Interested in joining the Progressive Book Club? Find out more here.

"Books have always played a pivotal role in our nation's history, changing America in remarkable ways. Imagine the American Revolution without Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Where would the abolitionist movement have been without Uncle Tom's Cabin? How would the social reforms of the Progressive Era ever have been enacted without Upton Sinclair's The Jungle? What would be the condition of the natural environment today if Rachel Carson's Silent Spring had never been published?"

This strong articulation of the power of books--and the ideas they bring to our politics and culture--comes from the mission statement for the newest organization in the progressive firmament, the Progressive Book Club (PBC). At this defining moment in our nation's history--a time which demands we examine complex issues from new perspectives, ask tough questions and press for real change--it's very good news that a venture like PBC, dedicated, like The Nation, to enriching our political and cultural conversation and debate, launches today.

As editor and publisher of a magazine that has taken ideas seriously for 143 years, I'm very pleased to be a part of its Editorial Board, along with Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers, Barbara Kingsolver, Hendrik Hertzberg, Edwidge Danticat, Mark Danner, John Podesta, Andy Stern, Bill McKibben, Robert Scheer, Jeff Faux, Eric Foner, Markos Moulitsas Zuníga, Amy Wilentz, Joan Bingham, Lewis Lapham and others.

I believe that the return of ideas to our politics is critical as we rebuild and strengthen our democracy. It's also a vital time to enrich the marketplace of ideas and challenge a media universe which too often trivializes and sensationalizes politics.

"As Americans become increasingly involved with the political process and concerned about our nation's direction, the progressive movement is at a critical crossroads," said Elizabeth Wagley, Progressive Book Club founder and CEO. "We've created an innovative platform that encourages people to explore important issues and engage in debate, while empowering them to learn more--and do more--to make a difference."

Joining PBC is simple. Members select three books for $1 and agree to buy four more books within two years, at 10 percent to 40 percent off list prices. Some titles will be offered for as much as 70 percent to 80 percent off list prices over the course of a membership. Each month there will be new titles covering a range of topics, along with a monthly "PBC Pick" selection from the Editorial Board. To help deepen readers' understanding of the issues, PBC will also provide content in the form of videos, audio files, interviews, additional reading recommendations, and offline programming.

Members of the Editorial Board can suggest classics--such as Tom Paine's Common Sense and Michael Harrington's The Other America. (Next month, I plan to nominate John Kenneth Galbraith's The Affluent Society, as eloquent an articulation of our mixed economy as one could ever read.) But the focus will be on current books, and also books from small presses that might otherwise not get the attention they deserve. In this way the PBC will promote cutting edge thinking and also the retrieval of ideas from the past which can inform our present. As we approach the most important election in my lifetime, the PBC and its books have a vital role to play in this regard--along with magazines, opinion journals, and other forums for thinkers and intelligent debate.

PBC expects to build a substantial membership base from a diverse pool of 63 million self-identified socially responsible consumers and 72 million-plus registered Democratic voters. In addition to The Nation, more than two dozen of the nation's leading progressive organizations have signed on as Alliance Partners to help extend the PBC's reach and mobilize the broader community, including Center for American Progress, Campaign for America's Future, Media Matters, Mother Jones, the Service Employees International Union, and DailyKos.com. Members will have the opportunity to give back with every purchase, donating $2 to a progressive organization of their choice.

The Conservative Book Club began more than forty years ago, and the conservative movement has long used books and book clubs to promote their ideas. The Progressive Book Club was established to help restore balance to American discourse by bringing progressive voices, ideas, and issues to the forefront of the national debate. It offers a strong social networking platform--members can learn, debate, interact, and exchange ideas through PBC's vibrant online community. Offline there will be opportunities to interact with authors, progressive opinion leaders and fellow members at local events, readings and book discussions.

