Inspiring Works
Literature:
Alexander Kuprin, Gambrinus: The work is a short novel/long story about a Jewish fiddler in beer hall in Odessa and, in particular his experiences during the Revolt of 1905 with the Russian law enforcement represented by a former bouncer and converted Jew. Though the work strikes my fancy with its story and pithy commentary, I am most attracted to its aesthetic quality. Like all of Kuprin’s works, this one is filled with almost unnecessary detail: the introduction of the beer hall Gambrinus itself takes up more than half of the work. This detail is written in an almost poetical manner creating a powerful image. No doubt the less is more crowd would have a problem with its style. It is hands down the most enjoyable piece of art I ever encountered.
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, History of a Town: This book is composed of a made up chronicle of a provincial Russian town from the Middle Ages into the late 19th century. It is a biting satire of Russian history that includes the very prescient ending of a dystopian society on Orwellian lines.
George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia: This book is great because it employs literary techniques in a clearly journalistic text. It is a good read as well as one of the few surviving documents of a civil war with in the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War.
History:
Robinson and Gallagher, “The Imperialism of Free Trade”: The piece argues that empire and control, especially by the British, should not be limited to what it painted “red on the map.” In this sense it is somewhat postmodern before its time and argues for a reexamination of history beyond rigid borders.
David Commins, The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia: I suppose like many Westerners, I became interested in the history of radical Islam after watching the news. Where does it come from and who sponsors it? Who are Salafis, Wahhabis, the Muslim Brotherhood, et al. This book was the first academic look I made into the subject and it excellent history of Saudi Arabia and explains how the kingdom could have alcoholic rulers and bizarre medieval law at the same time.
Anthropology:
Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: This is one of the first academic works that made me think and reexamine my ideas of the world. It focuses on how humans imagine their belonging to larger groups, in particular to nation-states. If one thinks about it how can Japan act? Japan does not really exist. His thesis was is that these nation-states that we know live in are largely based on language and the spread of vulgar literacy in Europe.
Lawrence Keeley, War Before Civilization: the Myth of the Peaceful Savage: Unlike many other works that focus on morality and other intangibles, this book is mostly based on numerical evidence. Proportionally significantly more people die in battle and from war in societies that are not civilizations. That, according the information we have (which is of course limited) is undeniably true. Thus, it may be time for philosophers and other thinkers to stop fetishizing the state of nature and early “undeveloped” societies.
