Behind the Bastards
Book Recommendations

Behind the Bastards

There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of th...

Episodes 1,988
Books 1,560
A drink with Shane MacGowan Cover

Shane MacGowan

A drink with Shane MacGowan

The book A Drink with Shane McGowan was recommended to listeners, with the suggestion that they listen to Shane McGowan's music at the same time.

"

You've never read the book, A Drink with Shane McGowan.

— Episode: Part Two: William Bailey: The Gwyneth Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part Two: William Bailey: The Gwyneth Paltrow of R...

The book A Drink with Shane McGowan was recommended to listeners, with the suggestion that they listen to Shane McGowan's music at the same time.

"

You've never read the book, A Drink with Shane McGowan.

You should absolutely. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

But also like read it, read the book, listen to the music at the same time. It's fucking tight.

Radio-Activity: An Elementary Treatise, From the Standpoint of the Disintegration Theory Cover

Frederick Soddy

Radio-Activity

An Elementary Treatise, From the Standpoint of the Disintegration Theory

The book was described as a groundbreaking work that contributed to Marie Curie's second Nobel Prize. William Bailey translated the book into English and it was a key source of information for his promotion of radium-based medications.

"

Bailey produces and circulates a translation of Curie's groundbreaking 1910 two-volume book Treatise on Radioactivity, which is what she got her second Nobel Prize for.

— Episode: Part One: William Bailey: The Gwyneth Pa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part One: William Bailey: The Gwyneth Paltrow of R...

The book was described as a groundbreaking work that contributed to Marie Curie's second Nobel Prize. William Bailey translated the book into English and it was a key source of information for his promotion of radium-based medications.

"

Bailey produces and circulates a translation of Curie's groundbreaking 1910 two-volume book Treatise on Radioactivity, which is what she got her second Nobel Prize for.

The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Cover

Rick Warren

The Purpose Driven Life

What on Earth Am I Here For?

It was used as a hypothetical comparison to create a similar self-help book, but with a focus on Duterte's style of politics and murder.

"

The Purpose Driven Life.

— Episode: Part Two: Rodrigo Duterte: The Hitler of...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part Two: Rodrigo Duterte: The Hitler of the Phili...

It was used as a hypothetical comparison to create a similar self-help book, but with a focus on Duterte's style of politics and murder.

"

The Purpose Driven Life.

The Death Squad Driven Life.

John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, 1) Cover

David Wong

John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, 1)

It was mentioned as a part of a popular series and a well-known book and movie. There was some discussion around its price and availability.

"

There's a somewhat famous book and movie called John Dies at the End, a movie you can find on streaming.

— Episode: Part Three: MKUltra: When The CIA Tried...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part Three: MKUltra: When The CIA Tried to Destroy...

It was mentioned as a part of a popular series and a well-known book and movie. There was some discussion around its price and availability.

"

There's a somewhat famous book and movie called John Dies at the End, a movie you can find on streaming.

It is a New York Times bestselling book series and this book is one of them.

it is one of the John Dies at the End books.

A Curious History of Vegetables: Aphrodisiacal and Healing Properties, Folk Tales, Garden Tips, and Recipes Cover

Wolf D. Storl

A Curious History of Vegetables

Aphrodisiacal and Healing Properties, Folk Tales, Garden Tips, and Recipes

The book 'A Curious History of Vegetables' by Wolf D. Storl was mentioned as having numerous asparagus anecdotes to enjoy, and also a quote that sums up people who have appreciated asparagus over the centuries.

"

A Curious History of Vegetables by Wolf D. Storl has numerous asparagus anecdotes to enjoy if you're into that sort of thing and also contains this quote by modern-day plant experts F...

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 140

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 140

The book 'A Curious History of Vegetables' by Wolf D. Storl was mentioned as having numerous asparagus anecdotes to enjoy, and also a quote that sums up people who have appreciated asparagus over the centuries.

"

A Curious History of Vegetables by Wolf D. Storl has numerous asparagus anecdotes to enjoy if you're into that sort of thing and also contains this quote by modern-day plant experts Fritz Martin Engel

Pharaohs, Emperors, Kings, generals, and great spiritual leaders, princely poets like Gota and gourmands like Berlant Severin, all of them ate and eat asparagus with great enthusiasm.

The River Keeper Cover

Sarah Martin Byrd

The River Keeper

RFK Jr. co-authored this book, detailing his involvement in environmental advocacy and his work for The River Keepers, an environmental charity.

"

In the autumn, we captured and trained kestrels, red tails, and immature passage hawks on their first migration. I've caught upwards of 50 hawks a day squatting atop a ridge line on Shunemunk Mountain...

