Other Suggested Readings

Crisis in Global Capitalism -- by George Soros

Abstract and exasperating as this book is, it is also worth sticking with, both for brilliant narrative of what went wrong in Asia, Russia, and other emerging markets and also for some challenging, perhaps kooky, intellectual leaps for which he's willing to risk ridicule.

George Soros is a legend in the world of finance, a man whose name is known from Wall Street to Wuhan, from Manchester to Moscow, from Brussels to Bangkok. His Quantum Fund has been the best-performing investment fund in history and his foundations have helped reshape the post-Cold War world. Now Soros applies all of his wisdom, expertise and insight to explain what's happening in the collapsing global economy

The Clue Train Manifesto -- by Rick LeVine

How would you classify a book that begins with the salutation "People of Earth..."? While the captains of industry may dismiss it as mere science fiction, The Cluetrain Manifesto is definitely of this day and age. Aiming squarely at the solar plexus of corporate America, authors Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger show how the Internet is turning business upside down. They proclaim that, thanks to conversations taking place on Web sites and message boards, and in e-mail and chat rooms, employees and customers alike have found voices that undermine the traditional command-and-control hierarchy that organizes most corporate marketing groups. The book presents seven essays filled with dozens of stories and observations about how business gets done in America and how the Internet will change it all. While Cluetrain will strike many as loud and over the top, the message itself remains quite relevant and unique. This book is for anyone interested in the Internet and e-commerce, and is especially important for those businesses struggling to navigate the topography of the wired marketplace. All aboard! --Harry C. Edwards

Birth of the Chaordic Age -- by Dee Hock

Birth of the Chaordic Age is a compelling manifesto for the future, embedded within the intriguing story of a personal odyssey. An engaging narrator, Dee Hock is the man who first conceived of a global system for the electronic exchange of value, becoming the founder and CEO of VISA International. He looks critically at today's environment of command-and-control institutions and sees organizations that are falling apart, failing to achieve their own purposes let alone addressing the diversity and complexity of society as a whole. The solution, Hock claims, lies in transforming our notion of organization; in embracing the belief that the chaos of competition and the order of cooperation can and do coexist, succeed, even thrive; and in welcoming in the chaordic age. Hock deplores an age where ingenuity and effort are wasted on circumventing the rules and regulations of insular, hierarchical bureaucracies. In a bold-type subtext interspersed throughout the book, he examines how this situation is stunting our potential as individuals and communities and contemplates what can be changed.

Moral Politics -- by Geo LaKoff

Lakoff (linguistics and cognitive science, UC-Berkeley) demonstrates that political and moral ideas develop in systematic ways from society's models of ideal families. He explains why liberal and conservative stances contain their specific constellations of policies, and analyzes the language of political discourse, drawing on studies showing that we think in terms of metaphorical concepts. Of interest to political thinkers on both the left and the right. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Metaphors We Live By -- by Geo. LaKoff

Metaphor is usually seen as an aspect of words, a linguistic trick we use to increase the effect of our words. Lakoff sets out to show that metaphors are a fundamental part of our thought processes whenever we try to think abstractly. His book does not provide a rigorous scientific proof, but it does present a lot of evidence in favor of the thesis. Lakoff gives examples from life for various metaphors, for example, TIME IS MONEY (or TIME IS A VALUABLE COMMODITY), and shows how we use these metaphors in our everyday thoughts and actions ("Spending time", "wasting time", "saving time", etc). He shows how many different ideas can be expressed with similar metaphors, i.e. HAPPINESS IS UP / SADNESS IS DOWN, HEALTH IS UP / SICKNESS IS DOWN, and so on. Lakoff sets forth his case clearly and coherently, and with some of his examples, quite entertainingly. If you want some insight into how we think, buy this book.

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight -- by Tom Hartman

- Recommended by: Joseph Kruth

Ecology and spirituality are deftly intertwined in this well-written discussion of how we can save and preserve life on earth. Vermont author Thom Hartman offers a highly persuasive argument for adopting the spiritual values of our ancient ancestors, which means living with a strong connection to the earth as well as the sun that nourishes us all. Nowadays, humans often perceive themselves as separate from nature and born to dominate it, says Hartman who lays out some frightening, albeit thorough, research on the destruction of the planet. But as the book progresses, he guides readers into a convincing and intelligent vision for reversing our destructive ways. For example, he explains how native and tribal cultures often considered all forms of life to be as sacred as human life--an attitude that may be one of our best shots at planetary longevity.

The Cultural Creatives : How 50 Million People Are Changing the World -- by Sherry Ruth Anderson, Ph.D. and Paul H. Ray, Ph.D.

Cultural Creative is a term coined by Ray and Anderson to describe people whose values embrace a curiosity and concern for the world, its ecosystem, and its peoples; an awareness of and activism for peace and social justice; and an openness to self-actualization through spirituality, psychotherapy, and holistic practices. Cultural Creatives do not just take the money and run; they don't want to defund the National Endowment for the Arts; and they do want women to get a fairer shake--not only in the United States, but around the globe.

On the basis of Ray and Anderson's research, about 50 million Americans are Cultural Creatives, a group that includes people of all races, ages, and classes. This subculture could have enormous social and political clout, the authors argue, if only it had any consciousness of itself as a cohesive unit, a society of fellow travelers. The husband and wife team wrote the book "to hold up a mirror" to the members of this vast but diffuse group, to show them they are not alone and that they can reshape society to make it more authentic, compassionate, and engaged. It is an idealistic call for a new agenda for a new millennium. --I. Crane