I was initially planning to use quarantine to read more, and I'm trying to get back on that horse. I just polished off Ernest Harsch's short biography on Thomas Sankara, and was curious if anyone had good book recommendations on imperialism/colonialism, preferably (though not exclusively) on their relationship to capitalism?

Having the line drawn for me between capitalism and imperialism was one of the biggest things that radicalized me, so I'd like to get some more "formal" education on the subject. And obviously fighting imperialism was a huge central running theme through Sankara's life.

So far I've got on my list:

  • Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism by Lenin
  • How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney
  • Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

Open to big-picture theory books or more specific history books! My next nonfiction book is probably going to be Blackshirts and Reds by Parenti so this would be after I finish that. If I don't respond to all of ya'll know that I still appreciate you. I may never get to some of these recs (I'm a slow and shitty reader) but I also think a thread like this is just a good general resource for anyone who posts/lurks here.

PS Thomas Sankara was an inspiring human being and if there's a hell Blaise Compaore has a special place in it waiting for him.

  • SoylentSnake [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Thanks for the list, u rock comrade! I'm an infrequent RevLeft listener and Breht definitely does a great job at bringing an anti-imperialist and internationalist perspective onto his show. I also listened to the TrueAnon and Chapo eps guesting Vincent Bevins so The Jakarta Method is definitely floating around on my "to-read someday" list as well. Will definitely research the others you posted.