"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin. Also, DESCENT INTO TYRANNY by Alex Jones.

I recommend "Web of Debt" by Ellen Brown 2007. "The Shocking truth about our money system - the sleight of hand that has trapped us in debt and how we can break free". It seems to undergird our global reality, i.e., what drives wars, wealth and poverty worldwide. This is scholarly researched and clearly written and more than just an inconvenient truth I feel it's an essential truth for anyone wishing to understand the human tectonic plates of our civilization.

A must read for our next president is a forthcoming book this year by Winslow Myers titled "Building a World Beyond War: A Roadmap for Citizens." As other small books like Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" have played a significant role in our history, this work articulates a critical path for our future. The means are the ends in the making. For more information contact beyondwar.org.

Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston seems to me essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of our country and the growing disparities that may be our most important threat to democracy.

"On Man and The Universe", Aristotle. Would be a good companion for the president. People and times change but the need for fairness and civility are always there.

I saw the show you did a few weeks back on makeing the case for impeachment. I agreed with you and your guests compleetly. Given the fact that this white house has gotten so much power in the last 7 years, I would love to see the next president read Animal farm. what a perfect book to demonstrate the absoult courption of power.
christian lopez

"Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future" by Peter Ward. The various global warming scenarios presented at the end of this book make all other problems seem small by comparison.

I hope this is the place for book suggestions for Bill Moyers show on Fri. 2-8.
The book, 3 Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin. Story of Greg M and his quest to build schools in Afghanstan and Pakiston in the villages where the poorest people live and they want education more than anything. Greg shows that education is the only way to bring peace and a way to end Islamic terrorism. If we really want peace, we will have it, not with military might, but with book, not bombs.

In light of the recent revelations that all of the 9/11 "confessions" were obtained under torture, and in an effort to prevent America's further slide into a dictatorial police state, I reccomend that the next president read David Griffin's, "The 9/11 Commision Report: Omissions and Distortions."

I agree with Harold K. below. Constitutional expert Joel Bakan's book, "The Corporation", and the documentary based on the book, are too important not to read and see. This book truly shook me to the core.

2 books:

"The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot by Naomi Wolf." A new President has to account for policy changes that offer so much advantage to corporations at the expense of relatively powerless individuals. What could be the consequences to constitutional order if this trend continues unchanged?

"The Sorrows of Empire" or any other book by Chalmers Johnson. A national security imperative has led us to eke out over 700 military bases internationally. Is this over-extension and if so, what would be the consequences, both pro and con when we scale back?

How about "The Spoon River Anthology" to remind a President living inside the beltway that the lives of those he or she governs are fleeting, yet filled with so much hope and fear.

Bill --

I would like the next President to read (not scan) _Utopia_ by Thomas More. It is both wonderful and somehow sad that the critique of law, politics, and society offered in _Utopia_ remains -- after nearly five hundred years in print -- still so very much on target.

More wrote _Utopia_ not to describe a destination but to start a discussion, and a journey. Reading the book and understanding its history might remind the next President that, although it may be a long and difficult trek to improve human societies, it is always a journey worth undertaking.

It might also remind the President that even lawyers do have imaginations and can use them, as lawyer More did in writing his book.

Then again, More did lose his head. . . .

Best,

Howard V. Hendrix

Reading through, I noticed only one person recommended Joel Bakan's "The Corporation". This is both sad and frightening,for such an important book. We'll never grow as a society without paying heed to this work.

Citizen Power by Mike Gravel. He's one of the most patriotic living Americans - a modern day Thomas Paine. He may not win the election (sadly), but his message is the best one to truly influence the future of our country for the better.

I believe the one book the next president should read is "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. Only by understanding where our country truly has been can we make informed decisions regarding our future.

BLESSED UNREST by Paul Hawken

First, and foremost,the message of this book is positive. The book had its genesis in after-talk meetings with thousands of people who shared their work, their beliefs, and their business cards. It carries the subtitle"How the Largest Movement in the World Came Into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming." The movement is composed of organizations that fit within the very broad framework of environmental activism, peoples' rights, and social justice. The number of such entities world wide falls between one and two million (more than ten million individuals)—largely non-profits and NGOs. Now with the certainty of a new President, government can react and capitalize on the successful works in progress.

Before arriving at the White House, the elected one should read the latest works of Oliver Sacks (about the brain), Sherwin B. Nuland (about aging-very accelerated as a President), and Nicholas Basbanes (about books-the power of the printed word to stir the world). A quiet time to read is a necessity.

David Cay Johnston's new book is revolutionary and everyone needs to read it.

Bill,

A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam by Neil Sheehan and Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam by Robert Dreyfuss should be on the top of any new President's reading list for foreign policy.

I would like to add that I find it disgraceful that so many people would recommed the crank that David Ray Griffin publishes about 9/11. They desperately need to read this.

Any president that allows the Bible to be their first choice - should be required to read Leo Tolstoy's thoughtful non-fictional critique - The Kingdom of God Is Within You - the book credited with being a major influence on Mahatma Gandhi.

CONSUMED How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole by Benjamin R. Barber. This book should definitely be read by every candidate and citizen. It is the best book I have read in a DECADE and I read hundreds of books. Read it.

This great list of books suggests that our government hasn't been using the best ideas that could put our country in a positive direction.

The next president must listen to new ideas or we're doomed to hear the same distored noise, where, in Yeats' words, " The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity"

"Imperial Life in the Emerald City," by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, is the best book written about our failed occupation in Iraq.

The aforementioned books, from "The Shock Doctrine" to The Constitution," are terrific, but I just want a president that will listen to the voices of a hopeful future, not a fearful past.

Lester Brown's "Plan B 3.0"... if you care about your children and grandchildren.

It all depends. If the next president is a Democrat, he or she should read "Before the Storm" by Rick Perlstein. That book is indispensable for understanding how the GOP was transformed from a political party into a pathology. And if our next president does not get that he or she is up against a pathology, there won't be a lot of headway to be made.

If a Republican, "Eisenhower" by Stephen Ambrose. Our Republican friends need to be reminded that it is possible to be both a Republican and a responsible leader. (However, someone needs to redact the chapter on Guatamala first..)

Lester Brown's Plan B 3.0... if you care about your children and grandchildren.

"The Great War for Civilisation" by Bill Fisk. No, that's not a typo, just English spelling. This book was a real eye opener as to the abuse heaped on the population of that region.

Plus, the book is long and fat-- this might keep our new president occupied finding out how we and other imperial regimes have operated.

"Blowback" by Chalmers Johnson or any relevant history book which emphasizes how we as humans keep making the same mistakes over and over. And over and over due to our innate hubris.

Like a lot of others have, I vote for "Collapse", by Jared Diamond.

Nobody is going to "bring" a book with them to the White House. However, the next president may "TAKE" a book with them to the White House.
Explanation: Bring it here, take it there. Bring it with you when you come, take it with you when you go. Hopefully, the next president will at least have better grammar than the current resident. It would be nice if supposedly educated reporters did as well, but not likely.

A must read: Voltaire's Bastards by J.R. Saul (1992)
Though written very densely,it fully explains our systemic, i.e. institutional (govt, business, military, etc)dysfunctions in the western developed nations. The Vietnam and Iraq debacles are prime examples, that have deep, intertwining roots that must be extricated and remedied. If not, we will repeat our disasters, like drug addicts, until system collape.

There are a lot of expected recommendations posted here (Atlas Shrugged, The Art of War, etc.) Let me suggest one that most probably haven't read: "The Seventeen Traditions," by Ralph Nader.

The book, as the title might suggest, details seventeen traditions instilled in Ralph Nader by his parents. The lessons found therein are desperately needed in an age devoid of civic virtue. Cultivating these principles among America's youth is the single most important challenge to our sputtering democracy.

I would recommend two books: The Art of Non-War by Kim Michaels and Mary's Message of Love by Allan Arthur Schulte. These would be two balanced approaches to the problems we are facing in this country because obviously the approaches that have been done in the past are not working.

War does not bring prosperity and this country has to move out of this dualistc thinking. Mary's Message of Love Mother Mary'presents her views on contempary issues that are facing this nation--everything from aboration to gay rights. Both are a must read. You don't have to be Catholic to read about Mary.

"Deterring Democracy" by Noam Chomsky. "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine couldn't hurt either. I really enjoy your show Bill, keep up the great work.

An Unbroken Agony: Haiti from Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President by Randall Robinson, 2007, exposes the CIA covert removal of democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti in 2004.
http://www.randallrobinson.com/

All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer, 2003, details the CIA overthrow of the elected government of Iran in 1953 in order to enrich the foreign oil companies. This sowed the seeds for the blowback the US is experiencing today.
http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2003/07/20030709_a_main.asp

These two books show the US-backed CIA methods used for covertly overthrowing foreign governments, beginning with Iran in 1953. Any President needs to understand this formula, used repeatedly, if he or she is to stop the US's illegal attacks against other countries and regain world respect for the US. We can no longer afford to have a secret government operating within our elected government. The sad truth is that Presidents already know this formula. It's the non-reading US citizens who need to read and learn it.

I would strongly suggest that the next president read and understand the Constitution of the United States of America. Future presidents must understand the importance of this document. This president has no understanding and no desire to understand let alone protect this foundation of Democracy. We must restore our Constitution. Impeachment is mandatory to stop further erosion of our Constitution.

It may already have been suggested, but I'd like to recommend the next president (and all government leaders for that matter) read Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States".

Let's hope the next president reads.

For the next president, I recommend Rhinehold Niebuhr's Irony of American History. Niebuhr will remind our new leader that American is one nation among many and doesnt' necessarily represent God's will. This books would set a context for any leader and also reminds a new president that, "nothing really worth doing can be accomplished in one life time."

I would recommend strongly that they read David Cay Johnston’s, How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill). David Cay Johnston’s writing is riveting, and his expose on how government regulations are helping take from the many to help the few is essential knowledge or all who wish a good and prosperous future for America. Which I hope our presidential candidates do. As David points out while from 1970 to today the size of our GDP has more than tripled, yet the lower 90% of American have seen their incomes drop. Johnston has done provides a major service for America and it will only be useful if we and the presidential candidates read it and take action. In case you missed it Mr. Johnston was interviewed by Bill Moyer’s, http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/01182008/profile.html
and Terry Gross’s Fresh Air http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17808622
They are well worth listening to and passing on to our friends and politicians who love America and want to help it to have a great future.

Best book: "Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston

Bill,

Books for the next president to read:

All books by Dr. Ron Paul

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin (already recommended several times)

"The Creature From Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin (no relation to David Ray Griffin)

"Cracking the Code: The Fascinating Truth About Taxation in America" by Peter Hendrickson

"The Israel Lobby" by Meirsheimer and Walt

That should be enough to get them started. Problem is those running know all this information already, yet they won't talk about it, except for Dr. Ron Paul.

I recommend "The Art of Possibility" by Rosamund & Benjamin Zander. As the title implies, this book is about what is possible, about reaching for goals that were thought to be unreachable, about all of us taking care of each other so as to to nurture that impulse.It is subtitled "A Book Of Practices", and each section opens with a quote or an anecdote to set the stage for what is to follow. The first one goes like this---"A shoe factory sends two marketing scouts to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business. One sends back a telegram saying, 'Situation hopeless, no one wears shoes!' The other write backs triumphantly, 'Glorious business opportunity, they have no shoes!'"

The whole book is like that. it is an inspiring read, yet fun and playful. One of the sections begins with a story in which the punch line is, "Don't take yourself so God Damned Seriously!" This book follows that axiom.

I recommend to the candidates the book "The Israeli Lobby" by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt to serve as a primer of the working of various Israeli lobbies. And how domestic politics dictates our foreign policy.

I highly recommend Alan Greenspan's book, THE AGE OF TURBULENCE. It is time we get our heads out of the clouds and begin to understand the economics of the age in which we are living.

Bill
Nothing can help a president maintain his/her direction better than Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth". If followed, the president can stay focused on what is important and we will all benifit.
Cait

I echo the recommendations for The Shock Doctrine and Dark Ages America. A great book that has yet to be suggested is The Politics of Jesus by Obery Hendericks, Jr. I would also like to see him as a guest on your show from time to time during this campaign season.

The next prez should read Faust.

i have to agree...

Author: David Ray Griffin

"DEBUNKING 9/11 DEBUNKING"

so shocking i didn't want to believe it... but, the evidence speaks for itself. Why did we not hear any of these facts during and shortly after 9/11? Bill please interview this guy!

"Voltaire's Bastards" by John Ralston Saul. This is an impossibly broad analysis of what ails us and why. It is astonishing that one person could write so knowledgeably about so many things, around a common thread.

I can't follow all his arguments, so I can't tell if he is really on the right track or not - but there are some pretty good exolanations for things that have puzzled me for a long time.

How did we get ourselves into this mess? A president could get some perspectivew here.

The first requirement of good government is COMPASSION.

No book I have ever used as a daily read compels compassion more than KITCHEN TABLE WISDOM by Rachel Naomi Remen.

Without compassion all governments shall eventually corrupt.

* “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand, the rights and strengths of the individual vs. the mob,
* “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, personal failure, discovery and salvation,
* “1776″ by David McCullough, remembering what we were when we as a nation were just discovering for ourselves,
* “Theodore Rex” by Edmund Morris, Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidency and how TR as a person defines what personal strength and moral courage really are,
* “Citizen Soldiers” by Stephen Ambrose, to me this book defines what is perhaps our single greatest trait as a nation, our individual citizen’s willingness to help set wrong to right. We did it for the right reasons then and are so lost now, and lastly,
* “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin, perhaps the best of the bunch as it describes the times of hatred, strife and war that at its core is so similar to our times now.

"The Creature from Jekyll Island" - G. Edward Griffin

The creature is the Federal Reserve which is creating fiat money and depleting our economic wealth by transferring it to the third world.

Add my own formula, $ = NAME RECOGNITION = ELECTION, and the next president will see that at least one of the sheep out here understands his or her socialist (probably Council on Foreign Relations) motivation to ignore our Constitution in favor of world government.

Follow the money and you'll see what, not necessarily who, drives everything.

Book: State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America by Pat Buchanan. We are losing our culture, language, sovereignty, heritage, history, country, and national security to non-citizens (illegal immigrants) who view our country as a welfare state and a paycheck. Americans built this country and we can not continue to be on a path of self-destruction by allowing an unfettered flow of non-citizens into our country because it will ultimately be to our own peril. For the last 30-40 years, all our Presidents have forgotten the importance of our immigration laws and why they need to be enforced.

Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston

My suggestion is that the next president should read The Art of non War, by Kim Michaels.

Though 35 years old, E. M. Schumacher's SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL: Economics as if People Mattered is still and will always be relevant.

It's been interesting reading thru so many thoughtful posts and nominations of wonderful books. But I have to say, at this point I am so tired of hearing about what's WRONG with the US, or the world, I think we have a pretty clear picture about that. I'm more interested in reading books about SOLUTIONS -- HOW do we make these very wrong things right, and get our country back on track? That's what I am desperately looking to hear more ideas about. That's why I'm not drawn to books like Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine," Naomi Wolf's book or some of the others listed here. While I recognize their clarity and even moments of brilliance, they don't really tell us something that you can't figure out by looking at the news headlines today, i.e. our country is screwed up, dreadfully so.

No, instead I am drawn more to books like Steven Hill's "Ten Steps to Repair American Democracy." We need solutions, and I have read this book and it's brilliant and concise and chock full of solutions. I agree with what the other person who proposed this book said, that so much of what ails our country starts with the failure of our democratic system. If we don't fix that, all is else is lost, I'm afraid. So I would say that books like "Ten Steps" are where we need to focus now. Like Obama has said, it's time for hope, time for new beginnings, time for getting it right, and books like Ten Steps offer that hope in the form of real solutions. That's where I think we need to go. Anybody else with me on this? Or are you all still into ranting about the problems?

Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II by William Blum

And

Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror by Mahmood Mamdani

"The Assault On Reason"
by Al Gore
This book will instruct the next President about how our government was intended to work, the constitution, and the seperation of powers. By examining the Bush administrations constant abuses of presidential power and the media's inattention to the concept of a "well informed citizenry" the next president will have a guide of what to be wary of, how to uphold the oath of his/her office to "faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and to the best of his or her Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," and a real understanding of being in service to the commen good. This book explains what it all means.

"A Multitude of Counsel on Strengthening the Family by Dr William C. Small

Many of the issues that we face in society pertaining to crime and the economy can be traced back to the break down of the family. A president of a company or president of a country can return their respective entity to relative peace and prosperity by concentrating on strengthening the families within their area of responsibility. Each fortune 500 corporation operates on family principles. This book contains the seven principles that fortune 500 corporations operate on which led them to become economic powerhouses. The next US President needs to read this book to return America to its status as an economic powerhouse in the world market.

SUPERPATRIOTISM by Michael Parenti.

This book challenges the "USA! USA!" as number one that is so well parodied on "The Colbert Report".

THE DARK SIDE OF CHRISTIAN HISTORY by Linda Ellerbe.

With both parties trying to appear Christian, it is important to remember what the tragic results have been when Christianity has imposed its will in the past. It was not sweetness and light.

"Good Poems for Hard Times" selected by Garrison Keillor.

Bill:
As a Canadian watching American affairs with great interest, I would recommend the following book go into the White House with the next president: All I Need To Know I Learned In Kindrgarten.

William Carlos Williams' seminal collection of poems "Spring and All". The apparent simplicity belies a poet that worked hard and constantly refining his work. We should only be lucky enough for a President to strive for such.

"As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," (Proverbs 23:7)

Public education has not been developing children's mental and spiritual capacities for the 21st century: thinking, reasoning, judging, perceiving, intuiting, etc. are necessary in order to understand the complex issues and, hence, to vote. Thus, I recommend an excellent website ... http://www.criticalthinking.org/

People need to hear more about what the candidates are reading and how they will use those ideas to move democracy -- and public educatio --- back on track after becoming president.

As a nation, the people's conversation must also examine whether the current democratic system is really of, for, and by the people -- or just of, for and by a 1% minority.

Without realizing it, Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" seems to have predicted America's current conundrum ... for, time is definitely the variable on the side of those in power--throughout their families' generations:

"... it only remains to know which power in the constitution has the most weight, for that will govern; and though the others, or a part of them, may clog, or, as the phrase is, check the rapidity of its motion, yet so long as they cannot stop it, their endeavors will be ineffectual; the first moving power will at last have its way, and what it wants in speed is supplied by time."

Source: Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, printed by W. and T. Bradford, Philadelphia, 1791.

Online - accessed Feb 7, 2008 http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html

Isn't it ironic? ... and scary for the rest of the world ...

America, symbolized in the person of George Washington, resisted the notion of a monarchy ... the title of King George I of America. It seems that it was only a question of time before democracy of, for, and by the people became a monarchy of sorts ... today, he reigns America!

Examples abound that those in power do read and harness authors' thoughts in service to their agendas.

Online - understandingrace.org ... immigration laws --- a current topic of debate --- has a sordid history:

"The worldwide Eugenics movement gained strength in the U.S. at the end of the 1890s, when theories of selective breeding espoused by British anthropologist Francis Galton and his protégé Karl Pearson, gained currency. Connecticut was the first of many states, beginning in 1896, to pass marriage laws with eugenic provisions, prohibiting anyone who was "epileptic, imbecile or feeble-minded" from marrying. The noted American biologist, Charles Davenport, became the director of biological research at a station in Cold Spring Harbor in New York in 1898. Six years later the Carnegie Institute provided the funding for Davenport to create the Station for Experimental Evolution. Then, in 1910, Davenport and Harry H. Laughlin took advantage of their positions at the Eugenics Record Office to promote eugenics."

"...Madison Grant, a lawyer known more as a conservationist and eugenist created the "racialist movement" in America advocating the extermination of "undesirables" and certain "race types" from the human gene pool. He played a critical role in restrictive U.S. immigration policy and anti-miscegenation laws. His work provided the justification for Nazi policies of forced sterilization and euthanasia. He wrote two of the seminal works of American racialism: The Passing of the Great Race (1916) and The Conquest of a Continent (1933). The Passing of the Great Race gained immediate popular success and established Grant as an authority in anthropology, and laid the groundwork for his research in eugenics."

Source: http://www.understandingrace.org/history/science/eugenics_physical.html

May God bless America's ordinary people ...

Peace!

The bible is a mythical book. Any reasonable person will wonder what it would have to do in the oval office, especially if not complemented by the Torah, the Koran, and the sacred scriptures of all major world religions.

And what a joke of having the president read only one other book! It makes George W. Bush appear literate.

Anyway, I would definitely concur that Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" would be an excellent candidate. Even though it is widely available, clearly written and well-reasoned, politicians have tried hard to ignore its existence. Yet reading it would force a U.S. president to start doing his/her job at long last: recognize publicly that the U.S. government is overrun with corruption, purge the U.S. government of its criminal elements, and make the remaining employees understand that public service is first and foremost about serving the public.

Love,

Might I be so bold to suggest that our next president read a book that turns integrity from a vague, abstract, philosophical concept into a set of concrete, specific actions? If the next president wants to live at the intersection of personal freedom and collective highest good, the book to read is "The New IQ: How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and Our World by Dr. David Gruder." I don't at all mean to be self-serving with this recommendation. I am passionately sincere about it.

My suggestion, besides the Bible and the Constitution, would be The Essential Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This is a most timely book when the New Deal is being unravelled, and we shall soon rediscover the value of what our parents and grandparents bequethed us. Their blood, toil, tears and sweat yielded years of relative peace and prosperity. May it not have been in vain.

Our next president needs to read

-Nuclear Power is not the Answer, by Helen Caldicott

-Humanism and Democratic Criticism, by Edward Said

-Conversations in Maine: Exploring Our Nation's Future by Grace Lee Boggs, James Boggs, Freddy Paine, and Lyman Paine

And, although I would hope that the book that founded our country has a permanent home in the Whitehouse, I must include what should be required reading for all presidents, Common Sense by Thomas Paine.

I've given this much thought since viewing an airing of the program a few days ago.

First of all, let me say that I agree with the idea that you can gain insight into a person's thinking by reading the books they've read; as much as we might like to think the government is incompetent, I think they are not merely seeking to intimidate the citizenry by securing our library records.

I've read many of the books recommended by others. "Heat" by George Monbiot. "Collapse" by Jared Diamond. "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein. I find that "Plan B 3.0", by Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute, is the best. Why?

"Plan B 3.0" succintly addresses every problem facing the planet today, giving concrete science-based solutions that can affordably and quickly be implimented on a global scale. No other book does this so well, nor so convincingly.

"Plan B 3.0" directly references Jared Diamond's work from "Collapse", answering the questions "Collapse" poses for our current civilization. It's solutions necessitate a way of doing business which is different than that outlined in "The Shock Doctrine". Besides, I think most presidential candidates are well aware of the reality "The Shock Doctrine" unmasks for us average citizens.

"Heat" is a magnificent work, and unique in daring to actually calculate and consider the realities of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It presents a picture of a just Britain, taking proper responsibility for historical emissions. Interestingly, this book had to be sourced from Canada for quite a while, as it was not available here! Equivalent versions of "Heat", written for every nation, need to be written. So whilst I think it's an important component and contribution, a reading of "Plan B 3.0" is the greater plan, and "Heat" is a subserviant work.

I am a climate educator, presenting a slideshow authored by Al Gore, as featured in "An Inconvenient Truth". Yet I do not bring copies of his book to my presentations. I bring "Plan B 3.0", and recommend it to everyone not satisfied with merely changing their lightbulbs and buying a brand new hybrid car.

"Plan B 3.0" MUST be the guidebook for the next president, or civilization is lost.

"The Corporation", by constitutional lawyer Joel Bakan. I believe it to be the most important book thus far largely ignored.

There are a number of erudite and important books that would contribute enormously toward a philosophical foundation for good governance. Overall, though, if someone had read, grasped and appreciated the entire John McPhee catalog, I would be content that they were at least capable of perceiving perspective, the lack of which, I believe, has lead to many of the catastrophic dilemmas in which we are currently embroiled...

"Cerebrations of a Solitary Man" by Bradley Berman

The Great Work by Thomas Berry. TR Crowe says, "Maybe once every 100 years does someone emerge from the shuddering mass of humanity who speaks to us with a kind of clarity that is universally profound. Thomas Berry is such a figure. "The Great Work" will, I believe, be remembered as the touchstone, the 'bible' whose wisdom laid the groundwork for our continued healthy existence here on Earth."

''THE SHOCK DOCTRINE" by Naomi Klein"

I think Hillary Clinton's suggestion was the best. The Constitution. However, I think she needs to brush up on the Constitution as well as the rest of the 434 members of Congress. In addition all of the Executive appointees as well as Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney need to READ the Constitution. I have a copy myself close by and find myself watching the news, looking an item in question up and begin screaming at the TV screen. It is pretty plain to me. Why can't the Americans who take an oath to the Constitution defend and uphold it.

End of the Line: The Rise and Coming Fall of the Global Corporation by Barry C. Lynn, 2005. From the jacket: "End of the Line is the first real anatomy of globalization. It is the story of how American corporations created a global production system by exploding the traditional factory and casting the pieces to dozens of points around the world. It is the story of how free trade has made American citizens come to depend on the goodwill of people in very different nations, in very different regions of the world. It is a story of how executives and entrepreneurs at such companies as General Electric, Cisco Systems, Dell, Microsoft, and Flextronics adapted their companies to a world in which America's international policies were driven ever more by ideology rather than a focus on the long-term security and well-being of society."

I recommend: "The Post-Corporate World" by David C. Korten. Good historical background for how we've gotten into the political, economic, environmental mess we are in, and how to get out of it - gave me hope!

The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, by David Korten. A must read for leaders who are serious about working for real change.

''THE SHOCK DOCTRINE" by Naomi Klein" might cause a White House reader to rethink the casually heartless history we have chosen for the people of Iraq.....and then again, perhaps not, profit being profit.

"A Soldier of the Great War" by Mark Helprin.
It would be too long for George Bush but any of the other candidates could handle it.

freeluch is the best book in these times that the president could read, bar non

I was happy to read a number of posts that validate my choices for companion novels: The Grapes of Wrath and Atlas Shrugged. These stories helped me formulate beliefs and foster some confusion about the correct relationship between the individual and society. The next President’s success will depend heavily on his or her ability to demonstrate and articulate an understanding of those that disagree. Reading these books will empower that understanding.

I suggest the book "The Real Lincoln" By Thomas Dilorenzo the ideas put forth in that book put a lie to what we now call the ideas of our forefathers. Industrial strength central government is not in the founders tastes for they saw it in King George, an all powerful OZ is our problem now under this unitary executive showing all the lie that power vested in one omnipotent executive is a cource to a tyrants rule.

Naomi Kleins 'The Shock Doctrine'.....or anything else she has written for that matter.

I think the old text "A Theory of Justice" by John Rawls may be a good book to have as a primer to create a better society. I want to start over.

Any book by any economist that has the word "fair" more times than "free" and whose last name does not start with Fr is worth taking a chance on.

First - I'd want Bill Moyers for president. Lacking that, we need someone who doesn't wave the flag and the bible and has read books like Harris's Letter to a Christian Nation or Time Traveling with Science and the Saints.

Citizen Power by Mike Gravel. Washington insiders have forgotten that this is a governmnet of, by and for the people; Gravel's book is a good reminder of what we can accomplish when we work together and are no longer "drugged by fear." Obama says "Yes we can" but Mike Gravel tells us how we can.

My husband enjoyed reading Free Lunch by Mr. Johnston so much I purchased my own copy and we talk about the insight Mr. Johnston shows in this excellent book.

Two books, the first is Thom Hartmann's What would Jefferson Do? This book reminds us of the history of the constitution, what Jefferson thought American should be/become. The second is Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, an Eater's Manifesto. We have a serious health problem caused in part by our diets. This book is straightforward in evaluation our current problems and suggests next steps in finding sane diets and recovering from years of low quality foods.

David Cay Johnston Free lunch is a great book that should be read by everyone.

"Citizen Power" by Mike Gravel.

We build a battleship a day in WWII, we can build enough windmills and solar to power the country in a year. And enact the National Initiative to do the things government won't.

I recommend the next president (and for that matter the current one) read "Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil" by Michael C. Ruppert (with Contributor Catherine
Austin Fitts, former Assistant Secretary of Housing/Federal Housing Commissioner at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in the first Bush Administration)
ISBN 0865715408
512 pages

If it's down to one book, I'd have to vote for Thom Hartmann's brilliant THE LAST HOURS OF ANCIENT SUNLIGHT. Regardless of who wins, the next president will need to understand how the upcoming energy crisis and environmental issues like global warming will shape western civilization for the foreseeable future.

THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1980
by Dean Baker

For me, D'Toquville's "Democracy in America" should be on the President's desk. It is a powerful reminder of the voluntary power of the American spirit without the intercession of the central government. Government is a necessary part of the American future, but it needs to be an expression of the people, not the dictator to the people.

THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1980
by Dean Baker

There have been some excellent suggestions by many contributors. I would add that the next president should read and reread "The Leaders We Need" by Michael Maccoby. The leader we want (the one elected!) needs to have the personality, emotional, analytic, and strategic intelligence to lead all the generations of this era.

I would like them to read John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. Do you think they can follow his tightly reasoned arguments on individuality, etc.? Having read it, would they grasp its policy implications? Perhaps the best we can hope for is that the president's staff, knowing he/she is reading the book would themselves read it to be able to talk to the President about it and the staffs' thinking would be informed by Mill's points!

I would recommend "A Short History of Progress" by Ronald Wright. He outlines the indicators in the fall of civilizations: class, economics, environment etc and goes back centuries and analyses the major ones. The indicators are telling, penetrating for our times, considering (and he makes that point) we have only one civilization now, and its global. About 200 pages.

Utter Incompetents by Oliphant... it wasn't just the Iraq war, virtually EVERYTHING Bush Admin touched turned out to be huge mistakes....the War (occupation) just got the most press because it was the costliest and most obvious mistake...this is a primer on what NOT to do...had Bush been a "do nothing" president on cruise control from Clinton years, our country would be in far better shape than it is now. Can't believe no one else recommended it. The title makes it sound like satire, but it's a serious investigation and details nearlly all the Administration's hideous mistakes these past 8 years. Sigh. Knowledge is power.

I highly recommend SHELL GAME, By: NY Times Best Selling Author Steve Alten! Fabulous read and jam packed with pieces of the truth of the Past, Present and Future of America and the world!

I would like the next president to read "Savage Inequalities" by Jonathan Kozol. We need to provide for our children in public schools or we have no future.

I would also recommend "Democracy in America" by Tocqueville, and add to the list the autobiographies of Frederick Douglass ("Narrative of the Life", "My Bondage and My Freedom", and "Life and Times"), "The Powers That Be" by David Halberstam, and "The Vanishing Voter" by Thomas E. Patterson. I would also recommend anything by Franz Kafka, just to remember that what appears to be absurd today can be true tomorrow.

Freelunch is the only book the new prsident needs to read

Thousand Year War and the only book that (after 20 years plus) still scares me----The Handmaiden's Tale.
I am looking forward to Bill's program.

I'd suggest "The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order" by Parag Khanna to be published in March 2008 by Random House. For a preview see Khanna's essay in The New York Times Magazine (January 27, 2008)which was adapted from the upcoming book.

I also agree with all those people who nominate Zinn's wonderful history of the U.S.

I agree that one can tell a lot about a person by what books they read, but probably not so much based on a single book mentioned in the context of a political campaign. I would prefer to snoop through each candidate's personal library. THAT would tell me something.

If I could pick one book for the next president to read, it would be Stacey Mitchell's brilliant "Big Box Swindle." It is by far the best book on the cancerous big-box phenomenon that I have come across, with much greater breadth, honesty and clarity than any other treatment, including the highly touted "The Wal-Mart Effect" (by Charles Fishman). If we are to do anything about the sorry state of the U.S. (and global) economy, the menace of global warming, or myriad other threats to our environment and way of life, we must heed the message of this vital book. By the way, Stacey Mitchell would be an excellent choice for an interview on the program.

"This I Believe" edited by J Allison and D Gediman

The Shock Dictrine: http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2008/01/why-right-loves-disaster

So many fantastic books suggested! You have all vastly increased my reading list. I'd agree with many of those already suggested, but I'd also recommend Bill McKibben's Deep Economy. It gave me a sense of hope that if we recognize economic growth cannot continue without destroying the planet, we can create a more humane, creative, and rewarding life. I love his comment about the developed nations, that "For most of human history, the two birds of More and Better roosted on the same branch. You could toss one stone and hit them both....Now, if you've got the stone of your own life, or your own society, gripped in your hand, you have to choose between them." The question is not how we can make more money and have more stuff, but how we can enhance life.
Bill, thanks for your wonderful show and for being a voice of reason and compassion.

Read "WAR IS A RACKET" by General Smedley Butler. And don't imitate your predecessor.

The book I would suggest for the next president to read is: "Blowback" by Chalmers Johnson. Perhaps by reading it he or she would give more thought to the possible consequences of our actions abroad.

If I had one book to recommend it would be David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking". Paraphrasing Professor Emeritus Richard Falk of Princeton University, until we know the truth about the events of that day, we won't get anything right.

Dr. Griffin seeks and finds a very disturbing truth.

The Philosophy Of Freedom by Rudolf Steiner

I think the President should read "Ethics for Policy Decisions" by W.A.R. Leys, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 1952. This volume demonstrates a decision making technique based on the ideas of the great philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Bentham, Kant, Spinoza, Hegel, Marx, Dewey and others. It provides a series of questions to be asked about priblem situations that enable a careful ananysis to be made to learn the possible consequences of varioous possible decisions. A great book even though it is not famous!!

I can't choose just one. Any of Thomas Paine's writings and a comprehensive book on Ethics. Starting with Aristotle, Socrates and Plato

Pfft.. hands down

Free Lunch By David Cay Johnston
if there is any book that upsets you more when you read it- you haven't paid enough attention to this one...

Suggested book for next president: "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins which includes quotes by founding fathers about their thoughts on religion.

Definitely "The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism" by David Friedman.

Useful for clearing the room of the stench left by "Shock Doctrine"... ;)

I would suggest that the next president read "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy," (www.10Steps.net) by Steven Hill from the New America Foundation. If we don't fix the political process and make it fairer, nothing else will be possible. That book lays it out clearly, the many ways our democracy is failing, and how we can make it work again.

I would suggest "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". You'll find the reason below.
***************************
Below is a talk that I delivered at a "TAKE A STAND" rally in Augusta on August 28 sponsored by the Iraq Summer Campaign.
When I sent him a draft copy, Noam Chomsky responded with "Very eloquent, and very well done."
**********************************
There were good Germans, just like there are good Americans

I grew up in a German-American family. My father, a Leisner, was drafted in early 1941 along with four of his brothers. My mother, a Rinehart, served as a WAVE nurse while her two brothers were drafted.
I was always amazed that hardly anyone would talk about WWII and their experiences. Perhaps it was PTSD.

As a result, I started reading about WWII when I was in my early teens.
In 1961, at the tender age of 15, I read the paperback copy of "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William L. Shirer. I was blown away. When asked what I thought of the book by both the Principal and Superintendent of my High School, I told them, "I never knew there was another nation like America".

Since then, I have been fascinated by the relationship between Nazi Germany and Emperial America. Between the European Holocaust and the two American Holocausts. Between party/state control and corporate control. Between anti-semeticism and racism. Between Lebensraum and Manifest Destiny.

Since I have always view myself as a good American, subscribing to liberty and justice for all, I have always thought that there were good Germans who resisted the Nazis and Hitler.

By the way, always keep in mind the fact that Hitler didn't do it alone. There were individual Nazis all the way down to the local level and plenty of corporate supporters. Sounds just like Bush and the Republicans.

The Nazis permanently suspended all civil liberties following the Reichstag fire in early 1933. It created the Gestapo (secret state police) as one of its major instruments of political terror, with all actions of this body immune to judicial review. It abolished the principle of "no punishment outside the law," as well as the judiciary's autonomy; the Fuehrer's edict could overrule the law as well as impose the degree of punishment. The Nazis created concentration camps, where, until the late 1930s, prior to the establishment of work and death camps outside Germany, no fewer than 200,000 non-Jewish Germans were incarcerated for alleged political, racial or anti-social offenses. The Nazis dissolved all political parties other than its own, rendering parliament an empty shell, notwithstanding the fact that more than half of the German electorate had voted for parties other than the Nazis in the March 1933 elections. As a result of the suppression of civil freedoms and of all opposition, the Nazis attained a monopoly of information so as to manufacture consent.

