Book Lists:

Economics / sociology / societal organization:

Below you'll find information which I strongly feel can benefit you. The books give you a solid idea of our own education and expertise apart from what we bring in the areas of marketing, sales, advertising, and public relations.

Reading list (with comments):
Spiral Marketers is focused primarily on those activities that help move our communities through the transition to a steady-state economy. To get a better idea of where our thoughts and energies are, review the book lists below, which come primarily from Bill Henthorn's reading list on LinkedIn. If you do lots of reading yourself, and you find titles or authors you recognize and are sympathetic to, or if the comments accompanying the book resonate with you, there's a strong probability you and we can easily work very well together. (However, if you don't recognize titles or authors or find yourself at odds with their positions, then we are not the right business partners or marketing consultants for you.)

You may want to note there's a substantial overlap between economics and the environment, although the two reading lists do not necessarily reflect this overlap. Why? Our economics model depends on continual growth, which in turn depends on more efficient and effective ways to identify and utilize resources. Most of these efficiencies create new environmental problems even when they solve an existing one. The bottom line is simply this: everything comes from nature, but our economics model treats nature as both an exploitable resource and a dumping ground.


This reading list:
     Economics / sociology / societal organization:

Other reading list:
     Environment / green / natural resources / food and nutrition:



Book Details below with covers and my reading notes: Click here:

Reading List:

• Unjust Deserts: How the Rich Are Taking Our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take It Back, by Gar Alperovitz and Lew Daly
• Whatever Happened to Thrift?: Why Americans Don't Save and What to Do about It, by Ronald T. Wilcox
• Deep Economy: The wealth of communities and the durable future, by Bill McKibben
• Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness, by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
• The Plundered Planet: Why We Must -- and How We Can -- Manage Nature for Global Prosperity, by Paul Collier
• The Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works in the Real World, by Greg Ip
• Luxury Fever, by Robert H. Frank
• The Enigma of Capital and the crises of capitalism, by David Harvey
• The Economic Naturalist, by Robert H. Frank
• Cornered: The new monopoly of capitalism and the economics of destruction, by Barry C. Lynn
• The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do by Eduardo Porter
• Inquiries Into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered by Woody Tasch
• Boom & Bust: financial cycles and human prosperity by Alex J. Pollock
• Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows
• The Case for Big Government by Jeff Madrick
• The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life by Lynne Twist
• The Winner-Take-All Society: Why the Few at the Top Get So Much More Than the Rest of Us by Robert Frank, Philip J. Cook
• Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank by Robert W. Fuller
• The Poverty of Affluence: A Psychological Portrait of the American Way of Life by Paul L. Wachtel
• Affluence and Discontent: The Antomy of Consumer Societies by Eugene Linden
• Elsewhere, U.S.A.: How We Got From the Company Man, Family Dinners, and the Affluent Society to the Home Office, BlackBerry Moms, and Economic Anxiety by Dalton Conley, Christopher Lane
• Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth by Juliet B. Schor
• The dark side of the marketplace; the plight of the American consumer by Warren Grant, and Carper, Jean Magnuson
• Coercion : Why We Listen to What "They" Say by Douglas Rushkoff
• 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang
• Ad Nauseam: A Survivor's Guide to American Consumer Culture by Carrie McLaren, Jason Torchinsky, Rob Walker
• The Revolt of the Masses by José Ortega y Gasset
• The Peter Principle by Dr. Laurence J. Peter
• The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy by Raj Patel
• The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means by Jeff Yeager
• $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better by Christopher Steiner
• Debt is Slavery: and 9 Other Things I Wish My Dad Had Taught Me About Money by Michael Mihalik
• Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life by John C. Bogle
• After the Fall: Saving Capitalism from Wall Street and Washington by Nicole Gelinas
• Captains Of Consciousness Advertising And The Social Roots Of The Consumer Culture by Stuart Ewen
• The Rich and the Super-Rich: A Study in the Power of Money Today by Ferdinand Lundberg
• The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy by Thomas J., Ph.D. Stanley, William D., Ph.D Danko
• Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki, Sharon L. Lechter
• The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley
• The Secret Millionaire: Guide to Nevada Corporations by John V. Childers Jr.
• The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer
• What Americans Really Want...Really: The Truth About Our Hopes, Dreams, and Fears by Frank I. Luntz (Author)
• Let Them Eat Junk: How Capitalism Creates Hunger and Obesity by Robert Albritton
• False Economy: A Surprising Economic History of the World by Alan Beattie
• The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund Freud
• Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom, Paco Underhill
• Economics and Psychology: A Promising New Cross-Disciplinary Field by Bruno S. Frey, Alois Stutzer
• Freedom in contemporary society by Samuel Eliot Morison
• Man for Himself: An Inquiry Into the Psychology of Ethics by Erich Fromm
• Psychology and the Human Dilemma by Rollo May
• Class: A Guide Through the American Status System by Paul Fussell
• The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
• Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm
• The Unconscious Civilization by John Ralston Saul
• Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation by Edward Chancellor
• The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power by Joel Bakan
• Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition and the Logic of Money-Driven Political Systems by Thomas Ferguson
• Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping--Updated and Revised for the Internet, the Global Consumer, and Beyond by Paco Underhill
• Dragons at Your Door: How Chinese Cost Innovation Is Disrupting Global Competition by Ming Zeng, Peter J. Williamson
• The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences by John Bellamy Foster, Fred Magdoff
• Shopping Our Way to Safety: How We Changed from Protecting the Environment to Protecting Ourselves by Andrew Szasz
• Rich: The Rise and Fall of American Wealth Culture by Larry Samuel
• On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense by David Brooks
• Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks
• The Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How They Are Changing America by Russ Alan Prince, Lewis Schiff
• Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle by Chris Hedges
• The Media Monopoly 6th Edition by Ben H. Bagdikian
• The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things by Barry Glassner
• The Soft Cage: Surveillance in America from Slavery to the War on Terror by Christian Parenti
• Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life by Robert B. Reich
• No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies by Naomi Klein
• The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History by David Hackett Fischer
• Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich by Kevin Phillips
• Colossus: How the Corporation Changed America by Jack Beatty
• Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism by George A. Akerlof, Robert J. Shiller

Unjust Deserts: How the Rich Are Taking Our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take It Back by Gar Alperovitz and Lew Daly An interesting argument that sees a way out of our plutocracy based on social fairness: From the conclusion (page 151): "The core revolution of the modern revolution in economic understanding is that perhaps as much as 90 percent of the twentieth-century productivity gains that lie behind our contemporary prosperity may derive from knowledge broadly understood. If we include the much longer buildup of knowledge that comes to us from the contributions of generation upon generation of scholars, researchers, technicians, and craftsmen who created the basic concepts and instruments of modern mathematics, genetics, chemistry, and physics (to name only a few pivotal realms of productive knowledge) -- and those who also created the institutions that helped preserve and transmit knowledge, from the first alphabet, printing press, and books and libraries to public schooling, universities, computer databases, and the Internet -- we must recognize not only that the relationship between economic performance and expanding knowledge is "obvious if not trite," but that inherited knowledge is the primary source of wealth and income we enjoy in our own time. And of this comes to us today as a "free lunch," the generous gift of the past." The amount any one person contributes to this massive inheritance -- no matter how seemingly important -- is tiny. And thus, their rewards should be as well. Highly recommended.

