GNH - The Media

America's media has become filled with harsh criticisms regarding everything from the president to American ideals. Not that this is a new thing, but it seems to be getting more and more extreme as time goes on. When a president is republican, channels such as CNN or MSNBC are called out. Should a president be democratic, channels like FOX and radio personalities such as Rush Limbaugh are brought to attention. No matter who makes the radical connections of any president to things such as racism, illegal matters, or-in Glenn Beck's case-oligar_hy, there is no excuse. The controversy this creates is inexcusable, and it needs to be stopped before it goes completely out of control. What it creates is a nation full of people angry at each other for no reason.

The easiest way to solve this crisis is to prevent people with extreme and false ideas from professing their beliefs on the television or radio. Though this may be received with complaints regarding the first amendment, its eventual products will far outweigh this con. Should the media be prevented from spreading false ideas, conveying thoughtless comments, and forcing anyone who listens to believe, America can become a bipartisan happy country.

-But wait! There's more!/Billy Mays

GNH Immigration

The immigration problem in our country is huge, it is constantly being debated. It seems unsolvable, I have a solution to this "unsolvable" problem. Our government should offer citizenship to immigrants and their families (no bigger then 5) in exchange for a member of their family doing a ten year term in the military. If the family is larger then 5 people multiple members must do ten years as well. The Roman empire did it for hundreds of years and when they offered citizenship to everyone the recruitment drastically dropped for their army. Which directly contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire.

Mao Zedong

legal adult at the age of 18?

The law says that when you turn 18 you are a legal adult. If you are arrested it goes on your permanent record that follows your whole life and when you are 18 you are allowed to fight and die for your country in a war. Though the government has made another age limit for drinking and smoking. You must be 21years old to drink and or purchase alcohol and you must be 19 years old to buy cigarettes. Why is it that the government has made a age limit of 18years old to fight in a war (something that benifits them) and makes the age limit of 21 to consume alcoholic beverages? If you are old enough to be given the responsibility of becoming a legal adult at the age of 18 you should be responsible enough to choose if you wish to consume alcohol or smoke.

-Amelia Earhart

Marijuana The Economy Saver?

After reading another students post on this topic, i got a bit interested and decided to do a bit of research on my own. We have all grown up to think of marijuana as evil and that it is harmful to the body. Really? From what I've gathered there are much more harmful things on the market that do a lot more to your body. Lets take alcohol and tobacco. Each of these products are linked to causes of many types of cancer. However, marijuana hasn't been linked to cancer. How does this make since? So why are these two products legal and pot is not. Now lets take this to a fiscal prospective. Alcohol and tobacco are a huge part of our economy because of the ability of the Government to tax them. Marijuana is being sold all over the country, but the government cannot tax it because it is illegal. Think of the profit the government could make if they were to legalize this. In an article in the Time paper of California, Allison Stateman, the author contemplates this. Pot is responsible for $14 billion a year in sales, dwarfing the state's second largest agricultural commodity — milk and cream — which brings in $7.3 billion a year. However, since it’s not legal, the Gov. cant tax it. Marijuana is just the thing the economy needs. If the gov. could tax this, the article predicts that the taxed amount would come out to be 1.3 BILLION or more. Country wide we are looking at 10's to maybe 100's of billions of dollars just for taxing a plant that is already being sold anyway. This natural plant is far less harmful then the two current leading "legal" products (alcohol and tobacco) and could help the economy tremendously. SO wheres the problem? If you're interested in the article

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1884956,00.html

Morgan Freeman

Protect the sanctity of marriage!

We are fundamentally a Christian nation. Therefore we must adhere to our Christian values and protect the sanctity of marriage by prohibiting divorce. Currently, about 50% of all marriages end in divorce. If divorce was illegal, then the sanctity of the traditional marriage would be protected.

Divorce should be illegal, despite the fact that there are couples in our country who are unhappy with each other; just as gay marriage should be illegal, despite the fact that there are homosexual couples who are unhappy with the fact that they cannot get the same tax benefits, hospital visitation rights, immigration and residency benefits, child custody rights, insurance benefits, and other various benefits and rights that heterosexual couples receive.

Approximately 75% of our nation is Christian, which is why adhering to our core Christian values would make the majority of Americans happier. Jesus makes the prohibition of divorce clear in Mark 10:9-11:

9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.
11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.
12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.

(I would stress this point by making another comparison to gay marriage, but for some reason I’m having trouble finding any scripture where Jesus even mentions homosexuality – weird!)

When the sanctity of marriage is threatened in some marriages, it negatively affects all marriages and, in effect, the entire nation. This is why prohibiting divorce (and gay marriage too while we’re at it) would greatly increase our country’s GNH.

We should all follow the example of John Marcotte, who is currently fighting to make divorce illegal in California: http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/divorce/divorce.php

~Mohammed

GNH-The War in Iraq

The war in Iraq is one of the most pressing issues of the day. There are strong arguments supporting remaining in Iraq, as well as pulling our troops out. However, according to a poll on www.pollingreport.com, 64% of Americans do not approve of the war, and would favor pulling our troops out of the country. The majority by far do not want American troops to remain in that country. So if the government were to pull the troops out of Iraq, the GNH in America would go up.

However, we need to be careful about how we exit the region. If we left en masse there would be chaos and anarchy, since the Iraqi government is not stable enough to function without our help yet. So we need to begin to pull out slowly, making sure that the region is completely stable before we leave the country completely. That is something we owe to the Iraqis. We destroyed a stable (if tyrannical and dangerous) government, and implemented a new one, which will take time to stabilize. We as Americans need be concerned not only with our own GNH, but also the GNH of other people in the world. The Iraqi's GNH would not be very good if they're country fell apart when Americans left. We should focus on the GNH of the world, not the GNH of America exclusively. We have created a very difficult and delicate situation in Iraq, and we must be very careful about how we go about fixing it.

