Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot
and other observations - by Al Franken (1996)

Politics is often boring, but this book is funny as hell. Franken is a satirist of first rate, taking jabs not just at Limbaugh, but at the whole crazy right-wing -- Dole, Gingrich, Buchanan, etc. You don't have to be politically astute to enjoy the humor here. ("I have a radical gun-buyback idea: Hand in a gun, get a free vial of crack.") But if you do happen to be uncomfortable with the conservative agenda, then so much the better. There's plenty of ammunition in Franken's engaging and humorous stories of Republican shenanigans. The only problem is that Franken attacks only the right wing; the Democrats certainly could stand some scrutiny and criticism as well. Order a copy: $5.00

Downsize This!
Random Threats from an Unarmed American
- by Michael Moore (1997)

Like Franken, Michael Moore makes politics entertaining and funny. But while Franken took on only the right wing, Moore takes on BOTH major parties along with all of Corporate America, showing how politicians and corporations work together to ensure that the rich get richer at the expense of the poor. No one is spared and nothing is sacred. Moore holds nothing back -- who else would offer chapters such as "Why doesn't GM sell crack?" and "How to conduct the Rodney King memorial riot." Order a copy: $5.95

Take the Rich off Welfare
by Mark Zepezauer & Arthur Naiman (1996)

This tiny, bite-sized paperback is packed with startling information. The premise is that while politicians and the media argue about welfare for the poor, what they're not telling you is that the U.S. government spends 3.5 times that amount on welfare for the rich -- in the form of military waste & fraud, tax breaks, subsidies, and other scams. They document how this system has allowed the rich to get richer while the poor have become poorer. Eye-opening stuff; ought to be required reading. Order a copy: $6.75 (new)

War Tax Resistance
A Guide to Withholding your Support from the Military - by Ed Hedemann (1992, w/1998 update)

If someone came to your door and asked you to help them kill someone, would you do it? Of course not. But what if they just asked you to give them some money so they could carry out the violence themselves? Again, you'd probably refuse. Yet most of us are paying for violence when we pay our income tax each year, 50% of which goes to the military -- and most of that isn't necessary for American defense. Many people refuse to participate in this system, redirecting their income tax money to organizations working for peace and social justice. This book explains where your income money is actually spent and how it's such a disproportionate part of the budget, strategies for refusing to pay for war, and profiles of peaceful resisters -- many of whom have been successfully resisting for several decades. Order a copy: $12.00 (new)

Diet for a New America
How your food choices affect your health, happiness, and the future of life on earth
- by John Robbins (1987)

After someone turned me on to this volume ten years ago I decided it was the most important book I had ever read, and I still feel that way. It's a stunning indictment of animal agriculture, explaining in detail how animal foods destroy your health, while their production is an environmental nightmare that most people don't know about. I recommend skipping Part I, which details the cruel conditions in which animals are raised for food, because it's rather gruesome, but the health and environment sections are not to be missed. Over the years I've ordered cases of this book to give as gifts, and I don't know anyone who's read it who wasn't profoundly affected by it. Read excerpt or [an error occurred while processing this directive]

The McDougall Program
Twelve Days to Dynamic Health
- by Dr. John A. McDougall, M.D. (1990)

If you want validation from an unbiased medical professional of the health and nutrition information in Diet for a New America, then you won't do better than this. McDougall explains how he dramatically helped patients with heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and other diseases, simply by putting them on a low-fat diet with no animal foods. In many cases patients were able to dispense with their medication within days. And for those of us who don't suffer from those maladies yet, McDougall shows us the optimum diet to keep us from developing those illnesses in the future. Finally, half the book is comprised of tasty recipes, so after you get all motivated you'll be able to act on that motivation. The book is well-researched, with an extensive bibliography of credible medical references. Read excerpt or [an error occurred while processing this directive]

The McDougall Plan
- by Dr. John A. McDougall (1984)

This, McDougall's first book, is much like The McDougall Program, except that here he explains a lot more of the nuts & bolts of exactly how animal foods make you ill and plant foods make you well. (In The McDougall Program, he takes more of a "show me the money" approach, by explaining how dramatically his patients' health improved on his program, and goes into a lot more detail about how to shop for and prepare tasty & nutritious meals.). But just like The McDougall Program, half this book is recipes. The McDougall Plan also contains what is probably the best deconstruction of the myth that it's necessary to combine plant foods to make a "complete" protein. [an error occurred while processing this directive]

