Book Recommendations
The
books on this list have (mostly) been screened by CLAWS members
for good quality of writing and relevance to our goals and mission.
Although lots of these are out of print, copies of some of these
books can be found through many independent bookstores (check
out a few we recommend) and public libraries. See also CLAWS
book reviews and review snippets,
on this site.
Re-thinking the Work Ethic
Leisure Theory
Schooling & Education
Corporate Hegemony & "Business Culture"
Simple & Sustainable Living
Social Activism, Media & Politics
Economics & Practical Financial Guides
Self-Employment
Personal Stories, Interviews, Fiction, &
Other Misc.
Beating The System: The Next American Revolution
by Larry Roth
Straightforward and practical treatise on life without a job,
filled with encouraging personal anecdotes and humor. Roth asks
us to re-evaluate our lives and gives us tools to live a happy,
fulfilling life outside the realm of wage slavery. As a bonus,
he includes several essays, for example, by Edith Flowers Kilgo
("Can You Afford Your Job?") and Ed Haugland ("Ditching
the Nine to Five Routine").
"If you want to quit your job and never have to formally
work again, here is a complete lifestyle planner for it."
- Workaholics Anonymous
"...the story of his own exit from corporate America and
a map for others who want to find their way out of the madness
of the modern American workplace as well." - www.mind-like-water.com
CLAWS rating: 5
The
End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force
by Jeremy Rifkin (critique of the book, by Bob Black)
* Also see a summary
of Rifkin's ideas
Why Work? Arguments for the Leisure Society
Ed. by Vernon Richards (including essay by Bertrand Russell)
Reclaiming Work: Beyond The Wage-Based Society
by Andre Gorz
We are very encouraged that people are writing books like this.
We sorely need them. Don't miss this one! It's written in accessible
language, and uncluttered with dry academic jargon or stale ideas.
Also see his book Paths To Paradise: On The Liberation From
Work.
CLAWS Rating: An enthusiastic 5!!
The
Right to Useful Unemployment
by Ivan Illich
We love the title! It's what CLAWS is all about.
Here's a blurb on the book from the AK Press catalog:
"Forget a guaranteed job; how about a guaranteed income?
If more mechanization is putting more & more people out of
work and generating super profits, why do we need to work longer
hours?"
The Jobless Future: Sci-Tech and the Dogma of Work
by Stanley Aronowitz & William DiFazio
Deconstructs the widespread idea that a high-tech economy will
lead to more leisure and high-paying jobs for anyone who wants
them. Very heavy on theory, light on practical guidance, and full
of academic jargon, but the ideas are still worth checking out.
"Contrary to the ideologically conditioned theory ..... recipients
of guaranteed annual income who are relieved of most obligations
to engage in labor do not fall apart."
CLAWS rating: 2
Post-Work: The Wages of Cybernation
Ed. by Stanley Aronowitz and Jonathan Cutler
CLAWS rating: 5
The Overworked American
by Juliet Schor
Selling
the Work Ethic: From Puritan Pulpit to Corporate PR
by Sharon Beder
From the back cover: "Few people today can imagine a society
that does not revolve around work. How did paid work come to be
so central to our lives? Why is it that so many people wouldn't
know what to do with themselves or who they were if they did not
have their jobs?" Good questions. Pick up her book and find
out her answers!
The Processed World Anthology
Ed. by Chris Carlsson with Mark Leger
"The leading anti-work journal..."
--J. Hughes, co-editor, Eco-Socialist Review
We at CLAWS just LOVE Processed
World magazine, and the Processed World anthology is
a whole book of highlights from years of great, subversive, humorous
stuff. 'Nuff said. Highly recommended!
CLAWS rating: 5
Zerowork: The Anti-Work Anthology
Ed. by Bob Black and Tad Kepley
Includes "The
Original Affluent Society" by Marshall Sahlins
Why
Work? A Case For Fundamental Change
by
Peter Merry
"Why are we working - for whom and to what ends?" This
UK-based brief publication, available online and also from the
Center for Human Ecology in Scotland, analyzes present employment
structures and patterns across Europe in its call for more balanced,
human-needs-centered patterns of livelihood. Merry's thesis on
the future of work was published as a book under the same title.
Seven Myths About Work
by Molly Scott Cato
Says
the author, "There
is so much to say about work. What inspired me to pull together
this short book was my belief that much of the unhappiness in
modern society is caused by work, or more precisely by work as
it has been arranged in the present industrial system." This
book was published by GreenAudit in 1996 and sold out. A newer
edition has been issued. Check out the publisher's web site for
a brief excerpt
from the book.
