books @ cc.

by Robert O. Paxton (2004)

In this book, Paxton claims that the way to understand fascism is to observe it in action. Dividing the book in chronological sections, Paxton observes the evolution of fascism from its invention and creation, the “common thread”, the social and political space and conditions, the seeds and the full blooms in different countries, and the potential of fascist re-emergence in modern world.

And Other Tales from the American Underground
by Eric Schlosser (2003)

Three essays on different aspects of American underground — marijuana trade (Reefer Madness), migrant labourers (In the Strawberry Fields) and porn industry (An Empire of the Obscene) — offering general, if rather superficial and unsatisfying, view of ‘illicit’ industry.

Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption
by Laura J. Miller (2006)

Tracing the history of bookselling in the USA from the beginning of twentieth century to the era of superstore and amazon.com, Miller explores the independent-chain dynamic in a business that is fiercely conscious in its perceived status as an agent of cultural and human betterment. Although critical of the “corporatisation” of superstores and chains, highlighting the deeply ingrained commerce (profane) vs culture (elite) status quo, Miller debunks the common (often hyperbolic) sentimental myth of a “bygone golden age” (where those in the business are presumed to care about books, not the money), while also pointing out its assuming, almost elitist function as a mark of intellectual patrimony, differentiating the “gentility” — higher in their learning, aesthetic sensibility and refinement — from those further down the social hierarchy.

Aspek Sosial & Simbolik Teater Rakyat Indonesia
by James L. Peacock (1968)

Originally published in English as Rites of Modernization: Symbolic and Social Aspects of Indonesian Proletarian Drama by the University of Chicago in 1968, Ritus Modernisasi studies the (pre-’65 gestapu) historical, social and artistic importance of this “proletarian drama”, ludruk.

since c.1200 (3rd ed.)
by M.C. Ricklefs (2001)

Divided into six parts of major chronological history of Indonesia from the coming of Islam to the removal of Abdurrahman Wahid in 2001, this textbook is designed as a stepping stone for those overwhelmed by the wealth of specialised information (and oftentimes in foreign-language), or those wanting relatively detailed panoramic view of Indonesian history in English without the overemphasis on colonialism and exoticism.

How our animal heritage affects the way we live
by Jared Diamond (1991)

The theme of the book, “[h]ow the human species changed, within a short time, from just another species of big mammal to a world conqueror; and how we acquired the capacity to reverse all that progress overnight,” would be recognisable to readers familiar with Diamond’s later books (Why is Sex Fun?, Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse).

by Mark Mazower (2000)

A short but broad-ranging history book, it challenges the common one-dimensional stereotype of “the Balkans”. From the Romans to the present, including the Byzantine and Ottoman experiences, it treats the former Turkish domains as part of a common, if complex, historical inheritance.

Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century
by Graham Robb (2003)

Robb challenges the common assumptions of the Victorian age as a tabloid image of homophobic hell populated by mean-spirited, fearful and envious ignoramuses from which gay people eventually liberated themselves. Despite its all-inclusive subtitle however, Strangers mainly focuses only on western Europe, with a few mentions of Eastern Europe and America.

A Harm Minimisation Approach
edited by Margaret Hamilton, Allan Kellehear, Greg Rumbold (1998)

An introductory book containing essays about drugs and drug use in Australia that challenge the “prevailing” (?) judgemental, often insufferably simplistic views about drugs and drug use, and discuss instead the current “harm minimisation” approach, aimed mainly for tertiary students, but readable for general public.

History of a Genocide
by Gérard Prunier (1995)

Meticulously researched, elaborating history and politics of pre-colonial Rwanda, written in a “scientifically” detached tone, with the author most of the time addressing himself in third person (except in the occasion of Opération Turquoise where he was involved). Prunier is unapologetically, scathingly sardonic towards France, his home country, who undeniably contributed majorly in the further poisoning of an already disastrous solution.