Best of Book and American History TV

Here’s a list of some of the better presentations and discussions of the past few months. All but Graeber’s are available to watch online at the links, and that one should also become available within days or even hours.

• David Graeber, The Democracy Project: A History, A Crisis, A Movement

(I just watched this one so it’s freshest in my mind. Especially interesting is his characterization of the US as a “nation of frustrated altruists” and discussion of the need for a more complex understanding of altruism. This called to mind some of Fromm’s ideas…)

• Nancy Unger, American Women in Environmental History

• Patrick Tyler, Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite Who Run the Country – And Why They Can’t Make Peace

• Arlie Hochschild, The Outsourced Self: Intimate Life in Market Times

• Stephanie McCurry, Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South

• Ben Goldacre, Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients

• Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

• David Quammen, Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

• Helaine Olen, Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry