Blue Skies

TC Boyles' 2023 novel feels like an extension of his 2000 novel "A Friend of the Earth" set in 2025 with the absurdity of the state of Florida thrown in. The matriarch mother tries to hold the dysfunctional daughter and the wondering son together in the Anthropocene world under total destruction. The story is set in the Santa Ynez Valley with extreme heat, winds and fires, along with the heat, rain and flooding of the Florida coast. The daughter lacks considerable common sense and is an alcoholic. The son is uncommitted and bitter with the state of earth and the loss of his arm. The daughter incredibly purchases an invasive Burmese Python that ends up killing one of her twins, because she can. As the owner says, "owning a snake is a basic Constitutional guarantee-life, liberty, and happiness, right?"

The book is very depressing and the humor is very black. Even with the butterflies on the last page, the author offers little hope. I hope his imagination is wrong and that mankind will change.

How to be Perfect

"How to be Perfect, The correct answer to every moral question" is a light-hearted, philosophy for dummies book by Michael Schur. Schur takes on many of the deepest questions facing mankind through the eyes of many of history's greatest philosophers. From Aristotle's virtue ethics, to Jeremy Bentham and John Stewart Mills utilitarianism, to Immanuel Kant's deontology, the author tries to answer moral questions. He moves on to Scanlon's contractualism, to African ubuntu, to Thich Nhat Han's mindfulness, to William James' pragmaticism, to Singer's selflessness, and even to Ayn Rand's egotistical selfishness. Throughout the book Schur provides cleaver stories and classic case studies, such as the run-away trolley. He often references a favorite TV series of mine that he wrote and created called "The Good Place." For example, Ted Danson asked the character Chedi (a Kantian rules based philosophy professor) "Has anyone told you what a drag you are?" Chedi responds, "Everyone, constantly." It becomes clear that no one can be perfect and in fact it is not necessarily a good thing. There are so many moral dilemmas and rules that one gets moral exhaustion. We look for little digressions but look out for the Overton windows. We don't want to become Atlas Shrugged or engage in "whataboutism". Schur finishes up with Satre's existentialism, Frank and the luck factor, and the effect of privilege on our ability to make good choices. He concludes that "nobody is perfect" and goes on to apologizing. How moral is good enough? The important thing is that we keep striving to be better. We owe it to ourselves and to others. "Try again, fail again, fail better."

Victory City

Salman Rushdie's novel is a provocative tale of the 247 year life of the god-like heroin Pamopa Kampana and the rise and fall of the mythical city of Bisnaga (1335-1565). The young Pampa gives rise to the city from seeds. She aids the cowherds Hukka and Bukka in molding Bisnaga into a glorious city with arts, culture, and powerful women. Bisnaga is constantly challenged by foreign invasion from factions in the south, sultans in the north, and Portuguese in the west. There is also the challenges of theological "advisors" with excess power challenging free will, women's rights, and education. The initial five "remonstrances", or protests, involved the separation of church and state, the observance of mass worshipping, policing morality, making war, and the pursuit of the arts. Bisnaga experiences years of glory with wealth, poetry, temples and military conquests. There are also years of decline with beheadings, poisoning, blinding, and unrest. Eventually Bisnaga falls and Pampa meets her demise upon completing her manuscript. The fictional tale warns the reader of the threat of theological zealots and ruthless, unjust, and/or sly rulers. The many lessons of Bisnaga can be applied to all social orders and countries. 

Rules of Civility

Amor Towles' book is a story of the events and relationships of a woman in her twenties in Manhattan in 1938. The story begins and ends with Katey reminiscing of her adventures and affairs with Tinker, Eve, Wallace, Dicky, and Anne. Katey has become successful and happily married, yet you feel a little sadness for the people in her past, especially Tinker. 1938 was a special year filled with good friends, fast times, Jazz, successes, and personal loss. The characters are mostly likable, friendly, and civil. The book ends with an appendix of George Washington's "Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation" that was kept by Tinker and picked up by Katey. The final entry #110 reads, "Labour to keep alive in your Breast that Little Spark of Celestial fire Called Conscience."

Demon Copperhead

Barbara Kingsolver's book is a grueling coming of age novel of an orphan growing up in the rural south. Demon is born to a junkie mother, abused by a step father and foster care, blows out his knee playing football, and gets addicted to drugs. Despite the best efforts of two teachers, a bullied friend from foster care, the Paggots, June, and Angus, Demon takes a long road to the bottom with drug addition. The book highlights the opioid and meth epidemic in poor communities in the US, along with its origin. Demon and Tommy explore the plight of the poor rural south through comics and a pending graphic novel. They compare the hustle in the cities for money verses the struggles of the poor land people. They defend the resilient people of the land as having the advantage of finding a way to get by with little to no money and the help of the local community. At least before the drugs.

Lessons in Chemistry

Stanley's selection is a favorite of mine. It was recommended by our neighbor and I have passed it on to everyone I can think of. It is about a fictional female character that overcomes the abuse and challenges of a 1950's male dominated field of Chemistry. With the aid of her wits, determination, and good looks, she is able to overcome all obstacles to survive and eventually triumph. 

Horse: A Novel

Geraldine Brooks is an Australian, horse-loving, history buff. The historical fiction is both a celebration of a great horse and a depiction of the discrimination against black people in America. Her story covers the period surrounding the civil war, a brief story from the 1950's, and a current day discovery and love affair. The book studies the anatomy of the horse and details the art of painting the champion. Lexington is possibly the greatest American horse of all time from a racing and stud perspective. Her story tells the reader about the horse as well as the individuals that helped make him special.

My favorite quote came from the artist Scott when speaking of the southern soldiers. "They were, all of them, lost to a narrative untethered to anything he recognized as true...their complete disregard-denial-of the humanity of the enslaved, their fabulous notions of what evils the Federal government intended for them should their cause fail-all of it was ingrained so deep, beyond the reach of reasonable dialogue or evidence."

Age of AI

The Age of AI is an ambitious undertaking by three older guys to explain the benefits and threats of a broad and hard to define technology. The authors explore three examples of what they classify as artificial intelligence with a chess playing program (AlphaZero), an anti-bacterial drug development program (Halicin), and a language generative program (GPT-3). They identify the development of AI and AGI as a major development in human history and compare it to the introduction of the printing press. They emphasize the dangers of a run away AGI that can threaten our very existence. They call for guardrails and safeguards to be developed to monitor and control the machines. As apposed to the last book that recruited young people to altruistically guide AI, the authors suggest a more top down, philosophical and governmental control. Either way, the potential benefits and risks are monumental. 

What we owe the future

William MacAskill is a very young Oxford professor of philosophy that introduces the reader to "longtermism" and "effective altruism". He challenges each of us to address the biggest challenges facing the human race for the sake of all future generations to come. He addresses the threat of collapse and extinction of civilization from nuclear war, climate change, asteroids, bioweapons and pandemics, and artificial intelligence. He describes the lasting impact of social values and norms through the example of slavery and describes the danger of locking in values. He suggests the we can do more than be just good citizens and good consumers and should take action to improve the future. He suggests that each individual should utilize their individual talents for maximum impact. "Beyond donations, three other personal decisions seem particularly high impact to me: political activism, spreading good ideas, and having children."

MacAskill loses me on the subject of population and I believe he downplays negative human behavior that has a lessor impact. I personally see over population as a major threat and have less concern about continued technological advancement. I also see a greater need to address the small stuff like plastics and work hard on spreading all good ideas. On the other hand, MacAskill walks the walk. He is a modest living vegetarian that donates a significant portion of his earnings and encourages others the do the same. I have shared the book with my son-in-laws and I do believe that we have a unique opportunity to help affect the lives of mankind for millennia to come.

Discussion questions:

1. What does the author mean by the title?

2. Who is the author's targeted reader? Why?

3. What can we do to help the future of mankind?

4. Why does the author encourage more children? Do you agree?

5. What is the author's take on religion and value setting?

6. Do you feel threatened by AI? AGI?

Deep South

Paul Theroux documents four seasonal trips through the back roads of "the lower 20"with a collection of interviews. He provides a window into the lives of unique characters from black spiritual and community leaders (Virgin Johnson and Eugene Lyles), to fellow writers (Randall Curb and Mary Ward), to the valiant Delores Walker Robinson, to the energetic social worker/agitator Pam Dorr, to the Indian/Patel hotel operators and the Iranian entrepreneur. He also provides history and insight on Bill Clinton, John Lewis, Strom Thurmond and William Faulkner. Theroux even seems to imitate Faulkner by getting wording and verbose in his writing, particularly in the interlude sections. 

