Prime Reading
=============
Preparation for work that may affect the fate of humanity requires
not just technical studies, but a broad, general background in many
fields, and certain basic skills, to provide a social, philosophic,
and historical perspective.
Basic skills
------------
* Norman Lewis, How to Read Better and Faster, New York: Crowell,
1958, 1990.
* Rudolf F. Flesch, How to Write, Speak and Think More Effectively,
New York: Harper, 1960, 1994.
* Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, New
York: Simon & Schuster, 1972, 1997.
* William Strunk & E.B. White, Elements of Style, New York:
Macmillan, 1979, 1995.
* Joseph D. Novak & D. Bob Gowin, Learning How to Learn, New York:
Cambridge, 1984.
* Wayne A. Wickelgren, How to Solve Problems, San Francisco:
Freeman, 1974.
* David R. Beasley, How to Use a Research Library, New York:
Oxford, 1988.
* Jean Dane, How to Use a Law Library, Sweet & Maxwell.
* Robert A. Day, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper,
Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1988.
The Classics
------------
Read most of the works in the set, A Great Books of the Western World,
in order.
Philosophy and Religion
-----------------------
* The Comparative Study Bible, Grand Rapids: Zonderan, 1984.
* Willis Barnstone, The Other Bible, New York: Harpercollins, 1984.
* Al-Qur'an (Koran), tr. Ahmed Ali, Princeton: Princeton U. Press,
1984.
* Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy, New York:
Simon & Schuster, 1945.
* E.D. Klemke, R. Hollinger & A.D. Kline eds, Introductory Readings
in the Philosophy of Science, Buffalo: Prometheus, 1988.
* S.I. Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action, New York:
Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1978, 1991.
* A.J. Ayer, Language, Truth and Logic, New York: Dover, 1952;
Foundations of Empirical Knowledge, New York: St. Martins, 1969.
* Otto Neurath (Ed.), Rudolf Carnap (Ed.), Charles F. W. Morris
(Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Unified Science, Chicago: U.
Chicago Press, 1955.
* Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be, New Haven: Yale U. Press, 1952.
* D.T. Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism, New York: Grove, 1960.
History, Biography and Futurics
-------------------------------
* A Arnold Toynbee, Study of History, Vol. 1-10 abr. D.C.
Somervell, New York: Oxford, 1947-57.
* Walter Prescott Webb, The Great Frontier, Austin: U. Tex. Press,
1964.
* Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln, New York: Harcourt Brace, 1954,
1989.
* Bertrand de Jouvenel, The Art of Conjecture, New York: Basic
Books, 1967.
Ecology and Arcology
--------------------
* Paul & Anne Ehrlich, The Population Explosion, New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1990.
* Donella Meadows et al., Limits to Growth, New York: Universe
Press, 1972, 1977.
* Garrett De Bell ed, The New Environmental Handbook, San
Francisco: Friends of the Earth, 1980.
* George Dantzig & Thomas Saaty, Compact City, San Francisco:
Freeman, 1973.
* Paolo Soleri, Arcology: The City in the Image of Man, Cambridge:
MIT Press, 1969.
* C.R. Chapman & D. Morrison, Cosmic Catastrophes, New York:
Plenum, 1989.
* E.O. Wilson ed, Biodiversity, Washington, DC: Nat. Acad. Press,
1988.
Government, Law and International Relations
-------------------------------------------
* Clarence Streit, Atlantic Union Now, Washington, DC: Freedom &
Union, 1962.
* Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics among Nations, New York: Knopf, 1967.
* Ephraim London ed, World of Law, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960.
Mathematics and Logic
---------------------
* George Polya, How to Solve It, Princeton: Princeton U. Press,
1945, 1988.
* Rudolf Carnap, Foundations of Logic and Mathematics, Chicago: U.
Chicago Press, 1939.
* Stephen C. Kleene, Mathematical Logic, New York: John Wiley, 1967.
* Martin Davis, Computability and Unsolvability, New York: Dover,
1982.
* Paul Halmos, Naive Set Theory, New York: Springer-Verlag, 1974,
1987, and A Finite-Dimensional Vector Spaces, New York:
Springer-Verlag, 1974.
* William R. Scott, Group Theory, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall,
1964.
* Saunders MacLane & Garrett Birkhoff, Algebra, New York:
Macmillan, 1967.
* Steven A. Gaal, Point-Set Topology, New York: Academic, 1964.
