Need a Book Suggestion

[BSU kid]

So my school is looking for suggestions on a common reader that all incoming freshman next year will have to read. I am thinking I should suggest a pro-liberty book, but I need some suggestions. This book must be:

1.) Recent
3.) 250 pages or under
3.) Has an author who is alive, and able to visit our University.
4.) Paperback
5.) Relevant to a broad range of students from different backgrounds, and going into different disciplines.

I really need some suggestions here. It has to be quirky and interesting, or it won't be picked. Please help guys.

[JVParkour]

Off the top of my head I would recommend that small Ayn Rand book, "Anthem." It is very short, and it is an excellent read. It might actually be too small for what the school would want, but it is a good an interesting read.

[TroySmith]

Anything by Ayn Rand is great.

As to something that fits the criteria of that recent:

Ron Paul's Liberty Defined
One of Andrew "Judge" Napolitano's books
One of Tom Wood's books

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Fiction or non-fiction?

[BuddyRey]

I'd say Liberty Defined, or Meltdown would be a great choice.

[GeorgiaAvenger]

I would say do not suggest something by Ron Paul, because that would be viewed as too political. John Stossel rights simply enough for freshmen, presents the information entertainingly, and you can portray him as a journalist rather than an ideologue.

[CaptUSA]

The Morality of Capitalism.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Morality-Capitalism-What-Professors/dp/0898031702

[BSU kid]

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys, I checked our forum book list under Education but most of those are pretty complex and dated for the Freshman Audience. The University tends to favor non-fiction books of an investigative, or autobiographical nature...quirky authors and "fun" material is a major plus. Past books include:

2012: Where Am I Wearing? by Kesley Timmerman
2011: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
2010: Gimp by Mark Zupan
2009: A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
2008: Field Notes from a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert
2007: The Color of Water by James McBride
2006: First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
2005: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
2004: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
2003: Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
2002: A Woman in Amber by Agate Nesaule
2001: Hunting for Hope by Scott Russell Sanders
2000: Night by Elie Weisel
1999: Life on the Color Line by Gregory Howard Williams
1998: Life on the Color Line by Gregory Howard Williams

I love the Stossel idea, Ayn Rand is dead so thats a no go...um judge nap has some good books, but none are paperback so thats kind of where I am at right now. I feel like this could be a big boost to the liberty movement if a good book is picked.

[BSU kid]

On a side note I'm going to try to reach out to the YAL chapter on campus, I figure if each person submits one pro-liberty book we have a better chance at getting one picked.

[Monotaur]

I'm reading "Cannabis: A History" right now (almost 50% through it), and it's simply amazing:

http://www.amazon.com/Cannabis-A-History-Martin-Booth/dp/0312424949/

Unfortunately it doesn't meet requirement #2 (It's just a bit over 400 pages), but it is quirky and HIGHLY informative and historical. It's not a pro-pot book, but instead gives a very interesting historical perspective on cannabis and hemp and how it was integral in many areas of society.

Thinking about it, it may be a bit controversial. But it is a GREAT book.

[Danke]

http://losthorizons.com/BookSale.htm

'Was Grandpa Really a Moron? Critical Inquiries for a New American Century'

'Upholding the Law and Other Observations'

[truthspeaker]

A Nation of Sheep--by Judge Andrew Napolitano

OR

The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History

[truthspeaker]

Oh, and I second the recommendation of "the Tipping Point". Reads well, not slow.

[Smart3]

So my school is looking for suggestions on a common reader that all incoming freshman next year will have to read. I am thinking I should suggest a pro-liberty book, but I need some suggestions. This book must be:

1.) Recent
3.) 250 pages or under
3.) Has an author who is alive, and able to visit our University.
4.) Paperback
5.) Relevant to a broad range of students from different backgrounds, and going into different disciplines.

I really need some suggestions here. It has to be quirky and interesting, or it won't be picked. Please help guys.
That seems unrealistic. Almost every good book was written by someone who died a long time ago. There's perhaps 100 good books by living authors. Not many of those about Politics.

[BSU kid]

A Nation of Sheep was my idea as well, but it only hardcover and in short supply. So its also not an option, I wish these rules weren't so stringent.

[Bastiat's The Law]

You want something interesting and easy to digest. I have a couple recommendations.

This is a good book that lays the foundation for liberty in my opinion, in that it explains the rise of the West. A great compliment to the book by Naill Ferguson is a book by Victor David Hanson titled Carnage and Culture.

http://lit.newcity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/niall.jpeg

Niall Ferguson speaks about the premise of his book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xpnFeyMGUs8

[Bastiat's The Law]

I would also suggest any book by Ben Mezrich. His books focus around college students doing extraordinary and things and usually making a lot of money in the process. His books are inspiring and addicting. They are also short paperbacks that are easy to read.