-Napoleon Bonaparte

GNH - Gay Marriage

Gay marriage has been a pressing issue in the world, mostly the United States, for a while now. The two sides of the conflict are either all men are created equal, and love is love no matter what, or the opposite, that homosexuals are an abomination of God and it is morally wrong for two people of the same sex to join in matrimony.  

On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts was the first state in the USA to legalize gay-marriage. However, it was not the first place in the world.  Belgium, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, and South Africa are other countries around the world that allow it.  Since the legalization of gay marriage in 2004 in MA, other states have followed the example. Currently, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and Massachusetts are the only states with it legalized. Maine was supposed to have gay marriage legalized by September 11, 2009 but a people's veto had it postponed.  A vote will be held in November.  New Hampshire will have same sex marriages legalized as of January 1, 2010. 

California formally had gay marriage legalized between June 16 until November 4, 2008 when Proposition 8 was put into practice.  Proposition 8 says that marriage between a man and a woman is the only legal marriage allowed in the state of California.  All other marriages are morally wrong/illegitimate.  In 2010, there will be a vote to overturn this law.  However, all marriages that were held between June 16 and November 4 are still recognizable. They are not void.

The State of New York and the District of Columbia recognize gay marriages, but do not have it legalized yet.  So, this is to say, that if a person got married in Massachusetts, their marriage is still legitimate in these two areas, whereas it would not be legitimate in Nevada or a state without it legalized.  

Homophobes claim that gay people are searching for 'special rights' by asking to get married.  

Marriage should be a right given to all people.  Whether it be a lifestyle choice or they way a person is born, they should not be denied the right to get married with whom they choose.

America has gotten far with acceptance, but not far enough.  Crimes against gays and homophobia are still everywhere.  

~ Benjamin Franklin

GNH- Racism is the Problem?

In recent and past history a common topic continuously appears in the news. Racism is consider African American's "biggest problem". People claim that Barack Obama is disliked because he is black. This is absurd. It seems every time a black person is criticized it is racist. It doesn't seem to be a possibility that people do not share his views. That would be crazy talk, and the person that spread that opinion, would be called a racist as well. There is no end to what area racism covers. If a black man is arrested its racism. If a black man interviews for a job and doesn't get it its racism. If a black man's views are not accepted it is apparently racism. The words against people like Obama are not racism! These words are people's opinion. I see many people who just don't agree with his health care plans or with what he is doing to the economy. This does not make them racists. Their ambitions are not fueled by this man being black. These people might be selfish, greedy, and might have just wanted their party to win, but what they are not is racist. The term is becoming overused. The word racist is losing its meaning each time it is said, because it is said too much. Not all people with opposing views are racist. In the case of GNH, the American people would be happier if the majority of us aren't called racists every time we speak against some one of a different race. Race should not be a factor. Everybody would be happier if race was a forgotten factor. Without race their would be less arguments and less fighting between the races. We are all one people. We are all Americans.
-Ho Chi Minh

Legalization Marijuana and its impact on the economic crises

The medical marijuana business is booming and with Barack Obama trying to keep the government out of this topic who knows what will happen. All that is known is that some believe that it will be legalized in numerous states in the next decade. Some also think that with the legalization of marijuana it could help the economic crisis. In California there are legal cannibus shops that are make millions and they think if it was legalized corporations could makes billions off this product. They also believe that it could stop crime. if you want to find out more about this subject go: -Charles Barkely http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/11/magazines/fortune/medical_marijuana_legalizing.fortune/index.htm

Gun Control

American should have the rights to own firearms. Many arguments against this right concern the amount of gun violence in certain states. However one should look at both sides of the argument. Illegal possession of firearms is what causes many many gun violence crimes. There is an old saying that when guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns. An example of positives in gun control can be seen by looking at Texas, a state where gun control is as lenient as possible however they have little gun violence because everyone else has a gun. One needs to look at the news as well for example the story about the World War II veteran who defended his house from a burglar with a gun, nobody was killed but because of his registered firearm his house was not robbed and he was safe from any injury. (aside accidentally shooting himself in the foot when police arrived). Gun rights should be allowed and with less restrictions, it should have ever be mandated that all gun owners take a gun safety class after purchasing a firearm, so that accidental shootings like this one do not happen.

Vlad Puntin.

Los immigrantes

The debates about immigration may never cease, but the fact of the matter is that immigration is something the US needs.The main argument in the immigration debate rests on the fact that immigration effects the American wages. People believe that by allowing immigrants to work in the country they are lowering working wages and they are taking jobs away from Americans. In reality, this is not true at all. For one, American laborers and immigrants dont compete for the same level of jobs. This is because of their levels of education. Also, the majority of immigrant workers are concentrated at the lowest of occupations. Immigrants choose this type of work because it is available to them in high demand and the money they are getting is most likely better than that of their previous work. These jobs, like dishwashing in restaurants, landscaping work, construction work etc..... are occupations that U.S.-born people find unappealing and unworthy. So when it comes down to it, immigrants do not hurt American workers, rather they supply labor that is essential to the American way of life. So when you look at it, the competition is between immigrants themselves not immigrants and american workers. Personal anecdote, I lost "TO BE" my summer job to an immigrant .... pretty funny actually... but maybe he deserved the job because he needed to take care of a family or maybe because he would have worker harder than me but at a lower wage. Im not being racist, thats just the truth.

- ming dynasty

Healthcare Reform: The Secret Plot to Spread Lies

Healthcare reform: the most pressing issue in Washington today. There is no doubt about that. So, one would logically think that facts were important in this radical debate, right?

Right??

Well, apparently they're not. Reform in the healthcare system, according to the late Ted Kennedy, is the great unfinished business of our society. It is truly a matter that should transcend partisan lines and should be a moral responsibility in an attempt to supply the American people with the best possible healthcare coverage. Sadly, the debate has turned into a survival game for the fledgling legislation. Many in Washington, including Republicans and Democrats, are set against reform, for they believe that the system is not broken. Yet despite engaging in true debate with their own arguments, they are using scare-tactics and lies to kill any chances the reform bill has of passing.

The many lies regarding healthcare reform all contain a similar trait: the idea that it will target a specific group of people and refuse them care, thus killing them. For example, reform has been labeled a secret plot to: kill old people (pull the plug on grandma), set up "death panels", target women with breast cancer, deny treatment to Republicans, and decrease care to children with disabilities. It is not difficult to realize how ridiculous these allegations truly are. These lies have been born and spread by those who are set against any type of reform.

Lies like these have two main effects: one, they halt any actual and productive debate, and two, they instill a sense of incredulity among Americans listening to this so-called debate. I would hope that, faced by these absurd accusations, the majority of U.S. citizens realize what is really going on behind the scenes regarding the movement against healthcare reform. Scare-tactics and lies cannot create a basis for argument, and I do believe that Americans are beginning to uncover the truth behind the heated debate.

Those against healthcare reform must realize that when they oppose the legislation, they are leaving nearly 50 million American citizens without health insurance to fend for themselves in a system dominated by private corporate healthcare. The system is broken; the evidence for this claim is overwhelming. The lies spread by those in opposition to the reform have created a system of scare-tactics and fear which has turned Washington into a stagnant cesspool brimming with deceit. I do believe it is time for the American people to engage in true debate and face the issue which so plagues those many citizens of our country. They depend on it.

~Charles Bronson

Ridiculous Accusations That Get US Nowhere

A nation's people are most happy when topics of actual importance are debated and discussed. The politics of America have been reduced to ridiculous accusations that have little to no basis and in truth effect nothing. Recently there was a scandal regarding ACORN, an institution that has supported and worked with Barack Obama, which was discovered to have had members giving advice for prostitutes on how to obtain tax advantages. Now, without a doubt, this means that because Obama has worked with this organization, he is the head of a prostitution syndicate. Fox News has been especially proactive in getting this information out to us, to protect us from Barack, who will soon send all our children to sell their bodies on the street. This is the unfortunate truth about our country. Rather than opposing a party because of difference in opinion, they oppose a man because of outlandish claims. Not too long ago these same brainwashers were screaming out that the candidate Obama was a muslim, as if that really mattered or had any relevance as to whether or not he would be a capable leader. Now this is not an article promoting Obama or any party, it is just saying that one should oppose a man for the right reasons that pertain to the greater good of the country, not oppose him for ludricrous charges. It would greatly make this nation a happier place if we could focus more on debating the truth and what is revelant to bettering this country.

-King Arthur

GNH - Drug Policy

United States drug policy is ineffective and hypocritical. We chose to prohibit some substances, while outlawing others. Our "legal" selections of drugs do not seem to be based largely on medical information, abuse potential, but more on historical use, and where we have traditionally garnered money.
Primarily, the war of drugs is a waste of money, it has not really helped, and has only exacerbated the problem, by compelling drug producers to find more addictive and powerful substances. To enforce drug policy the government violates posse comitatus, which holds that the United States Armed Forces cannot be used to police U.S. territory. Also, due to the harsh penalties for drug offenses many people are forced to accept plea bargains. The government can seize your assets if they believe they you are producing drugs, without a trial. Finally, this also bends the fourth amendment (unreasonable searches) as what is reasonable in a drug search has become quite broad.
The drug was has also caused prisons to fill up with people who have not committed violence offenses. A prisoner costs the taxpayers $22,000 a year. I am sure we would all rather we paid less taxes and had reduced penalties for crimes. It would be much cheaper to flog them and let them go. Or better yet, to make them pay a fine, and then let them go, that way the government will be able to pay for rehabilitation programs.
If the government did legalize certain drugs, it could tax them in order to pay for other government programs.
Tobacco and Methyl Alcohol have shown to be more dangerous to people than Marijuana, and psychedelics. Yet they are legal while Marijuana is illegal. Not to mention, Hemp's value as raw material has been ruined by being classified as an illegal substance. Smoking and Alcohol kill many more people than pot does. This may due to the fact that it is near impossible to overdose of THC. Marijuana is schedule I which means that the Federal Government believes it to have no medical uses, and a high potential for abuse. This is simply incorrect.
The pre-1972 substance control policy was constitutional, the current policy is unconstitutional. It is also unclear as to whether or not the Federal Government even has the right to make drug policy and enforce it at a local level. Previously, the government restricted substances by making the laws about their trade so complex that they were impossible to carry out.
In terms of Gross National Happiness, the current drug war isn't helping anyone, it is an ineffective waste of money. Legalization has shown to lower the amount of people who use drugs, and reduce their impact on society. Directly in terms of GNH, why make something illegal that is for making people happy?

~Timothy Leary

GNH-Health Care

The debate concerning if and how the health care system of the United States of America continues to rage on. Which is the best way to go? This must be solved using the principle of “gross national happiness” because in a society structured like the United States, the government’s primary goal should be to keep the people happy in order for the government to keep control and for the values it endorses to remain viable. According to the Pew Research Center…
· 53% of Americans want the debate to end and think the debaters are crude and disrespectful.
· 59% of Americans believe that the people opposing the legislation for a new system are causing most of the rudeness in the debate.
Therefore, if we want to keep the people happy, a bill that is agreeable enough to be passed is necessary. What constitutes as agreeable enough? According to Pew Research…
· 76% of Republicans oppose health care reform 12% support it, and 12% do not know, while 20% of Democrats oppose the bill, 61% support it, and 19% do not know.
· People who oppose the bill primarily oppose it because they think it will cause a raise in taxes. People who support the bill primarily support it because it will offer universal coverage.
Generally, the public opposes new healthcare primarily because it costs too much money, and having enough money is crucial to happiness. However, which makes people happier: good health or money? Assuming that the coverage covers the basic health needs of the human species, it seems more important to be healthy than to be rich, especially since dead people cannot spend money. How many Americans are uninsured? According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation…
· About 50 million Americans (around 17%) are uninsured. 20% are children.
If the bill is not passed, 17% of the population will be very unhappy and unhealthy, while about 60% of the population, which does not support or is not sure of the reform, will be somewhat happy. Those who supported the bill but were not uninsured make up the rest of the population, or 23%, and are somewhat unhappy. Although the population is generally in favor of the status quo, more unhappiness comes to the side that does not get a bill passed, and, as previously stated, the opposition to the bill makes more than half of the population less happy. Therefore it is important that a bill be passed to provide healthcare to the uninsured, even if taxes have to be raised, for the overall GNH of the nation to increase.
Links:
http://covertheuninsured.org/content/snapshot-us-physicians-key-findings-2008-health-tracking-physician-survey
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1343/health-care-debate-seen-as-rude-disrespectful-high-interest
http://people-press.org/report/?pageid=1562

-Socrates

War in Iraq

The war in Iraq is obviously a big factor in determining the GNH. As it has been with all of America's past wars, there is always a pro-war side and an anti-war side. In this case the very formidable and significant anti-war side is very upset which drastically lowers the GNH of the United states.

-Aristotle

Gross National Happiness

During his coronation address on November 7, 2008, King Khesar of Bhutan made the following statement: "Yet we must always remember that as our country, in these changing times finds immense new challenges and opportunities, whatever work we do, whatever goals we have – and no matter how these may change in this changing world – ultimately without peace, security and happiness we have nothing. That is the essence of the philosophy of Gross National Happiness."

Your assignment is to post either an entry or a comment in which you discuss the principle of Gross National Happiness as it applies to the United States. Select an issue from the news and comment on how you think the issue could be resolved in a way that makes the greatest number of people happy. You can include links to videos, websites, articles, research, cartoons, images, anything. Just make sure it's appropriate for school, and use your APWorld name.

I'm really looking forward to seeing your ideas!

Oh, and please tag your entries as GNH. That will help me keep them all together.

Enjoy!!

And!! I've also found a BBC site about happiness. It includes a quiz to find out how happy you are, links to articles about the science of happiness, and an article about why the British are not as happy as they were in the 1950s. :D

Driving

I think that the age for students to receive their drivers license should be younger then 17 years old. It's important to have good driving skills before you enter college and leave home. Getting your license before the age of 17 will give people more time to master their driving skills. Hopefully, this would reduce the number of accidents. When new drivers park their cars in school parking lots, there tends to be many accidents because the drivers have not been driving for a long time. By making the age to get your license younger, I believe that the effect would be positive.

- Christina Aguilera

Leviathan

Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes, is a riveting novel which depicts the argument that civil peace and social unity are achieved by the establishment of a commonwealth. Hobbe's perfect commonwealth is ruled by an almighty power which is granted absolute authority to do everything in its power to protect for the security of the commonwealth. His system to ensure peace and prevent civil war is called “Leviathan”. “Leviathan” is portrayed as an enormous human created of the bodies of its citizens. This image represents a metaphor for a perfect government for a perfect society. There are four books to the series. The first book contains the philosophical framework and is given the most attention. The following three books just elaborate on the general ideas talked about in the initial chapters. Hobbes begins the novel by describing the make-up of mankind from the beginning of external bodies all the way to the reason why man has a constant need to conquer. Men will never be satisfied with what they have and will always have the need to gain more. However, Hobbes still attempts to prove the necessity of the “Leviathan” for preserving peace and preventing civil war.

~Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson

NAZI GAMES

This book describes the 1936 Olympic Games that took place in Berlin Germany. At the time, Berlin was under Adolf Hitler's control, which made for an extremely interesting yet controversial Olympics. Many countries (United States included) tried to boycott and even move the Olympics out of Germany because they knew what Hitler was doing and felt that competing in the games would be supporting Hitler and his followers. Hitler however was one step ahead of the world. He made many public statements promising that there wold be no discrimination at the Games, and even put a few Jews on German teams to prove to the world that there would be in fact no discrimination. By studying the 1936 games in the present time, it is very clear that Hitler used the games as  propaganda, and tried to present his beliefs on the world stage. This was a very dense and difficult read and I would only recommend it to those who are extremely interested in this time period and specifically Hitler and his followers. 

-Cleopatra

The Mystery of Capital

This book gave an interesting point on view for why capitalism struggles in other nations. de Soto gives explanations as to why capitalism struggles in the east. He describes how the lack of establishment leaves these third world countries in a state that is unsuitable for for capitalism to thrive and prosper. 

He states that these nations lack a crucial part to the structure of capitalism, capital. This is the overlying point he makes in his book. Along with other theory such as the fact that Americans do not fully understand how our capitalist system came to be and why it worked so well in the begging. With out this information it is difficult for other nation to follow our lead with a thriving capitalist economy. 

De Soto's book is not only very interesting but very factual. He gives reasons and answers for many of the more difficult questions people have on the economy. He describes the causes and effects our economy has had on others, and the effects that previous leaders and the economy they have created will have on the future economy of those nations. This book gives a raw truth to some of the greater mysteries of capital. 

- Helen of Troy

Empire of the Blue Water

Its the 1600's. Spain has taken control of all the land in the New World. Now England wants some of it back. Oliver Cromwell, along with Thomas Gage draw up a plan for attack. Henry Morgan, along with many other misfits and drop outs of societies, sail to the new world along with Thomas Gage, the author of the novel that spitballed the plan of attack on the Spanish. After failing to take Cartagena, the English settle on the Island of Jamaica in a small town of Port Royal. There Henry Morgan starts his bloody reign on the Spanish. Henry Morgan now in his late twenties gets appointed a captain of his own ship. In order to make a name for him self. He sails from port Royal and attacks Granada, a city that sits in the southern end of present day Mexico. After brining in a huge load of pieces of eight, now captain Morgan gets his name on the list of people wanted by the Spanish. After three more attacks, Portobelo, Maracaibo, and Panama (in that order), the English and the Spanish draw up a peace treaty. Since Morgan attacked Panama after the treaty the English are forced to arrest him. Morgan ends up getting out of prison but then dies in 1688 of dropsy.

Throughout the Novel Stephan Talty creates a atmosphere that keeps the reader locked in on the novel until the very end. The novel really puts the reader right inside the sixteen hundreds on a ship sailing throughout the New World. Talty captivates a great picture of who the West Indies Pirates actually were.

-Moses-

The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma

Although this was a difficult book, I would have to say that Thant Myint-U's book is very interesting. Most people don't know much about the country of Burma, and this book supplies the reader with a deep grasp of why Burma is in the place that it is today. It starts at the first king of Burma all the way to modern day.

There is a very interesting chapter on the Karen, a nominally Christian group who have been attacked by the government for years. It is interesting to see why they are despised and hunted down by the Burmese government and why they are fleeing into Thailand refugee camps for safety.

Great book,
Aung San Suu Kyi

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

I chose to read The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, by John M. Barry. The book is about the 1918-1919 "Spanish Flu", which is the deadliest modern pandemic the world has ever seen. Barry covers a lot about the way the disease infects and how it affects the body. Most of the book is about the introduction of germ theory and how the 1918 flu was the first time modern medicine was put to the test. Until the beginning of the 20th century, medical schools were little about medicine and more about how much money you had. Students completed school for a medical degree without ever seeing patients, and medicine still followed ancient Hippocratic beliefs. Barry explores the lives of prominent scientists and doctors as they discovered a new medical system, one based on lab work and research, and how they responded to the flu when there was little infrastructure to deal with a crisis.
No disease the world has ever known even remotely resembles the great influenza epidemic of 1918. Presumed to have begun in Kansas, spreading as troops carried the deadly strain to Europe, it erupted across the world with unequaled ferocity and speed. It killed more people in twenty weeks than AIDS killed in twenty years. In the United States, nearly seven times as many people died of influenza as in the First World War.
Over all, the book is very informative and actually quite interesting. I felt that it was far too long for a book of this type, the number of pages could have easily been cut in half. However, I am indeed glad that I chose this book, and I would definitely recommend it.

- Guy Fawkes

"Jungle- A Harrowing True Story of Survival"

In the book "Jungle" the author Yossi Ghinsberg re-tells his exciting and suspenseful journey through the Amazon Rainforest. Yossi is a typical backpacker, traveling through all parts of South America. At the start of his travels he has a set schedule he plans to stick to of where he is planning to visit next and the days he is going. This soon changes once he meets Marcus, a very outgoing Swiss man who convinces Yossi to come with him and spend some time in La Paz, Bolivia. Yossi agrees to go and immediately the friendship between Marcus and Yossi begins to grow. In La Paz they meet some new friends and get the opportunity they came to South America for. A chance to journey deep into the real jungle, no tourist tricks. They grab at the chance and start off on the journey of their dreams, which turns out to be not as wonderful as they thought. Almost right after the start of their trip Yossi is seperated from the group and finds himself struggling to survive in the jungle alone.

This book was thrilling from the moment it began. Yossi Ghinsberg tells his story in such a simple yet fascinating way, its hard to put the book down once you've began reading. I reccomend this book to anyone that likes a good and exciting read about adventure.

-Joan of Arc

The Opium Wars

This novel is actually quite interesting because of the British/Chinese relations beginning with drugs. Its not a "light reading" kind of book many times the author repeats himself or will go off into less than interesting details. I feel as though the novel could have been cut down about a 100 pages. Never the less this book shows the manipulation of power through trade and the British causing bizarre wars because of the Chinese trying to end the opium trade.

This book includes rebellion, war, and of course opium. The story was very tragic but powerful at the same time showing the struggles of of any of the people involved. I recommend this book to anyone who can appreciate lots of detail and a clash between two very seperate worlds.

-Lady GaGa

Guns, Germs, and Steel

This book by Jared Diamond attempts to answer one of the biggest questions asked by historians: why did history turn out the way it did? More specifically, why did Eurasians conquer the rest of the world and not the other way around? Diamond offers much evidence to support the theory that the fates of societies are based on their environments. He explains how Eurasia had many significant advantages over the rest of the world: Eurasia had the most animals and plants capable of being domesticated as well as a landmass most favorable for diffusion of developments and ideas.

I thought this was a very interesting read because it does provide much explanation for why our world is the way it is today. It also fiercely refutes any racist theories that some humans are innately inferior to others. However, the book was a very tedious read and probably could have been shorter. Despite this, I would still recommend this book to anyone who wants a basic understanding of human societies.

~Mohammed

Men of Salt

The book "The Men of Salt", brilliantly written by Michael Benanav, tells the story of an amazing adventure of a young man following the salt caravans across the Sahara desert. Michael Benanav trusted his life to his Saharan guide as they crossed a thousand miles of desert. Had his guide decided to leave him at any time, he would never have been able to find his way to the next well. "The Men of Salt" is a story of an amazing modern day adventure.

With an exotic setting, foreign languages, sand for toilet paper, 40 days of walking away from what you know and who you love, Michael Benanav draws you into in his book. Unlike other adventure books that celebrate the challenge between the mind and the physical, Men of Salt is so much more than that. Benanav, in order to enter the desert, must leave behind who he is, his girlfriend, and his identity as a Jew. As he learns to rein the literal camel that he is riding, he discovers that he must also rein in the stallion of his mind which would rather quit or be in control but can do neither.

I cannot possibly say enough good things about this book. I highly suggest it if you enjoy adventure with a twist.

-Vanilla Ice

A Crime so Monstrous

The novel, A Crime so Monstrous by E. Benjamin Skinner, is a very disturbing book. Although very well written with great detail, the reality of slavery in other countries seems unreal. The author travels to four different countries to witness modern day slavery, or better known as hell. He tells stories of the lives of different people that were torn away from their families and forced to work as a slave under harsh circumstances. He included all kinds of slavery from slave raids to child slavery and trafficking to slavery in the caste system. The real stories of the strangers he meets are very frightening and it made me realize how lucky I am to have the life I was given. Overall, the book was great to read (although very depressing) because it opened my eyes to reality and what goes on in the world and how slaves are actually treated.
Britney Spears

The Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto is written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It discusses the problems with the class system and capitalism, while supporting the theory of communism.It explains the struggle under capitalism between the ruling class(bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat).It also contrasts the relationship between the working class and the communists.It further distinguishes the differences between socialism and communism. I personally liked the book but felt that it was very lengthly.It was very hard to maintain a focus while reading the book because the font was so small and the text was very similar to a textbook. I beieve that the ideas of communism revealed in this book are very interesting, but will never be successfully used in society.

-John Wilkes Booth

The Lost City of Z

The Amazon has been the basis for many discoveries and mysteries. The Lost City of Z by David Grann, The author tells the story of one of the many mysteries of the Amazon. He talks about the lost city in the Amazon known by many as El Dorado, but by the officer and the main character of the novel as Z. It switches off between the experiences of different explorers through their letters and diaries. It mainly followed his treks and those of the famous Percy H. Fawcett. The story illustrates the hardship that hundreds of people experienced while searching through the Amazon. It also focuses on Percy Fawcett's search for El Dorado and the mystery of his death.
I feel that this book is truthfully the tale of the authors obsession. Even though he describes it as other people's obsession with the Amazon, he couldn't even tear himself away from the place. His obsession led him to writing about th Amazon. Although David Grann did do a good job on this book. It is a great book for those interested in mystery or for those other people obsessed with the Amazon. He obviuosly put a lot of hard work into this and it was good for its topic. But for the average reader this book can be boring and even off-base. The story is more about Percy Fawcett and the author then it is about Z. Also David Grann didn't really fit into this mystery. He did not make the discovery about anything, other researchers did. He just put together what multiple researchers found into a book. His actual experience was unimportant.

-Ho Chi Minh

The Republic

The Republic, regarded as my best student’s magnum opus, is widely known as one of the first-and best-attempts to define justice and the ideal society. While I agree that the inquiry itself is intelligent and raises interesting questions about the fabric of government, the text itself is not particularly well-written and often drags on.

The Republic is written in the form of a dialogue among me, my friends, and the people who we happen to be visiting at the moment (I personally do not remember this conversation). After some small talk, I decide to ask everyone what they think justice is and, finding that justice is neither the paying of one’s debts nor a system developed by politicians to gain additional power over the civilians, I decide to come up with a hypothetical city-state which instates the ideals of justice into its governmental structure so we can find what justice is. From there, the conversation drifts off to places such as how every other government in the world today is flawed to whether or not women should have rights similar to men. In using a conversation as a way to convey his ideas, Plato creates fundamental flaws in his work. Due to the fact that conversations, when not moderated, tend to drift off to many different points at sudden, unpredictable intervals, The Republic is difficult to follow at times. I might be talking about censorship of the press at one point and go on about the nature of the human soul without warning. Hence, it was easy to get lost in the text, and half the time I had no idea why certain points were brought up and what relevance they had. Getting lost in the text forced me to go back a few lines to figure out how the conversation went off on such a dramatic tangent. This process made the reading seem slow, and at times I just had to look at how many pages were remaining in each chapter to see how much more reading I had to do.

Despite what I may have made out to be fundamental, severe flaws in The Republic, the work itself was excellent and made me wonder about why we organize states the way we do and whether or not all of our ideals are justified. The Republic is a great read provided one has the time and patience to get through it, and those who read the entire work will be rewarded with new insights about life.

-Socrates

The Commonwealth of Thieves

In 1787, most of the British populace were overjoyed to see the transfer of over 1500 convicts, from the diseased, cold and dark prison hulks in Portsmouth and Plymouth, onto a fleet of eleven ships destined for the yet unsettled shores of New South Wales. The Commonwealth of Thieves, by Tom Keneally, relates the story of Captain Arthur Phillip, the commander of the fleet, and the men, women and children that comprised the prison population on board. The convicts were accompanied by a few marines and soldiers on a trip halfway around the world to another hemisphere to a place unlike any they had ever heard about. The author expertly makes the reader aware of how strange this must have seemed to both the prisoners, who were meant to start a colony, and to the indigenous tribes of the Eora people who had been on the continent of Australia for over 60,000 years. Keneally tells the story of the first four years of the convicts’ struggle to find food, shelter and acceptance to a life so remote from Britain. He also relates the Aborigines’ plight of being invaded by a foreign culture, its deadly diseases, and the inevitable clash of civilizations. The reader will finish the book wanting to know what happened next.

