I hosted my first virtual book club last Friday. We discussed the book, Liberation by Oppression: A Comparative Study of Slavery and Psychiatry. It was fun to meet new people and discuss the ideas in the book.
When I started the book club, I had no idea if anyone was interested in these virtual discussions about obscure books, but happily, several people were. One person who came to the meeting had not read the book, but simply wanted to listen and learn more about the ideas in the book.
The next book club will meet on Wednesday, April 20th at 6:30 PM CST. We’ll be discussing another book by Thomas Szasz, Our Right To Drugs: The Case for a Free Market. You can read my review of the book here.
If you are interested in joining the discussion, let me know by contacting me. If you don’t have a copy of the book, let me know and I’ll get you a copy.
Since the publication of Szasz’s book, there have been many books that advocate a more nuanced approach to drug policy. A few more recent books are Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use by Jacob Sullum and Carl Hart’s, Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear. Szasz was advocating the legalization of drugs as far back as 1974 when he wrote Ceremonial Chemistry: The Ritual Persecution of Drugs, Addicts, and Pushers. You can read my review of that book here.
If you are interested in the discussion, please join!
Aaron Olson 