Whatever Happened to Thrift?: Why Americans Don't Save and What to Do about It by Ronald T. Wilcox Wilcox probes into a number of areas which you might not think would be covered -- such as psychological biases we all have in making (or deferring) decisions -- in order to put forth some interesting recommendations ranging from individual household and employee decision-making onto corporate and national government policy. He makes this topic quite accessible, rather than the potentially dry topic it can be. Kudos.

Deep Economy by Bill McKibben McKibben -- always a pleasure to read for his great writing style -- focuses his attention on the fact that we have already passed the limits of the planet's ability to sustain us, on how growth for growth's sake is a bankrupt concept we need to abandon, on how scholarly studies have shown that once an individual's wealth reaches a certain point that "more" does not bring happiness and in fact decreases it, and how we've been isolated to the point where few of us are part of true interdependent communities made of people who help each other ... And that the return to focusing on communities (through local purchasing) brings benefits to each of us, while also addressing our out-of-control consumer, shop-for-solutions mentality.

Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Interesting introduction to "choice architecture," filled with lots of examples. Many of those examples demonstrate what the authors prefer, so there's some bias. At the same time, nudging people into certain choices has been what we marketers have specialized in for quite some time -- although to choices leading to profits, not necessarily better outcomes for customers.

The Plundered Planet: Why We Must -- and How We Can -- Manage Nature for Global Prosperity by Paul Collier Tremendous insight into understanding how a natural resource rich but industrially and developmentally poor nation (such as Nigeria) can make correct decisions in extracting their resources and then managing the "rents" or excessive gains by finding the correct balance between consumption and investment that both meets people's needs now while accounting for those in the future with equivalent resources or benefits. In the back of my mind, I wondered how realistic Collier was in labeling certain environmental groups and individuals as "romantics" for a more alarmed and atavistic view of our ecological situation. I don't think 350.org founder Bill McKibben, Wendell Berry, NASA scientist James Hansen, Limits to Growth authors Donella H. Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Dennis L. Meadows are romantics.

The Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works in the Real World by Greg Ip Really fast reading ... and a good, solid explanation of basic economics. I do disagree with some of his statements, but I do not suspect he intended to mislead, only that Mr. Ip takes in a narrower perspective of political economy due to his professional capacity.

Luxury Fever by Robert H. Frank A well-presented argument of a simple yet powerful way to realign our trillions of dollars of wasteful consumption and reinvigorate society with boosted savings with a simple, single line-item entry into our tax forms: The progressive consumption tax. With it phased in gradually, it will ... "curb the rapid growth in larger houses and faster cars, in the process freeing up resources that can be put to much better uses. Such a tax would also be simple to administer. "The tax would reduce the growth in spending needed to meet community consumption standards; people could spend more time with family and friends, ore more time exercising. What is more, by diverting resources from conspicuous consumption, we could restore our long neglected public infrastructure and repair our tattered social safety net." (page 272) The key issue is that Adam Smith's invisible hand takes the primary determinant of a person's sense of well-being to be his or her absolute standard of living. But it's relative living standards that often are much more important. An individual's choice may be personally beneficial but harmful to the community. Tragedies of the commons are the prime example. Smart for one, dumb for all, as author Frank calls it. Adam Smith himself recognized the limitations of the invisible hand by qualifying his writing with the word "frequently" rather than "always": "By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of society more effectively than when he really intends to promote it." (wealth of Nations, Book IV, Ch. 2) And the problem we have with consumption is that winner-take-all markets practically force all participants to engage in escalating arms race just to keep even: More expensive houses in good school districts More expensive suits at job interviews More expensive clothing and cars to signal success Increase in private tutoring and SAT cram schools for the static number of top college spots The wealthy often set the consumption standards. And as the wealthy engage in their own arms race, this forces everyone under them to up their antes.

The Enigma of Capital and the crises of capitalism by David Harvey

The Economic Naturalist by Robert H. Frank Breezy and fun reading.

Cornered: The new monopoly of capitalism and the economics of destruction by Barry C. Lynn "American financiers erected a particular form of socialism that enabled them to dump all the risk in the industrial and banking systems they control onto us, even as they jet away with all the profit. "The structured monopolization of systems has resulted in a set of political arrangements similar to what we used to call corporatism. This means that our political economy is run by a compact elite that is able to fuse the power of our public government with the power of private corporate governments in ways that enable members of the elite not merely to offload their risk onto us but also to determine with almost complete freedom who wins, who loses, and who pays." So writes Barry C. Lynn in his preface. “I was writing a chronicle of a death foretold, and the corpse on the street was the American Republic.” He explains how a small number of people have consolidated control of every activity in the US. In the automotive industry, monopolies control the supplies that the automaker rely on. A failure of one automaker means the monopoly suppliers face difficulty, thereby imperiling the other automakers. In retailer, trading corporation Wal-Mart forces even the best-known corporations to make changes to their products in order to be sold. In turn, Wal-Mart is the modern-day’s equivalent of British East India Company, now only serving China rather than England. With financiers cannibalizing companies and destroying the skills and processes while shipping work overseas to China, China in turn sells back to us what we used to make ourselves. We in turn go into debt to pay for these Chinese goods by borrowing from the Chinese, whose in turn invests the rivers of surplus in US government debt. Thus, even the US president can’t force China’s hand. And on and on it goes. Lynn explains in detail in industry after industry the level of consolidation. I highly recommend reading this book, if only to understand what I refer to as “the illusion of choice” in my own book, “Actions Have Consequences: How your choices are creating clutter and chaos in your life, your community, your nation, your planet ... and how you can change all of it starting now.

The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do by Eduardo Porter A quite interesting book, in that Porter goes into detail while examining with the cold, rational view of an economist: The price of things The price of life -- an especially frigid section The price of happiness The price of women -- explaining bride prices and dowries The price of work The price of free The price of culture The price of faith -- with an interesting discussion of Catholic Church strategy in dealing with change over the millennia The price of the future -- with emphasis on addressing climate change with a cost-benefit analysis As I explain in my own book (Actions Have Consequences), economics does not include everything into its calculations and those excluded items are both what separate us humans from machines and what has caused climate change. And I further explain that we already have hit the limits of growth, since we’re now at 140% of the planet’s capacity to support us – which Porter states is instead in the future. Nor does Porter show any understanding that climate works on a delayed feedback: the pollution we placed into the atmosphere 20 years is only now showing up. The increased amount we dump into it today will turn much of where we live into a near living hell. Porter does have a good quick summary of and comments on the nature of bubbles, the rational actor model and efficient-markets hypothesis, as well as the newer extension of Keynesian put forth by Robert Schiller (in his book Animal Spirits). He does state that economics needs to change from the rational, selfish homo economicus and incorporate non-rational decision-making considerations. Although he makes some notes about how capitalism will adjust to the balance between public and private sectors, he remains firmly entrenched in the industrial-era’s growth for growth’s sake version of capitalism. As such, he doesn’t recognize that John Maynard Keynes, John Stuart Mill, and even Adam Smith assumed and forecast the end of economic growth and the transition to a steady-state economy (which works like nature) – including what Smith saw as the obvious limits of natural resources. In short, kudos to Porter for a revealing work about prices and what they do or do not signal and how and why, but I also give feedback for improvement in considering the need to recognize our economic model of growth for growth’s sake reached its limit when we passed the Earth’s capacity to support us (as we’re at 140% of capacity today). We can't keep on doing the same things while expecting different results.