Overall, the book is a pretty depressing and sad depiction of the southern American backcountry. Segregation is alive and well. There are too many very large poor families with no mention of family planning. The people are often unhealthy, everything is deep fried, the fields are underutilized, too many are obsessed with guns, and there are very few jobs. Outside help is often shunned and white people still have priority over people of color.

In this grim environment only a few are able to shine. In searching for a cause the writer does a lot of bashing of the establishment from foreign aid, Clinton, and outside agitators. Yet most of the problems in the south originate from it being stuck in the past. I came away from reading the book thinking the southerners need to stop glorifying the Civil War, stop with the segregation, forget the belief in white supremacy, get rid of the Klan, disarm yourselves, stop being takers, and get to work.

Confidence Man

Maggie Haberman's book is the latest in a long series of books on Donald Trump. Although many have come before, her book is undoubtedly the most comprehensive and well researched of the lot. Trump has been part of her beat since the late 80's and her detailed, chronological telling of Mr. Trump's misadventures is disturbing and brings back unpleasant memories. She provides the back stories and the complete cast of characters that have created the alternate reality of Trump World. Her retelling is very matter of fact yet flows well. She ends by quoting Trump from their third and final meeting, "I love being with her, she's like my psychiatrist." She took the statement as an empty compliment and ends by saying "he is often simply, purely opaque, permitting people to read meaning and depth into every action, no matter how empty they may be." If we ever get through this mess, Maggie's 508 pages should be required reading in American history.

Originals

John's selection is full of information nuggets and practical advice. As an educator, I can see how John chose the book for advice on how parents and teachers can help encourage innovative thinking throughout child development. Adam Grant's advice applies to all types of organizations trying to adapt to an ever changing environment. To a fault, the book seems to contain a little bit of everything. His case studies such as Bridgewater are insightful, and who knew the people and the story behind the women's suffrage (Lucy Stone), digital photography (Land), the cell phone, the internet (CIA, Medina), and the Segway? The book includes humor and one-liners, insight to non-violent revolutionary leaders (MLK, Popovic), traits of famous innovators (Da Vinci, Einstein), and even a cold water swimmer (Pugh). Personally, I don't buy into all the benefits of procrastination and the virtues of the determined pessimist, and his deliberate methods of testing and analysis would drive me batty. Nonetheless, he could be right.

"The greatest tragedy of mankind comes from the inability of people to have thoughtful disagreement to find out what is true."

The Girl with Seven Names

The Girl with Seven Names is a remarkable tale written by a remarkable young woman. She was able to escape from North Korea at 17, make her way in China, and settle in South Korea. On top of that she was able to aid her mother and brother to escape to South Korea. Her travels and tribulations were tremendous and it took all her intelligence, persistence, language skills, and good looks to make it. Even then, she needed the aid of a stranger and a boyfriend to prevail. The book makes you realize how difficult it is for a North Korean to defect and the power of brainwashing in a totalitarian state. As she pointed out, not only are so many others ready to deport North Koreans, North Koreans themselves do not understand that they have basic human rights.

Skeletons at the Feast

Although David's selection has romance and a relatively happy ending, I found the book disturbing. The brutality of the German and Russian soldiers, the bombing and strafing by the German and Allied planes, the raping and pillaging, and especially the persecution of the Jews, it is a painful reminder of man's inhumanity to man. I am reminded of a book I read in high school called the "Painted Bird" involving a 14 year old Jewish boy enduring the atrocities in Eastern Europe at the end of the war. I also also am reminded of the book we read, "Slaughterhouse 5" involving the senseless bombing of Dresden. The story is told from the perspective of the German family fleeing their estate in occupied Poland. The family has to live with the guilt that they benefited under the Nazi's and the men fought for the 3rd Reich. On the other hand, the main characters are decent and one can say goodness won out, but just barely.

Paul

Our co-founder and good friend passed away last week. He was our most conservative, yet still non-Trumpian, voice. He was not shy to take up any opposing side on an issue and provided balance and perspective to our conversations. He believed in the power of individual ingenuity to solve the problems of the world and was against excess regulation. Although not the youngest, he continued to work as a mentor for others long after most of us had retired. 

Paul did select more business related books than the rest of us. He had a passion for improving efficiency and empowering entrepreneurs. Many of his selections were challenging reads that greatly expanded our business knowledge, with the possible exception of "Who moved my Cheese". I vaguely remember Paul trying to upgrade the book club by providing the group with a list of 100 classic books that we could choose from. After one Hemmingway and a Tolstoy we all nixed the list. Paul's other selections brought to our group his interest in archeology, synchronicity, and simply stories of human kindness.  

Paul's wit, charm, and insight will be sorely missed and I believe his voice will live on in our future meetings.

On Sunday, July 31, 2022, members of the book club attended Paul's celebration of life. Stanley spoke of Paul's unique personality, their involvement with the SPUSD, and their trips together. David read a letter from Bob about his long term friendship and spoke of his input to the club and to CAS. Bill spoke of his special talents in mentoring others in his professional life and what made Paul special. It was a moving gathering of friends and especially his extended loving family. Thank you Susan!

Midnight in Washington

Dear Mr. Schiff,

We members of the No Name Book Club would like to thank you for your years of honorable service to our country and our district. We are a group of guys from the San Gabriel Valley that just read your book, Midnight in Washington. Mr. Higgins is hosting our gathering tonight just down the street from where you had your wedding reception in Altadena.

We found your book, on the one hand, a sad and painful reminder of the past several years of Trumpian politics in America. On the other hand, you reminded us of the brave women and men that have stood up for democracy including Yovanovitch, Hill, Vindman, Taylor, your fellow impeachment managers, and yourself. We recognize the courage it must take to stand up to the bully in chief, not to mention white supremacy and the Russians.

As a group, we come from a broad range of the political spectrum, however none of us identify with what has become of the Republican party. We have engaged in lively conversation for over 22 years and 270 books and still are the best of friends. Too bad our Republican Representatives, and many of the Senators as well, are unable to practice basic civility.

Keep up the good work, including your recent stand against Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, and know that you have the full support of our book club…for what it’s worth. 

Our sincere thanks,

No Name Book Club

The Geography of Genius

Eric Weiner takes the reader on a trip through time and space to explore locations that experienced brief periods of explosive creativity and genius. From Socrates and the teachings of the ancient Greeks of Athens, to the advances of the poet emperors of 1300 Hangzhou China, to the brilliance of Leonardo and Michelangelo in Florence, to the modern thinkers of Edinburgh, to the random ideas of Calcutta, to the artistic and then scientific advances of Vienna, to finally the technologic advances of Silicon Valley. He tries to tie them all together by the three T's (technology, talent, and tolerance) but more appropriately by the three D's (disorder, diversity, and discernment). Bright individuals from various places came together to drink wine, beer, and coffee and share ideas and talents. The geniuses are the surfers that "will ride the wave beautifully." Or as Linus Pauling said, "You have a lot of ideas and throw away the bad ones."

Catalina No-names

 

The No Name Book Club held their 271st meeting in their 23rd year at the Staff family home in Avalon. Seven members and their wives held separate gatherings with the men outside and in the Ratskeller and the women in the dining room and living room. I hope everyone had a great time on the Island.

Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

“Calming, smiling, present moment, wonderful moment.”

I hope each of you are getting some “nuggets” from the short book. I find the book one that I can pick up at any point and find something to ponder. I admit, I have not set up a meditation room and I am not going about chanting Om. Yet the author does introduce the reader to the Buddhist teachings including the 3 gems, Buddha (awakening), Dharma (teachings), and Sangha (community). I have not memorized the 14 tenants of mindfulness training, although there is something to consider from each (with the exception of 14b). On the other hand, the point of Buddhism is that each individual needs to find his or her own inner peace.

In Siddhartha, Hess explains the difference between knowledge and wisdom, the importance of listening and understanding, and the personal journey that each of us needs to take. In Hanh’s book “Happiness” when talking about mindful walking, he mentions the quote “There is no way to peace; peace is the way” and asks the reader why rush “our final destination will only be the cemetery”. Our friend Tim Keenen referred to the concept of “the raft is not the shore”. Hahn points out that Buddha’s teachings are only a raft to help you cross the river and that no ideology is worth killing for.

Buddhism supports my core beliefs in family and community (sangha), protecting the environment, moderate consumption, being anti war, and supporting birth control. It allows the individual to have spiritual awareness without worshiping a god or having a rigid set of doctrines that must be followed.

