I'm currently reading The Enemy Within: The Secret War Against the Miners - it covers the events of the early 90s when leaders of the National Union of Mineworkers such as Arthur Scargill were accused of taking money from Libya and the Soviet Union and keeping it themselves or using it to pay off their own mortgages during the 1984-85 miner's strike. They were also accused of trying to source guns from Libya and all sorts of other shady handling of union funds. It was, of course, all made up and amplified by hostile media barons like Robert Maxwell, politicians including the labour party leadership at the time, state intelligence agencies, and right wing union officials or even just others in the union who had an axe to grind with the accused. All the charges were eventually dropped and found to be complete nonsense but nonetheless the smear campaign achieved its goal of weakening the union, costing them financially, and having the union tied up in all sorts of legal battles at a time of further mine closures. One thing that I've found most jarring about it so far was that one of the key witnesses these allegations were based on was a guy who had been a communist all his adult life, had been friends with Scargill for more than 40 years, and had been his driver and bodyguard during the miner's strike. Then Maxwell gave him £50,000 and that was it, he just stabbed his former comrades in the back.

I'm also reading Jacobin's The ABC's of Socialism. The book takes the form of a Q&A where a common question about socialism is asked, followed by an answer. I knows its really supposed to be for people new to socialism and its all very socdem but I thought it might be good for picking up some good arguments or talking points for common questions people have about leftist politics. I guess the book does do this to an extent but I think it could've been written in a much more snappy and engaging way if its meant to be for newcomers as it feels kinda bland for me. However, I'm also not really learning anything new with it so I think that probably limits the book's appeal.

And I've also just started rereading the communist manifesto. I read this a few years ago when I was first getting into leftist politics, probably like most people. I'm hoping to see what things I didn't quite grasp or pick up on when I read it the first time around.