jon ben-menachem Book Recommendations & Book Mentions
This list consists of recommendations or mentions of books spotted in media, social media accounts, podcasts or other public websites.
jon ben-menachem on X
criminalization, labor, politics. social science theory & methods • @columbiasoc phd candidate • @sw_columbia • he/him • bluesky is @jbenmenachem.com
The Civil Sphere
Jeffrey C. Alexanderjon ben-menachem@erinrpineda In the news context I was recommended a dichotomous reading of Habermas's discursive rationality against Jeffrey Alexander's theory of the civil sphere (where the recommender prefers Alexander)
Paperback, 2008
$45.99$23.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
State, Power, Socialism
Nicos Poulantzasjon ben-menachemDigging into State, Power, Socialism by Nicos Poulantzas. He has an expansive definition of the State, so much so that even resistance to state power is incorporated into the "strategic field" of the State. Strikes me as interesting & counter-intuitive for e.g. anarchists. https://t.co/XV2yherOsk
Paperback, 2014
$24.95$12.48 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Governing Through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear
Jonathan Simonjon ben-menachemNow reading Jonathan Simon's "Governing Through Crime" (2007). "Only by recognizing how these pathways of knowledge and power have been set by crime and fear of crime, and challenging them in their own terms can we come to grips with this sea change in our self government." https://t.co/w945mXOx9g
Paperback, 2009
$41.99$21.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Incarceration Nation
Peter K. Ennsjon ben-menachemNow reading @pete_enns "Incarceration Nation" (2016). The central argument of the book is that public punitiveness predated politicians' turn to mass incarceration in the 60s and 70s, and media coverage played a big role in public opinion change. Useful figure below >> https://t.co/iQ4g59mdcM
Hardcover, 2016
$99.00$74.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book(max discount $25)
Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America
Martin Gilensjon ben-menachemNow reading Gilens' "Affluence and Influence" (2012). The book asks: How responsive is US government to voters' preferences? Is there a difference in responsiveness depending on voters' class position? Figure below shows responsiveness without stratification, 1981-2002 https://t.co/2UxMf9S88V
Paperback, 2014
$28.95$14.48 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time
Joseph Frankjon ben-menachem@johnsemley3000 DFW's essays rock - Joseph Frank's Dostoevsky is super memorable. Can't say I recommend anyone read IJ though. Ulysses, I've got a copy, no idea why - seems to be kind of a self-serving effort in incomprehensibility
Paperback, 2012
$35.00$17.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
How Institutions Think
Mary Douglasjon ben-menachemsmall gem in Mary Douglas's "How Institutions Think": “Sociology, though it may have started with philosophical questions and political issues, received its major impulse for development because it provided an indispensable tool for administrative purposes”
Paperback, 1986
$19.95$9.98 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Gone Home: Race and Roots Through Appalachia
Karida L. Brownjon ben-menachem@sanjanamv Embassytown would be my #1 fiction rec For nonfiction, Karida Brown's Gone Home was really good
Paperback, 2021
$26.00$13.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Philosophy of Right
G. W. F. Hegeljon ben-menachem@vogliamo_tutto Isn't the subtext of breaking with philosophy really specific to Hegel's philosophy of right and the really specific German nationalist teleology of it?
Paperback, 2005
$10.95$5.47 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Making Crime Pay: Law & Order in Contemporary American Politics
Katherine Beckettjon ben-menachemNow reading Katherine Beckett's "Making Crime Pay" (1997). She helpfully coins the "democracy-at-work" political theory of mass incarceration, i.e., 'crime went up, so punitive attitudes followed, which politicians acted on.' Fascinating to see that Marxist(s) endorsed this https://t.co/eoS9oBpfZv
Paperback, 1999
$78.00$53.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book(max discount $25)