Written in the early part of the Trump administration when many of us were recoiling at being dragged along on the MAGA clown car, Meacham reaches bacWritten in the early part of the Trump administration when many of us were recoiling at being dragged along on the MAGA clown car, Meacham reaches back into our national history and says, basically, "You think it sucks now, let me tell you how things have sucked in many prior eras." Now this did not really make me feel so good about current events. But it did help to provide perspective. Our country is wretched and messy. Our history is tragic. Yet unevenly and inequitably we seem to move things forward for some and not for others. It's painful, horrible and occasionally we get it right. This is, essentially, the gist of the battle that rages for our better angels. Understanding the past is our best opportunity to improve our future.
And to this end, Meacham closes with a prescription to achieve a better outcome. All of which I agree and will reinforce here: a) be politically engaged; it every citizen's duty b) resiste tribalism and find the common weal c) respect facts - yes there is a discernible reality d) find a balance e) and, yeah, keep history in mind
And for the real history wonks (because a lot is covered), Meacham has provided over a hundred pages of historical notes to support the 272 pages of his narrative. Too much for me. But go for it if that's your thing....more
We’re all going to die. That’s it. That’s my take on this book.
OK, a little more. It took Michael Lewis 301 pages to tell us what we all know. Our “sWe’re all going to die. That’s it. That’s my take on this book.
OK, a little more. It took Michael Lewis 301 pages to tell us what we all know. Our “system” and specifically our public health “system” is incredibly underfunded and screwed up. Hardly worth even calling it a system. But to Lewis’ credit, he makes this sword of Damocles fascinating and jaw dropping. It really is a wonder we have fresh water to drink. OK, maybe not in Flint, Michigan or, well, lots of other places. But I’m really getting onto a soap box and off track.
The story is a page turner; couldn't put it down. Rather than make this all about the obvious, that the Trump administration contributed to the unnecessary and excess deaths of untold Americans, the story is really about many “nobody’s” and, yeah, even some Trump admin folks, who stepped up in remarkable ways to do what they could to let the country know that the sky was falling. And man, it really knocks the CDC off its pillar It’s a great tale well told. So sad that it’s true. ...more
Reading Myth America is akin to walking a gallery of fun house mirrors. Reality is not as we know it or as we believed it to be or as we may perceive Reading Myth America is akin to walking a gallery of fun house mirrors. Reality is not as we know it or as we believed it to be or as we may perceive it in the ether of accepted norms. In fact, as the book’s several authors say and quote others, it’s not just myths we confront, it is outright bullshit.
This book is not a screed of bombastic liberalism. If a liberal interpretation is accurate or more so, so be it. Each historian author draws deeply on the several hundred year American timeline to provide perspective on the topics each examines. This is not a mere opinion piece. Was (is) there white backlash? Look, kids, let’s examine who pushed who first. A Reagan revolution? So, maybe, not so much. Other than social damages and increasing inequity, let’s explore the lingering legislative achievements that, well, don’t exist. No revolution.
And so the discussions go. The series of 20 essays is a set of powerful arguments with substantive documentation, maybe even too much from you, Kevin Kruse, but we got your point and love your mind. But who can argue with irrefutable facts? Some of the essays are home runs as well as several triples and a double or two. But that assessment may be based on the level of interest one has in such topics as the success of the New Deal (yes!) or what makes a “Good Protest.” What is certainly true is that the subjects are as good a selection among many that could be examined. I had to wonder what was left on the cutting room floor? Or is there a second edition forthcoming? This was all good stuff. ...more
The milk carton on my kitchen table was from an organic dairy cooperative based in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Staring back at me was a cute white kid and a The milk carton on my kitchen table was from an organic dairy cooperative based in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Staring back at me was a cute white kid and a bucolic cow with a background of verdant green hills. I didn’t believe it. Well, maybe I believed the green hills because I’ve been to western Wisconsin. About the rest I was suspicious.
It was 2017 and Trump was initiating his reign of terror. The National Milk Producers Federation had earlier issued a report that losing immigrant workers on dairy farms would nearly double retail milk prices. I wrote the dairy coop and asked them about their position on migrant workers and more. Their response was kind but insufficient. After a few exchanges with their experienced public relations team, I dropped the issue although it festered in my mind. Holding this dairy coop's feet to the fire would achieve little.
