10 Most Harmful Books of the 19th, 20th C.

Joe's list notwithstanding, I don't think there is any such thing as a 'harmful' book.

Harmful people; yes....

I lean to PDiddie's statement, and, yet, joefrom makes a compelling case . . .

I also agree with PDiddie, though unfortunately if that's the case then nearly all books can be seen as harmful. Which, apparently, they are.

Don't Tread -- One of the scariest things about this list is that is the work of a Christian and right wing think tanks. However, you know how the righties are always complaining about universities and their left-leaning profs? Some of the institutions of higher learning represented by the panel are Hillsdale College; florida Atlantic University; Princeton; Elizabethtown College; Mississippi State; Randolph-Macon College; Seton Hall and Northwestern. Granted, these schools are of many political stripes and few universities are monolithic. However, that professors from colleges throughout the country are demonstrably conservative, is just another thing to give lie to a right wing charge.

setanta --I agree on the banning of books.

farmerman -- What reminds you of Will Durant? Setanta's comment that precedes yours or the list itself?

joe -- Funny list. I was considering compiling one of my own.

pdiddie et al -- Even a harmful book can generate discussion and/or action that leads to good things.

Some observations:
1.) Communist Manifesto
I find too many oppressive owners out in the world where the gap between the highest and lowest paid employees is growing wider. Just after WWII, the median wage was around $7,000 and the median price of a house was under $15,000.
2.) Mein Kampf
While I might agree that this is a harmful book, it was also a warning. Furthermore, these people are not considering the book in context and part of the context is a history of anti-Semitism.
3.)Mao
The Chinese bounced from the cultural revolution to capitalism. Which is more harmful? Besides, the Little Red Book has become something of a joke, an historical footnote.
4.)Kinsey
Wish they could have explained themselves better on this one. I suspect it's just there to throw sand over their own sexuality.
5.)Dewey
Note the publication date. How much nurturing of the Clinton generation was done in 1916?
6.) Das Kapital
Capitalism may be an ugly phase in human development. Labor is still exploited. It probably always will be.
7.) Feminine Mystique
Notice that the compilers have less to say about the content of the book than about Freidan's common-for-her-generation flirtation with communism.
Besides, most conservative men I know do not want their wives staying at home and insist "everyone should work." They should tune into Dr. Phil who is fond of pointing out that stay-at-home moms work the equivalent of two full time jobs.
8.) and 9.) I know nothing about these books and little more about the philosophers who wrote them. I bet Setanta and Walter Hintler can fill us in.
10.) Keynes
They haven't accurately represented Keynes or the New Deal. The latter actually tried to correct some of the abuses of capitalists, if not capitalism.

Which is really more dangerous? Knowing that your corvair is a bomb or knowing how to make one on your own?

Just imagine terrorists armed with Corvairs driving on the freeways near you. Doesn't it make you want to rush out and thank Nader for supplying them with ready made weapons? :wink:

Turning to Honorable Mentions, what is really harmful about The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich and Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, even silly stuff like The Greening of America or fierce stuff like The Wretched of the Earth is too few -- and not too many -- people read them and even fewer were inspired by them.

Perhaps, it is not the right wing we should fear but the vast middle, rootless and without a philosophy to ground them, that are taken in by lies like the ones posted by Human Events and its staff.

plain old. Durants comment about books parallels your comment to P Diddie.

Wow.

The Bell Curve did not make the list. I guess the fundi's must think it is true that Blacks are genetically inferior to whites.

I think these ass hats simply wrote down ten books that allowed us to be suckered into going to thier sites and they get one more hit to sell thier advertizing.

TF

Phyllis Schlaffly.

Ann Coulter.

What a crew.

"The Fountainhead" although highly entertaining reading which made only a passably good movie, is objectivism's fantasy. The jig was actually up when she wrote "Atlas Shrugged," howver, which is far more deserving to me on the list. The ultimate point is that not many of us have the talent to be a Rourke and there never has been nor ever will be any such chain of events. I do think the idealism that collectivism can be extremely dangerous is mirrored in our very own Republic and deeply in the religious right.

Ten bucks says Ann Coulter will turn "liberal" when she gets Cancer from being a crotchety bitty.

TF

i looked up some of the orgs that were represented by the judges when the thread started. wasn't too surprised by what i found. the list is just another agenda driven hit piece from the usual suspects.

i agree with joe that the bible, the qu'ran, and my submission of the torah are much more harmful to society. regardless of intent, the result of these books influence has more often than not been sepratism, elitism, paranoia, intolerance, warfare and generally needless suffering. partially due to misuse by their leaders, but the willingness of followers to carry out actions that they feel are justified by their beliefs. i don't see a whole lot of difference between jerry falwell and ayatollah ruhollah khomeini. osama bin laden is just eric rudolph in drag.

frankly, i believe that these ancient explanations of who we are and how we got here are living on borrowed time. as mankind continues to evolve and moves out into the universe, it's my belief that we are in for some pretty dramatic revelations.

one thing i do know for sure, the first time i looked at the moon (and beyond ) through a telescope many years ago did more in a single moment for my belief that there is a creator than 18 years growing up in a christian home and attending church ever did.

Don't Tread -- I like your telescope story. I think some workings of science are more awe-inspiring than poorly carved statues in churches.
Which reminds me: A recent PBS show in the series, "Secrets of the Dead," looked at the possibility of the Salem Witch Trials being the product of rye ergot (LSD). It was pretty thorough, and, since I had thought of the possibility in the late 60s, I was open to it. All of the cases involved where testimony survived contained a description of a compound animal -- part rooster, part dog, etc -- which made me think of Griffin and Sphinxes and more. What if all the mythologies of the world are the product of food poisoning?

I started the same response to the posting of the Feminine Mystique as object of derision by this group. I based my reply on David Halbertstam's very different take on Friedan. The way this computer is set up, I erased it twice. May post it later. Anyway, my point is these people twist what they write.

Imagine, a whole town high on rye!

Pretty weak reasoning here. If those people were under an hallucinogenic influence, they naturally would have had visions informed by their experience. That is to say, they imagined griffins and sphinxes because in their experience, those were fantastical creatures. I've had many an hallucenogenic experience, but never once thought i'd seen a griffin. All that really displays is a lack of imagination on the part of those having the drug experience.