Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present (Book Review)
Watching real-life strongman moves while reading Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present from Ruth Ben-Ghiat is both surreal and chilling. But given that the book’s publication date was also the U.S. Election Day, comparisons are inevitable. At least to one of the...Colin Dickey—Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places (Book Review)
From author Colin Dickey, Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places is just the kind of book choice readers make in October. It combines history, travel, architecture, urban legend, and philosophy. But I also have to say it wasn’t nearly as gripping as I...Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang, MD and Nate Pedersen (Book Review)
Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen is two parts gasping at astounding purported medical cures. It’s also one part rubbernecker can’t look away no matter how yucky the example might be. I thoroughly enjoyed...Our Malady by Timothy Snyder—Healthcare, Freedom & Politics (Book Review)
Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary by Timothy Snyder is just under 200 pages. While it’s not long, it covers topics we all face daily whether we know it or not—our health and freedom. A Yale professor, historian, and writer, Snyder was not well at...Powerful Social Justice from James Forman: Locking Up Our Own (Book Review)
James Forman combines relevant experience and the ability to organize and present recent history. His 2017 book Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America is an exposition of origins and consequences of policing and legal decisions. In fact, he divides...Coming Soon from Jodi Picoult: The Book of Two Ways (Book Review)
Jodi Picoult combines Egyptology and the work of a death doula in her new book, The Book of Two Ways. She even throws in a side helping of quantum physics and multiverses. The story is emotional, wise, and engaging but also sometimes a bit dry and hard to follow. Main...Stacy Schiff: Cleopatra: A Life—Shifting Sands of Power (Book Review)
Stacy Schiff looks for hidden details about the world’s most famous female monarch in Cleopatra: A Life. And, believe me, those details hide among gobs of information about the men she loved. In order to tell Cleopatra’s life, Schiff really tells the stories of Caesar...Jesse Wegman: Electoral College Explained in
Let the People Pick the President (Book Review)
Jesse Wegman demystifies the Electoral College in his new book, Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College. No, really. He lays out all the myths I thought were true and some I didn’t. Then Wegman puts every one of them in...
Jason Stanley Offers Stellar Explanation in How Fascism Works (Book Review)
Jason Stanley breaks down How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them in this short, but intense book. We throw the term fascism around a lot these days. Better understand what it is before using it in a sentence. Or so I told myself when starting this book....Book Review: Pale Rider by Laura Spinney
Laura Spinney covers a tremendous amount of ground with her excellent book, Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World. It’s a timely read for 2020, of course. And Spinney talks about everything from how the flu started and traveled, to how it...Book Review: Front Row at the Trump Show by Jonathan Karl
Jonathan Karl offers new insights into the current White House in his book, Front Row at the Trump Show. And of course, that means insights on two other important subjects: the President himself, and the concept of the free press. Karl is a long-time journalist, who’s...Book Review: The Power Worshippers by Katherine Stewart
Katherine Stewart deftly explains the intersection of Christian evangelism and political power in The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. She breaks down the history, the people, organizations, goals, and the tactics. For the first...Book Review: Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, and the Rise of America’s Xanadu by Les Standiford
Les Standiford writes a compelling history of the very rich in South Florida, in his 2019 book Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago and the Rise of America’s Xanadu. Picking up a book like this is pretty out of character for me. But I lived in Palm Beach County for eight years back...Book Review: We Are Indivisible by Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin
We are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump is all politics. Authors Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin started a grassroots movement in the wake of the 2016 election results. In this book, they explain what led to those results, and what the potential...Book Review: Hiding in Plain Sight by Sarah Kendzior
Sarah Kendzior has done it again with Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America. This is 320 pages of hard truths, and may or may not feel like healthy quarantine reading. Especially considering how much scarier everything has...Bookshop.Org Affiliate
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