Wages
& The Working Day
by John Keracher
The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed,
and Overworked
by Ernie J. Zelinski
An excellent, best-selling, well-written and savvy book on a subject
that's near and dear to our hearts, and very much in the spirit
of CLAWS. The margins are chock full of thought-provoking quotes,
Calvin & Hobbes cartoons, and amusing illustrations. We can
hardly recommend it highly enough!
CLAWS rating: 5
Un-Jobbing: The Adult Liberation Handbook
by Michael Fogler
At
45, Michael Fogler considers himself semi-retired. He's a husband,
stay-at-home dad, workshop presenter, peace activist, and freelance
musician. At the end of 1990, he and his wife left jobs for home-based
lives of greater personal fulfilment. Fogler was so liberated
by this change, that he decided to share his experiences and revelations
in this book.
Reviewed by Sarah Nelson
& D.J. Swanson. Highly recommended!
CLAWS rating: 5
When Work Doesn't Work Anymore: Women, Work, and Identity
by Elizabeth Perle McKenna
CLAWS rating: 4.5
The System Made Me Do It! A Life Changing Approach to Office
Politics
by Susan M. Osborn, Ph.D.
CLAWS rating: 5
The
Liberation of Work
by Folkert Wilken
Work
Without End: Abandoning Shorter Hours for the Right to Work
by Benjamin Hunnicutt
Hunnicutt is a professor at the University of Iowa. Here's a sample
quote from his critical article The
Left and the Future of Work: "Instead of viewing progress
as transcending work, necessity and economic concerns, and far
from believing that increased freedom from toil is a constituent
of human progress, much of the industrial world shares the belief
that work is an end in itself, the ultimate measure of progress
and the definition of prosperity."
The
Future of Work (set of audiocassettes)
by Robert
Theobald
Reworking
Success
by Robert
Theobald
CLAWS rating: 5
Sleepers,
Wake! Technology & the Future of Work
By Barry Jones
The Future of Work
Ed. by Fred Best
The Protestant Work Ethic: The Psychology of Work Related
Beliefs and Behaviors
by Adrian Furnham
Future Work: Jobs, Self-Employment and Leisure After the
Industrial Age
by James Robertson
Working
Harder Isn't Working
Put Work In Its Place
both by Bruce O'Hara
The Hacker Ethic
by Pekka Himanen
The Ideology of Work
by Peter D. Anthony
Neither
Work Nor Leisure
A Culture Where We Don't Stop Playing When We Leave School
by Merrick Godhaven
Back to top
Leisure theory
The Idler's Companion
Ed. by Tom Hodgkinson
An
Anthology of Lazy Literature, which traces the noble art of loafing
from its roots in 3rd century Taoist teachings to the present
day. Includes writings from Bertrand Russell, Robert Louis Stevenson,
Keats and Aristotle.
The Right to be Lazy
by Paul Lafargue
Written
in a french prison, by Karl Marx's son-in-law , to address the
puritanical work ethic of the socialist party.
CLAWS rating: 4
Work
Less & Play More
by Steven Catlin
A whimsical and fun book about a subject we should all take more
seriously!
CLAWS rating: 3
Leisure Theory and Policy
by Max Kaplan
Leisure: The Basis of Culture
by Josef Pieper (1952)
"...cites Greek classics and Catholic theologians in his
passionate argument against the cult of work."
--J. Hughes, co-editor, Eco-Socialist Review
You can also see a review
of Pieper's book by Brian Gonsalves (scroll down the page
to section II for the review).
Of Time, Work and Leisure
by Sebastian DeGrazia
Losing
Your Job, Reclaiming Your Soul
by Mary Lynn Pulley
The
Sofa Surfing Handbook: A Guide for Modern Nomads
Ed. by Juliette Torrez
From the back cover of this book:
"Sofa surfing is not only a lifestyle but an art form.
Find out how to avoid cheap travel's typical problems, and how
to guarantee a place on the couch in perpetuity. Savvy tips on
dealing with cops, hostile roommates, customs agents, and other
potential hassles are included. Handy advice on extended stays,
"Top Ten Jobs: Easy to Get, Easy to Quit"...illustrated
with comix!"
Life
Was Never Meant to be a Struggle
by Stuart Wilde
A
handy booklet devoted to identifying and giving up struggle in
all areas of life.
Life on the Leisure Track: The Possibility of Society Accepting
Joblessness as a Way of Life
by Scott Sullivan
This is a magazine article from the June 14, 1993 issue of Newsweek,
vol. 121, p. 48. We
include it here since it's not often the mainstream media tackles
such ideas.
