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POTUS' Summer Book List

Posted by Monica Mehta at 3:30 PM on August 18, 2005.

What Bush is and isn't reading during his five-week summer vacation.

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I'd rather be reading My Pet Goat.

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What's George W. reading when he's not clearing brush and avoiding Cindy Sheehan?

According to CNN,

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History. John Barry tells the story of the virus that killed more than 50 million people worldwide in 1918 and argues that the U.S. government ignored the wartime crisis and created conditions that allowed it to thrive.

Salt: A World History." This best seller by Mark Kurlansky tells the history of salt and how this rock found in nearly every kitchen shaped the world.

"Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar." Apparently a perk of the presidency is getting advance copies of anticipated biographies such as this. The book by celebrated Russian playwright Edvard Radzinsky doesn't go on sale until October.

Seems to me he could be putting his book-larnin' time to a lot more use. Here's my recommended alternate reading list for the president.

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. A firsthand view of the workforce's bottom rung.

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman. The New World is exciting, but if the U.S. doesn't keep up, it's going to be trampled. Also a close analysis of the economic and political roots of global Islamism.

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. Equal wages for all, a community of women…what's not to love?

At the very least, Mr. Bush, it's good to know thine enemies. Oh, one more...

Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson. Because it's never too early to start preparing for the 2008 election.

Any other book recommendations, dear readers?

Monica Mehta is an associate editor at AlterNet.

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India Jones [Report this comment] Posted by: India on Aug 19, 2005 5:19 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Little George would do well to read my book American Passion Play which is on the net under that name or can be ordered from the publisher, Pilgrims Book House. if he would like to have a better understanding of what he is up against with his great American drug war that he will never win.... [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Does it matter? [Report this comment] Posted by: ebotsko on Aug 19, 2005 6:40 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] If you refuse to learn and close your mind, it doesn't matter what you read, you won't benefit from the experience. Lookit, he's been riding a bicycle for how long? And he still crashes the damned thing on a regular basis. The old definition of doing the same things the same way and expecting different results is insanity says a bunch about how he works.... I think Georgie's mind is all full and locked closed, so it doesn't matter what he reads, he won't learn anything. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] reading? [Report this comment] Posted by: kdaorgan on Aug 19, 2005 3:17 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The first thing that jumped into my mind on hearing that W was reading a book about salt, was that it must be a very short book. Where can you find that many different pictures of salt. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] In favor of his first book choice, in fact. [Report this comment] Posted by: Samantha Vimes on Aug 20, 2005 3:19 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The bird flu strain H51N (if I've got it right), has been very deadly to young adults when it's crossed the species barrier. So far a successful strain to transmit between humans hasn't developed, but it's basically a matter of time. When it does, we will have a pandemic. The 1918 Influenza is a good thing for our leaders to be thinking about now. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] The Bible? [Report this comment] Posted by: Girlyrox on Aug 20, 2005 10:11 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] It makes perfect sense that he would choose to read historical topics because he clearly can't face reality in the here-and-now or the future as it's being shaped by the suggested reading titles. Since he favors history, why doesn't he actually read the Bible PLUS some serious theological writing and discussions on the hot-button topics he treasures so much like gay marriage and family values. He will find, of course, expert opinions that frame a very different perspective than his hard-line stance and that's like poison to him. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] gramps [Report this comment] Posted by: gramps on Aug 20, 2005 8:15 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] I hear he reads girlie magazines. His wife roasted him when she mentioned that he doesn't like to read at all. He is a puppet of the neo-cons and the Carlyle group. John Edwards, when asked what he thought the lump on Georgie's back was at the debate said: "I think it was his battery". I just read The War On Truth 9/11 Disinformation and the Anatomy of Terrorism by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed executive editor of The Institute for Policy Research & Development in Brighton. He presents a well documented case that the administration orchestrated 9/11. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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