Books for socialists

Book of the week:

This week's book is...

A People's History of England
By A L Morton

The antidote to traditional history lessons in school, A L Morton's highly readable account of English history takes as its subjects no the Kings and Queens beloved of history teachers, but the ordinary people: the serfs, the peasants, the workers and the poor. Looking at the development of society by assessing the impact of changing culture, economy and politics on the lives of the masses, Morton charts the development from tribal society to established capitalism - taking in the revolts, uprisings and political movements of the oppressed in a valuable and thorough fashion. Indispensable for those who want to see another English revolution.

Suggest a book

CD of the week:

This week's CD is...

Kid A
Radiohead

Radiohead aren't your typical pop band - encouraging their fans to join the S26 anti-capitalist protests in Prague, promoting the book, No Logo, which exposes the reality of modern capitalism, and producing albums which are anything but 'commercial' - and yet they are, undoubtedly, a commercial success.

Kid A will most likely follow OK Computer in terms of critical aclaim and financial success, and the lyrics aren't exactly Marx and Engels. But the album is a critique of popular culture under capitalism, and the politics are ever-present, if submerged into the fusion of musical styles. Catchy pop anthems, there aren't, but if you're willing to let Radiohead lead you into relatively uncharted musical waters, then you won't be disappointed.

Suggest a CD

Video of the week:

This week's video is...

October
Directed by Sergei Eisenstein

In the week that sees the 83rd anniversary of the Russian Revolution, we recommend you give the video shop a miss, and pick up a copy of October, Sergei Eisenstein's classic dramatisation of the events of 1917. Hailed as a masterpiece in world cinema, the film may not be entirely historically accurate, but the spirit of the revolutionary days is captured perfectly.

Suggest a video

Workers' Liberty Bookshop

Welcome to the bookshop page for the Alliance for Workers' Liberty website.

In association with amazon.co.uk, we are seeking out books we think that socialists should read, and, thanks to amazon, we're selling almost all of them at a discount. What's more, if you buy your books through this facility you'll be helping to raise funds for the AWL too.

On these pages you can find:

• Books we particularly recommend

• CDs we particularly recommend

• Videos we particularly recommend

• Search facilities so you can scour amazon's entire stock for your requirements

Socialism can only triumph when the working class engages with the ideas of revolution, broadens them, develops them and implements them.

A socialist movement which does not treasure ideas, encourage debate and foster discussion is worthless to the working class. There's a huge heritage of writings, videos and music which can play a part developing our understanding about the world, and the task we set ourselves in seeking to change it.

The books we recommend here are not all by socialists, they do not all claim to be about socialism, and some may be avowedly anti-socialist. But we can use them to challenge our own ideas and through that process develop our ability to argue for socialism.

We are very keen to receive suggestions for books, music or films which visitors to the site think should be included in our selections. If there's a film , recording or a book which you found particularly inspiring, or educational, or otherwise useful in the struggle for socialism, please let us know. We'll share it with our other visitors.

As this part of the Workers' Liberty website develops, we will include a section for readers' comments on the various items we recommend, to encourage discussion about the ideas that are raised.

Please note:

All the items listed on these pages are being sold by amazon.co.uk, and not by us. This includes items such as The Fate of the Russian Revolution, which are produced by the AWL. If you want to purchase these items directly from the AWL, which may be cheaper, and certainly results in more of your money going to the AWL, you have two choices: if you can pay in US$ then you can buy them online from our publications page. If you cannot pay in US$ then we can only take payment by post. See the publications page for more details.