Richard Nixon: Speeches, Writings, Documents
by Richard Nixon



350+ pages of Nixon in Nixon's own words. You know you want to. Even the people who made the book call him "America's most controversial president". And it includes "schoolboy letters". I can't imagine "Nixon" and "schoolboy" together without laughing and thinking of a cartoon character. Reminds me of the time I was at Richie's house and his mom told him to make dinner, and he just turned around and said, "Mom, I am not a cook". Dix was like that. Wild that way.

Zimbabwe's Guerrilla War: Peasant Voices
by Norma J. Kriger



A real peasant should be seen but not heard. That's what my grandfather always said. He owned an African diamond company and was butchered in his sleep by two of his slaves. Until he died, though, he was a wise man.

Literature and Dictatorship in Africa and Latin America, 1958-1987
by Josaphat Bekunuru Kubayanda



Words to free and repress by. This is a cool topic, though, seriously. I can't be snappy about it. But I can be snappy about the author's name: Josaphat Bekunuru Kubayanda. Here, say it again: Josaphat Bekunuru Kubayanda. Imagine that guy driving the lane and dunking on Lebron James. That's what I thought. Rezpek da Josaphat! Rezpek!

My Life with Che: The Making of a Revolutionary
by Hilda Gadea



Like he did at most things he ever tried, Che failed at marriage, too. That's why some dude named Ilan Stavans can write that "Che Guevara is our Jesus Christ". I'm assuming that means he's an idiot, so when, a few sentences later, he writes that in the book we "come across a Che that is, at once, small and larger-than-life", his humorous pun is an accident. Incidentally, a good title for a Che book: The Red Star of Courage.

Libya since 1969: Qadhafi's Revolution Revisited
by Dirk Vandewalle



I'll be honest: even though I've read the name Qadhafi over and over again and I know where Libya is, I don't know a g'damn thing about it. That's why I'm interested in reading this book. According to the description, if I do I will learn about two things: "the rise of the military in Libya, the impact of its self-styled revolution on Libyan society and economy." I guess Libya's been pretty dead since 1969.

Hell's Cartel: IG Farben and the Making of Hitler's War Machine
by Diarmuid Jeffreys



They'll tell you they were just following shipping orders. The cover is cute, though, with its rhyming title and 'lil Hitler. But I don't think the author's even a historian. Oh, well, Hell's Cartel, Nazi books will always sell.

The Forsaken: An American Tragedy in Stalin's Russia
by Tim Tzouliadis



A book about rebellious Americans who decided they hated America and went to live with Uncle Joe in the USSR instead. Except Uncle Joe turned out to be a paranoid rapist and murderer, so they were basically pwned.

World War I: The African Front: An Imperial War on the Dark Continent
by Edward Paice



The title of this book has not one but two colons in it. That means not only is it twice as good as any one-colon book, but it gets to have a doctor stick his finger up its ass twice as often as usual. Yes, that was obvious and dumb. Also obvious and dumb: that we only think of France when we think of WWI.

Race, War, and Remembrance in the Appalachian South
by John C. Inscoe



A look at how what we remember may not be what was and the ways in which the differences, whether intentionally created or not, affect the present and the future. Historical memory is an interesting field and this book looks interesting. So put down that Oprah Book Club selection (I know you buy them religiously) and read a real book for once. You know: one you have to concentrate on somewhat and will probably not enjoy reading on the can.

The Liberal Hour: Washington and the Politics of Change in the 1960s
by G. Calvin Mackenzie and Robert Weisbrot



I hate hippies, and this book really puts them in their place (a Northern California commune where they live in European minivans that stand on concrete slabs and sing protest songs to each other while soaking up the sun and developing skin cancer). The authors argue that despite all their peace, love, and flower-power, it was really the American government that was responsible for liberal change in the 60s. The government just didn't dress in colours, smoke pot, or make a huge fuss around itself; so, naturally, we never suspected.

Empires, Wars, and Battles: The Middle East from Antiquity to the Rise of the New World
by T. C. F. Hopkins



I highly doubt this 256-page "history" of "the Middle East" is "worth" even the "$10" they're "asking" for it. But I've been known to be wrong before (once, in third grade: my favourite colour was orange, though I didn't know it at the time) so anything is possible. I'm sure it's better than reading nothing and knowing nothing.

The Monuments of Afghanistan: History, Archaeology and Architecture
by Warwick Ball



Says a review: "Afghanistan is not just an Asian state that has suddenly hit the news". Maybe not, but that's the reason books about it are being published. Bunch of bloodsuckers. Doesn't mean the books are all bad, though. Just most of them.

American Ascendance and British Retreat in the Persian Gulf Region
by W. Taylor Fain



Post-WWII dealings in the trouble area between the two English-speaking powers. I'd skip this book, because it has nothing to do with what's going on in the world today. Go read a Tom Clancy novel, instead; and learn about how much Tom loves big, black guns. Mmm: so big, so black.

My Ears Are Bent
by Joseph Mitchell



Collection of pieces written by a New York World-Telegram columnist in the 1903s. I enjoy these kinds of books because when I read them I imagine myself lounging in a smoky office while wearing a black hat and playing with my revolver. And then the dame walks in. Imagine that: out of all the smoky offices and detective joints in the world, she walks into mine.

Horseshoe Curve
by David W. Seidel



I don't like this series of books because there's a ton of them and because I suspect the images are in the public domain. I also don't know a goddamn thing about railroads or railroad engineering. Yet, for some magnetic reason, I am pulled towards this title. The photo on the cover makes me nostalgic, and after I get past the nostalgia I want to watch an old Western.

The Politics of Space Security: Strategic Restraint and the Pursuit of National Interests
by James Moltz 



If that fancy European particle-collider fails to rip open a horrific tear in the fabric of space-time that cannibalizes the Earth, the militarization and control of space will become an important issue in the years to come. Unless you want the Chinese to win, I suggest you educate yourselves now, while there's still time. But remember: when you're reading wear tinfoil, so those Asiatic satellites can't scan your brain and extract your intelligence.

Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier
by Timothy J. Shannon 



My own personal horizon is so expansive that it forms its own continent larger than Eurasia. But you would do well to expand your own. You can start by reading about something you wouldn't normally read about. Like the Iroquois. Indian diplomacy always ends the same way, though, which makes it a little bit boring at the end: they get shafted.

Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol
by Iain Gately 



Lots of people thinking drinking is cool. Especially people who don't drink. People who do drink, can't read books while they're drunk, whereas people who don't drink won't want to read about drinking. Or will they? They probably will, which is why this will be a popular book. What a cheap way of selling yourself, though: writing on a popular topic. So fuck off, Iain Gately; and go write about something obscure and interesting. Incidentally, I think his last book was about tobacco. Let me guess what's next: masturbation.

Raiders and Rebels: A History of the Golden Age of Piracy
by Frank Sherry 



Ahoy, matey! Seriously, is there anyone who doesn't like pirates? In fact, if you're reading this and you don't like pirates: please stop existing. For the rest of us, this appears to be an entertaining look at the history of a high-time for sea-faring pirates. Read this book or walk the plank.

The Lost Heart of Asia (P.S.)
by Colin Thubron 



This is a reprint of a book published in 1994, so maybe I'm cheating; but I'm a sucker for travelogues and this one's about Central Asia (where? see a map!), a region we know as little about now as then. Based on the travel books I've read, I assume the author wrote down stuff he saw on his 6000 mile journey.