okayAuden, W.H. The Age of Anxiety.
Bellah, Robert N., et al. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. Berkeley: U of C, 1986. A bestselling book arguing that a breakdown of culture in American society has occurred, based on extensive sociological studies. Interesting ideas on individual-vs.-society, but not meaty enough for me.
Berlin, Isaiah. The Crooked Timber of Humanity: Chapters in the History of Ideas. 1991. All about pluralism, tolerance and that proto-fascist, Joseph de Maister. We make most of our mistakes either expecting the Absolute or Relativising our lives away. Expert writing, but some repetition. Expert writing, but some repetition.
Berry, Wendell. The Unsettling of America. A convincing argument that our agricultural system is profusely absurd, by a famous scholar and poet. Every sentence is chock-full of reality. Highly recommended reading. Not only have we pushed peripheral nature into vacant lots and the atmosphere, we are addicted to oil in our pursuit of superfluous food by all sanitary means.
DeMott, Benjamin. The Imperial Middle: Why Americans Can't Think Straight About Class. Amherst? Exposing the myth of classlessness.
Eiseley, Loren. The Immense Journey. An inspirational little book from the late super-anthropologist and human being. In the school of Jung, Campbell, and Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
Jung, Carl. Memories, Dreams, Reflections.
Kellner. Television and the Crisis of Democracy. Insightful, good bibliography, four stars.
Lear, Jonathan. Love and its Place in Nature. A compelling study of Freud and his blunders, putting forth the proposition that love is an essential dynamic to all of nature. Jung would have voted for this one. Darwin, on the other hand, is probably revolving in his grave.
Lipmann, Walter. The Public Philosophy.
Schaef, Anne. When Society Becomes and Addict. Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore. And Pink Floyd sings, "no more turning away> from the weak and the weary." Quoth, Robert Bly, "This whole country needs to go on a twelve step program!" Other good books, like Escape to Intimacy.
Thoreau, Henry David. Influenced Ghandi, M.L. King, Tutu.