Mayhem at Midnight
by Toby Price
Mayhem at Midnight is a children’s book about autism. But that’s not why I’m featuring it. I am compelled to call attention to the story of the author. And that led me to discover some stunning statistics about illiteracy in America.
Continue reading “Mayhem at Midnight… and some comments on literacy in America”
WBCN and the American Revolution: How a Radio Station Defined Politics, Counterculture, and Rock and Roll
by Bill Lichtenstein
WBCN was a Boston rock and roll radio station from 1968 to 2009. It was instrumental (pun intended) in launching the careers of major bands. It was also part of the social fabric of the Boston college scene. This book and a companion video documentary tell the story of the early years of the station in the context of the era.
Continue reading “WBCN and the American Revolution”
They Called Us Enemy
by George Takei
Famous for his Star Trek role as Commander Sulu, George Takei tells the real-life story of his family’s experience as Japanese Americans during World War II. The book is in the format of a graphic novel.
Continue reading “They Called Us Enemy”
The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir
by Thi Bui
Thi Bui was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States as a child in 1978. Based largely on oral history from family members, she has written and illustrated their story, telling the history of Vietnam from 1943-1978 along the way. It is an engaging story presented in the style of a graphic novel. Continue reading “The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir”
Simple Sabotage Field Manual
Office of Strategic Services
William J. Donovan, Director
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), operating during World War II. This 32-page manual instructs OSS officers on numerous ways citizen-saboteurs can be trained to gum up the works. “Simple sabotage is more than malicious mischief, and it should always consist of acts whose results will be detrimental to the materials and manpower of the enemy.”
“Simple sabotage does not require specially prepared tools or equipment; it is executed by an ordinary citizen who may or may not act individually and without the necessity for active connection with an organized group; and it is carried out in such a way as to involve a minimum danger of injury, detection, and reprisal… Try to commit acts for which large numbers of people could be responsible.” Continue reading “Simple Sabotage Field Manual”
The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters
by Tom Nichols
This book is about the erosion of respect for facts, logical analysis, and critical thinking. Uninformed opinions carry the same weight as expert opinions. There is no vetting of dubious sources from credible sources. Beliefs are conflated with facts. It is in this climate that hoaxes, conspiracy theories, fake news, propaganda, and all manner of bullshit thrive. Tom Nichols, professor of national security at US Naval War College, examines this phenomenon and some of the causes, including higher education, technology, and the news media. Continue reading “The Death of Expertise”
The 3rd Way: Building Inclusive Capitalism through Employee Ownership
by Upendra Chivukula and Veny W. Musum
The subject of The 3rd Way sounds intriguing: addressing income inequality by expanding incentives for Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and reforming the corporate tax code. While I think the authors have good intentions, their thesis is flawed. Continue reading “The 3rd Way”
Einstein’s Dreams
by Alan P. Lightman
Einstein’s Dreams is historical fiction based on Albert Einstein’s study of the relativity of time, or time dilation. The book is formatted like a journal of Einstein’s dreams about 30 imaginary worlds where time functions differently. The book was written by Alan Lightman, a physicist and humanities professor at MIT. The author embeds observations on human behavior in these stories. Continue reading “Einstein’s Dreams”
101 Souls Facing Forward
by John M. Crowther
When we think about history, especially ancient history, the vast spans of time can become a blur. In his book 101 Souls, John Crowther provides a new framework which puts history in the context of lifetimes. “Imagine a line of people stretching back through time to the beginnings of what we think of as civilization… 6000 years ago. Consider that each individual was born the year that the preceding individual dies, and that each lived to be 60 years old.” Simple math reveals that there would be only 100 lifetimes separating us from the beginning of civilization. Continue reading “101 Souls”
Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality
by Jacob Tomsky
If you travel frequently you might be curious about the inner workings of hotels. The subtitle captures the essence of this book: “a reckless memoir of hotels, hustles, and so-called hospitality.” Jacob Tomsky starts out at a luxury hotel in New Orleans as a valet parking attendant, working his way up to positions of increasing responsibility. Later he moves to New York City and settles in as a front desk agent. He shares many stories about guests and employees, although “to protect the guilty and innocent alike” he has changed the names of the hotels and people he writes about.
Should you feel safe leaving your property unattended in a hotel? Consider the story about Tomsky teaching a coworker how to drive a manual transmission. “We burned the life out of a guest’s clutch teaching Eddie to drive. It smelled like a metal-and-oil barbecue up there.” Continue reading “Heads in Beds”
The Key Point 