A Little Ludwig Goes a Long Way

A smattering of opinions on technology, books, business, and culture. Now in its 4th technology iteration.

Recent Books -- American Psychosis, Grace of Kings, Too Like The Lightning, The Big Book of Secret Hiding Places, The AI Con, Stolen Focus, What is the What, Cross Purposes, Separation of Church and Hate

01 October 2025

  • American Psychosis by David Corn. OK this book annoyed me. 1) It is a bit of a screed; no one who doesn’t already agree with the author is going to be swayed. 2) He puts all the blame for the Republican Party behaviour on some of the politicians in the party – but not on the voters who put them in office. 3) There is no recognition of the part the Democratic Party has played; voters have opted for some bad Republican choices because they are angry at Democratic choices and Democratic party behaviour. Not a helpful book.
  • The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu. Entertaining, Game of Thrones-light. All the drama and intrigue in one fast-paced story.
  • Too Like The Lightning by Ada Palmer. An interesting political setup, ruined by all kinds of literary and romantic overhead. I am sad I read the whole book.
  • The Big Book of Secret Hiding Places by Jack Luger. Not that big, but has some creative ideas.
  • The AI Con by Emily Bender and Alex Hanna. I gave up 20 pages in. The authors are so bent against technology and innovation, I simply didn’t trust anything they said. I’d be interested in more rational critiques of AI.
  • Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. 75% of this book is great. Allowing oursleves to get into flow state, making the changes in our how we spend our time, helping our kids to grow these skills and have better lives – all great stuff, and all researched well. Then he spends the last chapter on a degrowth rant for which he has done no research, and applied no critical thinking.
  • What is the What by Dave Eggers. A novelized biography of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee who came to the US. Amazing story of survival and perseverance.
  • Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy by Jonathan Rauch. A thoughtful look at the failure of American Christianity to live up to its democratic ideals, and how it can do better.
  • Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds by John Fugelsang. A sharper and more pointed look at the same topic as Rauch. Good info on how to counter bad biblical interpretations, but a little snarky.