Author,
radio host, and
lecturer. Parenti is known for his well researched analysis of political and historical events and willingness to question the officially approved vision of the
United States. He has a
Ph.D in
political science (
Yale) 1962), and has written 15 books and hundreds of articles. One of his most notable radio bits,
Real History, is available through most progressive radio stations (particulary
KPFK/
Pacifica). His articles have appeared in
Covert Action Quarterly,
Z Magazine,
Dollars and Sense,
Prevailing Winds, and
The Nation. He also lectures frequently around the country and if you get a chance to listen to him, you should. He is considered by
conservatives to be a
radical leftist, though as he pointed out "We are not the
extremists,
the extremists are in power. We're moderate." In the spirit of
Open Source, Parenti allows any radio station to broadcast his show for free and to sell copies for
fundraising purposes at no charge to the station.
While in San Francisco in the early 90's, he noted
You do have your crazies and weirdos here like anywhere else, but you are smart enough to put them in a highly visible environment. You elect them to public office.
Books:
- The Terrorism Trap (City Lights Books, 2002)
- To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia (Verso Books, 2001)
- History as Mystery (City Lights Books, 1999)
- America Besieged (City Lights Books, 1998)
- Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism (City Lights Books, 1997)
- Against Empire (City Lights Books, 1995)
- Dirty Truths (City Lights Books, 1996)
- Democracy for the Few (St. Martin's; sixth edition, 1995)
- Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media (St. Martin's; second edition, 1993)
- Land of Idols: Political Mythology in America (St. Martin's, 1993)
- Power and Pluralism: A View from the Bottom (Irvington, 1993)
- Make-Believe Media: The Politics of Entertainment (St. Martin's, 1992)
- The Sword and the Dollar: Imperialism, Revolution, and the Arms Race (St. Martin's, 1989)
- Ethnic and Political Attitudes: A Depth Study of Italian Americans (Ayer Co, 1979) (out of print)
- Power and the Powerless (Palgrave MacMillan, 1978) (out of print)