Progressive Wednesday

How to Read Nonfiction Progressively

Problem:

There are hundreds (probably thousands) of strong progressive books published each year, and you might not know where to begin. Or you might know where to begin, but not where to end. Or you might know where the middle is but…. Nevermind. You get the idea.

So please consider this just a humble snippet of what's available and a primer for where you might shop.

.

Make Literate Progress:

Let's cut right to the French-Connection chase — here are four great reads we adore, each of which encouraged us to make progress happen:

1. Fast Food Nation, the New York Times best-seller by Atlantic Monthly reporter Eric Schlosser, dissects the fast-food industry, and reveals an ugly, hidden interior. Schlosser writers with objective passion, honesty, superb support defending his claims, and first-hand narrative. I'm awed by the depths to with fast food has altered our country, almost under our noses. How we missed the stink is beyond me after reading this tome. The book starts at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station in Colorado and ends with simple solutions for ending the power of fast food. In between, he tackles the origins of the business, advertising to children, the fast-food workforce, franchising, produce farms, flavoring, cattle ranches, poultry farms, meatpacking, food poisoning, and globalization. We dare you (no, we double-dog dare you) to eat at McDonalds after reading Schlosser's account.

2. As the parent of a daughter, Eric was blown away by Ariel Levy's Female Chauvinist Pigs, a keen analysis of the “raunch culture– and its impact on, in particular, girls and women. Her narratives depicting Girls Gone Wild and the adult industry will peel back your eyelids a bit. In short, Levy argues that, to a certain degree, some women have essentially injured American women in general by participating and celebrating objectification. It's witty, shocking, well-researched, and enlightening.

3. The heartfelt story-telling and research in Ordinary Resurrections, a book written by Jonathan Kozol, quite literally, overhauled Matt's attitudes about education, poverty, racism, contemporary segregation, prison, and children. Kozol spends a great deal of time with elementary students in the Bronx, and his narrative deftly demonstrates the impact of under-funded schools on the lives of innocent kids. It's a tough read at times (the stories vary between horrifying and glorifying), but worth it every your-time-is-money moment of it. Kozol's not just out to change the way you feel; he wants you to take action, and his solution arcs through the entire book.

4. Okay, this last one might not be overtly progressive in that it's a somewhat sardonic read, but Fran Lebowitz's first two books, Metropolitan Life and Social Studies, pretty much make us cry with laughter. We'd like to recommend The Fran Lebowitz Reader, which collects her first two books together. Here's how this book strikes us as progressive: in America, women are actively and tacitly discouraged to be this kind of funny. Lebowitz clearly cares less about social norms; in fact, she tends to criticize the norm throughout her erudite, wise and wry writings. (For more of her humor, you can read an interview here.)

.

Some Ways and Means:

1. Soft Skull Press is the place progressives ought to start their search for books that will fit right in their wheelhouses. Soft Skull prints books of fiction, poetry, and art which all rock, but for right now we'll focus on the nonfiction stuff we're thankful that they crank out. These days, we're in the middle of two of their fantastic reads: Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground and The Whistleblower: Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman. We'll pop out reviews of each in a week or so, but let's just say these books have us nodding our heads with each page. Soft Skull a press that requires any true progressive's attention, and you can check out their catalog by clicking right over here.

2. Chelsea Green is suddenly one of our favorite presses: a small but vibrant independent publishing house, featuring nonfiction “focused on the politics and practice of sustainable living.– What does sustainable living mean to Chelsea Green? It means books about protecting small farms, the reinvention of cities, eco-friendly homes, and solar energy. They also have books about progressive linguistics, and, most importantly, solutions for folks who love our country and our planet. You might want to start by ordering or downloading a free catalog.

3. Do check out The New Press, a not-for-profit book publisher in the vein of PBS and NPR, doling out “ideas and viewpoints under-represented in the mass media.” These folks are all about getting progressive texts into the hands of as many folks as they can, and money the press earns is funneled directly back into publishing the work of others. You can find inspiring work like Alice Walker's (yes, that Alice Walker) We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For and Studs Terkel's Giants of Jazz, along side more overtly political books such as Dream: Re-imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy by Stephen Duncombe. (We're also very interested in getting around to reading Rednecks & Bluenecks: The Politics of Country Music by Chris Willman.) The body of work they've published demonstrates a concern for conservationism, fair trade, and the development of new pharmaceuticals. Their catalog (which includes fiction and children's books, amongst other kinds of writing) won't disappoint.

.

And As Always…

You also have these resources available to you to help find progressive nonfiction in general, or on specific topics you're concerned about:

• Ask us. We're here for ya.
• Ask the folks on progressive message-boards and blogs like Daily Kos.
• Ask a librarian online, 24/7. You can type in 44114 as your zip code (that's a Cleveland, Ohio zip).

Photo clicked by this literature lover.