Between 1933 and 1945, many thousands of people resisted the Nazis using both violent and non-violent means. Among the earliest opponents of the Nazis in Germany were Communists, Socialists and trade union leaders. Although mainstream church hierarchies supported the Nazis, individual German theologians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer opposed the regime. Bonhoeffer was executed in 1945.

The German conservative elite within the Intelligence Services, Foreign Service and the military's General Staff composed small pockets of opposition to the Nazi regime. These groups consisted of those who had been opposed to the Nazis in 1933 and those who became disillusioned by Hitler during the course of the war. One of those who had lost his faith in Hitler was Colonel von Stauffenberg, the
aristocratic Nazi army officer who tried to kill Hitler with a briefcase bomb placed under a conference table on July 20, 1944. The plot failed and Stauffenberg was executed along with many others.

In addition to resistance by Jews, members of other victimized groups resisted the Nazis. In May 1944, SS men ordered Roma (Gypsy) prisoners to leave their barracks at the Auschwitz Gypsy family camp. Sensing that they were being sent to death in the gas chambers, the Gypsies armed themselves with knives and axes and refused to leave. The SS guards retreated. In a show of spiritual resistance, many Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany and elsewhere resisted Nazism through defiance. Some of them refused to serve in the German army and, as concentration camp prisoners, organized illegal religious study groups.

Other forms of non-violent resistance included sheltering Jews (sometimes at risk of death), listening to forbidden Allied radio broadcasts and producing clandestine anti-Nazi newspapers. In the face of Nazi repression and violence, acts of resistance at times significantly impeded German actions, saved lives or simply boosted morale of the persecuted.

In Nazi Germany, all known political dissenters were imprisoned, and many German priests were sent to the concentration camps for their opposition, including the parson of the Berlin Cathedral Bernhard Lichtenberg and seminarian Karl Leisner. Hitler was never directly excommunicated by the Catholic Church and several Catholic bishops in Germany or Austria are recorded as encouraging prayers of support for "The Führer"; this despite the fact the original Reichskonkordat of Germany with the Holy See proscribed any active political participation by the priesthood.
******************************************************************
Blessed Karl Leisner
Prisoner No. 22356
ordained on 17th December 1944 in Dachau Concentration Camp
On 23th June 1996 Karl Leisner was beatified by Pope John Paul II.
*******************************************************************
The Nazis did not persecute Jews alone. Five million Christians lost their lives as well. Gypsies; homosexuals; Jehovah’s Witnesses; the physically and mentally handicapped; blacks, Slavic peoples such as Czechs, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Poles, Russians and Ukrainians; and anybody who resisted or spoke against Hitler’s administration were all persecuted.

In 2004, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder honored Germany’s Nazi resistance on the 60th anniversary of the most famous plot to kill Hitler. But the remembrance also underscored the fact that, unlike in countries like France and the Netherlands, the German resistance never gained popular support for an uprising against Nazi rule.

Schroeder said Germans need to keep on asking themselves: ”How could the dictatorship rely for so long on a broad mass base?"

But there were some protests against the Nazis that succeeded.

On July 14, 1933, the Nazis instituted the "Law for the Prevention of Progeny with Hereditary Diseases." This law, one of the first steps taken by the Nazis toward their goal of creating an Aryan "master race," called for the sterilization of all persons who suffered from diseases considered hereditary, such as mental illness, learning disabilities, physical deformity, epilepsy, blindness, deafness and severe alcoholism. With the law's passage the Nazis also stepped up its propaganda against people with disabilities, regularly labeling them "life unworthy of life" or "useless eaters" and highlighting their burden upon society.

Just a few years later, the persecution of people with disabilities escalated even further. In late 1939, Adolf Hitler secretly authorized a medically administered program of "mercy death" code-named "Operation T4." Between 1940 and 1941 approximately 70,000 Austrian and German disabled people were killed under the T4 program, most via large-scale killing operations using poison gas.

In July 1941, the Bishop of Münster in Westphalia, Clemens August Graf von Galen (who was an old aristocratic conservative, like many of the anti-Hitler Army officers), publicly denounced the “euthanasia” program in a sermon, and telegraphed his text to Hitler, calling on “the Führer to defend the people against the Gestapo.” On 3 August Galen was even more outspoken, broadening his attack to include the Nazi persecution of religious orders and the closing of Catholic institutions. Local Nazis asked for Galen to be arrested, but Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels told Hitler that if this happened there would be an open revolt in Westphalia.

By August the protests against "Operation T4" had spread to Bavaria. Hitler himself was jeered by an angry crowd at Hof, near Nuremberg – the only time he was opposed to his face in public during his 12 years of rule. Despite his private fury at the Catholic Church, Hitler knew that he could not afford a confrontation with the Church at a time when Germany was engaged in a life and death two front war since, following the annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland, nearly half of all Germans were Catholic. On 24 August he ordered the cancellation of the T4 program, and also issued strict instructions to local Nazi officials that there were to be no further provocations of the churches for the duration of the war.

Although Hitler formally ordered a halt to the program, the killings secretly continued until the war's end, resulting in the murder of an estimated 275,000 people with disabilities.

Most extraordinary and telling is the Rosenstrasse incident. Some 30,000 Jews lived openly in Germany as the spouses of Christians. Nine in ten such marriages remained intact despite ceaseless harassment. Oriented toward family values as they were, the Nazis could not decide how to handle these Jews without violating the sanctity of marriage. Early in 1943, Goebbels, then in charge of Berlin, decided it was time to cleanse the capital by rounding up these last Jews. Hitler agreed. Some 2,000 Jewish men from mixed marriages were seized and taken to a large downtown building on the Rosenstrasse, from which they would be deported to the camps.

For a week their Gentile wives stood in the winter cold, chanting “We want our husbands back!” Ordinary Germans sometimes joined them. All told, the protests involved about 6,000 people. They continued in the face of S.S. and Gestapo threats, even threats to use machine guns. They continued though British bombers pounded the city by night. But the Nazis dared not fire upon these defenseless, unorganized Aryan women. Berliners saw the protests directly. Foreign diplomats spread word of it to the world press. The BBC broadcast the story back into Germany.

What was the outcome of Nazi Germany’s only mass demonstration to save Jews? The 2,000 Jewish husbands were released with Hitler’s approval. Two dozen who had already been sent to Auschwitz were returned. Jewish-Christian couples continued to live openly and survived the war. They would comprise the great majority of German Jewish survivors.

Goebbels later commented to an associate that the regime relented “in order to eliminate the protest from the world, so that others didn’t begin to do the same.” Sadly, this strategy was successful: during the rest of the war, no similar action would ever be taken in defense of Jews in general.

Nor does this exhaust the catalogue of successful opposition. When Goebbels called for mass employment of housewives in war industries, also early in 1943, refusal was widespread. Again, reprisals were rare, partly because of the regime’s established emphasis on traditional roles for women. On a broader scale, Germans who refused to participate in atrocities—even if they were soldiers, party members, or S.S. men—almost never suffered retaliation. This was so well known that, after the war, Nazis accused of war crimes were forbidden to claim fear of retaliation as a defense.

Abd it was not only the adults who resisted, by the late 30s, thousands of young working class people were finding ways to avoid the clutches of Hitler Youth. They were gathering together in their own gangs and starting to enjoy themselves again. This terrified the Nazis, particularly when the teenagers started to defend their own social spaces physically. What particularly frightened the Nazis was that these young people were the products of their own education system. They had no contact with the old Democrats and Socialists, knew nothing of Marxism or the old labor movement. They had been educated by the Nazis in Nazi schools, their free time had been regimented by Hitler Youth listening to Nazi propaganda and taking part in officially approved activities and sports.

These gangs went under different names. Their gang uniform varied from town to town, as did their badges. In Essen they were called the Travelling Dudes, in Oberhausen and Dusseldorf the Kittelbach Pirates and in Cologne they were the Navajos. But all saw themselves as Edelweiss Pirates, named after an edelweiss flower badge many wore.

Gestapo files in Cologne contain the names of over 3,000 teenagers identified as Edelweiss Pirates. Clearly, there must have been many more and their numbers must have been even greater when taken over
Germany as a whole. Initially, their activities were in themselves
pretty harmless. They hung around in parks and on street corners, creating their own social space in the way teenagers do everywhere. On weekends, they would take themselves off into the countryside on hikes and camping trips in a perverse way mirroring the activities initially provided by Hitler Youth.

The activities of the Edelweiss Pirates grew bolder as the war progressed. They engaged in pranks against the authorities, fights against their enemies and moved on to small acts of sabotage. They were accused of being slackers at work and social parasites.

They began to help Jews, army deserters and prisoners of war. They painted anti-Nazi slogans on walls and some started to collect Allied propaganda leaflets and shove them through people’s letterboxes.

A 1943 Dusseldorf-Grafenberg Nazi Party report to the Gestapo stated
“There is a suspicion that it is these youths who have been inscribing the walls of the pedestrian subway on the Altebbergstrasse with the slogans "Down with Hitler", "The OKW (Military High Command) is lying", "Medals for Murder", "Down with Nazi Brutality" etc. However often these inscriptions are removed within a few days new ones
appear on the walls again."

As time went on, a few Edelweiss Pirates grew bolder and even more heroic. They raided army camps to obtain arms and explosives, made attacks on Nazi figures other than Hitler Youth and took part in partisan activities. The Head of the Cologne Gestapo was one victim of the Edelweiss Pirates.

The authorities reacted with repressive measures. These ranged from individual warnings, round-ups and temporary detention (followed by a head shaving), to weekend imprisonment, reform school, labor camp, youth concentration camp or criminal trial. Thousands were caught up in this hunt. For many, the end was death. The so-called leaders of the Cologne Edelweiss Pirates were publicly hanged in November 1944.

White Rose was a non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany, consisting of a number of students from the University of Munich and their philosophy professor. The group became known for an anonymous leaflet campaign, lasting from June 1942 until February 1943, that called for active opposition to Hitler's regime. Six members of the group were arrested by the Gestapo, convicted and executed by beheading in 1943. Their sixth leaflet was smuggled out of Germany through Scandinavia to England, and in July 1943 copies of it were dropped over Germany by Allied planes, retitled "The Manifesto of the Students of Munich."

So, what are the lessons of history?
What can we Americans learn from German resistance?

Roger Leisner is a historian, the founder/owner of Radio Free Maine and a long-time Maine peace and justice advocate.

For more information, I suggest the following book and film:

Confront! Resistance in Nazi Germany
John J. Michalczyk
Published in 2004

The Restless Conscience:
Resistance to Hitler within Germany 1933-45
Released in 1992 and nominated for an Oscar

Hopefully, all candidates have read the important historical documents of the US. To grasp the depth and breadth of the political disappointment we are suffering and not quite re-orientating ourselves out of, a more acute analysis is needed. I strongly recommend Simon Critchley's new book, Infinitely Demanding: Ethics of Commitment, Politics of Resistance. 150 pp. of theoretical analysis and grounded political possibility. It is a bit tougher than most of the other recommendations, but our problems are also a bit tougher... Read it with a couple of friends and plan on a reread. Actually, it's worth the price just for the last chapter: Crypto-Scmittianism - the Logic of the Political in Bush's America.

"Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years" by David Talbot. Every person running for president would do well to read this book and see what they'll be up against regarding the intelligence and military establishments. They run things as much as any elected official, probably more so.

I recommend A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. It explains the change of consciousness required to initiate and sustain an effective response to global issues.

I would suggest Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass"

Naomi Klien: The Shock Doctrine The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

This book is essential to understanding the policies and procedures followed by both US parties in bed with multi-corporations.

Why The Right Loves A Disaster
By Naomi Klein - January 27th, 2008

If this kind of crisis opportunism feels familiar, it's because it is. Over the last four years, I have been researching a little-explored area of economic history: the way that crises have paved the way for the march of the right-wing economic revolution across the globe. A crisis hits, panic spreads and the ideologues fill the breach, rapidly reengineering societies in the interests of large corporate players. It's a maneuver I call "disaster capitalism."

http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2008/01/why-right-loves-disaster

Citizen Power by Mike Gravel

I recommend Louise Richardson's book, "What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat" (2006, Random House, 312 pp.)
This book knocks some common sense at the problem, that one cannot really defeat a tactic (targeting civilians violently...any one person can decide to act that way), but one can help contain the threat and lessen the number of attacks. The book dispels a number of myths about terrorists and their motives, and also offers many policy suggestions. Richardson is connected to a network of folks who have been studying world terrorism for decades, and our lawmakers would be wise to call upon them to share their wisdom.

I recommend "Yes or No - The Guide to Better Decisions" by Spencer Johnson, M.D.

Unlike his book "The One Minute Manager" which is only somewhat useful, "Yes or No" offers a process and road map for decision making that leads to better decisions based on available information and the persons intuition, intelligence, and insight.

Assault on Reason by Al Gore

I recommend he/she reads
'Hunter's Wingmen' at
www.usdoj.gr It is an
electronic book.

Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market by Murray N. Rothbard

Murray N. Rothbard's great treatise Man, Economy, and State and its complementary text Power and Market provides a sweeping presentation of Austrian economic theory, a reconstruction of many aspects of that theory, a rigorous criticism of alternative schools, and an inspiring look at a science of liberty that concerns nearly everything and should concern everyone.

I would recommend our next president read BECOMING JEFFERSON'S PEOPLE - RE-INVENTING the AMERICAN REPUBLIC IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY by Clay S. Jenkinson -- A small, thin volume with a BIG message.

I would recommend that the President read A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander et al. That is because it is an outstanding and unique book about how to design things -- from regions to highways to houses to bedrooms -- in a way that corresponds to human needs and a humane social life and draws on both accumulated cultural knowledge and scholarly research. In this way, it is a model for how to think about planning and designing things of any kind, whether architectural, urban, or social.

I would suggest the Chalmers Johnson trilogy. If they can only read one it should be the last one: Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Empire.

The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism
by David D. Friedman

This book argues the case for a society organized by private property, individual rights, and voluntary co-operation, with little or no government.
Among topics covered: how the U.S. would benefit from unrestricted immigration; why prohibition of drugs is inconsistent with a free society; why the welfare state mainly takes from the poor to help the not-so-poor; how police protection, law courts, and new laws could all be provided privately; what life was really like under the anarchist legal system of medieval Iceland; why non-intervention is the best foreign policy; why no simple moral rules can generate acceptable social policies -- and why these policies must be derived in part from the new discipline of economic analysis of law.

Gold: The Once and Future Money
by Nathan Lewis

Though I doubt any politician would heed it's message.

"The Shock Doctrine: Rise Of Disaster Capitalism" by Naomi Klein is the most profound book that I've read in my lifetime. It's about why we are now back in a feudal society taking the rest of the world with us. It is a new paradigm from which to view our world. From Chile to Poland to Baghdad to Katrina, economists turn out to be as evil as any tyrant. It devastates Milton Friedman and the lighter Rubin/ Greenspan version and shows it to be just a big flim flam that has wreaked misery and death. Truly a frightening and important book.
It's companion piece is "Legacy of Ashes" which chronicles one failure after another of a bunch of elite alcoholic jerks known as C.I.A. top officials. Shocking and depressing.
"Free Lunch" as mentioned and Robert Kuttner's "The Squandering of America" also put the screws to the so-called free market theory otherwise known as feudalism.
"Ending Poverty in America" edited by John Edwards.

Book everyone should read, Collapse by Jared Diamond. It reminds us that how we live today effects generations to come or if they do.

Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government by P. J. O'Rourke and Andrew Ferguson.
'Cause believe me, he's gonna need it.

Book everyone should read, Collapse by Jared Diamond. It reminds us that how we live today effects generations to come or if they do.

The next president cannot take office and base his administration on a deadly lie; He or she cannot, therefore, blindly adopt as fact the unbelievable and destructive deception that has been perpetrated on our country and its citizens by a handful of greedy, violent, power-mad people.

In order for this country to heal, the lie must be exposed, the indicted must be brought to justice, and the guilty punished for all the pain, sorrow, suffering and death they have brought upon their own countrymen.

That's why I suggest Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin

I'm sorry I came to this thread late; I read about it on truthout.com. Here's a book for the next president's shelf that no one has mentioned yet. It has gotten hardly any attention from American reviewers, perhaps because it was written by the Canadian military historian and journalist, Gwynne Dyer. It is THE MESS THEY MADE: THE MIDDLE EAST AFTER IRAQ. Dyer melds hard-nosed common sense with a remarkably mastery of the facts to produce an explanation that not only the next president, but every Washington legislator and every concerned citizen should read.

Book everyone should read, Collapse by Jared Diamond. It reminds us that how we live today effects generations to come or not.

I hope the President would read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement by Brian Doherty

Great show, by the way.

Anyone else having problems with this blog? - my name shows up over a message I didn't write, and the message I did write has someone else's name on it.

B.K.S. Iyengar's latest book, "Light on Life" is what I want my next president to read.

A Drug War Carol by Susan Wells and Scott Bieser.

The travesty of The War on (some) Drugs needs to end before it destroys more lives.

"The Law" by Frederic Bastiat

Thank You for your wonderful, thoughtful and educational show.
My Recommendation of a book for the next President is:
MAKING GLOBALIZATION WORK
by Joseph E Stiglitz
Published in 2006, it is a
study on economics that is good for our country and the world.

My b

I would hope that the President would have read THE MAKING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB by Richard Rhodes. It makes the horrors of modern warfare all too clear. It also dramatizes the intense desire of nations to come up with the next new weapon in order to stay ahead of the current enemy. That desire in this case creates a juggernaut which cannot be halted even when the balance of power shifts and the wise minds who started the process say "stop, the situation has changed."
Yes, as another viewer of your show wrote, it did prove Americans can complete big projects. But especially in the case of defense projects, we must always remain reflective enough to decide if our ultimate goal will be truly defensive.

The freeborn men and women of the getyourhandsdirty.net forums would greatly appreciate it if the future POTUS would read the book, "Unintended Consequences" by John Ross.
PS: Trust us, Mr. President, it beats the hell out of that David Ray Griffin tripe. ;)

I'd recommend our incoming president read "The Bottom Billion" by Paul Collier, an economics professor at Oxford University and former director of research at the World Bank. Collier's thesis is insightful, clear and concise -- four types of "traps" (1.civil war; 2.dependence on natural resources for economic growth; 3. being landlocked with bad neighbors; and 4. bad governance in a small country) combine to condemn roughly one billion people in various parts of the world to intractable poverty. His analysis exposes why traditional methods to address global poverty (and poverty's handmaid, violence) -- economic aid on one hand, military intervention on the other -- may each be effective in certain circumstances but are nonetheless limited and costly treatments that may not reach root causes. Yet he notes that each of these "traps" can also be addressed by good -- and comparatively inexpensive -- policy decisions on the part of the developed world's leaders. Collier's book directly applies to the challenges that the United States faces in 1) Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Global War on Terror and 2) the economic ramifications -- both domestic and foreign -- of the globalization of trade. Each issue is high on the list of worries faced by voters across the political spectrum. Collier, mercifully, appears to have no specific axe to grind, making his book worthwhile reading, especially for those who worry about the impact, both physical and moral, of American power abroad.

COMMON SENSE!

War Is The Force That Gives Us Meaning
by Chris Hedges

The Books that I would recommend to the new President would be the following:

THE IDEA THAT IS AMERICA by Anne-Marie Slaughter

THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck

TEAM OF RIVALS by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond

The EPIC story of the “Everyman” against the massive corporate machine continues to play out in today’s politics. The next President will need to call each of us to the ideas and values that are the foundation of this country. They will need to know and understand the failures of past great empires and inspire in each of us a vision for our future that is GREATER than ever imagined. They will need to harness the talents and ideas from every sphere of our society.

Mr. Moyers, thank you for seeking the truth and fighting for a free and open press. You are a true American Hero.

http://melissafrei.wordpress.com

Democracy Maters: By Cornel West....There has never been a much timely and opportuned season, for the repair of a battered, injured, fractured and mis-understood demo"critical" state....This book by the good Doctor, is the blueprint and written manual for "D"emocracy of the 21st Century.

How about the very simple book from Dr. Seuss, "Horton hears a Who". This is about an elephant, Horton saving the Whos in Who-ville. Horton can not see the Who, but he can hear them. The Who ask Horton to protect them from harm. The core of the story is that a person is a person no matter how small. Horton could only do so much then the Who have to help themselves by doing their part to be heard. I always believed this to be a classic story of our own democratic society. Horton as a representative in congress and the Who as the people. Neither one can achieve much without the other. But Horton can do more if the Who can be heard by the other Jungle Animals.

David Cay Johnston's New Book, "Free Lunch" would be the best book for our next President and cabinet to read.

"My Pet Goat" It worked for the past 7 years why reinvent the voter now. The 1% are laughing all the way to their WAR CHEST right now.
Best Movie "Dumb and Dumber" it so real its true.

I would recommend that the person seeking to be our next president read The Third Millenium by Ken Carey. We are entering a new paradigm. Our future is secure but still unwritten. Ken's insight and profound poetic persuasions are worthy of a glimpse.
Blessings/Peace, John Hosay
(Goochland County, Virginia)

I love Johnston's work at the NYT and I love free lunch.

Go back to this country's roots. There was one book that created the definition "American" - Thomas Paine's "Common Sense." Really, this book should be in every family next to their religious text.

no contest - free lunch!

I would suggest the president read FREE LUNCH. It's relevant, timely and really well written

The next president should read Nickel and Dimed by Barbara E. - for a look at the real world.

I suggest John Perkin - Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man. Thanks. Robert D. Williams

Apollo's Fire - Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy - Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks.

We need more intiative in alternative energy sources.

I would suggest Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America -- the 2001 bestseller in which Barbara Ehrenreich articulately described her several months spent working undercover at the most low-level jobs (hotel maid, waitress at diner, discount store clerk, etc.) We need leaders who know and understand the challenges facing those who have the least power and privilege!

Apollo's Fire - Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy - Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks

We some more initiatives in alternative energy sources.

The best book for the next president and for the rest of us who will vote for her or him is DAVID CAY JOHNSTON'S FREE LUNCH. It should be required reading for all of us, Democrat, Republican, or Independent.

Since I reviewed it on my blog, www.writingdoctor.typepad.com, I'll just copy my post here for everyone to read:

“The rich,” said F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Roaring Twenties’ chronicler of corruption, “are very different from us.” Now, 80 years later, David Cay Johnston’s brilliant new book, FREE LUNCH: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill) (Portfolio, December 27th, 2007), demonstrates how much the richest of the rich are different from you and me.

Yes, “They have more money,” as Hemingway, unimpressed, replied to Fitzgerald. But Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning tax expert of the NEW YORK TIMES and Rochester resident, makes clear how much money the super-rich steal from the rest of us--and what they cost us. Addicted to money, the rich buy themselves ever-bigger chunks of political power--and we must pay the bill.

Who are these super-rich? How do they fill their already bulging pockets? In 2005, 300,000 individuals, constituting the top tenth of the top one percent of Americans, had incomes greater than the poorest 150 million Americans struggling to make ends meet at the bottom of the economic pyramid. The much-squeezed middle class--you and me?-- squirm between them. Our pockets are increasingly empty, picked by political and corporate grabbers to make the very rich even richer. The poor, middle classes, and even the moderately rich (the group that my mother called “comfortable”) have neither hors d’oeuvres nor a place at the super-rich’s free lunch buffet. Never sated, the super-rich think their billions aren’t enough.

Feeding the ever-hungry super-rich at the campaign finance table takes a high-powered team. More than 35,000 lobbyists crowd Washington’s K Street. They act as free lunch’s waiters, sommeliers, and maitre-d’s. This horde of lobbyists doesn’t act alone. They require chefs--politicians all-too eager to serve access and influence to the highest bidder. Without their connivance—and contrivance, there would be no free lunch.

Johnston reminds us how Ronald Reagan asked prospective voters “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Their resounding “no” elected Reagan. Three decades later, the bottom 90 percent of Americans, Johnston’s “vast majority,” living models for Edward Hopper’s paintings, must answer with another “NO.” “Getting by on about $75.00 less each week than it did a generation earlier,” their annual income continues to skid downhill.

With the economy flourishing--at least ostensibly, what happened to everybody at the bottom of the pile? “Where,” asks Johnston, “did all the money go?” It went to the top, where super-rich money usually goes. Ready to be skimmed, it soared into corporate profits, options, CEO’s salaries. It went to the top tenth of the top tenth of Americans (got that?). Their portion of the economic pie was the greatest since 1929, just before the Twenties stopped roaring and fell flat.

In its rampantly unequal distribution of unbridled wealth, Johnston finds the United States unlike its democratic colleagues, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Our wild concentration of money at the top follows in the footsteps of three major nations: Russia (yep, Russia), Mexico, and Brazil. Like us, these countries have an explosively burgeoning class of billionaires at the top mirrored by an even more explosively growing poor class and an increasingly stressed—and downwardly spiraling middle class. Even though “these four countries are societies in which adults have the right to vote,” says Johnston, “…real political power is wielded by a relatively narrow, and rich segment of the population.”

Johnston, a Socratic gadfly, makes the case for restoring old-fashioned rules, which “define a civilization.” For “Without rules, there is no civilization…Wherever the world has civilizing rules based on some moral or practical principle, we see prosperity and freedom.” But the rule book has changed. At least, in this country: “In America, the long expansion of who plays a role in deciding the rules has ended. The base of influence has begun to contract. In part, because of the campaign finance system, which transfers power to those who donate and who steer donations.”

Selling power to the highest bidder invites abuse: “To those who lust for power, of what use is acquiring power unless they can abuse it? …The philosophy of the power monger is no different from that of the cancer cell, which mindlessly seeks growth for the sake of growth until it overwhelms its host.”

Johnston is a great phrasemaker. His supporting cast covers the waterfront from Aristotle, Plato, and Virgil, to Jeremiah, Adam Smith, John Locke, and the Founding Fathers. Every page brims with quotable lines: “Karl Marx never envisioned commercial sports as the opiates of the masses.” “Cheating, like pregnancy, is not a halfway condition.” In “Selling the Furniture of Modern Society,” Johnston seeks solutions to where the money goes, “Instead of a Whodunit, this one is a Whogotit.”

FREE LUNCH is replete with nauseating examples of political sales crying out for moral Prilosec—or better yet, Ipecac. Johnston indicts governmental actions that deliberately enrich irresponsible corporations and individuals. He arraigns the rich for steering American jobs to less expensive workers in other lands. The list of corporate, individual, industrial predators is endless: HMOs, big Pharma, “Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, MBNA, Citibank…exploit the poor, the unsophisticated, the foolish”; Donald Trump, Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, John Snow, Kennie-boy Lay, George Steinbrenner (before the Mitchell Report on steroids), Mike Keiser, builder of the most expensive golf courses in America, Tom DeLay, Dennis Hastert, Thomas Scully (head of Medicare), Bush, Cheney, and their minions, the golden parachutes of Jack Welch and Bob Nardelli, and a host of followers.

After all that, what can we do? How can we get the country back on track? Tellingly, FREE LUNCH contains 26 chapters accusing the super-rich buyers and political sellers of stealing the power rightly belonging to the rest of us. Yet only one chapter details what we might do to stop free lunches for the super-rich and anyone else pigging out at the trough.

Still, Johnston has faith in arousing Americans to participatory democracy. In both PERFECTLY LEGAL: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super-Rich—and Cheat Everyone Else and FREE LUNCH itself, he argues that we have a moral obligation to be active members of society. He urges us to remember that “when they invented taxation based on ability to pay, they invented democracy…We are not the United States of Me or the United States of You. We are the United States of America. We are a society.”

Apparently worried that Johnston's current litany of super-rich political cheating may be a Christmas “downer,” the publisher delayed its release till December 27th. Yet the timing of this must-read book is perfect. For Johnston’s call to arms is a great way to begin 2008, to “get us thinking as a nation about how every single free lunch cheats us all (because) in the end, we must be the ones who make our government work, fulfilling the preamble to our Constitution. No one else,” concludes Johnston, “is going to do it for us. Reform begins with you.”

It’s a tall order, but with FREE LUNCH’s exhortations at hand, we may awaken to ways of proving Johnston right. 2008 may be a better year--because we will finally try to make it so.

I have read Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston. This should be read by everyone who pays taxes. No where else can you learn how the tax system is subsidizing the rich.

I would suggest "Who Moved My Cheese", by Spencer Johnson, M.D. The world and the world of politics is an ever changing place, and I just couldn't take it if there was a president blamed his ineffectiveness on Congress, or whoever. He needs to be adaptable to be able to make lemonade out of lemons. Our futures depend on it.

The book I think a President should read is Paul Krugman's "The Great Unraveling", because I think he has the best and most complete information about this country's economic situation and excellent options on what to do. Krugman is one of the rare journalists who is both brilliant and humble.

I think all the presidential candidates should read Mike Gravel's book, Citizen Power. And when they're done reading it, they should hit themselves (hard, and continuously) for being such awful candidates.

I would like to see the next president read David Cay Johnston's recently published book, "Free Lunch". As a former United Airlines Captain whistle blower who was prevented from speaking out on alleged white-collar federal criminality in the post-9/11 airline bankruptcy debacle, I have discovered first-hand the stranglehold that the powerful Wall Street banks an other corporations have on both sides of the aisle in Congress and our Department of Justice through the evidence that has been collected by a grassroots organization called The Whistleblowing United Pilots Assn.

The United Whistleblower Association continues to press forward in forcing government to investigate the incontrovertible evidence at hand, but witness protection is required for key criminal informants in the case, which has not been provided by our Department of Justice for obvious reasons. We will not relent; we will not give up.

The current federal loopholes in our nations bankruptcy laws favor these huge corporations, but when evidence has been produced, which suggests alleged federal criminality that continues to be ignored by both the Department of Justice and the relevant congressional oversight committees, it makes one wonder whether we truly have a federal government, which is paid for by our hard-earned tax dollars, that honestly represents the concerns of "We the People".

When will the maddness end? It is inconceivable that our government and the corporatocracy would have the audacity to exploit the horrific events of 9/11 for huge financial gains by the few on the financial backs of employees and the American taxpayer through the allegedly illegal means employed to distress-terminate employee pensions.

There have been countless examples of suicides, family break-ups, substance abuse, mental breakdowns, and other tragedies as a result of the ruthless acts of the few within the corporatocracy, which is not covered by the mainstream media...for obvious reasons.

The evidence is all there; government and law enforcement choose to ignore it. Why? Because these same special interests are dumping huge amounts of money into both sides of the aisle in Congress through K-Street lobbiest and other means.

So even though I applaud Mr. David Cay Johnston for his moral courage to write the book "Free Lunch", I doubt that any sitting president or member of Congress would be interested in reading it as they are all well aware of the issues that are addressed in the book...they are all part of the political process that perpetuates this corrupt system.

It is the American taxpayers who should rush out and purchase this book during this critical election cycle but, more importantly, they should scream out demanding change to a system that is currently destroying middle-class America, while obscenely enriching the very few extremely wealthy individuals...at our expense.

The Creature from Jekyll Island : A Second Look at the Federal Reserve by G. Edward Griffin. Put him on your show sometime and let's learn how to overpower the pirates who have wrested control of the United States of America from the Constitution.
Also, Addicted To War: Why The U.s. Can't Kick Militarism by Joel Andreas.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin - or any of his books on 9/11. We have been told "9/11 changed everything", and indeed it has! The truth of 911 is the single most important issue of our time because the lie of 911 has been the excuse for perpetual war and the shredding of our constitution.

I hope (no doubt in vain) that the next president will have read Naomi Wolf's The End of America. Failing that, I would love to see Bill Moyers interview her on the show. I am not entirely sure what to make of her case, and I believe that an appearance on The Journal would help me sort it out. Her book is quite popular (about #500 on Amazon.com) yet I don't see her in the mainstream media.

FREE LUNCH! There's no other choice.

I hope (no doubt in vain) that the next president will have read Naomi Wolf's The End of America. Failing that, I would love to see Bill Moyers interview her on the show. I am not entirely sure what to make of her case, and I believe that an appearance on The Journal would help me sort it out. Her book is quite popular (about #500 on Amazon.com) yet I don't see her in the mainstream media.

David Cay Johnston's "Free Lunch."

"..........Dare to imagine if someone found a better way to solve our world problems and free ourselves from all this senseless suffering..............." The book, "The Art of Non-War", is the book I would absolutely and gratefully choose to read by Kim Michaels. God Bless this author!!

I recommend "THE KASIDAH OF HAJI ABDU EL-YEZDI" by Sir Richard Burton as reading for a future President - or anyone else!

The Shock Doctrine

It is the most significant book that I've read regarding the history of the United States for my time. It is a parallel to the Japanese leaving Pearl Harbor out of their history books. This book deserves a pulitzer and to be in our our US history classrooms. The footprint this book makes is historical and explains how our government got away from we the people and how it is impossible for us to even call ourselves a democracy. It is most disturbing to me that this book had to educate me about how our government truly operates and functions with blatant disregard to the citizens of our nation and other nations. Democrat and Republican alike need to read this book.

THREE DAY ROAD, Joseph Boyden
Viking, Penguin

A WW1 Epic. 2 Canadian Indians battle the Germans in France...

Why combat is an insanity comparable to
cannabalism in human beings.

James Olmas plannng the movie.

I just finished FREE LUNCH by Johnston - it's fantastic. I think everyone should read it.

David Cay Johnston’s book Free Lunch would be a perfect choice

How about Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed"? It's a harsh reminder of what the real world is all about.

BLESSED UNREST by Paul Hawken -- a compelling, inspiring description of how the third sector (nonprofits and individuals within civil society) is humanity's "immune response" to political corruption, environmental degradation, and social injustice.

I would recommend the book, "IKE-An American Hero" by Michael Korda as a book for the next president to take into the white house. Growing up as a Boomer in the 1950's but not old enough to appreciate the sacrifices made during WWII, I was interested in how Eisenhower influenced the war and in politics after the war. His leadership as general and president are underestimated by the american people. The rancor, self interest, greed, partisan politics, and short term vision current today in Washington must not be perpetuated. The American values and character Eisenhower brought to the presidency need to be reaffirmed and included again into politics.

Sorry to see only one other post at this time supporting my selection for a "must read" which is Joe Bageant's DEER HUNTING WITH JESUS -- DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA'S CLASS WAR.

I hope to see an interview with this most insightful, informative author on The Journal very soon.

I would recommend "Native Wisdom" by Ed McGaa and "In Our Own Best Interest" by William F. Schulz.

Three suggestions:

(1) The United States Constitution

(2) "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville

(3) "The Federalist & Anti Federalist Papers"

Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time by Michael Shermer. A little critical thinking can never be too much!

Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray
Griffin

I think all the candidates should have to read "IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE" I read this book back in third grade and if you apply the logic of this simple little book about a greedy little mouse you can see the correlation of what this administration is doing and how scary it is. If you don't understand what I am talking about, I suggest you check it out. Its pretty obvious.

Baruch Spinoza's Political Treatise.

WAR on the middle class...

The Pres. should read "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Kline. It is a horrifying book but shows how our country is doing horrific things for greed and power.

Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston

I wish all politicians would read "The Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine, so that never again would they dare to pretend that the Founders intended to create a Theocracy.

"An Ordinary Man" by Paul Russesabagina is not only a book for America's next President, it's a read for everyone. As many know, it's the story of how one person saved more than 1,200+ lives during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda when more than 800,000 were slaughtered. The book's about: a) leadership -- and not abdicating that role in spite of being in the middle of the worst of horrors with certain death almost a guarantee; b) commitment -- in Paul Russesabagina's case, saving lives -- and never (even when his family members have been murdered) letting hate and revenge even creep in; c) trust -- although almost drowning in a sea of mistrust; d) life -- and how we can capitalize on our potential for humanity by arresting evil with our commitment, courage and authenticity; e) communication and how we can effectively -- indeed, no matter what the situation -- take the route of civilized words and peaceful negotiation in the most hatred-filled circumstances and find the gold in humankind that makes miracles possible. America is hungry for that kind of leadership -- committed, humane, unselfish, courageous, peaceful, authentic, inspiring.

I recommend "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. Ms. Rand would call all the lobbyists who influence our elected officials--"looters." Her highly-educated thinking characters go "on strike" while the infrastructure of the country is gradually destroyed by many factors, including poor maintainence and public apathy. A lot like the United States in 2008.

The Poems of Rumi, near at hand at all times, would provide our next president with wisdom, understanding and a certain lighthearted reality check as he/she tackles the monumental challenges ahead.

"Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston. The U.S. government is plagued by an imbalance that was created by deregulation. Although I'm not in favor of big government, we went to far. As a result, big business has infiltrated the government process, removed the necessity for competition and procured a "Free Lunch" at our expense. This book is dead on in describing the problem with America. It is a must read.

"Free Lunch," by David Cay Johnston, because it exposes the dirty little secret that the government is in collusion with the wealthiest few among us to ensure that the upper one percentile maintain their lifestyle at our expense.

Assuming the the next President can think critically about what he reads, I would recommend The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr.

There is nothing more important on our planet right now than to start a process of world peace - to ensure a real cooperation of all kinds around the globe which is necessary for the survival of our society in all ways, from economics to environmental issues. The book "The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels is such a book that explains the very consciousness we need to enter into to make that peace possible. To change our consciousness is the only way to change the outer world. And this process has to start with the "world"-leaders, such as the president of U.S.A.

"No Future Without Forgiveness" by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Because a little forgiveness goes a long way, even in the White House.

"Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston. Everyone should read this book before they vote.

Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston

As our Commander and Chief and as our coordinator of all goverment operations, I would want our next president to read and discuss with all of his cabinet members and advisors Mortimer Adler's book, How to Think About War and Peace. He wrote it in 1944 and had it reprinted in 1971 and 1995. All presidents need a conceptual framework of what world peace and war really means and looks like.

Dear Mr. Moyers . . .

I believe "The War Prayer" by Mark Twain is essential for the next President . . . and perhaps the country!

Sincerely,

Rachel I. Branch

As a taxpayer, I fervently hope our next president reads Free Lunch: How America's Wealthiest Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill) by David Cay Johnston. We're selling our democracy down the drain.

Mr. Moyers,

Every candidate should read FREE LUNCH. In fact, everyone who wants to be an infromed voter should read it. The scams of politicians and large corporations are revealed.

The next president should read Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest American Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You With the Bill)by David Cay Johnston. This country is being ruined by the greed of the rich and Johnston reveals how.

Books: For a Republican president, Grapes of Wrath.
For a Democrat, Atlas Shrugged.
I know they are dated, but they each go right to the core of what the two parties just don't get.

Bill - your shows are consistently first class and thought-provoking.

The next president should read "Collapse" by Jared Diamond. I hope you'll have him on soon.

Sincere thanks for your commitment to intelligent discussion.

Dear Mr. Moyers,
I would suggest that our next President read Origin Of the Species by Charles Darwin. This book would encourage our President to remember that we are all interconnected. Darwin eloquently lays the groundwork for the wealth of science that proves we owe our existence to every living species and the planet earth. We share the same atoms and breathe the same air. It is much more difficult to neglect or do harm to one another when we see ourselves as separate.

The Story of American Freedom by Eric Foner. I think the next president needs to know exactly what the history of the American people is when it comes to their interpretations of their rights under the Constitution. Hint: They really take that right "peacably to assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances" very seriously.

Easy and Hard Ways Out by Robert Grossbach is THE book the next President should read and re-read, every six months. A copy should be kept in the oval office to pass on to each succeeding President. The ethical questions raised should be pondered daily.

I don't know why there wasn't widespread rioting when David Cay Johnston's book, Perfectly Legal, was published a couple of years back. The next POTUS should be required to read not just Perfectly Legal, but Johnston's newest book, Free Lunch.

I would recommend the next president read "Perilous Times", by Geoffrey Stone, because it addresses what can occur when only looking at one side of an argument. It does this by exploring what can occur to individual civil liberties in a time of crisis (i.e. war, national disaster, etc.). It shows how, in past times of crisis, certain basic rights are pushed aside in the interest of national security (e.g. unconstitutional internment of Japanese people during WWII).

I want to make it clear that national security is extremely important, but so are our individual rights and freedoms. We live in a time of crisis where an imbalance can occur between the two. This causes us to have to pick one over the other: security or civil liberties. This choice has further added to divides in this country: right versus left, Republican versus Democrat, and authoritarian versus civil libertarian. These divides have been very apparent in more recent years in politics, and I believe they do more harm than good.

There are many arguments that can be made from one side or another in support of national security over upholding individual rights in a time of crisis and vice versa. However, I think that anyone who reads this book will see that attention needs to be paid to both sides. It is this attention that the next president must be sure to have, and not just over issues of national security and civil liberties.

Always remember that there are two sides to every coin, two sides to every argument, and I would hope that the next president would give equal time and attention to those sides. I feel that they will do so especially after having read "Perilous Times".

The next President should take a copy of the "Far Side" by Gary Larson into the White House. Or "Doonesbury" Laughter really is the best medicine. Then read some poetry by Pablo Neruda

That's an interesting challenge. I would say:

The Culture of Contentment by John Kenneth Galbraith

A Fable by William Faulkner (or maybe that doesn't count since we're supposed to exclude the Bible?)

The Confidence-Man by Herman Melville

The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft (okay, just kidding on that one!)

Common Sense, Rights of Man, and the Age of Reason by Thomas Paine.

"Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason." - from Common Sense

I should add the Tao Te Ching, Witter Bynner translation.

Cheers!

Because the next President will have to repair the country to restore it, I recommend the Constitution by our Founding fathers.

So that the next administration can uncover the truth and prosecute the perpetrators, Debunking 9/11 by David Ray Griffin

Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire-Gibbons...How empires fall...useful reading to the our current government

Overthrow- The story of American Interventions in Foreign governments in the 20th century

So many books-so little time: These are worth the time!

The True Cost of Low Prices - the Violence of Globalization by Vincent A. Gallagher

Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol

Pathologies of Power by Paul Farmer

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Compassion by H. Nouwen, D. McNeill, D. Morrison

Crossing the Racial Divide (Ed.Sojourners)

How Much Is Enough? by Arthur Simon

The Sneetches & What Was I Scared of? by Dr. Seuss

I recommend the next President read "Broken Government" By John Dean The best of the trilogy "Worse than Watergate" and "Conservatives without conscience"

I would suggest the book Killing the Dream by William Blum.
Lee Loe, Houston, TX

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin and The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot by Naomi Wolf

I recommended A Brief History of Neoliberalism by David Harvey

The people that participated in your survey have recommended some terrific books, however there seems to be a pattern here, and the pattern indicates the recognition to prevent the next president from making the same mistakes. There is also the desire to reverse these disastrous decisions. But it goes deeper than that. These book titles indicate an indictment of failed policies that go back generations, particularly where the uneven distribution of wealth is concerned. The good thing to come out of the present situation (and it is hard to find one) is that people are starting to rage against the unfairness in society and the direction their country is going in. Unfortunately, I sense the majority may still be going down the road most traveled.

Letters from Nuremburg. This book by Senator Christopher Dodd and his father Thomas Dodd is the book the President should bring with him to the Whitehouse. It constantly reminds us how war, and the need to spread power at any cost, affects all people, including the victors and the vanquished.

Bill,
I would recommend Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense by one of you guests, David Cay Johnston. That book sure lays out what wrong with our country.

I would specifically say for Barak Obama: "Robert Kennedy and His Times" by Arthur Schlesinger. RFK was the last inspirational figure in the democratic party, and for a young voter like me who was born in the Reagan era (what I refer to as the dark ages), I see Barak as the heir to the RFK legacy.

I've just finished reading The Burial at Thebes by Sophocles (trns. by Seamus Heaney) and was struck by the likeness of Creon to our current administration, and the position as "THE Decider." As Creon's son, Heamon, pleads, "Nobody can be sure they're always right. The ones who are the fullest of themselves that way are empty vessels. There's no shame in taking good advice. It's a sign of wisdom..." I'd love to see a new president, be it Democrat or Republican, take office with an open mind, and the flexibility to change direction when circumstances prove it necessary. Though the story of Antigone is tragic, even Creon perceives his faults by the end. Would that we could experience that in America.

Because our foreign policy and near financial bankruptcy revolves around the 9/11 event, I would suggest:

Debunking 9/11 by David Ray Griffin

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller would be my suggestion for the next President's reading list. It helps demonstrate the sane response to being trapped within an insane system - try to escape.

Debunking 9/11 by David Ray Griffin is a must read. It is one of many books written which exposes the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American public, the masses need to wake up and realize the USA way is on its way out, enough lies. Mr. Griffin would be a beneficial guest on your show, Mr. Moyers.

Debunking 9/11 by David Ray Griffin is a must read. It is one of many books written which exposes the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American public, the masses need to wake up and realize the USA way is on its way out, enough lies. Mr. Griffin would be a beneficial guest on your show, Mr. Moyers.

"The Lorax" by Dr. Suess, because we're almost out of Truffula Trees, UNLESS...

I want the new president to read Howard Karger's 2005 book, "Short Changed: life and debt in the fringe economy." It is a well researched story of how those less well to do must pay more for absolutely everything in our economy. The President should understand the profound impact gouging interest rates and corporate greed are destroying hope for working poor.

I am delighted to learn that Obama selected the book I recommend for our 44th president--whoever that is. As in 1860, the deep divisions of the nation call for a president who can reach out to the ablest persons, from whatever party, and include them in the next administration. The manner in which Abe Lincoln did that in 1860 is elegantly told in the book, "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

My vote is for "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein -- other favorites include: "The Assault on Reason" by Al Gore, and "Screwed, the Undeclared War on the Middle Class" by Thom Hartmann.

Thanks for all your great work -- I so look forward to your program each week.

--Georgia

I would suggest the president take with him "Cry The Beloved Country" by Alan Paton.

My wife's grandfather called the book, powerful,moving and poignant in 1954 and I very much agree with him. It's about an oppressed generation's struggle to survive in Africa. They knew the answers; they were given to them and all mankind over 2000 years ago.
I would suggest that it be read more than once.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking, written by David Ray Griffin.

It's so amazing how arrogant and detached some of our "representatives" can be. To completely ignore many of the concerns of the people proves they are not our "representatives," but controlling forces who have self-interests at heart.

"The True Believer"- Eric Hoffer

The candidates need to read Tim Flannery's The Weather Makers. We are on the point either of becoming a sustainable society or of losing our civilization. The president needs to know enough to lead us in the right direction.

I would bring MY book COFFEE CUP and as a secondary book, Debunking 911 by David Ray Griffin

How we vote with our money by purchasing foreign goods impacts so many people, we need more information. I recommend the candidates and electorate read Blood Diamonds by Greg Campbell as a start.

Holy Bible: The President has to square to be a good president. Also The Art of Non War by Kim Michaels.

"The Gospel According to Jesus" by Stephen Mitchell.

there was a time when i still had enough hope in the electoral process to think that a candidate who read their zinn and chomsky and gore vidal would have made an awesome president who could effect change. the horrors of the current administration have revealed something deeper about our politics and policies. The Story of B, Daniel Quinn (Ishmael is a good one, too) is one of those core-shaking books that leaves the sentient reader changed upon completion. not the kind of "change" cliton and obama are selling, but a real shift in understanding of our culture as a blip on the radar of human history and an acknowledgment of the dignity of other cultures-- indigenous cultures from africa to amazon rain forest--and of the way we have exploited them and the earth.

i would also be down with a president who reads and understands the Tao Te Ching because i think someone who believes in the unity of all things, the oneness of the universe, would be far less inclined to wage war and run around the globe declaring enemies.

"Change" is the opreational word for this election; however, current rhetoric is not clarifying our direction and needed preparations. The book: "The Top Trends That Will Shape The World In The Next Twenty Years" is a 300 pg. paperback by James Canton, Ph.D.
This book clarifies both the direction and preparations to successfully lead in globalization. America is and will continue to be intimately involved in these trends or global challenges and thus this book is a must read for the next president. America must achieve a leading role both nationally and internationally the alternative is unacceptable.

A fantastic list is being generated and I hope to read many of them. I feel that the following two reads go a long way towards combining foreign and domestic themes.

Jihad v.s. McWorld by Benjamin R. Barber
Power, Faith, and Fantasy by Michael B. Oren

The one book I would like the next president to read is "Secrets of the Temple: How th Federal Reserve Runs the Country" by William Greider. While it is an older book, nothing has changed much since it was written.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

The Shell Game, by Steve Alten

Many very fine books have already been suggested. One I haven't seen on the list: A Time for Choices: Deep Dialogues for Deep Democracy, ed. Michael Toms. This includes numerous thought provoking essays for our time.

A close runner up, although on a more narrow subject: Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth Century World by J. R. McNeill. Many lessons to be learned there if we take the time.

McTeague

by Frank Norris

This book tells the truth of America.

The Real Wealth of Nations - Creating a Caring Economics by Riane Eisler, a compelling conversation for why we must bring back a human and nature centric perspective to economics, in order to change the world.

The one book that would justly open the eyes of each President is: :The Play of God-visions of the life of Krishna" By Vanamali. It covers the Mahabarata War which historically represents governing humanity in full knowledge and potential. Otherwise, if the president is on the lighter side of intelligence; then "Animal Farm" wouldn't hurt.

The New Pearl Harbor by David Ray Griffin

"A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn would be my choice. A brief glance seems to reveal allot of books relating to individual pet issues rather than general ethics and true national identity. I would hope that our next President will recognize that nearly all of the major change that has taken place over the course of this nations history in affecting the enforcement of the meaning of the Constitution has taken place at the hands of The People dragging (generally not altogether peacefully) an unwilling moneyed power base along behind it. The term "representative government" has never been one open to very much debate as to it's meaning, unless the discussion is taking place among those to whom it is a hinderance, and this book lays out the precedent for the need for either good government, or civil rebellion in order to control the inherent lust for increased wealth and power by those at the very top of the economic scale. In essence, a book that recognizes the history of a nation truly by The People.

I recommend the Art of Non-War as it shows the a view point of the world in which war is no longer necessary.

I would bring debunking 9/11 debunking by David Ray Griffin.

I believe that the one book I would recommend is "Winners Never Cheat" by Huntsman ... and a companion book, that I don't remember the exact title but it is something like "I learned Everything I Needed to Know in Kindergarten"

Economics for Dummies. (I'm serious.)

The book I would like the new President to take to the White House is 'The Emperor Wears No Clothes' by Jack Herer. The President sooner or later has to face the failure of the War on Drugs and the waste of the billions of dollars per year on this 'War'.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins

I would bring two. "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" -David Ray Griffin. The 2nd book is "Rule By Secrecy" by Jim Marrs.

I dearly hope the Next President, as well as all Americans, read "Free Lunch". I cannot remember the author's name (SCANDAL!) but I saw him on your show week before last and was appalled to learn Walmart and others get to keep the sales tax they collect AND! Dumbass(Donald)Trump gets 85 MILLION!! a year to runhis Atlantic City casino's and taxpayers foot the bill. I do believe this country is going to see a revolt of the have nots gainst the "HAVES AND HAVE MORES)to quote Duh! Bush that will make the French Revolution look like a "Sunday Social". I am bucking to read this book!
Mr.Tracy N.Hamblen

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. When I saw the show and Bill Moyers asked for suggestions it came to mind immediately. I want the person in the White House to keep the working poor in mind when making decisions. I want that person to think about the day to day impact they make on those of us who are struggling. I thought Nickel and Dimed did a really good job of illustrating what they go through. Day after day, year after year.

THE AGE OF REASON by Thomas Paine. The religious right often says that America was founded as a Christian country and that our constitution is based on the Ten Commandments and the Judeo-Christian religions. When they refer to the Founding Fathers they mean Puritans such as Cotton Mather and not Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, and other men of the enlightenment.

Reading Thomas Paine, they will come away with a completely different view of our Founding Fathers and the Judeo-Christian tradition. Written in sharp, lucid, almost conversational prose, articulating truths, which I had always felt but had never dared to say, to me, it was a revelation.

Thomas Paine, writing at the end of the eighteenth century, said the Old Testament was more consistent with the word of a demon than the word of God. ‘A history of wickedness,’ he concluded, ‘that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.’

Of the New Testament he wrote this. “When I am told that a woman called the Virgin Mary said that she was with child without co-habitation with a man, and that an angel told Joseph this to be so, I have a right to believe them or not. Such a circumstance requires a much stronger evidence than their bare word for it; but we have not even this – for neither Joseph or Mary wrote any such matters themselves; it is only reported by others that they said so – it is hearsay upon hearsay, and I do not choose to rest my belief upon such evidence”.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin is a must read. It is one of many books written by highly credentialed professionals that exposes the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American public. Please have Mr. Griffin as a guest on your show, Mr. Moyers.

I say:
Debunking 9/11 Debunking

And by the way -- I saw someone suggesting that the DRG recommendation is spam -- it's not spam. We are unique, real people who have read the book and are recommending it. Maybe we discuss it elsewhere as well, but that only proves that it is a very compelling book and, for many Americans, the appropriate answer to this question of which should go to the White House.

David Ray Griffins Debunking 911 Debunking
For anyone who has not questioned the official story of 911, you are in for a real eye opening and life changing read. This is the biggest story of our lifetimes and yet to hit the mainstream media.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin. Easily one of the best summaries of the most important historical event of our time.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking"

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

In an era of economic uncertainty and lack of understanding of monetary policy by our political leaders,I recommend that The next leader of the free world reads , Thieves in the Temple by Andre Eggelletion; An indictment against the Fedral Reserve System and its history of corruption and greed. The real reason behind the debacle of banking and credit in America,and ultimately the globe.

My choice for the next president's reading is, "The Sorrows of Empire, Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic" by Chalmers Johnson.

The classic works cited by the candidates are great, but I'd like to make sure the next president has a clear picture of the stranglehold that moneyed interests have on our government; therefore, I'd recommend David Sirota's Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--And How We Take It Back or David Cay Johnston's Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill).

The book I recommend is:The Israel Lobby by Mearsheimer and Walt.
We cannot expect a constructive US foreign policy unless and until our politicians wean from the goodies of the hardline right-wing lobby for Israel in pursuit of inhuman and destructive aim of territorial expansion in the Middle East.

The book tells us why this policy is against both US and Israeli interests and is opposed by many if not most Jews here and Israel.

The move to sever ties to AIPAC should start from the White House. This book should be a must for the next president.

"The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom", by Don Miguel Ruiz.
A pithy, simple, but very powerful book. Here they are:
- Be impeccable with your word
- Don't take anything personally
- Don't make assumptions
- Always do your best

I fervently hope the next president will read George Lakoff's "Don't Think of an Elephant." Without the POTUS having the information in this book, our country is in danger because our president must know how to process information--how to deconstruct the distortions of politcal hacks, special interests, and the think-tank lingo that had developed over the last 40 years, and which dominates our public discourse. George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language" shows why clarity in language is fundamental to informed decision making. Lakoff's book brings the argument to the 21st century. With 24-hour cable, talking heads inanely repeating what comes out of the mouths of talk show hosts and campaign managers, currently the control of language and ideas rests with the spinmeisters. A MUST READ for everyone. Please get Lakoff on your program. And thank you for all your incredibly insightful and intelligent programs. M. Crawford Jones

Dear Mr. Moyers,

The book, just one? Ok, then.
Those mentioned, that I have heard, are fine and probably critical to the infant nation when it was a democracy. Now, however these books seem to be, to have an aura of nostalgia--wishing the country were like it used to be. Not likely, or desirable when one considers the limitations of the voting register, the slaves, ad infinitum.
The book I would like to see enter the White House, and then be read by the President to be, would have to do with the character of thought--and stimulate the president to think even larger than imagined possible.
Maybe the book should be THE DREAM OF SCIPIO by Iian Pears; maybe MOSQUITO COAST by Paul Theroux; maybe more pointedly J.M. Coetzee's recent novel DIARY OF A BAD YEAR these are all and each thought provoking commentaries on the power of politics and the fear of both change and freedom. However, the one book that has struck me over the past three years is, and this would be the one I put in the President's coat pocket (or handbag), Rebecca Goldstein's BETRAYING SPINOZA.

We as a nation, as a community of people, need more than national history, more than political theory, more than clever analysis; we, all of us, need a refresher course on the ethics and morality of being human above all else, and only after having recovered that slippery condition can we think what form of government might be appropriate now.

Thank you for your efforts toward the ends of which I speak.

Sincerely,

Robert Reedy

Thank you, Mr. Moyers for your extraordinary work.

I must add my recommendation for the next president's reading Naomi Klein's THE SHOCK DOCTRINE. Ms. Klein's exhaustive research makes clear that we will never achieve our own security nor improve the world condition until we can effect change in the vicious cruelty of the unfettered fundamentalist capitalism which is the "Friedman Economic Model".

I am outraged at what has been perpetrated around the world in our name,with the collusion of many in our government and in concert with the IMF and the World Bank. How can we have made so many human souls suffer so that a few individuals and so many multinational corporations could enrich themselves. No wonder we are reviled in other cultures.

"Silence is the voice of complicity."

I recommend Isaiah Berlin The Proper Study of Mankind-An Anthology of Essays by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

There are actually two books that come to mind immediately. The first one is a recently (January 22, 2008) book called THE SHELL GAME by Steve Alten http://www.theshellgame.net/

This is based on research of the events of September 11, 2001 and a cautionary tale about another "false flag" action, like the deception of the Gulf of Tonkin, to attack Iran due to the oil energy power elite corruption wars.

The other book I would like all candidates to read is an older book by Leonard Peltier, PRISON WRITINGS: MY LIFE IS MY SUNDANCE.
This is about the corruption of our justice system, and abuse by COINTELpro and human rights violations of a Native American in prison unjustly for more than 3 decades. His book includes forgiveness, and a call for reconciliation and truth to end the corruption and harm to the indigenous people for more than 500 years.
More on these books and more is at my website www.FlybyNews.com

COLLAPSE by Jared Diamond is a must read,for the U.S. President, the cabinet and Congress members. It is a carefully researched and well-written account of a number of societies who failed to heed the signs of the danger of destroying their natural resources, resulting in their eventual self-destruction.

The Art of Non-War by Kim Michaels.

Just imagine in the future, no war. Read the book, it is going to be a best seller.

Even though I would hope that our next president has read The Wealth of Nations and the works of John Adams, I would want Hillary Clinton or the next president to read and discuss (with his/her advisors and appointees) in the manner of a Great Book’s Seminar conducted by Mortimer J. Adler his book, We Hold These Truths, Understanding the Ideas and Ideals of the Constitution. In the first part of the book, Dr. Adler discusses the relationship of the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution; in the second part he explores the ideas of the Declaration; in the third part, he examines the ideals of the Constitution’s Preamble concluding with a discussion of the defects of the eighteenth-century charter; in fourth part, Dr. Adler turns to questions about what is to be done in the future to realize the ideals of the Constitution more fully; and in the fifth part he includes the complete texts of the three great documents that he calls “The American Testament”: The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Even though Barak Obama admires Abraham Lincoln’s confidence in being a dissident voice, I would hope that our next president would understand, discuss and act upon the ideals that President Lincoln eloquently expressed in his Gettysburg Address.

I recommend Isaiah Berlin The Proper Study of Mankind-An Anthology of Essays by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Hard Facts--Dangerous Half-truths and Total Nonsense by Pfeffer and Sutton--2 Stanford U professors who look at the necessity of changing systems within an organization if you truly want change.

I would like the next President to fully read, Peoples History of the United States, 14892 to the Present by Howard Zinn

Thank you

I can't decide whether I recommend everyone to read, "End of America" by Naomi Wolf, or "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein, so read both.

About last weekend's show:

"REP. HENRY WAXMAN: Well, we were set to do it, but we heard from Mr. Krongard at the-- inspector general of the state department, offering to quit rather than have that hearing. And in my view, it was better to have him leave that job than to go through a hearing that would've been embarrassing. But at least we got the result that seems is the best interest of the American people."

Bush or Rove, et al, knew arrests and television reports would do more to supress votes than doing "what seems to be in the best interest of the American people. Waxman should have arrested Krongard, even if it meant locking him in a closet . Allowing creeps and crooks to scoff at the Constitution and the rule of law it protects, jeopardizes the future of our country. If you are not making enough noise on your "band"wagon to drown out Fox News, we, the people, won't be able to jump on.

Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein.

I recommend "Power Down" by Richard Heinberg. Our present civilization is entirely based on cheap fuel and we need leadership to avert economic and social collapse that will follow the end of oil.

I wish the next President would read "For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy
toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future",

written by an economist (Herman E. Daly) and a United Methodist theologian (John B. Cobb, Jr.).

Together they point out the "externalities" in our economies that come at the expense of other parts of the world, and make the case for a whole new economic model.

Without hesitation, I recommend that the next President first read and keep a copy for bedtime reference, Howard Zinn's book,"A People's History fo the United States, 1492-Present". As he or she ponders great and long lasting decisions, it will help the President realize that the true story of our nation is written by America's women, Hispanics, Afro-Americans, factory workers (such as my grandfather and father), Native Americans, the poor, the working poor, the soldiers. It will remind him that his or her decisions will affect these folks and how history will judge how successful he or she was as President.

The book I would recommend is The Great Frontier by Walter Prescott Webb. At the beginning of the Age of Discovery(Feudal Times) there were 32 people per square mile. After the opening up of the entire world we did not return to 32 people per square until 1932. In that four hundred year boom period there was sufficient wealth that the human race was able to develop the institutions of the individual -Protestantism in the spiritual realm, Capitalism in the economic realm, and Democracy in the political realm. Noww that we are well beyond 32 people per square mile and no longer have available that per capita wealth those institutions are in danger of passing and we are facing the prosspect of a return to a feudal type of society. This time the feudal landlords will the the giant corporations.

My wife and I look forward all week to NOW and Bill Moyers Journal. If you will send us names and addresses of your sponsors we would be more than happy to send them hardcopy letters thanking them for support of your programs and telling them how important those programs are to us.

Thank you

George Coder and Nancy Lineburgh

I hope the next president has already read "In Our Best Interest" by Dr. Williams F. Schulz. Dr. Schulz makes a very compelling case for a foreign policy rooted in human rights.

How about The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. That would bring the presidency to at least the nineteenth century. From there it would be a relatively short hop to the twenty first.

I would recommend two books: Gunther Pauli's "Upsizing: The Road to Zero Emissions, More Jobs, More Income and No Pollution" and John Nolt et al's "A Land Imperiled: The Declining Health of the Southern Appalachian Bioregion".

"The Real Wealth of Nations, Creating a Caring Economics" by Riane Eisler is a must read for the President, Congress and nation. Eisler goes beyond the market focus of Adam Smith to include the full spectrum of economic activities, caring and care giving, household economy, and the natural world. She offers proposals which help build economic systems that meet both our material and spiritual needs.

"On The Road." It is a flawed masterpiece... in some ways, a poetry for the common man / woman. A visceral reminder that life is short, our priorities are out of whack, and going out on a limb is a great way to cause transformation (let's call it "change") and inspire others.

The next president doesn't need a history book, or a tome about economics. All the remaining candidates have a handle on that stuff. They need something simultaneously grounding in the "real-world" (outside of politics) and a metaphorical kick in the pants. Mr. Kerouac could be just what the doctor ordered.

For these times, "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin is sorely needed. We live in times when truth and the belief in it are marginalized if not demonized. We must at long last assume the mantle of responsible citizenship.

For a rather short, but healthy and handy reference book on attitudes and values to bring to the Oval Office, I'd recommend William Sloane Coffin's book "Credo."

To our next president I would recommend "American Creation" by Joseph Ellis.

If our next president had a fell for the humanity Ellis gives our founding fathers, he or she may see that this country was founded by and run since by mere mortals. Presidents breathe the same air and make mistakes like all mortals do.

Every now and then it would nice to see a president who doesn't believe he or she is infallible, we can leave claims like that to the Vatican because first and foremost we are a nation of laws and a free people who give our power to the government to do in concert what we cannot do individually--it's not the other way around.

1. The Working Poor by David K Shipler
2. Shelter of Each Other by Mary Pipher
3. Grace eventually by Anne Lamott

My suggestion to my presidential candidate...
The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Madino.
True leadership goes hand-in-hand with compassion.

The book our next president should take to the White House is The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman.
If she/he needs some inspiration then I'd recommend Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

Bill Moyers is finding out what it's like to be Oprah. Now we need another show on PBS each week (or more than one hour) just to discuss these books. Or I wonder if Oprah could discuss these books (9/11 Truth, Shock Doctrine, The Art of Non-War,Legacy of Ashes, etc.) without undermining her corporate appeal (and income) ? C-span might could help, or maybe a whole new book channel ("Handling the Truth") on cable, rated R for real- X for exactly!

SCREWED: THE UNDECLARED WAR AGAINST THE MIDDLE CLASS -- AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT by Thom Hartmann should be top on the President's reading list.

The Attorney General (hopefully John Edwards) should read, UNEQUAL PROTECTION: THE RISE OF CORPORATE DOMINANCE AND THE THEFT OF HUMAN RIGHTS by Thom Hartmann.

You can pin most, if not all, of our problems at the feet of corporate control of our government, which both of these books address. We need publicly funded elections to put the control of our government back in the hands of "We the People", the 4th and most important branch of government. "We the People" need to stand up and do our part to keep our government in check.

The two books that should be taken into the white house and read often are Common Sense, by Thomas Paine and 1984 by George Orwell.

I suggest 2 readings for the next president:
1- The Corrected Historical Essays by Gore Vidal
2- All Saints by Robert Ellsberg

I know you're supposed to bring a book, but i suggest the awesome documentary by Aaron Russo entitled

"America: Freedom to Fascism"

It would be a great guide for any president or concerned citizen. Check out the wesite truther.org to watch the movie for free

This country has launched itself on a messianic mission, "The Global War on Terror" and has invaded two countries and subverted our basic national principals because of it. All of this based on the Myth of the 19 assassins led by a scary brown man in a cave.

But the myth is a lie.

The book to read is David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking."

The myth must die for our nation to survive.

I would suggest that the new president read Howard Zinn's "A Peoples History of the United States"...Thanks, Steve~

I would recommend "The New American Story" by Bill Bradley.

"When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor" by William Julius Wilson. Even though it's a decade old, this book ought to be read so someone in Washington cares for the poor rather than the privileged.

You asked a question which should, and obviously does, have many varied answers. I pose that you ask what book should we TAKE OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE. And there is only one answer to that question... The Bible

It is time for rational reasoned thinking when dealing with the realities of this time and this world.

The book that I would like to suggest to the next president is “Knowing-Doing Gap, The: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I Sutton (Author). Pfeffer and Sutton demonstrate that it is not enough for corporations (government) to know about, discuss, or collect information on a problem. They must act. Our next president must know how to turn knowledge into action. This classic book on knowledge management would serve them well.

I would further suggest that the following recommendations should be offered to the president.

1. What films would we recommend to the president?
2. Who are the most thoughtful American people the president should ask for advice?
3. Who are the most thoughtful world figures the president should ask for advice?
4. Where in America should the president visit while in office?
5. Where in the world should the president visit while in office?

It would be hard for a president to go wrong with "America the Principled" by Rosabeth Moss Kanter.

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. It's a comprehensive look at the cold calculated actions of our nation's leaders of Friedman's disciples that have sought to destroy democracy around the world and in our nation. If the candidate sees what has been done then maybe they can start restoring our nation and democracy.

There are so many things wrong with this country today because of this administration and the fascist that put them in power that trying to name just ONE book to encompass it all would be a pretty tall order.

The fact of the matter is this, the USA is no longer a Democratic Republic.
We have a president that was never elected because it is quite clear that all elections since 2000 have been fraudulent.
For this disgrace the next president should read "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: Greg palast"

We have so many people in this country that are incapable of rational thinking, they probably think "reasoning" is something you put on a steak. What I see as the main culprit of this travesty is Religion.
Religion destroys the thinking and reasoning mind, approx 50+% of this country refuses to accept the FACT of Evolution based solely on religious "beliefs".
These people place faith above fact, once someone has deluded themselves to this extent then "believing" the bald faced lies that Bush tells continuously is easy.

For this disgrace I would recommend he/she reads "The God Delusion Richard Dawkins"

Then of course we have about 50% of the country that still refuses to accept that 9/11 was without any question an inside job perpetrated by what you Mr. Moyers called the "Shadow Government".

This is THE most important issue of our times because every atrocity this administration has committed in our name the past 7 years has all been predicated on this LIE and the mainstream media is covering it up.
9/11 Truth can be the key to save this country.

For this disgrace I would suggest any book written by David Ray Griffin and as mentioned here probably over 200+ times now "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" would be as good as any.
But the key is to THINK FOR YOURSELF.

The Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu

particularly verse 17:

When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.

If you don't trust the people,
you make them untrustworthy.

The Master doesn't talk, he acts.
When his work is done,
the people say, "Amazing:
we did it, all by ourselves!"

The new President should read David Cay Johnston's best seller "Free Lunch," so he or she clearly understands how it came to be that our government came began conspiring with corporations to take money from the masses and give it to corporate executives, thus reversing the practice of Robinhood and turning it into the practice that has destroyed our economy and the middle class -- Robbing the hood.

A key book to be read would have to be "Common Sense and Other Writings" by Thomas Paine. Self explanitory.

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

My suggestion for the one book would be the LEFT HAND OF GOD by Michael Lerner, as it describes the history, the present mess, and a generous, courageous solution.

The President enters the Oval Office with book in hand. What could he carrying that would inspire him to lead this nation to remember its natural roots of caring for itself and its neighbors? The Real Wealth of Nations by Riane Eisler will help him convey to our nation that we are only truly wealthy when we do what is necessary to care for the members of our society. The measure of the success of the United States will not be how much money we have in our bank account, but that all our members are fed, housed, clothed and have medical care as needed. Creating an economic system with that goal should be our President's point of inspiration. We will create untold number of jobs to support that value, vs. creating jobs to make things no one wants or needs just for the sake of making money. New President, New Economic system....it's time to start now.

The book i want our next president to read and bring to the White House is "Death Sentences: How Cliches, Weasel Words and Management-Speak Are Strangling Public Language," by Don Watson.

This book exposes the way in which discourse and actual truth telling suffer in our society because of the abuses of language all around us. The obfuscation we must endure from many of our political leaders, regardless of party affiliation, damages our society.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman - I learned a lot and so would our next President. Bill Moyers you are the Best - THANK YOU!

"Antigone" by Sophocles

(and as a study guide "reverence" by Paul Woodruff)

I reread the play after seeing your interview with Mr Woodruff in the months preceding the war in Iraq. A major theme is the tragedy that arises when a leader ignores the voices of those around (and "beneath") him and stubbornly pursues a policy against the natural order. This message could have helped to avoid the currant war and maybe would aid in preventing a similar disaster in the future.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

It is so important that our new president embrace a new form of thinking. A form of thinking with peace at its very core. To that end the book I most highly recommend is "The Art of Non-war" By Kim Michaels. Publisher: Shangra-la Mission.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin

"The Social Contract" by Jean Jacques Rousseau... but reading it alone won't do- it must be acted upon with genuine intent.

Citizenship Papers by Wendell Berry is my recommendation. This collection of essays is Mr. Berry's most powerful in revealing the consequences of the industrial paradigm, of which he so poignantly describes in previous writings. For clarification, Mr. Berry is describing the mindset that promotes the maximum yield at whatever human or ecological cost – all for personal gain in the short-term for a limited few. The industrial paradigm, when allowed to run its course, ultimately leads to the impoverishment of human individuals, communities, and societies through environmental destruction, war, economic collapse, etc. In contrast, Mr. Berry argues that we can change this paradigm, which currently rules the world, to one which advances self-reliance, quality not quantity, love of place, and empathy for others – all for the wealth of many. Good message for someone following in Bush’s footsteps.

Besides "The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels I also would like to recommend "Save your Planet" by the same author.

First one, A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, and also Armed Madness by Greg Palast. Our history has been rewritten by the winners, the owners of businesses, but all of our progress has been forced by progressive ideas and regular people demanding justice. If this is a nation that claims to honor Christian values, then we would help each other and not fight so many wars. We would honor the earth and give back to her, stop poisoning our home. Let us have some foresight and think into the future! We have enough if we share.

Per the recommendation of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, I'd like the President of the USA to read "Hegemony or Survival" by Noam Chomsky. Or anything, really, as long as it's not "My Pet Goat" read upside down!