The Chilean Poet

Thank you Bob for introducing us to a new author and the fascinating and passionate world of Chilean poets. I sense that the book loses some of the elegance of the Spanish language in translation, however some of the poetry makes it way through the story. The passion for language and sex comes through load and clear from Gustavo and Carla, to Vincente and Pru, to the rest of the rest of the cast and characters. The many poets have their own level of brilliance and command of words, yet at the same time they are dysfunctional and unproductive. Nonetheless, I am in awe of their poetic talents, knowledge of literature, and command of language (including foreign languages) that I will never have. The step-father and son relationship is a heart-warming conclusion by reuniting two like souls, Chilean Poets.

Iron Lake

Iron Lake is one of a series of detective stories by William Kent Kruger featuring Cork O'Connor. Cork is a hard-boiled former sheriff of the small town of Aurora on the shores of Lake Superior. Cork is part Irish and part Anishinaabe Indian and the book incorporates Indian folklore, particularly the call of death from the "Windigo". Many of the characters are grossly flawed from the town patriarchs, the new sheriff, the corrupt Indian gamers, to both Cork and his wife Jo. It is interesting how Cork and Jo see the infidelity of the other as wrong without also seeing it in themselves. The only truly good soles are the old Indian Meloux who helps save day and Mollie who sadly is murdered. 

Overall a good mystery read that gives you a taste of the cold far north and the potential secrets of a small town.

A Woman of No Importance

Who knew? Virginia Hall, Diane, La Madone...what an amazing individual. The book title is on the one hand mistitled, but on the other hand explains how she was underestimated. This worked to her advantage as a key figure in the French Resistance that avoided capture despite her notoriety. It also worked against her for recognition and promotions. Despite her handicap of a wooden leg, she accomplished amazing physical feats including crossing the Pyrenees in winter. The book gave credit to the many unsung heroes and heroines from the French Resistance, including the many radio operators and those that provided shelter and cover. The book pointed out the evil doers and traitors, particularly the abbe Alesch as well as the butcher of Lyon, Klaus Barbie. The level of evil and betrayal is hard to fathom and would be impossible for many to forgive. In addition, the author was not kind to the glory seeking Guallists and worthless agents that Virginia had to work with. Even after the war, the male dominated state department and CIA continued to overlook and underutilize this woman of significant importance. Only after her passing did Virginia receive much of the credit she richly deserves for helping to make the world safe for democracy. 

The Good Hike

The book revolves around the 172 day, 2,183 mile "thru-hike" by NANEEK (Keenan backwards) of the Appalachian Trail. Mixed in with Tim's daily recap of the highlights of the journey, are flashbacks to his one year of combat duty in Viet Nam. It was a grueling challenge for the 62-63 year old guy and it took the help of his young female hiking partner along with "trail magic" from multiple angels to get him to the finish line. The simple life of eat, drink, sleep, and hike helped the author find an inner peace and address some demons from his time in the infantry. The emotions come through in his reliving the lives lost, the physical and psychological injuries, as well as the joy of returning from a war zone. Tim even goes on to meet his commander "Grisly" and meet former Vietnamese solders to confront his hated and racism. The good hike is not for the faint of heart and Mr. Keenan has much to be proud of.

Promised Land

Between Kindle and Audible I was just able to complete Barack Obama's lengthy book covering his rise to the presidency and his first couple of years in office. I was reluctant to take up a book recanting an inspirational leader from a more optimistic time. Nonetheless, Obama's voice comes through, not just on Audible, and the spirit of "Yes we can" remains. I miss the intellectual statesman that carefully read the PDB's and sought consensus from his capable cabinet before making the hard decisions. As he explains, decisions that reach the president are never easy and often require the least worst option. Barack's human caring side comes through from his regular visits to Walter Reed to townhall meetings with young people all over the world. He was, and still is, the ambassador of the "Promised Land.", and that "America's democratic, rights-based, pluralistic system, could still deliver on the promise of a better life." I felt that Obama wanted to set the historical record straight. Upon reflection, he also provides some warning and prophecy. "Except now I found myself asking whether those impulses of violence, greed, corruption, nationalism, racism, and religious intolerance, the all-to-human desire to beat back our uncertainty and mortality and sense of insignificance by subordinating others, were too strong for any democracy to permanently contain." Can America rekindle the audacity of hope?

Bruno, Chief of Police

My book selection is the first of several stories by Martin Walker involving a local policeman in a small fictional village in the Dordogne region of France. There are currently 19 books in the series (see https://www.orderofbooks.com/characters/bruno-chief-of-police/). I just finished my eighth one, The Patriarch, and I feel like I know the main characters and can almost taste the food and the wine. The books are a great escape and are more about the region, the people, the food, and the wine than the crime stories themselves. On the other hand, Walker is a great story teller and each book comes to an exciting climax that somehow pulls together a complex plot. As the author says in the Forbes article below, "I am a story teller. Its the people, and the setting of the people. The Perigord is the real star."

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/dining/martin-walker-bruno-chief-of-police-perigord.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickpassmore/2017/07/15/author-martin-walker-on-bruno-chief-of-police-of-saint-denis-and-his-life-in-food-wine/?sh=3bd68b6e112a

Grant

Chernow's book is a long detailed account of the life of an American hero, US Grant. Grant was a flawed man that was brave, honest, and loyal to a fault. In his own words concerning his mistakes, "If a mistake was made, it was a mistake of the mind and not of the heart." His major flaws were alcohol and naivete in business that the author exposes in detail. On the other hand he was a brilliant general whose master plan won the war for the North after a series of failed leaders. He built a team with Sherman, Sheridan and others that turned the tied. He was the perfect support for Lincoln and realized that slavery was the central issue of the war. As president he brought peace, reduced the army and the debt, and protected the 4 million freed slaves. He was a champion of all races and was president under the 13th (slavery), 14th (citizenship), and 15th (voting rights for all male citizens), as well as the first civil rights act. His presidencies were plagued by corruption and petty politics, and he struggled with the challenges of implementing reconstruction in a racist country. Interesting that the "radical republicans" were the civil rights activists and the democrats were mostly racists. It sometimes feels like the "Lost Cause" will never die, particularly in the South. I took away an appreciation of the greatness of Grant and a feeling that his place in history has been unfairly tarnished.

Suggestible You

Bill's selection is a collection of stories, tricks, and narratives that can alter the human mind by changing our expectations. Much of the book explores the placebo effect in treating pain and chronic illness. He explores the challenge of separating the placebo effect from the chemical effect of a drug. He also examines the ability of the human body to produce it's own defenses to combat a illness. The author is raised as a Christian Scientist and does not turn away from the effectiveness of his religion in helping true believers. On the other hand, he points out that placebos do not work on cancer, broken bones, and many other maladies. The author divides people in categories based on there genetic code as met/met (25%), met/val (50%), and val/val (25%) with the met/met group being most open to suggestion (placebos, hypnosis, false narratives). Makes you wonder if the vast majority of Trumpians and Christian Scientists are met/met. The book concludes that all of us should consider the power of suggestion in improving our wellbeing. 

Beneath the Scarlet Sky

John's selection is an historical semi-fictional book about a bigger than life Italian WW2 war hero. Although he faces extreme violence and injustice, he somehow does not succumb to the evil all around him. With the aid of the Catholic Church he assists in the escape of Italian Jews before serving as a spy while driving for a top Nazi general. He falls in love, performs daring driving escapes, and confronts both Nazi's, fascists, and partisans. Even after witnessing the extermination of Jews and slave labor by the Nazi's, along with the killing of his friend and lover by the partisans, he keeps his faith. The book focuses on man's inhumanity to man and I cannot recall Pino taking a life. He is a war hero that was not a killing machine.

The American Story

Stanley's selection is a series of conversations by David Rubenstein with expert historians on key individuals in "The American Story". Each of the historians interviewed studied their subjects for several years with Pulitzer prize publications. The chapters included Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Lindberg, MLK, Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan. The final chapter was an interesting conversation with the chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts. The book was a great history lesson despite being redundant and a little disjointed. A good read nonetheless.

The Midnight Library

Matt Haig is is children's book writer that takes on the very serious subject of depression, despair, and suicide in a positive and actually uplifting way. The down-and-out 30 something young woman travels through multiple alternative universes in her "midnight library" to discard her "book of regrets" and begin to write her blank "book of her future".  With the limited help of her imaginary librarian, Nora rediscovers her will to live and the endless opportunities available to her. The author injects words of wisdom and helpful philosophy to guide the reader to Nora's rebirth...I AM ALIVE.

American Dirt

American Dirt is a fictional tale of the plight of undocumented immigration from Latin America by a myriad of characters. The main characters are a mother and an 8 year old son that flee the cartel in Acapulco after all 16 of their family members have been killed. The story line includes two other asylum seekers that are sisters from Honduras, a young boy from the TJ slums, a young man from the cartel, a college student, a mother from San Diego, and seasonal workers from Veracruz. The coyote is an admirable man and the bad guys are the cartels and narcos, the border control, and American vigilantes. 

The author works Spanish words in the narrative, particularly in relation to the world of immigration. She uses "el norte" for the US, "la bestia" for the Mexican freight trains, and "la migra" for the US Boarder Patrol. It makes the read a little more challenging and I am glad I have been doing Duolingo. The story line is a bit far fetched and the author does get a little wordy, but overall the book is an enlightening look intro the world of refugees. 

Twilight of Democracy

 The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism

Bob's selection is written by a long-term, well-connected political journalist. Applebaum has personal connections to her homeland of Poland, Hungary, Great Britain, and the US. She is also an author and expert on the Soviet Union. This makes her an expert on both current right-wing as well as previous left-wing authoritarians of whom she makes little differentiation. Both seek to create a one-party system that controls the military, the press, and the judiciary. 

Applebaum describes herself as politically center right. On the other hand, she uses the word liberal to describe the the need for democracies to demand participation, argument, effort, struggle and tolerance. I particularly like the way she explains the difference between reflective nostalgia and the restorative nostalgia used by authoritarians. The restorative nostalgia creates a past that fits their grim narrative that only they can fix. It is eerie how the four right wing parties share the same memes, conspiracy theories, and platforms. From George Soros, to Covid, to immigration, to racism. She explains how many of her former friends have been lost to the movements of their respective authoritarians. 

Sapiens (a not so brief history)

Harari's 2014 book is a comprehensive work covering most every subject involving homo sapiens. The author takes you through a journey of Physics (14b BC), Chemistry (4b BC), Biology (300k BC), first humans (70k BC), Cognitive cooperation and Agricultural Revolution (10k BC), early empires (2000 BC), religion, money, politics, scientific revolution (1500), technology, military, and modern scientific developments. Much of the book focuses on the last 500 years and does not shed a positive light on human development. The author has a low opinion of humans being able to collaborate and solve problems and even suggests that we are biologically predestined to fail.

The author writes in the final chapter that homo sapiens are, "Self-made gods with only the laws of physics to keep us company, we are accountable to no one. We are consequently wreaking havoc on our fellow animals and on the surrounding ecosystem, seeking little more than our own comfort and amusement, yet never finding satisfaction." 

Haran is like a Bill Bryson with fewer cleaver stories. He covers most every human related subject imaginable, however the book lacks continuity. I took away from the book a negative view of homo sapiens with a defeatist attitude about the future. Yet this book was written before a US administration that was a climate change denying, white supremacist promoting, arms race disaster. This book could have been named the Problem is Us vs. the Power of Us. 

The Power of Us

The Power of Us is a book about the benefits of open and sharing organizations in today's world. David Price addresses how successful companies and schools utilize open participation and learning to engage users to achieve personal interests, social goals, as well as organizational goals. Control is garined by giving it up. Open organizations gain support and commitment through sharing. David has a unique ability to relate and appreciate young people and see the potential they have to solve the many problems facing the world today.

David was kind enough to join our meeting today from the UK and was a terrific addition to our discussions. Thank you David!

Socrates Express

Bill's selection is an unusual collection of an author's take on 12 of his favorite philosophers combined with 12 train trips. Having spent some time myself on trains, I can relate to the time alone to think big thoughts. The author describes the varied philosophical ideas in relatively simple terms with a positive spin. My favorite quote is from Nietzsche in addressing contentment, "Don't resign yourself to your fate. Don't accept your fate. Love it. Desire it." I enjoyed the curiosity of Socrates, the joy of the Epicurians, the Asian appreciation of the small things, the kindness of Confucius, and the caring and attention of Simone Weil. The book made me think about how great life is, or as my grandkids have all said, "again, again."

Killers of the Flower Moon

John's selection is a cold case study of the murders of the Osage Indians in Oklahoma during the 1920's. Much of the book deals with the 24 known killings for the headrights, or oil rights, that were investigated by local law enforcement, private investigators, and the newly created FBI.  The guilty parties included a wealthy rancher, a banker, outlaws, spouses, and guardians. It turns out there are hundreds of suspicious deaths in the "Reign of Terror" that involved countless evil opportunists. 

The book is a sad reflection of how a blessing of oil rights became a curse to the Osage. On the one hand, they became the wealthiest people of their time by retaining mineral rights to their assign land. On the other hand, they became the target of abuse and murder. The Osage murders are yet another ugly chapter of America's abuse and injustice involving Native Americans.

Man of the Future

 Was/is Jerry Brown a man of the future?

The biography is a travel though time in California for our generation. From his father's state college and aqueduct projects, to Watts, Black Panthers, Manson, Jim Jones, SLA, and OJ, to anti-Viet Nam, drugs, and anti-Nukes, to anti-tax Prop 13 and anti-immigrant 187, to justice reform and climate change action. Jerry was there throughout lending his insight and guiding hand.

Jerry Brown lives by two credos, "Do what you are doing" and "Live in the inquiry". At the end of the book he describes himself as a "skeptically Catholic enthusiastic romantic". He is a unique liberal politician that also believes that "small is beautiful". He served two 8 year terms as the Governor of California with 28 years in between. Always thinking, argumentative in a good way, and a man of great wisdom. 

I think he is a man for the present...too bad he is not younger. Maybe he can be on our next Zoom meeting?

Whitehead - Underground Railroad and Nickel Boys

The first book is a story about the terrible ordeals endured by a young black slave that escapes her bondage though the aid of the Underground Railroad. The book describes in explicit detail the inhumane treatment on the large Georgian plantation, the creepy new order and subjugation of South Carolina, the murderous mobs of North Carolina, the disorder of Tennessee, and the brief but not lasting comfort of Indiana. The runaway, Cora, is pursued by the Slave catcher Ridgeway, aided by Caesar in her escape, abolitionists along the way, and Royal on her final leg. The evil, cruelty, and death are almost too much to take, yet she escapes it all to journey west. 

David's second selection, The Nickel Boys, involves the trials and tribulations of a black man growing up in the South in the 60's. The story revolves around a reform school in Florida that tortured and abused young men, particularly the "colored" boys. The main character, Elwood, is a morally strong young man that appears to somehow survive his unjust fate, with a twist at the end.

Both books show the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity. As Elwood quotes Martin Luther King..."But be assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer, and one day we will win our freedom. We will not only win freedom for ourselves, we will so appeal to your heart and your conscience that we will win you in the process and our victory will be a double victory."

Educated

Educated is a remarkable story of a young Mormon girl from rural Idaho that overcomes incredible obstacles to obtain a Phd from Harvard and Cambridge. She grows up in a poor family with a bipolar father, and absent mother, and 6 siblings. She endures physical and mental abuse and somehow tests in to college despite limited home schooling.
The story is one of an endless attempt by Tara to be part of an abusive and dysfunctional family. She is finally able to break away and obtain her independence, as are two of her siblings. The other four siblings never obtain an education and remain a part of their family compound at Bucks Peak.
The book is a study of two worlds in America, the god-fearing, anti-government, end of world zealots, and the Illuminati. Scary stuff.

The Body

The Body is the fourth book we have read by Bill Bryson and it is similar in style to A Short History of Nearly Everything. Instead of being about nearly everything about us, the body attempts to cover nearly everything within us. Bryson covers all of our major body parts, explains our internal bodily systems, guts, and microbes, explains how the body functions, and describes the threats of disease, treatment, aging, and death. Bryson again takes on an extremely complex and grand topic and explains it in a way that we can all comprehend...at least on some level.
The insight concerning infectious diseases is particularly timely and the specific information on prostate cancer hit close to home. The book ends by reminding us all of our imminent demise, however Bryson again brings to our attention the wonder of our existence.

The Story of More

or everything you wanted to know about Climate Science by the author of Lab Girl.

