IN a year of turmoil, there has never been a better time to get lost in a good read.
The Redaction Politics team reviewed some of the best political titles published in 2020, including providing essential background commentary and exclusive interviews with authors.
This is part two of our round up.
‘CRIPPLED’ by Dr Frances Ryan
Guardian journalist Dr Frances Ryan collects the traumatic experiences of disabled people in Britain who felt the sharp end of austerity over a decade.
Dr Ryan told Redaction Politics: “I’d get emails, tweets, even hand written letters most days from disabled people saying they were struggling to eat after having their benefits removed or were trapped inside because they couldn’t get social care.”
‘The Death of Truth’ by Michiko Kakutani
A novella length book trying to find answers to the rise of Trump and rejection of truth and written by Pulitzer Prize for Criticism winner Michiko Kakutani.
Emma Morgan writes: “As the she maps out the factors leading to Trump’s election, it becomes more and more obvious that, in the years since, nothing has changed.”
‘Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save The World’ by Jason Hickel
Why do Cubans tend to live longer than Americans? Anthropologist Jason Hickel argues the need to increase Gross Domestic Product each year hardly changes living standards for the majority of people. Instead, cutting back on wasteful enterprises would help the planet and protect people.
Matt Trinder summarises: “You do not need to know anything about capitalism, growthism, and degrowth to interface with ‘Less is More’. It would make the perfect read for anyone who is concerned about the direction we are heading in.”
‘This Land’ by Owen Jones
Guardian columnist Owen Jones offers an insider’s account to the rise and fall of former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. From Ed Miliband’s resignation in 2015 to Brexit and anti-Semitism, the title covers every aspect of the popularity and demise of the Labour left.
Our Co-Editor James Moules writes: “Jones’ book offers an engaging first person account of what it was like to watch the Corbyn years unfold from inside the tent.”
‘The Folk Singers and the Bureau’ by Aaron J. Leonard
In the ‘40s and ‘50s American folk music was closely tied to socialism. Musicians like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Sis Cunningham and others used music to spread their ideas and were members of the Communist Party of the United States of America.
Scott Costen writes: “In one way or another, they all suffered because of their relationship with a political party that was subject to increasing legal, financial and moral persecution.”
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