Bill Moyers asked his listeners to tell him which single book the next President of the United States should take into the White House. Here are the top recommendations as of February 8, 2008:

Naomi Klein, THE SHOCK DOCTRINE

Howard Zinn, A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

Kim Michaels, THE ART OF NON-WAR

Jared Diamond, COLLAPSE

Chalmers Johnson, BLOWBACK triology

Tom Paine, COLLECTED WORKS/COMMON SENSE

Al Gore, ASSAULT ON REASON/AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

David Cay Johnston, FREE LUNCH

George Orwell, 1984/ANIMAL FARM

Naomi Wolff, THE END OF AMERICA: LETTERS TO A YOUNG PATRIOT

Greg Mortenson, THREE CUPS OF TEA

Barbara Ehrenreich, NICKLE AND DIMED

Barbara Tuchman, MARCH OF FOLLY

Doris Kearns Goodwin, TEAM OF RIVALS

David Korten, THE GREAT TURNING

John Steinbeck, THE GRAPES OF WRATH

Ayn Rand, ATLAS SHRUGGED

John Dean, BROKEN GOVERNMENT

John Perkins, CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HITMAN

James Carroll, HOUSE OF WAR

Thomas Friedman, THE WORLD IS FLAT

Lao Tzu, TE TAO CHING

Tim Weiner, LEGACY OF ASHES

Dr. Seuss (THE LORAX, HORTON HEARS A WHO, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO, IF I RAN THE ZOO)

Soon, you’ll be able to send any of these selections to the elected official or candidate of your choice by becoming a Booklobbyist through BookLobby.

Watch this space.

BookLobbyist Brian Massey on Sarah Vela’s video blog Too Much Information. Brian will be talking about why BookLobby has been created and how you can change the hearts and minds of our elected officials as a Booklobbyist.

Tune in on Monday, April 14 at 10:00am central time.

I find it odd that people who use the Bible to justify judgement and condemnation just don’t seem to notice the parts written in red. Many behaviors such as homosexuality are forbidden in the Bible. The red text — the parts spoken by Jesus Christ for whom Christianity is named — tells us what to do when someone breaks these prohibitions. Here are some choice selections:

• Turn the other cheek
• Love your enemies (which really means don’t have any enemies)
• Judge not
• Forgive

I would send Representative Sally Kern a copy of the Bible, but I’m afraid she would just continue to misuse it.  The MindOH! Blog has written about one youngster who has a poignant letter f0r Representative Kern.

BookLobby is about using books to change the minds and hearts of our government officials.  What would you send her and why?

Why is NOW the right time for us to build an army of Booklobbyists? Because there is a shift that is happening in the populaion. Barack Obama is not creating this change, he is a symptom of the change; he is a symptom of a new generation reaching voting age.

Here’s one example:

Former Lobbyist and Social Media expert Dave Evans pointed me to Larry Lessig’s Change Congress initiative that is using Wiki technology to create transparency in the political process via a map.

What this map will reveal, we believe, is something that not many now actually realize: That the support for fundamental reform is broad and deep. That recognition in turn will encourage more to see both the need for reform and the opportunity that this election gives us to achieve it. Apathy is driven by the feeling that nothing can be done. This Change Congress map will demonstrate that in fact, something substantial can be done. Now.

Soon you will be able to take action as well by becoming a Booklobbyist.

Link to Wired article.
Via BoingBoing.

My good friend Maura Thomas is a political junkie and book reader sent me this note when she heard about the eminent launch of BookLobby. I thought it made sense to share it. 

She wrote, “Did you read Love is the Killer App?  It’s part of his ‘process’ to share knowledge and how it’s great for your career.  Here’s a quote from the book:”

Knowledge, however, is consequential.  Knowledge currency is social currency on steroids.  It’s important, it’s powerful, it’s essential.  Thus it is value currency.  Someone talking about the latest reality television show may attract a brief audience around the water cooler or the copy machine, but someone who tells people about Clayton M. Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma and who finds a way for them to connect the ideas to their careers so that they own the book (so that they can use it themselves to succeed in their jobs), is a person of genuine value.

This is why you aggregate wisdom.  This is why you transmit knowledge.  You’re not just handing out some weight-loss hint or a workout tip or a recipe for a great-tasting low-fat cake.  You’re giving someone the knowledge edge that can advance a career. You’re becoming a theory-slinging, expert-quoting, knowledge-throwing lovecat, and that’s what makes you stand out from the pack, and that’s why others keep calling on you.

–Love is the Killer App, Tim Sanders, pgs. 67-68

“He was using that argument for why you should read books and share the wisdom you gain,” she continued.  “But later when he talks about following up with the people you meet, he writes:”

Maybe this is the time to prescribe a book based on his or her function or place in the value space.  You might even consider sending a book – an expensive offering, but one with high impact. (pg. 127)

I think that last bit says it all.

What kind of impact are you making on the Political system? Stay tuned to BookLobby and find out how you can become a Special Interest of One.