Friday, November 27, 2020

Books for peace for presents

 

Things you can do to help me, world peace, and your friends:

1. Forward this email far and wide.

2. Encourage people to sign up for one of these lists:

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Articles. (That's this one.)

3. Share the articles on davidswanson.org

4. Share, follow, like, retweet, etc., on FacebookTwitter, and Youtube.

5. Invite me to speak by Zoom to classes and events.
See comments from past events at the bottom of this email.

6. Send me your ideas for what's needed in the coming year.

7. Ask your local radio stations to air Talk Nation Radio.
(It's free to them, funded by donors like you).

8. Donate on my website or with Paypal, or by check.
I greatly appreciate one-time and recurring donations. When you donate $50 or more, or sign up to donate $5 or more a month, I’ll be glad to send you a free signed book of your choice, or any shirt, mug, or other item from my store. I’ll also be glad, if you approve, to list your name or organization on my websites. Be sure to let me know what you’d like by emailing me. To donate by check, make it to David Swanson and send to 513 E Main St #1484 Charlottesville VA 22902 USA.

9. Buy books, for yourself, for your school or library, or as gifts for others.
You can get paperbacks (singly or in bulk), e-books, and in most cases audio books.

Leaving World War II Behind (2020) — “This is a book of wide synthesis and trenchant commentary. Keep it near to hand for those all-too-frequent moments when you hear someone using World War II to justify yet another horrific military adventure.” —Nicholson Baker, author, Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, The End of Civilization

20 Dictators Currently Supported by the U.S. (2020) — The U.S. government has a habit of supporting brutal (and comically outrageous) dictators. This book offers 20 current examples, together with some background on historical patterns, some explanation for why this happens, and a proposal to put an end to it.

Curing Exceptionalism: What’s wrong with how we think about the United States? What can we do about it? (2018) — U.S. exceptionalism, the idea that the United States of America is superior to other nations, is no more fact-based and no less harmful than racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry. The purpose of this book is to persuade you of that statement. This book examines how the United States actually compares with other countries, how people think about the comparison, what damage that thinking does, and what changes we might want to consider making.

War Is Never Just (2016) — This book builds a case that the time has come to set behind us the idea that a war can ever be just. This critique of “Just War” theory finds the criteria such theories use to be either unmeasurable, unachievable, or amoral, and the perspective taken too narrow. This book argues that belief in the possibility of a just war does tremendous damage by facilitating enormous investment in war preparations–which strips resources from human and environmental needs while creating momentum for numerous unjust wars.

War Is A Lie: Second Edition (2016) — widely praised best-selling classic. “There are three insightful books I’ve read that explain how and why no good can come of the current U.S. reliance on military force and war in seeking its desired ‘Pax Americana’: War Is A Racket by General Smedley Butler; War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges, and War Is A Lie by David Swanson.” — Coleen Rowley, former FBI special agent, whistleblower, and Time magazine person of the year.

Killing Is Not a Way of Life (2014) — This is a record of nearly a year’s worth of immediate reactions to the world. These bits of writing originated between January and November of 2014. Topics include the earth, justice, wars, and war culture.

War No More: The Case for Abolition (2013) — This book, with a foreword by Kathy Kelly, presents what numerous reviewers have called the best existing argument for the abolition of war, demonstrating that war can be ended, war should be ended, war is not ending on its own, and that we must end war.

When the World Outlawed War (2011) — Named by Ralph Nader as one of the books from 2011 that everyone should read. This is an inspiring but forgotten story from the 1920s of how people created a treaty to ban all war — a treaty still on the books but not remembered.

Tube World (2012) — This children’s book has received enthusiastically positive reviews from kids and their parents.

The Military Industrial Complex at 50 (2012) — the most comprehensive collection available explaining what the military industrial complex is, where it comes from, what damage it does, what further destruction it threatens, and what can be done and is being done to chart a different course.

“Your eloquence and command of the facts blow me away. Whenever I hear you, I’m inspired to become a better advocate for a world beyond war and to learn more about our appalling history.” —John Horgan, professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, following a presentation to his class via Zoom by David Swanson.

“I moved from feeling hesitant to invite a World BEYOND War speaker into my classroom into an enthusiastic supporter of inviting World BEYOND War every year into my class. As is the case for most of us teachers, my students are incredibly patriotic and have a narrow view of history that teaches that war is necessary and good. I was not sure if my students would turn their ears off if someone suggested that all of America’s wars were not glorious, but the opposite happened. Mr. Swanson’s rational and well supported approach opened minds. Students asked great questions and a lively discussion ensued. In the end, students could see why war was irrational and even more importantly, their minds were opened to imagine different solutions to real problems. ” —Katherine Murphy, Teacher of Ethics and Social Justice, Gonzaga High School, Washington, D.C.


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David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is executive director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson's books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.

Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook.

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