Hi there; Rev. Bob here. Something I've been wanting to do here for quite some time has been to set up a recommended reading list for GOTC. The idea is to share some works with you, the audience - works that the columnists here have found significant in some way. I finally got my list together (I'm still looking for suggestions from the rest of the columnists), and got the bright idea to hook up with a Web-based bookstore to make it easier for you to order selections from this list. Well, who better to hook up with than Amazon.com? Yes, you can click on any of the links below to go to Amazon.com and read more about the book (or CD; this isn't strictly a reading list) - or purchase it at a good price. Of course, you can also just print this list out, go to your local library, and (drum roll, please) Check It Out!

So, on with the list. Unlinked titles are either out of print or otherwise unavailable at this writing. Some titles, like the Robert A. Heinlein books, have been printed in less expensive editions in the past - however, those are apparently now out of print. If there's a used book store in your area, you might consider looking there for such items. The codes in parentheses should be fairly obvious - (TPB) means an oversize ("trade") paperback, (HC) indicates a hardcover, and if you can't figure out (CD), you need serious help.

• Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do, by Peter McWilliams. Let me put this simply: this book is at the top of the list for a reason. If you value personal liberty at all and have any concern about the government's utter disregard for the concept, read this book. If you're too cheap to buy a copy, you can read it online for as long as the now-deceased author's site stays up - but as the book's over 650 pages, that could take a while....
• "feeling your pain", Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, and Shakedown: How the Government Screws You from A to Z, by James Bovard. It's rare for me to recommend a book that I haven't read, but in these cases I feel safe doing so. Bovard's knowledge and exhaustive research are simply amazing. It's been said that you don't know what you've got until it's gone, but Bovard shows that where the government's concerned, a lot of what we think we still have has been gone for quite a while...and most people still don't realize it. If "feeling your pain" is only half as good as Shakedown and Lost Rights were, it'll still be an excellent read.
• How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World, Why Government Doesn't Work, and The Great Libertarian Offer, by Harry Browne. Harry Browne was the Presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party in 1996, and is on the ballot again in 2000. Why Government Doesn't Work was his 1996 platform and The Great Libertarian Offer is its 2000 update/counterpart - with a level of specific details that none of the other parties dare to match. If Amazon.com doesn't have these in stock, try the Harry Browne Store. Browne is an extremely articulate writer and debater; for anyone dissatisfied with what the Republicrats have to offer, these books are a sound investment.
• Take Back Your Government!, by Robert A. Heinlein. Although Heinlein is primarily remembered for his science fiction (and I'll get to that later), he also worked in politics for a short time - and that's when he wrote this. This book is rather old and somewhat dated in places, but the information it provides is very good just the same.
• The Abuse Excuse, by Alan M. Dershowitz (TPB). A lot of people may be surprised that this legendary defense lawyer has written a book which is extremely critical of the "abuse excuse" and other legal legerdemain designed to Get The Client Off. His angle is that these invalid defenses can weaken other worthy defenses, and I have to give him due credit for such logic.
• Go and Go-Moku, by Lasker. These are the rules to the ancient Oriental game of Go (aka Igo and Wei-Ki), along with game analysis and strategy tips. The reason this is on the list is simple: Go teaches strategic thought. If your idea of a strategy game is chess, try Go - you'll never look back. Chess is merely complicated and arcane in comparison to Go; Go's rules are simple enough and the board large enough to let you concentrate on long-term strategy instead of trying to remember obscure rules.

• The Probability Broach and Pallas, by L. Neil Smith. Some of you may know L. Neil Smith as the author of the Lando Calrissian Star Wars books, but he's also an outspoken Libertarian. These books can get a little preachy in places, but they still do a good job of showing how Libertarian societies might evolve and function.
• The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (TPB), by Robert A. Heinlein. This is an extremely good book which takes the Revolutionary War and essentially recasts it in the future - this time, lunar colonists are demanding their independence. Heinlein got one of his four Hugos for this book.
• Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein. Another Hugo winner, this book was basically Heinlein's attempt to turn society on its head and make it look appealing. Everything gets the shaft in here, especially organized religion.
• Starship Troopers, by Robert A. Heinlein. Some of you may have seen the movie version of this which came out fairly recently, but the book - yes, another Hugo winner - is much better. The reason it's on here is that it has a different twist on the government than most Americans are used to - if you want the right to vote, you've got to perform some sort of government service. Heinlein liked the idea of restricting the voting franchise in some way, but at the same time he never promoted a class-based restriction. The idea was that everyone who wanted to expend some effort could get the franchise, but dolts who don't care enough to make that effort can't muck up society. (One of Heinlein's other ideas, presented in one of Expanded Universe's essays, was to substitute a knowledge requirement for the current age restriction.)
• Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio, by Dante (translated by John Ciardi). Everybody's heard of the Divine Comedy, but how many have actually read 'em? I've looked at a few translations, and Ciardi's version is simply the best and most readable that I've found. If you can find a copy in the used book stores, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle have written an update to Inferno, this time featuring a science fiction writer who falls from a window and winds up in Hell. Along similar lines, Steven Brust wrote a fascinating fantasy-style story of the rebellion in Heaven as To Reign In Hell. Unfortunately, both are out of print.

