The following reading lists are based on the webmaster's tastes and reader suggestions. They are not meant to be authoritative.

GENERAL

Understanding Power The Indispensable Chomsky Edited by Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel. I've been reading Chomsky for over 15 years and this has to be the best overview of the corpus of his political thought. This collection is arranged on a range subjects and is based on informal discussions that Chomsky has had with groups over the 1990s. Arranged in a question-and-answer format, this is a very readable introduction to Chomsky's work. It's also a wonderful explanation of how the world works from an anarchist point of view.
Diy Culture : Party & Protest in Nineties Britain by George McKay Paperback - 310 pages (July 1998) Verso Books If you were ever wondering where Reclaim the Streets came from and why the contemporary anti-capitalist movements' actions are much more fun than their boring leftist parents, than this book will help you dance to the sounds of the new revolution.
A People's History of the United States : 1492-Present by Howard Zinn The infamous alternative history of the United States, which has become a popular book among young people who are unsatisfied with the bullshit that they are "taught" in schools and colleges.
Seeing Like a State : How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed by James C. Scott Paperback - 464 pages (April 1999) Yale Univ Press A scathing and insightful look at how statist schemes to improve the human condition have met with failure, death, and misery for millions. Also includes some of the best anti-statist analysis to be found outside of an explicitly anarchist book (in some ways, better than anarchist tomes). Scott focuses on how modernist aesthetic ideals when transformed into grand social experiements, usually turn into huge failures.
Elements Of Refusal John Zerzan CAL Press Paperback. $14.95 Always challenging and controversial, this is an excellent anthology of John Zerzan's writings.
Where We Stand: Class Matters hooks, bell Routledge. $16.95 There are plenty of anarchists and other activists who scream about class, but very few of them talk about it in an effective way. hooks examines how class and race intersect in contemporary America in this anthology of essays. She uses personal anecdotes to illustrate how important class is to any radical agenda for social change. She even has a few surprises for those self-righteous radicals who whine constantly about "lifestylism."

INTRODUCTION TO ANARCHISM

Days of War, Nights of Love : Crimethink For Beginners by CrimethInc. Workers' Collective Paperback - 292 pages (January 1, 2001) CrimethInc. Workers' Collective This is probably the best introduction to anarchism and radical politics since the first edition of Reinventing Anarchy. Copiously illustrated, a fun, witty, and smart introduction to anarchism and anti-authoritarian activism.
Year 501 : The Conquest Continues by Noam Chomsky Paperback - 331 pages (February 1993) South End Press One of the best books by Chomsky for the person who is reading him for the first time.
Anarchism, and Other Essays by Emma Goldman Paperback (June 1970) Dover Pubns Anthology that provides an excellent overview of Goldman's thought.
Living My Life by Emma Goldman Paperback - 993 pages Vol 001 (June 1930) Dover Pubns

A final note: Please order these books from AK Press or get them from an independent bookstore. Whenever you buy books from chain bookstores, you hurt the independent bookstores that are so vital to nurturing the intellectual part of resistance culture.