Then I discovered Ruth Conniff's “Milked,” published in July 2022 and I cracked open (literally) my library’s virgin hard cover edition in August. Focused on the western Wisconsin region and told through the stories of both the undocumented migrant workers and the dairy farmers who have been all but cornered into employing them so that they might remain in business.
Chapters are revealed in biographical sketches of specific people, workers and farmers. This was the perfect way to tell the story of Mexicans who assume the substantial risk and cost of coming to the US where their labor is desperately needed although they cannot arrive or work legally. And then there is the irony of the Trump Republican farmers (not all) who employ the undocumented women and men because they have little choice. Eye opening.
On the one hand the personal interest stories of all parties is fascinating. I was embarrassed that this drama is playing out literally in my backyard and I had no clue. It is largely heartbreaking. Conniff does not beat the reader over the head with wonky policy issues. Rather the policy deficiencies are voiced by those who are involved.
US immigration policy is both a mess and highly politicized. Therefore, obvious solutions cannot be achieved. Why can’t migrant workers get permanent work visas to fill an employment gap? Just how stupid is that? And, while some Mexicans may want to move here most call Mexico (or other south American countries) home and would rather return there. Or so the author suggests through the stories presented.
And what of the future of dairy farming and agribusiness in general? After fairly even keel character portrayals, Conniff subtly pivots toward the conclusion of the book to challenges of Big Ag and some of the unseemly direction that it (and we) are going. It is not pretty, but it is very real.
In the end, this is one thought-provoking book that, through the microcosm of western Wisconsin dairy farming, shines a light and illuminates the dark shadows and misunderstood implications of today’s immigration policy and the future of agriculture. ...more
As one of the first books focusing on the January 6 riot at the Capitol and the events preceding and subsequent, its greatest value is context. It’s nAs one of the first books focusing on the January 6 riot at the Capitol and the events preceding and subsequent, its greatest value is context. It’s not a well-rounded context, you get your sources where you can and build the story from what you learn. Clearly Joint Chief of Staff chair, Mark Milley was one of those major sources and much of Peril comes from that lens.
That wasn’t all. But clearly, even the book’s title, Peril, is built around the incredible threat our nation was facing (and is today as I write this in 2022) is a militaristic (if that’s a word) peril as much as it is a governance peril.
It’s a good read to be able to revisit the a broad series of events that came at us from the day after the 2020 general election, through the treasonous insurrection at the Capitol and the events that followed. We forget the highs and the lows, mostly lows. My fund-raising T-shirt that reads, “Four Seasons Landscaping – not the hotel” only gets a quizzical response. But the Rudy Giuliani incident comes to life again in Peril.
I don’t think this book is evergreen. But as a rather quick packaging of critical moment in our nation’s history, it does the job.
I'm not an Econ major. And that's the point. Neither are most of our elected Federal officials charged with setting ourMind blowing paradigm changer.
I'm not an Econ major. And that's the point. Neither are most of our elected Federal officials charged with setting our priorities and finding the means to achieve them. But I am a business person and familiar with profit and loss statements and balance sheets. And THAT is exactly the problem. Our Federal government doesn't operate like my businesses. And the biggest difference is that I never got the opportunity to print my own damn money. But the US government can. And it should. And that concept, counter-intuitive as it may be, is the point of this entire book.
Put a label on it: Modern Monetary Theory. OK. Jargon. But imagine the possibilities if our policy makers accepted that we can afford to accomplish what we choose limited mostly by our ability to actually fulfill those goals and NOT by our ability to find the revenue (taxes) to pay for it. Like I said. Mind blowing. Read the book. No jargon. You can do it.
P.S. Of course, after I wrote my own review, I read others. I love you, book reviewers. And I came across this comment: "By the time I reached the end, I really could not stand to hear another iteration of the central tenets of MMT. I got it the first couple times."
