Book Club News!
The BDCC Book Club is getting ready to launch a new series of meetings for 2021. We hope you will join us via Zoom on Tuesday, February 23, at 7 pm, to discuss future plans for the group and share your own ideas. (Zoom link is at the end of this message.)
With great appreciation to Mary Carroll for all the creativity and effort she has put into keeping this book club going, we (Judy Ashkenaz and Tom Jefferson) are going to take on the coordinating tasks and continue in the same spirit.
We would like to choose a mix of different types of books, including some that are historical or biographical, some analytical (like Reaganland), and some with more of an activist or advocacy focus. As possible examples of each type (with links to a review of each)—Joe Biden by Evan Osnos (one of Mary’s suggestions) might be a good starting point for us as we watch Biden’s agenda take shape in 2021.
Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy, by Adam Jentleson, is a good (and not too long) analysis of the workings of the modern Senate, notably the rise and use of the filibuster.
Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change, by Eitan Hersh, focuses on what types of political activism are actually effective, and why. In particular, he has some good thoughts about the value of local involvement.
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblattt, from 2018, is a relatively brief book that seems extremely relevant to what’s going on right now in this country.
Finally, here’s another suggestion carried over from last year’s group:
The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party: The Enduring Legacy of Henry Wallace’s Anti-Fascist, Anti-Racist Politics by John Nichols.
We hope to see many of you on February 23 at 7 pm!
Judy Ashkenaz (jashkenaz@gmail.com)Tom Jefferson (thojefferson@comcast.net)
Topic: BDCC Book Club
Time: Feb 23, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82061749085?pwd=S2Zvd2FqOHFhWmdnZVo3eXFUTGhPQT09
Meeting ID: 820 6174 9085
Passcode: 352061