— Episode: Part Two: The RFK Episodes

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part Two: The RFK Episodes

RFK Jr. co-authored this book, detailing his involvement in environmental advocacy and his work for The River Keepers, an environmental charity.

"

In the autumn, we captured and trained kestrels, red tails, and immature passage hawks on their first migration. I've caught upwards of 50 hawks a day squatting atop a ridge line on Shunemunk Mountain in the Hudson Valley in autumn. We flew wild red tails, falcons, and goshawks and pioneered many of the game hawking techniques still used by American falconers. We talked about hawks every spare moment.

Occult Feminism: The Secret History of Women's Liberation Cover

Rachel Wilson

Occult Feminism

The Secret History of Women's Liberation

It was mentioned as a book that provided some of the speaker's knowledge of the Illuminati, specifically regarding their influence on the anarchist movement.

"

I once read a book about the origins of the Illuminati as influencing the anarchist movement called the Occult Origins of Anarchism or something.

— Episode: Part One: A Complete History of the Illu...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part One: A Complete History of the Illuminati

It was mentioned as a book that provided some of the speaker's knowledge of the Illuminati, specifically regarding their influence on the anarchist movement.

"

I once read a book about the origins of the Illuminati as influencing the anarchist movement called the Occult Origins of Anarchism or something.

Berlin 1933-1945 Between Propaganda and Terror. Cover

Andreas Nachama

Berlin 1933-1945 Between Propaganda and Terror.

Daniel Schneiderman's 'Berlin 1933' was brought up, with an interview excerpt included from the New Yorker discussing activist journalism as the most ethical approach in covering the Nazi rise.

"

Now there's a great book about all this, Berlin 1933, written by French media critic Daniel Schneiderman.

— Episode: Part Two: How The Liberal Media Helped F...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part Two: How The Liberal Media Helped Fascism Win

Daniel Schneiderman's 'Berlin 1933' was brought up, with an interview excerpt included from the New Yorker discussing activist journalism as the most ethical approach in covering the Nazi rise.

"

Now there's a great book about all this, Berlin 1933, written by French media critic Daniel Schneiderman.

Activist journalism, Schneiderman writes, journalism that subordinates the quest for truth to the quest for a truth that is useful to its cause is the only journalism that today doesn't have to feel ashamed about what it produced.

I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year Cover

Carol Leonnig

I Alone Can Fix It

Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year

The podcast hosts discussed the book "I Alone Can Fix It", which included quotes from General Mike Miley comparing Trump to Hitler, saying "Yeah, this is a Reichstag moment." They were surprised that Miley was willing to make such a strong statement.

"

There's a book called I Alone Can Fix It, which a couple of journalists are coming out with and there's some interesting quotes from it from specifically General Mike Miley, who's lik...

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 95

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 95

The podcast hosts discussed the book "I Alone Can Fix It", which included quotes from General Mike Miley comparing Trump to Hitler, saying "Yeah, this is a Reichstag moment." They were surprised that Miley was willing to make such a strong statement.

"

There's a book called I Alone Can Fix It, which a couple of journalists are coming out with and there's some interesting quotes from it from specifically General Mike Miley, who's like the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was appointed by Trump.

Yeah, this is a Reichstag moment.

Europe and the Making of Modernity: 1815-1914 Cover

the late Robin W. Winks

Europe and the Making of Modernity

1815-1914

It was described as the best investigation into the role of the German media in the rise of Nazism, specifically focusing on the Ullstein publishing house and its publication Tempo.

"

Now, the very, very best investigation I have found into this period of German media is the book Modern Modernity by Jrgen Hohn.

— Episode: Part One: How The Liberal Media Helped F...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part One: How The Liberal Media Helped Fascism Win

It was described as the best investigation into the role of the German media in the rise of Nazism, specifically focusing on the Ullstein publishing house and its publication Tempo.

"

Now, the very, very best investigation I have found into this period of German media is the book Modern Modernity by Jrgen Hohn.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Everyman's Library) Cover

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Everyman's Library)

Vance was doubted by Gore Vidal to have been well-read enough to have made reference to the book in his diary, though the title was misspelled.

"

Both denisovich and ishmael are misspelled, but that could be intentional.

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 143

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 143

Vance was doubted by Gore Vidal to have been well-read enough to have made reference to the book in his diary, though the title was misspelled.

"

Both denisovich and ishmael are misspelled, but that could be intentional.

He also doubts that Bremer was well read enough to make reference to Solzhenitsyn's Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich or quip as he crossed the Great Lakes call me ishmael.

The Color of Murder (A Veronica Shade Thriller Book 1) Cover

Patrick Logan

The Color of Murder (A Veronica Shade Thriller Book 1)

It was referenced as a source of information about the case, where the author was said to have been involved in the legal process for the case. It provided details about the victim's condition and evidence which helped to strengthen the case against the accused.