I enjoyed the short and concise book that covers a broad range of environmental issues facing today's world. The author focuses on the 50 years since she was born in 1969 from the prospectus of someone who grew up in America's heartland. She mixes in interesting stories and factoids that make the material more interesting and relatable. Her message to the developed countries is that we need to conserve and share all of the Earth's food, energy, and other resources.
More than once she states that our energy consumption should be no more than the Swiss in the 1960's. Each of us should use less plastic, eat less meat, drive less, fly less, and use less energy. She downplays wind and solar (<5%) and technology in general for solving our "Story of More." It is up to each of us to save ourselves by consuming less.

The Accidental President

...and the four months that changed the world.
The book is a about the unlikely rise of Harry Truman to President of the United States and how he handled the first four months of his presidency. The author takes the somewhat questionable position that Truman never wanted to be president. He allows him significant relief from responsibility due to being thrust on the scene in the most difficult of times with little preparation. Truman proves to be hard working and decisive and up until Potsdam and the dropping of the atomic bombs, I admired his accomplishments.
On the other hand, the challenges of the world may have been too much for Truman. I am not sure any one man could have lead us successfully through those months of 1945. Where were the woman and the scientist in the decision making? Why did we drop the A-bomb on Hiroshima, much less on Nagasaki? We have all heard the military establishment argument that the A-bombs possibly saved the lives of more soldiers on both sides from a prolonged war. But why didn't we simply demonstrate its power? For that matter, why did we constantly firebomb civilians in Tokyo? Was racism a factor?
The Truman Doctrine and the Marshal Plan were very successful in rebuilding Europe and Japan and the U.S. somehow avoided hyper-inflation and recession after the war. On the other hand, the Cold War with the USSR, the civil war in China, and the Korean conflict started under his watch. The author points out that although Truman did not have high approval ratings after his first couple of months, he is now considered one of the nations top 10 Presidents. Although I like the way Harry Truman is portrayed as a man, I see the danger of someone in over his head surrounded by too much testosterone. At least he read briefs and tried to do the right thing.

The Splendid and the Vile

Review by Bill...

"The Splendid and the Vile is a recounting of the hectic first year of Winston Churchill's Prime Ministership, from May 1940 to May 1941. As I hope most readers already know, Churchill took office at a moment of extreme challenge for the British Empire, when Nazi Germany had conquered most of Europe. Over the next year Churchill guided his nation through innumerable perils, as bombs flattened cities and killed thousands while a badly outnumbered but valiant air force fought back against a seemingly all powerful foe.

This is a tale which has been told many times before, but it always bears recounting, especially at the hands of such a masterly story teller as Erik Larson, who is well known for creating works of history that read like the most sensational fiction. Here Larson portrays Churchill not only as the indomitable war leader but also as a harried husband and father, dealing with a wayward son and daughter in law, a teenage daughter, a loving but mercurial wife, and a lifetime habit of lavish spending that his income could not support. Churchill the crafty diplomat and Machiavellian is also well depicted, especially in Larson's recountings of the Prime Minister's efforts to convince the US President (another Machiavellian) to bring his country into the war. We also get personal views of what life was like during the Blitz and the Battle of Britain from the memoirs and other accounts of countless numbers of ordinary Londoners, along with asides from the German leadership's own point of view."

The Overstory

The book is a collection of 8 separate stories tied together like branches on a tree. Each of the characters are connected to trees in some fashion and five of them ultimately participate in acts of eco-terrorism. Doug-fir, Mulberry, Watchman, Maple, and Maidenhair take their passion for saving the forests to the extreme and end up paying dearly. In addition, a troubled couple find comfort and peace in their overgrown property, a highly successful paraplegic programmer designs an alternate computer game to try to stop mankind form environmental suicide, and a botanist writer finds an audience to listen to the trees.
At the same time, the book is about the trees and looking at the world from their perspective. Powers teaches us about Chestnuts, Aspens, Oaks, Redwoods, Firs, Mulberries, Maples, Ginkgoes, and so many more that humans often fail to observe. "You can't see what you don't understand. But what you think you already understand, you'll fail to notice." He tells us that 1.5 billion years ago we evolved separately from trees but still retain 25% of their genes. Nonetheless in a fraction of the last second of the world's evolutionary clock we have destroyed nearly 80% of the world's forests.
It is a sobering story that makes you think about your place in the world.

Washington Black

Stanley's book is an adventure story about an emancipated slave growing up in the 1830's. He is born a slave on a plantation in Barbados, balloons and sails to adventures in the Arctic, makes a life and avoids a bounty hunter in Nova Scotia, moves to London with a marine biologist and his daughter, and reunites with his mentor in the African desert. Characters include Wash, his mother Big Kit, his mentor Titch, plantation slave owner Erasmus, their cousin Philip, marine biologist Goff, and his companion daughter Tanna. There are issues of slavery, dependency, independence, pride, and the mental baggage from discrimination and abuse. I am not sure what I take away from the book and the ending..."What is the truth of any life, Titch?..."You cannot know the true nature of another's suffering." Nonetheless, in following the fanciful life of a disfigured ex-slave, the reader gets a picture of the racial prejudice that persists to this day from the many years of slavery.

Ordinary Grace

Krueger's novel is a coming of age story revolving around five deaths in a small Minnesota town in the summer of 1961. The story is told by 13 year old Frank as he describes the effect of the deaths on his family and the community. The author develops the characters of his brother Jake, father Nathan and mother Ruth, his father's friend Gus, sister Arial, Emil and Lise, Karl Brant, Warren Redstone, and more. There is mystery and intrigue in a who done it story in which Frank states, "there is no such thing as a true event?" The book explores the role of religion in families and communities, as well as the way we recognize death. "The dead are never far from us. They're in our hearts and on our minds and in the end all that separates us from them is a single breath, one final puff of air."
Overall it is a very good read that I recommend.

Permanent Record

Ed Snowden's book is an interesting read and thought provoking. He is on the one hand a disturbed and selfish individual, but also a young man of principals. His computer skills enable him to perform programming tasks with ease and utilize tools to avoid detection. His life navigates the evolution of computing from a Commodore 64, to mainframes, to PC's, to cloud computing. His security skills allow him to read, write, execute, encrypt, and hide. His security clearance working with the NSA and CIA provides him access to the inner workings of the intelligence community, ultimately leading to his decision to become a whistleblower on the practice of mass surveillance.
The book is good at giving insight to the intelligence community, the "deep state", Wikileaks, metadata, cloud computing, and the potential threats of mass surveillance. I am not sure I share Ed's level of paranoia, however he does raise my level of concern that we are being watched.

Zealot

"The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth" by Reza Aslan
Who was Jesus of Nazareth and when did he become Jesus Christ the son of God?
When was he born? When did he start preaching? When did he die? When was it first told he was resurrected? What was the Jewish Temple-state centered in Jerusalem and what happened in 70 AD? Who was King David and the Kingdom of God? What are the Laws of Moses, the Sanhedrin, and the Roman occupation of Palestine? What is the difference between crucifixion and stoning? Who was John the Baptist? Who were the 12 disciples? Were they poor and illiterate and who wrote the New Testament? Did Jesus have a younger brother James and what about the Virgin Mary? Who was James, Paul/Saul, Peter? What happened to the disciples? How did Christianity survive the Roman occupation? What is a Gentile, Philistine, Hellenist, Hebrews? Where is the Diaspora, what are epistles, gospels, letters, the Q?
Aslan answers these questions and many more while addressing the big question, was Jesus just a man, the messiah, or the son of God? The author is an Iranian that accepted Jesus Christ when he was 16 at Summer camp. He went on the extensive religious studies and concludes at the end of the book the "Jesus of Nazareth - Jesus the man - is every bit as compelling, charismatic, and praiseworthy as Jesus the Christ. He is worth believing in." He gives respect and praise to James the Just for his devout faith and dedication to serving the poor. He was critical of Paul/Saul/disciple 13 for his self-serving promotion.
I don't know about you guys, but I feel that I leaned a lot more than I thought I knew from Bible class.

Dr Jones comments... I enjoyed “Zealot,” and it reminded me of facts I learned back at Princeton Seminary.  At the time, it caused me to question a lot of things about the Christian mythology. Apparently, at the Jesus period, anyone of importance, such as a Persian prince, or a messiah, was said to be born of a virgin. Hence, the Gospel writers needed to honor Jesus the Christ accordingly.  (Too bad, Mary!)

