Highly Recommended Books for Serious Readers
The following books should be bestsellers in a thriving, deliberate democracy addressing and correcting widespread injustices. The dedicated authors labored thousands of hours to produce these enlightening books. We only have to spend a few dozen hours to reap the fruits of their labors.
1. Exposed: A Pfizer Scientist Battles Corruption, Lies, and Betrayal, and Becomes a Biohazard Whistleblower by Becky A. McClain. This is the personal story of a stunningly courageous scientist at a Pfizer Lab in Connecticut who handled deadly pathogens. Denied access to her medical records after being exposed by sloppy lab practices, she took Pfizer to federal court, won a verdict, and continued to battle Pfizer’s multiple retaliations. She raises serious questions about corporate labs around the country. Her story is the stuff of a gripping Hollywood movie.
2. The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics by Dr. Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker. John M. Barry, author of THE GREAT INFLUENZA, praises this “extraordinary book … part thrilling disaster movie script, part insightful history of public health, part personal story … You’ll reread it and learn something new each time.” Given the reach of a global pandemic, everyone needs this wakeup call for preparatory action by “one of the world’s leading epidemiologists.”
3. The Blue Road to Trump Hell: How Corporate Democrats Paved the Way for Autocracy by Norman Solomon (with Cartoons by Matt Wuerker). It took a very decrepit and corporatized Democratic Party to lose twice to Tyrant Trump and the worst GOP in history. But the unremorseful, unintrospective Party of the Donkey pulled it off and seems ready for an encore unless it listens to long-time Democrats like Norman Solomon. (See: Between The Lines video roundtable for a discussion about this book.)
4. The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home by William D. Hartung and Ben Freeman. Enabled entirely by our Congress (535 men and women we send to Washington, DC, the devouring gigantic corporate war machine, driven by Pentagon contractors and new upstart high-tech firms, spreads conflict around the world and that embroil America in endless wars, at the expense of everybody else. Remember Trump promising voters he’ll end the endless war? He lied and is pursuing his own wars to boot. Hartung and Freeman show us the way out. “Enough already” – wage peace and bring those tax dollars back home for public services and infrastructure.
5. Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet by Chuck Collins. This gripping book, written with clarity, and enhanced by cartoons, and graphics designed to engage a broad audience, is just what the demands of public education and civic motivation require. Reflecting a lifetime of scholarship and action, Chuck Collins conveys the essentials to extinguish the profiteering wildfires eating at the livelihoods, health, and safety of families everywhere and supercharging racial divides.
6. No Neutrals There: US Labor, Zionism, and the Struggle for Palestine by Professor Jeff Schuhrke. Finally, a book on the direct engagement of U.S. labor unions with the Israeli government, including huge investments of American worker pensions in Israeli bonds. This book exposes conflicts of interest and the tensions between the rank and file workers and the compromised Union bosses. Fresh material throughout about this continuing taboo subject. Will the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal cover this exposé? Ask them!
7. The Crying Window: Memoir of a Female Scientist Looking for Truth by Dr. Helene Hill. Fresh out of Smith College in 1950, Helene Hill broke ranks and pursued a daring career in science. Met with one man-made hurdle after another, she overcame them all, while raising four children. Along the way, she uncovered a serious case of scientific fraud. Her rigorous life provides lessons for confronting today’s obstacles to aspiring women in all professions. Young women scientists will want to read this motivational narrative that spells TRIUMPH.
8. A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets by Andy Shallal. I’ve called Shallal “Democracy’s Restauranteur”—not just for his open civic advocacy in Washington, DC—but because his eight nutritious restaurants are really community centers with bookstores and a stage for poets, politicians, musicians, community leaders and famous authors and champions of justice. No one like him in this industry. A very personal story to read and relish.
9. Finally, there is my book Let’s Start the Revolution: Tools for Displacing the Corporate State and Building a Country that Works for the People. It presents wisdom from over twenty civic leaders for winning elections in the right way for the right causes. It is a handbook for voters who want to collar candidates and steer them to the pathways for a just society. Very pertinent for the 2026 elections. It gets rid of the many excuses voters make for their cynicism and low expectations for politics.
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