Coach D’s Recommended Reading
List The purpose of the book list is to provide students with
a list of books which I have found to be quality reading. Many
served as resources in creating the coursework and provide
supplementary information. If you found a subject within the
course particularly interesting you are encouraged to read
further into that topic. All students should consider a book for
the summer.
P.S. “Readers are leaders”!
Topic 1 ENVIRONMENTAL
DESTRUCTION
An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary
Emergency of Global Warming and
What We Can Do About It. By Al Gore
(2006). The Former Vice-President examines the
destructive influence man is having on the Earth’s ecology.
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail
or Succeed. By Jared Diamond(2005)
Diamond examines what happens when humans squander their
resources. Environmental damage, climate change, rapid
population growth, unstable trade partners are all factors in
doomed societies.
Topic 2 EUROPEAN DOMINATION
The European Miracle: Environment,
Economies and Geopolitics in the
History of Europe and Asia. By Eric Jones.
An historians view on why Europe has dominated the
globe over the last 6 Centuries.
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Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of
Human Societies by Jared Diamond
(1997)
Diamond offers a convincing explanation for the differing
developments of human societies on different continents. The
book demolishes the grounds for racist theories of history and
describes how the inequities of our modern world were formed.
Ecological Imperialism: The Biological
Expansion of Europe 900-1900. by Alfred
Crosby. The rise of Europe.
Conquistadors by Michael Wood (2000)
Wood examines the brutal destruction of the Aztec and Inca
Civilizations. A brilliant narrative on the triumph of greed,
brutality and blood on unsuspecting and unprepared
civilizations.
Confessions of An Economic Hitman: by
John Perkins (2004). An ex-economic hit man
reveals the dirty under world of American hegemony
and economic imperialism. A real wake up call
regarding our financial and business policy.
Habits of Empire: A History of
American Expansion. By Walter Nugent. The
Republican virtue of U.S has been tainted by the
application of imperial force.
The Post-American World. (2008) By
Fareed Zakaria. The role of the United States in the
future shaped by globalization and greater
competition from Asia.
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Ecological Imperiaism:The Biological
Expansion of Europe 900-1900. (1986) by
Alfred Crosby. A look at how “Neo-Europeans” have
experienced so much success in the last millennia.
Topic 3 GLOBAL ISSUES
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston viruses
like Marbury and Ebola Zaire from its origins in Africa to
suburban Virginia. (Not a book report option).
The Black Death: Natural and Human
Disaster in Medieval Europe by Robert
Gottfried (1983) This book traces the causes and far-
reaching consequences of the infamous outbreak of plague that
spread across the European continent.
The Black Death and The
Transformation of the West. by David
Herlihy. Positive and Negative effects of the Bubonic
Plague of the 14th Century.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (1960) A
vivid depiction of factory life in Chicago. The horrors of the
slaughterhouse, their barbarous working conditions, and the
crushing poverty makes us rethink the immigrant experience and
the drawbacks of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution.
The Millionaire Mind and The
Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J.
Stanley (2000) Two sociologists completely upset the
public’s preconceived notions on Millionaire’s and their habits.
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Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the
All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser
(2001) A disturbing look at McDonald’s and the company’s
sordid practices. The author examines topics like the
slaughterhouses to addictive components in all their food and
even the abuse of immigrant and poor workers in this country to
improve the bottom line.
One Day in September:The Full Story of
the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre
And The Israeli Revenge Operation “
Wrath of God”. By Simon Reeve (2000)
A chilling examination of the tension between the Israelis and
the Palestinians. This book reveals the terrorist act of
Palestinian assassins and the covert operation to execute its
plotters and participants.
Topic 4 World History
The Seekers: The Story of Man’s
Continuing Quest To Understand His
World by Daniel J. Boorstin. (1999) The
Title speak for himself. This author helped me gain a true
understanding of World History.
The Creators: A History of Heroes and
Imagination by Daniel J. Boorstin
(1993) All around great stuff from the Congressional
Librarian.
The Maya: by Michael Coe (1993) A college
level examination of the great Meso-American civilization.
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The Myceneaens by Lord William Taylor
(1983) A college level examination of this influential early
Greek civilization.
Lies My History Teacher Told Me:
Everything Your American History
Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen
(1995). Professor Loewen attacks American history books
suggesting that they are all marred by an embarrassing
combination of blind patriotism, mindless optimism, sheer
misinformation and outright lies. Certainly a refreshingly honest
look at the presentation of our past to the youth.
India: A History by John Keay (2000)
Thorough examination of this exotic and mysterious countries’
history.
India After Gandhi: History of the
World’s Largest Democracy. By
Ramachandra Guha.Comprehensive examination of
past and present India.
The Age of Revolution by E.J. Hobsbawm. A
noted social historian’s examination of how the world
has been transformed by the “Dual Revolution”.
Iceman: Uncovering the Life and Times
of a Prehistoric Man Found in an Alpine
Glacier. By Brenda Fowler (2000) A vivid
account of the discovery of this prehistoric man and a query into
his lifestyle and existence.
Mein Kampf:by Adolf Hitler (1925)
Twisted, mindless banter on hatred, racism and the Master Plan
from a future Megalomaniac.
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The Third Chimpanzee:by Jerad
Diamond (1997). An Interesting examination of man,
evolution and our animal-like tendencies.
Are We Rome?: The Collapse of an
Empire and the Fate of America.by
Cullen Murphy (2007)A chilling look at the
similarities of the two greatest powers the earth has
seen.