Back to top
Schooling & Education
Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
by John Taylor Gatto
CLAWS rating: 4
The Power of Mindful Learning
by Ellen J. Langer
CLAWS rating: 5
Deschooling our Lives: Education That Matters
by Matt Hern
A wonderful and thought-provoking book of essays.
Here's a sample quote:
"The sanctity of public schools has become so reified
in our bizarre North American public political consciousness that
people reflexively mouth support for 'education spending' or 'school
dollars' without carefully considering what they are talking about.
Behind the liberal-conservative debate about how much cash to
allocate to public schools is a system that nurtures the worst
in humanity and simultaneously suppresses individuality and real
community. The reality is that there are much better answers out
there--answers that don't require professionals or large amounts
of money to make them work."
CLAWS rating: 5
Rituals of Failure: What Schools Really Teach
by Sandro Contenta
School Free:
The Home Schooling Handbook
by Wendy Priesnitz
* No Contest: The Case Against Competition
* Punished by Rewards: The Trouble With Gold Stars,
*
Incentive Plans, A's, Praise and Other Bribes
* Education, Inc.: Turning Learning Into a Business
* The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional
Classrooms and "Tougher Standards"
* What To Look for in a Classroom and Other Essays
all by Alfie Kohn
The Teenage Liberation Handbook
by Grace Llewellyn
CLAWS rating: 5
Back to top
When
Corporations Rule The World
by David Korten
Making
a Killing: HMOs and the Threat to Your Health
by Jamie Court and Francis Smith
In
the Name of Profit
Ed. by Robert Heilbroner
An economist documents offenses by business executives that have
taken place in the service of "the bottom line"--faking
lab reports, bribing city officials, etc. Exposes the corruption
made rampant by a competitive system.
Back to top
Simple
& Sustainable Living
Living Well on Practically Nothing
by Edward H. Romney
CLAWS rating: 3
Living Cheaply With Style: Live Better and Spend Less
by Ernest Callenbach
CLAWS rating: 4
Consuming
Desires: Consumption, Culture and the Pursuit of Happiness
Ed. By Roger Rosenblatt
How Much Is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of
the Earth
by Alan Durning
Stepping Lightly: Simplicity for People and the Planet
Simplicity: Notes, Stories and Exercises for Developing Unimaginable
Wealth
both by Mark A. Burch
CLAWS rating: 5
These two books are highly recommended and loaded with food for
thought as well as practical stuff. The work and livelihood chapter
alone in "Stepping Lightly" is worth the price of the
book. Here are two quotes from that chapter that we like:
"What distinguishes a work from a job is
that a work contains its own charge of passion. It is intrinsically
worth doing. If it is ignored, we feel a sense of self-betrayal,
of inner loss, of sadness of soul for not pursuing it and bringing
it to life to the best of our ability." (p. 142, bold
emphasis ours)
"The consumer economy offers jobs. It can never offer
works because a work, by definition, is something that spontaneously
springs from within a growing person. The consumer economy
violates people when it demands that they abandon their works
and conform their lives wholly to what is needed for jobs."
(p. 143, bold emphasis ours)
Yes indeed. Our feelings exactly, Mark!
The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient
Living
by Helen and Scott Nearing
A newer volume containing all the contents of both Living the
Good Life and Continuing the Good Life.
The Nearings, homesteaders extraordinaire, abandoned the city
life for a self-reliant rural life as free of the cash economy
as possible. This book is a delightful mix of philosophy and practical
advice.
Simple Living: One Couple's Search for a Better Life
by Frank Levering and Wanda Urbanska
Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment
in a Complex World
by Linda Breen Pierce
This book details the findings of a three-year study of 211 people
who simplified their lives. The author gave up a successful career
as a lawyer, and traded it for the quiet life of a writer.
Special CLAWS connection bonus: see pp. 115-121, where John O.
Anderson, our discussion
list administrator, tells the story of his path from the fast-track,
teamplayer world (he was voted "Most Likely to Succeed"
in high school) to choosing a life of self-employment.
A Reasonable Life: Toward a Simpler, Secure, More Humane Existence
by Ferenc Mate
"This book will look insane to any normal American. Which
shows how crazy we have become. Read it--you might get a life."
--Charles Bowden
The Simple Life: Thoughts on Simplicity, Frugality, and Living
Well
Ed. by Larry Roth
CLAWS rating: 4
The Simple Living Guide
by Janet Luhrs
CLAWS rating: 5
The Circle of Simplicity
by Cecile Andrews
CLAWS rating: 4
Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Life that is Outwardly Simple,
Inwardly Rich
by Duane Elgin
CLAWS rating: 4
Luxury Fever: Why Money Fails To Satisfy in an Era of Excess
by Robert H. Frank
The One-Straw Revolution
by Masanobu Fukuoka
This is a unique book, which must be savored slowly to be fully
appreciated. It's a combination of practical gardening advice,
spiritual musings on simple living, and philosophical wisdom.
