Since it's December and books are always a good gift. The following are some of the books I've read over the past couple of years that are worth reading. They are not in any particular order.
- Works of Love, Soeren Kierkegaard, Kierkegaard's theological writing is much easier to read than his philosophical writing. Nonetheless, he never uses a short word when a paragraph will do. Longish book short: love is not sentimental nonsense, it's hard work directed at people who may not be lovable.
- A First Rate Madness: Uncovering the Link Between Leadership and Mental Illness, Nassir Ghaemi. Depending on how it's defined, about 20 percent of the population has some type of mental illness. This book looks at some of the more famous people in history who had mental illness and how it impacted history. The chapters on Sherman, M.L. King, and Kennedy are especially interesting. This book is a relatively quick read.
- West with the Wind, Beryl Markham. An interesting autobiography of an early pilot, amongst the first to fly from Europe to North America (against the wind). Markham was also a race horse trainer in Kenya during the first part of the 20th Century. A very well written book, similar to Hemingway's writing about Africa.
- Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World - and Why Things are Better than you Think, Hans, Ola and Anna Rosling. Hans Rosling was a Swedish biostatistician who spent much of his career in Africa and Asia. In this book he presents a compelling case that for the majority of humanity things are getting better and they are getting better fast. This book is also a pretty quick read. If you aren’t sure watch a couple of his TED talks on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo
- The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow, Charles C. Mann. The book looks at some modern issues facing the planet through the lens of two competing ideologies, conservation and reducing resource use, outlined in the work of William Vogt; and technological innovation, outlined in the work of Norman Borlaug. The account is even handed. Vogt is the Prophet, and Borlaug the Wizard.
- Our Towns: A 10,000 - Mile Journey into the Heart of America, James and Deborah Fallows. Jim Fallows is a writer for The Atlantic. In this book the Fallows travel through the U.S. analyzing what might work and might not work in cities and communities that usually don’t make the headlines. The authors also find a nation that is much more cohesive than what the national media would have you believe. The insights of Deborah Fallows are particularly interesting because she sees things that men often overlook. Among the cities covered are Holland Michigan and Fresno California.
- The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters, Tom Nichols. This is also a quick read. For a number of reasons not the least of which is social media, people no longer trust experts, and are often hostile towards them. This has accelerated the decline of civil society and the ability of the public square to solve problems. The only shortcoming in the book, is the fact that the author does not chide experts for being the source of the problem. A good recent example was the testimony of the law professors at the recent impeachment hearing and many opinion articles written by Paul Krugman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MBV-mKq8no
