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?
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.