* Michel Gondran & Michel Minoux, Graphs and Algorithms, New York:
Wiley, 1984.
* M.M. Rao, Probability Theory with Applications, New York:
Academic, 1984.
* Robert D. Luce, Games and Decisions, New York: Wiley, 1957.
* David E. Goldberg, Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization and
Machine Learning, Reading: Addison-Wesley, 1989.
* Trenchard More, collected papers on array theory, Cambridge: IBM,
1978-87. Book hopefully being written.
* Donald Gross & Carl M. Harris, Fundamentals of Queueing Theory,
New York: Wiley, 1974.
* Wayne Lee, Experimental Design and Analysis, San Francisco:
Freeman, 1975.
Cybernetics and Information Theory
----------------------------------
* John R. Pierce, An Introduction to Information Theory, New York:
Dover, 1980.
* Donald Knuth, The Art of Computer Programming, Menlo Park, CA:
Addison-Wesley.
* Bernard P. Zeigler, Theory of Modeling and Simulation, New York:
Wiley, 1976.
* Ernest Davis, Representations of Commonsense Knowledge, San
Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann, 1990.
* Patrick Winston, Artificial Intelligence, Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley, 1984, 1992.
* E. Goles, Neural and Automata Networks, Boston: Kluwer Acad.,
1990.
* Judea Pearl, Heuristics: Intelligent Search Strategies for
Computer Problem-Solving, Reading: Addison-Wesley, 1984.
Physics, Cosmology and Electronics
----------------------------------
* H.A. Lorentz, A. Einstein, H. Minkowski & H. Weyl, The Principle
of Relativity, New York: Dover, 1950.
* Richard Feynman, The Theory of Fundamental Processes, New York:
Addison-Wesley, 1961.
* Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Bernard Diu & Franck Laloë, Quantum
Mechanics, A Vol. 1, A Vol. 2, New York: Wiley, 1977.
* H.P. Robertson & Thomas W. Noonan, Relativity and Cosmology,
Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1969.
* C.W. Misner, K.S. Thorne & J.A. Wheeler, Gravitation, San
Francisco: Freeman, 1973.
* Stephen W. Hawking & G.F.R. Ellis, The Large-Scale Structure of
Space-Time, New York: Cambridge, 1973.
* M.B. Green, J.H. Schwarz & E. Witten, Superstring Theory, New
York: Cambridge, Vol 1&2 1987, Vol 3 1990.
* Richard E. Sonntag, Introduction to Thermodynamics: Classical and
Statistical, New York: Wiley, 1982.
* D.K. Arrowsmith & C.M. Place, An Introduction to Dynamical
Systems, New York: Cambridge, 1990.
* David Pines, The Many-Body Problem, New York: W.A. Benjamin, 1962.
* Vladimir Z. Kresin, Fundamentals of Superconductivity, New York:
Plenum, 1990.
Molecular Physics, Chemistry and Biology
----------------------------------------
* Theodore Buyana, Molecular Physics, New York: World Scientific,
1992.
* Geoffrey C. Maitland et al., Intermolecular Forces, New York:
Oxford, 1981.
* Forrest Carter ed, Molecular Electronic Devices, New York: Marcel
Dekker, A I 1982, A II 1987.
* David L. Beveridge & William L. Jorgensen eds, Computer
Simulation of Chemical and Biomolecular Systems, New York: NY Acad.
Sci., 1986.
* Reed & Kirk ed, Nanostructure Physics and Fabrication, New York:
Academic, 1989.
* F.D. Warner et al., Cell Movement, A Vol. 1, A Vol. 2, New York:
Wiley-Liss, 1989.
* Heinrich, Bauer & Kuchar ed, Physics and Technology of Submicron
Structures, New York: Springer, 1988.
Technology and Space
--------------------
* K. Eric Drexler, Engines of Creation, New York: Anchor/Doubleday,
1986.
* Gerard K. O'Neill, The High Frontier, New York: Morrow, 1977,
1989.
Economics, Management, Society and Cognition
--------------------------------------------
* Everett M. Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, New York: Free
Press, 1983.
* Leo Schneiderman, The Psychology of Social Change, New York:
Human Sci. Press, 1988.
* Fred Hirsch, Social Limits to Growth, Cambridge: Harvard U.
Press, 1976.
* Paul Samuelson, Foundations of Economic Analysis, Cambridge:
Harvard U. Press, 1983.
