would be to help them to engage with and think about the idea that the world does not work in the way the mainsream media would have them believe it works. And to give them some of the facts that demonstrate that.

Those facts could come from many different times or places.

 

[Blagsta]

Autobiographies can be a good place to start. I particularly enjoyed Ian Bone's, Emma Goldman's and Victor Serge's.

 

[Blagsta]

Or history books, even music books. Bass Culture about the history of reggae and England's Dreaming about punk are interesting social histories with some politics as well as books about music.

 

[DotCommunist]

Frank Herbert's 'Dune'


the sleeper must awaken

 

[BigTom]

The ragged trousered philanthropists by Robert tressell

 

[JTG]

The ragged trousered philanthropists by Robert tressell

On no account should you direct them to this steaming pile of turgid, bloated shite

 

[Limerick Red]

One of these 4:

A star called Henry - roddy Doyle
1 day in my life - bobby sands
10 days that shock the world - john reed
The state and revolution - Neil lennon