In Depth Interview with Ben Mezrich (http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/BenMe)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38/Eric21ND/wwwbenmezrichcom2012-9-2422-47-9.png

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38/Eric21ND/wwwbenmezrichcom2012-9-2422-47-57.png

[tangent4ronpaul]

I want to recommend a couple of books by Naomi Wolfe, because they send the right message and due to her background, a stereotypical left leaning college administration might pick her. She's a feminist, she worked on Clinton's presidential campaign, she got arrested at a OWS protest and she's come out in support of Julian Assange.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Wolf#The_End_of_America

The End of America

In The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot, Wolf takes a historical look at the rise of fascism, outlining 10 steps necessary for a fascist group (or government) to destroy the democratic character of a nation-state and subvert the social/political liberty previously exercised by its citizens:

Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy
Create secret prisons where torture takes place
Develop a thug caste or paramilitary force not answerable to citizens
Set up an internal surveillance system
Harass citizens' groups
Engage in arbitrary detention and release
Target key individuals
Control the press
Treat all political dissidents as traitors
Suspend the rule of law[25]

The book details how this pattern was implemented in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and elsewhere, and analyzes its emergence and application of all the 10 steps in American political affairs since the September 11 attacks.[26][27]

The End of America was adapted for the screen as a documentary by filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, best known for The Devil Came on Horseback and The Trials of Darryl Hunt. It had its worldwide premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 17, 2008. It has since been screened at Sheffield DocFest in the UK, as well as in limited release at New York City's IFC Center. The film became available online on October 21, 2008 at SnagFilms.com. End of America was favorably reviewed in The New York Times by Stephen Holden[28] as well as in Variety Magazine.[29]


Give Me Liberty

Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries was written as a sequel to The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot.

In the book, Wolf looks at times and places in history where citizens were faced with the closing of an open society and successfully fought back, and looks back at the ordinary people of the Founding Fathers of the United States' generation, the ones not named by history, all of whom had this "vision of liberty" and moved it forward by putting their lives on the line to make the vision real. She is an outspoken advocate for citizenship and wonders whether younger Americans have the skills and commitment to act as true citizens.[30] She wrote in 2007:

This lack of understanding about how democracy works is disturbing enough. But at a time when our system of government is under assault from an administration that ignores traditional checks and balances, engages in illegal wiretapping and writes secret laws on torture, it means that we're facing an unprecedented crisis. As the Founders knew, if citizens are ignorant of or complacent about the proper workings of a republic "of laws not of men," then any leader of any party – or any tyrannical Congress or even a tyrannical majority – can abuse the power they hold. But at this moment of threat to the system the Framers set in place, a third of young Americans don't really understand what they were up to.[31]

-t

[eleganz]

I need a great book recommendation for the American Revolution and what the Founding Fathers went through.

[emazur]

maybe something by P.J. O'Rourke, like Parliament of Whores (http://www.amazon.com/Parliament-Whores-Humorist-Attempts-Government/dp/0802139701/ref=la_B000AP7YYU_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348546419&sr=1-3)



Called "an everyman's guide to Washington" (The New York Times), P. J. O'Rourke's savagely funny and national best-seller Parliament of Whores has become a classic in understanding the workings of the American political system. Originally written at the end of the Reagan era, this new edition includes an extensive foreword by the renowned political writer Andrew Ferguson -- showing us that although the names and the players have changed, the game is still the same. Parliament of Whores is an exuberant, broken-field run through the ethical foibles, pork-barrel flimflam, and bureaucratic bullrorfle inside the Beltway that leaves no sacred cow unskewered and no politically correct sensitivities unscorched. "Highly pungent and wickedly accurate observations ... [from a] boisterous, pedal-to-the-floor humorist." -- The New York Times Book Review "Outrageous ... It is insulting, inflammatory, profane, and absolutely great reading." -- The Washington Post Book World "A gonzo civics book ... O'Rourke is like a trophy hunter let loose in an unguarded zoo." -- Chicago Tribune

[KerriAnn]

What about the adventures of Jonathan gullible? Its fiction though. I just checked and its exactly 250 pages. Author is still alive. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Schoolland#section_3

[Bastiat's The Law]

Arthur C. Brooks book is excellent in giving the moral case for capitalism.

http://davidbrin.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/road-to-freedom-cover.jpg?w=192&h=289


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLVOYWaSYxU

[Bastiat's The Law]

Another good contemporary read. This book is being read and applied to many different segments of society beyond sports.

http://0.tqn.com/d/bestsellers/1/0/y/E/-/-/moneyball.JPG

[Bastiat's The Law]

The 250 page limit is ridiculous by the way.

[Natural Citizen]

Restore the Republic Paperback Jonathan Emord (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Jonathan Emord&ie=UTF8&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank) (Author), Ron Paul (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_2?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Ron Paul&ie=UTF8&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank) (Foreword)

http://www.amazon.com/Restore-Republic-Jonathan-Emord/dp/098499131X/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348574245&sr=1-1&keywords=Jonathan+Emord - 216 pages.

Works...

Jonathan usually seems to be willing to speak publicly as well. At least that's my experience. Have heard him speak many, many times.

Jonathan's web site -- http://www.emord.com/

[BSU kid]

Thanks for all suggestions, I'm putting these on a list and then I will pick from the list. I also agree the 250 page limit is silly, especially for a paperback.

[Todd]

not sure if Hedges is exactly lock step in line with the liberty movement but he definitely understands the problems.

http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Illusion-Literacy-Triumph-Spectacle/dp/1568584377

http://www.atomicbooks.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/e/m/empireillusion.jpg

240 pages.....Might be hard to find in paperback though.

[Monotaur]

Alright, I have one more. I realized that my previous suggestion is perhaps a little more than somewhat controversial. This is a book that is next on my reading list, but my wife read it and she says that it is amazing. And the author is still alive. It's not his typical subject matter, so it's a bit quirky in that sense. The book is The Science of Liberty, and talks about how science guided the founding fathers, basically, and how capitalism is the only just system that lifts everyone up:

http://www.amazon.com/Science-Liberty-Democracy-Reason-Nature/dp/B0044KN08G

It inspired her to give a talk about the subject matter, so it is engaging. It is a little on the long side though, unfortunately, at 384 pages.