BUDDHISM
Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, Dhammic Socialism (Bangkok: Thai Inter-Religious Commission for Development (TICD), 1986)
-seminal work influential on many engaged Buddhists
-------------------, Paticca samuppada: Practical Dependent Origination (Nonthaburi, Thailand: Vuddhidhamma Fund, 1992)
-mostly a clarification about how Buddhaghosa and the Theravada tradition in general is confused and posits Paticca Samuppada over three lifetimes.

Grimshaw, Anna Servants of the Buddha:Winter in a Himalayan Convent (London: Open Letters, 1992) 160 pages
-fascinating account by an anthropologists of her life with Tibetan nuns in Julichang, Ladakh. Includes account of pre-Buddhist animal sacrifice ritual performed by nuns in order to avoid monks'pollution.

Karma Lekshe Tsomo, ed. Buddhism Through American Women's Eyes (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1995) 180 pages.
-13 essays on practice from different traditions by nuns and laywomen.

Loy, David, Lack and Transcendence: The Problem of Death and Life in Psychotherapy, Existentialism, and Buddhism. (Atlantic-Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1996)

Murcott, Susan The First Buddhist Women: Translations and Commentary on the Therigatha (Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press, 1991) 220 pages.
-wonderful commentary on the earliest known collection of women's religious poetry, written by the original Buddhist nuns'sangha.

Payutto, Phra Prayudh, Buddhadhamma: Natural Laws and Values for Life Grant Olson trans. (Albany: SUNY Press, 1995)
-an accessible text on the foundational Buddhist teachings found in this article
-------------, Dependent Origination: The Buddhist Law of Conditionality, trans. Bruce Evans, (Bangkok: Buddhadhamma Foundation, 1994), 45.
-useful systematic presentation on the topic which I have not been able to find elsewhere. Payutto in his systematic and unemotional way pretty much lays out the whole system and shows the various interpretations in the Pali scriptures

ENGAGED BUDDHISM
Eppsteiner, F., Ed., The Path of Compassion: Writings on Socially Engaged Buddhism (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1988, 2nd ed.).

Glassman, B., and Fields, R. Instructions to the Cook: A Zen Master's Lessons in Living a Life that Matters (New York: Bell Tower, 1996).

Jones, K. The Social Face of Buddhism: An Approach to Political and
Social Activism (London: Wisdom Publications, 1989)
---------- Beyond Optimism : A Buddhist Political Ecology (John Carpenter: Oxford, 1993), pp.212
-wide ranging critique of modernism and the environmental movement's response. Offers a "buddhist" middle way outside of these paradigms

Kotler, A, Ed., Engaged Buddhist Reader (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1996).

Macy, J. Dharma and Development: Religion as Resource in the
Sarvodaya Self-help Movement (rev. ed.) (West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press, 1985).

Nhat Hanh, T. Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social
Change (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1993).

Phongphit, Seri, Religion in a Changing Society: Buddhism, Reform and the Role of Monks in Community Development (Hong Kong: Arena Press, 1988).
-profiles eight Thai "development" monks

Queen, C. & King, S. ,Eds., Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation
Movements in Asia (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996).

Sivaraksa, S. Seeds of Peace (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1992).
-------------, Ed., The Quest for a Just Society: The Legacy and
Challenge of Buddhadassa Bhikkhu (Bangkok: Thai Inter-Religious Commission for Development/Santi Pracha Dhamma Institute, 1994).

CAPITALISM & ECONOMICS
Bendana, Alejandro Power Lines
-Bendana was formerly in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Sandanista government, and now runs a non-governmental group working with the issues of reintegrating former combatants into civil society. His book speaks to this issue from an alternative to both Marxist and Capitalist viewpoints. He points to the fact that one of the main dangers right now is the fact that neo-liberalism is parading as the end of history, and cutting off meaningful debate on the failures of this, now dominant, system while systematically attacking and marginalizing all attempts at creating alternatives.

Buchan, James Frozen Desire: An Inquiry into the Meaning of Money (Picador) pp. 320 7.99.
-"Not a monetary textbook ... and many economists will grind their teeth." "... a fascinating book, full of learning and poeticaly written. Its theme is that this is the age of money, 'our greatest invention,' which has 'done morre to make our civilisation even than letters.' Money is a language which almost everyone understands." The Economist

Korten, David, When Corporations Rule the World (West Hartford, CT: Kumarin Press, 1995)
-Korten built his career in Economics at Stanford, Harvard, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), when his work with NGOs in the Philippines broke down his faith and belief in corporate capitalism. His indictment comes from an insider's view and his ideas for alternatives combine structural wisdom with a spiritual vision. A very accessible and important read for the layman interested in how global economics works.