David Korten's three books: When Corporations Rule the World, The Post-Corporate World: Life After Capitalism, and The Great Turning. The first and second books provide a much needed reality check on where we've come. The second and third books supply a much needed vision for where we might go from this disastrous corporate plutocracy we've gotten ourselves into - or rather, our 'representatives' have.

"Touch the Ocean: The Power of Our Collective Emotions." Treats collective health, then leaps beyond the ordinary to introduce the consequences of impulsive but wide ranging actions on our weather, not to mention catastrophic weather. All with a very light touch.

"A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. A mind-blowing account of our nation's history, unlike anything found in watered down textbooks across America.

I wish the candidates would read David Halberstam's "The Best And The Brightest."
It is a primer on the inner workings of several administrations, and how they led us into and expanded and unnecessary war.
It shows the consequences to our people and to the world of not understanding history and other cultures, of not challenging assumptions, of not seeking information from the people on the lines, of not recognizing that might doesn't make right, of not being able to acknowledge a mistake.

"Collapse" by Jared Diamond is both fair in assessing the unprecedented and deteriorating condition of global ecosystems, and immensely sobering in detailing the history of ten collapsed civilizations on earth.

The Art of Non-war by Kim Michaels

David Cay Johnston's books Free Lunch and Perfectly Legal.

Our government is being bought by the ultra-wealthy. Please stop it!

the most important book i've ever read:
the shock doctrine
by naomi cambell

I recommend "The Art of Non-War" by Kim Michaels

My suggestion would be "The Covenant" by James Michner and/or when I find a copy "Caravans." Any James Michner reader would be light years ahead of the Bush Administration and to think Michner spent his final and some of his best years in Austin, Texas.

I would suggest "Asking the Right Questions, A Guide to Critical Thinking" by M. Neil Browne and Stuart M. Keeley. Why? A President can't know everything but (s)he has to have an approach to getting insight from those who are experts in an area who may have bias. Everyone has an agenda or a bias. How do you process and use such information? This book will help.

Sen. Obama made an excellent choice: TEAM OF RIVALS: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Many books come to mind, but I can think of nothing better, so that's my suggestion. I hope many more books come to the mind of the winning candidate.

I would like for the president to read "The Art of Non-War" by Kim Michaels.

How great it would be if
HOLOCAUST MOSAIC would be in the White House after 17 years of research. H.M. tells the sory of the Holocaust through the stories of 6 people; a 3 year old when the war beagn who was liberated at Buchenwald, Anne Frank who died at Bergenbelsen, Kaethe Collwitz,a well known artist, Peter, half Jew half German who left German and Etty, a young woman at the crossroads of adulthood who died at Auschwitz.The book includes the story of the author as well during those years. Hitler's war against the Jews, at a time when many are trying to deny that it happened must never be forgotten.
Helen Weber, Author

Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau to remind the candidates what it means to stand up for what's ethically right and not politically expedient. A reminder about an unjust war in which the U.S. was the aggressor couldn't hurt either.

I'll second the recommendation of

The Unconscious Civilization, by John Ralson Saul, New York: The Free Press, 1997.

This book cuts right through the massive and ongoing campaign by the establishment to keep the people distracted from the ransacking of America by corporate interests.

Real Wealth of Nations...creating a caring economics by Riane Eisler.

This book enables us to see the dominator value system vs. the caring value system that underlies our economic systems and results in the outcomes we see happening before us today. After reading this--you can see there is another way--and it works for all of us.

Wonderful book suggestions have been made. I'd add "Collapse" by Jared Diamond. It gives a number of examples of societies failure to face reality and their resulting failure.

My recommended book for the next President:"The Arrogance of Power" by J. William Fulbright.

The next President's bedsaide manual should be
The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer

Cyrus Leo Solzberger, who passed away in 1993, of the times family was a correspondent from 1938. His book A long Row of Candles, gives great historical insight into the history and politics of the worls, especially the region of the Ottoman Empire, Germany's rule, meetings with world leaders until 1954. The reader will learn what the modern politician has fogotten about Asia, Europe, Africa and the US involvement.

I'd like the candidates to read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, or alternatively, The End of Faith, by Sam Harris. Either would help them realize how little God is going to help us and get them to focus on some solutions that don't require faith to operate.

There are some great titles here, and they seriously address the philosophic and ethical challenges integral to holding the position of President of the United States. But when you asked the question, "What book, besides the Bible, would you like the next President to take to the White House?", the writings of P.G. Wodehouse sprang to my mind. Reading a little Wodehouse every week keeps the spirit light, and also teaches an aspect of the acceptance of fate. For the President, I would recommend "The Golf Omnibus" by P.G. Wodehouse.

"DAY of RECKONING" by Patrick Buchanan. This author's shibboleth of national sovereignty continues here, and he makes a pretty compelling case for it. He aptly characterizes the principles of globalization as a CULT, a substitute for our lost moral compass - one which is jealously guarded like an inviolable religion from "apostates" who would criticize its methods and outcomes. International capital, freed of loyalty to nationhood, is encouraged to shred all social contracts, for short-term gain. We are currently seeing how international markets panic, once American consumers no longer earn enough to continue buying at their customary, furious pace. Our clever leaders now grant us a "payday loan" on the nation's maxed-out credit card, to fuel a last gasp of spending - hoping the feces won't hit the fan before election day!

Broken Government by John W. Dean

"The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein.

Read it and you will understand why.

I recommend "The March of Folly" Barbara Tuchman.It is a good description about how false premises and institutional inertia can produce devastating reuslts.

The book I would like the new President to take to the White House (and read!) is Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen. It is the story of a disparate group of men who managed to come together in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and create the Constitution of the United States. The task completed by our founding fathers was remarkable, not only because the Constitution has lasted, but because these people did not agree about everything, yet were able to compromise for the common good. The new President could learn a great deal from their example.

I’d like to recommend Paul Stamets’s “Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World” (Ten Speed Press).

It may seem like an odd choice, but this book will fundamentally change the President’s (and anyone else’s) view of nature and our interconnection with it. What if we started seeing ourselves – we humans – as part of nature, rather than as something separate from it? What if we began to honor and nurture the earth and then the earth was more able to nourish us? How would our decision-making process be changed?

Mr. Stamets believes mycelia have not just the ability to protect the environment, but the intelligence to do so on purpose. Fungi transmit information across their huge networks using the same neurotransmitters that our brains do. They are the earth’s “natural internet”. Fungi nourish and repair ecosystems. They are the great disassemblers of nature, breaking down petroleum-based pesticides and other toxic compounds, chemical warfare components and nuclear waste. They also have been shown to produce anti-smallpox compounds. These are some of the many wonders going on just below our feet and in the few old growth forests left.

Shall we continue this, the planet’s sixth great extinction (the first one brought about by humans?) or can we, as a community, work together to flourish instead?

(There is an excellent interview with Mr. Stamets in The Sun’s February 2008 issue.)

You asked what book I would suggest that the next president of the United States should take to the White House. I would like to suggest the new book, "The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels. I think this would be inquisite. Thank you.

One book for our country’s Employee-in-Chief? Consider the one-and-only practical manual that would clearly show the next President how to avoid the road to hell that is paved with the best of intentions—a book that would give the President laser-like insight into the hearts and minds of his or her employer (“We the people of the United States”). I refer to professor of linguistics and cognitive science George Lakoff’s “Don’t Think of an Elephant.” Mark my words: Without full understanding of the principles of this book, a President risks dangerous sabotage of their hopes and plans for our country—and will wield power blindly, ineffectively, even counterproductively and chaotically. (Sidebar: It’d also be really good for EVERYONE in the country to read the book, too, so we’d all have a higher comprehension of what truly makes us tick.) -- MADISON GRAY

All one has to read to relate to man's sense of compassion, justice, and generosity as a basis for any one in power is "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Each character represents all levels of society in today's world. "Scout"-the innocent and those trying to understand why the injustice and hatred in the world; "Jem"-the youth who understand what the world is like but are frustrated that they do not know what they can do to make a change; "Tom Robinson"- represents the injustice prejudice and hatred in the world; "Bob Ewell"-the violence and prejudice due to ingnorance and poverty; "Boo Radley"-the handicapped and mentally ill that are misunderstood and are in need of society's protection; and then "Atticus Finch"-the protector and defender of those less fortunate and are unable to speak or defend for themselves. He represents those in government to whom we less fortunate look to for guidance and leadership. As Atticus reflects in the book, you never really know someone until you stand in their shoes. . .we need a goverment to be this compassionate and fair to its people who look to them for leadership.

People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present by Howard Zinn

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. The next president needs to have a grasp on what is the best food for us to eat and how we should grow it and acquire it. Then we will be in position to make great strides toward energy independence and bring power back to the people and away from ridiculous mega-retailers.

Animal Farm. It is important to remember how sooon the newly powerful can become the same as the old powerful. Two legs, bad can easily become imperial presidency good using the same techniques and thought processes used in this book.

I have two suggestions to offer, because I can't make up my mind...

The first is "Hitler: A Study in Tyranny". Among other things, it describes how the Nazi Party and Hitler came to power in Germany by maneuvering around and misusing the structural weaknesses of the Weimar Republic's constitution. Most don't know that Hitler was never elected. He was appointed chancellor by President Hindenburg(and the weak variant at that--Hindenburg had a choice). As much as I look forward to Bush's departure from the Oval Office, I can't say I'm particularly enamored with another four years of one-party rule in Washington D.C.

My second choice is Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here". I would hope the reasons for this selection should require no explanation.

Thanks for another great show this week Mr. Moyers!

Chris in Denver

4. BIG COAL by JEFF GOODELL
(Instead of using the co-op WE)I ask for specific people who have brains for energy in the next Presidency.

Jeff Goodell's book suggests we need more brains to configure future energy use without destroying parts of the planet belonging to others who breathe.
How will this next President do energy?

Will the co-op WE THE PEOPLE--the U.S. President steal life from generations future to gratify US TODAY--U.S. interests? Is energy independence only about us the U.S.? Or do others outside us (the U.S.) die too from the rape of resources plundered for corporate new deco/furniture needs?

A Language Older Than Words by Derrick Jensen
... this thought provoking work challenges us to consider the impact of our life style and to reflect upon why that impact is so rarely considered.

Team of Rivals:The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

I suggest that every presidential candidate should read Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States. They might learn that the people should lead and the best presidents simply get out of the way.

I recommend that the president, if not the whole country should read “Calming the Fearful Mind: A Zen Response to Terrorism.” It is one of the most recent editions from transformative Engaged Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh. I would hope that if Change is a central issue this election season, then changing the way we as a people respond to the countless issues of the world should be high on the agenda.

The complete works of William Shakespeare. Everything you'll ever need to know about human behavior.
Period.

"A Problem from Hell: American in the Age of Genocide" by Samantha Power. (So the next president doesn't sit idly by and wring his or her hands as genocide racks the world.

My Nomination is:
Long Road Home by Martha Raddatz.
Why, because it brings home the "Real" Cost of going to War.

Plan B 3.0 Mobilizing to Save Civilization, Lester R. Brown

"Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, ... America (or at least the Republican Party" by Rod Dreher. I had a hard time verbalizing why the Republican Party was annoying me constantly in the last 15 years, and why I didn't want to leave. The closest I could get to explaining it was "Who are these crazy people and why are they running my party?" This book is proof positive that I'm not the only Republican in this country that resists being classified as the type of Republican that gets all the media attention now. Rod Dreher gets it! This book is a manifesto for all moderate Republicans that came AFTER the baby boom. Another good one for the new Pres to read is "It's my party, too", by Christine Todd Whitman.

The book I would recommend is Dr Carroll Quigley's "Tragedy and Hope."

My choice would also be The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. More importantly, don't just read it-do something about it!
Starting first with ending the corruption and the disaster that the Bushies have created in Iraq.

THE UNSETTLING OF AMERICA:
Culture & Agriculture by
WENDELL BERRY

I recommend Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. No leader, ancient or modern, has come the closest to Plato's ideal of the philosopher King. In Meditations this Roman emperor constantly struggles to exercise the just use of power and wrestles with the need to balance its use with his own humanity. He constantly works for the common good. He balances thoughtfulness, humility, and intelligence with decision, action and strength--a great model for any leader. This great work should accompany every president to the White House.

I cast my vote also for Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky. Bill, I hope you take note of the number of times that many of us have suggested his work. There is a tendency for many liberals to take his POV for granted, but that makes it no less insightful and relevant. As the NYTs said, he is "arguably the greatest intellectual alive."

All the previous posts mention excellent books but I would add: The Plot to Seize the White House by Jules Archer, SKYHORSEPUBLISHING.COM (ISBNE806.A663 2007 322.4'20973--DC22)
This is the true story of Major General Smedley Butler and the American Fascist Conspiracy to over throw FDR, authored and paid by the economic elites of the 20's & 30's and the 1934 congresional hearings.

This should be include in Jr High AND highschool US history and Civics classes! The relevance to today and the plutocracy behind the corporate vail is startling!.

Also read Ted Nace's "Gangs of America" the rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy (ISBN 9781576753194)
(or 1576753190)

I would want him to read a book I first heard about on your show, The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism by John C. Bogle.

Not only does the author point out where we went wrong but offers a number of good and doable solutions.

I wish she would take along Shakespeare's "Henry V" A reluctant king that inherits a war, ends it and finds true love in his life... Also maybe Shakespeare's Sonnets...

__ Cookie

The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America by Jim Wallis

AS A MAN THINKETH by James Allen.

I would suggest Broken Government by John Dean since hopefully the next president will have to fix all the problems caused by Dubya.

As outlined in Richard Louv's book, offering children a sense of place translates into healthier and more responsible citizens tomorrow.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

Algonquin Books
ISBN 1565123913

http://www.thefuturesedge.com/

When you have to watch a campaign for this long, I would like to make every one of them read "All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten".

Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Reflecting on the quality of all the Democratic candidates, while watching the debates this Fall, the book, Team of Rivals, came immediately to mind. It could be an important inspiration.

The next president needs to stop the rush to environmental destruction. Since it's so easy to "greenwash" the guilty military-industrial-complex if the issue is not presented in very concrete terms, I would recommend "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin as a way to start to get a handle on the exact methods in current use. Although Griffin's book is not connected to his theological work, he has mentioned in interviews and other works that the destruction of the earth being caused by the greed of the wealthy can well be considered the "satanic" force of our time, much in the way early Christians thought the Roman Empire was in their day.

I would suggest...

1984 By Orwell

But for the president to use it to dismantle the current corrupt system.

Not as a guide for a goal to achieve.

People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, because sometimes the personal stories are too easily ignored by the makers of history.

I recommend that the new President, and the current one, read The Real Wealth of Nations by Riane Eisler; Eisler's economic theory states that we must take into account the importance of caring and care-giving as a requisite for an optimally productive economy. The old dominator economy depletes both human and natural capital. We need change.

As former professors of U.S. history and literature, my husband, Jerry Rodesch, and I think that our colleague Harvey Kaye's THOMAS PAINE AND THE PROMISE OF AMERICA would offer the new president our founding fathers' most profound vision for us. It's a historical gift we should not squander--and we're delighted that Bill Moyers also considers the book of utmost valuable.

The Demon Haunted World, by Carl Sagan. I wish I could find the quote in my copy of the book, but Sagan says that science has had more of an effect on people's everyday lives in the past century than any two politicians a person could mention. Sagan says elsewhere that the margin for error has become too slim for our leaders *not* to know more about science and critical thinking.

The book "The Art of Non-War" by Kim Michaels presents a revolutionary vision for promoting peace on our planet. I recommend this book to not only government leaders and officials but to all people for contained therein is a wisdom that could transform all of our lives for the better.

"Lincoln's Virtues- An Ethical Biography" by William Lee Miller

The one book I would like the new president to read is "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq" by Stephen Kinzer. A president should be familiar with how this nation (or the CIA) has interfered in the affairs of many countries around the world for the past 100 years. This is why so many people hate us. The new president should pledge that this will never happen again.

Two more book suggestions:

Ishmael and The Story of B

both by Daniel Quinn

And a website -- don't read that "fair tax" book others are suggesting without also visiting this site!:

http://www.apttax.com/
The APT Tax
The Automated Payment Transaction Tax

Two more book suggestions:

Ishmael and The Story of B

both by Daniel Quinn

And don't read the "fair tax" book without also visiting this website!:

http://www.apttax.com/
The APT Tax
The Automated Payment Transaction Tax

Many months ago "The Houston Chronicle" had an article asking the same book question of the canidates. At the time Hillary Clinton said "A Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I was pleased to see Obama pick it also. It is massive but well written. I think it should be required reading for everyone on both sides of the aisle.

Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Reflecting on the quality of all the Democratic candidates, while watching the debates this Fall, the book, Team of Rivals, came immediately to mind. It could be an important inspiration.

There are two books.
1) "Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Globel Dominance and Why They Fall" by Amy Chua

2) "Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism" by William J.
Baumol

The next president should bring "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers" by Daniel Ellsberg to remind them what a real American is capable of.

Two book recommendation for the next President:

Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed: A Judicial Indictment of War on Drugs by James Gray

Ain’t Nobody’s Business if You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Free Society by Peter McWilliams

I'd further suggest that (s)he look into the biographies of these two authors.

Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Reflecting on the quality of all the Democratic candidates, while watching the debates this Fall, the book, Team of Rivals, came immediately to mind. It could be an important inspiration.

" Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

I would recommend, "Tolerance," by Hendrik Van Loon. It's a history of intolerance going back to the Greeks, and makes the case that what is so often disguised as ideology or religion is nothing more than than a manifestation of fear, ignorance, and self-interest. It was published in the 1920s.

Mr. Gore's "The Assault on Reason" -- a good place to start.
I, too, second President Eisenhower's Farewell Address as extremely appropriate, and laden with foresight (watch "Why We Fight" if you haven't already).

Two recommendations, both by the American theologian and social activist, Reinhold Niebuhr: "The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness" and "The Irony of American History."

I would also recommend Fareed Zakaria's "The Future of Freedom" and, along with many others here, "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn.

I would like for the next president to take to the White House, read, and think about the implications of the Noam Chomsky book "WHAT WE SAY GOES: CONVERSATIONS ON U.S. POWER IN A CHANGING WORLD"

We must change the prevailing foreign policy paradigm if we are to save the soul of America, as well as its very existence.

You asked viewers to name a book that the next president should take with him to the Whitehouse and read. I recommend "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes. The reason: it shows us that our nation, when we really put our minds to something, can accomplish great projects. We need to do that to solve the major problems that face our nation; e.g. less reliance on oil and oil imports. The book shows us that we can do it. The book is very well researched (nearly 100 pages of notes) and won a Pulitzer Prize. Moreover, it is an extremely engrossing read.

PLAN B 3.0, Mobilizing to Save Civilization by Lester R. Brown

Probably the most important book I have read. His thorough documentation has made a believer of me. It's not just about global warming. Rampant overpopulation,combined with shrinking species, croplands, forests, fisheries, water supplies, and oil supplies could lead to more and more failed states. As the US struggles to regain freedom after 8 years of setbacks, we must also be aware that time is running out for the world.

That website url didn't come through:

911blogger.com/node/13676

"The Art of Non-War" by Kim Michaels

If anyone wants to decide for themselves if the 9/11 debunking 9/11 recommendations are spam, check out this website, where they discuss strategies on how to make their spam posts look authentic.

This is such a shame, because in reality, David Ray Griffin is a serious and honest person who I suspect would never condone this kind of action. 9/11 is an important issue that unfortunately attracts many people who put the real questions about that tragic event in doubt.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin

I think you definitely can tell something about a person by what they are reading - I always seem to scan people's bookshelves when I'm in their home, perhaps partly for that reason - but I'm far more interested in what people think of the books they have read than what they have read.

The responses by the candidates are not that shocking. The constitution and the federalist papers are probably in some book titled "Answers for Presidents - What do say when someone asks you a question..." Obama's choice rings true with his interest in Leadership and unifying people. Whether he can actually do that, is another matter, but at least he's reading about it - I'm sure we'll need it. McCain probably does need some help with the economic questions - he seemed a little lost when asked about the Plunge Protection Team.

I'll risk seeming silly and suggest a book that I'd like to see the President take, and someone else has suggested it as well - J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord Of The Rings" because when it comes to questions of morality, humanity, and politics I can't think of a book which produces so many rich answers in its applicability to the challenges faced today. Hippies used to say "Gandalf for President," and I can see why. One might see the US massive military industrial complex as the Ring. (After all, it could be argued that it was born in the fiery pits of corporate greed.) Then one might see Terrorism as Sauron, the Enemy. Well, one does not attack Sauron with the Ring, it must be dismantled.

1) "The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century" by Ross E. Dunn, December 2004. An amazing, explained, travelogue through the entire 14th century Islamic world plus Constantinople and China, and highly illustrative of different types of government contrasted with the peril of ungoverned, insurgent places.

2) "The Road to Wigan Pier" by George Orwell, for insight into how the working poor live. This book galvanized public opinion and shamed the British Conservative government into finally, once and for all, repudiating one hundred years of 19th century British Liberalism's failed laissez-faire unregulated free market free trade ideology.

3)"Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country" by William Greider, January 1989. originally in "The New Yorker", reads like a novel bestselling economic history of the United States.

4) "The Pathans", by Olaf Caroe, 1957 anthropological history of the Pashtuns, which will help understand Afghanistan, and maybe help someone find bin Laden and Zawahiri in the Mohmand Agency near the Swat Valley. Accompanied by "Constable's Hand Atlas of India, 1893", for the excellent maps needed to find all of today's insurgent tribes from the Hindu Kush to Burma.

One Book: Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein (not "Wolf" as someone mistakenly attributed above)

Others of singular import: Declarations of Independence and A People's History of the U.S. both by Howard Zinn and, the vitally 21st century series,
The American Empire Project trilogy (Blowback, Sorrows of Empire, Nemesis) by Chalmers Johnson

That the candidates couldn't posit a salient reference, is deeply disturbing. We're headed for the cliff, people.

The one book I want the next president of the United States to read is "Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston. It explains why the economy has gone to hell: The government has for the past 30 years been in cahoots with corporations to steal from the middle class and poor and give to the rich. It has suspended rules; it has abdicated its responsibility to protect the majority; it has taxed the poor while giving breaks to the rich. After reading this book, the new president, if he or she has any moral fiber, will feel obligated to put an end to the evil pattern and return this country to a pattern that supported a vast working and middle class.

I recommend "Collapse" by Jared Diamond.

Eric Henderson

The one book I want the next president of the United States to read is "Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston. It explains why the economy has gone sour: The government has for the past 30 years been in cahoots with corporations to steal from the middle class and poor and give to the rich. It has suspended rules; it has abdicated its responsibility to protect the majority; it has taxed the poor while giving breaks to the rich. After reading this book, the new president, if he or she has any moral fiber, will feel obligated to put an end to the evil pattern and return this country to a pattern that supported a vast working and middle class.

The one book I want the next president of the United States to read is "Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston. It explains why the economy has gone to hell: The government has for the past 30 years been in cahoots with corporations to steal from the middle class and poor and give to the rich. It has suspended rules; it has abdicated its responsibility to protect the majority; it has taxed the poor while giving breaks to the rich. After reading this book, the new president, if he or she has any moral fiber, will feel obligated to put an end to the evil pattern and return this country to a pattern that supported a vast working and middle class.

BLOWBACK by Chalmers Johnson. This book precedes the 9/11 attack, but vividly describes US covert actions against other nations that can prompt such attacks. This book should be required reading for our nation's decision makers.

I was going to go with, "A People's History of the United States", but since that will likely make it to the president's bedside table, I'd like to slip in one more. How about Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen.
Hopefully we can vet the upcoming editions for accuracy, as they cover the past 8 years!

DG

I recommend that everyone in a position of power read Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. Lack of accountability by public office holders and private corporations is allowing the most avaricious and acrimonious to take charge of our government, our economy and our culture.

I was going to go with, "A People's History of the United States", but since that will likely make it to the president's bedside table, I'd like to slip in one more. How about, "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong" by James Loewen.
Hopefully we can vet the upcoming editions for accuracy, as the cover the past 8 years!

DG

I'd recommend The World is Flat; A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman for a cogent understanding of the direction the global world is going in.

A Vision of the Future
by Mortimer J. Adler.

Mac Millan Publishers

The one book that I think should be mandatory reading for all presidential candidates, members of Congress, state and local officials, and most particularly journalists is "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" by Robert Spencer.

Our enemies have clearly stated their intention to destroy us. While they are building terrorist cells in our cities, we are sleepwalking through the self-delusion that "If we could only win their hearts and minds..." Isn't this what happened in Europe in 1938?

400 years before the First Crusade, Muslim armies came storming out of the Arabian Peninsula - murdering, raping, looting - all for the sake of spreading their religion of peace. We are their next targets.

Get it? Wake up.

I would suggest any book written by Vine Deloria, jr. for the next president to read. Indian Affairs has been long neglected by previous administrations for far to long.

I would suggest any book written by Vine Deloria, jr. for the next president to read. Indian Affairs has been long neglected by previous administrations for far to long.

A book that I recommend that the next president of the United States should take to the White House is "The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels.

The next president should read "The Fair Tax" and find a way to achieve the savings the authors seek, and to relieve most tax-payers of the challange of the tax code.

Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage

Review:
"Deffeyes has reached a conclusion with far-reaching consequences for the entire industrialized world. . . . The conclusion is this: in somewhere between two and six years from now, worldwide oil production will peak. After that, chronic shortages will become a way of life. The 100-year reign of King Oil will be over." Fred Guterl, Newsweek

The present outlandish system used to collect federal taxes costs citizens many millions of hours each year and requires great effort from the government as well. The book isn't perfect, but "The Fair Tax" should be read by everyone in the executive AND legislative branches. The savings sought by the authors should be the objective and would be of immense value to the country.

"The Glory and the Dream: The History of American from 1932 to 1973", by William Manchester. I sincerely hope these presidential candidates have already read it, or they are in for quite a shock.

I would recommend two books to the next president, both of which have helped frame my view of the history of the government of this country: "Why Americans Hate Politics" by E.J. Dionne and "A People's History Of The United States" by Howard Zinn. Thanks for asking, Bill!

The present outlandish system used to collect federal taxes costs citizens many millions of hours each year and requires great effort from the government as well. The book isn't perfect, but "The Fair Tax" should be read by everyone in the executive AND legislative branches. The savings sought by the authors should be the objective and would be of immense value to the country.

I highly recommend "The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels.

The Art of Non-war by Kim Micheals

I higly recommend "The Art of Non-War" by Kim Michaels.

For humility, I would suggest TWO books, of which one could be chosen. "The Hunting of the Snark" An Agony in Eight Fits, by Lewis Carroll and "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In "Snark" Lewis Carroll is stingingly, hilariously poignant in his depiction of an eccentric captain and his iconic if ecclectic ship of foolery. The captain had "only one notion for crossing the ocean, and that was to tinkle his bell." How many political decisions have been and/or are being made based on this dynamic? Bush invaded Iraq for many obviously suspect and/or flat out imperialistic reasons but ultimately, in bare bones essentials -- it was to tinkle his bell. Le Petit Prince is full of wonderful and humbling encounters with self-important nobodies all who believe they are performing Very Important duties on their chosen planets. But ultimately it is the intimacy established between the Little Prince and the Fox he has come to love that is the bigger message in what is called a children's book but is in fact another brilliant Allegory. If the President gets to take a short story then let's go with 18th century Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" which was, by many accounts, taken to have been a serious and credible proposal to alleviate poverty and hunger by consuming unwanted children. Let's hope the next President has the intelligence and the good humor to posit as much credibility and guidance in these "humorous" texts as he/she would in any left-brained tome.

The one book I want the next president of the United States to read is "Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston. It explains why the economy has gone to hell: The government has for the past 30 years been in cahoots with corporations to steal from the middle class and poor and give to the rich. It has suspended rules; it has abdicated its responsibility to protect the majority; it has taxed the poor while giving breaks to the rich. After reading this book, the new president, if he or she has any moral fiber, will feel obligated to put an end to the evil pattern and return this country to a pattern that supported a vast working and middle class.

For humility, I would suggest TWO books, of which one could be chosen. "The Hunting of the Snark" An Agony in Eight Fits, by Lewis Carroll and "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In "Snark" Lewis Carroll is stingingly, hilariously poignant in his depiction of an eccentric captain and his iconic if ecclectic ship of foolery. The captain had "only one notion for crossing the ocean, and that was to tinkle his bell." How many political decisions have been and/or are being made based on this dynamic? Bush invaded Iraq for many obviously suspect and/or flat out imperialistic reasons but ultimately, in bare bones essentials -- it was to tinkle his bell. Le Petit Prince is full of wonderful and humbling encounters with self-important nobodies all who believe they are performing Very Important duties on their chosen planets. But ultimately it is the intimacy established between the Little Prince and the Fox he has come to love that is the bigger message in what is called a children's book but is in fact another brilliant Allegory. If the President gets to take a short story then let's go with 18th century Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" which was, by many accounts, taken to have been a serious and credible proposal to alleviate poverty and hunger by consuming unwanted children. Let's hope the next President has the intelligence and the good humor to posit as much credibility and guidance in these "humorous" texts as he/she would in any left-brained tome.

The End of Faith by Sam Harris

The one book I want the next president of the United States to read is "Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston. It explains why the economy has gone to hell: The government has for the past 30 years been in cahoots with corporations to steal from the middle class and poor and give to the rich. It has suspended rules; it has abdicated its responsibility to protect the majority; it has taxed the poor while giving breaks to the rich. After reading this book, the new president, if he or she has any moral fiber, will feel obligated to put an end to the evil pattern and return this country to a pattern that supported a vast working and middle class.

For humility, I would suggest TWO books, of which one could be chosen. "The Hunting of the Snark" An Agony in Eight Fits, by Lewis Carroll and "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In "Snark" Lewis Carroll is stingingly, hilariously poignant in his depiction of an eccentric captain and his iconic if ecclectic ship of foolery. The captain had "only one notion for crossing the ocean, and that was to tinkle his bell." How many political decisions have been and/or are being made based on this dynamic? Bush invaded Iraq for many obviously suspect and/or flat out imperialistic reasons but ultimately, in bare bones essentials -- it was to tinkle his bell. Le Petit Prince is full of wonderful and humbling encounters with self-important nobodies all who believe they are performing Very Important duties on their chosen planets. But ultimately it is the intimacy established between the Little Prince and the Fox he has come to love that is the bigger message in what is called a children's book but is in fact another brilliant Allegory. If the President gets to take a short story then let's go with 18th century Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" which was, by many accounts, taken to have been a serious and credible proposal to alleviate poverty and hunger by consuming unwanted children. Let's hope the next President has the intelligence and the good humor to posit as much credibility and guidance in these "humorous" texts as he/she would in any left-brained tome.

The book I would like the next President to take with him/her to the White House is by Thomas Paine, Rights of Man.
In fact it wouldn't be a bad idea if this wasn't required reading by all elected officials before they lay their hand on a Bible and take an oath of office.

Book recommendation:

I'd love to think that our next president had read and considered Maximum Wage by Sam Pizzigati. The idea that there could be a reversal of the polarization of rich and poor in the US is SO darned appealing - all we'd need is a real way to cut the corporate ties to politicians. (Sigh) That's asking a lot, I guess.

I would recommend that the future President reads "This Land is Their Land: How Corporate Farms Threaten the World" by Evaggelos Vallianatos (Common Courage Press). The author grew up on a family farm in Greece and traces true democracy back to its roots on family farms. A 27 year career with the US Government (EPA)has only strengthened his belief that democracy can only exist where millions of small farms, not a few mega farms, are its base.

I would recommend On Liberty by Jon Stuart Mill or the Federalist Papers.

The Majesty of the Law by Sandra Day O' Connor gracefully examines the most pivotal desisions in US history and looks to the future of a globalized world and how our next leaders should face the inevidible challenges.

First, I am surprised that Katie Couric mentioned "besides the bible" as to assume that this book should be brought into the White House and that all the candidates would choose this book. That actually scares me because the bible has many,many horrible things in it. Such as stoning women and slavery being a good thing. But besides my little side comment I would say that everyone should re-read "Animal Farm" by Orwell. A book about propaganda and a book that was the center of this administrations behavior.

I would like to suggest that our new President reads, "The True Story of The Bilderberg Group by Daniel Estulin. Maybe this book will open his or her eyes to who is running the our government.

Our new president should read "Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston because it looks at all the loopholes created by Congress that allow corporations to make money off the government at the expense of taxpayers. While Johnston examines why deregulation of electricity failed, we are yet again in another economic meltdown -- this one in the housing and the subprime mortgage market -- where the lending industry went unregulated and many of the companies in that market were owned by big donors to the Republican party.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin

Debunking 9/11 Debunking (or alternatively A New Pearl Harbor) by David Ray Griffin

The American public is ready for the truth.

Please let me emphasize, I was NOT prompted by some posting on the net to suggest this book. I finished viewing Bill Moyers program on Miro, took note of his request, and came to the site for the first time to make the above suggestion. I came on my own initiative and was surprised to find so many others nominating the same work.

I anticipated that I would be one of a few who wanted to recommend Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin. Much to my surprise I found DOZENS of others begging for the same book to be featured. (Another good candidate by the same author would be A New Pearl Harbor, and there are more good books soon to come by other authors.)

I would even suggest that Bill Moyers bring David Ray Griffin on the show as a guest. Let him soar or sink on the merits of his case. I assure you he will soar.

Garry Smith
Houston, TX

America Hijacked by Israel. How come? Shame on us all!

"The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt

"God and Gold" by Walter Russell Mead

Alice in Wonderland and the 911 disaster.
It gives you a better understanding about how come,that even the biggest enemies of the U.S. like Iran or Venezuela, do not even mention, that the hole in the pentagon was to little for a Boeing. as only one of many examples.

"God and Gold" by Walter Russell Mead

WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO YOU WANT? by Jim Lord and Pam McAllister.

http://www.whatkindofworld.com/

The good delusion. by Richard Dawkins.

This country was founded by people fleeing intolerance fueled by religion.
Religion should be cleraly a personal practice not a standard to set or justify policy.

Leaders need to understand how the lowest class of their people live. I would recommend Barbara Ehrenreich's book include "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

I would like to recommend Madelein Albright's newest book "memo to the President-Elect". WHat better to read than she who has been there, done that, and done it well!

Any book by Thomas Payne would provide a thoughtful person an enduring framework for presidential decisions.

While it is an old book, I believe that Small Is Beautiful by E.F. Schumaker is as important now as it ever was.

I recommend The Godless Constitution: A Moral Defense of the Secular State by Isaac Kramnick and R.Laurence Moore. It is a wonderfully articulate historical and legal explication of the importance of the separation of church and state with a final chapter delineating the Bush administration's violations of that vital constitutional principle.

'The Art of Non War'

THE ONE BOOK:

THREE DAY ROAD, a novel
JOSEPH BOYDEN (Olmas wants to film it)
VIKING, PENGUIN 2005 2006

Canadian Indian fighters against Germany's army in 1st World War.
Idea: Fighting War should be as taboo as Cannibalism is for humankind.

"A Theory Of Justice" by John Rawls
"Justice is the first virtue of social institution, as truth is of systems of thought,"

I would recommend “The Open Society and Its Enemies” by Karl Popper, a profound work as relevant today as when it was written.

I would have them take a copy of "No Ordinary Time" by Doris Kearns Goodwin, to the White House. The title speaks for itself. I can't think of a more urgent need for our next President to respect our history so they can lead us into the future.

Others have mentioned THE ART OF NON-WAR by Kim Michaels and I'm recommending it too.

It's undoubtedly one of the most powerful books on the planet, and THE most crucial read for leaders and for those who elect leaders, alike.

There is factual evidence that the events of 9/11 was a setup. This is one of many sources in which prove that sadly this is the case. Google the words "9/11 truth" and the truth shall set you free.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin

I would recommend two. 1) "Overthrow" -it's a history of U.S. regime change from McKinley to GW Bush and
2) "An Anthology of American War Poetry".
Lorne Goldensohn, Ed.

Code of Conduct, especially if the next President is also named Clinton. This book describes a nightmare scenario that the first President Clinton only worsened.

I would strongly suggest:

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin

My recommendation would be "Truman" by David McCullough. A great read about a great president and it's always nice to review where the buck stops.
Thanks great show every week.

I would like the next president to read "The Good Society; The Humane Agenda" by John Kenneth Galbraith.

The next President must read Jared Diamond's "Collapse" to gain an understanding of the interconnections between science, public policy, the environment, resource utilization and the decline of civilizations.

i also would like the next president to read "Free Lunch" by DC Johnston and the orignal constitution!

Volume IV of The works of Robert Ingersoll. One of the greatest freethinkers ever.

I would like the new president to readTHE SHOCK DOCTRINE, by Naomi Wolf. It's important that s/he know that "free market economics" is a sham and has NEVER been voted in by a democracy--it has always required some sort of "shock" to get it accepted. "Friedmanomics" is just another system of greed and oppression and we promote it at our peril.

At a time, when the nation need to look at the most important issue of our time and a different aproach to bringing about a just solution . I would definitely recommend the book "The Art of Non War" By Kim Michaels.

I would like to see the next president take Ursula K. LeGuin's The Dispossessed into the White House and spend some time reading and thinking about it. Not only because fiction encourages a reader to see through another person's eyes, but also because this is a book that can make a person rethink or re-examine their core beliefs.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

I would like the next President to take to the White House and read "Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA," by Tim Weiner.

Our new president should read "Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston. The book not only covers many urgent national concerns, but Johnston is one of the very few to explore why electricity deregulation doesn't work in theory, much less in practice. Because the last president who served a full term without effective utility regulation was Herbert Hoover, the new president should carefully heed the warnings in "Free Lunch."

The people of our dear planet have inherited a rich legacy of ' how to live ' and ' how to rule ' guide books.

The Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu's ancient Chinese discourse upon wisdom and the path towards wise leadership , has served the Chinese people well for several thousand years and I hope and pray their leaders blow the dust off it.

Thoreau's Walden, as antidote to 21st century materialism should be read by the leaders of Walmart and then given to each of it's customers ..... yet because of President Bush's recent misuse of American military power causing the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi's and the resultant sowing of the seeds of mistrust and the natural blossoming of hatred for the United States of America this tragedy has sown ... I come finally to rest before Mahatma Gandhi's, The Story of My Experiments with Truth.

The next President would do well to have each one of these quotes from Gandhi painted across the walls of the Oval Office.

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?"

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

"There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."

I was surprised and pleased to see that Mr. Obama said Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Team of Rivals." When I read it last year I considered writing to Mr. Bush and his Cabinet members, as well as each member of Congress, suggesting that they read it! I would also suggest "The Assault on Reason" by Al Gore. It is especially timely in light of the recent FCC ruling to expand the rights of media conglomerates, dispite overwhelming opposition from the thousands of attendees of town meetings held by the FCC all across the country, and the against the advice of many members of Congress.

The book the Presidential candidates should read immediately and the winner re-read from time to time is "All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten", by Robert Fulghum.

Mr. Moyers,
I hope you will forgive me for suggesting two items:
1) To be used as a source for thoughts to meditate upon, in the context of today's national and world affairs: "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence", a speech by Dr. Marting Luther King, Jr. give at the Riverside Church, NYC, on April 4, 1967; and 2) "The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order, an adaptation of which was the cover story of the New York Times Magazine, 1/27/08, by Parag Khanna.
Thank you for this opportunity,
Rik Flynn

Yes, what people read gives you some idea who they are, provided you can observe their reading habits over time and provided that you yourself are well enough read to judge. I didn't see any surprises among the candidates choices. My favorite among their replies was Hillary Clinton's, though I suspect the Bush administration keeps a copy of the Constitution on hand so that Dick Cheney and his cronies can urinate on it on a regular basis.

My only recommendation for the next President would be for John McCain if he wins. I would like for him to have a copy of "The Things they Carried" by Tim O'Brien. This book brings a properly cynical view to the subject of soldiering in the Viet Nam era, and might serve to keep him from actually believing the media's "war hero" claptrap.

I am so impressed with "the Moral Measure of the Economy" by Chuck Collins and Mary Wright, that I am going to purchase several additional copies to pass out to friends, with the request that they pass the copy on to another person when they are finished reading it with the same request to their friend. I would certainly suggest that this fine book, which examines our “free-market economy” by drawing upon various religious and moral writings, would be the perfect text for all members of any incoming administration to read before they assume leadership of our country next January. Thank you for your continuing fine work.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by Griffin. I saw it listed prominently among the comments. I have read all of his books and would want a President to be informed on this keystone issue.....Not that if he were an honest man he could do anything about it. Disraeli said that he was amazed, once he was "behind the scenes of power," to learn who really was in charge.
All presidents since JFK have been pusillanimous puppets. They learned the lesson of the JFK assasination well.

"Catch 22" by Jospeh Heller is my recommendation, because it comes close to showing how the government tries to function. My experience while on active duty in the Air Force; the Supply Sergeant would not give the AF hospital the supplies it needed even though he had the items in the warehouse, because if he gave them to the hospital, then he would not have them in the warehouse for the hospital when they needed them. His actual concern was that he would be inspected and not pass because of not having the supplies on hand that he was required to keep, so the hospital could wait.

Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine

I'd like to see the next president take "Americans Who Tell the Truth" by Robert Shetterly to the White House and share it widely. It would remind the new crew what the best of us say and do with our lives. The example set by the deceitful, reckless and uncaring crew that has been at the White House since 2001 has savaged and shamed us all EB.

I'd like to see the next president take "Americans Who Tell the Truth" by Robert Shetterly to the White House and share it widely. It would remind the new crew what the best of us say and do with our lives. The example set by the deceitful, reckless and uncaring crew that has been at the White House since 2001 has savaged and shamed us all EB.

I'd like to see the next president take "Americans Who Tell the Truth" by Robert Shetterly to the White House and share it widely. It would remind the new crew what the best of us say and do with our lives. The example set by the deceitful, reckless and uncaring crew that has been at the White House since 2001 has savaged and shamed us all EB.

There are many books I would recommend for the next president of the U.S. The one I would recommend now is "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight" by Thom Hartmann. I have not read a more impassioned book about the fate of humanity and what we can do as a planet to bring back healing, love, and common sense. If they read this one, the ENTIRE book, they will conclude how everything, how everyone of us, including animals, on this planet is related. Most importantly, it compares how tribal communities 100,000 years ago lived, worked and prospered WITHOUT war, WITHOUT bad guys vs. good guys and how the world is today WITH constant war, rich vs. poor, etc. I cannot recommend this book enough, it truly was an eye opener!! Everyone on this planet should read this book!!

A very small book that contains humanity's highest aspirations: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

I'm a father, businessperson, and a military veteran (Army, infantry, Viet Nam). I woke up to my military experience in January of 2003. I've been engaged in research since then and have learned much.

My three books recommendations are: "The Peoples History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. "War is a Racket" by Marine Major General Smedley Butler and "Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein.

I would recommend that the President read Tom Paine's "Common Sense." It states in clear language what America was intended to be, and what it can still become, a republic for all of the people, not just for the rich and powerful. (I read it at age 14 and it changed my life.)

I'm a father, businessperson with an MBA and a military veteran (Army,infantry, Viet Nam). I woke up to my militiary experience in January of 2003. I've researched many areas and have leared much.

My suggested books are: "The Peoples History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. "War is a Racket" by Marine Major General Smedley Butler, and "Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein.

David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking."

Please don't see this as spam...I couldn't begin to imagine the government's explanation not being the truth. The ramifications of such were simply too staggering. Then there was "Building 7"...the most puzzling aspect of that awful day...and the explanation of it's fall being ignored by the commission. Maybe the country couldn't survive the truth...but it should be told.

I highly recommend. A Brief History of Neoliberalism by David Harvey.
I also recommend that poor and middle class Americans read this book too.The realization of how Free Market ideology has impacted their lives (as well as the lives of people around the globe)would surely invoke anger. Whilst anger is not a desirable emotion it is an excllent motivator and solidarity is the strength of the working people. The tide of Neoliberalism has deminished the quilty of their lives and if left unchecked, for some, it will raise the specter of slavery.

I strongly recommend The Global Class War by political economist Jeff Faux. Faux's book offers one of the best accounts of NAFTA/U.S./Mexico and helps explain why corporate media bypass the story. Too often the immigration debate degenerates into a mix of reactionary scapegoating and mushy humanitarian sentiments. Faux provides the terms for a healthier debate.

Debunking 911 Debunking by David Ray Griffin

Isn't it time we started to wake up in this country? I mean seriously now... I've listened to the 911 Truth movement and there are people from all walks of life that are being blocked by media. Why? This is a great read. The best if youwant to start to really know what's going on.

"The Art of Non War" (Kim Michaels)
For a peaceful Generation.
Mel

I feel an important book to have in the White House is Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

I feel an important book to have in the White House is Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

As a President heading for election or a citizen thinking about who to vote for, I cannot recommend more highly "Debunking 911 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin. Dr. Griffin thrashes the defenders of the official conspiracy, showing easily, concisely and in an engaging manner the intellectual fraud that said defenders perpetuate.

If you care about any of the many hideous things that are happening in our country you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy.

I think the next president should read William R. Polk's 'Violent Politics: A History of Insurgency'. It's short, and spares little room for great detail. However, it's primary lesson is strong. Once an enemy chooses to engage in an insurgency against an occupying power, it becomes unlikely the occupier will prevail. This book is as relevant to our foreign policy as anything I've read recently.

I highly recommend 'The Art of Non War', by Kim Michaels. We are moving out of our dualistic thinking and into Oneness, the planet is now ready for this shift. This is what the Masters have to say about how the world can now prosper at this time! I am excited for our new government- maybe we will get our dream team! Alitra

I think the next president should definately read "Citizen Power" by Mike Gravel. It is crucial that "we the people" be brought into the workings of Govt. as lawmakers if we are ever to see positive, lasting change for the better in this country.

Three books I recommend are:1) The Zionist Connection What Price Peace by Alfred M. Lilienthal;2) The Other Side of Israel My Journey across the Jewish/Arab Divide by Susan Nathan; 3)The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe.

"Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich

In the same vein as "Black Like Me", Barbara Ehrenreich left southern Florida and took jobs as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing home aide and Wal-Mart salesperson.It's the real deal.

By the way, THANK YOU for coming back! You have a way of giving us the actual story behind all the words.

"The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels is a book that EVERY public servant in the federal government should be required to read, especially the President of the United States.

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the Peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking. Find out how we've all been lied to. the 'official' accounting is false, a lie, a fraud, call it what you want, it's NOT the truth.

The source of all sources: Nothing eclipses Shakespeare for bone knowledge about life and human nature---vital for any world leader!

Kathryn Russell
Cincinnati

I think EVERYONE should read Three Cups of Tea. Education is the ONLY thing that will ever dispel fear, and thus eliminate terrorism.

The new President may not want to carry this book to the White House but a quick browse before he/she goes might be worthwhile.
Groupthink by Irving L. Janis

Debunking 9/11 Debunking: by David Ray Griffin has the power to bring honesty and basic goodness back to American government.

The new President may not want to carry this book to the White House but a quick browse before he/she goes might be worthwhile.
Groupthing by Irving L. Janis

I think our next president should read "Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble" by Lester R. Brown. The United States needs to act quickly to address global warming or all the other problems we face will be seem pointless when the global warming caused problems start to affect us. Lester R. Brown has a new book available entitled "Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, Third Edition" which I have not yet read but am sure is as good as "Plan B 2.0"

"DEBUNKING 9-11 DEBUNKING"
BY DAVID RAY GRIFFIN

POEPLE NEED THE TRUTH NOW MORE THAT EVER ! ! !

The book I'd like to see the next president read is "Last Letters From Stalingrad".

"Ours is not a better way,ours is merely another way." This single, startling statement will change the world.
From the book Friendship with God an uncommom dialogue. by Neale Donald Walsh

Does America Need A Foreign Policy? by Henry Kissinger – any president should read how a media driven culture, rapidly changing times, and a disinterest in history are destroying America. Foreign policy must be rooted in human nature – not economics. Yet we surrender our futures to corporate interests. America could find itself a much smaller and isolated nation in 25 years, if we don’t wake up to global realities.

The Art of Non War by Kim Michaels

i highly recommend "Peace is...Inevitable" by michael hall. This book calls upon on people to rise up and do what it takes to get this nation back to where it started,a nation built upon the notion of individual's rights and a government run by the people for the people not a plutocracy that wants to start WWIII with the blood of our youth.

"Wake Up the White Rose" by michael hall is must read for those who are tired of the same speeches, the same results and the same ills repeated over and over. Michael's premise is that this once decent nation has morphed into a militaristic empire hell bent on americanizing the world to suit its addictions. We cannot just blame Bush and the neo-cons as conveniant scpaegoats but also must include ourselves in this nightmare for we do get the nation and government that we deserve. We must rise up as individuals and take accountability for our actions and become like the giants of yesterday when this nation was founded by men of convictions and action rose agaisnt tyranny and despotism to give birth to a new nation.

I think the next President should read "The New American Way" by Bill Bradley.

" Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

This is one of the most concise, succinct, intelligent & thought provoking books I have ever read.

David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking."

The people who died BY 9/11 (including first responders, coalition armed forces, afghan civilians, irqui) deserve nothing short of TRUTH.

One book, oooh that's tough:

A Course in Miracles

a couple of others that would be runners up:

Debunking 9/11 Debunking - Griffin
The Chalice and the Blade - Eisler

HOLY WAR by Karen Armstrong...

"FREE LUNCH" by David Cay Johnston is the one book to read if one wishes to completely empathize with most average Americans, and get mad along with us about the unfair practices of the very rich!

My suggestion for presidential reading is actually a series of books by the brilliant C. Northcote Parkinson. These books are:

# Parkinson's Law (1957)
# The Law and the Profits (1960)
# In-Laws and Outlaws (1962)
# Parkinsanities (1965)
# Left Luggage (1967)
# Mrs. Parkinson's Law (1968)
# The Law of Delay (1970)

I have found these books to be just as true today as they were when first published, alas.

i'm glad to see so many people mentioning "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin - it's an important book and having just finished it myself i think most people would do well to look at this book.

Should the President-elect be a Democrat, especially one with a conciliatory message, I would suggest the fable of the Scorpion and the Frog.

I would like to recommend "The Gilded Age - A Tale of Today" by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner. While written over 100 years ago, there is nothing new under the sun in terms of the corrupt operating of the government and the audacity of the super rich. While it is largely a condemnation of the abuses of what America often is, it also provides insight into the truly noble and inspiring aspects of American society. It's a valuable read for anyone - especially our leaders.

I would like to recomend to read The Art of Non-War by Kim Michaels not only for next president of US and to the next president of Russia too...

It seems odd, and this, I suppose, is more pointedly directed at Miss Couric, to ask what one book a President would hold dear to their heart as I would certainly think they might take a library with them. How do you choose one book, and how did the candidates have an answer so readily?

But one book, one book, as that is the question, strange as it may be...

I'll say:

Letters at 3 AM: Reports on Endarkenment, by Michael Ventura

as Ventura uncannily seems to truly grasp America as a culture better than anyone I have read, and he does it with such beautiful honesty.

It is not a candidates job to bring down the Bush administration, that job goes to congress. Lets move away from Bush, and bureaucracy. I'd prefer my candidate to grasp whats happening in our blessedly estranged country, and the people scattered amidst it. For it is those who understand who bring light into the darkness.

Target Iran by Scott Ritter.

Scott Ritter was right about Iraq & now he’s saying they same thing about Iran. He says were already covert military operations & the CIA support of terrorists against Iran. This follows the same pattern in Iraq. Scott Ritter tells us the truth about Iran unlike the Bush administration.

If we bomb Iran, Iran will shut down the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait is only about 35 miles across its narrowest point & is on the Iranian coast. About 40% of the worlds exported oil flows through The Strait of Hormuz. Bombing Iran will cause hyperinflation, debt collapse & a likely 1929 type depression.

The reasons for attacking Iran parallel Iraq, but the tragedy of attacking Iran will be far worse. Iran is 3 times bigger than Iraq with a modern military with China & Russia as allies. U.S. casualties in Iraq will approach Vietnam War rates. The any U.S. ground troops in Iran will be doomed.

The President should look at The Art of Non War.

It highlights principles that are needed for this new age. We need a President who will not be afraid of standing up for principles that work and for promoting the true teachings of the sages. I believe if we uphold these principles America could take a lead in its rightful place as a nation with freedom and justice for all, meaning the whole world and not just our country. It is obvious we have been stuck in a holding pattern of war in this world for centuries. I think its time to leave or old ways behind and create a new world without all the bloodshed. There are better ways and higher ways to do things if we will just listen. I think Albert Einstein said it best when he said Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. I would highly recommend this book!

The next President of the United States must insist on a new, fully independent investigation of 9/11. The truth which awaits us will end the conflict in the Middle East and restore our liberties. The next President must read David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking."

I, too, was going to suggest David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory", but it seems that many have already suggested it. I think it's his best (and latest — although I hear another is about to be published), but any of the others are really just as good for all intents and purposes: "The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11", "9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out, Vol. 1", or "The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions And Distortions". ("Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action" is also good, even though it is "Xtian-based" or targeted — man is he prolific! and with the level of quality he achieves, I don't see how he does it)

There also seems to be a concern about this blog being "spammed" with replies about DRG's books, but I suggest that those that say that do not know the definition of the word or concept of "spam". (to me they sound like typical complainers and persons of negativity and derogatory attitudes) The people who are suggesting that book are probably viewers and fans of Bill's, and deserve a say just as much as any others. I'm sure there are plenty of people who are telling friends and such about this opportunity and directing them here as well to participate. Come one, come all, I say. An equal vote for each, no matter what their reasons.

And I hope Bill gets a good accounting of the response and acts and reacts in turn. That's what I expect him to do, and I don't think he will disappoint, which is why I like him and what he does and am so glad he is back. It's been a long time coming for this issue, and I hope Bill steps up to the plate and hits a grand slam. Step one (or two) to accomplishing that would be one of the very few brave enough to actually interview Dr. Griffin instead of pretending he doesn't exist. That's just wrong.

'The Art of Non-War' by Kim Michaels. Let's finally rise above the primitive conscientiousness of war that we could not let go of for centuries.

For the Common Good - Daly and Cobb.

Discusses economics, markets, and capital in relation to social ethics and spituality

"Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich.

As the political rhetoric continues about the U.S. being the greatest country on Earth, the next president will need a reminder about what this so-called greatness looks like on the ground.

Ehrenreich's book is an awakening (except maybe to those Americans who scrape plates and scrub toilets). It should be on the required reading list in Washington, right after the Constitution.

" Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

Great to see I am not the only concerned citizen.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin is a must.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin
&
"The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Cambell

I would recommend that they take Betty Friedan's book, The Feminine Mystique. It has been out for many years, but it is still relevant.

THE ART OF NON-war
by Kim Michaels
All people need to read this book, not only presidents and other politicians! Wars destroy all that we create. So, we really need to know how to make peace.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

Beware of the man of one book

Economically speaking

The Shock Doctrine
Free Lunch
and The Crash of 29 by J K Galbraith

Spiritual

three translations of the Tao te Ching
All Men are Brothers by M K Gandhi
the book of life ( the one without pages)

History
Many, including Plutarch

Thanks for asking!

The POTUS should read "No Future Without Forgiveness" by Desmond Tutu

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

The Art of Non-War ~ Kim Michaels........and
The Constitution

There is indeed a Higher Way than than the way that the Corporate elite and the war-machine has been pushing us.. Kim Michaels illuminates the High Road.
Nice One Kim ~ Philip

If you love democracy, it has to be "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffen, of course!

The Real Wealth of Nations:

Creating a Caring Economics
by Riane Eisler

please

I would like the new president to read "The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order" to be published in March. Parag Khanna, the author, is a senior research fellow in the American Strategy Program of the New America Foundation. His article "Waving Goodbye to Hegemony," based on the book, was published in the New York Times on January 27, and I just read it tonight while my husband was watching the superbowl. Khanna gives a view of future global international relations in which the U.S., the European Union, and China share the world scene as its strongest players. They and the nations called "second world countries" which have power and resources but on a smaller scale, and which partly share the characteristics of third world nations, all form economic and diplomatic relationships with each other, jockeying for economic and political power.

Khanna says America's attempt to control other nations with military might is too expensive to us and in any case it is failing.

Khanna advises that the next president strive to achieve a balance of power in the world in which America remains a key player by encouraging cooperation among them to solve global problems via a give and take. Our diplomatic corps needs to be greatly expanded to do this.

I am particularly concerned about our foreign relations. It is such a complicated concern. The new president will need a lot of knowledgeable strategic advice and I'm hoping that the desired result will be peaceful cooperation.

Oh, and how about a book suggestion for the other half of the equation in this, and all other subsequent elections - THE ELECTORATE.

For them, James Bovard's "Attention Deficit Democracy"...WAKE UP AMERICA (especially the idiots on this week's edition of NOW. The same ones who are now facing foreclosure because of the the latest in a long line of excesses of the banks and Wall Street, and who voted for Bush......TWICE!!)!

Blowback by Chalmers Johnson

TROUBLESOME YOUNG MEN by Lynne Olsen is the one book that should be brought to the White House by our next President. It is a marvelously written book about a few brave, young members of the Conservative Party in the British House of Commons in the 1930's who defied and exposed Neville Chamberlin's Appeasement Policy towards Hitler. Their incredible, selfless acts of political courage ruined their careers, but saved their country, and later the world. Now...only if our next President could imitate such statesmanship in the compelling issues that await them when they take office, rather than pursuing policies that promote their own re-election.

I'd encourage a new president to read 'Opponents of War', which chronicles the fate of many of those who opposed the First World War. I think that real parallels exist between that era and out own - we worry about immigration, economic troubles, and involvement in a deeply unpopular war. I found 'Opponents of War' to be a powerful and timeless cautionary tale, which reminds us of the dangers inherent in any campaign to enforce unity of purpose in a divided nation.

Dale Carnegie... How to win friends and influence people

Please mention a book by one of the world's most respected authorities on ethics and rational thinking:
"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by distinguished theologian David Ray Griffin.

Dale Carnegie.... How to win friends and influence people.

I would recommend "THE ART OF NON WAR" by Kim Michaels - More to Life Publishing

This book gives a penetrating commentary on why our world is still flirting with war as a justifiable means to a desirable end.

The Art of Non-war by Kim Michaels.

A good read for anyone with an open mind who wants to see the real cause behind all major wars in the past, And in the present moment.

Yep you guessed it - Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffith. This book will wake us up to what evil money and power will make people go to in order to hold on to it.

- especially if there is a short cut.

Spam comes from a single source. Unanimity from hundreds of sources is called consensus. Really, do people tend to agree on anything? Usually only if it reveals the truth.

The next president should read Citizen Power by Mike Gravel, to learn the mistakes of war our country has made, and to understand why we need the PEOPLE to help make laws.

Of course, the obvious, books written by our founding fathers to gain their wisdom and vision for the U.S.

Power: A Radical View- Dr. Steven Lukes, philosopher of NYU explains differential power between socioeconomic classes, how it is exercised, how it produces quiessance, and how it colonizes the victims' minds.

Debunking 911 debunking by david ray griffin

Animal Farm by George Orwell still informs us of the perils of regime change with its attendant potential for the arrogant use of power.

Without queston: Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present".

While there are MANY other books I could name, this is the foundation - the basis from which all the others build.

Thank you, Professor Zinn, for your priceless contribution to the American people.

ONE OF THE WISEST, TIMELESS BOOKS EVER WRITTEN: HORTON HEARS A WHO, BY DR. SUESS.
I'M NOT KIDDING - IF A PRESIDENT TRULY READ THIS -IN HIS/HER HEART NO MORE WOULD THERE BE HORRIBLE, MURDEROUS WARS AND PEOPLE WOULD THINK "BIG PICTURE" ALWAYS BEFORE LEAPING / salamander

THE NEW GOLDEN AGE: The Coming Revolution Against Political Corruption And Economic Chaos (2007) by Ravi Batra. I only just finished it and it is a superb recipe for our national survival. (Maybe Jack Martin Feb. 3- 11:47pm meant this book when he suggested Dr. Batra?)

The most important book the next president should read is FREE LUNCH: HOW THE WEALTHIEST AMERICANS ENRICH THEMSELVES AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE(AND STICK YOU WITH THE BILL). David Cay Johnston has compiled a revealing expose of how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

GANGS OF AMERICA by Ted Nace
A well researched and accurate history of the corporation in western civilization. It documents how our legal structures support disparity of income and legal unaccountability for the affluent.

Thomas Paine "The Rights of Man" because it is clear our government leaders have forgotten that democracy is about the people, all the people.

TOOLS FOR CONVIVIALITY by
Ivan Illich: Insight about how to manage energy and enhance the quality of life while conserving resources and embracing sustainable strategies.

Book for the next president I would suggest is,
The Dictionary. Maybe we could eliminate some of the
"non words" that the spinmisters throw out there, or make them up to fit their claim to actually mean somthing when they don't.

I expect the next president to be already well-read and fully informed, as all the serious candidates seem to be. For balance, I would recommend they take along a copy of The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This is not a frivolous suggestion. The book is a gem of clear thinking, as well as a philosophical exploration of what really matters to people. It exemplifies two qualities that any leader could make good use of: humor, and wisdom.

Hi Bill,
After watching your show on Friday, Feb 1st with Senator Waxman, I hope that
your next president has the strength to bring "change we can believe in."

More generally, I am hoping that your next president has a natural curiosity about the world.

I believe it would be a really good sign if your next president has read "Oh the Places you will go" by Dr. Seuss and "The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff.

Thank you for the work you do. It makes a difference.

Two books that should be read by any American, especially one looking to the seat of American power.
1) A People's History of the United States
and 2)Declarations of Independence, both by Howard Zinn.
Zinn's History of the US effectively punctures the mythology of American power with a much more populist, hopeful look at all that is wrong with history and the record of the men and women who opposed this mythology and brought about change in spite of governments and presidents.
The second book by Zinn is an attempt to reach back to the basic values of American society and find ways to bring these idealistic philosophies to life through the American people. It, too, punctures the myths and hypocrisy at the base of so much American political tradition.
With Zinn's wisdom on their side, a new American president would be much better equipped to bring about real change to real people and to rise above the partisanship to something genuinely American.

I would recommend:
Common Sense by Thomas Paine

and

Reveille For Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky..

dr bc

I should hope, every leader in the world, especially our next president. would read
Barbara Tuchman's
March of Folly
From Troy to Viet Nam

The new President should have done his or her reading long ago: there will be little time now that our country is in a multi-faceted crisis. People who have written helpful books should be called upon. I recommend Dr. Ravi Batra of Southern Methodist University in economics. He is a debunker of free trade and trickle-down economics. He has good ideas about a progressive tax distribution and the reinstitution of tariffs so that the U.S. worker can recapture some hope and prosperity. His economics is not values neutral but remains based upon rational human behavior. "The Shock Doctrine" (Klein) is a pointless choice because it reveals the neocon plan to the public which is already obvious to astute polititians. (Economics has never been a useful science yet because it depends on the patronage of the wealthy, so that its most prominent practitioners are rewarded for nonsense.) If the new President is to do justice, Bush era criminals must be prosecuted and the facts come out. I would recommend a review of the Nuremberg trials and of the Truth Commissions which have closed some cruel conflicts. Guilt must be revealed for our country to heal. The process must not stop with George Bush, but previous administrations' crimes must be made public knowledge too. Michael Parenti has been an expert researcher in these matters.
I do hope we get to have an election and that there will not be another false flag attack followed by marshall law. I was startled by the ignorance of the pitiful economic victims exhibited on NOW (on PBS) this week. I wonder if people can even comprehend the edge of malice and greed Henry Waxman has uncovered. I know that I would not be able to stand living in a future where Bushism is lauded as Reaganism has been. Reaganites were criminals too. This stuff didn't start with Bush and is not confined to Republican administrations. NAFTA may have killed as many as the Iraqi occupation.
This is a crazy country of injustices where tax preparation companies charge 10% fees and 85% interest on refund anticipation loans while the fed is setting the rate for billionaires to borrow billions at less than 3%. It is almost as if we are paying the wealthy to borrow our freshly printed currency when one considers our 8% cost of living inflation. Out population must be illiterate in self-preservation.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin

I'll never believe thethat government's conspiracy theory!

THE DEATH OF AMERICA by Naomi Wolf

Others have suggested it, and I concur. There are a lot of good books and comments on this blog. The politicians may think we're stupid, but there are people who realize what's happening to this country.

the next president needs a good understanding of a number of critical areas. however, the most catastrophic decisions of the last 60 years seem to have been in the area of foreign policy and, more specifically, getting into the wrong conflicts at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. these have generally resulted from a failure to realize that generalizations such that communism was a monolithic movement led to fundamental misunderstanding of local and regional politics, often putting us on the wrong side of disputes. i recommend halberstam's "the best and the brightest", which eloquently illustrates the consequences of jumping into a conflict without first acquiring a fundamental understanding of the nature of the fight the country would be getting into.

Here's the book I would like the next President to read: "Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism" by Univ of Chicago political scientist Robert A. Pape, published in 2005 by Random House.

I suggest Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present

Don't know how this happened, but my post was 'Confederacy of Dunces'
Comment #48321 Feb. 2 at 4:30 am
A Sherry Varnadoe appears as the poster, with my name in the 48321 slot, below??? I've never read, nor suggested 'The Problem From Hell", and I do not know who Sherry Varnadoe is.

I would recommend the next President read David Cay Johnston's book, "Free Lunch". While so many are losing their jobs to the cheaper labor markets abroad and wages become stagnant here I find it obscene that a handful of people are able to increase their personal wealth and power by exploiting government largesse and the failure of government oversight to stop such behavior.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin
Know the truth and the truth will set you free!

Any President and indeed any member of Congress should be familiar with "Collapse" by Jarrod Diamond. It indicates what happens when you ignore the environment that we live in.
For a Democrtic President in addition I would suggest "Conscience of a Liberal" by Paul Krugman. A republican woud probably throw it out becasue he shows how afar we have come from the time of Roosevelt, Trum and even Eisenhower, who was a downright Liberal by today's standards.

The single book I would recommend is Charles Johnson's "Nemesis", the final book of the Blowback trilogy.

Recommend "A Peoples's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn

Free lunch, by David Cay Johnston. What an insightful book about the reality of being a middle-class American.

To have a well-rounded grasp of the crucial problems we face in this new century our next president would do well to read Billions and Billions by the late Carl Sagan.

The book the next President should take to the Whitehouse is "Debunking 911 Dubunking" by David Ray Griffin. Admitting and facing the facts about 911 totally alters our concept about America- - the wars--the Bush administration, etc. The ONLY requirement is to investigate 911 yourself- -then, perhaps, you'll comprehend why thousands of people disbelieve the official line. What stands in the way of most people who believe the official story is fear and total trust of governmental lies. We owe it to our country to become accountable. Investigate.

I recommend Collapse by Jared Diamond. Mother Nature will have the last laugh if we do not pay attention.

The next president should read "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America"
by Barbara Ehrenreich, Arlie Hochschild

I recommend the president read American Soul by Jacob Needleman. This is a deeply moving and inspiring book that reminds us of the powerful vision of the Founders and the possibility of our nation.Can we once again reconnect with this vision and have a country of which we can be proud?
Bill, thank you so much for your work and for the support you provide to those of us who feel marginalized and dispirited. Your program is the highlight of my week.

I recommend the president read American Soul by Jacob Needleman. This is a deeply moving and inspiring book that reminds us of the powerful vision of the Founders and the possibility of our nation.Can we once again reconnect with this vision and have a country of which we can be proud?
Bill, thank you so much for your work and for the support you provide to those of us who feel marginalized and dispirited. Your program is the highlight of my week.

I recommend reading
"People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil" by M. Scott Peck.

This book provided me with an understanding of evil, its remarkable mundaneness and ever-presence. Anyone who has the power to affect others, especially world political leaders, should study the nature of evil as a way to know -- in every nuance -- how to recognize, reverse, and heal world evil.

"Free Lunch", by NYT reporter David Cay Johnston.

and the U.S. Constitution.

David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" OF COURSE. We need a real investigation with real answers. It's long overdue.

Killing Hope by William Blum. None other comes close.

Obviously, no single book is sufficient to advise a president. Lifetimes of learning and centuries of history have, at times, proven inadequate.

Nonetheless, I would want our next president to read Reverence, renewing a forgotten virtue, by Paul Woodruff.

The current administration illustrates, more clearly than most, the costs associated with a lack of this particular virture.

While we may not always be up to the task of good governing, history does indicate that more knowledge fares better than ignorance and wishful thinking.

Read on, learn on.

Charles Schultz
Edmonds, WA

I would recommend Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. If our next president could communicate to the government bureacracy the importance of the democratic principles, integrity and win-win thinking, how much better our country would be!

"My Pet Goat"

Obviously this book is so important and captivating that Dictator Bush decided he wanted to keep reading it for another 20 minutes after the twin towers were hit and while the cruise missile was heading for the pentagon.

And the Secret Service must really love " My Pet Goat" a lot too - as they violated standard security protocol to let Bush keep reading it! They were supposed to rush the president ( a presumed target) to a secure location - and order the evacuation of the kids to a safety zone.

But no. Bush just stayed put, looking decidedly shifty - but not shocked by the news.

Hmm. Could it be that BusHiltler Inc. knew what was really going on - a False Flag op to justify his imminent criminal agenda - so he just sat back and enjoyed " My Pet Goat" with the kids, whom he knew were under no real threat.

Thank you, Bill, for being a purveyor of truthfulness and transparency in our wilderness of mass media deception.

With sincerity I have to say that David Ray Griffin's Debunking 911 Debunking is the most necessary book and indeed should be read by all in positions in leadership.

I tried to post this recommendation twice before, but it was rejected. I highly recommend "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein. This book connects the dots in ways that must be understood if America is to avoid inflicting further injustice on the world. We have sadly been bullies, not leaders, for far too long, and Presidents must understand the history of our actions and how to avoid contining the errors of our ways.

In view that both parties have forgotten that the Gov.is for the people and not the parties, The book I would recommend is "The Summer of 1787" The Men Who Invented the Constitution.

definitely
"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

I'm not sure you can tell too much about a person by what he or she reads, but I would feel better about a person who at least values reading.
I would like my next president to read Creating True Peace, by Thich Nhat Hanh. I believe the daily practice of mindfulness would be a huge help to a president, and the resulting clarity, understanding, and compassion would benefit the whole country and in turn the world. Also, Thich Nhat Hanh has a wonderful credibility. He has been tested by so many wars and such upheaval and has been a source of great comfort and joy because of his practice.

" Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

9/11 has all the glaring elements of a false flag operation, used to manipulate Americans into supporting an illegal war of greed and choice and into relinquishing their Constitutional rights to the growing fascism in America.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" takes careful aim at the agents of disinformation (psy-op agents) who are trying to distract the public from the truth by spreading ridiculous - and scientifically impossible - cover stories about the heinous and treasonous false flag events that happened on 9/11/01.

Another must read is: "Synthetic Terror" by Webster Griffing Tarpley.

I recommend the "Art of Non-War" by Kim Michaels.
The book takes quotes from "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, and gives a higher perspective of the way life on this planet can be lived that benefits everyone, and is doable.

"Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" by Jimmy Carter

" Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

9/11 has all the glaring elements of a false flag operation, used to manipulate Americans into supporting an illegal war of greed and choice and into relinquishing their Constitutional rights to the growing fascism in America.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" takes careful aim at the agents of disinformation (psy-op agents) who are trying to distract the public from the truth by spreading ridiculous - and scientifically impossible - cover stories about the heinous and treasonous false flag events that happened on 9/11/01.

Another must read is: "Synthetic Terror" by Webster Griffing Tarpley.

Molly Ivins' "Bill of Wrongs - The Executive Branch's Assult on America's Fundamental Rights" is the book the next President needs to take to the White House.

The US Constitution

The one book that I think would give any of the candidates a better perspective of where I'm coming from is the book that has influenced my life the most:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

(Not that there's a chance in hell any of them would admit to reading a book by an avowed atheist.)

debunking 9/11 debunking, of course. it is the truth that will set the land of the free, free.

The next President must read "Dissent: Voices of Conscience, Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq" By Colonel (Ret.) Ann Wright and Susan Dixon. This book explains how corrupt the USA government has become and the next President must clean it up!

The next president should read "The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels because it may elighten him about the real cause of war which is the duality consciousness.It also describes what we need in order to manifest an age of lasting peace and abundance.

