Some good English books I've read in 2005 and 2006

I've had the good fortune that most of the books I've read so far have been ranging from good to excellent and superb. Here comes a list of some of them. All the books except Wetlesen's can be had from Amazon.

• Arne Næss (translated and edited by David Rothenberg): Ecology, community and lifestyle – well known in Norway as “Økologi, samfunn og livsstil”, which I only got hold of after reading this excellent English version. Obligatory reading for anyone interested in the foundations of environmentalist thought.
• George Monbiot: The Age of Consent: a manifesto for a new world order — without visions we're going to have a hard time finding directions. Monbiot suggests an IMO very promising path — globalizing democracy. Easy reading, deep thoughts. (Finst òg på norskt: «Demokratiets tidsalder: et manifest for en ny verdensorden»)
• Bernard Lietaer: The Future of Money: creating new wealth, work and a wiser world — everything you didn't know about what money is, what it does, and what it can do when we make good use of its powers. Highly recommended. (Finst ikkje på norskt etter kva eg veit, men det er lettlesen engelsk)
• Albert Schweitzer: The Mystery of the Kingdom of God: the secret of Jesus' messiahship and passion — a very compelling reading of the synoptics, Schweitzer here presents in detail what he would later outline in his more famous «The Quest for the Historical Jesus».
• Jon Wetlesen: Biocentric Moral Status: the moral status of beings who are not persons: a casuistic argument — With this booklet, Wetlesen convincingly arrives — simply put — at an ethics in which all life has inherent value, inherent value is graded, and all humans have the highest inherent value. Very interesting. Can be downloaded from www.albert-schweitzer.com.
• Pekka Himanen: The Hacker Ethic and the Spirit of the Information Age — on how the hacker ethic is becoming the predominant work ethic, replacing the Protestant work ethic (Max Weber). I won't be surprised if this book is considered a classic some years from now.
• Johan Galtung: Peace by Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization — an excellent introduction to peace theory. As it's written on the back cover: “This authoritative and original overview is essential reading for students of peace studies, international relations, sociology, psychology, economics and cultural studies, and for all those involved in conflict resolution and peace processes.” And, might I add, «for all those interested in our common future on this planet».
• Alastair McIntosh: Soil and Soul: people versus corporate power — an “extraordinary story” indeed. Do read this book.