The Bowie Book Club discussion

Tell us everything!

So, did anyone start to read this one? I just did, and it is quite obvious that the dethroning of the white man continues here.

Of course by now it's not really news how the conquerors erased whole cultures, and how the what we call progress is sometimes just progress for the ruling minorities. However, a whole history book from the point of view of the defeated is not just mind blowing, but also a very touching and somehow humbling experience.

I hope I will have the tenacity to read the whole thing, and hope some of you will join me:)

I definitely want to read this one. Where are you in the book?

I'm reading the 4th chapter at the moment. Truth be told, it gets a bit repetitive after a while as his method seems to be to bring a lot of similar examples to prove his points. But these are many times indeed too similar to offer new insights and we already now that he picks the examples to prove his point, so quantity doesn't necessarily gives more credence.

I think if you are sensitive to his point of view, you don't need a lot of proof anyway. And if you are not, no proof in the world would be enough. But of course it was written in the eighties, and I guess his point of view was not yet that wildly shared. I will keep on reading it anyway, hopefully it gets a bit more animated when we approach modern times.

Also, do check out the comments on the book's goodreads page. It's quite interesting to see how emotional people can get about it.

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to have a look at it and read some parts (according to the time that I have at the moment to read this book) because it is so interesting to be able to exchange information and impressions whilst reading.

Chapter 2. Fascinating read so far.

Yes, it is quite interesting. Have you reached chapter 4? I think that's the most controversial yet about the Founding Fathers. Lots of relevance to today's world, don't you think? That's how it's such a scary read: you know that it is only one side of the story and so on, but really, why would would people in begone ages would have behaved differently, with other motivations then those today?

also, the book is getting readable I think. The key, for me, is not to try to read it in small installments, like some pages at the end of the day, but try to find time and read it a chapter a time. It's much more exciting that way and seems less repetitive as you get to see the nuances more.

I’ve finished it and found it to be quite a revelation - it really explains a lot about America (I’m a Kiwi). If only my memory was good enough to let me spin out some of the amazing facts and anecdotes to others! I found it really picked up from the beginning of the 20th century. While a lot of it was a truly depressing indictment of humanity, I felt a lot more hopeful about our future when I read about the varied and relentless forms of activism. People have the power! An update would be appreciated but a mammoth task, I would think. Like the author says, there are just so many groups of people to include - and he didn’t do all of them justice. I think it would benefit from multiple authors to represent the diverse histories.

Hey Rachel, great to see you have finished it:) Especially that you thought it picked up from the beginning of the 20th Century. It's a motivation as it seems to be lagging a bit again but I'm still just after the Civil War:)

For me at the moment it's still scary to see how many of the old ways are so easily convertible to today: like the use of patriotism to gloss over real differences, etc. A tough read, but I'm looking forward to feel a bit more hopeful by the end:)

I'm still at Chapter 2. A truly informative read so far. And, yes, it is very scary because nothing has changed (and probably will never do), human nature is what it is, unfortunately.

Finally had a few days for reading, so I finished it. I think it is a quite coherent world view, and I don't mind that it is one-sided. It is basically about how the ruling class exploits the rest of the world, through many (maybe sometimes a bit too repetitive) examples, so while it is quite convincing, it's also a drag sometimes. It does pick up from the 20th century though, and in the end you'll be grateful you read it. I am quite interested now to learn more about activism history. Readers of the world, unite:)

Hi Peter, you made it! If you're looking for another interesting work on activism - and one that is much more succinct - I recommend Nonviolence by Mark Kurlansky.

Thank you Rachel! I will check it out for sure!

I've just finished the book Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives by Gary Younge and I would have recommended it to Bowie :-)
It is about the horrendous rate of random gun deaths in the US. It is an extremely powerful book and an excellent piece of investigative journalism.

P.S.: it is not a book about gun control but it gives you insight at why gun control activism is almost impossible to carry out.

Rachel wrote: "Hi Peter, you made it! If you're looking for another interesting work on activism - and one that is much more succinct - I recommend Nonviolence by Mark Kurlansky."

Thank you !