Best Books 2010: 18 On Social and Political Awareness (PHOTOS)

These were some books that really made a mark this year in raising political consciousness about crucial issues. From U.S.-Arab relations to the meanings of "health," from the corporatization of the academy to the fault lines in the global economy, these books make a significant contribution in clarifying the deeper context of the news of the day.

1 of 18

Ussama Makdisi, 'Faith Misplaced: The Broken Promise of U.S.-Arab Relations 1820-2003' (Public Affairs)

1 of 19

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

Rice University historian Ussama Makdisi, one of the rising stars in Middle Eastern studies, rejects the notion of a civilizational clash between the Arab wold and America. Arabs used to hold a favorable view of America until well into the twentieth century, yet misguided American policies have caused alienation that persists to this day. Exploring the history before the current stasis offers a much-needed way forward to revive mutual trust and admiration.

7 Things You Need To Know Before You Get Married

The Origins Of 7 Popular Slang Words

8 Ways Humans Could Cause Our Own Extinction

11 People You Don't Want To Be Friends With

7 Sex Myths Debunked

10 Things Billionaires Probably Don't Want You To Know

Rice University historian Ussama Makdisi, one of the rising stars in Middle Eastern studies, rejects the notion of a civilizational clash between the Arab wold and America. Arabs used to hold a favorable view of America until well into the twentieth century, yet misguided American policies have caused alienation that persists to this day. Exploring the history before the current stasis offers a much-needed way forward to revive mutual trust and admiration.

comments(23)

Total comments: 23 | Post a Comment

1 of 19

Rate This Slide

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Current Top 5 Slides

loading...

Choose your Top 5 Slides

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

 

 

 

Comments

[milty]

10:28 AM on 12/27/2010

http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/24/decision-points-sells-more-in-a-month-than-my-life-over-six-years/

[Screen Comment]

08:54 AM on 12/27/2010

Hello, Saideh Pakravan's novel "Azadi, Protest in the streets of Tehran" will be available in January 2011. Discover the novel on the fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Azadi-a-novel/120385764683103

[Lesperado]

09:45 AM on 12/25/2010

See where Palin's books made the list.

[tbrown1]

09:26 PM on 12/24/2010

How is Micheal Bellesiles on this list? He disgraced himself and his profession with that monument to mendacity, Arming America. He resigned from his professorship, had his Bancroft Award taken away, and was found guilty of unprofessional behaviour and misleading scholarship. http://www.emory.edu/news/Releases//Final_Report.pdf
Please, research these authors before accepting their obviously agenda-driven work.

[FeministSmithie]

08:41 AM on 12/25/2010

Ah, he inevitable pro-gun conservatives trolling the internet for Bellesiles references so that they can malign him... no matter how many times they are told the facts, they insist on their version of the story that they believe discredits a history they cannot abide: one with fewer guns than the favorite western movies of their childhood.

He was found 'guilty' of error in one rather insignificant table relating to 8 paragraphs in a 400 page book.

Speaking of agenda, the firestorm of criticism is obviously politically motivated. For an excellent review of the subject, see Jon Weiner's book reviewed here:
http://hnn.us/articles/9229.html

[tbrown1]

05:02 PM on 12/25/2010

Weiner at no time ever refuted the fact that Bellesiles completely made up entire primary source documents and libraries, claimed to have visited archives destroyed a century ago, and generated misleading and totally erroneous statistics. Have you read the book? He is at best a shoddy historian and at worst a fraud. Did you read the emory report? I read Bellesiles book. And Clayton Cramer's. Did you read the peer-reviewed journals in which professional historians and lawyers dismantle Bellesiles argument, testing the context of his citations, calculating the statistics using the same data, and checking his sources. He came up wanting on all counts. Bellesiles is as much as historian as Dan Brown.

[Ergon]

08:04 PM on 12/24/2010

Good books all. Have you noticed how many are written by er,  'foreigners'?
It's interesting how many people around the world address 'American' ideals in juxtaposition with the um, reality.

[LMPE]

05:49 PM on 12/24/2010

I'm soon going to read "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power" (although that one got published in 2008).

[TulsaMikel]

03:28 PM on 12/24/2010

Fox news book line up looks like there broadcast schedule

[TulsaMikel]

03:27 PM on 12/24/2010

Were any of these book a best seller ?

[Pucker]

06:13 PM on 12/24/2010

Very little non-fiction sells big numbers - Malcolm Gladwell and a few other high profile books - Presidential memoirs, etc.

These books above are a niche in a niche.

[machead]

03:14 PM on 12/24/2010

If you're looking for something important, read "Cognitive Infiltration" by Dr. David Ray Griffin. The book addresses the spine-chil ling & un-American ideas and methods being recommended by Mr. Cass Sunstein in a paper he wrote at Harvard (2008), just before accepting a high-level position in our White House.

[kori77]

02:07 PM on 12/24/2010

David Korten's Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth should be on here. http://store.yesmagazine.org/other-products/agenda-for-new-economy-2nd-edition?ica=DKbk_Store_tn_Book&icl=3WaysAfNE

[Slade the Slide]

01:55 PM on 12/24/2010

I love 19th century America, especially post Civil War during the Gilded Age & Progressive Age. I'll be getting the two books that deal with those eras.

[Patrick Morrison]

01:51 PM on 12/24/2010

Timothy Wu's 'The Master Switch' wold make a fine addition to this list.

[YankeeCanuck]

12:43 PM on 12/24/2010

I would add: "In the Name of God and Country" by Michael Fellman, Yale Press. A discussion of terrorism in America from its early days. He takes five "case studies" --one is John Brown, a far more fascinating character than the one in history books. Fellman is a great storyteller, and a sound scholar.

[truthinesshurts]

12:33 PM on 12/24/2010

Support you local independent bookstore.

[Lesperado]

09:46 AM on 12/25/2010

and your libraries!

[ArchieBunkerTypicalRepub]

11:49 AM on 12/24/2010

I bet beck and palin have read all of these books.