As you might expect from a used bookstore, East Side Books houses a large number of vintage volumes and classic literature from years past. What you might not expect is that we also have an impressive selection of recent top sellers that explore some of our country’s most pressing issues.
Since we didn’t want these hot reads to get lost among the older tomes, we created a special section entitled Current Events, or as Kim, book staff extraordinaire labeled it, Where Are We Going And Why Am I In This Handbasket?
As Kim so wittily points out, there are more issues than ever to debate about these days. No one is better at stirring up a discussion that Glenn Beck. Those who love him will be pleased to know we have a hardback copy of his latest book Arguing with Idiots. You know you’re big when your name on the front cover is larger than the title.
As the 2012 election nears, the effectiveness of Barack Obama as a President is being hotly debated. To jump into the discussion, pick up a copy of the New York Times bestseller Renegade: The Making of a President by Richard Wolffe. For another perspective, check out Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want to Kill Talk Radio, The Do-Nothing Congress, Companies that Help Iran, and Washington Lobbyists for Foreign Government Are Scamming Us by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann. How can you not be intrigued by a title like that???
The war in the Middle East is still a difficult subject our country is trying to sort out. Sometimes gathering information from several experts is the best way to decide how we feel about something in our heads and in our hearts. The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq by George Packer was named one of the Ten Best Books of the Year 2005 by the New York Times Book Review. This book offers a comprehensive background to the war in Iraq and our place in it. Noam Chomsky, a philosopher and activist who has been writing about current issues for over fifty years, has penned Middle East Illusions. As controversial as ever, Chomsky’s book will surely stir up some strong opinions. As will Phillippee Sands’ book Torture Team: Rumsfeld’s Memo and the Betrayal of American Values.
If you are looking for a little hope among the current crises of the day, pick up our copy of Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton. He believes that “we all have the capacity to do great things.” Giving is a call to action and Clinton tells the inspiring stories of Dr. Paul Farmer, Oseola McCarty, Andre Agassi, and Heifer International. Another book of hope is aptly named The Impossible Will Take A Little While: A Citizen’s Guide To Hope In Time of Fear. This collection of essays edited by Paul Rogat includes stories to guide us through despair towards hope and compassion. Contributors include Howard Zinn, Terry Tempest Williams, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and Herman Alexie.
This is just a small sample of the numerous titles we have on our Current Events shelves. If you like to be up-to-date and in the know politically, come on down to East Side Books and pick up a few books at bargain prices.
As always, please ask for assistance if you need help finding these or any other titles.
I know what you mean about Suess envy. I had it too. The only one I owned was Dr. Suess’ ABC and I loved it long past the time that I needed it to learn the pabhlaet. I learned to read at age 4 because I made my father read Goldilocks and the Three Bears over and over, night after night, until I’d memorized every word. Then I began to match the sound of the word to the visual.On another note, I have pictures of my eldest looking exactly as you do in your photograph. What a surprise. I’ll have to show you sometime.