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 2,018
Books 1,695

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The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order cover

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

Samuel P. Huntington

Mentioned 5 months ago

It Could Happen Here Weekly 220

The discussion referenced Huntington's thesis to illustrate how postColdWar politics framed conflicts as cultural clashes.

It seemed like a sort of kernel of truth in this. It was based on Huntington's writing about the clash of civilizations.

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Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History cover

Balkan Ghosts

Robert D. Kaplan

Mentioned 5 months ago

It Could Happen Here Weekly 220

The hosts noted that Bill Clinton had read the book, after which his administration's rhetoric shifted regarding the Balkans.

and after Bill Clinton read that horrendous book, Balkan Ghosts by Kaplan, his administration's rhetoric began to change

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Shanghai on Strike: The Politics of Chinese Labor cover

Shanghai on Strike

Elizabeth J. Perry

Mentioned 5 months ago

It Could Happen Here Weekly 220

One of the speakers cited Ferry's book as a detailed account of the 1925 Shanghai general strike.

In a book called Shanghai on Strike by Elizabeth Ferry, she describes the massive labor actions and their aftermath.

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The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Boxed Set Hardcover Illustrated edition 2020 June 25 cover

The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Boxed Set Hardcover Illustrated edition 2020 June 25

J.R.R. Tolkien

Mentioned 5 months ago

Part One: How Jeffrey Epstein Helped Build the Modern World

The hosts compared the children's hockey movies The Mighty Ducks to The Lord of the Rings, calling the former the hockey equivalent of the classic fantasy series.

The Mighty Ducks' premise was strong enough to sustain a trilogy, which no critics consider to be basically the children's hockey equivalent to The Lord of the Rings.

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Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency cover

Devil's Bargain

Joshua Green

Mentioned 5 months ago

Part One: How Jeffrey Epstein Helped Build the Modern World

The hosts noted that journalist Joshua Green had written Devil's Bargain, a book about Steve Bannon's rise in the Trump administration.

Bannon became fascinated with the collective power of gamers who gathered on these sites, according to journalist Joshua Green, who wrote a book, Devil's Bargain, about Bannon's rise in the Trump administration.

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Thousand Plateaus (Athlone Contemporary European Thinkers) cover

Thousand Plateaus (Athlone Contemporary European Thinkers)

Professor Gilles Deleuze

Mentioned 5 months ago

It Could Happen Here Weekly 219

The analysis from these philosophers was referenced to discuss the ways in which fascism and totalitarianism differ, noting that fascism involves a war machine taking over the state. The text was also quoted to illustrate realized nihilism within fascism, characterized by an intense line of escape that transforms into pure destruction.

They discuss the ways in which fascism and totalitarianism differ. They write that totalitarianism is a state affair made up of material components that overmanage society. Quote, even in the case of a military dictator it is a state army, not a war machine, that takes power and elevates the state to the totalitarian stage. Totalitarianism is quintessentially conservative. Fascism, on the other hand, involves a war machine. When fascism builds itself a totalitarian state, it is not in the sense of a state army taking power, but of a war machine taking over the state. Unquote.

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The Suicidal State: Race Suicide, Biopower, and the Sexuality of Population cover

The Suicidal State

Madoka Kishi

Mentioned 5 months ago

It Could Happen Here Weekly 219

This essay by Virilio was discussed as the framework building off of Deleuze and Guattari's work, arguing that in fascism, the state is suicidal rather than strictly totalitarian. Virilio argued that this evolution of the state is guided by non-progress and terror, founded on the repulsion and fear of all development in the civil domain.

This analysis from Deleuze and Guattari is building off of an essay by the French writer Paul Virilio called The Suicidal State, where Virilio argues that in fascism, the state is far less totalitarian than it is suicidal.

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Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization and Now Threatens to Destroy It cover

Progress

Samuel Miller McDonald

Mentioned 5 months ago

It Could Happen Here Weekly 219

The speaker mentioned reading this book and planning a review for the podcast, noting how its content explored the pervasive concept of progress and how it can trip people up, sometimes acting like a sedative against engaging with degrading reality.

You know, recently I read this book, Progress, by Samuel Miller MacDonald, and I would like to do a review of it at some point for the podcast, but... The short of it is that it gets into just how pervasive this concept of progress is in kind of tripping people up and keeping us serving systems that don't serve us.

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Mephisto (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) cover

Mephisto (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin)

Klaus Mann

Mentioned 5 months ago

It Could Happen Here Weekly 219

Deleuze and Guattari quoted from this 1936 novel, which contains fascist speeches, noting an excerpt eerily similar to the visuals of Trump as the suicidal penguin.

