100 Books Like Capitalist Colonial

I love this book because this book is a remarkable and compelling study of the politics of death in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Siam. The death of a worker in September 1890 marks the first time an unnatural death is entered into the archives of the state.

Trais Pearson explores how the dead were investigated back then, bringing to life an engaging narrative of the ensuing tensions between the Siamese elite and the foreign powers. I was so immersed in Trais’ captivating storytelling and narrative of the conflicts and negotiations that played out in the legal arena of civil law and forensic medicine that I felt as if I was there back in time. A seminal piece of work, this book is a must for anyone interested in Thailand and Thai history!

I love this book because it is a refreshing look at the trade in artifacts through the experiences of the artisans who produce them. Frederick Wherry tells us how handicraft artisans are able to utilize their special skills and creative talents, their personal and social connections, and their resourcefulness to their advantage while protecting their livelihood and their craft.

I love Wherry’s acute observations that are colorfully captured in his book, which allows us to see how authenticity gets generated in different situations and how it has protected some artisans from competition.

I love this book because it is a moving, powerful, and remarkable account of the life stories of sixteen women who fought and lived in the dense tropical jungles bordering Malaysia and Thailand during the forty-year guerilla war against the British and Japanese occupation of Malaya.

Through these accounts, we learn who these women are, why they joined the CPM army, and why they stayed so loyal to the movement and its ideals even to this day. Agnes Khoo’s retelling of their stories is accompanied by illuminating excerpts and photographs of women in both civilian dress and combat gear.

We get to learn about the harsh conditions of living in the humid, mosquito-infested jungle, sleeping with giant caterpillars and leeches crawling on their bodies, the constant pangs of hunger, the strange illnesses and diseases that killed many of their comrades, and how the women learned to cope with these… show more.

I love this book because it features ten original ethnographies by ten graduate students at UC Berkeley that examine a diverse array of groups, schools, and communities in America. The book is an excellent source for ethnographic researchers who uncover a surprising, unexpected twist or turn in their research and want to know what to do next.

I love how each author shares their experiences in the field as a participant and as an observer and the intellectual journey of thinking about how to make sense of their findings by offering a refreshing explanation. 

Many children of Lao refugees, who fled the communist take-over in the ’70s, are now coming of age and sharing their take on Lao cooking across the globe. Hawkers Fare details the story of James Syhabout who earned his spurs as a chef at hallowed restaurants such as The Fat Duck and El Bulli before opening his own Commis in Oakland and gaining two Michelin stars of his own.

Though known for fine dining this book is a homage to his Lao roots and his journey of discovery into his origins as the son of refugees who came to the US with nothing but their ability to work hard. He tells their story and returns to Laos himself where he picks up the flavours of his mother’s homeland with the scrupulous nose of a super-chef. It includes recipes that are both authentic but, unusually, measured out with pinpoint accuracy in… show more.

As I wrote in the Foreword to the English edition of Küntzel’s work, published first in Germany in 2002, Küntzel synthesized a large body of scholarship in English and German that examined Nazi Germany’s propaganda aimed at the Arab world, as well as the collaboration of Haj Amin el-Husseini with Nazi propaganda efforts. I welcomed Küntzel’s exploration of Nazi Germany’s impact outside Europe, and its aftereffects in Islamist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and then the members of Al Qaeda who carried out the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Canon is the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace based in Washington D.C. and a person with wide academic and personal experience with the churches in Israel/Palestine.

Here she has edited a collection of 29 chapters written by a vast array of Christian leaders from around the world, from Desmond Tutu to Shane Claiborne. Each is reflecting on the conflict in Israel/Palestine and Christian responses to it.

It is the diversity of views that gives this book its strength and quickly you’ll see that there is hope for the Middle East if we are simply honest about the origin and nature of the struggle.

Chapman has been a theology professor and Islam specialist in the Middle East for many years.

He now resides in Cambridge, England, and has offered one of the best analyses of the current conflicts that don’t want to go away.

This book is unmatched for its clarity and willingness to call out countries—especially Israel—for astonishing human rights abuses. Few have the courage to do this, and Chapman does it with academic depth and conviction.

I love thrillers with in-depth character development and realistic situations involving clandestine operations, and this book hits both of those marks.

This is the first book in a three-book series featuring the Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service. I’ve always been fascinated by books that give me a behind-the-scenes look at how an intel agency operates and the tech gadgets that make the business of spying possible, and these authors describe both extremely well while giving me insights into how a Messianic Jew lives out his faith. 

I really wanted to know who the Israelites were, whether the Exodus happened, the conquest of Canaan, and other historical facts behind what is today Israel and its claim to the Holy Land…and this book gave me more than I bargained for.

Raised a Catholic, I found it a natural step to question how all this Christian stuff happened. Before I could do that, I first had to know how Israel came about and the rise of the Old Testament. A fascinating read, this book captivated me from the initial introduction and let up. I found some of it heavy going and resorted to fact-checking many things, but I could not ignore the verified body of archaeological evidence that cast a new light on many things I was taught.

This book naturally led me to probe deeper, raising more disturbing questions.