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Samuel Moyn's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Samuel Moyn recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Samuel Moyn's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
The Revolution of the Saints is a study, both historical and sociological, of the radical political response of the Puritans to disorder. It interprets and analyzes Calvinism as the first modern expression of an unremitting determination to transform on the basis of an ideology the existing political and moral order. Michael Walzer examines in detail the circumstances and ideological options of the Puritan intelligentsia and gentry. He sees Puritanism, in sharp contrast to some generally accepted views, as the political theory of intellectuals and gentlemen attempting to create a new... more
Recommended by Samuel Moyn, and 1 others.

Samuel Moyn6/ As Michael Walzer rightly put it in his great book "The Revolution of the Saints," however, "virtually all the modern world" has been read into the Reformation, and especially into Calvinism. Wilken is not on guard against the distortions of this ongoing syndrome. (Source)

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2
What is the Sabbath, anyway? The holy day of rest? The first effort to protect the rights of workers? A smart way to manage stress in a world in which computers never get turned off and work never comes to an end? Or simply an oppressive, outmoded rite? In The Sabbath World, Judith Shulevitz explores the Jewish and Christian day of rest, from its origins in the ancient world to its complicated observance in the modern one. Braiding ideas together with memories, Shulevitz delves into the legends, history, and philosophy that have grown up around a custom that has lessons for all of us,... more
Recommended by Samuel Moyn, and 1 others.

Samuel Moyn@JudithShulevitz’s amazing book reads even better with the universal need dawning lately for tech sabbatarianism. https://t.co/2iRNGb4LOO (Source)

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3
In this strikingly original work, Paul W. Kahn rethinks the meaning of political theology. In a text innovative in both form and substance, he describes an American political theology as a secular inquiry into ultimate meanings sustaining our faith in the popular sovereign.

Kahn works out his view through an engagement with Carl Schmitt's 1922 classic, Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty. He forces an engagement with Schmitt's four chapters, offering a new version of each that is responsive to the American political imaginary. The result is a...
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Recommended by Samuel Moyn, and 1 others.

Samuel MoynPaul Kahn's brilliant new book on the rival modes of politics he calls "project" and "system" is out, and he adapts the distinction to think about progressives versus conservatives in a new blog post: https://t.co/p9wibUtQ48. (Source)

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4
How beef conquered America and gave rise to the modern industrial food complex

By the late nineteenth century, Americans rich and poor had come to expect high-quality fresh beef with almost every meal. Beef production in the United States had gone from small-scale, localized operations to a highly centralized industry spanning the country, with cattle bred on ranches in the rural West, slaughtered in Chicago, and consumed in the nation's rapidly growing cities. Red Meat Republic tells the remarkable story of the violent conflict over who would reap the benefits of...
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Recommended by Samuel Moyn, and 1 others.

Samuel MoynIn my second year as a pescatarian, I spread the word in @newrepublic about @joshspecht's fantastic history of how red meat became so central to American culture and diet. Read Josh's book! Thanks @lmlauramarsh. https://t.co/b70Lcyd8Ec 12/ (Source)

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5

Human Rights in Africa

Human rights have a deep and tumultuous history that culminates in the age of rights we live in today, but where does Africa's story fit in with this global history? Here, Bonny Ibhawoh maps this story and offers a comprehensive and interpretative history of human rights in Africa. Rather than a tidy narrative of ruthless violators and benevolent protectors, this book reveals a complex account of indigenous African rights traditions embodied in the wisdom of elders and sages; of humanitarians and abolitionists who marshalled arguments about natural rights and human dignity in the cause of... more
Recommended by Samuel Moyn, and 1 others.

Samuel MoynCongrats to @giazilo on a great book on human rights in African history - here is my brief review https://t.co/prc5oDyfjN (Source)

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6
What if politicians pose a graver threat to liberal democracy than mass migration?
Brexit and Donald Trump's victory were just the beginning--and Marine Le Pen's defeat does not signal a turning of the tide. --From the Introduction
From Europe to the United States, opportunistic politicians have exploited the economic crisis, terrorist attacks, and an unprecedented influx of refugees to bring hateful and reactionary views from the margins of political discourse into the mainstream. They have won the votes of workers, women, gays, and Jews; turned openly xenophobic...
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Recommended by Samuel Moyn, and 1 others.

Samuel MoynSasha’s ⁦@sasha_p_s⁩ great book “Go Back to Where You Came From” is more relevant than ever https://t.co/8KmTdS1qpT #Amazon (Source)

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7
New York Times columnist and author of To Change the Church Ross Douthat delves into our society’s stagnation and delivers some hard-hitting truths about how our actions today could lead to a historic crisis—or revitalization.

Today, the Western world is suffering from a painful, nameless malaise. The optimistic view of the new millennium has receded, giving way to profound frustration and disillusionment. Here, The Decadent Society provides an enlightening and informative diagnosis of our modern condition.

Author and New York Times...
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Murtaza Mohammad HussainReading @DouthatNYT’s book “The Decadent Society.” There is an interesting hypothesis about Israel’s exceptionally high birthrate among developed countries: the product of a politically mobilized society. Similar dynamic in America’s post-WW2 baby boom: https://t.co/ObLtfm3oDQ (Source)

Samuel Moyn“The desire for a different future only goes so far.” -⁦@DouthatNYT⁩, in a brilliant book excerpt “It seems rather easy for Christian writers to announce the end of the age-since, after all, it was never to their liking.” -Judith Shklar https://t.co/aQ2iisfTIa (Source)

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