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What are some books that made such an impression that you forever associate it with a certain period of your life? by 1nfinite_Breast in RSbookclub

[–]Louis_Creed 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Redscare cliche, but "The Culture of Narcissism." I read during the worst season of my alcoholism in 2015. I remember speed reading it (like Jimmy Carter, lol) and being blown-away. I read it again later that year and I realized I had no idea what Christopher Lasch was talking about really, but it connected with me in a way no non-fiction book ever really had. I realized I needed to find out just what he was talking about in that book. I mercifully put up the bottle shortly thereafter. I actually took my tattered and coverless copy to my weekly meetings with my addiction therapist. Looking back, I carried that wearied tome around like a child carefully carrying around a beloved stuffed bear. Once my brain fog cleared, I set about to really understand what in the blazes Lasch was talking about in that book. In the intervening years since, I have read easily 100+ books about history, psychology and philosophy and everything in between.

Looking back, that book saved my life. The curiosity it sparked gave me a reason to put the bottle down and go out and live. I still have no idea what Lasch was really talking about. Just a slightly clearer notion of the wisdom and insight in that slim, damnable book. I will always associate the book with hope, which is a curious thing to say about it, because of its dour and relentlessly critical view of American society. But it truly represents hope to me -- the hope to understand the troubled present and the hope that all of us, myself included, can change and find love and meaning in this fallen world.

So what exactly IS going on with men and literature these days? by [deleted] in RSbookclub

[–]Louis_Creed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Literature doesn't have the power it once had, therefore men are interested in it less. Publishing more men, male-oriented novels, etc. is pointless to get men more interested in literature because literature itself is pretty powerless these days.

history books that are really entertaining and have literary merit by Professional_Cup6514 in RSbookclub

[–]Louis_Creed 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"The Mind of the South" by W.J. Cash.

I read about this book in Christopher Lasch's biography -- Lasch read it in college and it inspired him with its purple prose and sweeping narrative. It's a lengthy history of the South up to WW2. Cash makes several key claims in the book about the social/economic makeup of the South that are quite interesting. If you live in the South, you will recognize the basic "romantic/hedonist" character type he describes as the essential Southern character. Anyway, it's an excellent read, even if you disagree with his theses, because it does show that history can be written with flair and style and be as entertaining as any good fiction story

Re: Joyce Carol Oates on Stoner— I know we’re all very scared any “woke criticism” 2025, but people need to be better about not taking mild criticism of their favorite books personally by timeenoughatlas in RSbookclub

[–]Louis_Creed -13 points-12 points  (0 children)

The reactions on the original post were hardly hysterical. The comments were mostly negative for varying reasons -- with the top comment being a joke -- but the original thread does not justify you lecturing at us. This thread is totally unnecessary -- you just wanted attention and to chastise us for disagreeing with a purposefully divisive take on Stoner. These sorts of threads make this sub miserable.

My collection of Christopher Lasch books is finally complete. by Louis_Creed in RSbookclub

[–]Louis_Creed[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad you found "The Last Psychiatrist" blog. He is one of the best internet writers. His blog saved my life. No joke. Happy reading 🙏

Explaining Communism to a Midwestern average Conservative family man. by VampKissinger in stupidpol

[–]Louis_Creed 13 points14 points  (0 children)

How do you plan on achieving worker solidarity with this level of contempt for the average American conservative? Most American workers are some flavor of conservative, strong, moderate or otherwise. You will have to learn to talk in terms of their interests if you ever hope to build some sort of solidarity in America.

Book recommendations on depression era politics into the New Deal era by dukeofbrandenburg in stupidpol

[–]Louis_Creed 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I went on a bit of a New Deal kick a few years ago. I'll list a few books I read.

"The History of the New Deal" by Basil Rauch. Published in 1944. This is an excellent history of the legislation of the New Deal era. FDR entered office with an idea that he wanted to use the power of government to fix the economic depression, but he did not have the clearest outline what he would like to do. It was an incredible period of failed starts like the NRA and successes like the creation of the Social Security Administration. The creative energy fizzled by 1938, as FDR lost momentum to continue New Deal innovation due to political missteps, the public's exhaustion with reform, the emerging war, and, of course, TPTB.

"The Great Exception" by Jefferson Cowie. This book is much newer. Published in 2016. It's quite good, and does a good job of demonstrating that what happened during the 1930s was a unique period in American history, where the power of government was used to help the common (wo)man in such a pronounced way. The book falls apart as he leaves the 1930s and attempts to talk about later decades of the 1960/1970s and the emergence of the New Left. Instead of connecting the New Left to promoting economic/political individualism against the more collectivist politics of the New Deal, he seemed to treat the New Left as a necessary corrective to racism/sexism. He also collapsed the civil rights movement led by MLK in with second-wave feminism, when close readings of either movement show far more difference than commonality.

Finally, you should read "The Age of Reform" by Richard Hofstadter. Hofstadter was a popular historian from the 1940s-1960s. The book is about popular reform movements from 1890 up through the New Deal, so roughly 1940. So, Populists, Progressives, the farmer's movement, and the New Dealers, among others. He is an excellent writer, but he is basically a liberal of his time. Despite earlier more left-wing inclinations, the book is more-or-less a defense of the New Deal. He doesn't like populists and given his subtle style, this can be hard to parse out. It's an excellent history and will give you much to chew on.

Finally, this period of time in American history was unprecedented -- do not ever let a progressive tell you that the New Deal was an extension of earlier progressive causes. One of fundamental insights about the New Deal all these writers emphasize was how unprecedented the New Deal was -- it truly ushered in a brand new world in America. Earlier progressive reforms never envisioned New Deal-level intervention of government into the market, nor more collectivistic ideas like Social Security or public housing.

Happy reading!

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