It's from 1973, so the library might be the best place to find
it. Fukuoka's perspective on work is one we like. To wit:
"I do not particularly like the word "work."
Human beings are the only animals who have to work, and I think
this is the most ridiculous thing in the world. Other animals
make their livings by living, but people work like crazy, thinking
that they have to in order to stay alive...it would be good to
give up that way of thinking and live an easy, comfortable life
with plenty of free time. [...] For human beings, a life of such
simplicity would be possible if one worked to produce directly
his [sic] daily necessities. In such a life, work is not work
as people generally think of it, but simply doing what needs to
be done." (p. 115)
Walden and Civil Disobedience
by Henry David Thoreau, 1854
Disdainful
of America's growing commercialism and industrialism, Henry David
Thoreau left Concord, Massachusetts, in 1845 to live in solitude
in the woods by Walden Pond. Walden, the classic
account of his stay there, conveys at once a naturalist's wonder
at the commonplace and a Transcendentalist's yearning for spiritual
truth and self-reliance.
Critical Path
by Buckminster Fuller
A
truly inspired man, Richard Buckminster Fuller is the inventor
of the geodesic dome, built on the principle of synergy, a union
which creates a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
He applied this principle to people, society and economics.
The Treasures of Simple Living
by Tyra Arraj with James Arraj
Subtitled "A family's search for a simpler and more meaningful
life in the middle of a forest." The book was published in
1987, and the resource section in the back is hopelessly out of
date. The book is poorly edited and sophomoric-sounding, but the
author is sincere. Her enthusiasm comes through despite the stylistic
problems and clunky prose of the book. Full of practical ideas,
too. Worth a look.
Back to top
Economics
& Practical Financial Guides
How
To Survive Without a Salary
by Charles Long
CLAWS rating: 4
The Seven Cultures of Capitalism
by Charles Hampden-Turner and Alfons Trompenaars
CLAWS rating: 4.5
The Economic Horror
by Viviane Forrester
"...a scathing critique of the idea that employment is, can
be, or should be, the respectable norm in society."
- Brian Dean, Anxiety
Culture
CLAWS rating: 4
The
Poverty of Affluence
by Paul L. Wachtel
CLAWS rating: An enthusiastic
5
The Overspent American
by Juliet Schor
Is
keeping up with the Joneses killing us? This is the phenomenon
Juliet Schor explores in The Overspent American.
Schor, a Harvard University economist, has delivered what amounts
to a sequel to her breakthrough 1992 study
The Overworked
American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure. You can
also read a review
of The Overspent American from the Center
for a New American Dream.
Earning Money Without a Job
by Jay Conrad Levinson
CLAWS rating: 4
Wealth on Minimal Wage
by James Steamer
CLAWS rating: 4
Thinking Forward: Learning to Conceptualize Economic Vision
by Michael Albert
The
Guaranteed Income: Next Step in Economic Evolution?
by Robert Theobald
Turning
the Century: Personal and Organizational Changes for your Changed
World
by Robert Theobald
From the back cover:
" WANTED: Courageous realists
who admit our culture is not working and want to do something
about it." Despite the business-speak sound of the title,
this book is about economics and the perils of maximum economic
growth.
Stop Working, Start Living: How I Retired at 36 Without Winning
the Lottery
by Dianne Nahirny
Part of this author's strategy was to purchase houses, fix
them up, and sell them.
Possum
Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and With (Almost)
No Money
by Dolly Freed
This is out of print, and most definitely NOT politically correct.
However, the spirit of super-frugality and living outside the
system make for good, entertaining reading. (NOTE: The link above
will take you to the "Homesteading" section of Steve
Solomon's online library. From there, you can obtain the text
of the book simply by sending an e-mail.)
Money Freedom: Finding Your Inner Source of Wealth
by Patricia Remele
This one is likely to appeal to those with a spiritual focus.
CLAWS rating: 5
Real Wealth: A Spiritual Approach to Money and Work
by Jonathan Robinson
CLAWS rating: 5
Your Money or Your Life
by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin
This book is very highly rated, for good reason.
CLAWS rating: 5
Our Money, Ourselves: Redesigning Your Relationship With Money
by Dr. C. Diane Ealy and Dr. Kay Lesh
CLAWS rating: 3
Everything You Know About Money Is Wrong
by Karen Ramsey
CLAWS rating: 3.5
Creating Money
by Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer
This one might be a bit much for those who are weary of new-age
inspirational platitudes, but there's a lot worth thinking about
here, at least.
