Best book to give to an open minded conservative who is starting turn

I had a wonderful discussion today with a client who is VERY intelligent, EXTREMELY wealthy, is an avid reader and a true thinker.

He confessed that he had always been very conservative, hated liberals, etc. (he did not know I was a liberal but I think he suspected as much). Recently he read a book (Brief History of Progress) and it has really made him think seriously about liberal ideas.

We talked for awhile, bantering arguments about SS, *, the environment, welfare, why Republicans have triumphed, how he cannot comprehend Evangelicals, hjow silly and scary their beliefs are, and how angry he is that they have stolen his party, and so forth.

He loaned me his book, and volunteered to read a book of mine. He basically said something like, "I'm open minded but not convinced about the liberal thing - give a book that will make the best arguments for the liberal view".

So...given ONE shot...knowing that this person is NOT a rethug, not a knuckle dragger, not a religious reicher, but a very intelligent open-minded person with gobs and gobs of cash beyond belief, what would DUers recommend as the one book that has the best shot of bringing him over to "our side"?

I've considered:

Michael Parenti - Dirty Truths, Against Empire, or America Besieged

Noam Chomsky - Understanding Power or The Common Good

Ted Rall - Wake Up, You're Liberal

Center For American Progress "Taking Back America" (an EXCELLENT anthology)

but I'm open for suggestions. What book has made the best argument for the liberal viewpoint?

Then move on to the serious stuff.....

I chose it because of John Dean being the author. It might hold more credibility coming from the guy who "been there - done that" and who ought to know best.

He already thinks Bush is a total disaster, a criminal a liar. But that is not the same as thinking that conservatives are misguided and liberals are right.

What he needs is a book that describes what liberals stand for, and makes a case that this is right and good and workable. What he needs is a book that describes the progressive vision and makes the case that it is the better way of doing things.

Here's the link to it. I bet you'd get some great ideas there. Good luck!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=209

but I think that Kevin Phillips' Wealth and Democracy addresses the real issue and then you can read the rest to see how and by whom the ransacking of the middle-class and poor is done.
Then the fellow can graduate to Howard Zinn's: People's History of the United States.

I haven't read any of those books, and I am not wealthy but I hope this rich, enlightened man can finally see the light. If he hates liberals because he's conservative, there's hopefully room for growth.

... they are in the "red meat" category, and are not going to be easy for a conservative to read. They assume too much liberal background.

There are several fine books that take Libertarianism, Ayn Rand, and other free-enterprise religions to task, and in a methodical, precise way. Many conservatives will also respond well to criticisms of the Religious Right, and most Religious Rightists who follow their pastors would be well advised to check out Jim Wallis or Tony Compolo's books.

One of the books exposing the economic sleight-of-hand going on would also be a good choice. I think Paul Krugman wrote one recently (I have forgotten the title).

The idea isn't to make the conversion -- it's to keep the person's mind open. Philosophical and political thinking is an ongoing process, not a set of discrete mental states. Books, conversation, dialog, (friendly) arguments all fit in to the scheme. Any man or woman with an open and inquiring mind will come to see the idiocies of politics wherever they may be. And to the detriment of the conservatives, most of it is on the right these days.

Good luck!

--p!

I have the necessary books to take on any open minded Christian. Jim Wallis is good but Katherine Yurica is MUCH MUCH better. She shows that Bush and the GOP agenda are very anti-Christian and even very anti-Old Testament, where God demanded that the poor be taken care of and punished the Israelites when they neglected the widows, the fatherless, the sick, etc.

Bloodguilty Churches
Why Bush’s Agenda Is Immoral and an Abomination to God
By Katherine Yurica
http://www.yuricareport.com/Religion/TheBloodGuiltyChurches.html

But a critique of the free market/libertarian perspective might just do the trick.

Paul Krugman's book "The Great Unraveling" is an excellent suggestion. Thanks.

