Book Reviews

4-stars

The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life

"The Vital Question" [http://amzn.to/2gfUl6x] purports to fill the "black hole at the heart of biology" - how did complex life evolve? By taking an energy-focused perspective, Lane constructs an argument that mitochondria can explain the origin of complex life and lots of other

series

Red Rising Trilogy

The Red Rising Trilogy is a savage, dark, team-based Hunger Games for space Romans. It is wonderful. First-time author Pierce Brown takes a commanding position at the vanguard of this generation's army of young-adult dystopian fiction authors. After a bit of a shaky start, Brown

4-stars

Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life

I wish I had been diligent enough to write down my mental models of the world and publish them in book form. Luckily, in "Designing Your Life" [http://amzn.to/2gf62NG], Burnett and Evans have already done all the hard work for me! The nuggets-to-fluff ratio

4-stars

The Diamond Age: or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

Steampunk meets nanotechnology and virtual reality in "The Diamond Age: or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer" [http://amzn.to/2fbxlo0]. I'm generally a Neal Stephenson fan, and this novel does not disappoint. Over 20 years after its original publication in 1995, it still reads

economics

The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve

A conspiracy theory classic! Diving deep into the history of banking, "The Creature from Jekyll Island" [http://amzn.to/2eWhOuJ] claims that the unholy union of politicians and "monetary scientists" is responsible for every major conflict from the Civil War to WWII. And let's

3-stars

The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin

The New York Times' Moscow Bureau Chief gives us an interesting but incomplete look at Putin's acquisition and maintenance of power. In fairness, any biography of Putin is going to be far from complete - he lives an intensely stage-managed life and much of his life is

memoir

Legionnaire: Five Years in the French Foreign Legion

Merde! The French Foreign Legion is tough. I had seen a passing reference to the Legion in another book - something along the lines of "a legionnaire will drop dead before he stops marching." These guys were supposed to be the hardest of the hard-core. There doesn'

4-stars

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

J.D. Vance got the timing just right on this one. The entire liberal establishment is scrambling to figure out how Trump won the election and "Hillbilly Elegy" [http://amzn.to/2f217eb] offers a coherent, empathetic, and deeply personal narrative about who some of these Trump voters are

fiction

A Whole New Mind

"A Whole New Mind" [http://amzn.to/2dvSqLU] takes one reasonable idea and then panders and blathers for six hours about it. This is a book that should have been a tweet. It's a shame because this could have been an interesting book - the question of

3-stars

Civilization and Its Discontents

My grandfather studied psychoanalysis at Hopkins. At the end of years of training, he gave it all up and switched to a more quantitative approach to psychology. As Freud himself says, "It is not easy to deal scientifically with feelings" and Grandpa decided that the Freudian approach was

4-stars

A Strangeness in My Mind

This is a great work of literature (winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize). Although the subject matter is mundane - the life of the yogurt/boza seller Mevlut in Istanbul - Pamuk uses this ordinary backdrop to compose a moving meditation on loneliness in the modern world. The novel is also a

5-stars

The Confessions of Nat Turner

"The Confessions of Nat Turner" [http://amzn.to/2dZcu6M] is a beautiful and ugly work of literature. In his fictionalized retelling of the 1831 Virginia slave rebellion, William Styron forces us to confront the the violent and paradoxical nature of American slavery and Christianity. Through the eyes of

fiction

Harry Bosch series

The Harry Bosch series is a L.A. noir police procedural told through the eyes of homicide detective Harry Bosch. Though the concept of a troubled, reserved, wise-cracking semi-vigilante cop isn't anything new, Connelly's execution is great and I always look forward to listening

5-stars

How Asia Works

"How Asia Works" [http://amzn.to/2dlpFSb] rejects the neoliberal Washington consensus on free trade and deregulated financial markets. This book got on my list because Bill Gates said it was one of his top 5 books of the year. Studwell looks at Asian countries that have done

fiction

Stonemouth

"Stonemouth" [http://amzn.to/2ahogbM] is a simple story expertly told. Stewart Gilmour's voice is strong, genuine, and compelling. As Stewart guides us through his life experience in a mob-controlled small town in Scotland, his self-aware and bitingly cynical tone is a constant delight.

5-stars

Empire of Cotton: A Global History

"Empire of Cotton" [http://amzn.to/2bX0zXa] changed how I thought about global economic history. Beckert views the changing relationships between state, industry, capital, and labor through the lens of the cotton industry and its role in sparking the Industrial Revolution and creating our modern, globalized world. The

2-stars

A Gentle Introduction to Unqualified Reservations

I don't always read extreme right-wing conspiracy theory books, but when I do... "A Gentle Introduction to Unqualified Reservations" [http://amzn.to/2cAmmrZ] is a bit better than I had expected. This book is the basis for the neoreactionary "Dark Enlightenment" that apparently

4-stars

Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

"Poor Charlie's Almanack" [http://amzn.to/29i7ISc] got on my list because Drew Houston of Dropbox said it was one of the best books he had ever read. After blasting through it... I can understand why he said so, but I’m not sure I agree

ethics

Far from the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity

"Far from the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity" [http://amzn.to/295ZHke] is a tough read. An anecdote-heavy survey of a wide range of conditions from deafness and dwarfism to schizophrenia and genius, this book tells the frequently heartbreaking story of families struggling to

5-stars

Hamilton

Chernow's "Hamilton" [http://amzn.to/291GQmo] does justice to the oft-maligned and overlooked legacy of one of the greatest American geniuses of all time. Hamilton is finally - and rightfully - back in the spotlight now thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda's wildly popular hip-hop

fiction

Harry Hole series

The "Harry Hole" series of detective novels is a thrilling addition to the wave of dark Scandinavian crime fiction. Falling firmly into the classic "troubled but brilliant cop" genre, Jo Nesbo writes clever, violent, and troubling mysteries featuring the brilliantly tenacious and occasionally alcoholic Norwegian policeman

history

City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire

Venice was not mentioned once in my formal schooling in America. And that’s terrible because in many ways, Venice foreshadows the rise of the commercial maritime republic of the USA. When every other state was ruled by the divine right of kings, Venice held itself to be a republic

fiction

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" [http://amzn.to/28L8Ixt] is a self-aware and exuberant first novel by David Shafer. How do you know when you're crazy or when a global cabal is actually hatching schemes for world domination? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot unfurls its story through the eyes

fiction

The Buried Giant

"The Buried Giant" [http://amzn.to/266gPxL] is a strange, surreal account of an old couple as they wander through post-Arthurian England trying to find their son. The plot gimmick is that everyone seems to have amnesia and the past is lost in a fog of forgetfulness.

politics

The Power Broker

"The Power Broker" [http://amzn.to/1UGOpz0] pulls back the curtain on how things get done in America. This is the greatest book I have ever read. Robert Moses’ ascent from a marginalized Yale undergraduate to the supreme power broker in New York is a nearly unbelievable story,