* Nicholas Georgescu-Roegan, The Entropy Law and the Economic
Process, Cambridge: Harvard U. Press, 1971, 1978.
* Michael I. Posner, Foundations of Cognitive Science, Cambridge:
MIT Press, 1989.
Corruption and Political Dysfunction
------------------------------------
* Rodney Stich, Defrauding America, 1994, Diablo Western Press,
Inc., PO Box 5, Alamo, CA 94507, 800- 247-7389, $27.25 Ppd. Insider
exposes massive federal corruption, corporate raiding, looting of
savings and loans, drug smuggling, bankruptcy fraud, coverups of
safety violations, and JFK assassination, particularly involving
CIA and Justice Department.
* Terry Reed & John Cummings, Compromised: Clinton, Bush and the
CIA, 1994, Shapolsky Publishers Inc, 136 W 22nd St, New York, NY
10011, 212/633-2022. Details of corruption involving the CIA, Bush
and Clinton.
* William Greider, Who Will Tell the People: The Betrayal of
American Democracy, 1992, Simon & Schuster. Describes faltering of
the political process.
* Donald L. Bartlett & James B. Steele, America: What Went Wrong?,
1992, Andrews & McMeel, 4900 Main St, Kansas City, MO 64112.
Superficial, but some useful points.
* Gary H. Kah, En Route to Global Occupation, 1992, Huntington
House Publishers, POB 53788, Lafayette, LA 70505. Superficial, but
examines the global level.
Abuses of Constitution, Civil Rights
------------------------------------
* James Bovard, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty,
1994, St. Martin's Press, New York. Survey of official abuses, but
neglects corporate abuses and the ultimate causes and solutions to
both.
* Eugene Schroder, Constitution: Fact or Fiction, 1995, PO Box 89,
Campo, CO 81029, 719/787-9958, $14.95. Exposition of Emergency
Rule, established March 9, 1933, which continues to this day.
* Walter Karp, Liberty Under Siege, 1993, Franklin Square, New
York. Survey of some of the more obvious erosions of
constitutional rights, but superficial treatment of the causes.
* Ron Cole, Sinister Twilight: A Tragedy Near Waco, and a Sinister
Twilight in America, 1993, Unlimited Thought Bookstore, 5525 Blanco
Rd. #112, San Antonio, TX 78216, $15.00 Ppd.
* Jack DeVault, The Waco Whitewash, 1994. Rescue Press, 8048
Midcrown #11, San Antonio, TX 78218, $20.00 Ppd. Abuses by the
federal judicial system.
* Bud & Ruth Schultz, It Did Happen Here: Recollections of
Political Repression in America, 1989, U. Of California Press,
Berkeley.
* Morton Halperin et al., The Lawless State: The Crimes of U.S.
Intelligence Agencies, 1976, Penguin, New York. Survey of results
of Church Committee Report and similar abuses.
* Frank J. Donner, The Age of Surveillance: The Aims and Methods of
America's Political Intelligence System, 1980, Knopf, New York.
* Martin Cannon, The Controllers: Mind Control and Its Role in the
'Alien' Abduction Phenomenon, 1990, 1996, 8211 Owensmouth Av #206,
Canoga Park, CA 91304. $6.00. Survey of mind-control
experimentation by U.S. Government.
* Julianne McKinney, Microwave Harassment & Mind- Control
Experimentation, Electronic Surveillance Project, Association of
National Security Alumni, PO Box 13625, Silver Spring, MD
20911-3625, 301/608- 0143. $5.00. Exposé of mind-control
experimentation by insider.
* James M. Collier & Kenneth F. Collier, Votescam: the Stealing of
America, 1992, Victoria House Press, 67 Wall St #2411, New York, NY
10005. $10.00. Report of investigations of how computerized
elections are rigged. A manual for investigating vote fraud.
* Gerry Spence, With Justice for None, 1989, Penguin, New York.
Abuses of the legal system.
Coverups and Secret Government
------------------------------
* Anthony C. Sutton, America's Secret Establishment: An
Introduction to the Order of Skull & Bones, 1986, Liberty House
Press, 2027 Iris, Billings, MT 59102. Traces historical roots of
major members of U.S. branch of Shadow Government, but doesn't
cover decision- making structure.
