Obama’s Press Conference – March 24, 2009

Here’s Obama’s March 24th Press conference about the economy:

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The Inheritance book – by David Sanger

 

Readers of the New York Times know David Sanger as one of the most trusted correspondents in Washington, one to whom presidents, secretaries of state, and foreign leaders talk with unusual candor.  Now, with a historian’s sweep and an insider’s eye for telling detail, Sanger delivers an urgent intelligence briefing on the world America faces. In a riveting narrative, The Inheritance describes the huge costs of distraction and lost opportunities at home and abroad as Iraq soaked up manpower, money, and intelligence capabilities.  The 2008 market collapse further undermined American leadership, leaving the new president with a set of challenges unparalleled since Franklin D. Roosevelt entered the Oval Office.  Sanger takes readers inside the White House Situation Room to reveal how Washington penetrated Tehran’s nuclear secrets and the covert actions Bush took to delay the Iranian bomb.  Covering everything from secret Pakistan intelligence missions to the nuclear calculus of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, Sanger shows how U.S. failures permitted China to become one of the real winners of the Iraq War. At once a cogent history of our foreign policy misadventures and a lucid explanation of the opportunities they created, The Inheritance is vital reading for anyone trying to understand the extraordinary challenges that lie ahead. More Information…	"Dazzling and mordantly hilarious….The product of extraordinarily diligent reporting….A Woodwardian trove of inside dope….Devastatingly effective."   - New York Times     "…Sanger’s important book provides both understanding and hope.  The Inheritance should be essential reading."  - Michael Beschloss     "[Sanger] reveals inside stuff we have never heard in detail that will surprise and sometimes shock, yet he has framed it all in language the specialists will appreciate and the layman can understand.  One of the most important books of the year."   - Bob Schieffer, chief Washington correspondent, CBS News   Read More… Related Titles   The Dark Side by Jane Mayer "A powerful, brilliantly researched and deeply unsettling book….extraordinary and invaluable." -New York Times Book Review   The Dark Side (National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist) is the dramatic and definitive account of how the United States made terrible decisions in the pursuit of terrorists around the world — decisions that not only violated the Constitution, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. Read More… The War Within by Bob Woodward "A better first draft of history might be difficult to find." -Gilbert Cruz, Time   In Bob Woodward’s fourth book on W., he reveals clandestine "strategy reviews," Bush’s mounting tensions with nearly all of his advisors (including Rumsfeld, whose firing he kept secret from Cheney), the struggles and successes of Petraeus, and the overwhelming dishonesty and stubborness of our former President.  A stunning, meticulously researched portrait of the Bush Administration at its most dysfunctional. Read More…
Learn More About The Inheritance at PBC    Click here to watch David Sanger discuss The Inheritance and here to read an excerpt from the book.
New at Progressive Book Club
Politics / History Foreign Policy The Future of Liberalism by Alan Wolfe "A terrific analysis of the last 300-plus years of political thought….Highly recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in politics or history" -Kirkus Reviews In The Future of Liberalism, Alan Wolfe defends the liberal tradition, drawing on the writings of Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, and John Dewey, among others, and makes a case for why liberalism needs to be recovered, understood, and embraced as the most broadly beneficial way to live in our complex world.     Sowing Crisis by Rashid Khalidi "Khalidi is arguably the foremost U.S. historian of the modern Middle East." -Los Angeles Times Book Review   If you think the Cold War bears no significance in understanding and solving the current conflicts in the Middle East, Rashid Khalidi says think again.  In Sowing Crisis, Khalidi argues that any hope for lasting peace in the Middle East depends on critical analysis of the legacy of the Cold War in its current political climate.   Read More…   Read More… Politics / History   Travel / Activism   Demagogue by Michael Signer "Michael Signer has written a strikingly original book.  Demagogue tells the story of democracy by analyzing its antithesis — the often frightening charismatic leader who draws his strength from his purported connection to the demos itself." -Anne-Marie Slaughter   With stories of history’s most fascinating figures, including Adolf Hitler and Joe McCarthy, Michael Signer explains how humanity’s urge for liberty can give rise to the dark forces of demagoguery that threaten that very freedom, and how lessons from four great thinkers may hold the key to solving democracy’s demagogue problem.     Volunteer Vacations by Bill McMillon, Doug Cutchins & Anne Geissinger "Anyone who can’t find a dozen projects here to get excited about just doesn’t have a traveler’s soul." -San Francisco Chronicle   For the growing number of people looking to make a difference while seeing the world, Volunteer Vacations offers a wealth of information, including profiles of 150 organizations running volunteer programs in the United States and abroad.   Read More…   Read More… Foreign Policy   Globalization & Trade   Halliburton’s Army by Pratap Chatterjee "[Halliburton's Army is a] report that deserves many readers, about matters that deserve many indictments." -Kirkus Reviews   Halliburton’s Army is a riviting expose about the real business of Halliburton in Iraq and around the world.  In shocking detail, Pratap Chatterjee reveals the devastating malfeasance and political cronyism behind one of the world’s most lethal corporations.     Exposed by Mark Schapiro "A gripping new book..." -The Economist Mark Schapiro’s exposé does more than reveal the toxins that exist in our everyday products.  Exposed will open your eyes to a critical shift in global economic power that may result in harmful consequences for U.S. businesses and consumers. Read More…   Read More…

