Second Book List
Reserved Books: Part of departmental requirements for English 1A is that we read two works of book length written by a single author. Our first book was 1984. As promised in the syllabus and opening day information, we’ll need a second book as well. It must be chosen from the list below. You will have a significant assignment based on this book (expect it to be worth 50 points and due later in the semester), and you will need to incorporate the book you select in your second research paper due the last day of class. I will explain more about the book closer to the end of the semester, but for now, you should purchase or get the book from a library and start reading it. If you are in any way confused, by all means wait until we meet as a class again on Monday, November 2nd when I will discuss this in more detail. Otherwise, feel free to select and track down a copy of your book.
The book you chose should ideally be on a topic you are interested in. I’ve broken them down into different topic categories (you may notice some books repeated in multiple topic categories as needed). All the books on this list are fairly popular and can be found at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com, typically for under $20. Read this list and make a decision soon, so you can order the book if needed.
NOTE: I’m hoping the topic you select for this book will be your topic for the second paper. If you change your mind, that is fine; you can read this book and do the assignments based on it, but then you can do something different for the final paper. I suggest Topic 1 and Topic 2 below if you aren’t sure. No matter your topic, they will be useful for your final paper. If you know you’d like to write a final research paper on topics 3, 4, or 5, go for it! If you are unsure, I’d suggest going to Amazon.com to read user reviews and book summaries.
Topic 1: Corporate Power
The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power. By Joel Bakan.
Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic. By John DeGraaf, David Wann, and Thomas Naylor
No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. By Naomi Klein
The Bully of Bentonville: How the High Cost of Wal-Mart’s Everyday Low Prices is Hurting America. By Anthony Bianco
Topic 2: Consumerism/Capitalism
Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic. By John DeGraaf, David Wann, and Thomas Naylor
Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture. By Juliet Schor
Culture Jam: The Uncooling of America. By Kalle Lasn
The Overspent America: Why we Want what we don’t Need. By: Juliet Schor
Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood. By Susan Linn
Topic 3: Advertising/Marketing
Adcult USA: The Triumph of Advertising in American Culture. By James B Twitchell.
No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. By Naomi Klein
Topic 4: Wal-Mart
The Bully of Bentonville: How the High Cost of Wal-Mart’s Everyday Low Prices is Hurting America. By Anthony Bianco
Topic 5: Fast Food
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal. By Eric Schlosser
Chew on This: Everything you Don’t want to Know about Fast Food. By Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson.
Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And what You Can Do About It. By Karl Weber.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. By Michael Pollan.