Inquiries Into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered by Woody Tasch

Boom & Bust: financial cycles and human prosperity by Alex J. Pollock From the American Enterprise Institute, so you know it's filled with subtle explanations on why our flawed growth-for-growth's sake economic system is so fantastic and why -- while tens of millions of Americans languish in long-term poverty -- we've never had it so good. But it does have some recent solid history in it and makes the point well that the economy is cyclical and goes through bubbles that follow the well-documented series of credit expansion, asset price increase, further expansion of both credit and demand for assets in a virtuous cycle that keys people up into their irrational exuberance ... until certain investors get concerned, stop buying and start selling, thus pulling out the price floor. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down. The final chapters contain the subtle message: doing away with government financial system regulation on the basis that it doesn't work, and replacing it with a system advisory. But from other sources, I understand the challenge with regulation is that the financial executives populate the regulatory positions and make decisions in favor of their still-private sector brethren. So, I'm not sold. But I do commend Mr. Pollock on a very tightly written yet easy, breezy to read 83-page book accessible to non-economics nerds. He could compile a bibliography as a reference source, since he cites some of the big names like Walter Bagehot (banking) and Charles Kindleberger (nature of bubbles and panics).

Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows Fantastic and simple to follow, you'll get a great new way to perceive the world around you. Highly recommended.

The Case for Big Government by Jeff Madrick "It is conventional wisdom in American today that high levels of taxes and government spending diminish America’s prosperity. The claim strikes a deep intuitive chord, not only among those on the Right, but also among many on today’s Left. It has become so obvious to so many over the last thirty years, it hardly seems to require demonstration any longer." (page 1) To conventional Democrats, tax increases and increased government spending are to be minimized -- party simple electoral calculation since holding any other position is considered politically destructive. Friedman offered much ideology but little evidence that big government was the root of the problem of the 1970s damaging inflation, but his argument was politically effective. The book is a refutation of the popular case against big government, which does not stand up to the evidence. Big-government and high-tax nations do not grow systematically more slowly than those with lower spending and taxes. Quoting Peter Lindert of the University of California at Davis, there is a dramatic "conflict between intuition and evidence. It is well-known that higher taxes and transfers reduce productivity. Well-known -- but unsupported by statistics and history."

The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life by Lynne Twist The most interesting part I found was author Lynne Twist's meetings with women senior execs at Microsoft in 1998. With an average age of 33 and average net worth of $10 million back then, she commented on how their wealth produced the freedom and other things deemed so important to them (pp. 77-81): They got up as early at 5:30 or 6am. After having breakfast with their children, they went to work by 8am, worked through lunch without break and even through dinner until 9 or 10pm. They came home, had a late dinner with their husbands, kissed their sleeping children good night, and worked until 1 am. Most nursed a quiet regret: Each day they promised to get home earlier, to get more sleep, to get more exercise, and do the things that were missing in their lives, and each day they failed to make any headway toward those commitments. In talking with them about their wealth -- aside from their material possessions, which they took little time to enjoy, they experienced very little satisfaction from the money ... Their wealth enabled them to work harder and longer. It didn't give them the freedom or vitality they had once hoped, and even at one time expected, and their promise to themselves was that someday it would. Someday they would retire and live happily after ever. So: If you are doing so, why are YOU chasing money and wealth?

The Winner-Take-All Society: Why the Few at the Top Get So Much More Than the Rest of Us by Robert Frank and Philip J. Cook My copy from my private library with a different subtitle: 1995 first edition hardcover: The Winner-Take-All Society: how more and more americans compete for ever fewer and bigger prizes, encouraging economic waste, income inequality, and an impoverished cultural life. Simple concept: we increasingly have markets have the spoils go to the winner, while huge numbers are drawn into pursuing the dream when the likelihood of realizing it is miniscule. Easy example: pro sports (especially individual sports like tennis). This in turn means a gross misallocation of resources in what are effectively escalating arms races -- if you don't do it, you put yourself at a disadvantage. And this in turn leads to further stratification of income and power, a virtuous cycle for those on top and vicious one for those with the social jackboot holding them on the ground. The authors provide few real solutions. And they're 99% market-based (with just a mention of the greater importance of true relationships over money). Admittedly, my copy is from 1995, when the contemporary view wasn't about global warming, 30+ years of stagnant real income, a broken healthcare system, and banksters who crashed our economy and have been rewarded for the Great Recession. You'll get bogged down at times by the writing: many economists write as poorly for general audiences as they do in their textbooks. This is the case in this 1995 first edition.

Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank by Robert W. Fuller Something beyond differences in color, gender, educational credentials, and other differentiators underpin the sexism, racism, and disenfranchisement of people. Underlying all of these is a more fundamental cause of discrimination. Originating in the author's experience in being taken as a "nobody" after resigning as president of Oberlin College and finding his lack of credentials (esp. the title of president) condemned him, he's written a well-considered tome on the similarities between all hierarchical relationships and their inherent inequality due to power differences inherent in rank. He calls it "rankism." And I believe it's important to understand how this actually operates on our planet: between individuals in organizational settings, between organizations, between nations, and even with supranational organizations.

The Poverty of Affluence: A Psychological Portrait of the American Way of Life by Paul L. Wachtel In this 1989 paperback edition of the original 1983 hardcover, Wachtel, a psychoanalyst, puts forth the very same questions we face today: In light of the increasing degradation of the physical, social, and cultural environments resulting from "externalizing" the true costs of producing things in order that consumers can buy them in order that economic growth continue ... ... Can we instead find a way out of our assumptions of the existing consumer capitalism system, to a new system that balances between the poles of community and atomized individualism that characterizes current Western consumer society. In short, can we have more and live the good life without creating such destruction around us? Vetted by John Kenneth Galbraith, Robert Heilbroner, and others, Wachtel methodically reveals deep thought and research rather than knee-jerk emotional reaction to where we all find ourselves. It's filled with insights that are hard to discern for anyone steeped in the culture, the mythology, and the practices of our world today. I believe this is an important book for economists, business people, environmentally aware and concerned people (hopefully that includes you).

Affluence and Discontent: The Antomy of Consumer Societies by Eugene Linden From my library (1979, first edition) ... From its introduction (page xiv): "This book poses the hypothesis that a modern consumer society behaves like an organism, and that, as an organism, the roles filled by the individulas that comprise the society are selected by the needs of the organism. The book will also hypothesize that the device that binds the individual to the needs of the consumer society as a whole is a commonly share configuration of personality which for convenience is called the consumer personality. The consumer personality develops during childhood and is manifest in the way the consumer analyzes and relates to the world around him. It is a type of deep structural conditioning, not just economic behavior, but political and cultural behavior as well. Our access to this consumer personality is through the "purchases" the individual makes in these various modalities, and the argument for the existence of this personality rest communalities that relate these various kinds of consumer decisions." Summary of the argument (page 171): A consumer society harnesses the energy of the discontents its produces to enlarge the hegemony of reason in human behavior and the environment. It is founded on the consumer personality, a commonly shared behavioral pattern in which religious needs are translated into material appetites. This behavioral configuration and the culture it serves are the product of an evolutionary conflict between reason and nature which can be traced back to the dawn of hominization. The cultureal evolution of the West that preceded the advent of consumer societies has been marked by events which selected in favor of increased flexibility in the uses to which man might put his propositional abilities. However, a close examination of consumer societies shows that the increase in flexibility is misleading. This flexibility, most evident in the entrepreneurial, pioneering, and innovative individuals within a consumer society, ultimately serves to abet the substitution of a confining set of rational controls for religious and natural controls, over behavior and the environment. In the end, entrepreneurial and scientific activity is suffocated by the very forces that produce it. Ironically, the purpose of consumer societies, societies associated with continual change, is the creation of a managed environment safe from change and governed by certainty -- the refuge sought 2,400 years ago. It is a goal that can be approached but never attained. And further in the conclusion (ppp 174-175): We are at a point of change. The consumer society is fast running out of goodies to offer its members, and with the fading of the dream of the good life, the search is on for a new dream to justify our straitened circumstances or, perhaps, for a leader to point to a villain upon whom we can vent our anger. It is certainly possible that we as a society, like the residents of Jonestown, will choose to go out in a vindicating blaze of glory .... Suicide is the ultimate rational act, the ultimate victory of mind over the body. Nor should we think that nature has a radical stake in keeping humanity alive. We have been a particularly disorderly creature, and, indeed, have single-handedly brought about the extinction of innumerable creatures with whom we once shared the earth. We flatter ourselves if we think that nature needs mankind. On the contrary, it is on the fact that man finally seems to be realizing his ultimate dependence on nature -- in effect a reaffirmation of natural authority -- that I base my slim hopes for survival.

