Books Worth Reading, Movies Worth Watching

Books Worth Reading & Movies Worth Watching

       I have recently read the following books in 1998 that may be of interest to others:

       Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign To Rig Our Tax System To Benefit The Super Rich--And Cheat Everyone Else  This 2003 book by David Cay Johnston is sure to outrage and anger you, unless you are a beneficiary of this unjust system.

       A Declaration of Energy Independence: How Freedom from Foreign Oil Can Improve National Security, Our Economy, and the Environment by Jay Hakes  This somewhat technical 2008 book includes the history of our oil dependence and crises plus a number of potentially feasible and workable solutions to end our oil addiction once and for all, if only our elected officials, corporations and citizens have the courage and will to implement them.

        Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of The Honey Bee & the Coming Agricultural Crisis by Rowen Jacobsen  This somewhat technical 2008 book is a celebration of food and nature which surmises the cause(s) of the recent worldwide prevalence of  "Colony Collapse Disorder" and speculates what agriculture would be like without honeybees and other important pollinators.

     I'm currently reading:  Thieves In High Places:They've Stolen Our Country And It's Time To Take It Back by Jim Hightower.  This 2003 book chronicles how George Dubya Bush and the extreme right-wing of the Republican Party has run roughshod over our rights, shredded the Constitution and changed government for the worse for most citizens.

     

Movies Worth Watching or Renting:

  "Traitor" Don Cheadle plays a devout Moslem who both helps and stops terrorists.

  "Slumdog Millionaire"  Director Danny Boyle (Director of  "Trainspotting", "28 Days Later", etc.) tells the story of Jamal a basically uneducated, poor orphan in India who grows up to overcome much tragedy and adversity to win over one million rupees (Indian currency) in the Indian version of  "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", all for the love of his boyhood friend Latika, who has her own share of adversity. What's interesting is not so much that he won, but how he won. I wouldn't be surprised if this film isn't at least nominated for Best Foreign Film. 

(to be cont'd?)