"

I drove to East London where I was joined by Charlene Craig, recalls Pittman. Accompanied by a relative of Cea Bongo, we went directly to Frary Hospital where we found the victim with a bullet wound r...

— Episode: Part Two: Louis van Schoor: The Deadlies...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part Two: Louis van Schoor: The Deadliest Security...

It was referenced as a source of information about the case, where the author was said to have been involved in the legal process for the case. It provided details about the victim's condition and evidence which helped to strengthen the case against the accused.

"

I drove to East London where I was joined by Charlene Craig, recalls Pittman. Accompanied by a relative of Cea Bongo, we went directly to Frary Hospital where we found the victim with a bullet wound running from his abdomen clear through his back.

A telling piece of evidence collected from the custody of the hospital was the clothing he had been wearing when he was shot, notably a synthetic fiber tracksuit. The tracksuit top had a gaping hole in front, with indications that the fiber had been burned in the vicinity of the hole, which would prove Cea Bongo's allegation that he had been shot at point blank range.

Armed with Cea Bongo's statement and his clothes in a plastic bag, we drove jauntily to the Fleet Street Police Station.

a massive dossier began to grow against the man whose callous exploits read like a scene from a Dirty Harry script.

Ender's Game (The Ender Saga, 1) Cover

Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game (The Ender Saga, 1)

Yarden, who is the high priest of the neo-reactionary school of thought, was compared to Ender's brother in Ender's Game, who also wrote essays to try and overthrow the government.

"

He is if you've read Inders game He's doing what Inders brother does an Inders game where he's writing his little essays for the internet Trying to like overthrow the government using them and there's...

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 143

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 143

Yarden, who is the high priest of the neo-reactionary school of thought, was compared to Ender's brother in Ender's Game, who also wrote essays to try and overthrow the government.

"

He is if you've read Inders game He's doing what Inders brother does an Inders game where he's writing his little essays for the internet Trying to like overthrow the government using them and there's a certain certain kind of guy Who is just deeply attracted to that idea

The Color of Murder (A Veronica Shade Thriller Book 1) Cover

Patrick Logan

The Color of Murder (A Veronica Shade Thriller Book 1)

The book was referenced for its insightful summary of the historical context of apartheid in South Africa, specifically highlighting the Great Trek and its impact on Afrikaner nationalism and the lasting effects of the Anglo-Boer War concentration camps.

"

Around 1838, clinging to a dream of racial exclusivity, but leaving behind their homes in the fields they had cultivated, the Afrikaners set out to escape the British by migrating northwards across th...

— Episode: Part One: Louis van Schoor: The Deadlies...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part One: Louis van Schoor: The Deadliest Security...

The book was referenced for its insightful summary of the historical context of apartheid in South Africa, specifically highlighting the Great Trek and its impact on Afrikaner nationalism and the lasting effects of the Anglo-Boer War concentration camps.

"

Around 1838, clinging to a dream of racial exclusivity, but leaving behind their homes in the fields they had cultivated, the Afrikaners set out to escape the British by migrating northwards across the Drakensberg Mountains into Natal and over the Orange River into the Transvaal.

The Great Trek, some bloody 19th century battles with Zulu warriors and their defeat in the war with the British 70 years later helped create a fierce nationalism among the Afrikaners.

The concentration camps of the Anglo-Boer War, in which men, women and children perished at the hands of the British, left Afrikaners a profoundly defeated tribe with a defensive psyche that was to have disastrous repercussions in later years.

Patriots of Treason (1) (The Patriots Series) Cover

David Thomas Roberts

Patriots of Treason (1) (The Patriots Series)

It was described as a right-wing novel published in 2012, imagining a scenario where a Black president, initially named Barack Obama, attacks Iran, and an Iranian-American student, inspired by the Tea Party, attempts an assassination.

"

And the plot of this book, this is not the book we're covering this week. Okay. Okay. But you need to hear about it to get to that book.

— Episode: Part One: Blue Dawn: A Right Wing Fantas...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part One: Blue Dawn: A Right Wing Fantasy of Lefti...

It was described as a right-wing novel published in 2012, imagining a scenario where a Black president, initially named Barack Obama, attacks Iran, and an Iranian-American student, inspired by the Tea Party, attempts an assassination.

"

And the plot of this book, this is not the book we're covering this week. Okay. Okay. But you need to hear about it to get to that book.

And the plot of the book is that an unhinged Barack Obama stand in president. Many such cases?

It's like one of those right wing, this is what Obama's right about to do books because he publishes it right before he gets reelected. I'm like, I think we've seen this film before.