So, yes, Kelton did repeat her central tenet ad nauseum. But for non-econ majors like me, I found this repetition useful. The paradigm shift is so outside my intuitive and lived-experience that I did, in fact, have to hear it over and over in different ways. So, yeah, I get this can be annoying. For me, it was reinforcing....more
This is a very heavy book. No, really. It's heavy. I mean it's 800 pages and it's like carrying around the torah. You start it and it's heavy on the rThis is a very heavy book. No, really. It's heavy. I mean it's 800 pages and it's like carrying around the torah. You start it and it's heavy on the right and you finish it and it's heavy on the left. And who doesn't look forward to plowing their way through 800 pages of history?
But wait, this could be the most sensational, mind-bending book I've read. Ever. (Checking notes to see if I've made that claim already.) You think you know something about American history? Well, you don't know Jack. Or in this case, Jill.
I've acquired a more accurate version of American history the hard way, reading bits and pieces on my own. No college history coursework for me; I'm an engineer. And high school history? Don't make me laugh. Now there's a joke. But I digress.
So I picked stuff up. You know, indigenous people and the European gift of diseases & ethnic cleansing, American Revolution and those elite white guys, Civil War & Johnny Reb and cousin Billy Yank, WWII & the greatest generation, civil rights & unsung Black heroes, Viet Nam, Donald Trump. Then I put my feet on the ground in places like Central high school in Arkansas, The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, the railroad crossroads at Corinth, Mississippi, Fort Sumter, Jamestown battlefield, the Trail of Tears, Gettysburg, etc.
But this book really wrapped it up for me with a bow on top. US history as a page-turning stunner in all its sordidness. You really have to read it. Never dull. Always enlightening. Incredibly engaging. A tragedy with great promise. But, man, it is very heavy. And I'm not talking about weight this time....more
This is a book about parenting. But I’m ahead of myself.
Although I began reading with great enthusiasm, I quickly came to dislike the principal charaThis is a book about parenting. But I’m ahead of myself.
Although I began reading with great enthusiasm, I quickly came to dislike the principal characters, Barry the Jewish hedge fund manager and Seema, his second generation Indian wife. No, not so much dislike as, well, disinterested in their privileged and ultra-wealthy existence. I really couldn’t give a crap. But I plowed on and I’m glad I did. There are many themes here. I suspect I only perceived some of them.
The wealth, it turns out, not truly earned through added value so much as by Wall Street huxterism, gambling and greed, was just one of those stories. Where high caliber financial misdeeds that violate the law are punished by civil fines that could best be called rounding errors. In our failing country where incarceration is a profit center, there is a class of people seemingly immune to the wrath of criminal justice. Or as some are identified, a club of ankle bracelet wearers is almost a badge of honor to be worn when they go out with their second or third wife. Disgusting lowlifes and who cares? But hold on...
Set in the months prior to Trump’s tragic presidency, Shteyngart holds a mirror up to our sordid wealth-concentrated country by following troubled but elite Barry on a cross country trip by Greyhound bus. Not surprisingly, Barry’s less financially well off bus travel companions exhibit more humanity than the shitheads who dwell in the ivory towers of Manhattan. No surprise there.
But the story that captured my attention is about Shiva, Barry & Seema’s non-verbal autistic child. Here is a painful story of delusion, shame, love, parenting and family. Weaving together the stories of high finance, exotic wealth, romantic love, the hard lives of the less well off and the grace of a three-year old autistic boy is nothing short of genius. The book is compelling, the characters real and they will live within you when you are done reading. ...more
Jim Comey has probably alienated everyone, which is why this book is so good. His premise, embodied in the book’s title, is there is a higher loyalty Jim Comey has probably alienated everyone, which is why this book is so good. His premise, embodied in the book’s title, is there is a higher loyalty to fact-based truth and the rule of law than there is to the partisan tribes fighting for control of the United States. This book is about leadership, not about Donald Trump. It is a tough pill to swallow.
He makes a good case for his position. Yet you hate him for it. One can’t shake the sentiment that his actions were not about the outcome of a little league game based on an umpire’s 9th inning call, but rather about the future of this country. In that context, Comey’s almost academic and antiseptic interpretation of his role and his decisions comes off as somewhat naïve – almost uninformed.
But put that aside for a moment, if one can. This somewhat biographical story offers ample background to bring the reader to Comey’s critical decisions made in the run up to the 2016 presidential election. This is a seasoned lawyer and investigator who has walked the halls of power for years. This experience and the anecdotes he shares all revolve on his fundamental emphasis on defining ethical leadership.