Also "Confessions of an Economic Hitman," which explains the corporatocracy in a way that's not overtly anti-conservative or liberal, but definitely overtly anti-corporate.

don't think of an elephant.

by David Brock was what I called my bible for a long time. If I wanted to know who was who in the Repub party I'd look it up in his book. Still do. For instance, Silberman (sp) Judge, very interesting person.

http://www.michaelparenti.org/AudioTalks.html

"Fascism, The False Revolution" is a good one. If "The Struggle for Democracy" is the one I'm remembering, it's also very good.

"Moral Politics" by Lakoff changed my thinking by allowing a deffinition for so much of what is happening. That whole 'strict father' thing is a good place to start when pondering the right these days.

book on the bush dynasty. shoulkd scare them.

Kevin Phillips: Weath and Democracy will knock his socks off!
In fact I think this book would do more than any of the above. It treats the economics of 4 empires: Spain, Netherlands, Britain and the U$. Shows what happens when middle-class is screwed, etc. Lots of graphs and when depressions occur (when overload of wealth goes to the 1% like it is doing now. It is dry but fascinating.

or Alterman's "What Liberal Media" or "When Presidents Lie"

If he really is as thoughtful and intelligent as you say, Phillips will open him up to exploring the other fine authors.

Wealth and Democracy really points out more of the system than book on BFEE, it gives the why.

As he can relate better.

Try David Brock "Blinded By the Right"

or Ed Schultz, "Straight Talk from the Heartland" (I haven't read yet, but I understand Ed describes how he went from Repub to Dem, which might help your friend.)

Probably too "red meatish" but I'm looking at "Big Lies : The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine" which might open his eyes to how he's been lied to by the media.

a set in stone moderate rightie before he met his wife. It's interesting to read how he started his conversion.

He talks and writes like a rightie and thinks in the same ways. But it gets interesting when he discusses how he began to think outside the box and developed a progressive view.

This will be a "friendly" book for your client. Ed writes, and on his show, speaks respectfully to everyone but has the language of a conservative. He doesn't bash anybody--a good opening read for someone starting to come toward the light.

Tho it's not widely reported, Thomas Frank explains in the book how he used to be a Reagan Republicon.

NGU.

I thought it nicely portrayed liberal values and contrasted them with the "values" of the radical conservatives. Not overly heated on rhetoric - just calmly reasonable - about things such as the economy, environment, schools, etc. -- a broad look at a liberal agenda. And it didn't entirely spare liberals from some critical self-examination, either, which made it more credible, I thought.

I'm giving it to my Dad when I get back to the States this summer - I'm hoping he'll at least understand better what I mean by "liberal" - and it's not what he thinks!

Editorial Reviews
Review
“A riveting and absolutely essential book for reflecting upon and awakening to the real meaning of America and the hope it still offers to the world.”
—Jacob Needleman, author of The American Soul

“In this season of witches, with the forces of unreason evidently in command, it is a joy to rediscover just how great an ally we, the people, have in Thomas Jefferson. His ideals, we find, are ours, now more than ever; and so all true patriots should turn to him again for solace, guidance, and inspiration. Kudos to Thom Hartmann for this wise and necessary book.”
—Mark Crispin Miller, author of Cruel and Unusual: Bush/Cheney's New World Order

“Thom Hartmann offers us an eye-opening view of how democracy is threatened. America needs this book now more than ever before.”
—Greg Palast, author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

From the Trade Paperback edition.
Download Description
THOM HARTMANN is the host of a nationally syndicated radio show, The Thom Hartmann Program, and the award-winning
author of fourteen books. He lives in Montpelier, Vermont, and can be found on the Internet at www.thomhartmann.com.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400052084/ref=pd_sim_b_1/104-5819263-5199117?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance

n/t

by George McGovern.