Elsewhere, U.S.A.: How We Got From the Company Man, Family Dinners, and the Affluent Society to the Home Office, BlackBerry Moms, and Economic Anxiety by Dalton Conley Having just finished Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth by Juliet B. Schor (in my Reading List here), a book about increasing a sense of wealth during this Great Recession ... ... it was interesting to dig into Elsewhere, U.S.A., which was released just BEFORE the economy dropped off a cliff in late 2008. It's well researched and filled with details you'd expect from a sociologist or demographer. The focus is on overworked, multitasking, attention-starved professionals and their over-scheduled kids (were you one like me?) who seem to be motivated by feeding their ego through material and social advancement. Yet I believe much of it still holds true for many people, who remain stuck in FAST in pursuit of things and stuff and people who through ownership or association boost them up. Even if the premise remains valid for the top 10 to 20% of our society, we as a species cannot continue this way: feeding egos with stuff and people in order to make up for an emptiness within that does not need ego-driven experiences. In short and in quoting Gertrude Stein: "There is no there there." So stop trying. I recommend this for the contrast it provides between today and mid-2008. And for the absurdity such as a retrospective glances gives in making us wiser today.

Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth by Juliet B. Schor A quick read weighing in at 184 breezy pages ... with an extensive notes and a lengthy bibilography ... The fundamentals of plenitude are (from the introduction, pp. 4-6): 1. A NEW ALLOCATION OF TIME: Instead of devoting time and money to the "market" -- working longer hours, filling leisure time with activities requiring more income per unit of time, and buying rather than making more of what we consume ... Households will shift away from these (and are already doing so), moderating work hours by making trade-offs of income for time, which in turn frees up resources to invest in ecologically restorative activies and to reconnect with other people live and in person rather than on social networking sites such as this one 2. DIVERSIFICATION AWAY FROM THE "BUSINESS-AS-USUAL" MARKET INTO SELF-PROVISIONING: Make, grow, or do things for oneself (and by extension for one's community): By recovering one's time, one can make, grow, or do things him or herself. The less one has to buy, the less one needs to earn. Thus, self-provisioning is actually an economically productive activity -- although not linked to increasing profits for large corporation. Further, rather than specializing in the commercial marketplace, people will increase their diversification of skills. 3. "TRUE MATERIALISM:" AN ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE APPROACH TO CONSUMPTION: In the US, the speed of acquiring and discarding products accelerated dramatically before the crash. Consumers knew relatively little about where purchases came from and their ecological impact of production, use, and disposal. People will tend to buy less but more long-lasting stuff, and also be able to take their time in leisure activities (taking the slow boat to China rather than the jet airliner, so as to speak). 4. NEED TO RESTORE INVESTMENTS IN ONE ANOTHER AND OUR COMMUNITIES: Social capital - or connections - are a form of wealth to be increasingly recognized and valued as much as money and material goods. Things and opportunities flow through people anyway. You simply cut out the middleman profiteering corporation in many cases. The psychic reward for doing things for others is stated in the book, but also strengthening communities which in turn make people more resilient in the face of change -- especially economic sluggishness and a pending climactic upheaval on Planet Earth. Peppered with numerous examples of those who are already starting down this path (I find myself here, too, although began journeying 15 years ago), Schor does mention (but not often enough, I feel) that many experiments will fail miserably. Toward the end of the book where she builds to a high note of optimism with these examples, the text begins to sound a bit like an excerpt from Alvin Toffler's futurology tomes -- complete with bright scenario rough sketches of tomorrow without the fine-tuned details. Overall, it adds tremendously to the conversation with solid economics and an examination of the serious drawbacks of the markiet-based system that has externalized every non-benefit. You know, like runaway atmospheric warming and the odds-on likelihood of our demise as a species. Thus, read it while there's still time.

The dark side of the marketplace: the plight of the American consumer by Warren Grant and Jean Magnuson Carper Interesting, written by US Senator Warren G. Magnuson back in 1968 as a "Special edition for Consumer Reports readers only" (my copy: 1968 printing) ... I've had it in my book collection for years. Focusing on consumer deception, and serving as a wonderful time capsule to the mid-1960s, it chronicles abuses of unprepared Americans. Some stories are so heart-rending they're tough to read unless you have absolutely no compassion. His chapters: ONE: Caveat Emptor TWO: Shame in the Ghettos THREE: The Law, Morality, and Business (about absence of morality in many business people to nakedly abuse people and the understaffed enforcement mechanism to help citizens) FOUR: Closing the Debtors' Prisons (I give an example below) FIVE: 200,000,000 Guinea Pigs (about product safety) SIX: The New Quackery SEVEN: Toward a Safer Cigarette? The tragic stories include: poor and elderly buying inexpensive products on credit (a promissory note) from the seller, who hopes they default. Why? In those days, the creditor sold the note to a bank who would, get this, go in a sell off their house, all their possessions, and kick them out into the streets. Sometimes for as little as $1 in delinquent payments! Sounds like the mortgage lending strategy of the mid-2000s: Lend them the money, and if they default, kick them out, and take their house. Over nearly 50 years, not much has changed. The poor and elderly are still preyed upon, with an abundance of stories in the aftermath of the 2008 Meltdown and still ongoing with credit card companies having their way, and service providers with excessive charges and late fees ... Senator Magnuson cites quackery such as copper bracelets (still available today), ozone air purifiers (as harmful as breathing carbon monoxide, yet still sold today by recognizable names) ... And how government agencies are understaffed to deal with widespread abuse and the calculations unscrupulous sellers make in assessing the profit potential vs. the tiny risks and small fines if caught.

Coercion: Why We Listen to What "They" Say by Douglas Rushkoff This, along with Robert Cialdini's Influence, are MUST-READS for marketers, sales folks, PR types, and those practicing the dark arts of advertising. Both books unveil the structure to presentations, with this one providing a very interesting and revealed extended testimony through a salesman of expensive beds.