If you liked Zealot, be sure to read Aslan's book "God - A Human History."
Aslan is able to explain complex religious beliefs in a way that is easy to follow and understand. "God" starts with ancient humans with their painted caves and multiple gods related to their hunter-gatherer natural world. He moves on the the humanized gods starting approximately 3,000 years ago including the pantheon of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Babylonian gods. He describes the evolution of the Jewish top god El to the one god Yahweh, the existence of two gods (good/evil) of the Zoroastrians, and the trinity (father/son/holy spirit) of Christianity. Then he takes the reader to the non-human form of the one god Allah in Islam to ultimately (in his belief) to the Sufi concept that god is in everything.
I found the book fairly easy to follow, both historically and logically. The book reminded me of Bryson's book "A Short History of Nearly Everything"...everything religious that is.  The book "God" ends with the following: "Believe in God or not. Define God how you will. Either way, take a lesson from our mythological ancestors Adam and Eve and eat from the fruit. You need not fear God. You are God."

Where the Crawdads Sing

"Painfully beautiful...At once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative, and a celebration of nature." New York Times Book Review
Delia Owen's first novel is a captivating page-turner. Yes, she does get into the biology of the marsh/swamp, but that is what makes the story more fascinating. The two timeline stories, the detailed nature descriptions, the poetry, the survival instinct, and the mystery make for an enjoyable read.
I do not want to give away any of the plot so I will leave it at that...I highly recommend this book!

What would the Great Economists do?

This book was like reading a master's thesis, very informative but kind of a slog.
The author picked 12 famous economists, 13 including Samuelson, and provided a summary of their beliefs, a recap of their lives, and how they might see today's economic situation. She started with the founder of economic studies in Adam Smith, the economic applications to foreign trade by David Ricardo, the option of socialism and communism from Karl Marx, the quantified studies and dangers of inequality by Alfred Marshall, the dangers of protectionism from Irving Fisher, the argument for government spending and fiscal manipulation in John Maynard Keynes, the study of innovation and obsolescence with Joseph Schumpeter, business cycle theory from Fredrich Hayek, imperfect competition with Joan Robinson, Libertarian limited government from Milton Friedman, and economic disparity and stagnation from Douglas North and Robert Solow. The epilogue chapter pulls in the comprehensive approach of Paul Samuelson and states how each would deal with today's challenges of Trumpism and Brexit.
The book does give the reader a sense of the complex nature of the study of economics. Although it can involve detailed analysis and models, economics has proven to be an inexact science due to irrational behavior caused by social, psychological, and political factors. We tend to look at factors such as the unemployment rate rather than the number underemployed or the true number of employable workers. Little attention has been given to the fact that that average wages for the working classes in the US and the UK have not increased in 40 years despite the overall growth in the economies. Inequality continues to be a major concern that none of the experts seem to have an answer for. ICT has not lead to much of an increase in worker productivity and there is a deep concern for stagnation in developed countries.
Recent US and UK policies sound a lot like the "secular stagnation" that happened leading up to the great depression consisting of closing frontiers and immigration. A healthy economy needs rule of law, strong institutions, fair and open trade, and strong social norms. Hopefully recent governmental policies are not leading us too much afield.

12 Rules for Life

Wow...this is a different view on life.

The book can be summarized by the titles of the 12 chapters and rehashed in the final chapter. Clearly the author is very smart and very opinionated. He provided me with insight to many philosophers including Nietzsche, Jung, Descartes, Solzhenitsyn, and Dostoevsky. He explained bible stories including Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, the Old Testament vs. New Testament, and the meaning behind the Sermon on the Mount. He even gave good advice for relationships..."do you want to be right or do you want to have peace."
On the other hand, I take issue with many of his stated beliefs. For me he overstates the suffering of being, promotes male aggressive domination, sees Christianity as a necessary guiding light to understand good and evil, and has little trust in science and rational thought.
In reading the book I went from picturing our book club searching for meaning and truth, to thinking of the disenchanted white Americans that make up the Trump base.

The book was thought provoking, but I would not recommend it to many people, including my wife.

Frozen in Time

JTH's adventure book covered the stories of 4 downed lost planes in Greenland during WWII, the rescue efforts and survival stories, and the modern day expedition to try and retrieve the rescue plane and crew. The crashed planes included a C-53 transport where all crew was lost, a B-17 where the Canadian crew were able to walk to safety, and the B-17 PN9E that is focused on in the book. The crew of the PN9E survived over 4 months of extreme winter conditions due to heroic efforts from a supply plane, dog teams, the PBY Catalina team, and the crashed crashed Grumman Duck. The book goes back and forth between the survival story of the PN9E and the current day harried expedition to retrieve the Grumman Duck rescue plane and it's two occupants. It is interesting to learn about the hash conditions of Greenland as well as the great lengths mankind will extend to retrieve lost ones.

The Second Mountain

OK Stanley, I am confused...you chose a book written by a Jewish kid, that went to Christian schools and summer camps, became a secular Marxist in college, went to work for William F. Buckley upon graduation, is the "conservative" political perspective for Yale, the New York Times and PBS, divorces his converted Jewish wife, then marries a cute young thing and becomes a Evangelical Christian.
On top of that, he writes books on Sociology including "The Social Animal" and this one. I like and agree with much of the book, but he really looses me in the faith section. The book addresses occupation vs. vocation, contract vs. true marriage, logic vs. faith, and tribes vs. community. He describes himself as a "wondering Jew and a very confused Christian." His commitment to Christianity requires a "belief in the absurd" and he realizes that he can come across as a know-it-all.
The second mountain requires an unselfish commitment to community. He talks about the concept of weave and a commitment to serve others. He identifies with the Evangelical Christians and a humbling before God. At the same time he admits Evangelicals have in inferiority complex concerning intellect and a superiority concept concerning morals.
My take on the book is David Brooks is a complicated and somewhat confused guy. The second mountain is basically an altruistic commitment to serve ones community. To me a moral society is not dependent of blind faith.

The Third Hotel

Just finished David's book and I am not sure what happened...
Clara is a 37 year old Midwest elevator saleswomen taking a trip to Havana for a film festival featuring a Zombie horror movie. Her husband was a film professor that died a month before in an accident involving a late walk and a car. She goes ahead with the trip anyway, regularly seeing visions of her late husband and chasing them throughout Havana. The horror films help with the dislocation from reality. She becomes a guest/patient at a resort/asylum, gets in a train wreck, and somehow leaves Cuba for Florida.
Clara is a train wreck. She wanted to be married yet wanted to leave. She was an off-putting child that had regrets with her parents. She becomes a total mess with the death of her husband and a feeling of guilt.
The book is very difficult to follow. It is all over the place chronologically from zombies to fingernails.
Unusual book!

Dopesick

What is Dopesick?

Dave's book was an everything you could want to know about the current opioid epidemic and how we got here in America and especially in Appalachia. From smoking opium, to injecting morphine and later heroine, opioid usage did not take off in Appalachia until the introduction of prescription pain killers. Purdue industries promoted and distributed the pills OxyContin as a non-addictive pain killer for effective treatment of acute and chronic pain. The pills were wildly over prescribed and distributed through various pill mills resulting in massive abuse and addiction.

Dopesick is the pain and suffering resulting from trying to break the addition to opioids. The suffering is so bad that people will sacrifice everything to chase the next hit. The current policies focusing on punishment and imprisonment rather than treating it as an illness and health crisis has not worked. It is a tremendous problem that is killing many Americans. It will require years of long term drug maintenance programs and added healthcare. Maybe the Sackler family can foot some of the bill from their profits.

March book selection

My book selection for March is a murder mystery featuring Inspector Armand Gamache set in a small village in the Canadian province of Quebec. The author, Louis Penny, has written 15 books in the series and the first one was written in 2005 and titled Still Life. Liz has read all 15 and I am currently enjoying #4. There may be little to no discussion to follow, other than what is with the quirky characters in Three Pines and would we want to live there.

Hope you enjoy the escape...here are some key players:
Surete chief inspector Armond Gamache, wife Rene Marie
Artists Clara and Peter Morrow
Bistro and B&B gay hosts Gabri and Olivier
Crazy foul-mouthed poet Ruth Zardo
Book store psychologist Myrna
Assistant detective Jean Guy Beauvoir, trusted agent Isabelle Lacoste, and troubled agent Yvette Nichol

The Circuit

Just finished Bob's sports selection all about the 2017 professional tennis circuit. The book truly digs into the personalities and athletic specialties of many of the top 20 or so male players. Although 2017 ended with a sense of natural order of Nadal and Federer clearly establishing themselves as the number 1 and 2 players, you witness the fall of Murray and the struggles of Djokovic from injury, and simultaneously sense the rise of many young stars ready to move into the top positions. The book lets you experience the grind of the long season and the struggles to get to the top levels. It provides a window to the sheltered, privileged, yet tortured life of the typical tennis star and the often brooding and boorish behavior. The book is an everything you every wanted to know about men's tennis written by someone that loves the game...maybe TMI

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

At first I was skeptical of Paul's choice this month thinking that it was going to be another business book on how to succeed in the 21st Century. It turns out that Yuval Harari is a gay male historian living on an Israeli commune practicing extensive meditation. The 21 lessons are his deep thoughts organized in chapters from disillusionment to meditation.
Harari states that the only certainty in life is change and he fears that many people are in danger of becoming irrelevant. He describes religions and politics as collections of stories. Nations are built on these stories resulting in nationalism, communism, and liberalism. People adopt various levels of religious belief based on Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, or other stories. The author states that moral behavior does not depend on religion and only a secular society has the primary objectives of seeking truth, compassion, and freedom.
The author feels that people should be aware of the dangers of power, technology, and rituals in controlling our minds. He feels that though meditation we can better understand our own minds and have a better chance of finding truth.
Yes Paul, this book should make for an interesting conversation.

Exit West

Bill's selection of Exit West is a timely personalizing of the current immigration crisis. We all tend to forget that refugees from Syria and other war torn countries are very much like you and me. They are, more often than not, bright, skilled, and hard working young people that are able to contribute mightily if given the chance. Mostly they are good people that are subjected to tremendous hardship through no fault of their own. The author puts a face on these individuals and their secret doorways of escape.

Tailspin

The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall and Those Fighting to Reverse It
Steven Brill's book is a detailed explanation of everything that is screwed up in America and how we got here. He divides Americans into the protected and the unprotected. Although the country has prospered over the past 50 years, the profits and spoils have primarily gone to the protected class. He describes this group as the meritocracy (as opposed to the aristocracy) that has taken over with their talents and privilege. With advance training, this privileged group has used the "financialization" of the "casino economy" to accumulate vast wealth and control. Unions and workers have been greatly weakened and inequality has risen to new heights. Workers have been left behind by globalization and automation combined with inadequate retraining. Poverty levels continue to plague the country along with decreasing safety nets.
In the mean time, the protected class has built "moats" to safeguard their interests. Using techniques such as gerrymandering to suppress voters, Hastert Rule to block legislation, and the nuclear option to pass judges, congress has been able to serve their special interests. Money has become a major factor in all legislation, particularly with the recent passing of the Citizen's United case removing limits on corporate contributions.
The book describes a steady progression of enriching the protected meritocracy from the complaining Carter, the exploiting Reagan, the finessing Clinton, the shopping W, the hopeful Obama, leading to the irrational Trump. The Republicans have been a unifying force in leading the progression (ie Newt 90's) culminating in the total resistance of the Obama administration.
The book ends by calling for resistance from a coalition of the middle class and the poor to "storm the moats." Unfortunately, "Things may get worse before they get better."

How Democracies Die

This 2018 book by Levitrsky and Ziblatt is a warning to Americans of what is currently happening to our "democracy" and where we may be headed. The book examines the fate of previous democracies on their path to authoritarian states from Europe in the 1930's, Latin America in the 1970's, and more recent authoritarian rulers. More often than not, "democratic breakdowns have been caused not by generals and soldiers but by elected governments themselves." The authors warn against the gradual breakdown of democratic norms and use the terms tolerance (acceptance) and forbearance (restraint) to describe how a democracy can be sustained. They describe authoritarian rule as rejecting the democratic rules, denying legitimacy of opponents, tolerating violence, and readiness to curtail civil liberties. The Republican party has made a pact with the devil by nominating a president that meets all four criteria. The authors point out that this erosion of democratic norms has been a gradual process that has accelerated since the late 90's. Republicans have been greatly influenced by big money groups, the Tea Party movement, focused media, and racial identity. The book ends with a chapter titled "Saving Democracy" and describes three possible futures for America. They have suggestions for both parties and provide hope that through elections and strengthening of the "guardrails" the democracy can be saved.

What does it take to have a successful Book Club?

A few weeks ago, PBS had a guy on the Newshour who stated 7 things he felt it took to make a successful male book club.

1. Pick a good name - He came up with "Literary Domination Society" to sound macho. We settled on no name.
2. Take turns picking the book - check
3. Pick new and interesting books - check...mostly
4. Everyone must read the books - check
5. Rate all the books - check...eventually
6. Keep records - check
7. Keep going - double check

We are about to complete our 20th year, even without a name. Way to go guys!

How to Change Your Mind

Eight months ago Dr. J had us read a difficult book called How Emotions are Made. This time we read an equally tough book on how to unmake the organized brain. The author teaches us everything we ever wanted to know about psychedelic drugs, provides a comprehensive history of their development, and takes us along for three trips on LSD, mushrooms, and smoking the toad. Pollan provides an argument in support of the benefits of psychedelics for providing end of life comfort, treating addictions, and dealing with depression and anxiety.  He also suggests that we may be once again moving towards accepting psychedelic drugs for recreation use and finding spirituality.
I enjoyed learning about familiar names of the psychedelic 60's from Abby Hoffman (discovered LSD) to Timothy Leary (Harvard professor and LSD for all). There was Ken Keasy, Marshall McLuhan, Cary Grant, Aldous Huxley, Allen Ginsberg, Eldrich Cleaver, Robert Kennedy, Ram Dash, and John Lennon. There was the interesting conservative character Al Hubbard providing support for the early development to the ultimate demise from the overreach of Timothy Leary. The book gave more meaning to the phases "far out", "acid test", "psychedelic", "peace and love", "be here now", and "tune in, turn on, drop out".
The author ends by praising the benefits of psychedelics for combating the over-active default mode network (DMN) brain. We live in a world with high depression, anxiety, OCD, and addiction, that can be treated by non-addictive drugs that increase entropy and thinking outside the box. He points out that many in Silicon Valley (ie. Jobs) have been taking micro doses to help their creative thinking. He argues that a pure psychedelic, taken in the proper amount, with a trained guide, can be a benefit to many people by quieting the ego and increasing ones spirituality.
The book left me thinking that I am not ready to book my trip, but I am more open to seeing the potential benefits. There will be tremendous resistance from the current social order, however who knows where it will eventually go?

Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials

This book was kind of a downer about Millennials written by an unhappy Millennial. The book defines the Millennial generation as the group of Americans born between 1980 and 2000 (now 28 to 38). Our book club consists of Baby Boomers (1946-1965) and late Silent Generation. The author, Malcolm Harris, is a self described communist and editor at The New Inquiry.
The book takes the reader through childhood, college, and work to describe the life and times of the generation. He addresses law enforcement, reward systems, and consequential generational behavior. Oddly the overall behavior of Millennials is better than one would expect given their age and prior generation roll models. Despite the dangers of social media and easy access to drugs and porn, drug and sexual abuse are down in the overall group (particularly when discounting for use of marijuana). He portrays the generation as victims suffering "intellectual degradation" that is overly "managed in the workplace."
The author has a point that the generation is inheriting significant problems of inequality, debt, and environmental damage. It will be up to his generation to tackle these critical issues and I hope there are individuals that will be up to the challenge. The author comes across as overtly cynical and his "seven signs of the bad future" paint a bleak picture. Hopefully a tactic including a combination of "buy it", "vote it", "give it", "protest it", and "put it down" will help guide the generation towards constructive change and positive solutions.

Waking up White

Bob's book was an interesting choice of a woman's take on the very sensitive issue of racism. Wikipedia states that "racism" has evolved from a believe in the unique differences in races of humans (ie. genetics) to a modern definition of the practice of racial discrimination. A recent poll asked if our president was a racist and 49 percent said yes and 46 percent said no, mostly along party lines. The truth is we are probably all racist to a certain degree. On the other hand, the current administration practices and supports white supremacy and empowers racial discrimination.
The female author is more sensitive to the nuances of racism than us typical males. She points out that women use webs instead of ladders and are better collaborating than competing. She states that a bullying situation has a bully, a victim, and bystanders. The bystanders have an important role in curbing the bad behavior. She expresses that we need to go beyond tolerance to engagement and solidarity.
Although she lost me a few times by being a touch over-sensitive, she expresses a view that is currently underrepresented in America today.

The Invention of Nature...Hooray for Humboldt!

