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Contrary Notions: The Michael Parenti Reader. By Michael Parenti. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2007. Paper $18.95.
Michael Parenti 's new book is a collection of essays on both historical topics and current events. In addition, he includes essays on issues related to class and power, continuing his work from previous books, especially his Power and the Powerless. All of the essays are written with passion and clarity. This type of clear and jargon-free prose is too rare an occurrence among most academicians, especially those on the Left. Parenti's style always has been clear and accessible, especially when compared to authors like Michel Foucault, who wrote on the same topic. Given Parenti's account of censorship in academia ("Repression in Academia" in Contrary Notions), and the fact that he is no longer affiliated with any institution of higher education, one can see why his clarity and passion are so rare.
Parenti's Contrary Notions contains sections on the media, political parties, political labels (left, right, liberal, and moderate), imperialism, the Cold War, and the breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. His essays on international affairs also include sections on Venezuela and Iraq. Most of the book, however, is dedicated to domestic issues such as health care, racism,...