To honor the contributions of the late Chalmers Johnson, I recommend reading his latest book Dismantling the Empire: America’s Last Best Hope.  Johnson often wrote about the ways in which the United States had become an informal empire, with military bases in dozens of countries, circling the globe.  That, our gargantuan military budget, and our frequent invasions of other nations were threatening to destroy democracy here at home.  This book lays out an ambitious and difficult plan for the US to give up empire for the sake of our own liberty, and survival.

Phantom Noise
by Brian Turner

Latest heart-breaking work by soldier-turned-poet Brian Turner. This Iraq war veteran writes haunting words about the suffering of the battlefield, and the madness of transition back to civilian life.

Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America
by Matt Taibbi

Even before the global financial collapse, Matt Taibbi has been a fearless muckraking journalist, investigating the centers of power, and telling it to us straight, with his vicious sarcasm and humor. His latest looks at the quiet coup, where Wall Street has stolen our cash, government, and future.

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Powerful analysis of the demise of liberal values, and its horrible consequences.

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by Andrew Bacevich

Andrew Bacevich is a former US Army Colonel who’s criticism of American government and policy does not embrace either political party.  He takes a clear and unwavering view of our nation’s trajectory, and how it is headed for disaster if we can’t change course.  He describes the way that the US government is utterly captured by a mindset of militarism, and is blinded to the damage it is causing our society, democracy, and well-being.

This book is also the latest publication of The American Empire Project, a series of books that question America’s imperial policies, and challenge core American beliefs.

Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War (American Empire Project)

By: Max Blumenthal

Journalist Max Blumenthal has spent most of the past five years infiltrating and documenting the radical, fundamentalist fringe of the Republican Party.  This book is an amazing look at the ways in which theocrats, maniacs, and charlatans exploit the real pain and despair of real Americans to build a world that causes those Americans real harm.

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By: Peter Maass

A tragic look at the way that the companies who produce oil are often mired in poverty, and the ones who consume oil find themselves embroiled in corruption and war.

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By:  Alan Moore

Illustrated by: David Lloyd

V for Vendetta is a ten-issue comic-book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future United Kingdom imagined from the 1980s about the 1990s. A mysterious revolutionary who calls himself  ”V” works to destroy the Totalitarian government, profoundly affecting the people he encounters.

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By Douglas Rushkoff

Not just about how corporations and commerce control us, but how they have infiltrated our minds, and how we are actively participating in our own exploitation.

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More: Book Recommendations and AOJ Book Archive

By Howard Zinn

Most of you have already read it, but in honor of the passing of Howard Zinn, we thought we’d put it back in the spotlight. Revolutionary work showing history from the side of the everyday people who lived in these times and fought in these struggles.

We’d also recommend A People’s History of the American Empire which is sort of a cross between the book above, a Howard Zinn autobiography, and a comic book. Light, informative and moving.

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