politics – Page 15 – Cannonball Read 17

Trump’s Bunker

Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency by Michael Wolff

July 25, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

Large parts of this book, I really enjoyed. For those of us made miserable by the 4-year mistake that was the Donald Trump presidency, there’s nothing better than seeing him flail about helplessly, our febrile democratic checks finally providing an exit ramp to this nightmare. I had always eschewed Trump/Nazi comparisons, mainly because they detract from the awfulness of American history in favor of grafting on another racist society. But if there’s one thing I have found similar from reading The Rise and Fall of the […]

To Play the King

King Richard: Nixon and Watergate, An American Tragedy by Michael Dobbs

July 20, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

The Trump era made me a Watergate junkie. It’s as simple as that. If there’s a new book on Watergate, I’m reading it. I’ve become fascinated with the twisted story of Nixon and his cronies, especially how power can imbue one with a sense of dignity and grace, at least in the public eye. Most of us need to go to bed at night assuming our leaders are competent adults who wouldn’t hurt a fly unless it was absolutely necessary and who have it all […]

I Got A Plan

Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency by Lou DuBose and Jake Bernstein

July 9, 2021 by Jake 2 Comments

In the Trump years, there was this strand of liberalism/centrism in the Discourse that pined for a Republican administration under George W. Bush. Say what you will about Bush but at least he didn’t (insert latest evil thing Trump did) blah blah blah. To which my reply was always: Yeah no. George Bush was awful. In many (not all) respects, he was worse than Trump. And one of the main reasons was Dick Cheney. I’m one of the few defenders of Adam McKay’s Vice because I feel like it was a […]

Vacation Reading

Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBT Rights Uprising that Changed America by Martin Doberman

The Pursuit of Pearls by Clara Vine

Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

The Rocksburg Railroad Murders by K.C. Constantine

March Violets by Philip Kerr

Can't Knock the Hustle: Inside Brooklyn's Season of Hope: How Basketball Helped Us Survive Power, Politics, and a Global Pandemic by Matt Sullivan

The Lime Pit by Jonathan Valin

July 6, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

I was on vacation last week and, as you can tell from the stack in the header, I read a LOT… Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBT Rights Uprising that Changed America **** I wish this had focused more on the Uprising itself, as opposed to being a semi auto-biography on those who were involved in it. But it’s still a fascinating story at the nascent days of the LGBTQIA+ Movement, the challenges and complexities, and what emerged from it. A good gateway into learning […]

Choose this day whom you will serve.

The Kingdom of God Is Within You: Christianity Not as Mystic Religion But as a New Theory of Life by Leo Tolstoy

May 20, 2021 by Halbs Leave a Comment

I took a long, weird road to this book. I grew up in Texas with public-service-minded parents of faith. I was a political science major turned public-interest lawyer turned political staffer. Public service, making the world a better place, all of it. In my mind, Jesus’ line about rendering to Caesar what’s Caesar’s meant that, in my democratic context, I had to work the system for good. I navigated the classic political argument of the “problem of dirty hands” with all of that in mind […]

The Good Life is not the goods life.

Post-Growth Living: For an Alternative Hedonism by Kate Soper

May 19, 2021 by Halbs 3 Comments

Kate Soper’s Post-Growth Living is split in two. It’s about environmentalism and true human flourishing. It’s about doing the right and also pragmatism. This isn’t a pie in the sky philosophy book – it looks at where we are right now and how we can change our thinking and therefore our action in order to build a more sustainable and happy future. In some ways this book could make more enemies than friends – Soper goes after our current cultural desire for more more more. […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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