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amethysthunter's reviews
381 reviews
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
5.0
Instrumental, foundational text that everyone must read. It is the tale of over 100 years of occupation and settler colonialism and the attempted erasure of an indigenous people and their history. It details the ways that the US pays lip service to the existence of the Palestinians but in the end has provided political, diplomatic, legal, and military aid (and literally !! billions of dollars a year) towards the cause of advancing Israel’s colonization of Palestine.
This took me months to read because I found myself so angry and upset at many points that I had to take breaks…but it was extremely illuminating. The author combines generations of familial and cultural knowledge and lived experience as well as his expertise as an academic and foremost expert on the issue to concisely sum up the approaches that have been effective in expanding the way in which the reality in Palestine is understood and why these approaches have or haven't worked and the path towards Palestinian liberation. One quote that I think sums up how I felt reading the story: “The Palestinians’ resistance, their persistence, and their challenge to Israel’s ambitions are among the most striking phenomena of the current era.”
This took me months to read because I found myself so angry and upset at many points that I had to take breaks…but it was extremely illuminating. The author combines generations of familial and cultural knowledge and lived experience as well as his expertise as an academic and foremost expert on the issue to concisely sum up the approaches that have been effective in expanding the way in which the reality in Palestine is understood and why these approaches have or haven't worked and the path towards Palestinian liberation. One quote that I think sums up how I felt reading the story: “The Palestinians’ resistance, their persistence, and their challenge to Israel’s ambitions are among the most striking phenomena of the current era.”
They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom by Dena Takruri, Ahed Tamimi
5.0
Ahed Tamimi’s story shows just how pervasive the settler colonial Zionist state is in its psychological, physical, and emotional warfare. It speaks to the constant dehumanization, cruelty, and brutality the average Palestinian endures under apartheid occupation. Even just hearing a few of Tamimi’s accounts of her family members being killed and imprisoned for simply being Palestinian had me seething in rage but I also leave in awe of her faith and fearlessness in the stead of constant oppression.
🇵🇸Free Free Palestine🇵🇸
🇵🇸Free Free Palestine🇵🇸
Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence by Kristen R. Ghodsee
5.0
"Only under socialism would people love and have sex with each other as free individuals, based on their mutual attractions and affection and without regard for money or social position.” -Alexandra Kollontai
This book is an extremely thorough, well researched text that provides a great introduction into socialist feminism (as someone who has not read much Marxist feminist literature). I found its case studies of Eastern European socialist states in the 20th century to be extremely enlightening and informative (such as how women were so much better off in every way but especially their sex lives living miles away in East Germany as compared to West Germany). I also appreciated Ghodsee's anecdotes and elements of storytelling that she incorporates to really humanize and transport these issues back and forth throughout history.
Overall, the book made me feel more informed of the past and hopeful for the future in a state where liberation will especially lead to economic and sexual liberation for women as well.
This book is an extremely thorough, well researched text that provides a great introduction into socialist feminism (as someone who has not read much Marxist feminist literature). I found its case studies of Eastern European socialist states in the 20th century to be extremely enlightening and informative (such as how women were so much better off in every way but especially their sex lives living miles away in East Germany as compared to West Germany). I also appreciated Ghodsee's anecdotes and elements of storytelling that she incorporates to really humanize and transport these issues back and forth throughout history.
Overall, the book made me feel more informed of the past and hopeful for the future in a state where liberation will especially lead to economic and sexual liberation for women as well.