Person
Every book James Stout recommended on podcasts
James Stout’s most recommended books
- The Anatomy of Fascism by Robert O. Paxton
- How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr
- Beyond a Boundary by C. L. R. James
- Under the Perfect Sun by Mike Davis
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo
- Progress by Samuel Miller McDonald
- The Anarchy of Empire in the Making of U.S. Culture by Amy Kaplan
- The Art of Not Being Governed by James C. Scott
- The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey
James Stout appeared on Behind the Bastards to discuss and recommend several notable books. He praised C. L. R. James's Beyond a Boundary as a great sports history text and personal favorite, noting it is the only cricket book he has ever enjoyed. He recommended Mike Davis, Kelly Mayhew, and Jim Miller's Under the Perfect Sun to illustrate deep-seated corruption and political issues in San Diego. Additionally, Stout discussed Daniel Immerwahr's How to Hide an Empire to explain the historical context of US intervention in Cuba, the takeover of the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, historical examples of torture used by American soldiers, and the purchase of Alaska. He also referenced Amy Kaplan's The Anarchy of Empire to explain how the insular cases placed Puerto Rico and other colonies in a constitutional limbo, and he brought up James C. Scott's The Art of Not Being Governed to discuss people existing without the state.
Books recommended by James Stout
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The Anatomy of Fascism
The Anatomy of Fascism by Robert O.
Discussed“The parading of military heroes, right? Like you can just go to Robert Paxton's book, which I have just over there, but I'm not going to read from it right now. Anatomy of fascism.”
Where to get it
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How to Hide an Empire
How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr is a sweeping historical account that examines the overseas territories and greater expanse of the United States.
Discussed“So, per how to hide an empire, the US government and the US media wanted to intervene, but anti-imperialists in Congress.”
Where to get it
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Beyond a Boundary
Beyond a Boundary by C.
Recommended“CLI James's book, trying to remember if it's called Beyond A Boundary or Beyond D Boundary. Beyond the boundary. Yeah, it's a great book. It's the only book about cricket that I've ever read. And that's the only one that I've ever enjoyed.”
Where to get it
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Under the Perfect Sun
Under the Perfect Sun is a critical non-exposé of San Diego authored by Mike Davis, Kelly Mayhew, and Jim Miller, detailing the city's hidden political corruption and systemic inequalities beneath its polished surface.
Recommended“That's literally the thesis of Under the Perfect Sun, right? Which is a book that should be obligatory if you want to move to San Diego. I think it's one of the one of the earlier Mike Davis books.”
Where to get it
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1984
George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984 presents a chilling vision of a totalitarian society characterized by perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, and the systematic manipulation of historical truth and language.
Discussed“Yeah, there's this line in 1984, the party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final most essential command. No, he didn't. You buffoons. Yeah, people love to be wrong about George Orwell.”
Where to get it
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Accidental Death of an Anarchist
Discussed“There is a good a play that I took part in during high school called Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Foe.”
Where to get it
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Progress
Progress by Samuel Miller McDonald is a critical examination of historical eras that explores the pervasive concept of progress and the development of parasitism over time.
Discussed“You know recently I read this book progress by Samuel Miller McDonald and I would like to do a review of it at some point for the podcast”
Where to get it
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The Anarchy of Empire in the Making of U.S. Culture
Discussed“To drive the point home, I want to paraphrase from Amy Kaplan's The Anarchy of Empire.”
Where to get it
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The Art of Not Being Governed
The Art of Not Being Governed by James C.
Discussed“Like Jim Scott I guess kind of deals with this a little bit right in the art of not being governed when he's talking about the idea that those who exist without the state are behind those who exist within the state as opposed to just on a different pathway they've chosen to follow.”
Where to get it
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The Monkey Wrench Gang
The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey is a classic novel concerning eco-sabotage and environmental activism in the American Southwest, serving as a foundational text for radical ecological movements.
Discussed“Also, you look back in Tucson's past, love him or hate him or somewhere in between, the somewhat infamous author Edward Abby lived in Tucson and wrote the monkey wrench gang and wrote a lot of environmental activism.”
Where to get it
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The Stand
The Stand by Stephen King is a post-apocalyptic horror epic that follows the remnants of humanity struggling to rebuild society after a lethal influenza strain wipes out most of the global population.
Discussed“Uh, and I I think this panic was an equal mix of PTSD from COVID and quite frankly the enduring popularity of Stephen King's best novel, The Stand. I bring up The Stand because I can't lie, I initially got a little worried because the way in which this started is exactly how the world ending plague and The Stand”
Where to get it
Books James Stout wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| It Could Happen Here Weekly 253 | Behind the Bastards | 2026-10-10 | 2 |
| It Could Happen Here Weekly 247 | Behind the Bastards | 2026-08-29 | 5 |
| It Could Happen Here Weekly 240 | Behind the Bastards | 2026-07-11 | 1 |
| It Could Happen Here Weekly 221 | Behind the Bastards | 2026-02-28 | 1 |
| It Could Happen Here Weekly 219 | Behind the Bastards | 2026-02-14 | 1 |
| It Could Happen Here Weekly 213 | Behind the Bastards | 2025-12-20 | 1 |
| It Could Happen Here Weekly 200 | Behind the Bastards | 2025-09-20 | 1 |
| It Could Happen Here Weekly 195 | Behind the Bastards | 2025-08-16 | 1 |
| It Could Happen Here Weekly 190 | Behind the Bastards | 2025-07-12 | 1 |
| It Could Happen Here Weekly 185 | Behind the Bastards | 2025-06-07 | 1 |
Other mentions (10: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I mentioned my book earlier, so plug that. It's called Against Estate. It's out now. You can find it anywhere that good books are sold.”
“I was recently rereading a I think it's called A theory of the Drone. It's a philosophy book about drones and drone warfare and there's a scene in the opening of that which I think is is which you can probably get the free preview of the book if you have a Kindle and read that scene, but it's very”
“I've written a book. It's called The Popular Front and the 1936 Barcelona Olympics. You can probably find it at the library”
“interesting. I made for my book, A Brief History of Vice, I recreated these pipes as best I could.”
“But the second one I would love it if you pre-ordered. It's called Against the State. Uh, it's about anarchists and comrades at war in Spain, Myanmar, and Rojava.”
“I would love to plug my book. Yeah, if you want to read more about people who are struggling to make the world better, you can buy my book. You can pre-order it now at AK Press. Uh akpress.org/againstthestate, but we'll have a link for you. Book is called Against the State.”
“I wrote this about anarchists at war. It's called Against theState. You can pre-order it from AK Press.”
“It's called Against the State, a story of anarchists and comrades at war in Spain, Myanmar, and Rojava.”
“I have a book already and you can find it by going to the library and saying let's do James stats written a book it's called the popular front of 1936 popular Olympics and and they will order it for you”
“interesting I made for my book A Brief History of Vice I recreated these pipes as best I could”