-Emily Dickinson

The Sex Lives of Cannibals

The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost is about Troost's journey to the remote island Tarawa in the equatorial Pacific where his girlfriend was working for a nonprofit development organization. This book outlines his daily life living on the atoll with scarce modern amenities. His sarcastic style of humor makes the book laugh out loud funny. Fish is the only thing to eat, water is scarce, and the stench of the used diapers sitting in the sun makes this island a real life piece of hell. He cannot even enjoy the ocean do to the fact the natives use the ocean as a toilet and his frustration with this problem is extremely entertaining. The natives on the island are primitive in their ways and especially in their taste of music (the La Macarena is the only song played on Tarawa). As the days go by one gets a sense for the difficulty and frustration of living on the island. Troost really puts the reader on the island by not holding back on any descriptions and this makes you want to keep turning the pages wondering, can this place really get any worse? (it does) This book is a must read and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

-Duncan Hines

Histories of the Hanged: The Dirty War in Kenya and the End of Empire

Histories of the Hanged by David Anderson is a very moving book about the last decade in Kenya. It shows the struggles people went through just to live each day. It tells the story of the awful war between the Mau Mau and the colonial government. Most people do not know that the British government was the reason this war was considered "dirty" and this book makes it very well known. Even though it was very long, I think people should read this book because it was very powerful and gave a great picture on how war and terorism were in the 1950's. Many hangings and death penalties take place which shows how far we have come since then. I enjoyed reading this book a lot because it kept me interested with all the personal stories of governers and real victims of the war. Knowing that this war actually happened makes me more appreciative of my life and how much easier things are for me. It was truely a great book.

-Martha Stuart

The End of Barbary Terror

The End of Barbary Terror, by Frederick C. Leiner was a book shedding light on an event that occurred soon after the United State's declaration of independence. It taught me of a happening in our history that I was never aware of before. Early in the 1800’s, a North African power, called the Barbary, had risen. It spent much of its time and money pirating foreign lands and pillaging towns. They also intercepted United States merchant trade vessels that were trading through the Mediterranean Sea. This grabbed the attention of the still very young United States. Early in Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, he formed a navy that soon went to war with the Barbary regencies of North Africa. Together, Tripoli, Morroco, Algiers, and Tunis fought the United States navy in a battle for the Mediterranean. The United States formed a strong alliance with the British fleet and together, the two nations successfully crushed the Barbary Terror, freeing thousands of captured peoples and foreign slaves. This true-story of adventure, courage, and betrayal is very interesting and illustrates a crucial point in early American history. The End of Barbary Terror is far from the stereotypical, "boring" history books that I have experienced in the past. I would highly recommend this exciting book to anyone with an open mind, but especially to those with a knack for American history.

Tulipomania!!!!!!!

Tulipomania by Mike Dash illustrates the tulip frenzy that took place in the Dutch Republic in the 1630s. The book describes the incredible economic changes that occurred as the tulip gained popularity in the Netherlands. This homely bulb journeyed thousands of miles, across empires, and on its path, it became the beloved bloom of many.
I thought the book was extremely well written and engaging. I have read many historical books, and they have a tendency to be dry and little dreadful, but Dash's book was a page-turner. The information was interesting and the writing had a sense of humor. I highly recommend this book to anyone; it's completely accessible and entertaining!

The Botany of Desire

Humans and plants have had a close and interrelated history. In The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, the author discusses history to show how mutually influential plants and humans are. He illustrates this using four influential plants for his examples, the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. All of the plants are said to satisfy different human desires, sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control, respectively.

Michael Pollan is well known for his books about plants. This one is certainly interesting and makes for a light read, but some of it can seem strange, and indirect. For example, his examination of the potato, seems like an afterthought, an attempt to round out the book by adding the desire “control” to the human picture (Obviously his own little bit of the dominator culture). In his introduction, he makes his case that plants are as important as people very strongly and convincingly. This irritated me enough to wait until the last week of summer to pick up the book again. However, the force of his introduction is lost during the rest of the book, making it much more dispassionate and unfocused. As a history of these specific plants, the book is certainly interesting and somewhat readable, but in terms of revolutionizing the view of plants, it has a way to go.

~Timothy Leary

A Perfect Red

A Perfect Red was written by Amy Butler Greenfield. It was about the role of red dye in the history of the world. It started by describing the symbolic meaning of the color red in many ancient cultures, and went on to explain how the rarity of good red dye led to many Renaissance elites using red dyed clothes a statement of wealth. When the Spanish conquistadors found cochineal (the brightest red dye anyone had ever seen) in the New World, Europe embraced it. For hundreds of years, cochineal was in high demand and low supply, Then finally other countries managed to smuggle it out of Spain and grow it for themselves, and the market collapsed.
I thought that this book was boring. Some parts were interesting, such as the chapter on pirates, but there was too much detail on things that were not relevant to the plot. I admire the amount of research and time that Greenfield put into this, (the bibliography is 25 pages long) but I would not recommend this book to others.

~Mary Magdaline

Imagined Communities

Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson was a mediocre book. The writing was very dry, but the historical content is interesting. It is about the history of nationalism, and the effects that it had on the world today.
I think that this book is extremely relevant to AP World, because it takes the idea of a nation and shows how it came to be, and how differently it evolved throughout the world. Its themes correlate to the AP World class, but I would only suggest this book to a very dedicated and perseverant reader, because the material is tough to handle, and often repetitive.
-Marie Antoinette

Bushido: The Way of the Samurai

Bushido: The Way of the Samurai is a novel based off of the words of late 17th century samurai Tsunetomo Yamamoto, who's words were recorded in what is known as the Hagakure. Yamamoto explains stories of past samurai's valor and dedication to the warrior's way. Bushido showcases the importance of duty and service to one's Lord and people, and provides the ways by which a samurai remains dedicated to his service. It expresses the samurai's perserverance and loyalty. In short, Bushido is a guidebook for the wayward samurai, and those in need of direction. It is a great read for those interested in philosophy, religion, and culture, and for those who wish to be modern day samurais. If you fall in either of these catagories, I suggest reading this book.
-King Arthur

The Sea of Glory

This novel is about a sailor named Charles Wilkes. He lead the 1838 expedition which explored the South Pole and the Fiji island. There are unfortunately some problems that occur during the 4 year excursion. The novel is beautifully written by Nathaniel Philbrick. It does start a bit slow but once you hit the Fiji islands it gets really intense. Charles Wilkes does run into some problems with his crew, nature and some cultural differences. This book is definitely worth reading in my opinion.
---Charles knucklehead Barkley

The Soul of the Rhino

The soul of the rhino was a thrilling tale by Hemanta Mishra, a man on a mission to save the rhinos of the world, mainly ones located in Nepal. He began by starting a zoo located in Nepal which became an immediate success and forever changed the Nepalese culture. It was an enormous undertaking and it was declared only 101 years after the first National Park, (Yellowstone) came into existance. The Nepalese to this day are very proud of their feat. Mishra then explains the plight of the rhino and through skilled storytelling gets the reader very involved and emotional about his quest to save the rhino. Non-fiction and interesting, two words that don't normally go together but meet each other for this book.

-Mohandas Gandhi

The Door Of No Return

The Door Of No Return by William St Clair is a historical novel about the infamous Cape Coast Castle, the center of the transatlantic slave trade situated on the west coast of Ghana. It was very interesting to learn about the technical aspects of the castle and its history, but I feel as though many parts were left out. The details accounted for were incredible, but there was no real human contact within the book, and therefore no emotion tied to it. There was really no chance to get to learn about the most important part of the castle: the people who lived inside its walls.

However i do think its extremely important to get to know this fascinating building because it serves as one of the most important buildings in African slave history. Therefore i think that a book pertaining to this subject should definitely be on the list, but maybe one thats a bit more anecdotal.

-Michelle Obama

When China Ruled the Seas

When China Ruled the Seas, by Louise Levathes, is a book that describes China during one of its finest times. During this period, roughly from 1405-133, China reached its pinnacle of power. This power was derived from the immense naval force China commanded. The Chinese navy controlled over 300 ships, some measuring as much as 400 feet long and 160 feet wide, and crews sometimes numbering over 28,000 strong. China was a force that none could match. China's sphere of influence stretched throughout half of the world and could have been more if the emperor had wanted. However, this glory could not last and soon the power of China was diminishing. With the passing of the torch between rulers, came new ideals and rules. China became more isolated and less of a world power. With its rule over the sea gone, so was its rule over trade. China's people watched as its period of expansion and trade turned into a time of isolation.

Levathes describes this all in a truly great and lively fashion. This book was a good read and recommended for those who want to learn about China's proudest time.

~Morgan Freeman

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli was written in 1513 but not published until 1532. This book analyzes political power in the western world during the 16th century. Machiavelli discussed ways an aspiring prince can take the throne. He emphasized the need for stability in a prince’s principality, and also the need for acceptance from the prince’s subjects. Machiavelli justified rule by force rather than by law, and The Prince displayed Machiavelli’s actions. The Prince, overall, was an interesting book, but was merely a guidebook on how to rule according to Niccolo Machiavelli. It went into great depth on all of the aspects a prince must have to be a good prince, according to Machiavelli. Machiavelli stated that a prince must have a good reputation, have a strong army, and cannot be too generous. Machiavelli discussed many other things that must be exhibited by a prince. I didn’t like this book very much because it wasn’t exciting, and there was no story line to it. It was basically just a “how-to ” book.
-Harriet Tubman

Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford was a very good book. Weatherford is a very good writer and made the book easy to read, at the same time is was very informative. I had no idea the Mongols had such a large impact on the world, the book is so full of information that it feels like it was writen by someone who actually was there. It was a great book and I would recomend it to anyone.

-The Omnicient Mao Zedong

McMafia:A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld

McMafia, written by Misha Glenny, takes the reader on a journey through the world of organised crime. The book is a real eye opener to the reality that is organised crime in eastern europe and around the world. I was completly suprised to learn that organised crime made up so much of the world GDP (1/5 of the total). The growth seen by organised crime in the years following the collapse of the soviet union is truely astonishing and coninues to keep its momentum. I fealt that Glenny's use of testimony from those connected to these crime organizations helps to paint the picture of the shocking truth of this phenomenon. ~ Bruce Springsteen (The Boss)

All the Shah's Men

All the Shah’s Men, by Stephen Kinzer, relates the story of the American coup in Iran in 1953. A significant portion of the book is devoted to describing Iran’s history, culture, and religion, written in a fascinating, almost novel-like fashion. It explains how Muslims invaded the Iran plateau and subjugated the Persian people, imposing their laws and religion.

After describing the ancient history of Iran, Kinzer goes on to discuss its relations with Britain, focusing mainly on the oil company. The Shahs in Iran were obsessed with personal wealth, and often sold whole industries to other countries, mainly Britain. One of these industries was the oil industry, which turned out to be extremely productive for the British. As the Shahs gained wealth and lost natural resources, Iran was making slow but steady progress towards democracy. By WWII, the people had forced the Shah into accepting a parliament and a prime minister. Mohammad Mossadegh was the first progressive, open-minded prime minister, and one of the most popular figures in Iran. He nationalized the oil industry, taking it away from the Anglo Persian Oil Company. After losing the case in Belgium’s International Court, they then blockaded the Persian Gulf, halting Iran’s trade and their economy. Since Mossadegh was a socialist and friendly with the Russians, the British convinced the US to assist them in a coup to depose Mossadegh and instate a more pro-Western prime minister. Unfortunately, they were successful with the help of the Shah and some military officers, and Iran lost all democratic progress.

The book attributes a lot of the problems in diplomacy between the Middle East and the United States to this singular piece of history, declaring that the United States destroyed democracy in the entire region. I really enjoyed how easy the book was to read, and found it an enjoyable though surprising and often sad story.

-Catherine of Aragon