Alexander Von Humboldt lived nearly 90 years from 1769 to 1859. He was considered by many to be the most famous man of his time, following possibly Napoleon Bonaparte. According to the author, more places, plants, and animals on earth are named after him than any other person.
Above is a document from his 6,000 mile travel through South America documenting the plants and topography 1799-1804. In his 60's he traveled over 10,000 miles through Russia by horse drawn carriage between May and November 1829. He climbed many peeks, crossed many rivers, traversed  valleys and plains, while all the time carefully documenting his findings and adding to the human understanding of the natural world.
Wikipedia refers to Humboldt as an influential proponent of Romantic philosophy and science for his glorification of nature. On the one hand he worked for the king of Prussia and on the other he was critical of authoritative rule and slavery. He was an adviser to Thomas Jefferson, lived in Paris in the Napoleon years, comrade to Bolivar, was friends with Goethe, and mentored numerous young scientists with his open sharing of information and seminars.
I see Humboldt as the first great environmentalist. He had an early understanding of the dangers to the environment from the Industrial age including climate change from CO2 emissions, deforestation, and threats to biodiversity.
Humboldt provided the foundation and inspiration for great thinkers for generations to come including Darwin, Thoreau, Marsh, Muir, and Haeckel. His Naturgemalde drawing above, Views of Nature, and comprehensive Cosmos series provided a treasurer trove of information for others to build from. Nonetheless, he has been largely forgotten in America, probably because of being Prussian and the pursuing world wars.

Who we are and how we got here

I finished the book and it was a tough one. I must say, I liked it more than I thought I would and I took away several nuggets from reading it.
How old are modern humans? There was a major migration out of Africa about 50,000 years ago, but there are remains of early humans from earlier migrations dating 100,000 to 150,000 years ago in remote corners of the world. Early settlers in the Americas were thought to be only 10,000 years ago, but now they have found remains from much earlier. Much has happened in Eurasia, India, and China in the past 4,000 years, but there are many secrets in the ancient past including numerous ghosts in the genome. What is our individual heritage? Europe had early hunter gatherers, farmers from Iran, and hunter gatherers from the Russian steppe (not to mention a touch of Neanderthal). China had the Han dynasties, Taiwanese settled islands from Madagascar to Indonesia, and how did the early humans get to Australia? Apparently all modern humans originated in Africa at some point in time, in one wave or another.
Interesting how mutations in the genome can be traced for health concerns and are a problem with isolated populations. Also interesting how aggressive males like Genghis Khan can spread their Y chromosomes across a wide area. There are ethical issues to be addressed in this emerging field and we must guard against the evils of racism and nationalism and focus on understanding and embracing our diversity. "In this field, the pursuit of truth for its own sake has overwhelmingly had the effect of exploding stereotypes, undercutting prejudice, and highlighting the connections among peoples not previously known to be related."

Enlightenment Now

TMI! Either this was a really difficult read or I am not very enlightened.

This was like a "Short History of Nearly Everything" with underlying explanations. A comprehensive review of history, philosophy, political science, religious studies, and science as well as some Sam Harris like reasoning thrown in.

Although I finished the book, I feel I could read it again and come away with much more. I like the idea of the Monty Python saying "always look as the bright side of life" and the hope that the world will continue on a road of "progress". I do worry about mankind's impact on the environment and lack some of Pinker's faith in humanism. However, I do believe an expanded enlightenment and humanism is our best hope against Romantics, fascism, and theocracies.

Origin

I really enjoyed Dan Brown's latest book. It was again a travel log book with an exciting plot with lots of twists and turns. It brought back lots of visual images from our trip to Spain in 2008. I love Barcelona and the rest of Spain and above are pictures from Barcelona, the Spanish countryside, a very large church in Girona, and the Cathedral outside the Palace in Madrid. I like everything Gaudi, Winston Churchill is a hero of mine, and Sam Harris is one of my favorite authors. Brown addresses the challenges of current religions, technology, as well as the concept of Singularity...what's not to like.

John H pointed out the major question from the book, "Would you rather live without technology, or in a world without religion? Would you rather live without medicine, electricity, transportation, and antibiotics, or without zealots waging war over fictional tales and imaginary spirits?" Will "The dark religions...depart so sweet science can reign." Or, as Father Bena sees it, there is a place for an enlightened Christianity that becomes a "spiritual partner of science" to "help humanity build a moral framework and ensure that the coming technologies will unify, illuminate, and raise us up...rather than destroy us."

How Emotions are Made

This is the first book that I needed to take notes throughout in order to better understand. There are recurring themes throughout, including emotions are constructed and not essential to each one of us. We make our own predictions and are ultimately in control and responsible for our actions. We create our own affective realism, concepts, and social reality.
The book made me think of other books including The Gene, The Social Animal, Younger Next Year, and Waking Up. I thought of the TV show Bull in the legal chapter. It made me think about the concepts of evolution, religion, spirituality, biology, and culture. I also thought about the use of language and other short cuts to aid in making faster and better predictions (like the CRSPR technique in genetic sequencing).
Nevertheless, this was a really hard book and I am finished with my book report.

When English Fall

It has been a little while since I finished Bob's latest book about the Amish people in an apocalyptic world. I really enjoyed it and it raises many interesting questions concerning living a simple life, our dependence on modern technology, the role of faith, law and order, and the complexity of the world we live in.
I admire the Amish people and I doubt that anyone of us could live life the way they do. God and faith are not enough to deal with the threat of the outside world (just look at Las Vegas). On the other hand they deserve to be left alone.

Fourth Industrial Revolution

Interesting observations and projections packed in a short read with a really big appendix. Felt to me a little like a text book that I may be quizzed on later. Overall a positive take on technology solving our future challenges like the book Abundance. On the other hand, it does address the responsibility of leadership to protect the earth, make the technological advances accessible to the masses, and warns of the potential threats. The Fourth Industrial Revolution feels to me more like a continuation of the Third (Computer/Data/Internet) on steroids.
The two email links sent out by Dave M and Bill were timely takes on the potential treat of monopolies in our future https://pocket.co/xMn8wE?cta=1&src=ph and the state of our current corporate environment https://charlierose.com/videos/30816. I am in agreement with Grantham in the importance of the climate change issue.

My kind of book. What is the future of the human race? What is our individual environmental legacy? 102 tons of waste? I hope not.
So many indirect references to other books including Upsizing, Abundance, Collapse, even Inferno. Are we in a decadence stage and is that a bad thing? Should we not be transitioning from extravagance to frugality? Can we transition from conspicuous consumption..i.e. large houses, SUV's, bottle water, obesity and substance abuse...to less waste.
Half of the world does not even practice waste disposal, what happens when they start generating our level of trash? Much of the waste problem is rooted in plastics, can we break our addition?
There are many sites dedicated to the cause of reducing waste including Zeri.org, zerowastehome.com (Bea Johnson), Wastelessliving.com (Christine), and Surfrider.org to name a few. What can each of us do, or, more importantly, what are we willing to do?

Plot against America...when should America go to war?

According to fivethirtyeight.com today, in May of 1940, 62% of Americans in a national poll said the US should stay out of supporting the allies in the conflict in Europe, even if Hitler was about to be victorious. What if Roosevelt was not reelected?

Zanzibar Chest referred to the value of one American to the number of Israelis and Africans. What about Bosnia, Somalia, Darfur...Syria? 

Should the decision be based on national security, national interests, war crimes, genocide?

Is there ever a good time to use force? Now that we are cutting back on international aid and diplomacy (state department). What is next?

I haven't quite finished the current book, but it does not look good for the alternative universe.

Link to The No Name Book Club Book on Blurb

The completed book is now publicly available through www.blurb.com/bookstore. You can search the book on the Blurb site by title or author. The paperbacks are $25.49 and the hard copies are $40.49. It is also available free as a download on Kindle. Thank you all for your great contribution.

Significant Numbers verses Alternative Facts

Dave's current selection of Strangers in there own land talked of the deep story and the great paradox. It got me thinking about what I thought I knew verses what many others believe. The author outlines a few things in Appendix C (Fact-Checking Common Impressions) that inspired me to look up a few facts for myself. Luckily there are some great government sponsored sights for fact checking that are still operating.
1. usgovernmentspending.com - Good site for checking the total government spending (7 trillion) by category.
2. usdebtclock.org - This is a great up to the second sight for monitoring the budget deficit (592 billion) and the national debt (20 trillion).
3. census.gov/popclock - This is a fascinating sight monitoring population growth (7.35 billion).
4. earthtimeline.com - This is a fun sight to check the ages of the earth (4.54 billion years).
5. climate.nasa.gov/evidence - Good site for climate change facts (15 of the 16 years since 2001 are the warmest on record).
Although the recent wave of alternative facts is very concerning, I believe there eventually will be a reality check for the deep stories.