It’s Literally Wednesday: What Should Obama Read Next?
Dave | February 13, 2013
Last night President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union address, stating in part:
…I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America. … Every dollar we invest in high-quality early childhood education can save more than seven dollars later on — by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime. … In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children, like Georgia …, studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own. We know this works. … [emphasis mine]
Tomorrow the president visits College Heights and the Recreation Center in Decatur, the literary center of one of the country’s most literate metropolitan areas, to promote this message.
President Obama is known to be a pretty voracious reader (his Facebook page lists his favorites), and while his tastes are pretty eclectic, books about public policy in general and presidential biographies in particular tend to dominate his nightstand.
In the spirit of promoting reading, if you were able to throw in a little variety and hand the president one book during his visit, what would it be?
This Week
THE Dave Barry, author of Insane City: A Novel, Wednesday, February 13th at 7pm, Carter Center Day Chapel, free.
Cory Doctorow, author of Homeland, Sunday, February 17th at 7pm, Decatur Library, sponsored by Little Shop of Stories, free.
Ted Kerasote, author of Pukka’s Promise: The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs, Tuesday, February 19th at 7pm, Little Shop of Stories, free.
Margaret Wrinkle, author of Wash, Tuesday, February 19th at 7:15pm, Decatur Library, sponsored by Georgia Center for the Book, free.
Frye Gaillard, author of The Books That Mattered: A Reader’s Memoir, Wednesday, February 20th, 7pm, Carter Presidential Library and Museum Theater, free.
Latest from Decaturish
A little afflicting of the comfortable is always a good thing. I’d hand him “Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt” by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco. Here’s a review:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/52120-occupying-democracy-chris-hedges-and-joe-sacco.html
The Constitution would be good start…
A resignation from office would be even better.
He read it, including the little-known disclaimer that says, “yo, this is a living, breathing document. Just do what you want.”
I know, right? What an ass, thinking that the founding fathers and original constitution drafters didn’t have ALL the answers for the age of the internet, airplanes, nuclear weapons, school shootings, molecular medicine, global warming (we can finally ignore the deniers of this one, right?) and a million other things that they could never even have dreamed of. And about this living and breathing thing, well hell, when the constitution was ratified there were a whole lot of black people in this country who met that criteria but we were still basically told “just do what you want” with them too! So yeah, forget all that and let’s dream of the 1790’s!
I could go on, but I feel a moderation coming on so what’s the use…DEM, I suppose that we’ll have to finish this discussion over a Jack and Coke slushie
But JT, as Madison says right there in the Federalist Papers, “and should future generations invent flying machines or talking wooden boxes, all bets are off. Go ahead and ban free speech or quarter soldiers in people’s houses, if it helps.”
Ok, enough snark for today! As for the Jack and Coke, pass, but I’d join you for a single malt!
Oh you Republicans, with your fancy drinking and all. Make it somewhere I can also get beer and Jager and you’re on. I guess Mac McGee’s it’d have to be. We could probably sell tickets to this.
Libertarian. And the fancy drinks are tradition for us soleless 1 percenters as we plot ways to balance the budget on the backs of the poorest and most vulnerabe. Monacles are also standard issue.
Gentlemen, a toast, to evil!
You’re not allowed to wear monocles unless you know how to spell them. And I don’t even know what to do with soleless. However, if you’re the one-percenter, I’m cool with you picking up the tab.
Ugh, those were pretty egregious.
You’ll get some credit back if you show up to Mac McGee’s without shoes.
But my feet have soles, too. I may be SOL. Oh noes.
1861: The Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9578336-1861
Not because he would learn anything he doesn’t already know but it’s just a good read — a very clear portrait of the course of politics as well as life on the streets. It doesn’t get bogged down in a lot of arguments about the various interpretations of history between various historians.
The author contributes to the New York Times blog “Disunion”, which is also fascinating. Here’s a link to an article he published in the NY Times Sunday Magazine about how slavery really ended:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/magazine/mag-03CivilWar-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The Constitution
“Capitalism and Freedom” and “Free to Choose” by Milton Friedman
“No They Can’t: Why Government Fails – But Individuals Succeed” by John Stossel
“On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill
“Economics in one lesson: the shortest and surest way to understand basic economics” by Henry Hazlitt
“Wealth of Nations” by Adam Smith
Anything by Thomas Paine.
Oh, I see you said only one book! Oops!
I’m surprised you didn’t mention “What is to be Done?” “Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism,” and “The State and the Revolution.” all by V.I. Lenin. Or are you presuming that he’s already read and digested their lessons, in his quest to be part of the professional vanguard of the revolution?
I wouldn’t know what he is well versed in, but I sure as hell know what he is not…
But, yes, I’m guessing he is welled versed in these already.
Animal Farm
The Bottoms by Joe Lansdale. I think he would enjoy a literate crime story that touches on issues of race.
I’m going to have to give that a read myself. Looks good.
Lansdale’s series of “Hap and Leonard” novels is great fun, and I believe he’s also written a Zombie western. My wife and I both loved “The Bottoms”. It has great movie potential.
Great recommendation, thanks! (Except that I made the mistake of starting it late last night — damn you, Kindle, for making it possible to buy a book without putting on my shoes — and stayed up WAY too late reading. It would have been a terrible temptation to take a long lunch today and read more, if I hadn’t already been hopelessly distracted by the live stream of people sitting in the gym, waiting.)
Read my lips: No new taxes. (Oops…wrong president)