Any U.S. leader should read Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States," to become well versed in how not to run a country; and the Tao te Ching, to become well versed in how humans were meant to be.

"Broken Government" should give them an idea of the work that faces them to clean up George W. Bush's mess

"Broek Government" by John Dean should give them an idea of the mess they have to clearn up!

Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston

How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff (W. W. Norton, 1954).

Why statistics? A president is like any manager -- everyone around him/her tries to stack the cards to get the decision they want. This book is an old classic: a guide to critical thinking for the non-mathematical. And every example in this book could have been taken out of today's headlines.

"Leadership and Self-deception" is a book that reads like a novel while teaching us how to become congruent between our thinking and behaviors. It is a powerful tool I frequently use with my executive coaching clients. Especially those clients who need a jolt which forces them to look into the mirror.

1. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
2. The Assault on Reason by Al Gore
3. Sicko, the movie by Michael Moore

Revolutionary Wealth is by Alvin and Heidi Toffler ( Future Shock and 3rd Wave...) this book, to me, has most concise ways of explaining the non-monetized portions of the economy. Presidents and everyone should read this.
Trying to affect economic AND environmental realities (which are as connected as Mind/Body) w/o recognizing all the elements, is like playing cards with a deck and not knowing which cards are missing.

I am angered that for generations skilled minds have provided clear information about these realities and politicos and business elites have made terrible decisions based on their purposeful ignorance. Unforgivable behavior the whole creation pays the price of.

It is a hopeful book - it flows well and makes coherent sense representing things holistically. Esp. good when you're tired of useless fear-bating propaganda.

1.The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
2. Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumacher

Each of these books uniquely addresses the kind of economic injustice that has become commonplace in 21st century America.

The first portrays an earlier incarnation of the same common man who was championed by FDR and later became an electoral pawn of the evangelical right wing.

The second posits a more humane alternative to the perpetual growth and profit orientation of modern capitalist economics

Together they might remind a leader of our common bonds beyond the divisions of easily sensationalized ideology. Both would emphasize the need to imagine values and aspirations that are more humane than those of mere profit and self interest

They are both oldies but goodies

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. This excellent new book takes one of the country's most important and problematic issues-- the way we eat--and examines it from scientific, political and historic perspectives. Our future president can learn everything from how PACs infiltrate our government to the way large industry abuses power and the media at the expense of our health.

There are many books I would be happy to see a President carry into the White House; but the current administration has me wishing they had read Sisela Bok's "Lying."

President should read:
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi
Wolf.

I recommend David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking", or,indeed, any of this gentleman's books on the subject of the attacks which have been used to justify war crimes and the destruction of our liberties. These works will greatly clarify the thinking of any fair-minded person who looks into them.

My recommendation is "The Weather Makers," by Tim Flannery. The virtual absence of the issue of global warming from the campaign is disturbing. This book is a well-written wake-up call. Unlike the Current Occupant, the incoming president could learn a lot from it, and start building policy to meet this serious threat.

1984

Why an I not surprised that I'm not the first to propose George Orwell's "1984"?

I would like to see the next president, be able to read, "Three Cups of Tea," by Greg Mortenson and David Relin, if they have not already done so. Eleanor L. Ferril

I recommend

The End of America; Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot” by Naomi Wolf

FREE LUNCH by David Cay Johnston

FREE LUNCH by David Cay Johnston

FREE LUNCH by David Cay Johnston

Not only the president but every American should read this book! Read this book! It will make you MAD AS HELL and should be required reading for everyone. If every American had the information in FREE LUNCH, things WOULD change. Please read this book! Thank you Bill Moyers for bringing this book to our attention and please try to get this info to the widest possible audience.

(1) Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson (1962). Inspired the First Earth Day (1970). Warns against upsetting the balance n nature.
(2) This Gifted Age: Science and Technology at the Millennium, (1997)(Foreword by Al Gore) by Dr. John H. Gibbons, former Science Advisor to President Clinton, and former Director of the U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. Complilation of speeches, remarks, etc. from the 1970's - 1990's focusing on energy conservation, resources, population, and the environment - enduring issues facing humankind.

The books I'd highly recommend are: THE GREAT TURNING: FROM EMPIRE TO EARTH COMMUNITY by David Korten, and THE NINE SPIRITS by Godshalk and Walter.

>Dr. David Ray Griffin's Debunking 9/11 Debunking

Why? Because war can only exist with fear guiding the masses. Leaders have difficulty perpetuating war fraud without an easily identifiable enemy. In our most recent case, bin Laden. How'd we get there? 9/11.

Griffin's book details the smears and falsehoods regarding 9/11 and the reasons why 1/3 of American's still think the Bush Admin has something to do with three, highly engineered steel-structures collapsing into their own footprints on the same day. A feat never occurring before or after 9/11.

He's factual, concise and to the point. Something our Criminal Administration has never been.

Otherwise, I'd recommend Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.

Peace and No to War, oh, and impeach the lying traitors.

Howard Zinn's A PEOPLE'S HISTORY of the UNITED STATES is a MUST reading for the next president (actually for any president), because it unveils the "OTHER" side of our history which is conveniently ignored but must be confronted with honesty and courage if our future role on the world stage is to benefit humankind.

I cannot help violating Bill Moyers' ONE book assignment by ADDING one more highly important work, again of the "OTHER" category, but this time in the field of economics. It is Herman E. Daly's STEADY-STATE ECONOMICS, published by W.F. Freeman and Company in 1977 (the first of several later books published between 1989 and 2007, apparently on the same topic). It offers an alternative vision to our pro-growth orthodoxy that was deemed "both necessary and desirable" already in 1977, but surely is imperative today as we are facing global climate change. As a biomedical scientist and physician, I like Daly's phrase (p.101): "Environmental degradation is an iatrogenic disease induced by the economic physicians who attempt to treat the basic sickness of unlimited wants by prescribing unlimited production....". GROWTH, indeed, is the philosophy of the cancer cell...

Daly's 1977 book is a treasure trove of vital analysis and prescriptions, more urgent today than ever before. The leitmotiv of the first chapter, "An overview of the Issues", is a quote from Alecsandr Solzhenitsin: "....What must be implemented is not a 'steadily expanding economy' but a zero growth economy, a stable economy. Economic growth is not only unnecessary but ruinous". And the chapter ends with a 1972 quote from the late historian Arnold Toynbee, "....Nature is going to compel posterity to a stable state on the material plane and to turn to the realm of spirit for satisfying man's hunger for infinity". It stands to reason that a steady-state economy is an indispensable strategy as well as a moral mandate to preserve ourselves, our progeny, and our planetary home.

Gordon Zahn: In Solitary Witness

I would recommend two books:
(1) Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, 1962, that inspired the beginning of Earth Day (1970). A wakeup call not to disturb the balance of nature.
(2) This Gifted Age: Science and Technology at the Millennium, Plenum 1997, by Dr. John H. Gibbons, Science Advisor to President Clinton, and former Director of the U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. Foreword by Al Gore. A compendium of Gibbons papers, speeches from the 1970's foreword - on energy, population, resources and the environment - the enduring issues of our time.

Wealth of Nations, Magna Carta, The Bible and a good deal of Wisdom and Ethics.

"a Short History of Myth" by Karen Armstrong. I believe that we in America, all of us, not just our Presidents, have fallen for some myths that do not serve us well. For example, yearly we commemmorate the bombing of Pearl Harbor, It is a well-known date. what myth is perpetuated? we cannot be wounded? do we also commemorate the huge bombing of Japan? No. we do not want to claim our vengeance, our terrorist power. To me 9/11 wounding mirrors and sustains this myth. we do not embrace a myth that says, we can rebuild, even when harmed. How do Europeans handle all the bombing they endured in WWII? what is their mythology?

I recommend the important book by Mearsheimer and Walt, "The Israel Lobby and US Foreihn Policy." Until we have a White House that understands the grave anger of our policy toward the Middle East as it is shaped by this lobby, the whol world will be in trouble.

I do agree that one can tell a lot about a person from what he or she reads -- or what he or she doesn't read.

I wasn't surprised by the candidates' book choices; and, frankly, I think they're probably lying about having read their book selections. Who's Hillary Clinton fooling? She hasn't read the Constitution in a very long time.

And the one book I want the next president to read is "Whitewashing Race: The Myth of a Color-Blind Society" by Michael K. Brown et al. Especially I would like Barack Obama to read this book even if he doesn't become the next president because a person who declares that black Americans are "90 percent of the way" to racial equality and says, "There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America. There's the United States of America" needs a serious reality check.

I recommend "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt.

No doubt, all of the presidential candidates are aware of the political power or the Israel Lobby, and have signaled their intent to support Israeli Policies (Senator McCain has signaled quite clearly), but reading this book may give the next president the political courage to act in the best interests of the United States when setting Mideast policies. Doing so should prevent future wars that are not in our nation's interests and may begin a reversal of the enmity that virtually the entire world now has for the United States because of our Mideast policies.
A second recommendation is "Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy" by Charlie Savage.

Riane Eisler: The Real Wealth of Nations

During the last election cycle I planned to sending our new president a copy of the Tao Te Ching by Lao-tzu.

This book is a true gem and should be essential reading for every leader.

My vote: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. If we are to "prevail" in the middle east by a route other then war, Mortenseon's example is one we should all heed.

The real truth about the ‘debunking 9/11 debunking’ recommendations is that prior to an invitation on a 9/11 blog to spam this thread, there was only one recommendation for that book out of a total of 695 recommendations. Supposedly that lone recommendation was by the spammer himself. After his invitation there were 158 recommendations for that book out of 936 posts (until the time of this post).

Many 9/11 people are legitimately in search of real truth, but these spammers are ruining it for everyone as spam always does.

Must I be the only defender against these ridiculous claims? YES, somebody informed the 9/11 truth movement about this thread. But NO, we members were not dragged here like helpless sheep and forced to participate in this presidential book recommendation forum. The truth is, and speaking only for myself, if anyone asked me to immediately name, right off the top of my head, one of the very best books I have ever read, I would have to say -- YUP, you guessed it -- "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin! To better prove my point, I offer any one of you scalding critics a challenge. Go to your favorite website(s) and spread the news about this thread. Recommend a book -- any book that you like or that has inspired you -- and lets just see how many passionate and motivated people jump buck wild at the opportunity to promote your suggestion. No offense, but my guess is that you won't see too much support for your favorite pick. And to me, that's says everything right there.

9/11 truth ends war.

Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mirchell.

This book is about wisdom in action. Above all I pray that our next president has wisdom.

Liz Breadon

1984 by Orwell
Assault on Reason by Al Gore
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein

and the movie "Network"

That should recap the last 7 years quite nicely and inspire us to reverse course. We need a complete 180 before it's too late.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

I am a government lawyer and used to believe the government served the people. It is now clear to me that most governments serve powerful corporations.

If 9-11 is not reinvestigated and actions taken to right the ship of state, then you should read "Shell Game" by Steve Alten which tells you where this debacle is going.

"The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy", By John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt.

An excellent book. It must be read by all.

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand.

Anyone who truly loves America and wants to save her and all mankind - should read "The Art of Non War", by Kim Michaels.

If I could choose only one book, it would be "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

It is time for people to wake up and educate themselves to the world round them.

I would second the suggestion that someone made earlier: the works of Lewis Mumford's.
He's a very underappreciated luminary from America's progressive tradition. It is hard for me to imagine a president of this country truly considering his or her actions in US in the context of the cultural history of the human race- - Mumford is a very profound thinker on this subject.

David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking". It is the truth and the truth shall set you, me and all of us free. Free from the insane unconstitutional laws passed by this administration in the name of safety.

GOD HAS A DREAM by Desmond Tutu

Our new President will be confronted with a very troubled world. This book gives Archbishop Tutu's personal experience in bringing peace and justice to South Africa. His experience could help our President face the solutions ahead in our country and the world.

The 3 most critical areas of concern are the environment, foreign policy, and the economy. On the environment, I recommend "Plan B 3.0--Mobilizing to Save Civilization" (3rd Ed.) by Lester Brown. On the economy, "Free Lunch--How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves (and Stick You With the Bill) by David Cay Johnston. On foreign policy, a big change is in order, but I must defer to the many suggestions already made on this subject.

Tax Shift
by Alan Thein Durning

ex of WorldWatch in DC, now with Seattle's Sightline. Only way to take problems seriously is to advance solutions. Where the rubber meets the road is taxes & subsidies. Tax Waste, Not Work. Fund People, Don't Subsidize Special Interests.

If interested in bringing about changes in the policies of the U.S. government, the new president would do well to have and read a copy of Eric Hoffer's book, THE ORDEAL OF CHANGE.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray
Griffin

Everyone hoping to restore the integrity of the US should have the information contained in Chalmers Johnson's book, NEMESIS, the last days of the American republic.

WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT, The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, by Daniel Walker Howe, is part of the Oxford History of the United States.

Many of the issues of this time are still with us.

Plutarch Lives,Plutarch

The book I'd recommend is a new one from Naomi Klein, "The Shock Doctrine."

Among the many current books about our governmental activities around the world, this one brings an incredible amount of information together: About torture; about "free markets;" about Milton Friedman and "The Chicago Boys." And finally, about democracy at the point of a gun.
I had no idea how rotten a record the bad old USA has around the world--and now at home.

The next President to be should read. "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray
Griffin.

Debunking 911 debunking.

We need a real transparent investigation.

We have two books that any new president should read :-

1: Memo to the President Elect : How to Restore America's Reputation and Leadership
by Madeleine Albright, Bill Woodward

2: Fiasco

Somebody should have given
these to Bush many years ago along with a copy of the Constitution.

I would suggest Debunking 9/11 Debunking. This should be required reading.

The major problem today is that many corporations are very powerful and have no regulatory system whereby they are made accountable to the interests of ordinary citizens. Joel Bakan in "The Corporation," with interviews with people such as Milton Friedman, Peter Drucker, and Noam Chomsky, outlines achievable ways in which we could use legal regulation and democratic control to chnage this system.

I believe this is one of the most important books for political leaders in our time to study.

It is difficult to narrow down the choices to only ONE book. Here's my choice:

Censoring Science: Inside the Political Attack on Dr. James Hansen and the Truth of Global Warming. by Mark Bowen.

Other candidate books are at
http://www.seconnecticut.com/books.htm

It makes me sick that people are telling you to dismiss David Ray Griffin's Debunking 9/11 Debunking book simply because many activists have suggested it on this forum. We are extremely concerned about where this country is going, and it is clear that those who have actually read the book understand its significance. Those who are saying otherwise have obviously not read it otherwise they would be recommending it too. Time to wake up people. Please Bill, have David Ray Griffin on your show.

No book is recomended if John McCain becomes the president. He will follow the same foolishness of G. Bush and the country will collapse.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

"Suburban Nation: The rise of Sprawl and the Fall of the American Dream" by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Jeff Speck. Then to help forge a path out of this mess via a new economy and politics, "Break Through" by Ted Nordhaus & Michael Shellenberger.

Well, one book ...

"Tao Te Ching" by Lao tzu

Beyond the Constitution, long before the Bill of Rights, this book of knowledge and wisdom includes insight, sagacity, and many of the underlying philosophies put forth by our founding fathers.

My favorite passage in the book is one every world leader might benefit from reading (too bad George W. doesn't read so good):

"When a country obtains great power,
it becomes like the sea:
all streams run downward into it.
The more powerful it grows,
the greater the need for humility.
Humility means trusting the Tao,
thus never needing to be defensive.

A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted it, he corrects it.
He considers those who point out his faults
as his most benevolent teachers.
He thinks of his enemy
as the shadow that he himself casts.

If a nation is centered in the Tao,
if it nourishes its own people
and doesn't meddle in the affairs of others,
it will be a light to all nations in the world."

reading suggestion: THE CONSCIENCE OF A LIBERAL by Paul Krugman

The Art Of Non-War - Kim Michaels

The most essential read for the world at the current moment in history, no doubt.

If the next president of the US is in fact literate, I will be happy! However, if He/She hasn't read many of these books and considered these topics prior to coming into office, forming a real and living philosophy based upon Truth, Integrity, and Compassion for Humanity, then I'm afraid no last minute impulse to discovery and personal growth is likely to occur. I don't mean to be cynical, but busy leaders have little time for self education and revelation once they are in office. I would pray to God that our next leader has already opened his mind and soul to the deeper subjects and philosophies that give Life true meaning, and been intellectually engaged for many years on a broader array of topics than I myself have had liberty to make study of. What I don't want is another token leader who is in fact a mere representative of the corporate elite, and has nothing more than swagger and rehearsed talking points to offer us. Unfortunately, if he/she hasn't already read writers like George Orwell, or taken a hard look at the 9/11 coverup, it doesnt seem likely to happen anytime soon.

The one book that I would like to see everyone read, not just the Presidential candidates, is Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States". This history book tells the truth about our past. When we go forward to the future, it is of utmost importance to know exactly where we have been. Too many of the mainstream histories are so biased that you cannot get an accurate view of just what we have done in the past. Professor Zinn gives us the truth.

"Catch 22" by Joseph Heller. All the characters from the Bush administration are there, and it warns of the insanity of war, and those who wage it.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray
Griffin
Ask them about their participation in cower up

I think that two very useful books to read would be Perfectly Legal and Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston. I would then ask what their administration action plan would be for ensuring transparency to the public on issues of corruption & how they would go about ensuring accountability that appears to currently go unchallenged despite being known by those that have the power to effect change.
I would than ask why there was a policy in place to hold up regimes such as Iraq, Pakistan & Afghanistan that are fundamentally corrupt and therefore unable to make political progress that will benefit their people. I would ask why government contractors continue to get kick-backs in no-competitive bid projects that invariably end up way over-budget due to lack of oversight with the perfect example being the New Embassy Building in Iraq. This the state of affairs that two party policy appears to have ended up with. When will we get political leaders that make their mantra doing for the people by the people mean something to the everyday man/woman in the street despite their political affiliation or religous persuasion?

I think the single most important book for each and every candidate to take with her/him to the White House would be "The End of America - Letter of Warning to A Young Patriot" by Naomi Wolf. I also wish that every voter would read it before the November election, if not before their primary. It is a clear exposition of how fascism takes hold in a democratic society.

Just one book…definitely “A People History of the United States” by Howard Zinn.

But let’s remember our manners and select a parting gift for President Bush, my recommendation is the original text of “Pinocchio.”

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray
Griffin
We are being lied to and this needs to be exposed!
Lets get it straight once and for all.... for the love of God! Literally

Naomi Wolf's book - The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot is the first book I want the president to read.

It takes the reader back through time, observing the slow and legal ascension of totalitarian governments, how the founding fathers feared this, and what they wrote into the constitution to prevent it.

As the reader travels through the regimes of Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini, she is shown that these events have historically occurred in the full-view of citizens just like the herself — citizens who read the paper every day, played with their children, and enjoyed their life.

Through small, consistent, and imperceptible shifts in legal protections for citizens and journalists, governments were reconfigured into a state where citizens did not have legal power, or were frozen by fear, or whose common sense was replaced by a belief in their nation as fervent as their belief in the colors of their sports team.

Readers are shown how these events connect to what's going in present-day America, demonstrating that America is on that same, slow path. Most importantly, the book disabuses the reader of the false belief that democracy is guaranteed and will perpetuate itself without the guardianship of citizens, the representatives, and the press.

The book liberates the reader and helps her stand up straight, realizing that she has every right to hold strong moral beliefs and be vocal about them. It's akin to the feeling that one loved art as a child, and has finally decided against the advice of her parents, long dead, to pursue it.

I want the same for our new president.

Do monkey's read???

Chalmers Johnson's "The Sorrows of Empire." I can't tell from any of the campaign rhetoric if any of the candidates are aware of the long-term expansionist strategies behind both Iraq and Afghanistan. Economist/Historian Johnson's is a cautionary tale.
Warren Kornberg

Tax Shift by Alan Thein Durning,

formerly of DC's WorldWatch, now on his on at Seattle's Sightline. You're not taking problems seriously if you're not advancing solutions. What we tax and what we subsidize is where the rubber meets the road. Tax Waste, Not Work. Fund Everyone, Don't Subsidize Special Interests.

Just finished reading: "Dark Ages America, The Final Phase of the Empire," by Morris Berman. A great social commentary on where we are as a Nation and how we got here. This should be on the next President's book list.

"Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" -- Hannah Ardent.

The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson
by far says it all!

I would like to see the next President bring a copy of 'The Bill of Rights: Its Origin and Meaning' by Irving Brant first published in 1965.

After the atrocities committed by the Bush/Cheney Junta against our liberties, I would like the next President to have a visceral understanding of the forces that compelled the founders to add the Bill of Rights to our Constitution.

Brant’s great work of more than 40 years ago should never be forgotten by those who love our liberty.

From the books last chapter:

"Freedom from Fear"

“The great need of the present day is to cast off fear of freedom, and
recapture the courage and vision of those who first erected the
standard of American liberty. Basic to all liberties is freedom to
think, to speak, to write, to publish one's thoughts, not merely with¬
out restraint, but without even thinking about the possibility of
restraint. Men are truly free only when they do not have to ask
themselves whether they are free.”

These are words seem relevant today than they were when they were published in 1965.

"Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville. This is the quintessential reading for understanding America, Americans, and the institution of American Democracy. It provides a keen understanding of what makes democracy strong and at the same time fragile. And, particularly for our times, it provides an understanding why a system of democratic governance cannot be simply exported because it is "good."

I recommend the presidential candidates read "Freedom from Fear" by David Kennedy. This book delivers a clear and sensitive description of an extraordinarily challenging time for our nation -one that is confronted by an extraordinarily able president who weaves politics with the needs of the nation to reassure the nation that political leaders can care about the people that they represent.

"The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" by Naomi Klein
EVERY person who is in any position of public responsibility/influence must read this book. My reason is eloquently expressed in the following two quotes : “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true”Soren Kierrkegaard

“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power.”

— Benito Mussolini
1883-1945
Fascist dictator of Italy

Please check you posting operation. Yew Yew is assigned incorrectly. Yew Yew should point to Lewis Mumford texts. Thank you.

To our next President,

Here! Take my copy of Selected Poems of Robert Frost, begin reading! I will get another copy from the resale shop.

"The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" by Naomi Klein
EVERY person who is in any position of public responsibility/influence must read this book. My reason is eloquently expressed in the following two quotes : “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true”Soren Kierrkegaard

“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power.”

— Benito Mussolini
1883-1945
Fascist dictator of Italy

Debunking 911 Debunking by David Ray Griffin...

He puts to rest the discrediting of people who want to know the truth about that day in history which has been used by so many to justify so much wrong...

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

It's time the truth be told.

Endurance by Alfred Lansing

During these challenging times in our country and our relations with the world community, we desperately need a leader. "Endurance is the story of Earnest Shackleton and and his men's attempt to cross the Antarctic Continent in 1914..." Earnest Shackleton who did not lose one member of his crew of twenty-seven men was called by his men "The greatest leader that ever came on God's earth, bar none." Our country and world needs such a leader.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray
Griffin

Lets get it straight once and for all.... for the love of God! Literally.

I second 'The World Is Flat: Updated and Expanded by Thomas L. Friedman.'

To the guy who keeps spamming the 9/11 conspiracy book, give it a rest. You're going to ruin this open comment forum for all of us.

The best book I have read in the last 13 years ... Debunking 9/11 Debunking - David Ray Griffin

I would reccomend the president reading a book of speeches by Mata Amritanandamayi aka Amma and "the hugging saint". She is a great humanitarian and spiritual leader. the book is "Lead us to Purity" For more info ont he book and on Amma visit www.amma.org.

I would bring,
A) Debunking 9/11 Debunking
B) the Shell Game, by New York Times best selling author Steve Alten.
Critical, critical works.

http://theshellgame.net/

I would like the next President to read "Capitalism and Freedom" by Milton Friedman. I think all politicians should have a basic knowledge of economic theory and fact.

Tax Shift by Alan Thein Durning, formerly of DC's WorldWatch, now on his on at Seattle's Sightline. You're not taking problems seriously if you're not advancing solutions. What we tax and what we subsidize is where the rubber meets the road. Tax Waste, Not Work. Fund Everyone, Don't Subsidize Special Interests.

In St. Louis, on Feb. 2, Barach Obama said, "I don't want teachers to teach to the test. I want students to learn art, music, literature and poetry." I recommend that the next president, and I hope it's Obama, have on hand The Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, our greatest, most patriot poet.

The World Is Flat: Updated and Expanded by Thomas L. Friedman

In our short-attention-span culture this work has been mentioned by only a few of your viewers.

Our next President will awaken each morning and will have to come to terms with developments in the areas of emerging technologies and business methodologies, international monetary policies and credit, our ongoing dialogue in key socio/political/economic relationships, such as the Peoples' Republic of China, India, Mexico, Central and South America, the Middle East, the Russian Republics, the European Union and a host of additional areas of interest.

A long overdue conversation about visibility, support, funding and development of lifetime learning initiatives, so that those impacted or displaced from the American success story can obtain new skills and opportunities in their work lives has not been discussed in the current campaign season.

Mr. Friedman has raised our awareness in a number of areas, where the new administration can advance our cause, restore our competitive position and invest in more appropriate opportunities.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray
Griffin

Debunking 9-11 Debunking by David ray Griffin is my vote!

There are far too many questions. The government's actions do not add up to protecting our interests. It really scares me that they are certainly not what they seem.

September 11th needs to be investigated further... Undoubtedly!

The One Book that should be available in the White House should be a special book that gets down to the essence of philosophical truth (which is ultimately Spiritual Truth) and the key to how we should all treat each in this world.

Of course I am biased in that I wrote the book subsequent to a spontaneous transcendental Spiritual Awakening during and after which I was granted certain wisdom ... that being what my "message" is all about in:

"Spirit Calls ... a voice from the wilderness".

Transcending Religion via the Essence of Metaphor.

An Alternative View of Spiritual Potential ... based upon a personal transcendental spiritual awakening.

LCCN: 2005907842
ISBN: 1-4196-2302-8

Published at BookSurge, LLC an Amazon.com Company.

This IS the ONE MESSAGE that this world NEEDS NOW !!!
By; Jerry Kays

Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

Sleepwalking Through History: America in the Reagan Years
by Haynes Bonner Johnson

Screwed by Thom Hartmann

Thomas Paine and the Promise of America by Harvey Kaye

The final books of Lewis Mumford, the architectual historian into cultural historian. A two volume publication: Technics and Human Development, 1966, is Vol. 1, The Pentagon of Power 1970, is Vol. 2. With the adopted format of architectural photographs and text, note the photo the the World Trade Center, and the separate photo of U.S. Department of Defence "Pentagon". Consider the theses of Mumford with the other historic examples, and ask if Mumford has been relevant.

I too would take 'Debunking 9/11 Debunking' by David Ray Griffin because it meticulously exposes the many inconsistencies in the official story.

Investigate 9/11!

I love your program because it is one of the very few places on TV where anything resembling the truth can be seen and heard. More than anything else, corrupted commercial television does more to ruin the fabric of our Democracy. It has created a mythic wasteland where even George Bush can be sold to the American people. The next president should read Christopher Hitchen's God is not Great.

"Debunking 911 Debunking"
Dr.David Ray Griffen

Why do you suppose so many feel threatened by honest inquiry? Gotta be a reason.

Of books I'd say Brave New World, so he or she knows not to allow us to keep heading in that direction. But above that I want them to have a copy of The Constitution of the United States, somewhere where they can see it and be reminded of the charge, We the People, have placed upon them. That they and their subordinates serve for our benefit and at our pleasure. That they are answerable to us and are subject to our oversight through our elected Representatives in the legislative branches.

Debunking 911 Debunking"
Dr. David Ray Griffen

Intresting, the cult of 911 govt. conspiracy cool ade drinkers that take it upon themselves to protect the governments lies by marking every public comment they can find challlenging the official government hoax.

It should be pointed out that the comments are being spammed with suggestions of the David Ray Griffin book "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" prompted by posts at several 9/11 conspiracy websites and blogs. Griffin is a leading figure of the cult that is the "9/11 truth movement", and his book is based on bad science and is without merit.

If we are limited to one book the President should read and consider, my strong recommendation is The Shock Doctrine.

If alternates were allowed, I would recommend (alphabeticdally and in no particular priority: An Inconvenient Truth (Gore), Broken Government (Dean), and Nemesis (Chalmers Johnson).

Joe Ramsey.

The "book" I would chose would be a history of the King of Epicus who was quite a talented fellow and general, but he is known and referred to in modern history as Pyrrhus ---as in Phyrric Victory.

Mr. Moyers:
I'm recommending that the winning presidential candidate take to the White House David Cay Johnston's "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill)." Johnston nails the inequalities that favor the very, very wealthiest not just in the American tax system, but in the way they gain access to electeds through social position, expensive lobbyists, and campaign contributions. That this political culture is endemic to American government does not make it any less corrosive to democracy. Johnston presents the evidence in the form of astonishing stories and compellingly documents both the advantages gained by the very wealthy and the destruction to the character and substance of our political ideals. Such a book, I believe, would serve the next American president as a touchstone for what's right and for what needs to change in the next administration.
Paul Vandeventer

The "book" I would chose would be a history of the King of Epicus who was quite a talented fellow and general, but he is known and referred to in modern history as Pyrrhus ---as in Phyrric Victory.

I was going to recommend, Howard Zinn's 'A Peoples History of the United States,' but I see other respondents beat me on this one. I would like to thank everyone for creating one of the best reading lists I've ever seen.

I was going to recommend, Howard Zinn's 'A Peoples History of the United States,' but I see other respondents beat me on this one. I would like to thank everyone for creating one of the best reading lists I've ever seen.

So many choices...
I recommend "Mad Cowboy", subtitled, "Plain Truth From the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat" by Howard F. Lyman.

Quote: "It all starts with the fork." If the President reads this book, he/she will truly know that darn near everything bedeviling humanity and Earth starts with the fork (or whatever utensil or means you use) and what goes into our mouths.

Once again, thanks Bill Moyers for continued outstanding work - *real* journalism for a change! Whew!

i thought about it a bit more, and after reading this blog now for a couple days, i realised a glaring omission: arthur m. schlesinger, jr.....his books on Jackson and Roosevelt, and of course the imperial presidency, which this administration has never read but instead is acting it out; and the Cycles of American History. oh, and i second all the nominations for Twain. there's just no one book. but i've been taking notes and making a list of books I need to get to! what a great thread in this blog.

With high hopes we're recommending "Finally Comes the Poet: Daring Speech for Proclamation" written by Walter Brueggemann. On the importance and need for poetic voices in these days Brueggemann writes, "Those whom the ancient Israelites called prophets, the equally ancient Greeks called poets. The poet/prophet is a voice that shatters settled reality and evokes new possibility in the listening assembly." In these days when the nation is screaming for change there is an urgent need for poets to give voice to the nation's hopes and dreams for a new reality.

The most profound book in print:
"Crucifixion of Truth" by Tony Bushby

Expose christianity and other major religions for the fraud and fabrication that they are.

I had a tough time picking just one book; however, I thought a great start would be something short. Greed by Julian Edney is a series of essays that addresses very real issues with our current governmental and economic systems.

Lao Tzu's Taoteching

A few weeks ago I wrote a verse stylized on the Taoteching and inspired by its teaching. I then sent it to each of the candidates.
If I may be permitted to reproduce my verse here:

America is suffering.
She seeks out great treasures but
Treasure breeds thieves.
She seeks to control but
Control breeds rebellion.
She seeks to make laws but
Laws breed deception.
She values life highly.
Others no longer fear death.
Let America be calm.
Others will follow her way.

The Art of Non-war by Kim Michaels... because we don't want and more wars!

I recommend highly "The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God" by Griffin, Cobb, Falk and Keller (wjkbooks.com, 2006). These four eminent scholars carefully analyze political, economic, and historical issues with the emergent American empire and unmask the idolatry of its religious justifications. Positively, they envision global and local alternatives to American empire, and steps toward a more just and sustainable global society.

Any of the 4 books on 911 by David Ray Griffin should be required reading for anyone not bent on remaining asleep.

Mr. Moyers, why won't you mention/review/discuss or (better yet) internalize the substance of those books? Avoiding what is not only critical to the nation's health but entirely obvious to any thinking citizen is well beneath a person of your intellect.

I suggest that the new president carefully read: Muhammad Yunus, Creating a World Without Poverty. Infusing our country's spirit and policy with the thinking this book represents would go a long way toward making the world a better place for everyone.

I would recommend that the next president take a copy of "When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chodron to the White House. You don't have to be a Buddhist to get value from this thoughtful and deeply moving book.

Although this may seem trivial, it's not to me. I recommend the book "The Dictionary of Bullshit" by Nick Webb, a former managing director of Simon and Schuster UK. The book's subtitle is "A shamelessly opinionated guide to all that is absurd, misleading and insincere." I highly recommend the chapters Corporate Bullshit, Sales and Marketing Bullshit, and Political Bullshit(subtitle: I'm glad you ask me that).

I would recommend the president read St. George and the Dragon by Edward Hayes. The is a book about a person's spiritual journey maybe the new president could use a few tips.

Everyone, especially, the next president should read "Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches" by John Dean.

I hope our next president is familiar with the Tao Te Ching and refers to it often. Perhaps this is in reaction to the current regime.

The real truth about the ‘debunking 9/11 debunking’ recommendations is that prior to an invitation on a 9/11 blog to spam this thread, there was only one recommendation for that book out of a total of 695 recommendations. Supposedly that lone recommendation was by the spammer himself. After his invitation there were 158 recommendations for that book out of 936 posts (until the time of this post).

Many 9/11 people are legitimately in search of real truth, but these spammers are ruining it for everyone as spam always does.

"The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels:

Master strategy to redeem the soul of America and to raise her from the quagmire. Antidote to all serpentine logic.

I would recommend the next President read "The Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine.
Also, although it is a pamphlet, not a book, "Common Sense" would be a good starting point...

I has been some time since I read it, but one book the new president should read is "The Collapse of the Third Republic - An Inquiry Into the Fall of France in 1940" by William L. Shirer. Lack of vision, failure to learn from the past, self-aggrandizement, placing self above country - all here, and we even know how it all turned out. Shirer's location in Europe during this critical period lends a air of immediacy that is difficult to come by in other reports.

Recommend the book, "We are the ones we have been waiting for," BY Alice Walker.
She begins with the quote from Dickens, "It is the worst of times. it is the best of times..." It is the worst of times because it feels as though the very Earth is being stolen from us,by us; the land and air poisoned, the water polluted, the animals disappeared, humans degraded and misguided. War is everywhere. It is the best of times because we have entered a period....of great clarity as to cause and effect. A blessing when we consider how much suffering human beings have endured...without a clue to its cause. Gods and Goddesses were no doubt created to fill this gap.... it is inevitable that everything we have needed to comprehend in order to survive, everythin we have needed to understand....is illuminated now. We live in a time of global enlightenment. That alone should make us shout for joy.

In beautiful prose, poetry, story telling and imagery, she tells the dreadful crises of today and challenges us to confront because we know the causes and the resolutions and "we are the ones we have been waiting for."

Thank you Mr. Moyers!

I too vote for...
"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

AMERICA!!! Time to wake UP!!! More and more Americans are standing up and remembering, it's our government, For the People By the People!!!

I would suggest the new president read Jared Diamond's Collapse. Hopefully if will help whoever to understand the environmental problems facing the planet so we do not wind up like the people on Easter Island

A few people have already mentioned this, but everyone, and especially those who are looking for roles in government should read Howard Zinn's 'A Peoples History of the United States'

History is a competitive sport, and honestly, we are losing.

Recommend the book, "We are the ones we have been waiting for," BY Alice Walker.
She begins with the quote from Dickens, "It is the worst of times. it is the best of times..." It is the worst of times because it feels as though the very Earth is being stolen from us,by us; the land and air poisoned, the water polluted, the animals disappeared, humans degraded and misguided. War is everywhere. It is the best of times because we have entered a period....of great clarity as to cause and effect. A blessing when we consider how much suffering human beings have endured...without a clue to its cause. Gods and Goddesses were no doubt created to fill this gap.... it is inevitable that everything we have needed to comprehend in order to survive, everythin we have needed to understand....is illuminated now. We live in a time of global enlightenment. That alone should make us shout for joy.

In beautiful prose, poetry, story telling and imagery, she tells the dreadful crises of today and challenges us to confront because we know the causes and the resolutions and "we are the ones we have been waiting for."

