Book Excerpts

‘Death of the Liberal Class’

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Oct 29, 2010 In a traditional democracy, the liberal class functions as a safety valve It makes piecemeal and incremental reform possible It offers hope for change and proposes gradual steps toward greater equality But the assault by the corporate state on the democratic state has claimed the liberal class as one of its victims . Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

The ‘Clinton Bubble’: How Clinton Democrats Fostered the 2008 Economic Crisis

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Sep 17, 2010 Truthdig reposts an excerpt from Robert Scheer's 2010 book "The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street." This is the story of the groundwork laid for the collapse of the U.S. economy—a catastrophe from which working blacks in particular still have not recovered. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

‘The Great American Stickup’: How Wall Street Occupied Washington

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Sep 15, 2010 The big cop-out in much of what has been written about the banking meltdown has been the argument by those most complicit that there was "enough blame to go around" and that no institution or individual should be singled out for accountability. "How could we have known?" is the refrain of those who continue to pose as all-knowing experts.The big cop-out of the banking meltdown is that no institution or individual should be singled out for accountability. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

‘Mashed Up: Music, Technology, and the Rise of Configurable Culture’

Aram Sinnreich / Truthdig Aug 28, 2010 From that moment during the Renaissance when someone first decided that a painter was more than just a craftsman with an easel, the whole idea of the Artist-with-a-capital-A has required an entire mythology just to make it seem plausible.The line separating artists from their audience has always been a bit blurry. Dig deeper ( 24 Min. Read )

Bush Shakes Haitian’s Hand, Wipes His on Clinton

Staff / Truthdig Mar 25, 2010 Note to anyone considering running for president: If you win, or even if you don't, you must repeat to yourself "I am always in a fishbowl" as many times as necessary to have it sink in better than it apparently did for George W Bush (continued). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Hidden Talent: The Emergence of Hollywood Agents

Tom Kemper / Truthdig Jan 28, 2010 In this first-ever history of Hollywood agents, Tom Kemper mines agency archives to present an insider's view of their tooth-and-claw rise to power during the studio era Through case studies of key figures like Myron Selznick and Charles Feldman, we see that the agent's character and social relationships functioned within a business structure -- a good reputation and powerful connections were an agent's most precious assets. Dig deeper ( 17 Min. Read )

The Guantanamo Lawyers: Shipwrecked

BLANK Nov 23, 2009 This important new book tells the story of the world's most famous prison from the perspective of the lawyers who toiled under notoriously difficult conditions on behalf of the detainees.The U.S. determined that Baher Azmy's client had no connection to terrorism but imprisoned him anyway. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Freedom’s Fight: Part II

Gary Phillips / Truthdig Nov 21, 2009 Truthdig is pleased to present the second excerpt from Gary Phillips’ novel “Freedom’s Fight,” which interweaves real historical figures and situations in a fictive narrative about World War II, focusing not just on the black soldier’s struggle, but also on the debates various civil rights groups had about the war stateside. This second installment from Gary Phillips' historical novel "Freedom's Fight" focuses on black soldiers in World War II. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Freedom’s Fight

By Gary Phillips Nov 12, 2009 Truthdig is pleased to present an excerpt from Gary Phillips' novel "Freedom’s Fight," which interweaves real historical figures and situations in a fictive narrative about World War II, focusing not just on the black soldier’s struggle, but also on the debates various civil rights groups had about the war stateside.The historical novel "Freedom's Fight" focuses on black soldiers in World War II and the debates about the war among civil rights groups stateside. Dig deeper ( 21 Min. Read )

Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times

Bill Boyarsky / Truthdig Nov 3, 2009 The Chandler family's L.A. Times practically invented one of the great American cities. This is the story of the paper's fall toward mediocrity. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

The Victims of Pornography

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Oct 12, 2009 Pornography does not promote sex It promotes masturbation It promotes the solitary auto-arousal that precludes intimacy and love Pornography is about getting yourself off at someone else's expensePornography is an assault on intimacy and love. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

Business Goes to School

Mike Rose / Truthdig Sep 15, 2009 Business leaders are eager to meddle in education but rarely take responsibility for the root of education's problem -- economic despair and mind-numbing mass media. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )