#485 - The Fire This Time

This book is a mix of memoir and business advice, detailing Trump's professional and personal worldview. It outlines his approach to deal-making, including his eleven key elements for success, such as 'Think Big,' 'Maximize Your Options,' and 'Have Fun.' The book offers insights into Trump's business strategies, his interactions with various figures, and his approach to negotiating deals. It also provides a glimpse into his personal life and how he runs his organization.

In *City of Quartz*, Mike Davis delves into the complex history of Los Angeles, exploring how the city has been influenced by various powerful groups, including real estate boosters, the Protestant elite, Jewish Westside elites, homeowner groups, and the Los Angeles Police Department. The book critiques the city's development, highlighting issues of racial tension, economic inequality, and the transformation of Los Angeles into a 'fortress city' characterized by fear and surveillance. Davis also examines the impact of market forces on urban design and the lives of different classes, concluding with a study of the de-industrialized town of Fontana, which he terms a 'junkyard of dreams'.

In 'Cadillac Desert', Marc Reisner masterfully narrates the captivating yet unsettling tale of the American West's transformation through colossal water management schemes. The book exposes the audacious visions, political machinations, and unsustainable illusions that have shaped the region's water resources. It documents the early settlers' pursuit of promised paradises, the ruthless tactics of Los Angeles politicians and business interests, and the bitter rivalry between the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The narrative includes the construction of the Hoover Dam and the environmental and social costs of humanity's attempt to conquer nature. The revised edition includes a postscript by Lawrie Mott, updating Western water issues over the last two decades, including the impact of climate change.

This book, published in 1974, presents an analysis of the political landscape in the United States, forecasting the emergence of a Democratic majority. It discusses the implications of new political trends and demographic changes on the electoral landscape. The foreword is written by Harold E. Hughes, adding additional insights to the analysis.

In this book, Mike Davis counterpoints Los Angeles’s central role in America’s fantasy life with its denial of its own real history. He explores how the city has been depicted in numerous novels and films as a place of disaster, while also delving into the real ecological and social issues it faces, such as earthquakes, wildfires, floods, and droughts. Davis draws upon a vast array of sources to create a revelatory kaleidoscope of American fact, imagery, and sensibility, capturing the nation’s violent malaise and desperate social unease at the end of the 20th century. The book includes a new afterword from 2021, reflecting on LA's 21st-century challenges.

This biography, published in 1890, is one of the many works by John Torrey Morse Jr. that focus on the lives of significant American statesmen. Morse's work on Thomas Jefferson provides a detailed and historical account of Jefferson's life, drawing from his thorough research and historical context.

In this memoir, Woody Allen recounts his life from his lower-middle-class childhood in Brooklyn to his rise as a comedian and filmmaker. The book includes vivid details about his early days as a writer for the Sid Caesar variety show, his struggles in stand-up comedy, and his transition into filmmaking. Allen discusses his marriages, romances, famous friendships, and his entire sixty-year career, including his work on classics like 'Annie Hall,' 'Manhattan,' and 'Hannah and Her Sisters. ' The memoir also addresses his controversies, particularly his relationship with Mia Farrow and the allegations surrounding it. It is a deeply honest and entertaining self-portrait of a celebrated artist

The Control of Nature is a 1989 nonfiction book by John McPhee that consists of three essays originally published in The New Yorker. The essays describe human efforts to control natural processes: 'Atchafalaya' details the Army Corps of Engineers' work to prevent the Mississippi River from changing its course; 'Cooling the Lava' recounts the efforts to divert a lava flow threatening a town in Iceland; and 'Los Angeles Against the Mountains' explores the engineering solutions to debris flows in the San Gabriel Mountains. The book highlights the complexities and challenges of human attempts to control nature, often with mixed success and unintended consequences.