 

Paul Krugmans new book – The Return of Depression Ecomonics

The Return of Depression Economics by Paul Krugman

Our newest Nobel Prize–winning economist Paul Krugman, shows how the 2008 financial crisis parallels the events that caused the Great Depression—and explains what it will take to avoid catastrophe.

In this greatly updated edition of The Return of Depression Economics, Krugman shows how the failure of regulation to keep pace with an increasingly out-of-control financial system set up the United States, and the world as a whole, for the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s. He also lays out the steps that must be taken to contain the crisis, and turn around a world economy sliding into a deep recession. Brilliantly crafted in Krugman’s trademark style—lucid, lively, and supremely informed—this edition will become an instant cornerstone of the debate over how to respond to the crisis.

Order this political books and Obama books at a discount.

Obama’s Challenge – Book by Robert Kuttner

One of our best progressive thinkers explains how Obama must be a transformative president-or a failed one.Barack Obama approaches the presidency at a critical moment in American history, facing simultaneous crises of war, the environment, health care, but most especially in the economy.

In Obama’s Challenge, Robert Kuttner argues that the nation’s first black president could join the ranks of a small handful of previous presidents who have been truly transformative, succeeding in fundamentally changing our economy, society, and democracy for the better.

Robert Kuttner is cofounder and coeditor of the American Prospect magazine, as well as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the think tank Demos. He was a longtime columnist for Business Week, and continues to write columns in the Boston Globe. He is the author of Obama’s Challenge, The Squandering of America, Everything for Sale, and The End of Laissez-Faire, among other books.

Praise for Obama’s Challenge

“Obama’s Challenge is the fruit of Bob Kuttner’s lifetime of engagé reporting, analysis, and advocacy . . . it is riveting, brilliant, and persuasive. Kuttner, in concise chapters written with great vigor and clarity, shows what the change could look like if Obama is bold enough to go for it and the gods continue to smile on him.”
—Hendrik Hertzberg, from his New Yorker blog

“As Kuttner convincingly argues, a President Barack Obama will have an historic opportunity to radically transform America’s direction—but only if he rejects the tired centrist policies of the past and inspires his fellow citizens to forge new progressive paths. Kuttner systematically lays out the case for why Obama should give full voice to a robust progressive message at a time when the American people are suffering from years of conservative policy. Obama’s Challenge is an enlightening road map for all Americans who hunger for a change in direction and priorities in America, and who hope Obama can be our leading agent of change.”
—Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, founder of DailyKos.com, author of Taking on the System and coauthor of Crashing the Gate