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang This is a fantastic read that breaks through myths propagandized by free market economists and their industrial and their public sector adherents. A great benefit of this -- even if you don't agree with viewpoints other than neoliberal capitalism -- is Prof. Chang is a longtime Cambridge economics professor and a Korean, giving perspective to the US not easily revealed by Americans themselves who are steeped and dyed in the waters of the US. He adds dollops of Marxist economics to provide even greater contrast and support of his 23 "things." And he adds economics history to give even greater context. Written as 23 essays modified with the beginning point/counterpoint of "What they tell you / What they don't tell you," his 23 things are: There is no such thing as a free market Companies should not be run in the interest of their owners Most people in rich people are paid more than they should be The washing machine has changed the world more than the internet has Assume the worst about people and you get the worst Great macroeconomic stability has not made the world economy more stable Free-market policies rarely make poor countries rich Capitalism has a nationality We do not live in a post-industrial age The US does not have the highest living standard in the word Africa is not destined for underdevelopment Governments can pick winners Making rich people richer doesn't make the rest of us richer US managers are over-priced People in poor countries are more entrepreneurial than people in rich countries We are not smart enought to leave things to the market More education in itself is not going to make a country richer What is good for General Motors is not necessarily good for the United States Despite the fall of communism, we are still living in planned economies Equality of opportunity may not be fair Big government makes people more open to change Financial markets need to become less, not more, efficient Good economic policy does not require good economists Conclusion: He winds up by providing eight recommendations on how to rebuild the world economy. For snippets of explanations of Chang's 23 Things, check out his multi-part interview on the Real News Network: http://www.trnn.com

Ad Nauseam: A Survivor's Guide to American Consumer Culture by Carrie McLaren, Jason Torchinsky, and Rob Walker

The Revolt of the Masses by José Ortega y Gasset

The Peter Principle by Dr. Laurence J. Peter This is a very humorous yet insightful work on how people rise to their level of incompetence, and on a larger level, why hierarchies in general are filled with people in positions who cannot perform their duties. Highly recommended.

The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy by Raj Patel Some interesting thoughts on getting us out of the existing market society that externalizes everything but profits. It might take you a couple of times to understand it, but I feel it's well worth going through its 194 pages.

The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means by Jeff Yeager I always knew I was cheap, but I didn't know there was a name for folks like me: Cheapskates. And after feeling like I was the only one, my heart soars to learn of an active, vibrant community of like-minded brethren who practiced the finer arts of living without spending hardly any money. This book is chock full of great humor. And the best part of it is the humor is true. Such as this quote from page 209: I've heard from a good many cheapskates who have written to say they enjoyed my book so much that they spent every lunch hour for the past two weeks in the back of Barnes & Nobles to read the whole thing. I've done that with many a title I couldn't find at the library, the source of most of my reading list here (177 at this writing and growing). But most importantly, it's also chock full of more tips and ideas for the well-practiced cheapskate (like me) and the nubile cheapskate adjusting to today's economic environment.

$20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better by Christopher Steiner Interesting systematic futurist forecast of impacts on rising gasoline/petrol prices in $2 increments. If you enjoy Alvin Toffler, you'll enjoy this book (which at 253 pages is much thinner than Toffler's volumes).

Debt is Slavery: and 9 Other Things I Wish My Dad Had Taught Me About Money by Michael Mihalik Great presentation of a solid, valid concept. Highly recommended.

Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life by John C. Bogle Quick reading, easy to understand, and filled with wisdom gained from an innovator who went ahead with "less is more" through his index funds while personally keeping to his principles. Highly recommended, just for getting the sense of sticking to your principles in a world that continues asks and even demands that you bend or even break them.

After the Fall: Saving Capitalism from Wall Street and Washington by Nicole Gelinas This filled in a lot of details for me regarding the mechanisms and dysfunction leading up to our current Great Recession. A good basic but solid explanation and understanding of the events leading to the Too Big To Fail policy, including: 1984 -- Continental Illinois 1998 -- Long Term Capital Management 2002 -- Enron 2007 through 2009 And it discusses the parallels with The Great Depression, including the same mindset and beliefs then and (shockingly) now, especially the exact same mistakes we're repeating, those that kept the US and the world in the Depression until WWII boosted economic production and lifted us out of the doldrums.

Captains Of Consciousness Advertising And The Social Roots Of The Consumer Culture by Stuart Ewen For marketers and advertisers and PR professionals, I highly recommend this book. Although history, it speaks relevantly to our time today during the Great Recession. Highly recommended well-known book that gives you the top-level of broad social changes in American society from 1870 until 1970 (when the book was written). You get a solid understanding of how industry has strategized and implemented the powerful disintegration of American social fabric by sewing the pieces together in a new garment for all of us to wear: the consuming mass culture. You even see how the family and each of its members -- were redefined, with Dad gettin emasculated while Mom goes through the dilemma of being the family purchasing manager but denied the full expression of her workplace participation or traditional "make at home rather than buy" role. Even little Sammy and Susie become the hope of our collective future, whereas before Dad ruled the roost with authority and power (and fear). In his last chapter, "Consumer Report: The social crisis of mass culture," he gives an explanation of how the corporate vision of the 1920s for authoritarian control over people -- through the fear of the Red Scare and resulting conformity and Americanization of people (and the ostracization of those who were barred from participating in consumer culture, meaning the poor and economically disenfrachised, especially many blacks and recent immigrants) -- came to realization, then unraveled in the 1960s, only to be resewn together by targeting protesting groups using their own language. (For example, corporate cereal makers offering all-natural versions of their crapola and general language of abundance and aspiring to greater heights.) This ending point of the tension between individuals emerging as united groups fighting for social betterment against corporations -- although discussed in viewing the 1960s and 1970s -- is highly relevant today as we look at what doesn't work in our society and how we go about changing it so it does. Today, corporations are again clashing with rising social movements that are defined independently of the corporate "social realm" projected to us for the last 90 years.

The Rich and the Super-Rich: A Study in the Power of Money Today by Ferdinand Lundberg

The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. and William D. Danko, Ph.D Read it. And live it.

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter

The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley

The Secret Millionaire: Guide to Nevada Corporations by John V. Childers Jr. Great book if you're a tax scoundrel. It lays out the strategy for setting up your Nevada corporation and then using all the tricks the multinationals use to reduce taxable income by intercompany transfer pricing, upstreaming, and all the other great stuff. Enjoy! And buy it for cash. The IRS definitely wants to track those who read it. (They probably check here, too!)

The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer

What Americans Really Want...Really: The Truth About Our Hopes, Dreams, and Fears by Frank I. Luntz

Let Them Eat Junk: How Capitalism Creates Hunger and Obesity by Robert Albritton ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WITH ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS ... Allbritton puts forth a very interesting thesis well worth the investment of time and quite illuminating in a Marxist view of capitalist food production. He builds his argument using Marx's idea of capitalism, then focuses on food within our current (and broken) capitalism system: "to demonstrate the way capitalism works, not only because food provides a crossroads for global/local, rural/urban, biological/cultural, ecological and economic interests. Faced with the global dangers of our era, we must open our minds to radical alternatives that bring economics and ethics into closer contact; that will place significant advances in democracy, sustainability and social justice on the agenda; and that advance international cooperation to deal effectively with truly global problems. (page 211) There are three basic problems with our food system: The global distribution of food is radically unjust ... Much of the food produced and the means of producing it is not healthful for consumers or producers ... Our food system is environmentally destructive primarily because it uses up non-renewable resources, pollutes the planet and promotes global warming.

False Economy: A Surprising Economic History of the World by Alan Beattie I found this economic history quite interesting and detailed for the layman (me). And his deep expertise in trade comes to bear with full force for the reader's benefit: he's the Financial Times' world trade editor he was an economist of the Bank of England I say get the book, take your time going through its 300 pages, then re-read it.

