Recent Books -- Death In The Spires, Seeing Like A State, The Loom of Time, Careless People, Revolt of the Public, King Dollar, Abundance, The Will Of The Many
25 April 2025
- Death In The Spires by K.J. Charles. Solid mystery set in early 1900s – a college friend is killed, his friends all scatter, but find themselves drawn back in 10 years later.
- Seeing Like A State by James C. Scott. States try some pretty typical and consistent patterns to improve their societies (and to serve the state), and they usually come to ruin. A little long.
- The Loom of Time by Robert D. Kaplan. Excellent walkthrough of the history of the major countries in the Greater Middle East. We tend to blend all these together, but there is complexity and richness here.
- Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. Wow. You can’t read this book and not be disgusted with Facebook.
- The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority by Martin Gurri. Outstanding assessment of the impact of the democratization of information and how it has eroded the legitimacy of authority. And how the elites in traditional positions of authority (government, party, academia, corporate) are fighting to hang on to their power. We still have a ways to go before we get to a new stable state in society.
- King Dollar by Paul Blustein. A useful read on the dollar and its role; I would have enjoyed a little more analytical depth.
- Abundance By Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. I am clearly an abundance faction supporter. We need leaders who embrace this view.
- The Will Of The Many by James Islington. Fun kickoff to a fantasy series. Pretty typical fantasy elements, but mostly well written and fun.
