Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare5 reviews Frances Fox Piven, Richard Cloward Vintage, 1993 A revealing examination of an insidious system + A genuine classic on public welfare and its functions + No Flies On Frank + Welfare as a Government Tool of Control + For anyone who is not afraid of the REAL TRUTH about Welfare             The Working Class Majority: America's Best Kept Secret (ILR Press Book)8 reviews Michael Zweig Cornell University Press, 2001 Best book on US Social Classes in the last Decade + We're all working class....mostly. + Taking the power back! Zweig's book is an empirical and analytical tour de force. In rigorous fashion he outlines the current class structure of the US in terms of power and control in the workplace. He proves the continuing relevance of class analysis in an era when most Americans consider themselves middle class, and ...             A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)641 reviews Howard Zinn Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005 History of the U.S. book + History falls somwhere in the middle, and this is an important side of it + Everyone should read this book. A must for high school, jr. high/middle school students who want a good, solid summary understanding of U.S. history!             What's Class Got to Do With It?: American Society in the Twenty-First Century1 review Cornell University Press, 2004 Class is power not money This collection of essays addresses an often overlooked aspect of American culture: class. The introduction makes a good case that class is really more about power than money, but the other essays do not always pick up on this theme. The essays do cover a lot of ground, so consider it an ...             Salt of the Earth5 reviews Clorinda Alderette, Juan Chacón Alpha Video, 2004 An inspiring film + Very powerful classic + As Current As Todays News + Moving tale of determination and love during a strike + Amazing Film!             Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq112 reviews Stephen Kinzer Times Books, 2007 History we should know + Great Overview of what US has done to mess up others! + Required reading + Karma Theory + "They Hate Us For Our Freedoms!"             Subterranean Fire: A History of Working-Class Radicalism in the United States3 reviews Sharon Smith Haymarket Books, 2006 Don't Just read, Organize! + Highly recommended + A critical history of the U.S. labor movement and workers' resistance from the nineteenth century to the present day There are stories in this book that should be part of every textbook in the United States. The attacks on the miners in the Appalachians, the Ludlow massacre of women and children in Colorado, the police and military attacks on striking textile workers in Gastonia, NC, the remarks of various ...             The Zero-Sum Society: Distribution and the Possibilities for Economic Change4 reviews Lester C. Thurow, 2001 Eminently Readable, Hardly Revolutionary This was one of the most readable non-fiction books I've ever come across. It's written in clear effective English and makes its point (mainly through repetition) very well. Thurow has one basic idea - that the American economy was paralysed in the 1970s because of the variety of groups ...             American Labor: A Documentary History Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 This comprehensive compilation of documents integrates institutional labor history (movements and trade unions) with aspects of social and cultural history. It charts changes in trade union and managerial practices and integrates the economics and politics of labor history. An impressive array of documents details household as well as industrial relations; women as domestic workers, unpaid ...             Democracy for the Few23 reviews Michael Parenti Wadsworth Publishing, 2007 Keep an open mind, America! + Parenti is brilliant!! + Good book Parenti's work, including this one, are indeed controversial...but that's exactly what I love about Parenti...his work provokes critical thinking on the reader's part...he offers an different view in viewing our political, societal system and history...and no, it's not poorly researched like some ...             The United States Constitution: Two Hundred Years of Anti-Federalist, Abolitionist, Feminist, Muckraking, ... Bertell Ollman, Jonathan Birnbaum NYU Press, 1990 "How can anyone claim to really understand our Constitution without knowing what these critical traditions had to say?" —Michael Wallace, Professor of History, John Jay College. "A real contribution to the subject of democracy and liberalism." —John Ehrenberg. "Does a marvelous job of returning the Constitution to its proper sphere, the product of the rough and tumble of politics." ...             Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change4 reviews Samuel Bowles, Richard Edwards, ... Oxford University Press, USA, 2005 Great Intro to Social Democratic Economics + probably the best "alternative" introductory textbook + Understanding Capitalism + I learned more from this than from a year of economics classes             The Forging Of The American Empire: From the Revolution to Vietnam: A History of American Imperialism (Human ...2 reviews Sidney Lens Pluto Press, 2003 Why does America keep going to war? + Eye-opening Why is America the sole superpower in the world today? Sidney Lens' book helps the reader answer this question, by looking at the history of the United States from the colonial era through the Cold War and Vietnam. At the heart of U.S. foreign policy lays a desire for American supremacy over the ...             The Structure of Power in America: The Corporate Elite As a Ruling Class1 review Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1987 A seriously neglected topic The book takes a trenchant look at a seriously neglected topic - the question of who actually governs the US. Since this question impacts directly on all other matters facing the US, it is a topic that should be of prime concern; that it gets so little attention is a real worry. The book reflects ...             Why Do Ruling Classes Fear History? and Other Questions Harvey J. Kaye Palgrave Macmillan, 1997 In "Why do Ruling Classes Fear History," and Other Questions , Harvey Kaye shows how our present-day political and economic elites stand in a long line of governing classes which have been eager to declare an end to the making of history.             Karl Marx: Selected Writings4 reviews Karl Marx Oxford University Press, USA, 2000 Excellent Selection of Marx's Writings. + An excellent collection + Wonderful Anthology Of Marx's Theories and Ideas + A Great Anthology             Voices of A People's History of the United States14 reviews Seven Stories Press, 2004 A strong intellectual perturbation + Voice of A People's History of the United States + Howard Zinn's quest + You'll learn a few things + Incredible Resource             The Bending Cross: A Biography of Eugene Victor Debs6 reviews Ray Ginger Haymarket Books, 2007 The authoritative biography of the best American who ever lived + An Amazing Life Story + An amazing, in-depth portrait of one of the most eloquent speakers of the socialist movement. + Obsessive honesty             Labor's Story in the United States1 review Philip Yale Nicholson Temple University Press, 2004 Great book I'm confused by the previous reviewer's comments. This book is perfectly well-written. In fact, I'm reading it for personal interest--not because it was assigned to me for a class--and I still look forward to picking it up. It's actually exciting, to anyone who's interested in the topic. ...             California Politics: The Fault Lines of Power, Wealth, and Diversity Edgar Kaskla CQ Press, 2007 California is full of myths and legends, but its political system shouldn't be. In this refreshingly critical take, Edgar Kaskla brings an analysis of power--how it is distributed, how it is used, and to what end--to bear on California's political system and the many troubling issues it currently faces. Starting from the premise that California is in deep crisis politically, ...