The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund Freud This book will guide you well in understanding the times we live in: the power and lack of responsibility of dominant institutions and their greed and destruction while the masses bear the responsibility of all "they" do. Highly recommended ... along with The Great Financial Crisis, which is highly credible economic explanation from a socialist perspective of monopoly finance and why we're not going to get anything and are doomed to have what little we have now taken away from us (also in my reading list here)."

Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom and Paco Underhill Quite interesting and fast to read. Main subject: neuromarketing. Overturns several assumptions about product placement and other methods which we suspect buyers block out, while giving great suggestions on what works based on brain scans. It will confirm many of the psychological push buttons you may be using, while trashing others, such as using sex in advertising: it only reinforces the desire for sex. It also previews the increasing role of sensory marketing to bypass the mind's ability to block out messages by anchoring certain sensory experiences to products. But I can see this quickly getting into overwhelm: instead of 3000 visual messages a day, we get 3000 fragrances or sounds a day.

Economics and Psychology: A Promising New Cross-Disciplinary Field by Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer Behavioral economics ... some interesting nuggets in first few pages about voluntary cooperation and the free rider problem ... but the book (composed of submissions compiled by the editors) is mostly inacessible to the lay reader. Why? Because they're fricking hard to read -- a common problem of the technical or academic writer writing for the technical or academic audience. None of what they wrote needs to be written in the way they wrote it. Simple, straightforward language using active verbs and eliminating the passive "to be" tense goes far in clear, concise communication of complex ideas. Know what I mean?

Freedom in contemporary society by Samuel Eliot Morison Interesting set of three lectures by a Harvard historian delivered in 1956: political freedom, economic freedom, and academic freedom. Quite revealing in the bodies of law leading up to our Constitution and Bill of Rights (and how easily these rights can be lost), the basis of laissez-faire and its devastation under FDR and the Great Depression coupled with the rise of labor ... and the then-current serious concern over Communism which looms large throughout his three lectures.

Man for Himself: An Inquiry Into the Psychology of Ethics by Erich Fromm

Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm From my personal library (Farrar & Rinehart, 1941 edition) ... FIRST: Highly recommended for you propagandists and marketers like me so you can add Oomph to your toolset of effective button pushers like: fear, anger, flight to safety, food, sex, obedience to authority, community, distinguishment and achievement, caring, approval, and tradition. OKAY, THEN, WHAT'S INSIDE? Fromm's a German psychologist at the time of Hitler's rise who looks historically at the rise of the concept of the individual apart from a group identity and the simultaneous rise of the concept of freedom, and wonders in expert, insightful fashion why the hell we scream for freedom but run away from it and will follow a Hitler instead? He explains the departure FROM the Middle Ages and the person as only in relation to his or her group (town, family, guild or trade) TO how Protestantism and Calvinism brought us our socially engineered "strive and achieve" society of powerless and separated atomized individuals. He explains the TWO TYPES OF FREEDOM: [1] Freedom FROM [2] Freedom TO. Freedom from is flight from danger, risk, discomfort, limitation, etc. Freedom to is the great uncomfortable unknown and we actually don't want it! He discusses mechanisms of escape: Authoritarianism: submission to authority (such as the desire to submit to masochism from an authority with desire to engage in sadism) including magic and fantasy and powers outside themselves such as God: people want to be rid of their powerless selves and be saved. (By the way: this is also the conclusion of American Eric Hoffer in his celebrated 1943 book "The True Believer: on the nature of mass movements") Destructiveness:This aims not to destroy the individual by losing him or herself in a collective led by an authority but to by destroying the world so as not to be crushed by it. The tradeoff is obviously remaining alone and isolated, which is the reason people choose #1 (join a group led by an authority). The nature of life is to grow and if that nature is thwarted, it will show up psychologically elsewhere, including as destruction of the outside world Automaton Conformity: This is the solution most people turn to in modern society. The individual ceases to be himself. He totally adopts the kind of personality offered to him by cultural patterns and thus becomes exactly like all others and as they expect him to be. Psychologically, he's protected by blending in rather than standing out and being picked on, like the new kid at school getting the crap beaten out of him because he's different. And of course, this is rooted in basic human instinct. Fromm shows that most of "our" thoughts are not truly "ours." They've been regurgitated without our original thought or opinion blended in with them. Thus, much of what we "know" we actually don't know, because we don't have the knowledge to know it. We merely accept the word of "authority" and pass it on as our own. His example: the weather forecast from a city dweller who heard it on the radio vs. the fisherman who can read the tides, water surface, clouds, bird behavior, and more to tell you independently the forecast Being a German psychologist during the rise of Nazism, Fromm's fourth chapter is the "Psychology of Nazism," which discusses the sadistic authoritarian character and the automaton: he explains the different appeals Nazism had on the lower and working classes, middle class, and upper class -- and how certain mindless tendencies such as tradition and religion can be harnessed, the appearance of repressed social tensions as the need to feel contempt and superiority to others and more. In short, this chapter is a great recipe for how to throw your own authoritarian regime.

Psychology and the Human Dilemma by Rollo May My copy: 2nd printing, 1967. Quite a delight ... with some great encapsulations of the modern age we find ourselves in. If you're not reading books written by psychiatrists and psychoanalysts in order to gain greater insight into yourself, then how do you do it? I certainly hope not by following foo-foo pop psych and new age fluff.

Class: A Guide Through the American Status System by Paul Fussell Without a doubt, the most revealing and most hilarious book I have read in several decades! Highly recommended. (I read the 1983 first edition, first printing version however I imagine Fussell's updated his book in the last 17 years) ... By pulling no punches, Paul Fussell calls things as he sees them: our actual class system here in the US which is necessary . He sees nine: Top out-of-sight Upper Upper middle --- Middle High proletarian Mid-proletarian Low proletarian -- Destitute Bottom out-of-sight And the humorous part? How he constantly makes fun of certain classes and how absolutely ridiculous they look in their actions meant to aspire higher and signal that they are actually at the next level when it's obvious to those in that next level these people are trying much too hard ... or that they haven't descended a level or two. The clues and giveaways that someone's faking it? Weight, appearance, body shape, fitness, thinness Clothing, especially whether or not they're "legible clothing," logo-emblazoned, conservative, overdressing (Fussell's hint which appears in other books, too: those who have plenty don't need to impress to rise higher, thus their clothing tends to worn down almost threadbare but of high quality rather than new and in immaculate condition like or a military officer or corporate management employee, organic rather than artificial) Language and grammatical use (especially when they adopt "marketing speak" to sound more important) as reflections of both educational and social/cultural levels ... Attitude (especially snobbery and airs put on by those trying too hard), like this time this stock broker took me to lunch to woo my business and drank his coffee with pinkie extended (I was rolling!) Constant need for: approval, respect, and support ("How am I doing?" the middle-class giveaway) and magical or divine intervention (the prole giveaway) Accoutrements and purchases decorating their homes and their lives (such as the prevalence and importance of TVs and the latest electronic entertainment equipment as a signal of being in the know and the absence of books) Personally, I feel that the more a person emphasizes stuff as indicator of their status, the more that person is trying to climb and most obviously so. I've seen one successful immigrant (who certainly did not enter the US poor) brag about how he/she arose to their current station, evidenced by the (1) management position they had and (2) the Mercedes they drove (bought with a loan -- ha!)

