Michael John Parenti (born 30 September 1933 - 24 January 2026 in Manhattan, New York City) was a political scientist, academic historian and cultural critic who wrote on scholarly and popular subjects. He taught at US and international universities and was a guest lecturer before campus and community audiences.
Parenti’s writings covered a wide range of subjects: U.S. politics, culture, ideology, political economy, imperialism, fascism, communism, democratic socialism, free-market orthodoxies, conservative judicial activism, religion, ancient history, modern history, historiography, repression in academia, news and entertainment media, technology, environmentalism, sexism, racism, Venezuela, the wars in Iraq and Yugoslavia, ethnicity, and his own early life.
Here is a list of books written by Professor Parenti,
- The Anti-Communist Impulse (1969)
- Trends and Tragedies in American Foreign Policy (1971)
- Democracy for the Few (1974, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2011)
- Ethnic and Political Attitudes: A Depth Study of Italian Americans (1975)
- Power and the Powerless (1978)
- Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media (1986, 1993)
- The Sword and the Dollar: Imperialism, Revolution, and the Arms Race (1989)
- Make-Believe Media: The Politics of Entertainment (1992)
- Land of Idols: Political Mythology in America (1994)
- Against Empire (1995)
- Dirty Truths (1996)
- Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism (1997)
- America Besieged (1998)
- History as Mystery (1999)
- To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia (2001)
- The Terrorism Trap: September 11 and Beyond (2002)
- The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People’s History of Ancient Rome (2003)
- Superpatriotism (2004)
- The Culture Struggle (2006)
- Contrary Notions: The Michael Parenti Reader (2007)
- God and His Demons (2010)
- The Face of Imperialism (2011)
- Waiting for Yesterday: Pages from a Street Kid’s Life (2013)
- Profit Pathology and Other Indecencies (2015)
Video recordings,
- 1986: Monopoly Culture and Academic Freedom at the University of Vermont, 9 April 1986
- 1986: US Interventionism, the Third World, and the USSR at the University of Colorado Boulder, 15 April 1986
- 1986: [Michael Parenti at Loyola University](https://youtu.be/VKg1Jj3AjfM] at Loyola University New Orleans, 23 April 1986
- 1986: Anti-Sovietism in the Media at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 20 November 1986
- 1987: The Political Uses of Religion in Denver, Colorado, 18 April 1987
- 1988: Superpatriotism and the Importance of Being Number One in Boulder, Colorado, 1 August 1988
- 1989: The Sword and the Dollar in Thunder Bay, Ontario, 27 October 1989
- 1990: Human Nature and Politics in Los Angeles, California, May 1990
- 1991: Corporatism and the U.S. Political Scene, 1991
- 1993: Conspiracy and State Power at the University of Vermont, 21 April 1993
- 1993: Inventing Reality, 17 October 1993
- 1997: The Hidden Ideology of the News Media at the University of Vermont, Burlington, 9 April 1997
- 1999: The U.S. Empire and the War against Yugoslavia at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Berkeley, 1999
- 1999: Berkeley Mother’s Day for Peace 1999 at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Park, Berkeley, 9 May 1999
- 1999: The U.S. War on Yugoslavia in Seattle, Washington, 16 May 1999
- 2002: The Corporate War Against Democracy at Portland State University, 14 September 2002
- 2002: Terrorism, Globalism, and Conspiracyat St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church, Vancouver, 9 October 2002
- 2003: The Assassination of Julius Caesar in Venice, Colorado, 29 June 2003
- 2004: Creating a Sustainable Economy at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach, California, 24 June 2004
- 2005: Michael Parenti on Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, 23 May 2005
- 2005: Iraq and the Future of US Foreign Policy at Wesleyan University, Connecticut, 18 April 2005
- 2005: The Darker Myths of Empire: Heart of Darkness Series at the College of DuPage, 16 November 2005
- 2007: Lies, Wars, & Empire at Binghamton University, 9 October 2007
- 2010: Deep Ideology: How Reactionary Agendas Shape Political Awareness at the University Inn & Conference Center, Santa Cruz, 14–16 May 2010
- 2011: The Face of Imperialism and The 99% Solution at the University of Guelph, 2 November 2011
- 2012: Democracy and the Pathology of Wealth at the La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley, 6 January 2012
- 2013: Michael Parenti on the Threat of US Imperialism in Vancouver, British Columbia, November 2013
- 2015: Capitalism vs. Reality’’ in Springfield, Illinois, 6 October 2015
Rest in peace, comrade. You were vital in my growth into a Marxist, and it cannot be overstated how many people you’ve made into communists. May we carry on your legacy!
“Yellow Parenti” Speech and Blackshirts and Reds | Audiobook