The Summer Reading List
Fifty Books You Need To Read
Page 5 of 5
Squandered Victory : The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq
Larry Diamond (Times Books)
Well somebody had to start writing books about it... And Diamond happens to be an old colleague of Condi Rice, sent over to Iraq to serve as a special adviser. Note the words “Squandered” and “Bungled” in the title.
Rogue Regime: Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea
Jasper Becker (Oxford Univ. Press)
Sure, all that stuff about nuclear weapons and peninsular instability is pretty scary, but have you seen Kim Jong Il lately? Girlfriend is losing it!! Platform shoes and pompadours and hissy fits Marie Antoinette would respect. The cruelest evolutionary joke of all would be if this was the human who took out the species.
Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Saudi-U.S. Connection
Gerald L. Posner (Random House)
Apparently they do more than just hold hands on long walks through the park. It’s not really that complicated: the Saudis have a shit load of money and power.
How the Left Lost Teen Spirit
Danny Goldberg (Akashic Books)
A look at the disconnect between progressive politics and younger voters: Basically it’s all Tipper Gore’s fault for raggin’ on rock lyrics.
Fire and Ice: The United States, Canada and the Myth of Converging Values
Michael Adams (Penguin)
Sure, we have some Canadians on staff. Look! There they go! So cute… so quiet. This one’s for you lil’ Canucks… This is your pathetic moment in the sun! (Will one of you marry us?)