In the world of politics today where there is so much emphasis on scoring points and the machinations of a 36/7 War Room, it seems a good time to rededicate ourselves to the notion that ideas have power and consequence, and that the grassroots can use those ideas to create change.

Comments (42)

1. maybe the Nation could publish a comic book version of these books, like the old Illustrated Classics. right votey?

   Posted by emile duBois at 06/16/2008 @ 09:20am

2. Didn't say it would be "pointless". Just surprised it was a FORTY year old conservative idea, just NOW being picked up by the Left.

   BTW, to show some support for the idea....here's a book for the list-

   "Trainwreck" by Bill Press

   Posted by Mask at 06/16/2008

   I apologize for my misconstruing it.

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/16/2008 @ 10:22am

3. "yes, absolutely, it will include fiction...One of my pix--"Oil!' by Upton Sinclair--which is work upon which film "There Will Be Blood" is based."

   Posted by Katrina

   I recently rented There Will Be Blood. What an incredible performance by Daniel Day Lewis!

   That movie struck a rich vein of emotional and intellectual subject material. It's one that will leave some powerfully indelible images on the brain, and it's one that I strongly recommend to my fellow Nationheads. Truly its a tale of our times with echoes that resonate primevally.

   By the way Katrina, I've posted recently at Peter Rothberg's Act Now regarding the momentous events of note recently --i.e. Barack Obama's Rorschach image beginning to resolve itself in a less than flattering manner with the AIPAC speech bombshell (could he have been any more obsequious?), and his choice of Jason "Rubinomics" Furman as chief economics guru.

   If NY Times neo-con David "I give ABC an 'A' for its performance in the Obama-Clinton debate" Brooks can ring up Barack Obama on the phone (as he recently did), and ask him what he means by specific speech remarks, then the progressive movement needs to step up to the plate and start swinging a heavy bat of our own.

   If we are going to get the progressive president this nation so urgently needs, it is we who must make our voices heard so that Barack Obama's advisers cannot simply crank out the usual statistical analyses that tell them in effect, "Don't bother listening to the progressives, they'll get in line come November. The voices that we need to heed are the ones on the right because they run the show ultimately."

   If we don't speak up at this critical juncture, we'll have only ourselves to blame come January when Obama has already made his promises to the right without any serious or credible objection from the left.

   This isn't time to panic, but it is most certainly time to act aggressively.

   I believe that most Nation readers sense this, and I hope that The Nation magazine (ideally in conjunction with other significant progressive organs) will be considering raising its voice sooner rather than later to help make it clear to Mr. Obama what the stakes are.

   We (The Nation) endorsed Barack Obama. Now we must hold his feet to the fire, or accept responsibility when the 10 alarm fire that now rages in our democracy envelopes the last vestiges of all that we hold dear.

   Sincerely,

   ~B Kool

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 06/16/2008 @ 10:34am

4. Perhaps one of these books will finally enlighten americans how men having anal sex with each other is natural and beautiful and should be behavior sanctioned in marriage.

   what an ugly post. you are getting worse and worser. you are disgusting.

   this post makes me sorry I have ever befriended you. you will never hear from me again. please do likewise.

   Posted by emile duBois at 06/16/2008 @ 10:53am

5. "Perhaps one of these books will finally enlighten americans how men having anal sex with each other is natural and beautiful and should be behavior sanctioned in marriage......

   Oh, and I think a reread of "Silent Spring" is a perfect read ....."

   Posted by Her "Freiheit"

   Don't forget about Christian men who have anal sex with their wives, Frei. Many Christians have also gone down the dirt road before marriage as well in order to avoid the sin of premarital intercourse.

   And your mention of "Silent Spring" is one of your most brilliant posts of all time.

   Bravo!!!

   I trust that you are a talented biologist and toxicologist (or at least a big fan of science) since you've picked a blockbuster that changed the way we view our increasingly fragile and life-giving biosphere.

   Did you know that our atmosphere is thinner than the layer of shellac on a model globe?

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 06/16/2008 @ 10:55am

6. Oops, "Herr Freiheit".

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 06/16/2008 @ 10:56am

7. I actually think this is a great idea...partially. I completely agree that discussion of liberal ideas is a good thing, regardless of whether they're right or wrong. What I would actually like to see (perhaps in addition to this) is a book club that combines both liberal and conservative ideas (and those that are common to both traditions (using the word loosely)). Though I think there's a significant benefit to be gained by dialogue within the liberal tradition (liberal in the modern sense, not the philosophical sense), I think there's also a huge need for dialogue BETWEEN different political philosophies, to find what is shared in common and to bring out the best in both philosophies. Frankly, I think they have a good deal to teach one another, something that much of our current discourse tragically misses out on.

   Posted by Thrawn at 06/16/2008 @ 10:59am

8. freiheit,

   you seem angry.

   wouldn't a libertarian not care where people put their parts?

   wouldn't a libertarian not care about how marriage is defined except in their own personal case?

   Posted by frosty zoom at 06/16/2008 @ 10:59am

9. Oh good Freiheit, then you can stay the hell out of my bedroom. You should really explore the notion of why homosexuality frightens you so much. How does it negatively impact a society when two people choose to bond and combine resources? Maybe you should read the book I recommended, unless the idea of gay Marines is too much for your brain.

   Posted by yutsano at 06/16/2008 @ 11:35am

10. Freheit- your post tacitly condones that fear based barrier you mention, which is why others have rightly described it as reprehensible. You are a bigot, and the "I have lots of --------- friends" is as old and pathetic a defense as bigotry itself. Do not subject others to hatred and scorn simply because you harbor an irration belief in the supernatural.

    Posted by entropy at 06/16/2008 @ 12:08pm

11. Will the PBC also include progressive fiction? Some great novels have contributed to progressive thought as well as to readers' enjoyment.

    Posted by sloper at 06/16/2008 @ 12:28pm

12. sloper

    such as?

    Posted by emile duBois at 06/16/2008 @ 1:19pm

13. 1984

    The Gulag Archipelago

    Brave New World

    The Jungle

    Tropic of Cancer

    The Grapes of Wrath

    Posted by HonestLiberal at 06/16/2008 @ 1:27pm

14. Second the motion for progressive fiction. Plenty of recent fiction books that are standouts. "Monkey Wrench Gang" for environmentalism and "Rage & Reason" for vegetarianism.

    Sounds like you already have this in mind, witness references to The Jungle and Uncle Tom's Cabin.

    Posted by ElyDog at 06/16/2008 @ 1:32pm

15. One that pops to mind is "Blind Fall" by Christopher Rice. Not only a taut thriller but shows how gay soldiers learn to live and love even in the era of Don't Ask Don't Tell. It really is an awesome book.

    Posted by yutsano at 06/16/2008 @ 1:33pm

16. It would be great if The Nation offered "nutshell" condensations of these books as well as reviews.

    Posted by OneVote at 06/16/2008 @ 1:37pm

17. "The Conservative Book Club began more than forty years ago, and the conservative movement has long used books and book clubs to promote their ideas."

    And you're JUST NOW coming up with one of your own?!?!?!? LOL

    BTW...

    Posted by HonestLiberal at 06/16/2008

    'lest anybody think HL actually "talked"...putting down the titles of books, is also "quoting"!

    heheh

    Posted by Mask at 06/16/2008 @ 1:44pm

18. And you're JUST NOW coming up with one of your own?!?!?!? LOL

    Posted by Mask at 06/16/2008

    Ahhh some Mask cynicism to make any good idea seem pointless. We should just shut it down and pack up.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/16/2008 @ 1:53pm

19. Posted by Freiheit at 06/16/2008 |

    Frei, given homosexuality has been observed in the great apes, our closest relatives....wouldn't there be a case that it IS "natural"?

    Posted by Mask at 06/16/2008 @ 2:26pm

20. Interesting editorial board, but I don't see anyone on it being the intellectual equal of ole Lewis Lapham.

    Posted by KSP556 at 06/16/2008 @ 2:36pm

21. Fontamara by Ignacio Silone A good & valuable read regardless of aspersions, true or false, thrown at the author.

    Posted by Sorelish at 06/16/2008 @ 2:40pm

22. yes, absolutely, it will include fiction...One of my pix--"Oil!' by Upton Sinclair--which is work upon which film "There Will Be Blood" is based. Greed, corruption, oil ....how relevant could that be?kvh

    Posted by Katrina vanden Heuvel at 06/16/2008 @ 2:53pm

23. Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/16/2008

    Didn't say it would be "pointless". Just surprised it was a FORTY year old conservative idea, just NOW being picked up by the Left.

    BTW, to show some support for the idea....here's a book for the list-

    "Trainwreck" by Bill Press

    Posted by Mask at 06/16/2008 @ 3:52pm

24. Frei, given homosexuality has been observed in the great apes, our closest relatives....wouldn't there be a case that it IS "natural"?

    Posted by Mask

    Every once in a while Maskot strikes with a nicely ironic --and pleasingly dry-- twist of the funny bone.

    Well done, Maskot.

    :D

    Posted by b_kool_66 at 06/16/2008 @ 3:56pm

25. I was looking at the listings and I'm disappointed I haven't seen "Free Lunch" yet. Maybe it's there and I'm not seeing it?

    Posted by yutsano at 06/16/2008 @ 4:22pm

26. I really don't understand the whole gay marriage issue. I believe the government shouldn't approve of it. The government shouldn't be in the business of approving any marriage. Marriage is a religious ceremony and institution.

    Posted by abell12ct at 06/17/2008 @ 01:22am

27. b_kool_66

    what really pissed me off, was how gratuitous that homophobic and misanthropic that remark ws. pure hate.

    Posted by emile duBois at 06/17/2008 @ 01:53am

28. Posted by b_kool_66 at 06/16/2008

    Add into that KOOL, that a new scientific study found that homosexual men share common brain circuitry with heterosexual women.

    All "natural"...no brain surgery or "environment" added, FREI!

    Posted by Mask at 06/17/2008 @ 03:29am

29. Frei, given homosexuality has been observed in the great apes, our closest relatives....wouldn't there be a case that it IS "natural"?

    Posted by Mask at 06/16/2008

    Like pedophelia?

    Posted by lvliberty1 at 06/17/2008 @ 03:57am

30. Like pedophelia?

    Posted by lvliberty1

    yes pedophelia is "natural, like murder, infanticide, even cannibalism.

    all of these include a powerless victim.

    we as a society seek to protect these victims.

    in homosexuality both male and female there is no victim to protect.

    Posted by emile duBois at 06/17/2008 @ 12:23pm

31. Like pedophelia?

    Posted by lvliberty1 at 06/17/2008

    Well in the past Americans married at 13 or 14. There were 15 year olds married to 20-30 year old mean. So would you argue that it was pedophelia then? I am not for touching kids. But what is considered right and wrong drastically changes over time. Now we would not be ok with an old man touching a kid but there was a time when that was the natural way of doing things.

    On top of that are you really comparing a criminal activity and something that is benign? Homosexuality between two consenting adults does not hurt anyone. A pedophile hurts the child. I don't know how it works in your twisted mind but those are two very different things to me.

    "Pedophilia might be the result of faulty connections in the brain, according to new research released by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The study used MRIs and a sophisticated computer analysis technique to compare a group of pedophiles with a group of non-sexual criminals. The pedophiles had significantly less of a substance called "white matter" which is responsible for wiring the different parts of the brain together."

    http://tinyurl.com/48rbqw

    Pedophilia is also NOT natural. Research says that it is caused by a bad connection in the brain or as other research says it is caused by childhood trauma or abuse. Whereas there is nothing saying homosexuality is caused by a misfiring of anything or abuse considering I have friends who are perfectly normal and had a normal childhood but still grew up to be gay or lesbian. So take your homophobia and hatred elsewhere. Again very very judgmental and hateful for a "man of God." Maybe the fact that God condones such ignorance and irrational hatred is proof that God doesn't exist. Who knows?

