Here are the books and commentaries that I've read since November 2004. They were my 'red pill'.

The Creature From Jekyll Island - G. Edward Griffith
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics - John J. Mearsheimer (AWESOME insights into world politics past and present)
Beyond Oil - Ken Deffeyes
Twilight In The Desert - Matt Simmons
The Ethics Of Liberty - Murray N. Rothbard (HUGE influence)
America's Great Depression - Murray N. Rothbard (HUGE influence)
The Forgotten Man - Amity Shlaes
The Long Emergency - James Howard Kunstler
Fiat Money Inflation In France - Andrew Dickson White. (This one knocked me OUT. I am watching the events replay 210 years later!)
Popular Economics Essays by Professor Antal E. Fekete http://professorfekete.com/articles.asp. Read'em all, study them.
The Crash Course by Chris Martenson, Phd. http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse
The Coming Collapse of the Dollar and how to profit from it - James Turk and John Rubino
The Fourth Turning - William Strauss. (This was yet another life-changing book)
Financial Reckoning Day - Addison Wiggin and Bill Bonner
Empire Of Debt - William Bonner and Addison Wiggin

There are more, but these are the ones that come to mind right away.