In A Thousand Plateaus, Deleuze and Guattari quote an excerpt from Klaus Mann's 1936 novel Mephisto, which contains fascist speeches and ordinary conversations from Nazi Germany.

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Starship Troopers cover

Starship Troopers

Mentioned 5 months ago

The Greg Bovino Episode Extravaganza!

The hosts said it was apparently his favorite novel, that he reads it once a year, and noted that it is often interpreted as a fascist work.

His favorite book was probably Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, surprising no one. His sister told the Daily Mail that he reads Starship Troopers once a year, which completely makes sense.

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The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (S.F. MASTERWORKS) cover

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (S.F. MASTERWORKS)

Robert A. Heinlein

Mentioned 5 months ago

The Greg Bovino Episode Extravaganza!

The book was cited as a key influence on libertarian thought, being called a foundational text for the American libertarian movement.

One of his books, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, is often seen as providing a lot of the ideological underpinning for the libertarian movement.

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Emperors in the Jungle: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama (American Encounters/Global Interactions), Cover may vary cover

Emperors in the Jungle

John Lindsay-Poland

Mentioned 5 months ago

It Could Happen Here Weekly 218

This book served as the main resource for the detailed historical analysis of U.S. intervention in Panama, covering everything from the Bidlack Treaty to the 1989 invasion. The speaker found the book provided fantastic information on topics they had never heard discussed before, shaking them regarding events at the crossroads of the continents.

Panama was a long-standing laboratory of U.S. imperial power.

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Most Recommended

Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia Cover

David Graeber

Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia

The book argues that the Enlightenment occurred as a result of Europeans' interactions and exposure to the rest of the world.

"

David Graeber, in one of his recent posthumous works, Pirate Enlightenment, and in a lot of his other works as well, he sort of grapples with this idea of the Enlightenment, right?

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 78

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 78

The book argues that the Enlightenment occurred as a result of Europeans' interactions and exposure to the rest of the world.

"

David Graeber, in one of his recent posthumous works, Pirate Enlightenment, and in a lot of his other works as well, he sort of grapples with this idea of the Enlightenment, right?

The West That Never Was Cover

Tony Thomas

The West That Never Was

The book describes a trick that European writers use when examining other societies, which is to present themselves as entirely rational while highlighting the supposed weirdness of other cultures.

"

I've been talking about The Never Was a West a lot recently.

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 78

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Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 78

The book describes a trick that European writers use when examining other societies, which is to present themselves as entirely rational while highlighting the supposed weirdness of other cultures.

"

I've been talking about The Never Was a West a lot recently.

One of the things that he talks about in The Never Was a West is this trick that European writers use when they're looking at another society, which is like they present themselves as people whose behaviors are entirely rational and they're solving a logic puzzle.

Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Americans Are Not Getting Paid—And What We Can Do About It Cover

Kim Bobo

Wage Theft in America

Why Millions of Americans Are Not Getting Paid—And What We Can Do About It

The book is a history of racism in education in Philadelphia.

"

And here's a quote from the book Not Paid for Us, which is a really, really great book about sort of the history of racism in education in Philadelphia.

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 78

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Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 78

The book is a history of racism in education in Philadelphia.

"

And here's a quote from the book Not Paid for Us, which is a really, really great book about sort of the history of racism in education in Philadelphia.

He funnels money into just like a shit ton of NGOs in order to do education programming or whatever. And so there's this sort of constellation that forms of these corporations doing education stuff or running schools. And then you have these nonprofits running the education material.

One of the SRC's most problematic contracts was with K-12 Inc. for $3 million to quote provide academic and curriculum support, access to K-12's online curriculum and assessments, academic enrichment via summer and extended day programs, professional development, teacher planning and training materials, and community involvement activities.

Test results were posted on data walls in the school buildings to show which classes were making the most progress. Whoa. It was humiliating, said grills. A teacher. A lot of our kids were left behind.

The Art of Passing the Buck, Vol I; Secrets of Wills and Trusts Revealed Cover

Charles Arthur

The Art of Passing the Buck, Vol I; Secrets of Wills and Trusts Revealed

The report examines Paul Vallis's time in various school districts and exposes his budget balancing tactics.

"

And they wrote a report on on Valis's time in various school districts.

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 78

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Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 78

The report examines Paul Vallis's time in various school districts and exposes his budget balancing tactics.

"

And they wrote a report on on Valis's time in various school districts.

So all right, let's let's talk about his pension scheme.

So in 1999, Valis was like, oh, hey, the Chicago pension system is funded, so we're going to take the teacher's money and use it to pay other budget shortfalls.

And the result of this is a nine point six billion dollar hole in the pension system that Chicago has to like pay off.

Valis literally borrowed against Chicago school children's futures when he took out a six hundred and sixty six million dollars in capital appreciation bonds.

