(2007) Howard Odum

The ultimate systems-thinker’s guide to energy and society. Perhaps too qualitative for some.

What work! There are three possible societal responses to liberalism’s ‘free market’, Polanyi coolly reasons: (1) self-protection through regulation; (2) environmental collapse and dehumanization of society; or (3) the embrace of fascism.

Paulo Freire

I read this in translation. To this day I am uncertain what I got out of it. What I have understood of ‘Critical pedagogy’ does not strike me as profound.

William Greider

The best work on the near-complete corporate high-jacking of the
American democratic process that I know.

Samuel Huntington

A fascinating reflection on American identity in the post-9/11 world.

Peter Singer

A simple, immanently readable overview of Globalization Ethics. Down with the Treaty of Westphalia!

Naomi Klein

A fear-inspiring look at the impact of branding and advertising on Western existence.

Charles Medawar & Anita Hardon

An eye-opening exposure of the pharmaceutical industry’s role in the marketing and legalization of anti-depressants.

Bertrand Russell

An early warning of the threats posed by future technology.

Elinor Ostrom

A classic formal foundation to understanding the reasons for the success or failure of institutions.