His not Barack Obama stand in is Tyrell Johnson and is also a black president.

My favorite detail about the book, which I got from a Texas monthly review of it, is that the fake president in the book, Tyrell Johnson was originally just named Barack Obama and they did a find and replace.

Blue Dawn: The most chilling "what-if" in history...the progressive overthrow of the United States Cover

Blaine L. Pardoe

Blue Dawn

The most chilling "what-if" in history...the progressive overthrow of the United States

It was described as a right-wing novel published in 2021 that imagines a successful Antifa coup in 2020, leading to a new socialist America with nationalized healthcare, reparations, and a cancel-culture-focused police force.

"

Now there are a lot of hideous books these people have put out, but the one we're going to actually do in this episode or maybe episodes, we'll see how it goes, is a little title named Blue Da...

— Episode: Part One: Blue Dawn: A Right Wing Fantas...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part One: Blue Dawn: A Right Wing Fantasy of Lefti...

It was described as a right-wing novel published in 2021 that imagines a successful Antifa coup in 2020, leading to a new socialist America with nationalized healthcare, reparations, and a cancel-culture-focused police force.

"

Now there are a lot of hideous books these people have put out, but the one we're going to actually do in this episode or maybe episodes, we'll see how it goes, is a little title named Blue Dawn.

And the author, Blaine Lee Pardot is best known for, according to his Wiki, his battle tech and mech warrior novels.

He's not Ben Shapiro. He knows like I wouldn't call him a good I don't think his book is good, but like he his sentences are structured well and his like chapters or he understands like the flow that a book is supposed to have.

And I was very wrong because Garrison, this is a right winger writing a novel about like what if all of our anarchist dreams came true?

It's fascinating to see what he thinks was just about to happen in 2020, because there's a there's a lot of courage that you have to have to write near future speculative science fiction, right?

American Gothic Tales Cover

Joyce Carol Oates

American Gothic Tales

It was mentioned as a 2022 novella that reimagines Ebenezer Scrooge as a militant gay leftist who, after visits from ghosts, becomes a conservative Republican, suggesting that the right is more tolerant than the left.

"

Chadwick Bicknell's 2022 novella, An American Carol, reimagines Ebenezer Scrooge as Alex LeDumas, a militant gay lefty who has sworn off attending a Fourth of July party with his relatives because man...

— Episode: Part One: Blue Dawn: A Right Wing Fantas...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part One: Blue Dawn: A Right Wing Fantasy of Lefti...

It was mentioned as a 2022 novella that reimagines Ebenezer Scrooge as a militant gay leftist who, after visits from ghosts, becomes a conservative Republican, suggesting that the right is more tolerant than the left.

"

Chadwick Bicknell's 2022 novella, An American Carol, reimagines Ebenezer Scrooge as Alex LeDumas, a militant gay lefty who has sworn off attending a Fourth of July party with his relatives because many of them support a Trumpian president.

After visits from George Washington, the ghost of America's past, Marilyn Monroe, the ghost of bizarrely America's present and death, which apparently is what the new future, the near future holds for us if we don't watch out.

LeDumas realizes the right is more tolerant than the left, recognizes the Trumpish commander in chief has actually made America great again and is spiritually reborn as a docile gay Republican.

Corona-Fascism: How Politicians Used A Virus to Eliminate Privacy, Enrich Themselves, and Put the Final Nail In Liberty's Coffin Cover

Elliot "Alu" Axelman

Corona-Fascism

How Politicians Used A Virus to Eliminate Privacy, Enrich Themselves, and Put the Final Nail In Liberty's Coffin

It was one of the books published by Defiance Press, mentioned as an example of the types of books they publish, which were described as books that "stretch the definition" of a book.

"

They have a young adult book called Looks Like a Cheetah to Me. That's apparently an anti trans fairy tale.

— Episode: Part One: Blue Dawn: A Right Wing Fantas...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part One: Blue Dawn: A Right Wing Fantasy of Lefti...

It was one of the books published by Defiance Press, mentioned as an example of the types of books they publish, which were described as books that "stretch the definition" of a book.

"

They have a young adult book called Looks Like a Cheetah to Me. That's apparently an anti trans fairy tale.

So that article in Texas Monthly on Defiance Press included so many different book summaries that I felt were perfect possible subjects for behind the bastards book episodes.

Their top titles like the book text it make the case for like that makes the case for Texas Succession and it sold about 10,000 copies, which is like not bad for a real book.

But you know, that's that's kind of the best any of their things do. Most of their products are nonfiction, but there are books.

Texas Monthly describes it as like books that stretch that definition with titles like Corona fascism, Trump and the resurrection of America and Hunt It, Kill It and Drag It Home, which is apparently a self-help book.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.