Info - First published in 1973, Small Is Beautiful brought Schumacher's critiques of Western economics to a wider audience during the 1973 energy crisis and emergence of globalization. The Times Literary Supplement ranked Small Is Beautiful among the 100 most influential books published since World War II. A further edition with commentaries was published in 1999.
Some very interesting chapters in this book, it always amazes me how people can formulate such concise and detailed studies. Some really innovative ideas in the book, clearly well ahead of his time. However, some of this book is a bit too 'preachy' and I'll probably appreciate it more when I read it a few years from now. I'm an Economics boff, so have to read a lot of these things.
Info - This concise, accessible introduction provides an analytical narrative of the main events and developments in Soviet Russia between 1917 and 1936. It examines the impact of the revolution on society as a whole--on different classes, ethnic groups, the army, men and women, youth.
After exams I was still considering whether or not doing History was a good idea, more to the point, I didn't really think studying Russia would be interesting. After reading this book, I can't wait for History next year. It's a far more complex part of history than I appreciated. Also, I'll be ahead of the game ;)
Pretty self-explanatory, I just found out I read the 'out-dated' version and there is an updated version out there! How annoying! Still a very good read, and I think reading about Socialism or reading work from Socialist Writers is the best way to learn about our current situation. This book is almost 'aggressive' yet at it's heart remains diplomatic. I still have some chapters left to read but I wanted to move on to Russia again, so I'll have to come back to this one. The most interesting thing about the book is what he has to say about the 'Black Woman' who in his eyes suffers the most oppression in a capitalist patriarchal and racist America. (Of the 1980s). Of course this was pre-Obama, but that doesn't really change much.
The author traces the evolution of the Soviet political system from its origins in 1917 to the present day. He shows how power has rarely been devolved outside a particularly tightly-knit ruling elite. Special emphasis is placed on the experience of the peasantry, urban workers and professionals.
I've never been 'glued' to a book like this before, he makes everything really interesting and goes into far more detail than the book I read about the revolution. I'm not reading all of this, just select chapters but it's a nice read.
Books yet to Read
No comments:
Post a Comment