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What are the books that radicalized you/ can radicalize you?
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Naive lemmy.world Naive@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-05-10
Quote

I was watching some video and there was mention of someone getting 1984. Upon which, a guy said that this one (one who got 1984) will end up being radicalized.
I was already born into a very radical environment so no needs of books to radicalize me (although I am trying to be moderate and chill now)

97   Original
solrize lemmy.ml solrize@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2023-06-22
#2 · Quote Reply

Purely Functional Data Structures by Chris Okasaki. It took the blinders off and I became a convert to functional programming.

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Cheese_man lemmy.world Cheese_man@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-09-07
#3 · Quote Reply

A People's History of the United States blew my mind wide open in high school.

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JustPlainDave lemmy.zip JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#4 · Quote Reply

The Grapes of Wrath

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ashenone lemmy.ml ashenone@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2021-12-18
#5 · Quote Reply

The Dispossessed

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poccalyps sh.itjust.works poccalyps@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2025-04-21
#6 · Quote Reply

The Hundredth Monkey

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rumschlumpel feddit.org rumschlumpel@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-23
#7 · (edited) Quote Reply

Benjamin Blümchen audio story series. Mayor and most business men are corrupt, main character regularly engages in political action like organizing protests for animal rights and another major character is a female journalist.

It's insidious because they're popular children's stories featuring a talking elephant as main character. Back before everyone lived on TikTok, even conservative parents bought it for their children. And I think even if you don't quite remember most of it when you get older, stories like these really do influence how you see the world.

Other than that, reading newspapers did most of the work (of course that only works if it's not all full-on fascist propaganda).

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refreeze lemmy.world refreeze@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-12-07
#8 · Quote Reply

The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord.

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aufbau161 lemmy.blahaj.zone aufbau161@lemmy.blahaj.zone
Joined: 2024-11-17
#9 · Quote Reply

punk as f*uck

if you speak(/read) german and consider yourself vaguely punk i recommend it. if you know any (cis male) german speaking punks, please slap their face with this book (they either understand and accept it or don't, in which case they desperately need to read this book).

it showcases the german punk scene from a flinta* perspective, highlighting how sexism and abuse didn't stop people who actually stood for something better and why it took a long long time for the scene to improve.

isbn 978-3-95575-187-6 , i'm sure your local book dealer is able to order it for you.

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rockSlayer lemmy.blahaj.zone rockSlayer@lemmy.blahaj.zone
Joined: 2025-02-24
#10 · Quote Reply

Purely Functional Data Structures by Chris Okasaki. It took the blinders off and I became a convert to functional programming.

I like to joke about recursion and how it gets overused as a "good" programming practice, but I genuinely have a solid understanding of it and find it pretty intuitive... In OOP. I cannot wrap my head around tail recursion

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001Guy001 sh.itjust.works 001Guy001@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2025-06-04
#11 · (edited) Quote Reply

  • The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism
  • The Divide: Global Inequality From Conquest To Free Markets
  • Anarchism And Its Aspirations / Anarchy Works
  • The ABCs Of Socialism / Socialism ... Seriously: A Brief Guide To Surviving The 21st Century
  • Trust Us, We're Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science And Gambles With Your Future
  • The Search For A Nonviolent Future (Michael N. Nagler)
  • Feminism For The 99%
  • Currently reading "Secret Affairs: Britain's Collusion With Radical Islam" And "Devil's Game: How The United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam"
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Octavio piefed.social Octavio@piefed.social
Joined: 2026-07-27
#12 · Quote Reply

The Jungle

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AskewLord piefed.social AskewLord@piefed.social
Joined: 2026-01-16
#13 · (edited) Quote Reply

I've never been radicalized by a book, or anything really.

Probably because I've never believed it to be The Truth.

Most books I've read that people are taking about here, my reaction was like 'well duh'. Like, I knew my teachers were lying to me since kindergarten and their thought their over simplified view of the world was very weird.

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schipelblorp sh.itjust.works schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2026-05-16
#14 · Quote Reply

I've never been radicalized by a book, or anything really. Probably because I've never believed it to be The Truth. Most books I've read that people are taking about here, my reaction was like 'well duh'. Like, I knew my teachers were lying to me since kindergarten and their thought their over simplified view of the world was very weird.

Coming up with a worldview on your own from all the little bits of data you have is hard. Most people take their given world model without question and ignore the inconsistencies.

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schipelblorp sh.itjust.works schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2026-05-16
#15 · Quote Reply

The Hundredth Monkey

That's a pretty stupid book.

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Stern lemmy.world Stern@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-08-14
#16 · Quote Reply

Nickle and Dimed by Ehrenreich

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_and_Dimed

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Hermit_Lailoken lemmy.world Hermit_Lailoken@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-03-11
#17 · (edited) Quote Reply

These books opened my eyes.

