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I'm reading Thy Will Be Done The Conquest of the Amazon: Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil, by Gerard Colby with Charlotte Dennett. It may be one of the most important books I've ever read and I'm learning something new on almost every page. That's the only reason I'm still reading it, as the book is 830 pages long, not including the appendices, footnotes, bibliography, and index, and everything in it is carefully documented. I'm only on page 572.
At the same time, I'm reading Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America, by Elliot Jaspin. It seems that around the time of Abolition, many communities were afraid that African-Americans would become citizens, so they drove them out of their area. Most of these places remain all or totally white today. The author happened to stumble upon this story and was astonished at how widespread this practice was and how little known it is today. When he asked one of the people he interviewed if there were any blacks in that area, the response was, “Oh no, the Klan keeps them out.”
I'm also reading, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, by Jeremy Scahill, which is of particular interest to me, not just because Blackwater has been much in the news of late, but also because they're trying to build a new training camp not far from me.
And I've just started The Sixth Extinction: Journey Among the Lost and Left Behind, by Terry Glavin, who has given us a fascinating account of the unprecedented loss of animals, plants, and human cultures, but manages to hold out hope in what is left.
So what are you reading these days (apart from opednews that is)?