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/17/2008 @ 12:37pm

32. amazing how one homophobic creep can highjack a thread on progressive books.

    I guess one book we should definitely put on the list is:"Heather has two Mommies"

    Posted by emile duBois at 06/17/2008 @ 1:30pm

33. Good luck with the book club Ms. Vanden Heuval, but unless some of your progressive book writers try to stand out like some of our more famous authors... not many will take an interest, especially to left-wing/right-wing non-fiction.

    Quite frankly, you couldn't get me to buy books from Ann Coulter, Al Franken, Bill O'Reilly, Dan Rather, Rush Limbaugh, Billary, Al Bore or any other political pundit/official...they're full of crap and they're too damn boring.

    However, should you establish a serious FICTION section that houses the talents of...Stephen King, James Baldwin, Ann Rice, Tom Clancey, Ernest Hemingway, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, Oscar Wilde, August Wilson, Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain), Michael Crichton, Dean Koonce, Charles Dickens, JK Rowling, and JRR Tolkien, to name a few, then you may have yourself a deal.

    Posted by ACook at 06/17/2008 @ 3:09pm

34. PS. Ms. Vanden Heuvel, even the conservative bookclubs have more "fiction" than non-fiction books.

    Posted by ACook at 06/17/2008 @ 3:11pm

35. in homosexuality both male and female there is no victim to protect.

    Posted by emile duBois

    And female homosexuality is great to watch!

    Posted by abell12ct at 06/17/2008 @ 3:16pm

36. JRR Tolkien, to name a few, then you may have yourself a deal.

    Posted by ACook at 06/17/2008

    Is JRR Tolkien a big political fiction writer?

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/17/2008 @ 3:35pm

37. Posted by lvliberty1 at 06/17/2008

    Larry, by your twisted analogy, an adult man and an adult woman having sex...

    is the same thing as an adult man and a female child having sex.

    Has to be. Aside from the genders, there's no difference, is there?

    Posted by Mask at 06/17/2008 @ 4:04pm

38. "Is JRR Tolkien a big political fiction writer?"

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/17/2008

    Not that I'm aware of. But, you do know he wrote "The Lord of the Rings and "The Hobbit", right?

    Posted by ACook at 06/17/2008 @ 5:06pm

39. Not that I'm aware of. But, you do know he wrote "The Lord of the Rings and "The Hobbit", right?

    Posted by ACook at 06/17/2008

    Yeah but I thought they were pushing for political fiction like 1984, The Jungle stuff like that. I mean Lord of Tthe Rings had some political underpinnings but I don't think it would fit so much with 1984.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/17/2008 @ 5:30pm

40. Jack London's novel, The Iron Heel, which predicted the rise of fascism almost two decades before Mussolini's march on Rome.

    I've always wanted to read a British novel called, I think, The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropist.

    I imagine Walter Mosely will be represented, and perhaps such science fiction writers as Ursula K. LeGuin, Kim Stanly Robinson and the late Octavia Butler. Some of the novels of the Scotsman Ken MacLeod could be sold by a Progressive book club, and others by a Libertarian one, he is such a facile and chameleon-like a political writer.

    Posted by cka2nd at 06/18/2008 @ 11:23am

41. How about Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged, or the collected works of Tolkien and Michner. Oops, wrong values. Sorry

    Posted by william.harry13 at 06/18/2008 @ 12:18pm

42. Obama's Audacity of Hope. Definitely in!

    Posted by ginza00 at 06/19/2008 @ 5:40pm