Comey is pretty clear about what he thinks about Donald Trump, “Donald Trump’s presidency threatens much of what is good in this nation…this president is unethical and untethered to the truth and institutional values.” But even in this strongly expressed opinion reserved for the book’s final pages, Comey brings it back to discussing leadership, saying, “(Trump’s) leadership is transactional, ego-driven and about personal loyalty…”
So if you, like me, have high anxiety, this story will do nothing to provide relief. But if you want to understand the path to effective leadership, it’s a fine tutorial....more
First of all, this book is very heavy. No, I mean really heavy. Like 3 lbs. That’s what the hard cover version clocks in at. Try to hold that and readFirst of all, this book is very heavy. No, I mean really heavy. Like 3 lbs. That’s what the hard cover version clocks in at. Try to hold that and read it. It’s a workout.
OK, more seriously, or relevantly, in brief, this book is horizon expanding.
As a 20th century person growing into the 21st century, I’ve worked to dig back a couple hundred years to understand, mostly, the North American experience. OK, a tad of European history and Asia not so much. But "Sapiens" takes me way back. I mean way, way back. And suddenly I really appreciate how truly small my time frame reference is and how global mankind’s impact has been.
But then, what also seems to be true, is that, for a good part of these many millennia, change was small and incremental. Yet, within my own lifespan, change has taken place at a comparative light speed. I've always believed that was the case. "Sapiens" reinforced my sentiment.
Yes, I knew we Sapiens co-existed with Neanderthals for some period. But we had other cousins that we knocked off. But did I know that Alexander the Great brought his lover, Hephaestion, home for dinner? (Fact check required). Or that the “Egyptians, the Romans, the Aztecs did not send missionaries to foreign lands to spread the worship of Osiris, Jupiter or Huitzilopochtli.” OK, then.
No, the book is not dense with arcane historic detail that you've never heard before. But, effectively, it is littered with enough detail and example and reference to make a very effective point of placing mankind, Sapiens in particular, on a path from our primitive origins to the place we inhabit today.
I don’t want to dismiss the detail. And I’m not equipped to evaluate the import or accuracy of every nuanced tribal description. But in broad strokes, the point is made and the impact of where we came from – and where we’re going is mind expanding.
It’s a book for the time. Looking back over the last, oh, 70,000 years, the book concludes with the uncomfortable truths we are now facing: Our technical ability to eliminate most life because someone gets pissed off or makes a mistake. Our destruction and elimination of wildlife diversity. Our planetary plundering and despoiling of the planet that nurtures our existence. It ain’t pretty. Harari confronts it all with an unblinking eye.
Things will continue to change. Sapiens will probably run its course. Something will survive. My money is on cockroaches. Smart ones. ...more
The level of detail is, perhaps, a little suspicious. Was Wolff really there when Priebus and Bannon pulled up chairs to sit outside on a patio in theThe level of detail is, perhaps, a little suspicious. Was Wolff really there when Priebus and Bannon pulled up chairs to sit outside on a patio in the West Wing? And do I care? But no matter. There's enough confirmation of the chaotic (the cliche synonymous with this presidency) executive branch that is close enough, accurate enough and reasonably believable. So be skeptical but don't be in denial. We libtards will like this book. Although "like" is a perilous concept in these dangerous times. And the other guys won't read it. Or can't read. Not sure which is correct. And, oh, by the way. Read it now. The shelf life is short. These characters will march across the stage and then be footnotes to the increasingly seamy history of the United States.
Thanks to my local library for ordering a bunch of these and their effective wait list process. ...more
I liked this book. But let me go to the dark side first.
Talk about burying the lede! On page 269 of this 296 page book we are first introduced to the I liked this book. But let me go to the dark side first.
Talk about burying the lede! On page 269 of this 296 page book we are first introduced to the cataclysmic idea that the Koch Brothers are looking to leverage the environmental issue so the Oyster Farm “exception” might be the basis for establishing exceptions in other Federally protected areas.
Well, I may not have stated that clearly. But the point is that there is huge national environmental issue for which this otherwise regional conservation tug-of-war is the basis. From a standpoint of grasping the greater issues Summer Brennan has missed the opportunity to appeal to a broader community while also adding a real-life dramatic element. Instead this issue is first broached 27 pages from the end of the book.