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein Rage at the shrinking middle class has been easily redirected to calls for border fences, with CNN's Lou Dobbs leading a nightly campaign against the "invasion of illegal aliens" waging "war on the American middle class" -- stealing jobs, spreading crime, as well as bringing in "highly contagious diseases." -- page 448 A great book for understanding free market ideology (neoliberalism or neoconservatism) along with some great applications to public relations and marketing.

The Unconscious Civilization by John Ralston Saul 1995 Book: Although I've had this book in my library for years, I was never ready for it until recently. And what a goldmine! Author John Ralston Saul -- a deep-thinking Canadian with degrees in political science, history, and economics -- puts forth an explanation to help us frame what we see in "democratic" society today: As we as individuals engage in occasionally exercising our right to vote for candidates pre-selected by powerful men behind the curtain, which defines us as a "totalitarian democracy" ... ... While the real business of power and influence is conducted by and between corporate bodies, i.e., large groups collectively representing defined interests. Previously, it was conducted nation to nation or by political party but has shifted. Within this is the mess of corporate self-interest, public-private partnerships which do more for investors but less for us unwashed masses, and all other exploitation occurring as oversight narrows, individual and atomized self-interest expands, and political systems serve those who put and keep them in powerful positions. The result: We're in a collective hypnotized stupor which protects us from emotional discomfort. How'd we get this way? By handing over our power to leaders of corporate bodies (collective groups) and by following ideologies through conformity rather than challenging their premises. The solution he suggests is somewhat challenging -- an engaged citizenry comprised of psychologically mature adults willing to accept the harsh reality of discomfort rather than gentler, kinder illusions of ideology. I quote his book's last three paragraphs (pages 194-195): "Equilibrium, in the Western experience, is dependent not just on criticism, but non-conformism in the public place. The road away from the illusions of ideology towards reality is passable only if that anti-conformism makes full use of our qualities and strengths in order to maintain the tension of uncertainty. The examined life makes a virtue of uncertainty. It celebrates doubt. "Common sense, creativity, ethics, intuition, memory and reason. These can be exploited individually as a justification for ideology; or imprisoned in the limbo of abstract concepts. Or they can be applied together, in some sort of equilibrium, as the filters of public action. "The virtue of uncertainty is not a comfortable idea, but then a citizen-based democracy is built upon participation, which is the very expression of permanent discomfort. The corporatist system depends upon the citizen's desire for inner comfort. Equilibrium is dependent upon our recognition of reality, which is the acceptance of permanent psychic discomfort. And the acceptance of psychic discomfort is the acceptance of consciousness." This book is a winner.

Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation by Edward Chancellor Long thick book, but one you definitely want to read. Why? Because speculative bubbles have been around for thousands of years. Forget the housing and dot-com bubbles as unique. All bubbles have similar characteristics in the bouncing off the bottom of a slow market, the expansion of credit, the marketing/promotion of products and industries and entire sectors, the "irrational exuberance" departure from reason, the outside shock that brings the house of cards falling down, the overreaction on the downside, and the slow steady return to repeating the cycle at market bottom through the tentative expansion of credit and trust in borrowers.

The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power by Joel Bakan 2004 edition: Quick read that discusses the corporation as a social institution and how it has replaced government power in pursuit of its one legitimate purpose -- self-interested profits through externalizing costs onto others: ... beginning with the corporation's rise to dominance and the use of public relations to anthropomorphize the non-human person and connect it topositive emotions ... ... then discusses how social responsibility is not the purpose of the corporation and shows how successful public relations like BP's green initiatives (beyond petroleum) and Pfizer will do "good" for the public but only when it serves the corporate purpose ... spotlights BodyShop founder's Anita Roddick's misunderstandings of this when she went public and lost control of BodyShop's greater mission of social responsibility as investors forced her out ... and demonstrates the importance of corporate leaders' need to compartmentalize corporate actions that harm people and the environment for profits then going home to a loving family ... ... and continues with showing how the coldly calculated cost/benefit analysis gives the thumbs up to go ahead with actions that harm and kill people while thrilling investors like you and me ... ... and, absolutely new to me, discusses the corporation-backed 1934 failed coup on Franklin D. Roosevelt that planned to raise an army led by Marines General Smedley Darlington Butler, seize the White House, and install Butler as fascist dictator of the United States. (The author gets his info primarily from Jules Archer, The Plot to Seize the White House, New York: Hawthorn Books, 1973) ... ... then explains in Chapter 5 how people morphed from citizens seeking change through public policy to consumers seeking change through purchases. This overlaps with another book on my Reading List: "Shopping Our Way to Safety" and uses many of the same examples such as gated communities instead of safer urban environments. but author Bakan sees it in the bigger role of privatization and states it makes the most of our inevitably selfish and materialistic nature. He also throws in examples of how psychology is effectively used in marketing and advertising for those of you who didn't know we marketers masterfully "push your buttons" ... ... and finally ends not with the "either/or" judgment of eliminating corporations but the "both/and" suggestion based on a fundamental fact: corporations are fictitious entities brought to life by a charter granted by the government, and that we can revise the purposes all corporations have rather than reacting emotionally by revoking corporations that continue to break the law. Great stuff -- I'm reading through it again.

Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition and the Logic of Money-Driven Political Systems by Thomas Ferguson Early comment while reading: Thomas Ferguson is a scholar and uses lots of $10 words. Deeply interesting stuff if you really want to know what Noam Chomsky calls the "two factions of the Business Party" (meaning Democrats and Republicans) really do: build coalitions of industries, then turn around and merchandise support for the private agenda to the unwary public with themes such as: Change, Hope, Destiny, Progress. It sure is bursting my bubble that my vote counts -- because even if my party wins, the spoils go to the industries that established the platform, not the "people." But hey -- I already knew my vote didn't count.

Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping--Updated and Revised for the Internet, the Global Consumer, and Beyond by Paco Underhill Highly recommended for marketers, advertisers, salespeople: The insights Paco Underhill has are tremendous in understanding the buying process -- not only in brick-and-mortar retail but online retail and even service offerings. He brings a world perspective and comparison through his global offices he overseas, and fills this book with war story after war story to make his points. One of the big issues he talks about is trust, and the betrayal of retail environments to properly serve their customers. Great read, easy to digest.

Dragons at Your Door: How Chinese Cost Innovation Is Disrupting Global Competition by Ming Zeng and Peter J. Williamson If you're in manufacturing, this is a MUST-READ: Where did the worldwide refrigerator market go? Where did the worldwide shipping container market go? As you know, China is not only a cheap crap manufacturer but really solid manufacturer of quality stuff. Find out in easy-to-read words how cost innovation is aggressive and swift -- before it's too late.

The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences by John Bellamy Foster , Fred Magdoff John Bellamy Foster and Fred Magdoff, who are economists of the slightly tinged Marxist persuasion, give a solid and respectable interpretation to the nature of bubbles, propaganda, and how we all got ourselves into this mess. I highly recommend this one for you economic geeks like me.

