Last year, a friend posted his top five book reviews (plus one). I like that idea, so I'm stealing it (though mine is top five plus short takes). For what it's worth.
The Road to Serfdom (F. A. Hayek)
Finally got around to reading this because I know this treatise, written during WWII as a warning against central planning, was pivotal in forming the free market doctrine that has become such a part of today's politics and policy. No doubt, the author opposes central planning, but this is far from the pure, free-market gospel it has been taken to be. While Hayek opposes central planning of production at the expense of competition, he fully supports regulation to protect workers, consumers and society, arguing that such regulation should be designed so business bears the full cost of production, passing it on to customers in the form of higher costs, rather than to the aforementioned parts of society in the form of pollution, defects and safety hazards. Hayek also argues in favor of a government role in things like health care, stating, “Where, in the case of sickness and accident, neither the desire to avoid such calamities nor the efforts to overcome their consequences are weakened by the provision of assistance, the case for the state’s helping to organize a comprehensive system of social insurance is quite strong.” Such thoughts are so at odds with how this book is portrayed that it begs the question, how'd we get it so wrong? Turns out, the version popularized in the U.S. was the Readers Digest condensed version, meaning we've been basing an entire school of thought on a half-assed rendering. Capitalism is great, but it is flawed. Hayek knew that, but we ignore the second part of that previous sentence at our own peril.
Hitler: The Ascent 1899-1939 (Volker Ullrich)
I chose to read this book because I wanted to know how an educated, advanced, culturally liberal and diverse nation could permit the rise of someone like Hitler - a political outsider scoffed at early on by intellectuals, the elite and much of mainstream society who did not take his political ambitions seriously. Nonetheless, he gained his nation's highest office despite not winning a majority of votes, thanks to the quirks of national electoral politics. He did so by exploiting peoples' fears, creating us versus them narratives that painted foreigners and members of non-Christian religion as threats to be stopped, banned or vanquished. He excoriated his opponents as unpatriotic and railed against the "lugenpresse" (lying press) as purveyors of lies and exaggerations. With the truth-tellers discredited, he garnered support from a not insignificant portion of his nation's religious leaders, and begrudgingly, the business and political classes who had believed at first that they could control him. Eventually, they began to ignore the worst of his tendencies and dismissed global criticism because he delivered much-desired economic growth. Even when his most extreme supporters rose in violence against minorities, he was able to quiet dissent by placing blame on the victims for bringing it on themselves. In many ways, the people were like the proverbial frog, not noticing what was transpiring around them. Unfortunately, the book ends in August of 1939. I'll have to wait for Vol. 2 to learn how this all plays out.
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
When asked what made his books so readable, Elmore Leonard answered it was because he left out the boring parts. Ayn Rand is no Elmore Leonard. I revisited this book because I wanted to see if it would resonate today like it did when I first read it as an unattached, unencumbered 27 year-old. It did not. This book is one-dimensional in every way - characters, plot, theme. The heroes all strive with purpose, the villains all snivel and whine. Every action by the capitalist heroes makes mankind better, every action taken by those who would seek to ease the suffering of others simply makes that suffering worse. And the only thing that matters in life - this is the theme of not just this novel, but the entire life work of the author - is the almighty dollar (the $ sign is the branding mark of the book's magnificent cigarette). Worse, they prattle on about their virtue and their misery without end. One monologue by uber-capitalist John Galt stretches for more than 70 pages without interruption. I bought into this when I was younger, in part because I was younger, in part because times were different. The U.S. was just digging out from a decade of stagflation, Great Britain was still a largely socialist country with nationalized industries regularly shutdown by labor strife. It was a time when the pendulum had swung a bit too far to the left. Now, it seems clear the opposite is true. Sadly, this simplistic view has influenced policy makers like Speaker Paul Ryan and GOP benefactors like the Koch Brothers, explaining why that pendulum is swinging too far right. We need a return to sound, centrist approaches to our challenges. A first step would be to recognize this book for the simplistic tripe it is.