• Classic Gold, by George Carlin (CD). This is a two-disc collection of three early Carlin albums. It's not his earliest work, but this marks the beginning of his political/social humor...including two versions of his infamous "Seven Dirty Words" bit.
• Playin' With Your Head, by George Carlin. This is only available on cassette for some reason, but it's well worth picking up anyway. When I was in college, this was damned close to being a sacrament; everyone I knew could (and would) quote sections from it as appropriate.
• What Am I Doing In New Jersey?, by George Carlin (CD). Much more recent humor (1989), this deals with the end of the Reagan years and has some interesting parallels with Clinton's recent troubles.
• Parental Advisory - Explicit Lyrics, by George Carlin (CD). Another very good CD, noteworthy for Carlin's take on various groups that want to control how you and I think by restricting what we hear.
• Jammin' In New York, by George Carlin (CD). Another great Carlin disc.
• Back In Town, by George Carlin (CD). This is one of Carlin's best. Believe it or not, I was working on the People I Hate list long before I picked this up, despite its strong resemblance to this disc's closing track.
• Dangerous, Relentless, Arizona Bay, and Rant in E Minor, by Bill Hicks (CD). A lot of you probably haven't heard of Bill Hicks; he just never quite "made it big," although he's been on a couple of comedy specials here and there. (I recognized the "Drink Coke" bit on Relentless; I heard it and thought, "That's who performed that!") This is pretty rough stuff in terms of language and some of the subject matter, but if you're reading GOTC, that shouldn't faze you at all. I've gotta deduct points for the musical interludes on Arizona Bay, but considering that the CD was cobbled together from various shows and then released after Hicks died, I can't really hold him responsible for it.
• Have You Seen Me Lately?, Leader of the Banned, and Live From Hell, by Sam Kinison (CD). BUY THESE! LISTEN TO 'EM EVERY DAY! ETCH 'EM INTO YOUR FOREBRAIN! (ahem) Sorry; sometimes I get carried away. Kinison put out one other recording, Louder Than Hell, but it's not available on CD.
• Joe's Garage, by Frank Zappa (CD). Okay, Zappa's not for everybody. In fact, Act I is hilarious, Act II is strange, and Act III is just an excuse for Zappa to play long guitar solos. With that in mind, it's a decent cautionary tale against censorship that uses enough comedy to pass under Their radar.
• Weight, by the Rollins Band (CD). Listen up, and listen good: Henry Rollins kicks ass. This is good hard rock with lyrics that deserve your complete attention. Come In and Burn and The End of Silence are also good, but Weight is simply classic.
• Snappin' Necks, Pigwalk, and Rising (import version with extra tracks also available), by Stuck Mojo (CD). One of the people who may soon be joining GOTC as a columnist recommends these as "attacks [on] idiots of all stripes."

• Brain Droppings, by George Carlin (TPB). This is a good collection of classic and new Carlin spanning his entire career.
• The Rants (TPB) and Ranting Again (HC), by Dennis Miller. These are reworkings of Miller's HBO monologues, typed up and edited into short essays. Stay away from the audio versions; I picked up the Rants audiobook CD and was very disappointed by its blandness - instead of being the original audio from the HBO specials, it's just Miller reading the essays. If you want Miller on CD, pick up The Off-White Album - it's much better.

• The Dilbert Future (HC) and The Dilbert Principle (TPB), by Scott Adams. If you haven't yet met Dilbert, skip over to The Dilbert Zone and check out a few episodes of the strip. These two books are not collections, but "real books". However, for those interested in the collections, here they are in chronological order:

  1. Always Postpone Meetings With Time Wasting Morons
  2. Shave the Whales
  3. Bring Me the Head of Willy the Mailboy!
  4. It's Obvious You Won't Survive By Your Wits Alone
  5. Still Pumped from Using the Mouse
  6. Fugitive from the Cubicle Police
  7. Casual Day Has Gone Too Far
  8. I'm Not Anti-Business, I'm Anti-Idiot
  9. Journey to Cubeville

  Furthermore, there are three additional Dilbert books to contend with. These aren't "collections" in the same sense the others are, but are instead new works using Dilbert and his compatriots - so they don't "fit" anywhere in the strip.

  • Build A Better Life by Stealing Office Supplies
  • Dogbert's Clues for the Clueless
  • Seven Years of Highly Defective People. Okay, this is sort of a collection. It's really a "behind the scenes" Dilbert book.

• Clerks (VHS). Some people who've seen this movie think it's fiction. M.P. and I know better. If anything, it's been toned down. There are two immediate "sequels" to Clerks - Mallrats and Chasing Amy - which both take place in the same region and involve characters from the same clique. (Actually, Mallrats takes place a few days before Clerks and Chasing Amy takes place a few years later.) The screenplays have also been published as two books - Clerks/Chasing Amy is still available, but Mallrats is unfortunately out of print. (For true devotees, more merchandise can be found at Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash - and you can even get some of it signed by Kevin Smith.) Dogma, the fourth installment in the series, should be out soon in a kick-ass DVD edition.
• Devil's Advocate (VHS, widescreen). An absolutely classic movie, this is on the list for no other reason than that it kicks ass and gets you to think. Sadly, I can't recommend the DVD edition very highly; the deleted scenes are ruined by the commentary-only audio.

If you have some other works you'd like to recommend to us, feel free to (ab)use the form below to find them on Amazon.com (the number we need comes right after "ASIN/" in the URL) - or, for books, just send us the title and ISBN. For that matter, feel free to use this form just to shop for whatever you've been meaning to pick up.

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