My Lie: A True Story of False Memory Cover

Meredith Maran

My Lie

A True Story of False Memory

It was mentioned as an example of a book about institutional culture in the military and how it fails to prevent atrocities.

"

And you read about stories like My Lie or there's a really good example for this book called Black Hearts, this American platoon in Iraq.

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 77

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 77

It was mentioned as an example of a book about institutional culture in the military and how it fails to prevent atrocities.

"

And you read about stories like My Lie or there's a really good example for this book called Black Hearts, this American platoon in Iraq.

Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death Cover

Jim Frederick

Black Hearts

One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death

It was mentioned as an example of a book about institutional culture in the military and how it fails to prevent atrocities.

"

And you read about stories like My Lie or there's a really good example for this book called Black Hearts, this American platoon in Iraq.

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 77

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 77

It was mentioned as an example of a book about institutional culture in the military and how it fails to prevent atrocities.

"

And you read about stories like My Lie or there's a really good example for this book called Black Hearts, this American platoon in Iraq.

Sick of It Cover

Sophie Harman

Sick of It

The book was described as a collection of workers inquiries and reflections on the NHS, its history, its potentials, and what it is now.

"

Some comrades of mine like from a group called the angry workers and also revolution. I always forget the other group they did it with his name. This is embarrassing. Yeah, anarchist communist group a...

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 77

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 77

The book was described as a collection of workers inquiries and reflections on the NHS, its history, its potentials, and what it is now.

"

Some comrades of mine like from a group called the angry workers and also revolution. I always forget the other group they did it with his name. This is embarrassing. Yeah, anarchist communist group and healthcare workers united, which is like a network I'm involved in. I put together a book called Sick of It, which is like a collection of workers inquiries and reflections on the NHS, its history, its potentials and what and stuff.

Garden Cities of To-Morrow Cover

Ebenezer Howard

Garden Cities of To-Morrow

The book was written in 1898 and republished in 1902. It proposed the Garden City concept, a hybrid of town and country living, with specific parameters and strong government institutions to create ideal living conditions for all economic backgrounds.

"

He presented this idea of the Garden City concept in 1898 in a book called Tomorrow, A Peaceful Path to Real Reform. Later, he republished in 1902 under the name Garden Cities of Tomorrow.

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 76

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Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 76

The book was written in 1898 and republished in 1902. It proposed the Garden City concept, a hybrid of town and country living, with specific parameters and strong government institutions to create ideal living conditions for all economic backgrounds.

"

He presented this idea of the Garden City concept in 1898 in a book called Tomorrow, A Peaceful Path to Real Reform. Later, he republished in 1902 under the name Garden Cities of Tomorrow.

And take note in the title of the book of the use of reform and peaceful path because it does highlight a noticeable lack within Howard's vision that we'll discuss later.

In Ebenezer Howard's context, again, no offense to the Ebenezers of the world, but geez, I can't let go of those implications.

And much of his book is dedicated to the idea that cities, as they existed in his time, were not sustainable in the long run.

Solidarity Unionism: Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below Cover

Staughton Lynd

Solidarity Unionism

Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below

The book discusses labor law for rank-and-file workers and how to exercise their rights.

"

You mean the rank and file?

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 76

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Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 76

The book discusses labor law for rank-and-file workers and how to exercise their rights.

"

You mean the rank and file?

I am on chapter three, has been on. It's been interesting.

I picked up a copy of Stott and Lin's Labor Law for the Rank and Filer.

We've been passing around a copy of Stott and Lin's Solidary Unionism.

Wobblies and Zapatistas; Conversations on Anarchism, Marxism and Radical History Cover

Andrej Grubacic Staughton Lynd

Wobblies and Zapatistas; Conversations on Anarchism, Marxism and Radical History

The book discussed the Wobblies (Industrial Workers of the World) and the Zapatistas, two significant movements in labor history.

"

And I think the last book I read by him was Wobblies and Zapatistas.

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 76

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Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 76

The book discussed the Wobblies (Industrial Workers of the World) and the Zapatistas, two significant movements in labor history.

"

And I think the last book I read by him was Wobblies and Zapatistas.

It's a great book.

Labor Law for the Rank & Filer: Building Solidarity While Staying Clear of the Law Cover

Staughton Lynd

Labor Law for the Rank & Filer

Building Solidarity While Staying Clear of the Law

The book provides information about how to exercise rights and avoid trouble in union contexts.

"

I picked up a copy of Stott and Lin's Labor Law for the Rank and Filer.

— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 76

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 76

The book provides information about how to exercise rights and avoid trouble in union contexts.

"

I picked up a copy of Stott and Lin's Labor Law for the Rank and Filer.

