Shelfology Book Pairing

by Frantz Fanon

In this study, Fanon uses psychoanalysis and psychological theory to explain the feelings of dependency and inadequacy that black people experience in a white world. Originally formulated to combat the oppression of black people, Fanon's insights are now being taken up by other oppressed groups - including feminists - and used in their struggle for cultural and political autonomy. Like Marx, Fanon wanted to change the world as well as to describe it. The sustained influence of his writings realizes this ambition.

The First 5,000 Years

by David Graeber

Now in paperback: David Graeber’s “fresh . . . fascinating . . . thought-provoking . . . and exceedingly timely” (Financial Times) history of debt Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom: he shows that before there was money, there was debt. For more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods—that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors. Graeber shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to China, as well as sparking innumerable insurrections. He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion (words like “guilt,” “sin,” and “redemption”) derive in large part from ancient debates about debt, and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong. We are still fighting these battles today without knowing it.