I confess, this is still on my must-read list, so my recommendation is second-hand, but this description sounds like it might fit the bill:

From Publishers Weekly (via Amazon):
The former presidential candidate, three-term South Dakota senator and outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War balances partisan argument with historical perspective in his winning, well-reasoned (if rarely startling) ninth book. Drawing both on the "moral and spiritual views" of America's founders and on his own experiences (as a wartime bomber pilot, a senator and a U.N. official fighting world hunger), McGovern defends a proud legacy of liberalism, whose "role is to harness federal power to serve the public interest." Offering warm words for many Republicans, McGovern nevertheless pulls no punches about the current administration's "arrogance and go-it-alone" behavior; much of the book outlines a progressive alternative. Five chapters alternate progressive policy recommendations with discussions of (and long quotes from) presidents McGovern admires: Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and FDR. The book's real historical hero, however, is Eisenhower, who warned that an ever-expanding "military-industrial complex" could choke off democracy and waste American treasure in needless wars.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743269276/002-3048935-0707203?v=glance

takes on popular conservative myths, the religious right, big business, etc. -- and it's framed well for a conservative -- but points out the liberal foundations of our history -- Rousseau, rationality -- and how both secularism and the "just society" have a claim to our government, and are rooted in our history.

At least, I think. I haven't read it -- but I've seen him talk about it on at least ten talk shows.

oxymoron

Some of them are alright. Witness the "Glibs." I was impressed that those two groups could work together in Ohio.

Heard it was a good one..

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0374288925/qid=1116483016/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-1997827-8367834?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Is always a good choice... :bounce:

Reason : Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America
by ROBERT B. REICH

It's clear, concise and funny!

for a questioning conservative. Mainly because he hits the truth on the head over and over again.

It was meant to be used as a college textbook. His book "Superpatriotism" is also very good.

Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" is a real eye-opener.

I'd also recommend Chomsky's "Hegemony or Survival."

It is a long read but given the historical perspective of the book, I think it is worth it. It underscores work ethics, distribution of wealth, the benefit of labor rights and the fact that this evening of wealth distribution is what made America great.

And intelligent, also IF he cares a lot about foreign policy I would go with Deterring Democracy by Chomsky. IF he gets through it (reads like a textbook) an open minded person not put off by the iniquities of our foreign policy cannot but be moved by it

how you could vote for the Republicans after reading that book.

It's a great way to ease into the idea that maybe you should vote for Democrats if you're a Republican.

If you were to ask a dozen liberals about their route to liberality you would find eleven paths, all of which involved likely hundreds of books and hours of learning and reflection. This is to be contrasted with the average conservative who is conservative because of a lack of thought and reading and knee jerk reptilian brain responses to feelings of territorial infringement.

What you need (and I actually don't have a suggestion) is a single book that shows the sweep of liberalism since the beginning of the human race--and that essentially conservatives have been on the wrong side of every issue since the caveman. The first book that started me on a long journey was The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.

You could give him the book "The Jungle" and add one simple comment and a question: this was before any liberals had influence in the U.S., were we a better country? It is not a "red-meat" book, but a book that follows a family in the capitalistic jungle that was America at the turn of the century. It deals in the best emotion of all for conversion: empathy.

The funny thing about conservatives generally is to ask them WHEN they would have been a liberal. Would they have been a liberal when non-property owning males were fighting for a vote? Would they have been a liberal when women were fighting for the vote or birth control rights? Would they have been a liberal when liberals were trying to stop child labor? would they have been a liberal when liberals were trying to put an end to slavery? Would they have been a liberal when people were trying to get safe working conditions for laborers? Would they have been a liberal when African Americans were fighting for equal rights? It's always amazing to see all these conservatives basking in the rights won by liberals: like the other day when I saw a car with a Bush bumper sticker parked in a handicap parking spot with the little permit dangling from the mirror.

I would give him any number of good books, but I would tell him that being a liberal doesn't come from a book, because a book will never allow you to understand the sweep of history necessary to truly become convinced that liberalism is behind virtually every advance in human history.

Or the Kevin Phillips book on the Bush Cartel, "American Dynasty" -- that's a good one for Republicans.