* John Coleman, Conspirators' Hierarchy: The Committee of Three
Hundred, 1992, America West Publishers, PO Box 2208, Carson City,
NV 89702. Introduces major players in global Shadow Government, but
lacks substantiation and may have misread the roles of some of
them. Makes case that rule is by 300 major families, a third of
them British. Traces their control of almost every sector of
society, and shows that much of their money comes from control of
drug market, going back to China opium trade. But doesn't cover
present executive structure.
* Burton Hersh, Old Boys : The American Elite and the Origins of
the CIA, 1992, Scribners, New York. Traces the emergence of the CIA
as executor of objectives of the ruling elite and examines their
deficiencies.
* Loch K. Johnson, America's Secret Power: the CIA in a democratic
society, 1989, Oxford, New York A sanitized depictionof this agency.
* Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, The CIA and American Democracy, 1989,
Yale, New Haven. A sanitized depiction of this agency.
* L. Fletcher Prouty, JFK, the CIA, Vietnam and the Plot to
Assassinate John F. Kennedy, 1992, Birch Lane, New York A; Secret
Team : The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and
the World, Institute for Historical Review. A JFK assassination as
government plot.
* Gaeton Fonzi, The Last Investigation, 1993, Thunder's Mouth, New
York. Commentary on House investigation which concluded JFK
assassination was a conspiracy.
* Bill Moyers, The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis,
1988, 1990, Seven Locks Press, PO Box 27, Cabin John, MD 20818,
310/320-2130. Discusses what came out of the Watergate and
Iran-Contra scandals. Eloquent indictment, but no new revelations.
* William Greider, Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve
Runs the Country, 1987, Simon & Schuster, New York. Describes the
consequences of 1980 financial deregulation, which lays the basis
for what is discussed by Rodney Stich.
* Gary Sick, October Surprise, 1991, I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 110
Gloucester Av, London NW18JA. Exposes deal to give Iran arms to
keep hostages long enough to defeat Carter in 1980 election.
* Donald Axelrod, Shadow Government: the hidden world of public
authorities and how they control $1 trillion dollars of your money,
1992, Wiley, New York. Identifies how such public authorities
function as a part of the Shadow Government.
* Timothy Good, Above Top Secret: The Worldwide UFO Cover-up, 1988,
W. Morrow, New York A; Alien Contact: Top-Secret UFO Files
Revealed, 1993, W. Morrow, New York. A Raises important question:
If these things are real, how are they affecting government: both
visible and invisible.
Constitutional Principles
-------------------------
* James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention, 1840.
The definitive record of the proceedings of the Constitutional
Convention of 1787.
* James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, The Federalist.
Explanation of the proposed Constitution and arguments for adopting
it.
* Bernard Schwartz, The Roots of the Bill of Rights, 1980, Chelsea
House, New York. Includes much of debate needed to interpret
Framers' intent.
* Merrill D. Peterson, ed., The Portable Thomas Jefferson, 1975,
Penguin, New York. Major writings, especially his commentaries on
the Constitution and its foundations.
* Ernest Barker, ed., Social Contract, 1960, Oxford U. Press,
London. Contains essays: John Locke, An Essay Concerning the True
Original, Extent, and End of Civil Government; David Hume, Of the
Original Contract; Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract.
These are the definitive treatises that lay the theoretical basis
for republican government, and without which the Constitution
cannot be fully understood.
* Leonard W. Levy, Original Intent and the Framers' Constitution,
1988, Macmillan, New York. Scholar examines "original intent"
doctrine and its alternatives.
* Stephen P. Halbrook, That Every Man Be Armed, 1984, Independent
Institute, 134 98th Av, Oakland, CA 94603. Traces legal foundations
of right to keep and bear arms and shows how it is fundamental to
all other rights.
* Clarence Streit, Atlantic Union Now, 1962, Freedom & Union Press,
Washington, DC. Excellent analysis of how a federal constitution
must be designed to be viable and effective.
* Jeffrey Abramson, We, the Jury: The Jury System and the Ideal of
Democracy, 1994, BasicBooks, New York. Good treatment of some of
the key issues involving the jury system, including jury
nullification, and how it has been perverted from its orginal form.
* Friedrich A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty, 1960, U. of
Chicago Press, Chicago. Examines conflicting political philosophies
and their impacts on ideal constitutional governance.