Recommend the book, "We are the ones we have been waiting for," BY Alice Walker.
She begins with the quote from Dickens, "It is the worst of times. it is the best of times..." It is the worst of times because it feels as though the very Earth is being stolen from us,by us; the land and air poisoned, the water polluted, the animals disappeared, humans degraded and misguided. War is everywhere. It is the best of times because we have entered a period....of great clarity as to cause and effect. A blessing when we consider how much suffering human beings have endured...without a clue to its cause. Gods and Goddesses were no doubt created to fill this gap.... it is inevitable that everything we have needed to comprehend in order to survive, everythin we have needed to understand....is illuminated now. We live in a time of global enlightenment. That alone should make us shout for joy.

In beautiful prose, poetry, story telling and imagery, she tells the dreadful crises of today and challenges us to confront because we know the causes and the resolutions and "we are the ones we have been waiting for."

Al Gore's Earth in the Balance, is worth a re-read, and should be kept on hand for reference. From the spritual and philosophical chapters to the common sense advice on how we can agree to handle the issue of abortion in a cooperative way, there are gems in this book in addition to the overview it provides of environmental challenges of our day.

_Nemesis_ by Chalmers Johnson.

The candidates' answers tell us more about the audience to whom they're appealing than about themselves. The more bland, generic, or protected (by sentiment or tradition) from scrutiny, the better.

In a footnote to their book, _The Brethren_, Woodward and Armstrong inform us that the minister presiding over Hugo Black's funeral selected readings for the event from underlined passages of a book by one of the Justice's former clerks, Charles Reich. "Only Black's intimates knew that Black thought Reich's book absurd, and that Black underlined the sections he *disliked*" (158).

I would hope that the next president of the United States would read and seriously ponder "The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must" by Robert Zubrin. We are living in a seminal period of human history and our nation is desparately in need of the kind of vision and unbridled optimism and enthusiasm embodied in the New Space Movement.

I have no doubt, most of the people agree “The Government is
dysfunctional! There is no accountability or responsibility....”!
The Country is in CRISES: WAR, DEBT, ECONOMY, HEALTH CARE,

RAMPANT CORRUPTION, ELECTIONS, UNEMPLOYMENT,
DEPRESSION – INFLATION, LAWS, SOCIAL SECURITIES,
360,000 veterans HOMELESS etc.! All political systems, Fascism,
Socialism, Communism and Capitalism have laws, rules, regulations,
authorities to benefit the elite class. All of these Political system have
a dictatorial power with no accountability.
I believe “TO BEGIN THE WORLD OVER AGAIN “ is to CHANGE,
“AMEND THE CONSTITUTION"! The government responsibility
accountability should be in the hands of the people to express their
“ WILL on ALL MAJOR ISSUES”! I believe that the candidate for
president should have read the “Karl Marx manifest”, It provides
guidance to solving social, economic functions that are deeply embedded
in a contemporary society. Just replacing one person with another without
amending the CONSTITUTION is no solution to the accountability and
responsibility!

Parag Khanna's "The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Globa
Order" in whlch he argues that the US is soon to become one of three superpowers (China and the European Union) But they will have to contend with the rest of the Second Powers such as Russia, India, etc. If this proves true, this will be an opportunity for the US to reorder its military priorities, to focus on rebuilding our infrastructure and above all, restore our reputation in the world

There have been many fine recommendations. I recommend "Plan B 2.0" by Lester R. Brown. It along with "An Inconvenient Truth" are two problems that are being avoided at the peril of our world and our descendent's futures.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

The President should carry TWO of these to the white house one in each hand.

It's time to ask questions people! Before things get worse!

Peace on Earth

No, I wasn't surprised by the books listed, but I was a bit disappointed. I was truly hoping that, in this time following a President who doesn't listen to anyone and who bullies the rest of the world into his way of thinking, someone would have thought of the book How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. THAT'S the book I would memorize even before trying to run for office, let alone moving into the White House. It sure would be nice to have someone in office who thought about the needs of others more than they thought about keeping their job or making America the most-super-awesomest-wildly-amazing place in the whole widest world! Hee-Hee!!!

The President should read Science And Human Behavior, by B. F. Skinner (psychologist). The President should also read Our Kind, by Marvin Harris (ecological anthropologist).

I would like to see the President and everyone in his/her cabinet read The Left Hand of God, by Michael Lerner, the founder of the Network of Spiritual Progressives. This book does not take the position that there is a single way of looking at religion and faith, and it recognizes that people who do not participate in organized religion may hold profoundly spiritual viewpoints. It emphasizes that "Godliness" is not the unique domain of the Right Wing, and it recommends a "New Bottom Line" of compassion and caring in this country and internationally. We could use more of this type of thinking!

Thank you again Bill for providing thought provoking journalism that continues to challenge us in every facet of our American democracy and our personal lives.

The book I would recommend is "The Imitation of Christ."

Though there is no religious test for the Presidency, many candidates have openly revealed their Christian beliefs. I believe the wisdom contained in this centuries old text by Thomas a Kempis can inspire an incoming President to lead with selflessness, charity, and humility; traits desperately lacking in our current administration.

What book should next president take to the White House? Any book but "My Pet Goat, Deux."

I strongly recommend "THE WEATHER MAKERS: How Man Is Changing the Climate And What It Means For Life On Earth" by Tim Flannery. For the sake of our grandchildren...

Another vote for Debunking 911 Debunking. We are being lied to and this needs to be exposed!

I would urge the new President to read Parag Khanna's new book "The Second World:Empires and Influence on the New Global Order" In it, Khanna argues that the US is no longer the sole superpower but very soon it will have to move over for two others: China and (some may be surprised at this) but the European Union. They will have to contend with what he calls the "Second world" of lesser but still powerful players. If this is true, and Khanna makes a very persuasive case, this would be an opportunity for this country to take on a more modest role in this global world of ours, but one which open up entirely new opportunities for our economy, to reduce our military presence and above all to restore our reputation among the peoples of the world.

I strongly recommend THE WEATHER MAKERS: How Man Is Changing The Climate and What It Means For Life On Earth, by Tim Flannery. For the sake of our grandchildren.

THE LONG EMERGENCY by James Howard Kunstler (I have heard Bill Clinton has *already* read this.)

and of course COLLAPSE by Jarad Diamond

if St. Thomas Aquinas said 'Beware the man of one book' he probably had a good reason

I would urge the new President to read Parag Khanna's new book "The Second World:Empires and Influence on the New Global Order" In it, Khanna argues that the US is no longer the sole superpower but very soon it will have to move over for two others: China and (some may be surprised at this) but the European Union. They will have to contend with what he calls the "Second world" of lesser but still powerful players. If this is true, and Khanna makes a very persuasive case, this would be an opportunity for this country to take on a more modest role in this global world of ours, but one which open up entirely new opportunities for our economy, to reduce our military presence and above all to restore our reputation among the peoples of the world.

Hi All

As you, trust, feel we are entering a New Age of Enlightment in every part of life including Politics and so on. So as a new age requires we have to take direct inspiration from our ascended masters. I would definetively recomand "The Art of Non-War" by Kim Michaels. In fact all books by Kim are extraordinary and i am shure you will All like them just pick one of them that fits you best, trust Me, You will not regret it !

Christ Light
Stefan

I would urge the new President to read Parag Khanna's new book "The Second World:Empires and Influence on the New Global Order" In it, Khanna argues that the US is no longer the sole superpower but very soon it will have to move over for two others: China and (some may be surprised at this) but the European Union. They will have to contend with what he calls the "Second world" of lesser but still powerful players. If this is true, and Khanna makes a very persuasive case, this would be an opportunity for this country to take on a more modest role in this global world of ours, but one which open up entirely new opportunities for our economy, to reduce our military presence and above all to restore our reputation among the peoples of the world.

The book I recommend the next president take to the White House is Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea."

Susan Bilo

Learn from past mistakes. Read Barbara Tuchman's " March of Folly". Published in '84 but never out of date.

I would want to see the President read "The End of the Dream" by Philip Wylie so that he/she could see a future that none of us wants to have happen. Then follow it up with "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee which shows an honest man working his way through a devastating situation.

I reccommend "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

When Fed drops interest twice in 8 days it is quite obvious that the American economy is in a crisis. You can come up with lots of reasons why this is so, but one thing you cannot deny is that America is at war, and war is not free. So is it any wonder that the economy is going to hell when you keep feeding the bottomless pit of the forces of war?

What America needs is a President that is not fooled by the forces of war and the best book for teaching him this is the Art of Non-war by Kim Michaels.

Development As Freedom by Amartya Sen

The books lays out a novel way of approaching development based on increasing the substantive freedoms that people have to create a life they can value. The capability approach has been championed by Sen and Nussbaum and is an alternative development paradigm that the currently economic focused one. It can also be used to reflect on the U.S. and identify areas where people are facing a lack of substantive freedoms.

I would suggest "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine and for good measure "The Art of Happiness" by H.H. The Dalai Lama

I hope the next President owns a well-loved copy of The Grapes of Wrath, and that he or she brings it along to the White House. It's good to be reminded what the lives of the hard working poor look like and what happens to people when they have no voice against the powerful who would abuse them. Plus, it's always nice to pick up a great book when your soul needs a refill.

I would also highly recommend David Ray Griffen's "Debunking 911 Debunking" or any of his previous books on 9/11 research. It's time to bring this out into the public. A majority of Americans and people all over the world do not believe the OCT!! A real investigation is called for.

I would recommend the next president bring with him and read Supercapitalism, by Robert Reich, with particular attention to the need to open an honest, public debate on the role of government in maintaining societies values.

Score a point for Hillary Clinton. Before I heard her response I piped up "The Bill of Rights."

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

"God's Politics" By Jim Wallis, since all these candidates in both parties claim to be people of great faith.

This book does an outstanding job of scafolding the bible to make sense in the context of our 21st century society and its challenges.

In James' words(2:14), “What good is it for someone to claim to have faith... if his actions do not prove it?"

Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy, by Charlie Savage.
So that the incoming President will understand the broad scope of the Cheney/Bush effort to establish a presidential dictatorship, and will understand the need to countermand a number of legal initiatives in order to restore constitutional government.

I would suggest Kevin Phillip's "Wealth and Democracy", as this book pointed out to me some of the dangers of our current inequality gap...one that equals that of a Century earlier when we needed intervention on the behalf of workers and common citizens everywhere in the form of Taft Hartley, the SEC and other government protections as capitalism does not always, by its very nature, "serve the public good". The abuses of power that wealth brought us in that era is dwarfed today by a multinational corpocracy that is ever seeking more influence in Washington, not only for its bottom line, but many times at odds with our own common public interests and social goals. I am grateful for Bill Moyers for bringing these types of authors, books, and views to me with regular interviews with people that are bringing these inequalities to light. The "powers that be" will try to dismiss these arguments as idealistic populism or say that a candidate is engaging in "class warfare" and the mass media will frame it in a similar manner. This I believe was the fate of John Edwards as he sought to begin a national debate about some of these issues and was quickly marginalized in the process.
Perhaps it will take something as simple as some charts like Ross Perot used in 1992 to bring these imbalances into the mainstream of American consciousness and then we will not see so many people voting against their own ecomonic interests as they see that their interests are much different than what they have been told. I am not sure of the exact numbers, but when you mention that 1/10 of 1 percent of the population own over 1/3 of the wealth in this country, I would think the graphs could be compelling. The 1970's movie "Network" now seems very prophetic, and if you are not "Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore", you are not paying attention.

Every president and his staff should read: "The Great War For Civilisation, The
Conquest of the Middle East" By Robert Fisk & be tested on it!

I would recommend "The World's Great Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions" by Huston Smith. As our President travels the globe, and meets with the world leaders, he/she should have an understanding and deep respect for all the world's religions.

I would suggest Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine", though he or she may have to smuggle it into the Oval Office in a plain brown wrapper lest the wealthy corporate backers close their wallets in shock that the president is being exposed to their nasty agenda.

"If" the people actually get to elect the next president and it is not an "election by deception", that individual should read "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin and then lead the nation to a new beginning.

As witnessed in this democratic primary, sexism is still the most virulent "ism" in our society, and one which the ruling male hegemony will gladly sweep under the rug as a "non-issue." For this reason, I would like our next president to read SEXUAL POLITICS by Kate Millett. And I hope that next president is Hillary Clinton, who is our best candidate.

I'd recommend "Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World" by Bruce Schneier. Too much of the governance of the nation over the last eight years has been managed by sewing fear, uncertainty and doubt in the American people. Schneier, departing from his previous, more technically-oriented works, discusses how our collective failings at risk analysis, combined with ambitious politicians manipulating the news cycle, warps our perceptions of what really threatens us, skews discussions of risk mitigation, and damages us in other areas that suffer because the people we elected to lead us are busy telling us to be scared of shadows.

NONZERO: The Logic of Human Destiny - www.nonzero.org.

Robert Wright does us all a service in this book from 2000, in which he lays out a logical framework for analyzing human society across the thousands of generations of human history. In an era in which every nation seems to be focused solely on the short-term wins and losses of "realpolitik" it will behoove our next president to have a larger context from which to operate.

I would also vote for A People's History of the United States by Zinn

Your editor called listing David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" here spam from a cult. The real insidious malicious violent murderous spam is what the cult of neocons have fostered upon America and the world, the lie, the cover-up, the appeal to basic lizard brain "might makes right" anarchic principles of the official 9/11 conspiracy theory, the official excuse to wage war of terrorism on people. There are no terrorists. There are people responding to terror and the neocons would have us believe that this unending war against humanity and life, against science, is unavoidable. Help expose the lies, the subterfuge, the epistemic relativism. Help save us!

I would recommend "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by Dr. David Ray Griffin.

I would recommend "A History of the Modern Middle East" by William L. Cleveland. Our next president must understand the history before choosing the path to the future.

I would suggest "America (The Book) - A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction" by Jon Stewart, a superbly witty analysis of American democracy today and a powerful food for thought for our next president.
(signed)
A not-so-young female voter
from the "red" State of Florida

I'm glad to see The Shock Doctrine being suggested, because that's my first choice as well. It was completely ignored by the mainstream media though it made it into the top twenty on the NYT best sellers list. I begged several NPR hosts to interview Ms Klein but they refused. No doubt she is blacklisted.

There is no doubt what the President reads is and should be a big part of his understanding our country's and the world's history. If the current administration would have had an understanding of the Battle of Algiers (i.e. counterinsurgency war vs. traditional warfare) we would have been better prepared after the fall of Baghdad. After 4yrs over 3000 soldiers and countless Iraqi deaths the military brass finally educated themselves under Gen. Petraeus' direction. Just a few years late after this great nation stirred up the Middle East.

I have two books: 'A Country That Works (Getting American Back on Track)' by Andy Stern and 'The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilent Nation' by Stephen Flynn

I would take "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

And I would make it required reading for all staff and I would do my best as President to begin a real 9/11 investigation. The evidence of controlled demolition and inside job is too overwhelming and more and more people are seeing this now.

"The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions," by David Ray Griffin. Our Government is presently on a very dark path based on the "false flag" operation it perpetrated on 9/11 and "spun" to the American people as an attack on this country by a foreign terrorist movement. As devastating as it will be to expose the horrific truth, we risk a repeat-- and a worse outcome-- unless we fearlessly and thoroughly examine the truth as to 9/11. Griffin's book is a tightly-written, credible, and gripping analysis of the disgraceful "9/11 Commission Report" as a work of politicized propaganda used to promote a militaristic neo-con agenda. As Griffin has said in a speech, the only thing worse than revealing the truth is not revealing it.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

IMHO a must read for any politician, not only american ones.

The next president as well as every literate human should read "Debunking 911 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin which clearly shows how the US media is complicit in covering up the truth about the False-Flag Psychological Operation. World peace is a probable result of the world's population understanding how the US and almost every warring nation uses False-Flag attacks to justify WAR FOR PROFIT.

While one book won't make a library for the President, I recommend as a necessary read Jared Diamond's "Collapse - How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed."

Craig Unger's book:
The Fall of the House of Bush
Details of what/who/when we lost our country.
A warning to any new President!

"It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness" by Sylvia Boorstein. This is a wonderful book, not specific to Buddhism, not incompatible with any other religious faith, but a transformative introduction to what's really important in life. I've read it several times, and I've given away 10 or 15 copies, and it is always appreciated. Everyone seems to get something different out of it. It's also easy to read, and quite funny. It's my desert island book.

Could it happen here or there?
IT could happen everywhere!
This cautionary tale of woe,
must be read by friend or foe.
It is by Dr. Seuss, THE BUTTER BATTLE BOOK, my new president must read and heed.
The Butter Battle Book
Read and Look.
Look and Read.
Read and Heed!
This is the book all world leaders need!

Could it happen here or there?
IT could happen everywhere!
This cautionary tale of woe,
must be read by friend or foe.
It is by Dr. Seuss, THE BUTTER BATTLE BOOK, my new president must read and heed.
The Butter Battle Book
Read and Look.
Look and Read.
Read and Heed!
This is the book all world leaders need!

The Unconscious Civilization, by John Ralson Saul, New York: The Free Press, 1997.

MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE "THE MARCH OF FOLLY BY BARBARA TUCHMAN.IRAQ HAS HAD MANY SO CALLED FOLLIES BUT FALLUJAH WOULD PROBABLY BE THE ONE THAT FITS HER PREMISE.THANKS.

Leading By Example (How we can inspire an Energy and Security Revolution) by Bill Richardson.

The next big growth industries which could spur our economy, create millions of new jobs, and save our environment are on the cusp of being realized. Electric vehicles, batteries using nanotechnology, wave power, and Nanosolar all could be mainstream within a decade and a president that can nurture these tecnologies is vital for the future growth of the US economy.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

Something is hopelessly rotten in the state, and it is being cleverly hidden. Fortunately, the laws of physics cannot be abdicated. Be a true citizen and RESEARCH! The mainstream media is corporately controlled and is used to dictate your thinking. It's time to unbind your eyes and ears, and loose the chains ensnaring your mind.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

The Terror Timeline by Paul Thompson

The timeline in this book is made from thousands of articles exclusively from mainstream media and official sources; the Commission Report is contradicted by the public record, as well as having left 70% of the families (and Amercians) questions unanswered.

Only 16% of Americans believe the Bush Administration is telling the truth about what they knew prior to 9/11
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/13469

62% think "that some people in the federal government had specific warnings of the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, but chose to ignore those warnings."
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/28534

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul Kennedy 1987.

"Understanding Power:The Indispensable Chomsky" or "A Peoples History of The United States" by Howard Zinn. Bill, we're all waiting for you to interview Prof. Chomsky and Prof. Zinn on the Journal for the entire hour on separate shows.

I had the pleasure of meeting you while working for The Hazelden Foundation. You've provided, as you and your wife, an important counter-voice to the trappings of government and, to a great extent, big media. I would like to offer the next president of The United States a book that, if read and understood, would serve him and, more importantly, his country well in his/her four years in office. The book is, of course, THE ESSENTIAL LENNY BRUCE.
Best,
Norman Savage

I would suggest Krister Stendahl's "Paul Among Jews and Gentiles", a short collection of his essays. Anyone reading it might learn something about humility, about remaining small and curbing big ambition.

I think the next President should read Kim Michaels book The Art Of Non War.

"Collapse: How Societies Chose to Succeed or Fail," by Jared Diamond.

The next president must do something about climate change.The IPCC now says we have about 7 years to reduce CO2 or face a very different world. I suggest that person read "Six Degrees" by Mark Lynas. The book gives us a look into our future and it is scary.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin.

Excellent read, recommended for all politicians, news people, and common folks!

When Things Fall Apart: Pema Chodron
and
The Koran

David Ray Griffin: "Debunking 9/11 Debunking"

Read it or stay asleep.

My choice would be The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. Its analysis of the events leading to WWI shows clearly that unless great care is taken, those in power can stumble into cataclysm and take us with them.

"The History of the Peloponnesian War" by Thucydides.

I second (or third) this recommendation because of its innumerable lessons on the ways great nations become formerly great nations. And as the author himself says, it is a book for all of time:

"It will be enough for me, however, if these words of mine are judged useful for those who want to understand clearly the events which happened in the past and which—human nature being what it is—will, at some time or other and in much the same ways, be repeated in the future."

In the next few years presidential decisions will determine the extent to which the future transition to increasingly less available energy will cause overwhelming disruption and violence in the United States. That there has been no reported discussion of this by any presidential candidates is alarming. Of the number of books that have been published on this topic, one of the more balanced is Power Down: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World by Richard Heinberg

I suggest Harvey Kaye's book about Thomas Paine

Debunking 9/11 Debunking.

"Debunking 911 Debunking," By David Ray Griffen.

911 was the pretext for U.S. imperialism and fascism. It must be exposed for what it really was,

I would like to hear that the Presidential candidates take to the White House The Power of Now and A New Earth, both by Eckert Tolle.

Thank you.

The new president should read "Free Lunch" to inspire him (or her) to end the cycle of Money and Lobbying that has corrupted our democracy.

A lot of the candidates chose non-fiction in their picks. I would go in the opposite direction and suggest Don Delillo's superb novel White Noise. For those who haven't read it, White Noise is about a small town professor at a liberal arts college who teaches Hitler studies. Inspired by his class, one of his colleagues decides to start up his own class dedicated to studying Elvis. About half way through the book the small town is subject to an "airborne toxic event" of unknown origins. A whole list of ecological explanations are listed as possibilities but a single cause is never determined.

The "toxic event" is a metaphor for both our casual ecological indifference without thought to the consequences as well as our recent media gluttony. We are so inundated with information that it has become impossible to determine what is true and what is inconsequential. The book forces us to ask whether a class on Hitler is just as important as a class on Elvis. It has become impossible to sift through the media to get at anything of consequence and we have simultaneously lost the ability to determine what is important.

I think this book is important for a president because the great tragedy in our modern times is that even with so much information (or perhaps because of so much information) truth has become relative. A consequence has been the Iraq war. The media was unable to determine what were White House lies and what were knowledge based opinions as opposed to warmongering. Without a guiding force to point the way towards substantial information, the public was similarly lost. Seventy percent of the population believed Saddam was involved in 9/11 not because of facts and careful analysis but because the Bush administration put the two in the same sentence often enough.

White Noise accurately predicted that truth would become a relative term as has become plainly evident in the last seven years. Barring White Noise I would probably say Candide.

John Ruskin's "Unto this Last", it worked for Gandhi.

Mike Pride's, "My Brave Boys", so they will know something about honor.

All the presidential candidates should read, "A Peoples History of the United States" so that when the name of the American people is invoked, maybe, just maybe, we might feel they are referring to all of us, not just corporate America.

THOMAS PAINE'S COMMON SENSE. For the next president whose attention span may be limited to just 30 second sound bites. She or He will find those 40 pages a saving grace for us all.

"Free Lunch" by David Cay Johnston.

Two books reveal the core of our troubles and a way to overcome:

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

The Great Turning by David Korten

I also propose Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken. As one review says, "... we are part of the Earth's immune system each time we exercise our active compassion in the name of social justice and ecological health.. this book.. is a field guide for all that is possible."

Debunking 9/11 Debunking
Dr. Ray Griffin
I would hope Bill that you look deeper into what so many Americans already know. In addition.
Our Unfederal,No reserve bank is bankrupting this country.
A privatley owned central banking system has been in power since 1913, and this is FACT!
What to know how the system works?
Google Video The money masters.

1. Collapse by Jared Diamond or,

2. The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery

My recommendation for a book that a president should read is Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. This is a trilogy focusing on the tumultuous period between Cromwell's revolution and the American revolution, focusing (although not exclusively) on Europe, politics, science and the military. Tremendous insights and - if nothing else -at 3 volumes of 800 pages each, it will keep a president in the house and out of trouble for a while.

I HIGHLY object to the assumption by "Katie", our less than acceptable replacement for the great Walter Cronkite, that the "Holy Bible" and I use the term sarcastically, would automatically be included.

First, there's the little matter of separation of church and state. The bible is full of contradictions, senseless violence and a 'we versus them nonbelievers' mentality. We've apparently spent way too much time reading it. (Death count: Devil 8, God millions)

As far as a 'reading president' the bar has been set so low that I'd be happy with a president that actually COULD read!

How about one who can recite from memory the Constitution and the laws they're taking an oath to uphold, before being sworn in? Seems like a minimalist test of brain power and understanding of the job.

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

David Ray Griffin's The 9/11 Commission Report, Omissions and Distortions. Everybody should have read this book.This book proves the initial report was nothing more than a white wash and cover-up. We can't move forward until the truth comes out. A total inside job, controlled demolitions and media cover-up.

Animal Farm is my book pick.

Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston so we-the-people do not have to experience four more years of electricity deregulation.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by
Dr. Ray Giffin.
I am sad to say this book speaks the truth, and only a person who has'nt taken the time to look, or a fool would think otherwise.
Our country is in some serious trouble, and it seems most would rather be entertained then informed.
Although i can't blame all Americans because of the fact of a controlled, and complicit major media.
Our country is run by the central bankers, and our politicians are the best money can buy.
I LOVE AMERICA

The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas and The Coming Death of America's Coastal Cities by Mike Tidwell.
There are so many important issues facing our world and so many excellent books to help educate and inform our decisions, but if we do not tackle the global climate crisis immediately all of the other issues will become moot.

Assuming that the individual will willingly read and think critically, and not simply utter jingoistic mantras, I would highly recommend "The Irony of American History" by Reinhold Niebuhr.

David Cay Johnston's Free Lunch

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul Kennedy
Twenty years ago I watched William Buckley interview Paul Kennedy on Firing Line. This could have taken place yesterday! A quote lifted from the introduction to the book that essentially describes the fall of America is particularly prescient: "wealth is usually needed to underpin military power, and military power is usually needed to acquire and protect wealth ... If, however, too large a proportion of the state's resources is diverted from wealth creation and allocated instead to military purposes, then that is likely to lead to a weakening of national power over the longer term. In the same way, if a state overextends itself strategically - by, say, the conquest of extensive territories or the waging of costly wars - it runs the risk that the potential benefits from external expansion may be outweighed by the great expense of it all - a dilemma which becomes acute if the nation concerned has entered a period of relative economic decline....".

THE DEVIL'S RIDGE by Andre Bergeron, a new novel about chasing the monster Bigfoot in the Appalachian Mountains. It provides great insight into the mindset of people who believe in monsters. Since the president must deal with people who see monsters behind every corner, this is the book to read.

INTEGRAL HUMANISM by Jacques Maritain.

Since our "modern" world seems to have lost touch with it's soul I recommend that our next president and all congressmen read Thomas Moore's books "Care of the Soul" and "Orginal Self."

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin is a must read. For those unaware this book proves that the Popular Mechanics, "Debunking 9/11" book was fatally flawed, skewed and purposely sold to the public as fact when David Griffin shows how their 'facts' are flawed in a most particular way.9/11 was an inside job and the WTC buildings didn't melt, they were controlled demolitions. Everybody knows this, but msm wants us to forget it ever happened.

Any president who truly wants to change the predatory way the US (both government and economic institutions) has been acting in the world for several decades and who believes that democracy is more than a marketing term best used to sell people an antidemocratic economic system that enriches a small corporate elite while impoverishing the large majority, ought to bring Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine to the White House, read every page, and make it required reading for everyone else in the administration.

The U.S. president should have Zinn's People's History at hand at all times. It provides the best context for an understanding of our policies and how we got where we are.

For the new president I would recommend "Homo Politicus"by Dana Milbank especially if the new president has not worked in Washington, D.C.

Ken Janusz

I would recommend a good World History book that has not been sanitized by the historical revisionists. In almost every era of history the president would find that mankind has made the same mistakes over and over !

The next president should read and take David Cay Johnston's FREE LUNCH and should urge Johnston to write another book about the economics of this country.

Hostile Takeover by David Sirota

I would recommend "9/11 Contradictions" by David Ray Griffin. Every American needs to read this book, especially the President.

David Simmons
Valrico, Fl

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

As an educator and as a human concerned about the pursuit of quality of life, liberty, the dignity of every person, and peace throughout the world, my recommended reading for the President is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin Books).

This is a story of true heroism and how each person can make a difference. It is a story of how education, not military force, can impact the "war on terrorism." It reminds us all that war stems from poverty and oppression and is fought with and against real people, not abstract ideas. Three Cups of Tea is not naive; rather, it is hopeful.

All people want and deserve the same basic rights. By each person fighing to ensure that we all have access to something as basic as education, we are promoting peace.

I think the President needs to be constantly mindful and grounded in times of war and should sit down and have many cups of tea with both our enemies and our friends.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by Dr. Ray Griffin.
To all that have their doubts,please look into the facts from the other side.
Don't believe it? or Don't want to belive it?
Wake up America !

NAOMI KLEIN'S "SHOCK DOCTRINE" is excellent

All of DAVID RAY GRIFFIN'S 9/11 books are extremely important, since this "attack" has served as the justification for an overtly belligerent foreign policy and a dramatic erosion of civil liberties domestically. Another excellent book on 9/11 and the history of "false-flag" operations is WEBSTER TARPLEY'S "9/11 SYNTHETIC TERROR: MADE IN THE USA"

Also JOHN PERKIN'S "CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HITMAN"

1984 by George Orwell. Too much truth has gone down the "memory hole" during the Bush Administration. This book serves as a great reminder of what is at stake when we rewrite "the truth" in real time.

David Cay Johnston's Free Lunch

Read "The Fall" by Albert Camus. Primer for dealing with Congress.

Bush claimed he read "The Stranger" but we all know Camus is beyond him. He should stick to the Sgt. Rock graphic novels.

Anyone interested in what has happened to the federal court system in the US by virtue of executive branch appointments and $enatorial servility must read Ingo Mueller's HITLER'S JUSTICE, THE GERMAN COURTS IN THE THIRD REICH.

I think president should read free lunch

I am a great admirer of Bill Moyers, I especially liked Leasing the Rain. One good book a President ought to read is Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. Another book I would like Presidents to read, is Debunking the Debunkers by Dr. David Ray Griffin. 9/11 deserves a real investigation, where people guilty of treason, murder, and dereliction of duty go to jail, instead of being promoted. There is a very large and growing movement of reasonable people who have reasons to believe that something is very wrong with what happened on 9/11. The government’s story just doesn’t add up.

David Cay Johnston's "Free Lunch."

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by Dr. David Ray Griffin is a must for anyone in government to be made aware of what we have been lied to about everything on 9/11. We want the truth!

To govern the people is to govern yourself. The deepest truth is that there is no difference between the two. If there is to be a single book carried with the next President to the White House, it should be the Bhagavad-Gita. Realize the self in all (as Christ taught); everything follows from that.

You can't fight a war for the heart, soul and future of our country if you don't know what the enemy is up to.
I so hope that whatever Democrat occupies the White House in 2009, they know the competition's ideology, tactics and goals by having read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine.
This book gives the overall cohesive ideological and pragmatic context to each nasty, sneaky and blatant, rapacious thing the last 30 years of Republican Executive, Legislative and Judicial rule ahs done to our country and to our world in our name.
Know your enemy! And don't dare pretend this isn't a war for our country as a decent caring successful place.

"It should be pointed out that the comments are being spammed with suggestions of the David Ray Griffin book "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" prompted by posts at several 9/11 conspiracy websites and blogs. Griffin is a leading figure of the cult that is the "9/11 truth movement", and his book is based on bad science and is without merit"

Nonsense, the book Debunking the Myth by Popular Mechanics is the book that is based on bad science or lack of it and is without Merit. If Debunking 9/11 Debunking is without merit then demonstrate this claim.

As one who was interviewed for David Cay Johnston's "Free Lunch", I am recommending that this is a must read for the next president. It is time for the government to end the outrageous subsidies to corporations to the exclusion of the hardworking electorate. This book exposes what the average citizen has no idea is happening in the government. I don't even think the cnadidates know!

The playbook for the next president should be Thomas Paine And The Promise Of America by Harvey Kaye.Paine wrote "These are the times that try men's souls", and his writings inspired the birth and ideals of America. The new president should read it again, and again and again.

My book recommendation would be "Wealth and Democracy" by Kevin Phillips.

I see many people offering up 9/11 conspiracy theory books and books extolling peace, and both those are important.

But I just count three others offering up Mike Gravel's recently reprinted book from the 70's "Citizen Power".

It might have been written today, so little has been done to remedy the problems it spotlights.

Mike has been relegated to the zoo by the MSM, and far to many people are relying on the MSM for their political education. How else can you explain the McCain-Obama-Clinton Surge we're all the victims of right now?

Times are so bad that there is no excuse for not seeking out an alternative on your own. Mike's National Initiative is just such an alternative. It needs perfecting, so help perfect it.

We must take responsibility for our own government. We're the only ones here.

To have someone in the White House who shares Mike's perspective : more democracy not less, would help short circuit the otherwise torturous track we must negotiate if we are ever to regain control of our nation. To wrest back control from forces of darkness that we have allowed to seize it.

I recommend "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by Dr. David Ray Griffin. Let's have a real investigation of 9/11.

Dogma rather than research makes a poor basis for public policy. I would hope that the next president knew a bit more about the failed dogmas of his predecessors. Perhaps a good place to start would be David Cay Johnston's "Free Lunch".

It should be pointed out that the comments are being spammed with suggestions of the David Ray Griffin book "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" prompted by posts at several 9/11 conspiracy websites and blogs. Griffin is a leading figure of the cult that is the "9/11 truth movement", and his book is based on bad science and is without merit.

While it is true that many of the posts in this thread recommending "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin were very likely created by 9/11 truth activists, rest assured that Griffin's book is nonetheless the very best book available exposing the hidden truth of 9/11 in an informative and easy to read manner. As for the science, it is impeccable and consistent in challenging the reader's critical thinking and logic skills as they relate to what they know, or think they know, about the events of 9/11. Step by step, in detail, facts are presented, clearly and concisely, to create a larger picture that ultimately can only drive the reader to the most reasonable conclusion that, for lack of a better description, 9/11 had to be an inside job. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for anyone searching for answers beyond those presented by the government's official story of 9/11.

"The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels is sure the most useful book for the next president to read and practise its ideas in life and then recommend to read it the other presidents of the world.

I suggest "Mistakes Were Made (but not by me)" Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson.

It explains why we justify bad decisions, foolish beliefs and hurtful acts.

Yes, it is to derive quite a lot of information and insight into a person's character by examining his/her reading material. Those who consistently read material that reinforces their own ideology are the most suspicious. In a world where information is not only prolific, but pervasive, the extent to which a person intentionally explores ideas from the vocal range of the entire population is indicative of wisdom, strength of character and a willingness to adapt. A truly great leader should be open to any and all good ideas, regardless of the source--even if they ultimately do not agree with them. At that point, he/she is at least able to better understand the issue and the ways in which it can be interpreted. In order to conduct political matters effectively there must be some kind of dialogue.

Having said that, I believe that we need to go back to the some of the most basic sources of western wisdom. After all, Plato turned away from politics and decided to go into philosophy in order to better understand politics
(and consequently, he hoped, improve the political system). The most esteemed of his protege, Aristotle, was also fascinated by the inner workings of political systems. In fact, Aristotle did not make any clear distinction between the study of ethics and the study of political science. Thus, I would want our president to read (hopefully for at least the second time) Aristotle's *Nichomachean Ethics*, wherein the author states:

"Then perhaps alo ssomeone who wishes to make people better by his attention, many people or few, should try to acquire legislative science, if laws are a means to make us good. For not just anyone can improve the conditions for just anyone, or the person presented to him; but if someone can, it is the person with knowledge."

Skimming through the other recommendations I noticed that most suggested readings are political in nature. I can't imagine having only one book to read and it being something that once read, could no longer continue to inform and would mostly focus on externals versus internal, where ideas and transformation take place. This said, the book I would recommend: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Although assumed to be a children's book, the author, in an interview before her recent death, stated that she had originally intended it for adults and that it was not meant to be "religious", but to help people understand that because we are each unique human beings, we must 'stick to our guns' and remain true to ourselves regardless of the price we have to pay in the sight of others.

I suggest "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

The book recommended for the new president to take to the White House (and it would also behoove them to read it and take notes!!) by Florida Veterans for Common Sense is "Thomas Paine and the Promise of America" by Professor Harvey Kaye, the Ben and Joyce Rosenberg Professor of Social Change and Development at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

There are many thoughtful suggestions above. I endorse "Who Will Tell The People" by William Greider, already recommended by others. This 1992 book clearly explains the many threats to democracy, which have worsened over the years. Greider explains the accretion of power to the Presidency during the Cold War. Bush and Cheney, with their secrecy and claims of "executive privilege" have further undermined democracy.

