After a long discussion with my dad about the invasion of Ukraine, what led up to it, leftism, anti-imperialism, life in the USSR, Stalin, stalinism, and so much more, he has told me he’d like to read the books I’ve read.

He’s brought this request up twice more already and he’s been very keen on my perspective when we recently had a talk about leftist perspectives on the concept of nations and states.

Now here’s the issue, I don’t really read books. I read articles, essays and other shorter texts as well as video lectures (I love you yellow parenti). He is very much a Book Reader. The type of dad to have more than one book about historical naval battles.

He’s a good guy, but he can get very defensive and set in his ways, and he’s sort of stuck in the basic NATO EU-leftlib mindset.

I plan on giving him Dominico Losurdos “Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend” as a christmas present alongside a list recommending him other books.

  • Blackshirts and Reds
  • This Soviet World (Though I’ve only read excerpts of this one sadly)
    And which other books should I recommend him? I’ve been looking for a nice approachable Lenin one, I’m thinking State and the Revolution?
    I was also considering Marx’ “The 18th Brumaire”, but I’ve also only read excerpts from that one, so I don’t know.
    Also are there any essays you’d recommend for him, despite him not being a short form enjoyer? I’m considering Engels’ On Authority.

I’d like some recommendations for good books. I’m especially interested in stuff that can turn him towards a more third-worldist perspective. I’ve never read any Fanon @ReadFanon@hexbear.net (sorry) so I don’t feel comfortable just throwing a book at him from there, but would it make sense? Likewise I’d like to get more modern stuff.

  • JoeByeThen [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    19·
    12 days ago

    State and Revolution was very approachable.

    Jakarta Method. Definitely. Wretched of the Earth might be a bit much, but it’s a good read that rationalizes violence from the oppressed. Oh, Vijay Prashad’s Washington Bullets pairs great with Jakarta Method.

    In my own journey, Zinn (A People’s History) and Lowen (Lies MyTeacher Told Me) were crucial in ripping off the bandaid of American mythology. Still pretty lib though. Advanced levels of that would be Horne’s Counter-revolution of 1776 and Beard’s An economic Interpretation of the US Constitution. I’m sure someone here would also recommend Settlers but I haven’t gotten to it yet. Parenti also has a series of Real History lectures you can find on YouTube.

    I can recommend a bunch of books on US political parties as well but idk if you wanna go down that route.

    • JoeByeThen [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      13·
      12 days ago

      Just going through my own list here and sorted out a couple that may work for you.

      • The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017 by Rashid Khalidi
      • Margarett Randall’s ‘Women in Cuba: 20 Years Later’
      • Women, race, and class By Angela Davis

      Haven’t read these yet:

      • North Korea: Another Country by Bruce Cummings
      • Super Imperialism: The Origin and Fundamentals of U.S. World Dominance by Michael Hudson
      • Stasi State or Socialist Paradise? By Brian de la Motte and John Green
      • anything by Anna Louise Strong
      • BanMeFromPosting [none/use name]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
        6·
        12 days ago

        Thanks! I’m considering sitting down with him to watch Loyal Citizens of Pyonyang. I¨ll look into the Bruce Cummings book.

        I’ve heard mixed things about Stasi State or Socialist Paradise, so if you read it I’d love to hear your thoughts on it as well.

        • purpleworm [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
          10·
          12 days ago

          Loyal Citizens of Pyonyang

          Small caveat on this, especially if you’re going to engage with others about it, is that the given explanation about cutting the tails from cattle to make them lose their balance is incorrect. Assuming such an operation took place (and it certainly could have), the actual use cattle have for tails is keeping pests away from their anus (and to some extent shooing them away from other nearby areas), so the purpose would be to cause them to get infections. It would be far from the most depraved thing the US has done to hurt civilian populations, so I’m just pointing this out because it’s better to get ahead of such things for the sake of one’s credibility.

    • BanMeFromPosting [none/use name]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      11·
      12 days ago

      The Jakarta Method is an excellent recommendation! Don’t know why I didn’t think of that myself. I think I have to read wrecthed of the earth myself first.

      As for the rest of your recommendations, I appreciate them, but they seem more fitting for a USian than a european. Not that they’re not good for a european too, but if you don’t already have leftist worldview I fear it’ll mainly just feed the basic notion of “the US sucks” which is broadly agreed upon here.

      • JoeByeThen [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
        7·
        12 days ago

        Oh yeah, if you’re European ignore that stuff, my bad. Check my other reply to my comment for a couple more that might work for you though. (Edit: minus Angela davis as that one is pretty us centric.) stalin-approval

        You may wanna also see if you can find something that discusses the overlap between Nazi Germany and NATO then… thinkin-lenin

        I haven’t read this, and know nothing about it but it’s on my list because there’s so few books about Gladio which also may be of interest given that the US basically ran a secret war in Europe.

        Operation Gladio : The Unholy Alliance Between The Vatican , The CIA And The Mafia, Paul L. Williams (2015)