Let’s build a go-to list of leftist books everyone should know about. Contribute one book per comment so the most popular titles are easy to spot.
Rules:
- Single option per comment — mention only one book so voting stays clear.
- No duplicates — check existing comments before posting.
- Upvote what you love — boost the books that deserve wider readership.
What’s your pick?
“Blackshirts and Reds” by Michael Parenti
Yes, no question about it. It was my eye opener, the book that manifested itself as my safety vest, as I plunged into the world of left politics.
Basically Michael Parenti is John the Baptist and he babtised me.
Pretty typical, but I really have to say Capital, Volume 1. It’s genuinely strong from a literary perspective while also being one of the most important works of all time.
The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin.
“The Wretched of the Earth” by Frantz Fanon
Debt: The First 5000 Years, Graeber
I think this is a good entry point for a non-committed lib (aka the majority of people I run into) for critiquing and dismantling what seems like a permanent fixture in our society. It isn’t hard to read or particularly bleak. I find it’s the book I recommend the most at parties (though I’d say my uptake is around 10%)
I would say this is the book that took me from somewhat well read, well meaning liberal that supported welfare and the New Deal and what not to full fledged leftist. It’s a bit of a doorstopper, but it’s so good. Bullshit Jobs might be better for a more casual liberal, if nothing else because it’s shorter, but it also speaks in more readily observable terms rather than the more academic feel of Debt.
“Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paolo Freire
Orientalism by Edward Said
Personally I loved reading “The Peasant War in Germany” by Frederick Engels, because 1) it is a complete work which explores its topic thoroughly, 2) it presents a coherent argument that actually persuaded me with evidence, and 3) of all the books on the subject, Engels’ was actually the best and most helpful for understanding things. Really busts the myth that “religions cause wars” by exploring how religion is mostly just an excuse people use for underlying economic reasons that really drive their behaviors.
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1850/peasant-war-germany/
Reform or Revolution by Rosa Luxemburg.
God damn, this thread is like a greatest hits album, and someone already posted Blackshirts and Reds so, uhhhh…
Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.
Principles of Philosophy by Georges Politzer
Probably the best book on theory I’ve ever read. Concise, short and an easy read. Explains everything about both the progression of Marxist philosophy and its opponents. Also made the strongest possible affirmation of my newfound atheism.
An excellent choice, I managed to find a print copy. Comrade’s Library also has epubs for it here.
Shit, without your reading list, I’m not sure If I would have ever discovered it, let alone read it!
Aww, thanks, comrade! I found it off of Crit’s absolute beginner reading list and loved it, so that’s why I put it in!
Spent the day today reading this and it legitimately changed my world and clarified so many aspects I’ve been struggling with that I want to thank you for posting this! This is the one to read.
Human Rights in the Soviet Union, by Albert Szymanski
“American Exception: Empire and the Deep State” by Aaron Good
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Socialism: Utopian and Scientific is a really incredible introductory work for Marxism, at least if you have certain inclinations like an interest in the history of philosophy.
I’m surprised at the major titles that haven’t been mentioned yet. the State of the thread is concerning And merits Rev iew.
