What happened just after the Civil War that changed the fate of African-Americans for over a hundred years? This book filled a void in my education. It tells the story of several men in Mississippi and South Carolina in their efforts to implement the terms of the South's surrender at Appomatax. Elections had put African-Americans that had recently been slaves into seats of power and whites were not able to accept such a great change so quickly. After reading this, it seems that if sufferage had been delayed or phased in some way, the radical reactions of the whites might not have taken place as it did and racism, to the extent it happened, might have been avoided.
The second book is "The One Percent Doctrine, Deep Inside America's Pursuit of its Enemies Since 9/11" by Ron Suskind, a pulitzer prise winning author.
A really fascinating book about the inner workings of the Bush White House and the "War on Terror". The fact that they were operating on Cheney's "One Percent Doctrine", whether right or wrong, explains a lot of what's taken place. And, considering the consequences of 9/11, it presents a good argument for using that criteria for running the "War on Terror". The doctrine states that if there's a one percent chance of a threat occuring, it should be treated as a certainity in determing what actions to take. Suskind had great access to highly placed individuals in writing this!
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