Houston Democrats

The Constitution, Bill of Rights and all of Tom Payne's works as well as a variety of histories of the American Progressive and Populists movements.

Thanks, Stan. You are absolutely right. I carry a pocket Constitution, but forgot to include this most important document of all! I will put it into the table right now, and Tom Paine's Common Sense, too!

Robert A Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
James Randi, Flim-Flam

How can we deny Jim Wallis' point in his book "Gods Politics" when he points out that the teachings of Jesus as documented in the Bible are progressive values? Jesus was a Liberal after all!

Despite the power of great literature,
my political beliefs are not the result of that alone.

Although the following list certainly
influenced my views:
(in no particular order)

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair,

1984, by George Orwell,

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury,

Future Shock, by Alvin Toffler,

Brave
New World, by Aldous Huxley,

The
Greening Of America, by Charles Reich

Lots of great books already mentioned here! A book that had a profound influence on my already progressive attitudes was Women's Room by Marilyn French

Good list of books, but I would like to suggest a few more (never enough good books)

Reading the Bible again for the first time, by Marcus J. Borg (makes the same points as does Wallis in God's Politics, but much more coherent)

Octupus by Frank Norris (great book on the actions of the railroads; based on actual events)

The uneasy chair by Wallace Stegner (biography of Bernard DeVoto: historian, evironmental activist)

Thirty years of treason edited by Eric Bentley (excertpts from hearings before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, 1938-1968; a scary account of the lengths to which our government will or can go to harass citizens)

Monkey wrench gang by Edward Abbey (what citizens can accomplish when they set out to do something)

How can I keep from singing by David Dunaway (biography of Pete Seeger, an early political and environmental activist and folksinger)

My parents made me a progressive. I asked my mother what influenced her and my father and she said the same, their parents made them progressives. She brought up William Stringfellow's writing, particularly Dissenter in a Great Society and An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land, The Gospel According to Luke and it's references to the poor and the Old Testament Prophets and their references to the poor. Stringfellow's writing is not easy to read, it is often unpleasant and it's not easy to find. When pressed for fiction that affected her she told me how she read Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird while attending a segregated school in Cotulla, TX and how exciting it was to attend a desegregated school a few years later in Refugio, TX. She also told me that my father was very impressed with Alvin Toffler's Future Shock and I recall that it never made it to the bookcases and was always on the coffee table or night stand. Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych and Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are two of my favorite formative books about the importance of compassion and the harm of the lack thereof.

* Occupied America by Dr. Rodolfo Acuna

* Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas by Dr. David Montejano (Good history of Mexican American politics in Texas)

* The Making of a Chicano Militant by Dr. Jose Angel Gutierrez (Good history of South Texas politics)

* Youth, Identity and Power by Carlos Munoz, Jr.

* Mexican Americans in Texas by Dr. Arnoldo de Leon

* The Revolt of the Cockroach People by Oscar Zeta Acosta

Just a few that made me the "radical" that I am!

Thanks, Stace. What a terrific list! Everyone else upthread also had some invaluable additions. I can tell that Amazon is going to be getting even more $ out of me!
MR

I've read a lot of books over the years, but what really started it for me was the music of the Beatles, Bob Marley, and The Clash.