* Walter Berns, Taking the Constitution Seriously, 1987, Madison
Books, Lanham, MD. Makes case for returning to strict construction
and compliance, but neglects rights to keep and bear arms and to
assemble as independent militias.
* William R. Tonso, The Gun Culture and its Enemies, 1990, Second
Amendment Foundation, James Madison Building, 12500 N.E. Tenth
Place, Bellevue, WA 98005.
Solutions
---------
* Morgan Norval, The Militia in 20th Century America: A Symposium,
1985 A; Larry Pratt, Safeguarding Liberty: The Constitution and
Citizens Militias, 1995. A Gun Owners Foundation, 5881 Leesburg
Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041. Discusses the major factor missing
from the political order that might make a difference.
* Martin Gross, A Call for Revolution, 1993, Ballantine, New York.
Superficial, and misses much that is needed, but hits some useful
points.
* Senator Steve Symms & Larry Grupp, The Citizen's Guide to
Fighting Government, 1994, Jameson Books, Inc., PO Box 738, Ottawa,
IL 61350. Handbook on political action.
Investigation and Expose
------------------------
* Michael McNulty, William Gazecki, Dan Gifford, Waco: The Rules of
Engagement, 1997, SomFord Entertainment, VHS tape. Documentary
footage exposing the lies of the government concerning the events
at Mt.Carmel in 1993.
* Cover-up in Oklahoma, VHS tape. Documentary footage indicating
government complicity in the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995.
* Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Secret Life of Bill Clinton : The
Unreported Stories, 1997, Regnery Publishing. Expose of government
complicity in the Oklahoma City bombing, in the Vince Foster death,
and in drug smuggling into Arkansas. Author was an investigative
reporter for the London Sunday Telegraph, and chief of their
Washington bureau, when he wrote it.
* A David Hoffman, The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of
Terror, 1998, Feral House Pr. Expose of the Oklahoma City bombing.
* Christopher Ruddy, The Strange Death of Vincent Foster : An
Investigation, 1997, Free Press. Expose of the death of Vincent
Foster, indicating that it was murder.
* David B. Kopel, Paul H. Blackman, No More Wacos : What's Wrong
With Federal Law Enforcement and How to Fix It, 1997, Prometheus
Books. Excellent discussion of the ways the federal government is
exceeding its constitutional powers.
* R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., and "Anonymous", The Impeachment of
William Jefferson Clinton : A Political Docu-Drama, 1997, Regnery
Publishing. Presents argument and scenario for impeachment of the
president.
* Coulter, Ann, High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill
Clinton, 1998, Regnery Publishing. Presents argument for
impeachment of the president.
* McDougal, Jim, Arkansas Mischief : The Birth of a National
Scandal, 1998, Henry Holt & Company. This is the book the author
was probably killed to prevent the publishing of.
* Angus MacKenzie, Secrets : The CIA's War at Home, 1997, Univ.
California Press.
* James Sanders, The Downing of Twa Flight 800, 1997, Zebra Books.
Expose of the incident. The author and his wife were recently
arrested under circumstances that suggest the government is not
happy with the book.
* Michael Levine, Deep Cover, 1991, Dell Pub Co. Expose of
corruption within the DEA and CIA by a former top DEA agent.
* Michael Levine, Laura Kavanau, The Big White Lie : The Deep Cover
Operation That Exposed the CIA Sabotage of the Drug War : An
Undercover Odyssey, 1994, Thunder's Mouth Pr. Expose of complicity
of U.S. government agencies in the spread of narcotics.
* Michael Levine, Laura Kavanau, Triangle of Death, 1997, Dell Pub
Co. Novel that is more like a documentary of U.S. government
criminality.
* Quigley, Carroll, Tragedy and Hope, 1975, Gsg & Assoc. Exposes
the Anglo American Establishment.
* Quigley, Carroll, Anglo American Establishment, 1981, Gsg &
Assoc. Further exposes the Anglo American Establishment.
* Quigley, Carroll, The Evolution of Civilizations, 1975, Liberty
Fund. Provides a coherent exposition of how civilizations develop.
* Halbrook, Stephen P., Freedmen, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the
Right to Bear Arms, 1866-1876, 1998, Praeger.
* Lott, John R., More Guns, Less Crime : Understanding Crime and
Gun-Control Laws, 1998, Univ. of Chicago Pr.
* Kleck, Gary, Point Blank : Guns and Violence in America, 1991,
Aldine De Gruyter.