Shopping Our Way to Safety: How We Changed from Protecting the Environment to Protecting Ourselves by Andrew Szasz This is an important book for MARKETERS, POLITICAL SCIENTISTS, and SOCIOLOGISTS to read. Yet, I placed it in this category, because of the increasing numbers of people who believe they can protect themselves by buying market solutions and hiding behind gated communities.: Learn about the long-term trend, beginning in the 1950s Nuclear Age and personal fallout shelters, of increasing self-reliance and fortressing instead of political and community action to solve widespread issues: nuclear war: backyard bomb shelters urban (crime, decay, etc): suburbs and then as suburbs became dangerous exurbs and then gated communities public education: private school enrollment bottled water and organic food NOTE: the private solution of consuming your way to safety is an economically based one and therefore discriminatory: the poor can't afford to move to gated communities, enroll their kids in private schools, or eat higher-priced organic food. Result? Increasing socioeconomic divide between haves and have-nots, as people look out for themselves, and businesses provide the solutions to those with the money. The book's warning: shopping our safety destablizes society, undermines the strength of our government as corporations gain even more power.

Rich: The Rise and Fall of American Wealth Culture by Larry Samuel Samuel does a pretty good job in providing a history of the top 1% to 5% of US wealth holders. And he does a credible job of exposing the now-false myth that there remains an Old Money power segment to our society. (His thesis: they've been overrun by New Money arising from technology entrepreneurs and financial barons from the 1950s until now.) The result of this shift: charity sources and the nature of charity fund-raising has shifted away from the uber-exclusive East Coast to open giving and social venture investing. He admits in his introduction that The Middle-Class Millionaire (also in my reading list here: see my review) is the main focus of the book. Because of that book's emphasis on consumption habits, "Rich" has a tone of People Magazine /Society Column beautiful person reporting. He further admits in his bibliography that "Rich relies primarily on period magazines and newspapers as its sources of material, because I believe journalists serving on the front lines of the scene report our most valuable resources for recovering unfiltered stories of the wealthy." My own experience with "rich" while growing up in the 70s and after include those 30 years ago who drove Rolls Royces and had net worths in the hundreds of millions while others drove Rolls Royces but had net worths of just a couple million. In short, at all levels, you got some who flash everything they got, and some who are flashy but most of it's deeply hidden away. My conclusion: good stuff, but don't follow it as gospel.

On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense by David Brooks A Must-Read for marketers, especially for those in the real estate industry. Enough said. It's his the follow-on to Bobos in Paradise. The big difference? In On Paradise Drive, Brooks cranks up his sarcastic humor to 11 (on the 1 to 10 scale). For example (page 72, First edition, second printing): "In the world of self-reinforcing clique communities, the people who are truly happy live by the maxim "Overrate thyself." The anthropology professor can stride through life knowing she was unanimously elected chairwoman of her crunchy suburb's sustainable-growth study seminar. She wears the locally approved status symbols: the Tibet-motif dangly earrings, the Andrea Dworkin-inspired hairstyle, the peasant blouse, and the public-broadcasting tote bag." Yep, David Brooks, just rip into these crunchy granola, alfalfa sprouting munching, meditating New Agers. Ha! Chapter 4: Shopping: Deep insights into the nature of the American psyche: always seeking the Promised Land, and using the fantasies provided by advertising (esp. luxury but also activities and lifestyle) to help Americans imagine themselves in the future. Couple this with the changed meritocratic nature of American wealth and success (vs. the 1700s/1800s which was based on Old Money rather than intelligence, ability, and hustle) and you have a great outline to target your markets with appropriate messages.

Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks A Must-Read for marketers, especially for those in the real estate industry. Enough said. David Brooks' latest book, On Paradise Drive, is the follow-on to Bobos in Paradise. The big difference? In On Paradise Drive, Brooks cranks up his sarcastic humor to 11 (on the 1 to 10 scale).

The Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How They Are Changing America by Russ Alan Prince and Lewis Schiff Interesting book, with surprising statistics and findings, some that seemingly contradict with The Millionaire Next Door (Stanley and Danko). The overall picture I got: "Middle-Class Millionaires" were some politically conservative vicious cutthroats who shop for solutions rather than working politically to enact change and because they're willing to pay more, act as early adopters. On the "shop for solutions" aspect, this works well with ideas from another book on my reading list here: Shopping Our Way to Safety: How We Changed from Protecting the Environment to Protecting Ourselves There are some great and profitable ideas to tap into the trend they describe.

Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle by Chris Hedges Great stuff for understanding deep social trends and shifts, especially since we're all exposed to a constant diet of propaganda. The illusion of: literacy love wisdom happiness America "I used to live in a country called America. It was not a perfect country ... It could be cruel and unjust ... It was a country I loved and honored. It paid its workers wages envied around the world. It made sure those workers had health benefits and pensions .... It offered good, public education. It honored basic democratic value and held in regard the rule of law. It had social programs to take care of the weakest among us. It had a system of government that worked to protect the interests of most of its citizens. It offered the possibility of democratic change. It had a press that was diverse and independent. "The country I live in today uses the same civic, patriotic, and historical language to describe itself, the same symbols and iconography, the same national myths, BUT ONLY THE SHELL REMAINS." -- pages 141-142

The Media Monopoly 6th Edition by Ben H. Bagdikian Understand how corporate media control has led to decreased information which you and I sorely need to have a thriving democracy / republic -- and how this threatens the very viability of the true freedom of US citizens. This is one of a small handful of books that gives you a quick yet solid understanding of the world of propaganda that comes at us all which is called "news." Other ways to get this understanding quickly: MIT Professor Noam Chomsky (google him on YouTube) Barry Glassner, The Culture of Fear (also in this reading list, just below) /ul<>

The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things by Barry Glassner Understand how to redirect attention away from relevant, large-scale issues by substituting and propagandizing smaller, less impacting issues. Result? Masses engage in debating issues having no meaning, while the powerful go ahead and seize power behind the scenes. Example: In the 1980s as poverty, homelessness, and other urban ills increased, Reagan and Bush sidestepped the suffering of millions harmed by policies favoring the wealthy by blaming a drug: crack. "Crack is responsible for the fact that vast patches of the American landscape are rapidly deteriorating." I RECOMMEND IT TO ALL MARKETERS who want to learn to add true public relations to their arsenal.

The Soft Cage: Surveillance in America from Slavery to the War on Terror by Christian Parenti Book starts with how slave movement was controlled, development of information technologies, and ways slaves hacked the system. Much of the book explains how those who follow rules -- those well-trained in societal expectations -- have little debate with stricter control on movement, anonymity, and speech, and politically this makes it easier to intrude into people's lives while taking away their rights on a grand level. (The thinking goes: It just makes sense to lock away criminals easier, monitor our streets and our email more often, create personal fortresses, etc, because government is protecting us against them.) (To learn to do so, use strategies outlined in "The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things" along with "The Shock Doctrine.") Quote from book: Nietzsche: "Morality is the best of all devices for leading mankind by the nose." Good guide for PR, marketing, social change. (page 196)

Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life by Robert B. Reich This title, along with a few others, are a great way to begin understanding the power structure of the world -- the wizards behind the screen of illusion projected at us through the cooperating media. Those other titles include: The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (by Andrew Bacevich) The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences (by John Bellamy Foster, Fred Magdoff)

No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies by Naomi Klein Highly recommended for MARKETERS -- especially if you're interesting in seeing how to build mass movements. (I also recommend Eric Hoffer's 1951 classic "The True Believer" if you want to know how to build massive movements. Also highly recommended for anyone who buys anything (since apparently it's all made by teenage girls in economic slavery for US$0.18 per hour).

The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History by David Hackett Fischer

Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich by Kevin Phillips

Colossus: How the Corporation Changed America by Jack Beatty

Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism by George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller

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