CLAWS rating: 3
The Energy of Money
by Maria Nemeth, Ph.D.
CLAWS rating: 4.5
Back to top
Social Activism, Media
& Politics
Food,
Shelter and the American Dream
by Stanley Aronowitz
CLAWS rating: 3
False
Promises: The Shaping of American Working Class Consciousness
by Stanley Aronowitz
Can Working Families Ever Win?
Ed. by Jody Heymann, Joshua Cohen, & Joel Rogers
Longer
Hours, Fewer Jobs: Employment & Unemployment in the United
States
by Michael D. Yates
See also:
Why Unions Matter
Naming
the System: Inequality and Work in the Global Economy
also by Michael D. Yates
Rising
From the Ashes: Labor in the Age of "Global" Capitalism
Ed. by Ellen Meiskins Wood, Peter Meiskins, & Michael Yates
The
Media Monopoly
by Ben Bagdikian
The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media
by Norman Solomon
Back to top
Self-employment
Wage Slave No More: Law and Taxes for the Self-Employed
by Stephen Fishman
Kiss Off Corporate America: A Young Professional's Guide
to Independence
by Lisa Kivirist
A young entrepreneur, sick of climbing the corporate ladder
in an advertising agency, starts her own bed and breakfast and
tells us all about it, encouraging us to trash the word "job"
and prepare ourselves for self-employment. The book jacket says
"What Color is Your Parachute" meets "The Road
Less Traveled", packaged for the MTV generation.
CLAWS rating: 3
Back to top
Personal
Stories, Interviews, Fiction, and Other Misc.
Time Without Work
by Walli F. Leff
A superb book, reviewed by CLAWS (with extensive quotations
from the text). Our only complaint is that the authors seem to
implicitly assume that "working" only means "doing
tasks (usually outside the home) for pay", thus a homemaker
is, according to them, "not working". Familiarity with
feminist thinking on domestic labor would have benefited their
analysis.
CLAWS rating: 5
Working
by Studs Terkel
This one is highly rated, especially by those who enjoy stories
about people's working lives told in the first person. It's out
of print (like many of the best books), but it's well worth it
to scour used bookstores for a copy.
Working for the
Man: Stories from Behind the Cubicle Wall, Vol. I
by Jeffrey Yamaguchi
Self-published volume which "humorously explores the horrors
and absurdities of the workplace, and provides a much-needed antidote
to the doldrums of dealing with a bad boss and a dead-end job."
Disgruntled: The Darker Side of the World of Work
by Daniel Levine
The web magazine is no longer publishing, due to the author's
work disputes. Check out his book instead.
Sister Circle: Black Women and Work
edited by Sharon Harley and The Black Women and Work Collective
From a review of the book by Judith Rollins (The Women's Review
of Books, Sept. 2002): "...[the] description of the lives
of two poor women...powerfully illustrates two false assumptions
behind today's welfare reform: that welfare recipients chose not
to work because they were "lazy" and that putting people
into the workforce would make them economically independent."
A Working Stiff's Manifesto
by Iain Levison
This book has been suggested enthusiastically by several folks
who've enjoyed the CLAWS site, since it contains some hilarious
anecdotes and a general anti-wage-slavery tone. However, although
we're including it here because the subject matter is so on-topic,
we can't recommend it without strong reservations. Levison's sense
of humor is certainly not for everyone. See D. JoAnne Swanson's
review of the book for
a much more in-depth explanation.
The Workers
by Kenneth Lasson
These are stories told in the workers' own words.
From the cover:
"Nine unusual portraits that expose the growing discontent
of the American blue-collar worker with the quality of his life
and work."
The Continuum
Concept
by Jean Liedloff
Read
about the refreshing and inspiring attitudes of South American
Stone Age Indians and how, by re-awakening our own innate wisdom,
we can remember how to be happy.
I was Robot and Free I Got
by Ernest Free Mann
Eclectic books written in plain language by a warm-hearted man
who saw through many of the illusions created by living in a world
ruled by profit. Recommended.
Bartleby the Scrivener
by Herman Melville
A
strange, haunting, yet inspiring short story of an office worker
who refuses to be told what to do. A man of few words, Bartleby's
one response is, "I would prefer not to."
Siddhartha
by Herman Hesse
Ishmael
by Daniel Quinn
"Get a job, work, retire and die. There must be more to life
than this!" (p. 5 of Ishmael)
This book is here by popular request! So many CLAWS sympathizers
have read and recommended this book. See
for yourself what all the hype is about...
Back to top