Out of the Mainstream: Books and Films You May Have Missed
- Out of the MainstreamBooks and Films You May Have Missed
Books
A Moment in the Sun
By John Sayles
McSweeney’s, 2011
In a 955-page novel, Sayles captures a major slice of American history from a working-class perspective. During a five-year period at the end of the 1800s, his vivid characters are involved in the U.S. war with Spain over the Philippines and Cuba, the gold rush in the Yukon, continuing battles over racism in the South, and much more.
Black California
Edited by Aparajita Nanda
Heyday, 2011
Contributors to this anthology that begins with the founding of California and moves to the present day include many well-known African-American writers, from Langston Hughes and Chester Himes to June Jordan and Devorah Major.
Death of the Liberal Class
By Chris Hedges
Nation Books, 2011
In a convincing and bitter rant, a former New York Times reporter details how the corporate elite has defeated and co-opted the Democratic Party, universities, the news media, unions, religious institutions, and other pillars of the liberal class that once provided a buffer between working people and raw corporate power. Like most recent books about the sorry state of the world, it does not end with suggestions of what to do.
Local Economic Development in the 21st Century
By Daphne T. Greenwood and Richard P.F. Holt
M.E. Sharpe, 2010
In very readable prose aimed at community activists and public officials, two economics professors argue that “economic development” can no longer simply mean attracting big corporations on whatever terms they dictate but must take into account environmental sustainability, quality of life, and economic and social equity. [End Page 112]
Re:Imagining Change
By Patrick Reinsborough and Doyle Canning
PM Press, 2010
This short paperback is a useful tool to help activists think about campaign strategy and how to effectively frame issues.
Roses for Isabella
By Diana Cohn, illustrated by Amy Cordova
SteinerBooks, 2011
In this beautifully illustrated children’s book, a young girl in Ecuador tells about her life. Her parents work on a large farm that grows roses for export to the U.S. They recently switched from a farm where they were exposed to toxic chemicals to a Fair Trade producer that provides a safer work environment and pays more. A teaching guide is also available.
The Fear Within
By Scott Martelle
Rutgers University Press, 2011
Throughout American history, crises have been exploited to take away freedom of speech from those whose beliefs challenge powerful economic interests. A former Los Angeles Times reporter looks back at the 1949 trial of the leaders of the Communist Party U.S.A. who were prosecuted not for actions they had taken but for their ideas and beliefs. His goal is not to lionize the defendants, but to remind Americans, in the age of the Patriot Act, how easily our freedoms can be taken away in the name of protecting them.
The Great American Stickup
By Robert Scheer
Nation Books, 2011
The editor of Truthdig provides one of the most readable accounts yet of how Presidents Reagan, Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama allowed Wall Street to enrich itself while jeopardizing most Americans’ economic security.
The Man Who Never Died
By William M. Adler
Bloomsbury, 2011
Joe Hill, the subject of the famous song “I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night,” was a songwriter for the International Workers of the World who was executed in 1915 by Mormon authorities in Utah for a murder he did not commit.
The Ringer
By Jenny Shank
Permanent Press, 2011
This engaging novel is based on an actual incident in which Denver police mistakenly killed an innocent Mexican immigrant. The story begins with the killing and follows the families of both the victim and the police officer who was responsible. [End Page 113]
Where Men Win Glory
By Jon Krakauer
Doubleday, 2009
This may be the best introductory book on the U.S. war on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The core of it is the story of Pat Tillman, a professional...