“Bob Kuttner pulls off the all-but-impossible. He hits the high notes with artful precision, lifting expectations and articulating the steps that can make Barack Obama a great president—while setting forth a strong and highly readable call for comprehensive and essential economic change.”
—John Sweeney, AFL-CIO President

“Robert Kuttner has incisively captured the political moment, underscored by the deepening economic crisis. Lucidly and passionately, he lays out the hurdles facing an Obama presidency and challenges him to seize the moment and achieve greatness by redeeming the promise of America.”
—Arianna Huffington, cofounder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post

Check out these deals on Obama Books

Obama Books

 

Here’s a holiday gift idea that will save you money.  You can get 3 Obama Books for $3!  Here are the 3 Obama books you might consider:

The Audacity of Hope
Dreams from My Father
Change We Can Believe In

Tom Daschle’s book – Obama Health Secretary pick

 

Obama’s pick for Health and Human Services Secretary makes sense.Tom Daschle, the former senate majority leader wrote a book called Critical – What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis Daschle believes the health-care problem is rooted in the complexity of the health-care issue and the power of the interest groups — doctors, hospitals, insurers, drug companies, researchers, patient advocates — that have a direct stake in it. Rather than simply pointing out the major flaws and placing blame, Daschle offers key solutions and creates a blueprint for solving the crisis. Daschle’s solution lies in the Federal Reserve Board, which has overseen the equally complicated financial system with great success. A Fed-like health board would offer a public framework within which a private health-care system can operate more effectively and efficiently — insulated from political pressure yet accountable to elected officials and the American people. Daschle argues that this independent board would create a single standard of care and exert tremendous influence on every other provider and payer, even those in the private sector. Be sure the check out Tom Daschle’s book.

The Tyranny of Oil by Antonia Juhasz

The Tyranny of Oil - by Antonia Juhasz

Buy The Tyranny of Oil  book at a discount Book Summary:   The hardest-hitting exposé of the oil industry in decades, and a bold blueprint for reining it in. Required reading for every concerned global citizen. • Why are oil and gasoline prices rising so quickly? • Where will prices go in the future? • Who’s really controlling those prices? • How much oil is left? • How far will Big Oil go to get it? • And at what cost to the economy, environment, human rights, worker safety, public health, democracy, and America’s place in the world?

Watch an interview with the author:

Buy The Tyranny of Oil  book at a bargain!

The Limits of Power by Andrew J. Bacevich

The Limits of Power by Andrew J. Bacevich

Buy The Limits of Power book at a discountBook Summary: From an acclaimed conservative historian and former military officer, a provocative call for Americans to confront our national crises—and renew our country’s promise. The Limits of Power identifies a profound triple crisis facing America: The economy, in remarkable disarray, can no longer be fixed by relying on expansion abroad; the government, transformed by an imperial presidency, is a democracy in form only; U.S. involvement in endless wars, driven by a deep infatuation with military power, has been a catastrophe for the body politic. These pressing problems threaten all of us, Republicans and Democrats. If the nation is to solve its predicament, it will need the revival of a distinctly American approach: the neglected tradition of realism.

Andrew J. Bacevich (The New American Militarism), a retired U.S. Army colonel uniquely respected across the political spectrum, offers a historical perspective on the illusions that have governed American policy since 1945. The realism he proposes includes respect for power and its limits; sensitivity to unintended consequences; aversion to claims of exceptionalism; skepticism of easy solutions, especially those involving force; and a conviction that the books will have to balance. Only a return to such principles, Bacevich argues, can provide common ground for fixing America’s urgent problems before the damage becomes irreparable. The Washington Post called The Limits of Power “a bracing slap of reality . . . chockablock with provocative ideas,” and said the book “ought to be on the reading list of every candidate for national office.” Publishers Weekly praised its “crisp prose, sweeping historical analysis, and searing observations.”

Buy The Limits of Power book at a bargain!