Dark Money (Jane Mayer)
My wife says talking about this book makes me sound crazy. With good reason, because the deliberate, coordinated financial manipulation of our democratic process, and the amount of cash involved, that is described in this book is insane. "Dark Money" details the network of conservative donors led by Charles and David Koch. What I learned is that what I once believed was a general devolution of conservative thought driven by a ratings-conscious right-wing media that understood an agitated audience was a loyal (and profitable) audience, was actually the result of a long, well-funded, deliberate effort to inculcate think tanks, universities, media outlets, the Republican Party and the public with free-market, anti-government mantras based upon the shallow, one-dimensional rantings of Ayn Rand in "Atlas Shrugged" and the largely mistaken lessons gleaned from misreading F.A. Hayek's "Road to Serfdom" (see above). All the usual suspects are here - Betsy Devos, the Mercers (Cambridge Analytica), the Scaifes, John Menard, the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, George Mason University, The Club for Growth, Glenn Beck and on and on. "Dark Money" brings together in one place all the names one will come across when Googling who is behind the seemingly innocuous story on climate change or tax policy or charter schools or gun rights. Like bread crumbs, the trail inevitably leads from a university group to a think tank to a foundation to a person with ties to the Koch Brothers. The breadth and depth of their involvement makes cries of "George Soros!" seem quaint by comparison. It would be funny if it wasn't putting our system of government at risk. If we are a nation that believes in one person, one vote, and that dollars sway votes, then those who spend the most dollars have the most sway. These folks have the money, and thanks to the US Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, have the avenue to use that money to sway votes as best suits them.
The Undoing Project (Michael Lewis)
A book by one of my favorite authors about one of my favorite authors (Daniel Kahneman) and his partner, Amos Tversky. Kahneman and Tversky are Israeli psychologists who changed the world by identifying just how bad we humans are at making rational decisions. That inability to choose wisely has led to mistaken medical diagnoses, airline disasters and the financial meltdowns following the housing and dotcom bubbles. The best description of their work comes from Tversky himself, who, when asked if their work was the basis for artificial intelligence, answered, "Not really, we study natural stupidity instead of artificial intelligence." That natural stupidity gives us death, bankruptcy and, well, whatever else we've got. The amazing thing is how people I've shared this with will argue how true it is, except for themselves. Silly people - glad I'm not susceptible to the same delusions. Or am I?
Short takes:
John Adams (David McCullough)
As a young man, John Adams mused how the fall of Rome began with the fall of Carthage, their greatest enemy. Might the fall of the U.S.S.R. be the catalyst behind a similar fate for the U.S., as we turn our anger inward now that we have no common foreign threat?
Ben Franklin (Walter Isaacson)
The man who replaced "sacred and undeniable" with "self-evident," as in "We hold these truths to be self-evident." Jefferson may have gotten all the cred, but Franklin had the goods.
Hillbilly Elegy (J.D. Vance)
Writing about my old dry cleaning employees (the book is set 10 miles up the road from where I sit), JD makes a great point about how policies to encourage homeownership ended up trapping people who could not afford it in dying communities. An example of how our mantras can blind us.
The Better Angels of Our Nature (Steven Pinker)
This book deserves far more space, but any book that dives deep into everything from nursery rhymes to nuclear war to describe and explain that we are living in the least violent period in history, is sure to be thorough. This one is entertaining, to boot.
Born a Crime (Trevor Noah)
Trevor Noah's mom was black, his father white. He was born in South Africa, and thus, his mere birth was a crime. To know what he's achieved given the story he tells here makes one want to shout, "Toughen up!" to anyone who complains that life isn't fair.
Shoe Dog (Phil Knight)
So refreshing to hear such a humble billionaire's tale of success. Memorable line: "If products don't cross borders, soldiers will." Something to ponder in protectionist times.
On The Brink (former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson)
The third book I've read on the financial meltdown reads like a financial thriller, which it is, as told by the ultimate insider. More proof that everyone - bankers, borrowers, Wall Street, Republicans, Democrats - everyone was at fault. And without those bailouts, we'd still be digging out from Great Depression II.
We Need to Talk (Celeste Headlee)
When good friends give you a book about becoming a better communicator, well, one best read it. Let's see - wandering mind? Check. Not listening to the other person because I'm trying to think of my response? Check? Relating every story back to me? Well, let's just say, thanks, I needed that.
Coming in 2018 - Born to Run, How the Right Lost it's Mind and more. Good reading, all.