Sachs, Wolfgang, Ed. The Development Dictionary: A Guide to Power as Knowledge (London: Zed Books Ltd., 1992), 313 pages.
-not really a dictionary but rather a hard hitting collection of articles tracing the history of, unravelling the implied values of, and attempting to offer alternatives to certain key terms in the development discourse.

Tawney, R.H., Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (New York: Penguin Books, 1938/1984)
-classic history of the development of Protestantism and Capitalism in Europe since the 16th century. A companion reader to Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958)

Truong, Thanh-Dam Sex, Money and Morality:Prostitution and Tourism in SE Asia (London: Zed Books, 1990) 226 pages
-excellent conceptual study which examines sexual labor and power.

CONSUMERISM
Bocock, Robert, Consumption (London: Routledge, 1993)
-very good theoretical foundation to understanding consumerism, small only 150 pages

Frey, Darcy The Last Shot : City Streets, Basketball Dreams (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994).
-for those interested in consumerism on the margins, a book which appears to be mostly about basketball but actually exposes the cruel farce of the American dream in the ghetto and how basketball as a commodity offers one treacherous pathway out

Howes, David, Ed.Cross-Cultural Consumption: Global Markets, Local Realities, (London: Routledge, 1996)
-a very good collection of various cases studies from around the world, many of them looking at consumerism on the margins.

Tomlinson, Alan, ed., Consumption, Identity & Style: Marketing, Meanings and the Packaging of Pleasure (London: Routledge, 1990).
-not as good as the above Howes book but still some interesting essays on gender and consumerism, also fashion, politics, tourism, almost exclusively about United Kingdom

GENDER
Bhasin, K., Menon, Ritu and Khan, N. Said, eds. Against All Odds: Essays on Women, Religion and Development from India and Pakistan (Isis International and Kali for Women, 1994).
-14 excellent essays by different women activists on gender and fundamentalist movements.

Eck, Diana L. and Jain, Devaki, eds, Speaking of Faith: Global Perspectives on Women, Religion and Social Change (Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers, 1987) 298 pages, US$14.95.
-voices of 26 women activists from five continents and all major religious faiths talk of their work for social change; only two explicitly Buddhist contributions--Chatsumarn Kabilsingh on Thai nuns and Kumiko Uchino on Soto nuns in modern Japan.

Kelkar, Govind and Nathan, Dev Gender and Tribe: Women, Land and Forests in Jharkhand (UK: Kali for Women and Zed Books, 1991) 188 pages.
-economic pressures undermine the traditional spiritual and economic authority of women in Jharkhand, India's largest tribal region.

Moghadam, Valentine, ed. Gender and National Identity:Women and Politics in Muslim Societies (London: Zed Books and UN University World Institute for Development Economics Research, 1994) 180 pages
-gender politics in Islamist movements.

Morgan, Robin The Demon Lover: On the Sexuality of Terrorism (New York: WW Norton and Co., 1989) 395 pages
-brilliant social analysis on interconnections among gender, power and violence.

Sahgal, Gita and Yuval-Davis, Nira, ed. Refusing Holy Orders:Women and Fundamentalism in Britain, (London : Virago Press, 1992) 244 pages
-looks at Jewish, Christian, Hindu and Muslim fundamentalist attempts to control women.

Sarkar, Tanika and Butalia, Urvashi, eds. Women and Right-Wing Movements: Indian Experiences (London: Zed Books, 1995) 342 pages
-essays on gender and the Hindu right, mostly. Important as the new Buddhist movement in India is increasingly militant.

Shiva, Vandana Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development (London: Zed Books, 1989) 234 pages.
-links violation of nature with deteriorating status of tribal women in Third World.

Sturdevant, Saundra Pollock and Stoltzfus, Brenda Let the Good Times Roll: Prostitution and the US Military in Asia (New York: The New Press, 1992) 344 pages
-essays by activists and sex workers in Okinawa, the Philippines and S. Korea.