Despite the curious omission of the Phoenix, that bastion of liberal, progressive, alternative news, The Nation's Guide to the Nation (Vintage) mostly lives up to its stated goal of being " a kind of collage of the Left; it's a Sears Roebuck catalog of tools and ideas for people who want (with help from their friends) to change the world (or at least the neighborhood)." Compiled by the magazine's senior editor Richard Lingeman, the book is an admittedly arbitrary collection of everything liberal — a guide, as Nation co-owners Katrina vanden Heuvel and Victor Navasky explain in their introduction, designed to bring left-leaning people together, physically and ideologically (so that they can be even more insufferably self-righteous, of course).
To this end, the book plays several different roles. In part, it is a liberal travel guide — introducing readers to progressive-minded media outlets, stores, and restaurants across the country. It also plays the part of textbook, as it takes readers along a nationwide "Left Heritage Trail" that visits sites and museums honoring those who fought for or embodied liberal causes.
There's no denying that the Guideto the Nation is a self-congratulatory tome that will mostly be read and enjoyed by those who already read and enjoy the magazine from which it spawned. But sometimes — especially as we stand on the brink of national political change — that type of reinforcement is precisely what the troops need.
The Nation's Guide to the Nation | Vintage | 384 pages | $19.95
Related:
A study in anarchy, The Ploughshares years, The Phoenix cleans up, More 
- A study in anarchy
Named after a family of birds that is markedly playful and diverse, Corvid is a benevolent underground anarchist institute fostering eclectic inter-disciplinary thought.
- The Ploughshares years
After reading an item on the Boston Globe book page noting that DeWitt Henry had published a memoir, I bought a copy of the book.
- The Phoenix cleans up
We're just back from the New England Newspaper & Press Association's annual awards gala at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers — $8 beers! — and we've got a nice little stash to report.
- PJ Harvey wants your fucking ass
PJ Harvey's two albums with John Parish are not her best work. (Go ahead and argue it, if you like.) The first, Dance Hall At Louse Point , was a surprise departure from her game-changing To Bring You My Love , an album that sold far less than Madonna records but packed as much cultural impact -- back when rock albums and cultural impact were still on speaking terms.
- IBEW pressures Stop & Shop
Folks driving past suburban Stop & Shop locations this week might wonder why laborers are suddenly concerned about food safety.
- Treat of Versailles
It's been a good year: their relentlessly catchy Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (V2) — whisked into the public ear this year atop Cadillacs via ad-ready singles like "1901" and "Lisztomania" — is about to cause some year-end listomania of its own. Since its release, they've been circling the globe playing to a steadily swelling audience.
- Capuano for Senate
After a telescoped campaign, Massachusetts Democrats go to the polls Tuesday to choose a successor to a legend, Ted Kennedy.
- Questioning the Legality of Straight Marriage
When it comes to supporting gay rights, two straight Boston University grads are putting their marriage where their mouths are.
- Review: WFNX's Miracle on Tremont Street 2009
A quick, mildly sycophantic shout-out to the "powers that be" here in Phoenix -Land: This year's Miracle on Tremont Street was nothing short of a wicked pissah powerhouse bill. The grand old Orpheum creaked under the weight of a sold-out audience, and a pronounced feistiness prevailed .
- A mysterious new inmate death
Despite a scandal earlier this year over a prisoner death, state corrections officials won’t allow the Phoenix to interview a Maine State Prison inmate who has claimed in letters that prison staff abused an ailing prisoner, Victor Valdez, before Valdez died in late November.
- King of the world
There was a very nice star turn on the November 29 edition of 60 Minutes by URI's Bob Ballard, although the university got scant mention.
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