Earth in the Balance

Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit
by
Al Gore



Excellent book of environmental analysis and the perfect introduction to the subject.

Kingdom Coming

Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism
by
Michelle Goldberg

The nation is on fire. Run, don't walk, to the nearest exit. Pray to God that religious nuts quit setting crusading fires.

Another very insightful look at the American form of fundamentalist cancer that seems to be spreading throughout the world. Whether Taliban or Evangelical, to the average citizen in the average democracy it makes no difference: Your freedom and very life is at stake.

Read this book for your own sake, if not to save your country.

Excerpt from Publisher's Weekly review:

"In an impressive piece of lucid journalism, Salon.com reporter Goldberg dives into the religious right and sorts out the history and networks of what to most liberals is an inscrutable parallel universe. She deconstructs "dominion theology," the prevalent evangelical assertion that Christians have a "responsibility to take over every aspect of society." Goldberg makes no attempt to hide her own partisanship, calling herself a "secular Jew and ardent urbanite" who wrote the book because she "was terrified by America's increasing hostility to... cosmopolitan values." This carefully researched and riveting treatise will hardly allay its audience's fears, however; secular liberals and mainstream believers alike will find Goldberg's descriptions of today's culture wars deeply disturbing. She traces the deep financial and ideological ties between fundamentalist Christians and the Republican Party, and discloses the dangers she believes are inherent to the Bush administration's faith-based social services initiative. Other chapters follow inflammatory political tactics on wedge issues like gay rights, evolution and sex education. Significantly, her conclusions do not come off as hysterical or shrill. Even while pointing to stark parallels between fascism and the language of the religious right, Goldberg's vision of America's future is measured and realistic. Her book is a potent wakeup call to pluralists in the coming showdown with Christian nationalists."

American Fascists

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America
by Chris Hedges

This book is an incredible expose of the religious right's insidious union with fascism in modern America. This searing indictment is made more horrific by the religious expertise of the author. Must read material.

excerpt from Publishers Weekly review: "The f-word crops up in the most respectable quarters these days. Yet if the provocative title of this exposé by Hedges (War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning)—sounds an alarm, the former New York Times foreign correspondent takes care to employ his terms precisely and decisively. As a Harvard Divinity School graduate, his investigation of the Christian Right agenda is even more alarming given its lucidity. Citing the psychology and sociology of fascism and cults, including the work of German historian Fritz Stern, Hedges draws striking parallels between 20th-century totalitarian movements and the highly organized, well-funded "dominionist movement," an influential theocratic sect within the country's huge evangelical population. Rooted in a radical Calvinism, and wrapping its apocalyptic, vehemently militant, sexist and homophobic vision in patriotic and religious rhetoric, dominionism seeks absolute power in a Christian state. Hedges's reportage profiles both former members and true believers, evoking the particular characteristics of this American variant of fascism. His argument against what he sees as a democratic society's suicidal tolerance for intolerant movements has its own paradoxes. But this urgent book forcefully illuminates what many across the political spectrum will recognize as a serious and growing threat to the very concept and practice of an open society."

excerpt from O - Oprah Magazine:

"Throughout, Hedges documents, and reflects on, what he feels is bigotry, the homophobia, the fanaticsm -- and the deeply un-Christian ideology -- that pose clear and present danger in our precious and fragile republic."