As we’re (hopefully) moving out of winter, let’s talk about books! Here are some things I’ve been reading over the long Iowa winter. Let’s see if we can get back next month fully ready to jump into spring reading.
As always, let me know what you’ve been reading lately!
Mike Duncan – The Storm Before the Storm
Readers probably know Mike Duncan from his History of Rome and Revolutions podcasts. I’ve certainly mentioned the podcasts a few times.
This is Duncan’s first book. He put it together from his podcast notes on the events a generation or two before the fall of the Roman Republic and Augustan implementation of the Imperial Era. And it’s a clever idea for a book. Plenty of people write about the First and Second Triumvirates and the Augustan Era. Relatively few write about the deeper forces that led to the civil wars of that period in the first place.
On the whole, Duncan delivers. He explains events sensibly and in a way anyone can understand. He’s far from the best historian. And he’s not breaking new ground. But that’s not his thing, anyway. As billed, he explains things to people in a way they get. He does that very competently here.
Thomas C. Foster – How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor
So, I actually read this one quite awhile ago. Just now getting around to putting it on one of my lists.
As it turns out, lots of people need a professor to tell them about various nonfiction genres and how to approach them. Even someone with a PhD in Philosophy. I appreciated this one.
In this nifty book, Foster puts on a basic clinic about journalism, autobiography, political writing, and so on. He explains the different evidential standards in each niche, and he dishes useful tips on how to separate the good from the bad.
It’s not a perfect book. The chapter on political writing stands out as notably weak. But on the whole, this is a very useful guide for nonfiction readers (and writers) of any skill level. I’d especially recommend it for aspiring nonfiction writers. While the reader can and should separate the good from the bad, the writer can make such a process far, far easier.
Amber A’Lee Frost – Dirtbag
Frost, best known for her work with the Chapo Trap House podcast and the term ‘dirtbag left,’ appropriately uses the term for her memoir. She focuses it mostly on the years shortly before and during the 2016 and 2020 Bernie campaigns.
I wasn’t optimistic. When I first heard about the book, I thought it dropped a few years too late to capture public interest or make for any practical use to the left. Maybe the moment had come and gone.
But Frost rises above these issues in some ways. Her background turns out to be quite similar to my own. Both of us grew up in southern Indiana, experienced its blend of poverty and conservative politics, and moved to Bloomington.
Beyond the personal connections, I think Frost delivers real insight into how ‘normies’ approach politics. You know, people who aren’t already committed leftists or political nerds. As leftists, we often overlook this valuable trait.
On the other hand, she picks some weird, seemingly random fights with other authors. And she idealizes ‘industrial workers’ over and against other workers who really ought to play a big role on the left. She’ll never build a majority from this narrow coalition.
But, of course, the book is called Dirtbag. Readers should expect random fights.
Ryan Grim – The Squad
The greatest risk in a journalistic account of the Squad is that it might degenerate into either fawning or loathing. I’m happy to report that Grim’s portrayal of the Squad – especially AOC – turns out much more realistic and informative. Above all, he balances respect for – and clear articulation of – their political vision with a sober look at the political reality in which they operate.
Grim traces AOC’s origins to the struggles of the backsliding middle class. This contextualizes both the urgency of her message and her tendency to get too wrapped up in the details of mainstream politics rather than any deeper leftist project. Most other Squad members run into similar issues.
Grim also shows a real knack for cutting through bullshit. He points out in painstaking detail how the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign, its dishonest defenders, conservative Democrats in Congress who take AIPAC money, orgs like No Labels and the Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus, and so on, spew dishonesty in order to take down the Squad.
Finally, I should note that Grim writes a thorough and compelling side chapter on the dumpster fire culture at many progressive NGOs. It’s a real eye-opener. In practice, NGOs try to make change in practical, incremental ways. But in attracting a young, idealistic Millennial and Gen Z workforce, they dishonestly present themselves as ‘revolutionary’ forces. Once the reality sets in – that they’re not going to get paid to make revolutionary change – the young people implode.
A big pile of ‘bad’ results. Grim documents it. And while he doesn’t draw the explicit connection, much of the Squad seems to have gotten themselves into a similar mess by running for Congress.
Margaret O’Mara – The Code
O’Mara – a former Clinton White House employee, home of Al ‘Invented the Internet’ Gore – writes a history of Silicon Valley. She covers all the way from its murky beginnings to the social media era. And she manages to get into real depth into the various eras. I first learned about her work on the American Prestige podcast, and I’m glad I picked this one up!
O’Mara hits two key theme. First, despite any professed libertarian bootstrap rhetoric, the entire history of Silicon Valley meshes with taxpayer funding. From the military to the space race to the ‘information superhighway,’ the U.S. taxpayer funded and built much of the tech infrastructure out West. Second, much of this funding came in the form of block grants or other open-ended funding schemes. This allowed for customization and innovation.
She documents how founder culture and the unique environment of the post-war Boomer West Coast came together to create a unique laboratory for tech. This combo allowed it to overtake the originally much larger tech corridor based in Boston. And O’Mara documents in detail the role women play in the tech economy.
Finally, she lays out a comprehensive history of the Internet. Public institutions funded and created its early infrastructure. But the commercialization of the Internet, and its heavily deregulated atmosphere, allowed innovation to generate all the good and bad features of the Internet as we know it.
Oddly, O’Mara ends on a seemingly cheery vision for a future in which Silicon Valley builds a better future by diversifying. While perhaps true to the Valley’s sunny optimism, there’s not much reason to think diversity will fundamentally change or improve the Valley’s role in the world.
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