Okay, so summer’s heating up by the point, and we’re halfway to the end of the baseball season.
Of course, I do have a baseball book on the list this month. Because why wouldn’t I? Mostly, though, I’ve got some history for you.
Category: Books (Page 2 of 21)
These are posts about books from the blog Base and Superstructure. Occasionally I’ll read a book worth talking about, and write some thoughts on it. These cover a wide range of topics from the blog.
Welcome to the first summer edition of the reading list for 2024! What am I reading this summer? So far, it’s been an eclectic mix, as you’ll see.
Read on to find out. And, of course, let me know what’s on your book reading mind!
Welcome to the May edition of the reading list! This month I’ve got three classics of leftist analysis. Along with a foray into contemporary fiction.
Enjoy, and let me know what you’ve been reading lately!
I recently read a classic in political sociology – Power and Powerlessness by John Gaventa. It’s an insightful attempt to apply the Steven Lukes analysis of power – laid out in a book by that title – to the situation of coal miners in central Appalachia.
Gaventa seeks to explain why oppressed Appalachian miners refuse to rise up in revolt against their oppressors. While he argues for the intuitive view that the power of the mining companies prevents them from doing so, he gets there via an interesting and compelling route. Ultimately, he argues that the power of the mining companies consists, in part, in their ability to change the desires and aims of miners. Rebellion comes only when we alter those underlying power relationships.
I think we can learn a lot from Gaventa about power and powerlessness.
We’re well into spring these days. What are you reading? My list this month is a nice eclectic mix of sci-fi, historical fiction, political science, and hot topics in politics.
I hope you enjoy!