From Freedom to Slavery: Rebirth of Tyranny in America by Gerry Spence

https://archive.org/details/fromfreedomtosl000spen/mode/1up

Quantum Psychology: How Brain Software Programs You & Your World

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/62558.Quantum_Psychology

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man

Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator by Ryan Holiday

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13542853-trust-me-i-m-lying

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toiletobserver lemmy.world toiletobserver@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-08
#18 · Quote Reply

Pick a judeo-christian bible. Can't miss apparently.

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toiletobserver lemmy.world toiletobserver@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-08
#19 · Quote Reply

That's a pretty stupid book.

Explain more

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Almacca aussie.zone Almacca@aussie.zone
Joined: 2025-02-06
#20 · Quote Reply

Voltaire's Bastards by John Ralston Saul. It didn't necessarily radicalise me, but it certainly changed my view of the world.

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hellabryanstyle lemmy.world hellabryanstyle@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-07-28
#21 · Quote Reply

Birthrights by Richard Farson.

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schipelblorp sh.itjust.works schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2026-05-16
#22 · Quote Reply

Explain more

It's based on junk science and encourages cult behavior. There is no tipping point where ideas spread without being communicated. Western Buddhists are the worst at this that I've seen.

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yesman lemmy.world yesman@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-06
#23 · (edited) Quote Reply

I don't know about radicalized, but if you want to better understand race in America, "The Fire Next Time" by Baldwin is an excellent place to start.

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gastroglizzy piefed.social gastroglizzy@piefed.social
Joined: 2026-08-26
#24 · (edited) Quote Reply

1984

Animal Farm

The Jungle

Slaughterhouse Five

Brave New World

A Farewell to Arms

Blood Meridian

Guns, Germs, and Steel

To Kill A Mockingbird

Bullshit Jobs

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chunes lemmy.world chunes@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-04-08
#25 · Quote Reply

Check out Evasion and Days of War, Nights of Love by Crimethinc. That's how I got my start

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Barbecue Cowboy lemmy.dbzer0.com BarbecueCowboy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2025-02-07
#26 · Quote Reply

The terms of service for the warranty on my first car after the first time I tried to use it.

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crypt0cler1c infosec.pub crypt0cler1c@infosec.pub
Joined: 2024-10-28
#27 · Quote Reply

Stranger In A Strange Land

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ContriteErudite lemmy.world ContriteErudite@lemmy.world
Joined: 2024-06-20
#28 · (edited) Quote Reply

Mother Night, Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut

Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein (it does have some anti-lbgtq messaging, but if I recall correctly it's a single paragraph and Heinlein has known biases. The term "grok" came from this book; I'm not the only one who despises how it's been co-opted by Musk)

Makes Me Wanna Holler - Nathan McCall

The Emperor's New Mind - Roger Penrose (especially pertinent with the hype/propaganda coming from oligarchs surrounding AGI/ASI/the singularity)

The Demon Haunted World - Carl Sagan

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SaneMartigan aussie.zone SaneMartigan@aussie.zone
Joined: 2025-05-27
#29 · Quote Reply

When things fall apart - Pema Chodron.

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neidu3 Moderator neidu3@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2024-11-03
#30 · Quote Reply

Learning Perl, 2nd edition

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Starya67 lemmy.world starlinguk@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-17
#31 · Quote Reply

Why are we calling being an empathetic individual and being against fascism "being radicalised"?

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n0p1lls piefed.zip n0p1lls@piefed.zip
Joined: 2026-01-03
#32 · Quote Reply

  • Capital by Karl Marx
  • The Coming Insurrection by The Invisible Committee
  • Workers Councils by Anton Pannekoek
  • The Conquest of Bread by Peter Kropotkin
  • The ABC of Communist Anarchism by Alexander Berkman
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MyBrainHurts piefed.ca MyBrainHurts@piefed.ca
Joined: 2025-09-22
#33 · Quote Reply

No Logo by Naomi Klein.

Unfortunately, it made me really against sweatshops and child labour. But most people want to hate stuff that come with very marginal costs, rether than things that force you to rethink how you live.

"I hate structural racism!"
"Like our clothes?"
"No, no...."

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Nurse_Robot lemmy.world Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-08-12
#34 · Quote Reply

Why are we calling being an empathetic individual and being against fascism "being radicalised"?

My question exactly

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jtrek startrek.website jtrek@startrek.website
Joined: 2026-02-22
#35 · Quote Reply

Just read people's history by Howard zinn and that'll radicalize a lot of people. It's just the rich fucking everyone over and over.

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chippydingo lemmy.world chippydingo@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-10-20
#36 · (edited) Quote Reply

There was a book which I picked up from my high-school library and it really did a number on the younger me. "Green Rage" was a book written by Chris Manes in the early 90s about radical environmentalism and it gave me a new perspective on things I had not been aware of at the time. While I never actually got directly involved with any environmentalist groups, I did start to better appreciate how our Capitalist system's need extract value at any cost from natural resources would have disastrous consequences.