Scandal of Scientology Cover

Paulette Cooper

Scandal of Scientology

It was mentioned as a book that angered L. Ron Hubbard and led to the Guardian's Office orchestrating a campaign of harassment and persecution against the author, Paulette Cooper.

"

the Guardian office saved the worst for author Paulette Cooper of New York City whose scathing 1972 book, The Scandal of Scientology pushed her to the top of the church's roster of en...

— Episode: Part One: The Last Days of L. Ron Hubbar...

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Episode: Part One: The Last Days of L. Ron Hubbard

It was mentioned as a book that angered L. Ron Hubbard and led to the Guardian's Office orchestrating a campaign of harassment and persecution against the author, Paulette Cooper.

"

the Guardian office saved the worst for author Paulette Cooper of New York City whose scathing 1972 book, The Scandal of Scientology pushed her to the top of the church's roster of enemies.

I soon got used to telephone death threats, harassing calls and lawsuits. I was occasionally followed, often conspicuously, as if to upset me, and people seemed to be trying to gain access to my apartment.

The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, Leviathan Cover

Robert Shea

The Illuminatus! Trilogy

The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, Leviathan

It was described as a very strange piece of fiction, with a premise that all conspiracy theories, even conflicting ones, are true and a secret war is waged between the Illuminati and Discordians.

"

In 1975, Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea, his fellow editor at Playboy, start to publish a series of three novels eventually known as the Illuminatus Trilogy.

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

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Episode: Part Six: A Complete History of the Illuminati

It was described as a very strange piece of fiction, with a premise that all conspiracy theories, even conflicting ones, are true and a secret war is waged between the Illuminati and Discordians.

"

In 1975, Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea, his fellow editor at Playboy, start to publish a series of three novels eventually known as the Illuminatus Trilogy.

The book is a very weird piece of fiction. One of the things they're doing during this is like every chapter, basically, they switch off. And so they were kind of trying to write each other every chapter into a corner that the other couldn't get out of.

The foundational premise is that all conspiracy theories, even the conflicting ones, are true. And the history of the world is largely determined by a secret war being waged between the all controlling Illuminati and the Discordians, who are like the insurgents fighting against the Illuminati and also are part of the Illuminati.

It's a very... It's that kind of book. And again, one of the things actually, because like everyone is a double agent, right? And like the the Discordians are actually deeply enmeshed in the Illuminati.

So for just like working for like mainstream publications, you're critiquing capitalism or participating in capitalism. And I don't actually think that's like bad, obviously. But it's messy. And I could leave you with that sort of sense of... Yeah. And it's a very messy book.

Operation Mindfuck: QAnon and the Cult of Donald Trump Cover

Robert Guffey

Operation Mindfuck

QAnon and the Cult of Donald Trump

It was mentioned as a book summarizing the goal of the Discordians, who wanted to break the trance that kept America at war and blindly consuming.

"

But as Guffey notes over the ensuing decades, it was the progressive left whose ideas wound up being mainstreamed, really from all in the family onward, it was progressive values and fictional TV mod...

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

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part Six: A Complete History of the Illuminati

It was mentioned as a book summarizing the goal of the Discordians, who wanted to break the trance that kept America at war and blindly consuming.

"

But as Guffey notes over the ensuing decades, it was the progressive left whose ideas wound up being mainstreamed, really from all in the family onward, it was progressive values and fictional TV mod to mash Murphy Brown to the West Wing.

And as that became the dominant cultural narrative, Operation Mindfuck became a tool of the old right.

And that yeah, that is over time kind of what you see is as a lot of the stuff, not all of it, obviously, these guys are much more radical than the fucking West Wing, but as some of this like these attitudes towards militarism and shit and attitudes towards like, you know, sexual liberation and like that kind of stuff, like radical political equality and whatnot, as those become more mainstreamed, the the it's like the the toolbox loses its power for that side.

Right. But becomes a more powerful tool of the people who are now kind of the insurgents.

The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion (Kindle Single) Cover

Margaret Killjoy

The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion (Kindle Single)

It was promoted as the first book in a two-book novella series dealing with magical concepts and the shaping of reality, which might appeal to listeners who enjoyed the podcast episode.

"

I would say, I have a two-book novella series that came out a little while ago called the Danielle Cain series. The first one is The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion. The second one is The Barrel Will Sen...

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

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Part Six: A Complete History of the Illuminati

It was promoted as the first book in a two-book novella series dealing with magical concepts and the shaping of reality, which might appeal to listeners who enjoyed the podcast episode.

"

I would say, I have a two-book novella series that came out a little while ago called the Danielle Cain series. The first one is The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion. The second one is The Barrel Will Send What It May.

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