4 days agoArguing with Zombies by Paul KrugmanAn excellent book from an excellent writer. Krugman is a very famous writer/economist — more specifically labeled by some as “liberal economist Paul Krugman” — and Arguing with Zombies is really a collection of his New York Times columns from over the years, with a smattering of blogs and his…Paul Krugman16 min read
May 11The Great Indoors by Emily AnthesI had never heard of this book when I picked it up at my local bookstore, which is a bit odd as this is the type of book that I would normally hear about and then read rather quickly — especially during the height of the pandemic when it came…Indoor Plants12 min read
May 9The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan HaidtI heard about this book after reading this article, then listening to this podcast, then finding the book on sale at my local bookstore. I can honestly say this was one of the best and most informative books I have read in the past couple of years, and, being an…Jonathan Haidt16 min read
May 5Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots by James SuzmanA vast, sweeping history of anything and everything work related, from our forager/hunter-gatherer ancestors, to agriculture, to farming, to the industrial revolution, to the present day of automation, this book is not only a summary of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are going, but it is…Work20 min read
Apr 21Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World by Simon WinchesterA sweeping, brilliant read by a writer who is worth every penny in prose, dictation, and compassion for his subjects. Winchester is a very, very accomplished writer — so much so that in 2006 he was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty…Land16 min read
Apr 9Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth KolbertIn Kolbert’s own words, this book is about “people trying to solve problems created by people trying to solve problems”. We know that climate change is a problem. We know that land loss, sea level rise, plant and animal extinction, and a rapidly warming planet are major problems. So what…Elizabeth Kolbert8 min read
Apr 6Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth by Noa TishbyAn absolutely brilliant, reasonable, well-researched and well thought-out defense of the state of Israel by one of it’s most fervent and ardent defenders. Noa Tishby is a bit of an Israeli/American celebrity, most well-known for bringing Israeli TV and scripted drama’s like HBO’s In Treatment to American audiences, but she…Israel12 min read
Mar 31Please Scream Inside Your Heart by Dave PellOne of my all-time favorite writers, anywhere, Pell is the author of a newsletter called Next Draft, which is a compilation of news articles that he e-mails to thousands of subscribers each weekday by opening up over 60 tabs on his browser and filtering through the most interesting, fact-based, and…Dave Pell7 min read
Mar 24The Invention of Yesterday by Tamim AnsaryThis incredible, sprawling, and insightful work is essentially a 406-page history of the world — one that shows that, from the literal beginning of recorded human history, we have always been interconnected, and will continue to be so for the rest of our history as well. It’s truly stupefying the…Human Culture21 min read
Mar 11Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America by Marcia ChatelainExhaustively researched and beautifully written, Franchise tells the tale of how Black America and McDonald’s were inextricably linked from the very beginnings of the fast-food industry, and how corporations, politics, racism, redlining, and the foundations of our capitalist-based society collided with one another to grant a small handful of Black…Mc Donalds15 min read