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[Poll] What are your favorite leftist books?
(hexbear.net)
"Blackshirts and Reds" by Michael Parenti
Yes, no question about it. It was my eye opener, the book that manifested itself as my safety vest, as I plunged into the world of left politics.
Basically Michael Parenti is John the Baptist and he babtised me.
The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin.
Pretty typical, but I really have to say Capital, Volume 1. It's genuinely strong from a literary perspective while also being one of the most important works of all time.
"The Wretched of the Earth" by Frantz Fanon
Debt: The First 5000 Years, Graeber
I think this is a good entry point for a non-committed lib (aka the majority of people I run into) for critiquing and dismantling what seems like a permanent fixture in our society. It isn't hard to read or particularly bleak. I find it's the book I recommend the most at parties (though I'd say my uptake is around 10%)
I would say this is the book that took me from somewhat well read, well meaning liberal that supported welfare and the New Deal and what not to full fledged leftist. It's a bit of a doorstopper, but it's so good. Bullshit Jobs might be better for a more casual liberal, if nothing else because it's shorter, but it also speaks in more readily observable terms rather than the more academic feel of Debt.
"Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paolo Freire
Orientalism by Edward Said
Personally I loved reading "The Peasant War in Germany" by Frederick Engels, because 1) it is a complete work which explores its topic thoroughly, 2) it presents a coherent argument that actually persuaded me with evidence, and 3) of all the books on the subject, Engels' was actually the best and most helpful for understanding things. Really busts the myth that "religions cause wars" by exploring how religion is mostly just an excuse people use for underlying economic reasons that really drive their behaviors.
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1850/peasant-war-germany/
Human Rights in the Soviet Union, by Albert Szymanski
God damn, this thread is like a greatest hits album, and someone already posted Blackshirts and Reds so, uhhhh...
Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
Reform or Revolution by Rosa Luxemburg.
"American Exception: Empire and the Deep State" by Aaron Good
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Socialism: Utopian and Scientific is a really incredible introductory work for Marxism, at least if you have certain inclinations like an interest in the history of philosophy.
I'm surprised at the major titles that haven't been mentioned yet. the State of the thread is concerning And merits Rev iew.
Patriots, Traitors and Empires: The story of Korea's fight for freedom
I love this book since it talks about Korea's history and how the DPRK fought for their self determination while SK was born as a puppet state from the US.
The New Testament
Not a title, but a collection of Lu Xun's works/short stories (all fiction, my favorite is Diary of a Madman).
E: just read the rules, deleting/adjusting what I said
I found it on Marxists.org under the title madman's diary, fun read!
(Anyone who's overly literal minded like me, it can be worth looking up an analysis of the story, too. I could tell generally what it was getting at but made one or two leaps of logic too far and landed on a more narrow interpretation)
I always mix up the title like that lol, yeah it's Madman's diary.
Shanghai Foxtrot by Mu Shiying is another really interesting one, though the writing is more experimental. I'm a fan of May Fourth movement writers lol.
this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2025
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