Les Hamilton
Silver Spring, Maryland

Poor Richard's Almanac:

Have you something to do tomorrow? Do it today.

A book recommended for the incoming president and cabinet is "Formula for Success--A Core Concept of Management" by Lawrence Appley. Not too big but a powerful message

Not that they'll have time to read a thing, but here are my three reading suggestions for the next Commander in Chief:

1. War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning - Chris Hedges

2. The Great War For Civilization - Robert Fisk

3. House of War - James Carroll

Life is not cheap, war is not natural, and the world and its various peoples are not Corporate America's to do with as we please. These books opened my eyes and gave me all the motivation I will ever need to commit to a life of activism. I can't recommend them enough to any concerned citizen in or out of government.

Not that they'll have time to read a thing, but here are my three reading suggestions for the next Commander in Chief:

1. War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning - Chris Hedges

2. The Great War For Civilization - Robert Fisk

3. House of War - James Carroll

Life is not cheap, war is not natural, and the world and its various peoples are not Corporate America's to do with as we please. These books opened my eyes and gave me all the motivation I will ever need to commit to a life of activism. I can't recommend them enough to any concerned citizen in or out of government.

'Debunking 9/11 Debunking' by David Ray Griffin. I cannot believe how this evidence is ignored by all.

Book: The Good in Nature and Humanity edited by Kellert and Farnham

The climate crisis is going to force us to deal responsibly and cooperatively with the issue - this book is a great start.

I would recommend Jimmy Carter's, "Our Endangered Values." From the moral conscience of our nation and our world (Bill Moyers excepted!), this book is a sobering look at how our country and society is on the verge of ABANDONING the nation's founding principles and traditionally esteemed values such as stewardship, compassion, genersotiy, humility, thrift, equal opportunity, and restraint. While failing to live up to our ideals is nothing new, the conscious rejection and public criticism of them by broad swaths of society and our mainstream institutions is. President Carter's book shows the peril of this course. It gives specific examples of our failings, but also provides inspiration and hope. I would suggest two copies for the next president, one for his desk to be a constant witness to the integrity and impact of his/her actions, and one for the bedside table to inspire wisdom and vision when reflecting on tomorrow.

Thank you for both programs of Friday 2/1/08; the Perfect Preview prior to Groundhog's Day....Wake Up America in 2008, Be Ready.
The Book that would be an excellent primer to why we are here, politically and legislatively is:

CHEQUE MATE The Game of Princes
Author: Jeffrey A. Baker
ISBN: 0-88368-383-0

Dr. Baker would be an excellent guest for your Show in February, March or April 2008.

His last known address is:
3615 W. Waters Ave.
Suite 308
Tampa, FL 33614

Please explore this book, personally, and pass it on to Lou Dobbs - CNN. We have to get this country straightened out quickly. There are too many people receiving benefits without earning those benefits.

Debunking 9/11 Debunking

I sure hope you are serious when you ask this question.

The events of 9/11 have been lied about and more and more people in America are waking up to that fact. The truth will come out -- everything comes to an end at some point.
People should start picking their sides now if they value their necks.

Many, many wonderful recommendations here; some I recognize, and some I need to look up for my possible reading. But at present I'm reading a book that hasn't been mentioned, and that professes to address the problems that the current administration has fostered. It's John Dean's Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches. Not only has Mr. Dean assessed the erosion of our historic governmental institutions, he has some ideas of how that erosion can be reversed. Also, as a member of Nixon's White House team, he's been there and is in a unique position to spot the countless little ways the erosion has been facilitated.

Thanks so much for returning with The Journal. You are one of our "Must See TV" bright spots each week.

Anything written by

Molly Ivins

will keep one's head firmly planted in reality; to wit, her observation that we [the people] are the 'deciders.'

'Debunking 9/11 Debunking' by David Ray Griffin. I recommend it to anyone; not just the president. Wake up America, we've been had!

Goodness, I forgot your program, Mr. Moyers! I'm not just saying this, your program - or its transcripts - should be on a president's must list along with DemocracyNOW. (And for the occasional humor break, the very relevant Daily Show with Jon Stewart and maybe even a bit of Stephen Colbert now and then.) I want to also add my support to the many here who are recommending contemporary works on taxation (David Cay Johnston, filmmaker Aaron Russo), and books that are instructive regarding a foreign policy that MUST be scrapped if we are to survive as a nation. Stephen Kinzer and Chalmers Johnson are two writers that come to immediate mind. And, finally, my ideal president would be taking the 911 Truth movement seriously. We have far too many scientists and other experts in the movement to treat it as a fringe group. So when you consider the works people list, please don't dismiss the 911 Truth recommendations. Thank you for an excellent program every week. I always learn something and I am really enjoying the election commentary by Kathleen Hall Jamieson.

Sorry, I didn't fully answer the questions. You can't tell a lot from book reading alone these days, but you can tell a lot from overall consumption. For example, I liked the suggestion made that the candidates watch every episode of the HBO program *The Wire*. They should be reading Sy Hersh and Jane Mayer in the New Yorker. And I'm delighted to see that my entire Top 10 has been listed along with many other excellent recommendations. I do agree with those on the side of brevity (my top choice of Thomas Kuhn is in that category), which is why Wendell Berry would be next on my list. But the bookshelf should definitely include Gibbon, as well as works that are a bit longer if not Gibbonesque: Howard Zinn's *People's History*, Sun Tzu's *Art of War* and all that have followed in that vein, especially with regard to how making PEACE is just as hard, and just as proactive as making war; the works noted by Jared Diamond, Naomi Klein, Naomi Wolf, Adam Smith AND Thomas Paine, Thom Hartmann, Ehrenreich, Thoreau and Emerson, de Toqueville, etc. As for Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman, these works treat the market as though it meets all needs and works purely when it doesn't. (No human endeavor is ever perfectly pure, just, or perfect because humans aren't.) They may be instructive, but only if balanced by economists like Robert Reich, who understands market gaps and failures. As for my reaction to the picks by the candidates, my only surprise was that not one of them said, "Assuming I will be president, I think I can take as many books as I need to the White House, because no single book is ever sufficient."

I would like to add to my comment, that I also recommend the present president and his administration to read the book "The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels. For me it is funny to see that some people here recomment Shun Tzu's "The art of war" here, because most presidents and candidates seem to know this book already by heart. Kim Michaels "The art of Non-war" is an answer to Shun Tsu's book.
Gandhi said the mother of every conflict and war is a lie.

911 is the most important issue of our time. It has been the basis for our foreign and domestic policies and is shaping the world we live in. i hope people will take a serious look at this book and wake up to the fact that we have been and continue to be lied to . The book i would choose to best understand why we are were we are today is :

Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

I would like to recommend "The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels. It can be found here - http://www.amazon.com/Art-Non-war-Kim-Michaels/dp/097669719X/ref=sr_1_1/002-2575168-3877609?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194468028&sr=8-1

It is the great book, and this is the book for the true winners as in the politics so in the business and in the economics.

"Nemesis" by Chalmers Johnson
Johnson details the consequences of the Iraq invasion and its related security policies. If a fair and critically important measure of the quality of a country's political life is whether or not people are leaving it, Johnson's erudite analysis offers the president guidance on matters that have given people pretty good reasons to do so.

The Constitution and the Federalists are a cop-out. You shouldn't even apply for the job of president if you don't have the pocket version in your pocket AT ALL TIMES. (I have much of both MEMORIZED.) The book I think the next president absolutely requires is *The Structure of Scientific Revolutions* by Thomas Kuhn, who coined the term "paradigm" as it is used in modern parlance. We desperately need our president to lead us through the transition from oil-based paradigm to new-energy paradigm, because the next president will be in office to see BOTH peak oil and the tipping point for climate change (the latter assuming we don't start making radical changes as soon as s/he takes office). Points to Obama, however, for *Team of Rivals*, an offering on my own top 10 list.

I would think that A Tale of Two Cities would be timely. The Grapes of Wrath I would save for the following administration I think.

Definetly, "The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels

Arthur Miller's The Crucible -- the dangers of groupthink.




Morris Berman's Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire If what he argues is true, then our decline can't be stopped. Perhaps it can be slowed down. In any case it's still worth reading as it explains a lot of how we got into this current mess we're in now.

Perhaps Secrecy and Publicity: Dilemmas of Democracy by Francis E. Rourke could provide some critical insight into the absurd secrecy and security issue warped and muddled by Bush and company.

Further, almost anything by Twain... maybe Life on the Mississippi for a reminder of the complexity of life and moral issues... along with some humor as well!

Really enjoy your program... only available to us in France over the net.

Thank you.

Collapse: How Societies Chose to Succeed or Fail by Jared Diamond.

Diamond shows how even powerful societies can rapidly collapse thru the failure to recognize looming crises, denial of them, or inappropriate responses.

The US comprises 5% of the worlds population and consumes approximately a quarter of the worlds resources - 5 times our share. How long do we think we can continue to do so? How long will the rest of the world let us?

As a nation (there are many citizens who are exceptions), our individualism, polarization, arrogance, and unwillingness to cooperate to solve serious problems - both domestic and global - are pathological. Washington's answer to everything is growth: grow the economy. How long do we think we can continue to increase consumption and generate more waste before we run out or drown?

Physics is no servant of ideology; natural laws trump man-made ones.
Some behaviors are not sustainable and neither a powerful economy nor military provide protection.

I believe we're close to the tipping point, if we haven't already passed it. What kind of world are we going to leave our children? Do we care so little for them?

I would recommend the book for candidates to read enroute to the White House: 'Created Equal: Why Gay Rights Matter to America' by NAVA (1995)

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I would suggest the the next president read What Would Jefferson Do?: A Return to Democracy by Thom Hartmann. The book discusses the origins of the principals and ideals encoded in our Constitution, details the vision and influence of Jefferson in the founding of the republic, identifies forces in our modern times that have systematically usurped the power of the people and which progressively exert increasing levels of control over our government and over the lives of its citizens, and offers solutions/actions in the spirit of Jefferson that we might take to regain control of our government and to ensure the preservation of our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.

David Ray Griffin is mentioned by posts here about 160 times. Most reference his books on 9/11 but mainly his book "Debunking 9/11 Debunking".

That's a very popular book!

David Ray Griffin (and primarily his book "Debunking 9/11 Debunking") is mentioned above about 160 times.

That's a very popular book!

The Assualt on Reason by Al Gore
Should be required reading for the next president and every member of congress.

I live in Europe, but I would still like to comment.
This planet is in a state of war and there seems to be no end to this. It's time to wake up, especially for the so called world-leaders. Therefore I strongly recommend the book "The Art of Non-war" by Kim Michaels.
I would also recommend the new president to take Mahatma Gandhi as an example to follow and as a truth-bearer for peace.
As one of the souls on this planet I can assure you that most of us do not want war.

Bill, after over 20 yrs. of watching PBS, it's repoters & shows I love you all & look for you to continue revealing the TRUTH.
After hours of reading all these boggs I realize how unarticulate I am but I would like to note that K. Courie's ?? smacked more of a yes/no slanted political survey "assuming" that if you never read the Bible you shouldn't be running for President. Belive in J.C., Budda, Mohamand or the Mysterial Spirit whatever you chose but I want to hear you views on issues conserening all Americans.
Since all of the candiates hold elected Gov. positions I have to "assume" that somewhere in their education they've read 1-The Constition-2-The Bill of Rights &3-Declaration of Independance. Hopefully along the way maybe even the writings of Thomas Paine; Common Sense & The Age of Reason.
I would like to thank the bogger anna for the excepts of Lee Iacocca's book "Where have all the Leaders Gone" He says in plain language exactly the disgust & distust I have for 99% of our bought & paid for Congress. I have just ordered it on line for myself.
Soo many great suggestions for the one book to take to the White House & not to disagee with any I would like to suggst for personal growth & insight--The Road Less Traveled" by M. Scott Peck.

It is apparent that the political situation in the United States has been in crisis for some decades now, with both political parties pandering to the rich and powerful transnational corporations. They maintain power because they are supported by many privileged intellectual elites, who know better, however many of them continually decide to undermine the American public for personal gain. I feel the next president is nothing but a change in the façade of U.S. democracy, because foreign policy is not going to change much. It is only going to change when people rally together and decide to take democracy back, which leads me to the book that our next president should read. I would urge our next president as well as everyone to read “Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy,” by Noam Chomsky. Professor Chomsky argues that the United States is a “failed state” and thus a danger to its own people and the world. It is a history lesson on U.S. foreign policy, and our next president needs to read this, if they do not know already, in order to try to restore America’s influence throughout the whole world.

Don’t know how to limit the selection of Must Read to be President. So many, already suggested, would certainly seem appropriate but I’ll need to add my 2 cents.

1/ YOU CAN’T BE NEUTRAL ON A MOVING TRAIN by Howard Zinn
2/ THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULERS by Amy & David Goodman

Great topic, Bill! Now can we pick out some music for the next prez's iPod?

Though I agree both Lies My Teacher Told Me and Naomi Wolf's End of America are very important books, Debunking 911 Debunking by David Ray Griffin still tops the list. The lies that have got us into this endless "war on terror" have got to be brought out. It's time for people to stop being afraid to confront the fact that criminals are in key components of our government.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking"

NOW...is the time for TRUTH!

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

I think that the book every president of any country should read is 'The Art of Non-war' by Kim Michaels.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

Yes - it is very painful, admitting that the great American experiment with democracy is within a hairsbreadth of failure, largely because the American people are drugged stupid on consumerism & un-reality TV. And the rest of the Western world is not far behind.
What's the proof?
War; ongoing, imminent, & worshipped by the worst of the nihilistic, war-profiteering corporations & their shareholders in a vampiric embrace with the bloated, bullet-riddled bodies of innocent children worldwide...these are the 'evil-doers' the Dubya puppet is really talking about...

The Corporation is king, long live the king...the king is dead, long live the king...

Let me join the many voices that ask the next president to bring Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine" with him/her to the White House.

Let me add my voice to the many who urge the next president to read Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine".

The book that the next president should take to the White House is:
"The Art of Non-war" from Kim Michaels.

Simple.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

9/11 Lies got us into the mess we are in and 9/11 truth will set us free.

I first learned of Blackwater in a Frontline episode which aired quite some time ago; I believe it was the summer of 2005 that "Private Warriors" first aired. While I think it oftimes obfuscating to change the label for a topic of discussion (e.g., Death Tax), it can also be illuminating. I was struck tonight by how we refer to the non-governmental armed forces in Iraq; some are "insurgents" and some are "militias". It latter seems also to apply to Blackwater. "Contractors" is such a general and benign term. I have contractors in my home almost every year, although none that I know of carry a weapon! While it is true that some (many? most?) in this militia are also "mercenaries", they were not referred to by that description either.

From my point of view, there really is no hope for human government ultimately. The imperfections ingrained in the human soul make it inevitably self-destructive. Man continues to rule man to his own injury. That being the case, does not mean we should give up trying to do what is right? The problem is knowing what is right. It is often easier to say what is not right. Although I would never advise anyone to seek office, if they are compeled to, I would advise them to read, after the Bible, 1984 by George Orwell. The world has become so like 1984 it is terrifyingly uncanny. I would add the advice given by the most perfect leader ever: find the truth and the truth will set you free. Do that and you will know what is right.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

This is easy. I think it's the book with the power to end the war on terrorism ... if everyone were to read it: "DeBunking 9/11 DeBunking" by David Ray Griffin

... And thank you, Bill Moyers, for all of the wonderful work you've done through the years.

I would hope that our next president has already heard about

David Ray Griffin's "Debunking 9/11 Debunking".

No one should hold the highest office in the country and not know the truth about 9/11.

"The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War" by Andrew Bacevich

Reading this book (by a conservative, ex-military man no less), showed me for the first time how our country has become an imperial power without anyone ever consulting the American people...

"The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War" by Andrew Bacevich

Reading this book (by a conservative, ex-military man no less), showed me for the first time how our country has become an imperial power without anyone ever consulting the American people...

For the last six years I have been living in China, so I am lucky to have a unique perspective on your question. I expect the next elected president would read (or take with them to read)in no particular order:

John Perkin's "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man"

Howard Zinn's "Passionate Declarations: Essays on War and Justice" or "A Power Governments Cannot Suppress"

Noam Chomsky's "Rethinking Camelot: JFK, the Vietnam War, and US Political Culture"

and lastly,

JRR Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy

"The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War" by Andrew Bacevich

Reading this book (by a conservative, ex-military man no less), showed me for the first time how our country has become an imperial power without anyone ever consulting the American people...

George Orwell's 1984

PEOPLES HISTORY OF US, by Zinn;
SHOCK DOCTRINE, by Naomi Klein;
THE END OF AMERICA, by Naomi Wolf;
LEGACY OF ASHES;
ARSENALS OF FOLLY

I'd like to see the next president bring the book "Americans Who Tell the Truth" by Robert Shetterly to the White House, read it, and give a copy to every staff member.

I recommend the art of non-war by Kim Michaels because it teaches about living the life of oneness instead of us against them or me against the world. All our problems stem from the duality consciousness of separation from God. We are all one in the consciousness of God, and the nature of God is love, joy, peace, bliss, kindness, creative and more. The president should realize this and act accordingly,

Walden, Henry David Thoreau

Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin. Stop the lies.

LIMITS TO GROWTH: THE 30-YEAR UPDATE by Meadows, Randers,and Meadows.

Despite the countless wonders of human ingenuity and imagination, it seems dealing with complexity and taking the long view present two of our largest difficulties. Consequently, I would recommend this remarkable and perspective changing book to the new occupants of the Oval Office. The book's authors realize the necessity of a systems approach to solving global problems and their simple but staggering computer models present a compelling case for swift and wise action toward a more sane and sustainabile future.

Well, gosh, on my yahoo groups, they're urging all the "Truthers" to write in and tell you about the "Debunking" book. Guess you figured that out, huh? Sheeple, they're just such sheeple.

I would recommend "The Secret Government" by Bill Moyers, but you probably know about that one. It certainly applies, however. Second, I would put "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein. Third, "It Can't Happen Here," by Sinclair Lewis. Because guess what? It already has.

Lots of good suggestions. Lies My Teacher Told Me and The World is Flat I have to agree with. I'd have to add one more, though: Integrity, by Egil "Bud" Krogh.

Collapse by Jarod Diamond

I am glad to see numerous suggestions of books about exposing 9/11, about government corruption, and about Peak Oil. The number one book I would want the President to read is about the context for these other issues: Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization by Lester Brown.

"The Art of Non-War" about how not to be at war because war sucks.

Legacy of Ashes: the history of the CIA by Tim Weiner

I would recommend: "DeBunking 9/11 DeBunking" by David Ray Griffin, and "Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein

"World Without Us" by Alan Weisman

Reading list:

- Nickel & Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

- 1984 by George Orwell

- Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips

I also recommend Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine" as far as contemporary history and political-economic analysis. It is stunning.

But I also recommend "Revolutionary Characters" by Gordon S. Wood to clear up some of the misconceptions about our founding history.

Dear Bill Moyers: The book the next president should take to the White House is: "Mark Twain on the Damned Human Race", edited by Janet Smith, first edition 1962. Thank you for your program which tells truth to power and strips away the facade of those who seek to corrupt the system for their own self aggrandizement.
Cordially,
Jeff Schrader

Friedrich Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom"

I would recommend:

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

I have two suggestions.
For our planet: Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn. For our children: Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol.

Reading is crucial to educating ourselves and understanding others. I would suggest that the new president read any book about or by William Wilberforce. Perhaps "Wilberforce: The Nation's Conscience" by Patrick Cormack would be a good starting place. It took more than 20 years but William and others who worked with him were able to get the British Empire to do away with the slave trade.

I WOULD SUGGEST THE NEXT PRESIDENT READ "THE WORLD WITHOUT US" BY ALAN WEISMAN. OUR NEXT LEADER NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO ENVISION HOW THEIR ACTIONS WILL AFFECT OUR WORLD WELL BEYOND HIS OR HER INCUMBANCY.

"The Great Controversy" by Ellen White is a must read.
The End of America by Naomi Klein is optional, but helpful.
Anything by
Leonard Levy about the Constitution.
'What is Patriotism' by A.T. Jones.
Get Neal Katyal on board as soon as possible.

It's ridiculous.
We have people telling us we're the greatest nation in the world, and also killing us in every way.

What's the matter with this situation?

RonPaul2008.com

Peace.
911truth.org

Do your homework.
Find out why they're killing their own people.
NWO
Kill PNAC
Satanists.

Good luck.

The book that the future president should bring into the White House and read is The Creature of Jekyll Island.
This is the story of the Federal Reserve which creates money out of thin air. This is the basis of our economic condition.

Close it down and we can be free again and government can function on a pay as you go.

Ron Paul is right.

Please do read the book "The Art of Non-war." you will get the answer to ALL of your questions if any

I would recommend any future commander in chief to read the Iliad, which has never been matched for its realistic and deeply touching representations of war. In Book XVI, Homer describes Patroclus' slaying of Hector's charioteer, Cebriones:

The throw was not wasted. He hit Hector's
Charioteer, Cebriones, Priam's bastard son,
As he stood there holding the reins. The sharp stone
Caught him right in the forehead, smashing
His brows together and shattering the skull.
So that his eyeballs spurted out and dropped
Into the dirt before his feet. He flipped backward
From the chariot like a diver, and his soul
Dribbled away from his bones. And you,
Patroclus, you, my horseman, mocked him:
"What a spring the man has! Nice dive!
Think of the oysters he could come up with
If he were out at sea, jumping off the boat
In all sorts of weather, to judge by the dive
He just took from his chariot onto the plain."

Patroclus will soon be killed by Hector, who will mock him as well. And then Hector will be killed by Achilles, who will, in turn, mock him. And soon after the events of the Iliad, Achilles will die...

I don't understand why most Americans after polled and believe that 9/11 was not correct, and yet continue to have nothing or no committment to question the "facts" that our government provided us as a pain, which they have basically said, and that everyone should BUY their account of the "facts" on Sept. 11, 2001.

The World has changed, and we need to find out why, instead of lies. What would Jesus do as a Bush Christian? He would kill millions of innocent civilians to declare a lie and the countries oil companies would prosper in the name of the "Almighty."

Satan.

Peace.
Good luck.

RonPaul2008.com

911truth.org

Flexner's biography (all four volumes) of George Washington.

Debunking 911 Debunking, by David Ray Griffin.

an event calculated to transform this nation in a way that satisfied the entire neocon wishlist. This madness has to stop.

The next president should read The Daily Show's "America the Book."

It's farcical satire that deftly lays out just how destroyed our current political system is.

Suggestion: The Art of Non-War by Kim Michaels

"The Wisdom of History", a lecture series by Professor Fears of the teaching company (www.teach12.com).

Prof. Fears discusses how the experience of ancient empires like Rome and Persia have much to teach us about the risks and responsibilities of being a superpower.

I'd love to hear you interview Dr. Fears.

Dear Bill:
What a wonderful challenge! Thank you for it, for all you do for us. Lots of us stand together with you.
I just spent a half-hour reading every entry, and I come away hopeful and heartened in a dark and dismal time.
I recommend one book especially: Jonathan Schell, THE UNCONQUERABLE WORLD: POWER, NONVIOLENCE, AND THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE. It is the most provocative book I've read in ten years. Places the history of the US in the real world around us, and sketches how we might lead into a nonviolent world of peace and justice. A MUST READING FOR A NEW PRESIDENT.
I would also second the calls for Chalmers Johnson's Trilogy, Korten's Great Turning, Naomi Klein's Shock and Griffin's Debunking 9/11 Debunking. All of these should be dog-eared and underlined in the new president's personal library.
Tom Ambrogi
Claremont, CA

David Ray Griffin's Debunking 9/11 Debunking.

I would like for the next president to keep beside her bed and read nightly a chapter from "Tao Te Ching", translated by Stephen Mitchell. Lao-tzu taught a way to live that is both personal and political and admonishes us to accept responsibility and live without harm.

Re book presidential candidates should read:
Bowe, J. (2007). Nobodies: Modern American slave labor and the dark side of the new global economy. New York: Random House.
Details of 3 cases of slavery involving big agriculture, big oil and the awful and sad U.S. territory of Saipan. Where are the vaunted Christian values of the U.S.?

The next President, and all “Americans” should read
The Art of Non-War" by Kim Michaels

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Non-war-Kim-Michaels/dp/097669719X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202000813&sr=8-1

I just finished reading Francis Fukuyama's AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS - DEMOCRACY, POWER, AND THE NEOCONSERVATIVE LEGACY.

Fukuyama calls himselv a neocon but he is a opposite poles to the neocons of the Bush administration. I now understand more fully why the US is in the low esteme of almost all other states in the world. All people in positions of leadership in our government should at lease read the last two chapters. The difference between "solf" and "hard" power in our foreign policy is obvious. I am a progressive democrate but this is one, the only one so far, conservative Republican a can agree with on so many approaches to reaching out to others in this world.

"A People's History of the United States" Howard Zinn and "Secrets" Daniel Ellsberg.

A quick trip through the New Testament wouldn't hurt, just to brush up on what "Christian" might really mean, and "The Illiterate Digest" by Will Rogers just for recognition of how much has changed in the last three quarters of a century.

I think the one book the president should read is:

"Filters Against Folly: How to Survive Despite Economists, Ecologists, and the Merely Eloquent" by Garrett Hardin.

"DeBunking 9/11 DeBunking" David Ray Griffin

The OBVIOUS choice.

Dr. Griffin or Richard Gage would make EXCELLENT guests on your show.

Then if you could find a real engineer or physicist, to *scientifically* attempt to explain, using the official 19 Muslims Conspiracy Theory: How 2 planes destroyed 3 buildings and why the Twin Towers looked like enormous explosions that fell straight down through the path of greatest resistance with debris flying hundreds of feet at 45 degrees upwards/laterally, pulverizing concrete into a fine dust covering Manhattan inches thick, rather than collapsing into a pile of rubble like a buildings failing due to structural failures.

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin

“David Ray Griffin has established himself—alongside Seymour Hersh—as America's number one bearer of unpleasant, yet necessary, public truths.”
— Richard Falk, Professor of International Law, Emeritus, Princeton University

I hope anyone entering the White House will have Thich Nhat Hanh's book, Being Peace.

Mr. Moyers, I suggest that the next U.S. President read "With The Old Breed" by E.B. Sledge, an U.S. Marine sergeant who fought in WWII on Peleliu and on Okinawa. It is the best and most authentic view of the horrors of combat and if this next Commander-in-Chief decides to keep American soldiers at war or send them into a new conflict, that individual should understand the stench, the slime, the smell, the horror of gooey mutilated bodies maimed and killed in the name of freedom. "With The Old Breed" is the most accurate description of combat and a Commander-in-Chief should know and understand these horrors before inflicting them further on American soldiers and citizens of sovereign nations.

Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation by Jonathan Kozol.

I hope that our next president will have an understanding of what it means to live in poverty, violence, and despair. And I hope that he or she will do something about it.

I would recommend that Obama read Exterminate All the Brutes by Sven Lindqvist. A very enjoyable story about European/US colonialism. Very enjoyable. I think Clinton's mind is so thoroughly stuck in the corporatis garbage can that nothing would impact her thinking. The republicans are so stuck in the dark ages that they might attempt one of the Harry Potter books, just to distract themselves from destroying democracy. Democracy comes from an active citizenry, not from politicians with wavy hair and sharp, shining teeth. They have to be kicked hard to remember what they are supposed to be doing.

The book "God is not great: How religion poisons everything" by Christoher Hitchens. A fact-based presentation that clearly illustrates the common denominator of the ills of our civilization, including the tragic events of 9/11, and much more.

I join 12 other commenters in recommending:

Barbara W. Tuchman (1912-1989): "The March of Folly, From Troy to Vietnam" c1985.

The new President needs to understand, as George W. Bush apperently does not, that powerful governments throughout history have demonstrated an almost irresistable inclination to folly, ie, implementing actions contrary to their interest in the face of feasible beneficial alternatives.

Bush has given us textbook examples of folly: 1) Trashing the US Constitition; 2) Preemptive War in Iraq (universally understood as aggression); 3) Denial of Global Warming; 4) Squandering the sympathy of the world after 9/11, and many other examples.

History proves it is almost humanly impossible to wield great power with wisdom. I pray that we will soon start, but I fear that those who seek to lead us are likely incapable of resisting the temptations of absolute power.

My second choice has also been mentioned by many commenters:

Jared Diamond (b.1937): "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" c2005.

The Bush denial of Global Warming reminds me of Diamond's example of the Greenland Norse. These Vikings choose starvation by clinging to thier European Ag traditions as the Little Ice Age came down upon them rather than emulating the Inuit (who they viewed as inferior), whose lifestyle was adapted to the climatic variations of artic.

Hmm, isn't this another example of Tuchman's "The March of Folly"?

Jay Wilson Preston
Charlo, Montana

Many wonderful, excellent suggestions here, but my vote also goes to "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" by David Ray Griffin. The level of denial among the American people about what has obviously happened here, as supported by hundreds of pieces of evidence with only one logical conclusion, is truly alarming. Ignorance and cowardice are abetting the rise of fascist ruling practice, which I know all present here are seriously opposed to. If you want to understand the powers-that-be in the US today, study the Nazis, learn who financed their rise to power, and realize, that which they were capable of, so are the usurping leaders who stem from that same ideological tradition and rule this nation today.

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein.
The new president must understand that economic ideology, ala Milton Friedman is the driving force to privatize government services and gut our national treasures. This is a must read for everyone.

I would hope the new president would read the two monumental books by Chalmers Johnson: The Sorrows of Empire: On Militarism, Secrecy and the End of the Republic and Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic. If these two works aren't sobering enough to keep the president on the side of those trying to save our republic, I don't know what would be!

'Meditations' by Marcus Antonius Aurelius.

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius was perhaps the only true philosopher- king in the history of the world. A very humbling series of thoughts and stoic beliefs that can be practiced by not only the common citizen but also the the most powerful person on earth. I read it daily, sending quotes to our three children who are educators via text messaging. A very calming experience. Every day is a fresh beginning.

I nominate The End of America by Naomi Klein - it's a terrifying but highly important analysis of the Bush/Cheney years.

Dear Mr. or Madam President:
We Americans, as an inseparable part of this small and amazing planet, have an enormous amount of immediate work to do to stop and attempt to repair the damage and destructiveness inflicted on our fellow human beings and the rest of the earth that has resulted from our blind and misguided reactions to defend our many constitutional "freedoms" after 911, ideals that in many respects disenfranchised American citizens have not yet even begun to experience with the rest of American society! No, The real serious threats we now face together--global warming, perpetual wars over oil, water and other resources, and psychological/spiritual ignorance and illness of the heart/mind--has been largely created by our own unquenchable, self-centered thirst for adolescent ideals in the form of material comforts, control, and power, which is clearly reflected in our nation's economic policies and international relations with the rest of the world. So, with respect to learning how to better understand ourselves as human beings--gaining insight into our pusillanimous and self-protectionist tendencies as well as our largely untapped capacities and potentials for enhancing life, love, and liberty--I would recommend one book that may just change your view of life and your relationship to the world. The book is, The Point of Existence: Transformations of Narcissism in Self-Realization, written by A.H. Almaas (Hameed Ali). Good luck and may you find the courage and wisdom to really lead this nation and help to generate much creativity, cooperation, and caring for all beings on this planet, not just for the powerful and the privelaged. Sincerely, John Pitsch

Definitely "Free Lunch," by David Cay Johnston. The divide in America is no longer between the rich and the poor, but between the hyperrich and everyone else. Any President ought to be aware of the severe and far-reaching affects of the lobbying he or she will be surrounded by, and the cost of giving power over to those who can pay, not to all the people.

Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom. It is obviuos that Lyndon Johnson didn't read it when he was in office. The prescriptions offered in it are as timely now as when Dr. Friedman wrote them in the early 60's.

The Collected Works of Thomas Jefferson, the Collected Works of Thomas Paine.
Howard Zinn's "The People's History of the United States 1492 to Present.
That way they would remember the ideals of the most radical of our Founders and have a reminder of our shortcomings.

Dear Mr. or Madam President:
We Americans, as an inseparable part of this small and amazing planet, have an enormous amount of immediate work to do to stop and attempt to repair the damage and destructiveness inflicted on our fellow human beings and the rest of the earth that has resulted from our blind and misguided reactions to defend our many constitutional "freedoms" after 911, ideals that in many respects disenfranchised American citizens have not yet even begun to experience with the rest of American society! No, The real serious threats we now face together--global warming, perpetual wars over oil, water and other resources, and psychological/spiritual ignorance and illness of the heart/mind--has been largely created by our own unquenchable, self-centered thirst for adolescent ideals in the form of material comforts, control, and power, which is clearly reflected in our nation's economic policies and international relations with the rest of the world. So, with respect to learning how to better understand ourselves as human beings--gaining insight into our pusillanimous and self-protectionist tendencies as well as our largely untapped capacities and potentials for enhancing life, love, and liberty--I would recommend one book that may just change your view of life and your relationship to the world. The book is, The Point of Existence: Transformations of Narcissism in Self-Realization, written by A.H. Almaas (Hameed Ali). Good luck and may you find the courage and wisdom to really lead this nation and help to generate much creativity, cooperation, and caring for all beings on this planet, not just for the powerful and the privelaged. Sincerely, John Pitsch

My concern is with the media. It appears that they no longer are upholding their fourth estate status by misleading the public instead of reporting the facts. If Bill Moyers slips into the realm of slack and compromised media I forsee a revolution in America which will no doubt bring about undo suffering. If Bill Moyers is still credible than he cannot deny the most important book would be: Debunking 9/11 Debunking, by David Ray Griffin

"Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin

I think the next president, vice president and congress all need to read "The Shia Revival: How Conflicts in Islam will Shape the Future" by Vali Nasr and "Jerusalem 1913: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict" by Amy Dockser Marcus.

It is important that our leadership takes off its blinders and start understanding the Middle East in a much fuller and deeper fashion and these are two books that allow that gateway to open.

I realize that I was only to recommend one book but the Middle East and the schism in Islam between Sunni and Shia (which affects the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) are too important issues not to recommend these two excellent books.

I went to a library this last weekend and found a copy of “To Seek A Newer World” by Robert F. Kennedy. Published in 1967, it is a collection of essays, letters and speeches Kennedy made while as Attorney General and later Senator. With the endorsement of Barack Obama by the Kennedy family, I picked it up just to peruse a few pages here and there and found myself reading the whole thing. I came away with the notion that Robert Kennedy struggled with being compared to his brother, President Kennedy. The book challenged some of the errors that he saw that were made during the Kennedy Administration. He was his own man with his own ideas and not a clone of his martyred brother. I thought back on it and saw the recent endorsement of Obama by the Kennedy family as missing the point of who and what there brothers were. They were more than just political props. I came away depressed after reading this book because many of issues Kennedy talks about in this book, such war and race and poverty, still exist in our country today. And reminding us that instead of looking to the past for the solutions of our problems we need to look forward, even though we might never get there.

I submit, with great urgency, the essay "World House" by Martin Luther King Jr as something everyone might read, and mandatory reading for the President and Vice President of the United States and anyone running for that office as well. I am so grateful to you, Bill Moyers for the fine work you have done, over all these years, to increase consciousness.

The next president should read Collapse by Jared Diamond. It details past civilizations and why they failed or survived.

"The Places In Between" by Rory Stewart

Anyone who will lead our country and control it's enormous power should read this story of a Scotsman's walk across Afghanistan. It will give the reader serious pause before interfering in the affairs of another culture.

Debunking 911 Debunking, by David Ray Griffin.

It's becoming painfully obvious 911 was an event calculated to transform this nation in a way that satisfied the entire neocon wishlist. This madness has to stop.

I would like the next President to read The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America (wouldn't that be refreshing?) As far as novels, I'd recommend Tragedy & Hope, by Carrol Quigley. That is, assuming our next President is someone who's smart enough to grasp it...

The President I want would combine intelligence with even greater heart. S/he would be able to understand basic physical laws of matter, and have the courage to speak the truth loudly and clearly and passionately.
This book would be read, studied, and profoundly considered:

"Debunking 9/11 Debunking"
by David Ray Griffin