* Kleck, Gary; Kates, Don B., Jr., The Great American Gun Debate :
Essays on Firearms & Violence, 1997, Pacific Research Inst for
Public Policy.
* Kleck, Gary, Targeting Guns : Firearms and Their Control, 1997,
Aldine De Gruyter.
* B Jacobs, David, The Threat : Alien Agenda, 1998, Simon &
Schuster. Analysis of reports from many abductees that build a
picture of what the aliens may be trying to do.
* Col. Philip Corso (ret.), with William J. Birnes, The Day After
Roswell, 1997, New York, Simon & Schuster.
* Kenn Thomas & Jim Keith, The Octopus: Secret Government and the
Death of Danny Casolaro, 1996, Feral House, Portland, OR, $19.95
hardback.
* Michele Moore, Oklahoma City: Day One, 1996, The Harvest Trust,
Eagar, AZ, $29.95 paperback.
* M. Wesley Swearingen, FBI Secrets: An Agent's Expose, 1994, South
End Press, Boston, MA, $13.00 paperback.
* Tyrone Powers, Eyes to My Soul: The Rise or Decline of a Black
FBI Agent, 1996, Majority Pr.
* Jonathan Karl, The Right to Bear Arms: The Rise of America's New
Militias, 1995, HarperCollins, New York, $5.99 paperback.
* Paul Craig Roberts, Lawrence M. Stratton, The Tyranny of Good
Intentions : How Prosecutors and Bureaucrats Are Trampling the
Constitution in the Name of Justice, 2000, Prima Publishing, $19.96
hardcover.
* Charlotte Thompson Iserbyt, The Deliberate Dumbing Down of
America - A Chronological Paper Trail, 1999, Conscience Pr., $39.95
paperback.
Political Science and Constitutional Commentary
-----------------------------------------------
* Antonin Scalia, Amy Gutmann (Ed.), A Matter of Interpretation,
1998, Princeton Univ Pr. Speech by Supreme Court Justice Scalia on
the principles and issues of constitutional interpretation,
followed by comments by several scholars, followed by Scalia's
rebuttals.
* David Boaz (Ed.), The Libertarian Reader : Classic and
Contemporary Writings from Lao-Tzu to Milton Friedman, 1997, Free
Pr. Anthology of key writings.
* Mansfield, Harvey C., Jr., America's Constitutional Soul, 1993,
Johns Hopkins Univ Pr. Essays on the natural law foundations of
constitutionalism and what is needed to return to constitutional
compliance.
* Levy, Leonard W., Original Intent and the Framers' Constitution,
1988, Macmillan. Analysis of original intent and the ways lawyers
and judges, and especially the Supreme Court, distort and
misunderstand history in interpreting the Constitution.
* Bradford, M.E., Original Intentions: On the Making and
Ratification of the United States Constitution, 1993, U. Georgia
Pr. Brief commentary and historical analysis.
* Daniel Sisson, The American Revolution of 1800, 1974, Alfred A.
Knopf. Preface by Harvey Wheeler. The victory of the Jeffersonians
over the Federalists settled constitutional interpretation for the
next 20 years.
* McDonald, Forrest, E Pluribus Unum, 1979, Liberty Fund. History
and commentary on the formation of the American Union.
* McDonald, Forrest, A Constitutional History of the United States,
1986. History and commentary on the formation of the American Union.
* McDonald, Forrest, Novus Ordo Seclorum : The Intellectual Origins
of the Constitution, 1986, Univ Pr of Kansas. Survey of the
writings and ideas on which the Constitution was founded.
* McDonald, Forrest, We the People : The Economic Origins of the
Constitution, 1992, Transaction Pub. Economic factors affecting the
founding of the Constitution.
* Bailyn, Bernard, The Ideological Origins of the American
Revolution, 1992, Belknap Pr. Survey of the writings and ideas on
which the Constitution was founded.
* Rosen, Gary, American Compact: James Madison and the Problem of
Founding, 1999, Univ Pr of Kansas. Examines the thought of Madison
in detail.
* Banning, Lance, The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the
Founding of the Federal Republic, 1998, Cornell Univ Pr. Analyzes
Madison's ideas and how they relate to constitutional
interpretation.
* Banning, Lance, Jeffersonian Persuasion : Evolution of a Party
Ideology, 1980, Cornell Univ Pr. Traces the development of
Jeffersonian interpretative doctrine.