After the Black Death: A Social History
of Early Modern Europe by George Huppert.
A Great interpretation and examination of everyday
people during the middle ages. This radical professor
from UIC considers the elites, armed rebellion,
poverty, sexual practices and marriages.
Topic 5 War
Wild Blue: The Men and Boys who flew
the B-24s over Germany. By Stephen
Ambrose The story of bravery of America’s young men who
flew deadly missions to destroy the Nazi war machine.
Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special
Forces by Tom Clancy (2002) With incredible
detail Clancy examines one of the most exclusive and secretive
components of the American military machine.
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Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a
Nuclear Submarine by Tom Clancy
(1993) Clancy examines the mind-blowing capabilities and
history of this remarkable weapon.
Flyboys: A True Story of Courage. By
James Bradley (2003) The Execution of American
pilots in WWII and the subsequent cover-up by both the Japanese and
American governments.
Live From Baghdad: Making
Journalism History Behind The Lines
By Robert Weirner True story of Reporters caught in
the middle of a war zone during the first Persian Gulf War and
placing CNN on the map of Journalism History.
The Things They Carried by Tim
O’Brien (1990) O’Brien examines the nightmarish impact
of the Vietnam War and how many soldiers survived this dark
chapter in American history.
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten
Holocaust of WWII. By Iris Chang
(1997) A violent query into what happens when an occupying
army (the Japanese) has its unrestricted way with an entire
urban population it feels is racially inferior. It is difficult to find
such a complete disregard for human life.
Hitler’s Willing Executioners: by Dan
Goldhagen The author suggests that the Germans were
not forced to kill, but committed the atrocities of the Holocaust
willingly and eagerly.
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Topic 6 Technology and Progress
The Discoverers: A History of Man’s
Search to Know His World and Himself
by Daniel J. Boorstin (1985) This Opus is a
comprehensive examination of Man’s ingenuity from the
Pyramids of Egypt to the modern day.
The Tools of Empire: Technology and
European Imperialism in the 19th
Century. by Daniel Headrick. Headrick
argues the significance of European technology in
their subsequent domination of the globe in the 19th
and 20th Century.
Yeager: An Autobiography by Chuck
Yeager.(1985) Chuck Yeager is arguably the greatest
American test pilot. This book traces his fascinating life from
WWII to breaking the sound barrier and other top-secret work
for the United States Air Force.
The Age of Empire by Eric Hobsbawm
(1987) One of the great social historians examines
the unending impact of 19th century imperialism.
Blind Man’s Bluff: The Untold Story of
Submarine Espionage by Sherri Sontag
(1987) True and unbelievable stories from Cold War,
undersea encounters.
Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-
Secret National Security Agency by
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James Bradford (2002) An extraordinary
narrative on the world’s most powerful, most far-reaching
espionage organization.
Topic 7 The Radical Stuff
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist
Explores The Hidden Side of Everything
by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
(2005) The brilliant, Harvard educated economist-Levitt
applies his craft in the most unusual places. Attempting to
provide light on Crime in America, Prostitution, cheating
teachers in the Chicago Public Schools etc.
SuperFreakonomics: (2010) Leavitt and
Dubner examine more topics based on the fact that
humans respond to incentives. A New York Times
Best Seller.
Hegemony Or Survival: America’s
Quest For Global Domination: by Noam
Chomsky Radical historian Chomsky suggests that The
U.S. is pursuing a grand imperial strategy to dominate the globe
economical and politically.
The Zinn Reader : Writings On
Disobedience And Democracy by
Howard Zinn (1997) This radical historian examines
war, race, politics, economic justice and history itself often
upsetting our cozy ideas on these matters.
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Chain of Command: The Road from
9/11 to Abu Gharib by Seymour Hirsch
One of the greatest investigative journalists ponders on how we
moved from a peaceful September morning to a divisive and
dirty war in Iraq. Hirsch also uncovers tremendous
mismanagement of the war in Afghanistan.
The Sorrows of Empire by Chalmers Johnson
(2004)The impact of America’s quest for global
conquest.
Blowback by Chalmers Johnson (2002) The
consequences of America’s Hegemonic designs.
Topic 8 US History
The Vineyard of Liberty: by James
MacGregor Burns (1983) Burns makes our
history make sense. A brilliant interpretation of the American
attempt to preserve liberty.
Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of
Witchcraft by Paul Boyer and Stephen
Nissenbaum (1974) The authors provide a new
interpretation of the outbreak of witchcraft in Salem.
Nothing Like it in the World: The Men
Who Built the Transcontinental
Railroad (2000). By Stephen Ambrose. The
author of Band of Brothers examines a vital event in
the history of Manifest Destiny.
Topic 9 Architecture
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Why Buildings Fall Down by Mathhys
Levy and Mario Salvadori (1987) Tales
explaining the greatest triumphs and disasters in construction
from the Parthenon and the Pyramids to the Modern day.
Topic 10 Islam
The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and
Unholy Terror. Bernard Shaw (2003)
A clear analysis by one of the greatest western
historians of the Middle East and modern Islam.
From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting
the Middle East. Bernard Shaw (2004).
Clear essays on a variety of Islamic subjects.
From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas
Freidman. (1995) A brief description of the most
recent history and culture of violence that prevails in
Lebanon.
Warriors of God:Richard the Lionheart
and Saladin in the Third Crusade. by
James Reston jr. Good account of the greed and
religious fervor that fueled the bloody clash between
Christians and Muslims that has shaped world history
since.
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