Worst liberal/left wing book that you forced to read in High School or College?

My Squash ^ | 10/31/02 | Burkeman1

[RepoGirl]

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I recently read a very good article by John McWhorter where he systematically examines the inconsistencies and outright lies that are abundant in Maya Angelou's literature.

While I hated Ms. Angelou with a passion, I enjoyed that book when I was a wee lass. I'd really be interested in reading that John McWhorter article. Can you point me in the direction of it if it's on the net?

Let's see... worst liberal left wing book I've ever read in high school or college...

I was actually very lucky in High School, I went to school in conservative Martin County, Fl--so I didn't encounter any lefty hi-jinks in high school. However, college is another story...

I was a creative writing major for both undergrad and grad schools, so that meant a BOATLOAD of lit classes. Some extremely uber lefty writers and books I was forced to choke down:

Any deconstructionist crapola from Derrida, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (anything by Toni Morrison), anything by Alice Walker, The Family of Pascal Duarte by Cela was pretty annoying if I remember correctly (so much beer back then...)

[Sally II]

Okay, now I remember a real duzy: Dharma Bums Jack Kerouac. I had that for a "Literature of the Wilderness" class. It was so stupid. It had nothing to do with the wilderness, and everything to do with over-spiritualizing selfish, hedonistic impulses. I followed that by trying to read Peter Matthiessen's At Play in the Fields of the Lord and Snow Leopard --which was all the same sort of stuff: psychodelic drugs, buddhism, idealization of primitive cultures, and stereotyping and belittling Christians.

[Welsh Rabbit]

I've had a couple of professors who were fond of Joyce Carol Oates. I could never even finish any of her stuff; pure crap, utter garbage...

[MissBaby]

Algebra 1 - They actually expected us to belive you could add and subtract letters. Like, I'm sure.

[d101302]

You're quite correct. He is the quintessential intellectual, with a utopian solution -- philosopher-kings -- to society's ills.

With respect to believing that human lives belong to intellectuals to judge and manipulate as they see fit, he's in the same class as Marx or Lenin.

IMO of course.

[SBprone]

"The Zero Sum Society" by Lester Thurow.

This was the late 1970s and Milton Friedman's teachings had not yet become the accepted wisdom. Commie dingbats like Thurow preached a fantasy of "your gain is my loss so lets forget this nonsense about making the pie bigger and just figure out how to cut it up in a way that's fair to everybody."

Is Thurow still alive? Too bad if he is.

[Sally II]

I've had a couple of professors who were fond of Joyce Carol Oates. I could never even finish any of her stuff; pure crap, utter garbage...

You too?!! Her writing is so boring and lifeless. I tried to read a few of her books, and I don't think I ever got past chapter 1. Another one was Barbara Kingsolver. I read her for the first time at a book club I was in. I hated it. Talk about being over-rated!

[L,TOWM]

I had a textbook for a class called "Our Global Future-Values For Survival" that quuoted Silent Spring and just about every other whack job enviro nut you could think of. The book was called "Ariadne's Thread". It also quoted heavily from the Club of Rome study, Paul Ehrlich, and many other idiots.

I took the class with my buddy, (an engineering major) as part of our electives. I was majoring in business. The book, and the class, was in three parts:

First, Chicken Little whine fest (we have oil until 2010 folks, and here's the math to prove it);
Second, An attack on capitalism and Western Culture,
Third, An advocacy of Communism (hey you fat Yanks, get poor like the rest of the world).

The lead instructor for the Class, and the book's author was Mary Clark, a biology professor. Some of the things that were stated about economics were hilarious, and my buddy was quite skilled at pointing how flawed a lot of the math was in this thing.

Prof Clark probably wished she could have kicked us out after week 3.

[Welsh Rabbit]

The article is called "Saint Maya" and it's on the New Republic Online.

[goodnesswins]

Sheesh.....you are 20 years younger than me...and I HAD to read the FIXER in 1968........all I remember is that it was a VERY Depressing book......

[bonfire]

LOL!~!!!!!

[HennepinPrisoner]

The Diary of Anne Frank.

Personally, I think it was objectionable that her father released her private memoirs....especially since her sexual feelings were discussed in the diary.

[SpencerRoane]

"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. Tried to tie the Salem Witchcraft Trials to McCarthyism. That wasn't fair to the good citizens of Salem. A lot of those broads got what they deserved!

[willyboyishere]

I believe it was John Howard Griffin who wrote BLACK LIKE
ME.

[goodnesswins]

I agree about Kingsolver's books....I read one - I usually make myself finish a book I start.....it was pathetic. Plus, isn't she a big leftie?

[Zeroisanumber]

Noam Chomsky actually wrote some of the most insightful books about the development of human language capability. Very enlightening and non-political for those who are interested in the topic.

[Welsh Rabbit]

Yeah, I enjoy to read just about anything, but whether it be novel or short story, Ms. Oates is about the only writer whom I found it impossible to sled through...

[RepoGirl]

Excellent, thanks!

[Zeroisanumber]

Thanks for the correction. Pulled "Charles Griffin" off the top of my head.