* McNamara, Joseph S., Roche, Lissa, eds., Still the Law of the
Land?, 1987, Hillsdale College Pr. Essays on changing
interpretations of the Constitution.
* McLean, Edward B., Derailing the Constitution: The Undermining of
American Federalism, 1995, Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
Essays on the ways the Constitution is being misinterpreted.
* Arkes, Hadley, The Return of George Sutherland: Restoring a
Jurisprudence of Natural Rights, 1997, Princeton Univ Pr. Biography
and analysis of the opinions of perhaps the leading Supreme Court
Justice to resist the New Deal usurpations.
* Randy E. Barnett, Rights Retained by the People: The History and
Meaning of the Ninth Amendment. Provides excellent guide to what
else the Founders intended to include in the rights protected by
the Constitution. Vol. 1, 1990, Univ Pub Assoc. Vol. 2, 1993,
George Mason Univ Pr.
* Strauss, Leo, Natural Right and History, 1965, Univ of Chicago
Pr. Historical and philosophical analysis of natural law theory.
* George, Robert P., ed., Natural Law Theory : Contemporary Essays,
1995, Clarendon Pr. Commentary on natural law theory.
* Rakove, Jack N., The Beginnings of National Politics : An
Interpretive History of the Continental Congress, 1982, Johns
Hopkins Univ Pr. Analysis and documentation concerning
constitutional interpretation.
* Rakove, Jack N., Interpreting the Constitution : The Debate over
Original Intent, 1990, Northeastern Univ Pr. Analysis and
documentation concerning constitutional interpretation.
* B Rakove, Jack N., Original Meanings : Politics and Ideas in the
Making of the Constitution, 1997, Vintage Books. Analysis and
documentation concerning constitutional interpretation.
* Rakove, Jack N., Declaring Rights : A Brief History With
Documents, 1997, Bedford Books. Analysis and documentation
concerning constitutional interpretation.
* Michael Kammen, The Origins of the American Constitution : A
Documentary History, 1986, Penguin USA. Key selections from
constitutional plans, private correspondence of the Founders, and
Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers.
* Alan Ehrenhalt , The United States of Ambition: Politicians,
Power, and the Pursuit of Office, 1992, Times Books. Argues that
candidates for public office are increasingly self-nominated,
full-time professional politicians, who have the ambition, time,
skills, and other resources to win and retain elective office, but
frequently lack other qualities that are needed in our legislative
and executive institutions in order for them to function
effectively as formulators of coherent public policies.
* Johannes Althusius, Frederick Smith Carney, (ed. & tr.),
Politica, 1995, Liberty Fund. Originally published in Latin in
1603, and revised in 1614, it first presented a comprehensive
theory of federal republicanism based on a covenantal model of
human society.
* John C. Calhoun, Ross M. Lence, (ed.), Union and Liberty : The
Political Philosophy of John C. Calhoun, 1992, Liberty Fund.
Includes "A Disquisition on Government" and "A Discourse on the
Constitution and Government of the United States". Developed the
doctrines of concurrent majority, interposition, nullification, and
state secession, to correct what he perceived as a defect in the
design of the Constitution that permits a persistent majority to
dominate all three branches of government and legislate against the
interests of a minority to the point where they would consider
their rights violated.
* Hobbes, Thomas, Man and Citizen : De Homine and De Cive, 1991,
Hackett Pub Co. Expositions of Hobbes' moral and political
philosophy, better in many ways than Leviathan.
* Beccaria, Cesare, On Crimes and Punishments, 1992, Branden Pub
Co. Essay on criminal law and penal reform.
* Bentham, Jeremy, The Principles of Morals and Legislation, 1988,
Prometheus Books. Develops doctrine of utilitarianism and applies
it to government.
* Spinoza, Benedict de (Baruch), Theologico-Political Treatise :
Political Treatise, 1951, Dover Pubns. Lays political theory on
basis of morality and natural law.
* Pufendorf, Samuel, On the Duty of Man and Citizen According to
Natural Law, 1991, Cambridge Univ Pr.
* Vattel, Emmerich de, Law of Nations, 1975, AMS Pr.
* Lolme, Jean Louis de, The Rise and Progress of the Constitution
of England, 1979, Ayer Co Pub.
* Axelrod, Robert, The Complexity of Cooperation : Agent-Based
Models of Competition and Collaboration, 1997, Princeton Univ Pr.
* Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Frederick Watkins (ed.) Political
Writings, 1986, Univ of Wisconsin Pr. Contains the Social Contract,
Considerations on the Government of Poland, and Constitutional
Project for Corsica.
* Lehman, Godfrey D., We the Jury : The Impact of Jurors on Our
Basic Freedoms : Great Jury Trials of History, 1997, Prometheus.
Landmark cases in which the jury played the starring role.
* Lehman, Godfrey D., The Ordeal of Edward Bushell, 1988, Lexicon.
A fictionalized rendition of Bushell's Case, in which Edward
Bushell, by holding out against intense pressure to convict William
Penn on a charge of preaching in a way not authorized by the Church
of England, established both the power and role of the jury and the
right of free exercise of religion. Available from America's Legal
Bookstore, 725 J St, Sacramento, CA 95814, 916/441-0410.
* Heinlein, Robert A., Take Back Your Government! : A Practical
Handbook for the Private Citizen Who Wants Democracy to Work, 1992,
Baen Books. The master of science fiction also wrote a handbook for
political activists.
History and Biography
---------------------
* Joseph J. Ellis, American Sphinx : The Character of Thomas
Jefferson, 1997, Knopf. Winner of the 1997 National Book Award for
non-fiction. Excellent examination of Thomas Jefferson as a man
and political philosopher, and why he commands such an influence
over political discourse in the United States after 200 years.
* Thomas P. Slaughter, The Whiskey Rebellion : Frontier Epilogue to
the American Revolution, 1988, Oxford Univ Press. History and
significance of a tax rebellion in Western Pennsylvania in 1794
that was crushed by federal troops under the orders of George
Washington.
* David P. Szatmary, Shay's Rebellion : The Making of an Agrarian
Insurrection, 1984, Univ of Massachusetts Pr. History and
significance of the debtor rebellion in Western Massachusetts from
August 1786 to February 1787 that frightened American leaders into
planning for a stronger central government and calling the
Constitutional Convention.
* Henry S. Commager, Milton Cantor (Eds.), Documents of American
History, 1988, Prentice Hall. Fairly complete collection. Good
resource for the historian. Vol. 1, To 1898 Vol. 2, Since 1898
* Rosenfeld, Richard, American Aurora : A Democratic-Republican
Returns, 1997, St Martins Pr. Tells the story of the struggle
between the Hamiltonian federalists and the Jeffersonian democrats
in the first years of the United States, from the viewpoint of the
grandson of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Bache, the publisher of the
Philadelphia Aurora, the newspaper that provoked the passage of the
Sedition Act, under which its publisher was prosecuted, and which
is credited with the election of Jefferson in 1800.
* McDonald, Forrest, The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, 1987, Univ
Pr of Kansas. History of the Jefferson presidency.
Cautionary Fiction
------------------
* Ross, John, Unintended Consequences, 1996, Accurate Pr. Traces
the progress from restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms
to a police state.
* Preston, Richard, The Cobra Event, 1997, Random House. This is
the novel that scared President Bill Clinton. Provides a realistic
portrayal of a biological terrorist attack on the United States.
Recovery and Personal Development
---------------------------------
* Huffer, Karin, Overcoming the Devastation of Legal Abuse
Syndrome, 1995, Fulkort Pr. For victims of legal abuse and the
social isolation such victims often experience.
* Doman, Glenn and Janet, How to Teach Your Baby to Read, 1994,
Avery Pub Group. Instructions on how to teach infants before age
two.
* Doman, Glenn and Janet, How to Teach Your Baby Math, 1993, Avery
Pub Group. Instructions on how to teach infants before age two.
* Doman, Glenn and Janet, How to Multiply Your Baby's Intelligence,
1994, Avery Pub Group. Instructions on how to teach infants before
age two.
* Doman, Glenn and Janet, Susan Aisen, How to Give Your Baby
Encyclopedic Knowledge, 1994, Avery Pub Group. Instructions on how
to teach infants before age two.
From:
Prime Reading
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https://web.archive.org/web/20130521192645/
http://constitution.org/primread.htm>
Readings on Corruption, Conspiracy, and Constitutional Principles
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https://web.archive.org/web/20130202125316/
http://constitution.org/readlst1.htm>
Reading list 2
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https://web.archive.org/web/20130401202815/
http://www.constitution.org/readlst2.htm>
