[p2p-research] The 10 best P2P (nonfiction) books of 2009

[Michel Bauwens]

I'm publishing this on the 28th,

again, suggestions and comments are most appreciated,


Michel



Below is a, admittedly subjective, list of the best books to have crossed
our desk this year. Criteria are that I had the occasion to examine the
book, that it had a certain impact, and sufficient positive reviews. A
glaring omission is Negri and Hardt’s Commonwealth, which I have been unable
to examine. The book in the runner’s up section are certainly worth reading
as well.

Overall, it has been quite a good year.

THE TOP 10 LIST

** 1. David Bollier. Viral Spiral: How the Commoners Built a Digital
Republic of Their Own. New Press, 2009.*

Excellent treatment of the emergence of the Commons movement

(
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/book-of-the-week-the-viral-spiral-of-the-commons-movement/2009/02/12
)

** 2. Thomas Greco. The End of Money and the Future of Civilization. Chelsea
Green, 2009 *

The culmination of a life of research dedicated to the nature of money,
bringing great clarity on the issue, with valuable suggestions on how we can
achieve a fairer exchange system.

(
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/book-of-the-week-thomas-greco-on-the-end-of-money/2009/06/08
)

** 3. Genes, Bytes and Emissions: To Whom Does the World Belong? Ed. by
Silke Helfrich. Heinrich Boll Foundation, 2009 *

Offers a thoughtful and provocative array of viewpoints on the commons

(http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/to-whom-does-the-world-belong/2009/07/18)

** 4. Cyberchiefs. Autonomy and Authority in Online Tribes. Mathieu O’Neil.
Macmillan/Pluto Press, 2009. *

The very first monography to specifically tackle the study authority and
leadership in peer production communities

(
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/cyberchiefs-book-of-the-week-and-second-classic-on-peer-governance/2009/05/04
)

** 5. Wiki Government. How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy
Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful. Beth Noveck. Brookings Institution
Press, 2009 *

How to generalize the practice of collaborative democracy?

(
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/book-of-the-week-2-towards-collaborative-democracy/2009/08/12
)

** 6, Transforming Power: From The Personal To The Political. by Judy
Rebick. Penguin Canada, 2009 *

Given the failure of the Left, the labour movement, and the social movements
to creatively resist neo-liberalism, it makes sense that when a new
generation emerged to fight corporate globalization, they created horizontal
structures and demonstrated an abhorrence of any kind of top-down
leadership.

(
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/book-of-the-week-judy-rebicks-transforming-power/2009/09/28
)

** 7. William Yenner, American Guru: A Story of Love, Betrayal and
Healing-former students of Andrew Cohen speak out, Epigraph Publishing,
2009. *

An important expose of contemporary spiritual exploitation

(
http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/exposing-the-spiritual-authoritarianism-and-exploitation-of-andrew-cohen/2009/09/24)


** 8. Free Beer. Edited by Stian Rødven Eide. Lulu, 2009.*

Free Beer is a collection of important texts written by speakers at FSCONS
2008 and based on their respective talks. FSCONS is that rare conference
that unites both free software and free culture movements.

(http://p2pfoundation.net/Free_Beer)

RUNNERS UP

* The Sharing Solution. How to Save Money, Simplify Your Life & Build
Community. Janelle Orsi & Emily Doskow. Nolo, 2009.

an extremely practical handbook for people who want to organize or join
sharing networks in their lives.

http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/book-of-the-week-the-sharing-solution/2009/11/30

* A Reenchanted World: The Quest For A New Kinship With Nature, by James
William Gibson, featured by In These Times.

Theme: After the eclipse of modernity, the sense of kinship with an
endangered natural world is returning.

http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/the-revival-of-a-p2p-relationship-with-nature/2009/10/30

* Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy. by Peter G Brown.
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2009.

uses the core Quaker principle of “right relationship”–respecting the
integrity, resilience, and beauty of human and natural communities–as the
foundation for a new economic model.

http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/book-building-a-whole-earth-economy-through-right-relationship/2009/10/30

* God’s Economy: Redefining the Health & Wealth Gospel. By Jonathan
Wilson-Hartgrove. Zondervan, 2009

how to undo an economy that is based on the seven deadly sins

http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/book-of-the-week-cooperative-economics-from-an-evangelical-point-of-view/2009/10/27

* Julian Fox. Hacking the Way to Heaven: Education and Evangelisation in a
Digital culture. Lulu, 2009

how to make education ‘hacker-friendly’?

http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/will-the-salesian-teaching-order-become-a-congregation-of-hackers/2009/01/08


-- 
Work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhurakij_Pundit_University - Think thank:
http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI

P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net

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