Monday, January 9, 2017

My anti-Fascist reading list.

Orwell and Huxley, of course, but I thought I'd list a few other writers and books who are less prominent.

1. Victor Klemperer. "Language of the Third Reich." Klemperer, a Jew in Dresden, Germany, and a professor of Philology, studied the Nazi manipulation of language to bend the people to their view.  

If you can't deal with reading a rather dense book, watch the movie "Language Does Not Lie." See it here.

2. William Shirer. "Berlin Diary: Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934-1941."  Shirer, who wrote "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," was a reporter in Germany during Hitler's ascent. This book contains much of his reportage.

3. Chris Hedges. "Empire of Illusion." Hedges, uncannily, predicted the rise of Trump back in 2009. He won a Pulitzer at the Times. But was considered too liberal for the paper and was forced out.

4. I.F. Stone. (Anything you can find.) Stone was a liberal investigative journalist who annoyed the fuck out of right wing power in the late 20th Century. He also wrote "The Trial of Socrates," which is also a must read.

5. Joachim Fest. "Not I. Memoirs of a German Childhood." Fest lived through it. In a family of anti-Hitlerites in Berlin. His mantra was simple--and worth memorizing: "Etiam si omnes--ego non." "Even if all the others do--I will not."




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