More Wealth without Risk
How to develop a personal fortune without going out on a limb
- by Charles Givens (1988, updated 1995)

This book is jam-packed full of useful strategies for keeping more of your hard-earned money and making it grow, covering topics such as credit repair, insurance savings, cutting taxes, and investing. You don't have to be a greedy right-winger like Givens to benefit from this volume; if someone as on the fringe as I am finds this book useful, chances are you will too. Not every topic or strategy will be attractive to everyone, but the beauty of this book is there's so much to choose from. Get armed with the powerful information here, and then make your own decisions about how to use it responsibly. It's better than struggling your whole life to get by and always being uncertain about your future. Order a copy: $12.50 (new)

Your Money or Your Life
Transforming your relationship with money and achieving financial independence
- by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. (1992)

Finally, a radical and honest book about personal finance! The authors don't just give you strategies for what to do with your money, they force you to examine your relationship with money and how that affects your whole life. Should we really define ourselves by the kind of job we have? Should we really be working as much as we do? Does anybody ever die wishing they spent more time at the office? In addition to putting all this in perspective, the book provides solid nuts & bolts financial help, including advice on getting out of debt, developing savings, reordering material priorities to live well for less, attain a wholeness of livelihood and lifestyle, and save the planet while saving money. To top it off, the book is printed on acid-free recycled paper with soy-based inks. Order a copy: $6.95

The Love You Make
An insider's story of the Beatles
- by Peter Brown & Steven Gaines (1983)

four-hundred-plus pages about the Beatles, from their childhood to the formation of the band and their success, with, of course, special attention to the years 1962-1970. The Beatles weren't just a good band; they pulled us out of the vortex of bad 50's music and created a revolution in pop music. Today's music owes more to the Beatles than you might think. Order a copy: $11.95

The Beatles Complete Scores
Every song written & recorded by The Beatles (1989)

Sheet music for the serious Beatles fan. This book is ridiculous in its detail: They've scored the drum parts! They've scored the bass in tablature! They've written in the vocal harmony notes! They've attempted to score Revolution #9! This thing is over 1100 pages! Order a copy: $56.25

The Beatles Recording Sessions: 1962-1970
by Mark Lewisohn, with Paul McCartney interview (1988)

Most people know that the Beatles changed the sound of pop music, but what's not commonly known is that they also completely changed the way music was recorded as well. This book is a detailed day-by-day account of the Beatles' recording sessions, explaining how they recorded each of their songs, and the new recording methods and techniques they invented along the way. You don't have to be a musician to appreciate this book, but musicians will appreciate it even more. (Out of print and hard to find. Click here to see if Powells has a used copy available yet.)

Animal Liberation
A New Ethics for our Treatment of Animals
- by Peter Singer (1975)

Animal Liberation was the first significant scholarly examination into the question of whether animals have rights, and remains one of the best. Besides the academics, there are chapters on the realities for animals today, such as factory farming and laboratory experimentation. The author is a professor of ethics, and his thesis is damn difficult to argue against. This book sparked the animal rights movement in the U.S. when it was published in the mid-70's. Order a copy: $7.95

The Dvorak Keyboard
- by Randy Cassingham (1986)

I've always been fascinated with things that aren't popular but which have tremendous advantages over the normal way of doing things. For example, I save thousands of dollars a year and help reduce pollution by not having a car, and I stay healthy and reduce my environmental impact by not eating meat. My typing method is another way I depart from the "accepted" way and reap the benefits. The layout of the letters on the standard keyboard was developed in 1872 around the limitations of typewriters, and is incredibly inefficient -- although that's what nearly everyone uses today. In the 1930's, August Dvorak devised a much more efficient layout, though it never gained much popularity. Dvorak placed the most commonly-used letters on the home row (including all the vowels), so you wind up doing most of your typing on home row, instead of only 30% with the standard method. You don't have to buy a new keyboard, either, since both PC's & Macs can use the Dvorak layout just by changing a control panel setting. I learned how to type with the old method in high school, but then I heard about Dvorak and spent two weeks to learn the new system. This was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I type up to 100wpm, but more important than the increased speed is the comfort. I do a lot of typing, and typing is no longer a chore; it feels fluid and nice. Anyway, this book explains the history of both the standard and Dvorak keyboards, and exactly why Dvorak is better. This is a small, self-published paperback with less than 100 pages. Many people will whine with some excuse for sticking with the standard, clumsy way of typing. This book is not for them. Order a copy: $10 (new)