• *When Corporations Rule the World by David Korten. Very thorough, well-reasoned, and readable analysis of the global corporate and financial system from an insider in the financial world. Read This!

• *The Case Against the Global Economy, and for a Turn Toward the Local Jerry Mander, ed. Diverse collection of essays by leading activists around the world. Superb. OR *Corporations Are Gonna Get Your Mama K. Danaher ed. A similar, but shorter sampler, focused on the U.S.

• Panic Rules Robin Hahnel. An brief introduction to the global economy and its institutions, including; the WTO, IMF & World Bank.

• *Sam Smith's Great American Political Repair Manual Sam Smith. Self-descriptive. Highly recommended.

• America: What Went Wrong? & America: Who Stole the Dream Don Barlett and James Steele expand on their Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles detailing the capture of government by money and the favoring of wealthy and corporate interests over all others.

History

• A People’s History of the United States Howard Zinn tells American history from the perspective of average citizens, rather than those in positions of power.

Community, Development, Independent Business

• The Hometown Advantage: How to Defend Your Main Street Against Chains Stores... and Why it Matters Stacy Mitchell. Recommended to anyone concerned about the preservation of Main Streets and independent businesses in America.

• Going Local Michael Shuman looks at the alternatives to community dependence on outside corporations. Excellent resource section.

• Changing Places by Richard Moe & Carter Wilkie, & Home From Nowhere by J.H. Kunstler are recommended explorations of community, sprawl, homogenization and community-centered alternatives.

• America: What Went Wrong? Bartlett and Steele. The authors expand on their pulitzer prize-winning series of articles on the destructive impacts of global corporatization.

Education

• Schools Our Children Deserve, Education Inc. & What to Look For in a Classroom Alfie Kohn, ed. The first title covers the dangers posed by high-stakes testing schemes and their pushers. The latter two are collections of short essays. Education Inc. compiles many writers and is directly focused on corporate influence. Classroom collects Kohn’s essays on numerous educational issues. Outstanding.

• Giving Kids the Business Alex Molnar examines the corporate push to commercialize our schools. Scattered, but a useful exploration of the topic.

Media and Public Relations

• Rich Media, Poor Democracy Robert McChesney. Recent trends in media concentration and its effects on democracy.

• Toxic Sludge is Good For You by J. Stauber and S. Rampton. Guide to the "PR" (public relations) industry. Learn the tactics corporations use to manipulate public opinion.

• *Censored 2001 Peter Phillips ed. A collection of the most important news ignored by mainstream media in 2001, plus excellent articles on media and an extensive resource guide.

• We the Media Don Hazen and Julie Winokur. Facts, commentary, ideas and resources from over 100 leading journalists on the current state of media and suggestions for fixing or bypassing obstacles to the truth.

• Media Monopoly (6th edition) Ben Bagdikian documents the extent of media concentration. The latest edition also explores internet and telecommunications. A classic and an important read.

Other

• The Perpetual Prisoner Machine Joel Dyer. An investigation of the prison-industrial complex

• The Real War on Crime Steven Donzieger, ed. How the fear of crime, rather than crime itself, shapes criminal justice policy. Also covers prison-industrial complex.

• Burning All Illusions; a Guide to Personal and Political Freedom David Edwards. Globalization and the human mind and spirit. Self-help for freeing the mind.

• No Logo Naomi Klein examines the rise of branding and corporate impact on our culture. *Any of the several readers on economics published by "Dollars and Sense" including Real World Macroeconomics and Real World Microeconomics. Call them at (617)628-8411 for details.