about the48er
the48er features brief overviews of just-published books that are likely to interest progressive, engaged Americans. The overviews include links to further information about the books and authors as well as to the books' webpages at Amazon. the48er's aim is to make it as quick and convenient as possible for visitors to (1) stay well- informed about current nonfiction books that matter; and (2) buy those in which they're particularly interested.
Why promote such books? Many reasons, but especially this: books of these kinds can help distribute the tool knowledge necessary to forge a saner, more humane republic and a healthier planet. As it is, that toolbox looks pretty empty. Consider the following: Among Americans ...
- 66 percent either "definitely" or "probably" agree that "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years."
- 70 percent can't name their state's U.S. senators
- 71 percent can't name their district's U.S. representative
- 70 percent don't know that plastics are made from petroleum
- 84 percent are unlikely to grasp the essential ideas of an ordinary magazine article
- 85 percent of U.S. troops in Iraq thought the war was "to retaliate for Saddam's role in the 9/11 attacks"; 41 percent of the general population believed that "Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was directly involved in planning, financing, or carrying out the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001."
- 85 percent don't know who Harry Reid is
- 97 percent are unlikely to grasp the main ideas in a simple, 1-page juror information sheet
The list goes on and on. These are not trivial matters. Taken together, they show that most Americans have neither a clue nor a care about some of the most basic realities of life on this planet, much less about citizenship in a 21st-century democratic republic. Political and environmental problems not caused by Americans' disengagement are exacerbated by it. The inevitable consequences of continuing to accept and facilitate our citizenry's overwhelming civic malfeasance are, at this point, catastrophic.
What's really troubling is that our disengagement is largely a matter of choice. We could choose to spend a few hours or more each week learning about and attending to "public things," and some people do. But most of us, demonstrably and by a wide margin, don't. Instead, we watch more than four and a half hours of TV per day on average, leaving no time for anything else. The arithmetic of 21st-century ochlocracy is inescapable and inarguable. Democracy demands a different set of equations.
We need to turn off our TVs once in awhile in favor of informed civic engagement -- and that includes reading books that matter. All of us can improve the quality or range or quantity of what we read. And we can respectfully encourage and enable those around us to follow suit. Despite my deep frustration with American vidiocy and the ill-advised governments and policies it necessarily produces, I suspect that many Americans actually want to be more engaged as citizens and wouldn't mind reading a consequential book now and then. the48er's goal is to make it as fast and easy as possible to know about such books -- and, if one chooses, to buy them.
Waxing sentimental over "good books" usually degenerates into treacly, cringe- inducing nonsense, but this much I do believe: they're the best possible calisthenics for the democratic mind. Unlike television, the Internet, and most other popular media, well-made books typically demand of their readers sustained and nuanced thought. Democracy demands the same. When it doesn't get it, it degenerates into mob rule. Everyone has limitations -- limited time, limited education ... you name it. But a good faith effort, whatever that means in one's particular circumstances, is required of everyone. Without it, democracy is impossible; ochlocracy, unavoidable.
What "should" engaged citizens read? In a democracy, we all need to know at least a little something about pretty much everything: science, international relations, history, economics, infrastructure, political theory, anthropology, and more. We all need to spend time with the best books of those sorts we can find.
Unfortunately, books of those kinds tend to be widely ignored. Their sales rankings are often lower than ten-thousandth among all books sold at Amazon -- despite the facts that many are written by authors who are regularly featured at relatively credible venues (e.g., NPR, PBS, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books) and most have been praised by well-qualified and respected reviewers. These books and authors deserve better. So do the rest of us. the48er strives to deliver something better.
the48er's book profiles provide big-picture overviews of the work in question, addressing questions including ... What are the book's main points and ideas? How (and how well) does it establish them? What's the author's background? What's the mainstream critical consensus on the book? In many cases, a short passage is quoted to help provide a direct sense of what the author's saying and how. To the extent that it's possible and appropriate, I embed in the text off-site links leading to more extensive information relating to the book or author. Before all else, though, finding and featuring the crème de la crème of the kinds of works described above are top priorities. All books have their flaws, but the flaws of volumes featured here tend to be few or forgivable or both. Time spent with these books is generally time well spent.
Why 'the48er'?
Many of progressive America's deepest foundations were laid in 1848:
- Carl Schurz was one of the original Forty-Eighters. He settled in Wisconsin -- which joined the Union in 1848 and later produced the progressive and influential Wisconsin Idea. Schurz went on to become a leading American Anti-Imperialist.
- Mark Twain, one of Schurz's colleagues in the American Anti-Imperialist League and one of its vice presidents, became a Hannibal newspaper apprentice in 1848.
- The American women's rights movement was born at Seneca Falls, N.Y. in 1848 as Elizabeth Cady Stanton's epoch-making Declaration of Sentiments was ratified.
- In 1848 Henry David Thoreau gave a lecture now known as Civil Disobedience.
- The Communist Manifesto, first published in 1848, provides crucial observations on laissez-faire capitalism's historical development and inherent diabolism.
- The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS -- which publishes the journal Science) was founded in 1848.
Support the48er
the48er can be a useful resource only to the extent that people know about it. If you maintain a website, please consider posting a conspicuous link to the the48er's home page: http://the48er.com/ Whether or not you post a site, emailing a link -- with a brief endorsement -- to friends and colleagues might also be very helpful.
In addition, an advertising budget is certainly desirable and probably necessary. I think it's logical to make the48er's presence known via media including local NPR affiliates and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Running modest, regularly appearing ads in those venues requires a minimum of $5,000 per month, more or less.
the48er's production costs must also be met. I've eliminated most of them other than labor: the time it takes me to a) search for and get hold of potentially appropriate books; b) read as much of them as time permits; c) find and read related materials; d) write and edit the profiles; e) research and write the "Daily Progressive" feature; f) re-format or create graphics; g) make major changes to the home page prior to every business day; h) script and record the daily podcast; i) code, upload and validate it all. It's a full-time job, and that time must be compensated.
Bottom line: Ensuring the48er's viability costs a total of over $5,000 per month.
I think the48er's worth sustaining, promoting and developing further. If you agree and are willing and able to lend your financial support at any level, please get in touch today so that we can work out the specifics.
In the meantime, I hope you find the site to be useful, that you support it by using its links to buy books, and that we all make the time to read some enlightening and uplifting volumes -- the more the better. May our engaged citizenship be as progressive, literate, well informed and tenacious as that of the original Forty-Eighters.
