Monday, June 16, 2008

Recommended Books

It seems like everyone had a name to drop, even if it was only an author of his or her favorite book. Because we may not have been fast and furious enough when jotting notes, here are some favorites:

-Paradise Lost
-Pilgrim's Progress
-Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone
-Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death
-Orwell's 1984
-Huxley's Brave New World
-Russell Brooks's The Invisible Heart (Econ book)
-Economical Writing (The Elements of Style for Econ, basically)


Plus, I have a few recommendations of my own:

-Dr. Jeffrey McCall's Viewer Discretion Advised (a reader by my favorite professor to encourage media literacy and to make us all critical thinkers and media consumers)
-Compassion Fatigue by Susan Moeller
-Woodward and Bernstein's All the President's Men
-Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan
-Douglas Rushkoff's Coercion: Why We Listen to What "They" Say
-Daniel J. Boorstin's The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America
-Anthony Lewis's Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment
-Pember and Calvert's Mass Media Law (long read, well worth it)
-Also, several articles by Rubin might be helpful if you're looking for more information about TV viewer habits or the link between TV violence and our behavior.
-If you just want to watch a fun but thought-provoking movie, try Network. (think: "I'm Mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!")

Please post a comment or edit my post if you have any I forgot (or your own additions).

5 comments:

Unknown said...

K-Rock made some good points. I was going to recommend Boorstin's The Image. What's amazing about the book, which was written in 1961, is how current it still is. It makes you re-evaluate what truly is newsworthy.

The Undercover Economist is also good.

For a general/light read, The Butterfly Hunter and The Ape In The Corner Office are good reads about pursuing your passion and office culture.

K-Rock said...

True! What you said about Boorstin is really a fantastic reason to read it. It could have been written in the past 5 years and still have been true. It is a must-read. Try to apply his thinking to what we know now (aka, the election!). Also, I forgot ADCULT USA by Twitchell, if you want to see how advertising and commercialism have changed our social landscape.

Unknown said...

I actually already have Pember's Mass Media Law and found it painful.

K-Rock said...

Painful, maybe. But you must admit it's useful! If you went around giving lectures about the libel details in that book you'd make a killing...which brings me back to the "Sound Advice" post--find a second source of income. Yes, ladies and gentlemen...making connections.

Unknown said...

Hi the author of "The Invisible Heart" is Russell Roberts.

Its a wonderful novel.