Re: OOP book club
 

Depending on what books are chosen I might be up for it. It has to be books that are interesting to a non-american audience, and it has to be books that I can get from amazon europe or the like.

Re: OOP book club
 

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Depending on what books are chosen I might be up for it. It has to be books that are interesting to a non-american audience, and it has to be books that I can get from amazon europe or the like.

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Given the nature of the beast here, I would imagine a lot of the titles are going to be USA-centric to some degree or another. That being said, I also recognize that you might have some trouble obtaining the books in your country. I am sure someone here, myself included, would be willing to work out an agreement to help you get the selected titles.

Re: OOP book club
 

Yes, I'm sure it can be arranged if this thing gets going.

USA-centric is ok for me, at least if it's about foreign relations and the like, USA internal affairs is not so interesting, at least not for more than a cursory read.

Re: OOP book club
 

I think reading fiction for a politics forum is kind of pointless. Anyway, my suggestion is "The Best and the Brightest" by David Halberstam.

Re: OOP book club
 

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I'd be up for it. I would suggest that a mixture of fiction and non-fiction would be good. Preliminary title suggestions:

Johnny Got His Gun by Trumbo
Invisible Man by Ellison
Savage Inequalities by Kozol

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Since it appears that we have a quorum, shall we move onto the issue of 1) how to run it per my two suggestions in the first post and 2) put together a title list.

1. I think option 1 (one book at a time for everyone) would be the best.
2. If people are going to recommend titles, I recommend they provide a succinct summary of the book, and why it would be interesting to the readers of this forum.

Gentlemen (and any lady lurkers), I await your suggestions.

BOOK NOMINATIONS
 

Option 1 is clearly the better option --- 1 book at a time for everyone.


Book Nominations

Johnny Got His Gun - by Dalton Trumbo. Story about a WWI soldier who lost his limbs and more to the war. Well written --- very quick read. Can spur discussion on some of the costs of war. Trumbo was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. My favorite book of all time. Amazon Listing

Invisible Man - Ellison's classic started its life as a short story then bloomed into a full novel. Summary (from an Amazon review): The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood", and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be. Amazon Listing

Savage Inequalities - Jonathan Kozol. Compares "rich" school districts in several states to their "poor" neighbors. VERY powerful book (my favorite non-fiction) --- after reading it you feel like you need to do something, but aren't necessarily let to what that something is. Amazon Listing

Re: OOP book club
 

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I think reading fiction for a politics forum is kind of pointless

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Why is that? Fiction can teach as much about politics as non-fiction.

I remember in one of my undergrad classes there was a class in which we basically read a bunch of political fiction. Each class was a discussion of a new book. All in all, it was a 28 book class --- TOTAL overkill, but still a great class where I learned a lot.

Re: BOOK NOMINATIONS
 

I have never read the book Johnny got his gun, but I loved the movie. The Metallica song about the story "Fade to Black" is also awesome. lol. The riffs from that song were one of the first things I learned on the guitar.

I would second this nomination.

Re: OOP book club
 

Slim,
I would be interested in reading what you guys have to about the books you read.

Re: OOP book club
 

I don't agree with your first sentence, but I love your suggestion in your second. Read it many years ago, a great, great book. Would love to take another look at it, lo these many years later.