Additionally, as one who accepts the author’s story prima facie and likes a story with dimension and color, I still had to quickly adjust to being more cautious with the rabbit holes she led me down and skim sections of incredible irrelevance. I suppose some would like these digressions. But I had little tolerance for following the micro-story where the author is yelled at for picking wildflowers. And I'm not sure just how much I had to learn about oyster cultivation. Got it. Move on.
That’s the mean stuff. On the up-side, the author made a powerful and phenomenal effort to research & reconstruct an acrimonious issue that pit environmental issues, business interests and our national yearning to avoid despoiling every acre of land. It’s often a tough call. And especially when the interests have been embedded to the point where the economy and culture has developed around what is.
I read this book because I was returning to Point Reyes for its annual birding festival. Like most tourists, one often parachutes into an area with little appreciation for where you are. The Oyster War provided me unique historical insight into Point Reyes politics, environmentalism and the passion of the people who call this home. ...more
I've heard that a book has to come to you at the right time. Had I read this when it was published in 2004 I would have thought of this as both fancifI've heard that a book has to come to you at the right time. Had I read this when it was published in 2004 I would have thought of this as both fanciful and a bit paranoid. Then, wow. Fast forward to 2017 and suddenly this is prescient, insightful and threatening.
And, of course, Roth. You just have to love a guy who can deliver a run on sentence and you think it is the greatest thought you've ever consumed. I literally inhaled this book. What a great mind and remarkable ability to express himself. I'm sure others have said this better than me. But I'll add my 2 cents....more
Comey is the one. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This book meticulously and unflinchingly examines the factors that resulted in the candidate who wonComey is the one. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This book meticulously and unflinchingly examines the factors that resulted in the candidate who won the popular vote losing the election. In the first 100 pages or so Clinton ruminates on her own well-being, decisions to become a candidate, the campaign & primaries. I cared, just not too much. Interesting but not compelling. I wanted to get to what the book’s title promised, what happened? But then she delivers.
In wonky, clear-eyed (I would editorialize – irrefutable) analytic detail Clinton lays out the dramatic swing of undecided voters fleeing from her to Trump when FBI director Comey astonishingly re-visits the email saga with new “revelations” just 9 days before the election, only to back off the issue two days before the election. But the damage was done - by Comey. Yes, the book acknowledges, the election was never in the pocket as it faced, dare we repeat this again, assaults from Trump, the media’s unending fascination with an email server and hacked emails, Russian election meddling, the candidate’s own baggage and missteps (“we’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business”). Ugh.
The book also provides an opportunity to get a glimpse of the world we lost. Clinton is a policy geek and addresses a broad section of the countries maladies and her agenda to address them. It is a sad reminder. And even sadder considering where we are today with this moron as President and a morally bankrupt Republican party majority in Congress. The reader can perceive the frustration of a candidate whose good ideas were smothered by the media and a failure to engage the energy of the electorate. As she notes, “The piece that perhaps I undervalued is that, from this perspective, the details of the plan may matter less than how it is framed and sold to the public – in other words, the optics of it.”
This book is not one with a happy ending. In spite of Clinton’s closing efforts to instill some optimism into the future, her worry is persistent as is that of notable others. Quoting James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence speaking before Congress, “If there has ever been a clarion call for vigilance and action against a threat to the very foundation of our democratic political system, this episode is it.” The only takeaway I could gather is, basically, we are fucked and we better do something about it. We have no entitlement to our democracy, a social network of support or an economy that offers promise. That’s just me spouting.
My last thought is about the mechanics of the book. The last entries in the book relate to issues as late as about July, 2017. The book was published in September, 2017 and I was reading it in November. The freshness of the information amidst the ongoing daily news carnage made this a riveting current events read. With so many of us still in hand-wringing mode and depressed about the election’s outcome, I was impressed, amazed actually, at the ability of Clinton together with her team to assemble the fearlessly objective data necessary to make her case about what happened. It reflected the mature, balanced, unemotional evaluation by a political professional. Something we don’t have but desperately need. She would have been a fine president. The nation's loss....more
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