Fast forward 35 years and I can't honestly say if the author's more dire predictions haven't come to pass since you simply can't trust corporate media to give unvarnished truth about anything. But I have seen and experienced things with my own eyes that give them credence. The fact that the title for this book came to mind immediately when I read this post/prompt says something about it's impact I think.

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Naive lemmy.world Naive@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-05-10
#37 · Quote Reply

1984 Animal Farm The Jungle Slaughterhouse Five Brave New World A Farewell to Arms Blood Meridian Guns, Germs, and Steel To Kill A Mockingbird Bullshit Jobs

Is last one really the title of book?

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Naive lemmy.world Naive@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-05-10
#38 · Quote Reply

Pick a judeo-christian bible. Can't miss apparently.

Well I grew up reading Quran. It was later I read Bibles. Apocryphal ones are more radical in conclusion.

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Naive lemmy.world Naive@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-05-10
#39 · Quote Reply

Benjamin Blümchen audio story series. Mayor and most business men are corrupt, main character regularly engages in political action like organizing protests for animal rights and another major character is a female journalist. It's insidious because they're popular children's stories featuring a talking elephant as main character. Back before everyone lived on TikTok, even conservative parents ...

Is it in english?

2
palordrolap fedia.io palordrolap@fedia.io
Joined: 2024-08-13
#40 · Quote Reply

Learning Perl, 2nd edition

Perl doesn't radicalise anyone, but it might turn them into a funny character.

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Naive lemmy.world Naive@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-05-10
#41 · Quote Reply

Why are we calling being an empathetic individual and being against fascism "being radicalised"?

well it is just you. Radicalized can entail many things. When I was in early to mid teens, I have read and listened to extremists and that made me a hardcore extremist in my religion.

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BeelzebubEiNukuKoskaan piefed.social BeelzebubEiNukuKoskaan@piefed.social
Joined: 2026-09-04
#42 · Quote Reply

Just reading about history has done that to me. I don't really read fiction, but I read a ton of history, usually about one book per month or so. But seeing how the human history is just basically despair and misery, makes you a bit annoyed that we still haven't gotten any better.

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HubertManne piefed.social HubertManne@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-03-13
#43 · Quote Reply

none. its honestly the right wing that is radicalizing me. I was a (ironically) and extreme agnostic. It was things like qanon which made me have to come to terms with the fact that humans will just believe and follow bullshit. Not just that but tea party and now maga. Its like an effing religion. Heck the 911 memorial stuff is kinda pissing me off because it lead to the patriot act and loss of rights and privacy. Every flag waver and republican at this point that opens their mouth is radicalizing me.

10
HubertManne piefed.social HubertManne@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-03-13
#44 · Quote Reply

Just reading about history has done that to me. I don't really read fiction, but I read a ton of history, usually about one book per month or so. But seeing how the human history is just basically despair and misery, makes you a bit annoyed that we still haven't gotten any better.

I agree with this but its kinda also that we seem to be going backward big time. If you look at ww1 to ww2 and how shorta time span that was with the depression and then look back on the last quarter decade. its like. this is some bull trump.

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BeelzebubEiNukuKoskaan piefed.social BeelzebubEiNukuKoskaan@piefed.social
Joined: 2026-09-04
#45 · Quote Reply

I agree with this but its kinda also that we seem to be going backward big time. If you look at ww1 to ww2 and how shorta time span that was with the depression and then look back on the last quarter decade. its like. this is some bull trump.

Yeah it puts things in perspective. Sadly, lately the perspective has been "this is awful and things will become even more awful for the next decade or two at least. Probably more."

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rumschlumpel feddit.org rumschlumpel@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-23
#46 · Quote Reply

Is it in english?

It's originally in German, IDK if there's a translation. Maybe the TV Shows/Movies got translations or at least subtitles? Though they don't seem to be that well-received.

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FlashMobOfOne lemmy.world FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-12
#47 · Quote Reply

A People's History of the United States

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FlashMobOfOne lemmy.world FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-12
#48 · Quote Reply

Just read people's history by Howard zinn and that'll radicalize a lot of people. It's just the rich fucking everyone over and over.

And it continues to this day.

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Kate-ay lemmy.world edg@lemmy.world
Joined: 2024-07-23
#49 · Quote Reply

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. I'd be shocked if every person who bought a copy isn't on a watchlist automatically.

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Lonewanderer lemmy.world Lonewanderer@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-06
#50 · Quote Reply

none. its honestly the right wing that is radicalizing me. I was a (ironically) and extreme agnostic. It was things like qanon which made me have to come to terms with the fact that humans will just believe and follow bullshit. Not just that but tea party and now maga. Its like an effing religion. Heck the 911 memorial stuff is kinda pissing me off because it lead to the patriot act and loss of...

Where can I buy this book?

3
DarkFuture lemmy.world DarkFuture@lemmy.world
Joined: 2024-11-06
#51 · Quote Reply

I mean 1984 did a pretty good job radicalizing me against fascism. I consider it radicalization because turns out America really likes fascism so I guess I'm in the minority.

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