We Are Not Saved

The history of attempting to make “controlled explosion” into something other than an oxymoron.  Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants By: John Drury Clark Published: 1972 216 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? An insider’s account of the always exciting, frequently terrifying, attempts to develop the perfect liquid propellant.  What's the author's angle? Clark was a program director, and he’s mostly telling personal stories about the vast effort to find better liquid propellants. His sense of humor is great and his disdain for bureaucratic minutiae is obvious. He’s one of those steely-eyed missile men you hear about.  Who should read this book? People interested in a behind the scenes look at a fascinating period of engineering and discovery. Specific thoughts: Once We Were Engineers

Bernard Cornwell's best (and shortest) historical fiction series.  The Warlord Chronicles By: Bernard Cornwell The Winter King Published: 1996 431 Pages Enemy of God Published: 1998 397 Pages Excalibur Published: 1999 436 Pages Briefly, what is this series about?  The Arthurian Legends turned into historical fiction. All the tales are related retrospectively by Derfel, a Saxon boy raised by Merlin who eventually becomes Arthur’s right hand man. Who should read this series? If you’ve read anything by Cornwell, but haven’t read this, you should. Not only is this Cornwell’s personal favorite of his series, it’s only three books, unlike the Sharpe series which is apparently up to 24 books?!? Even if you don’t know who Cornwell is, if you like historical fiction at all this is a great series. Specific thoughts: A realistic Arthur

The superior man uses his superior judgement to look superior on all the metrics.  The Tyranny of Metrics By: Jerry Z. Muller Published: 2019 248 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The distorting effects of an over-reliance on metrics particularly when it comes to creating incentives. What's the author's angle? Muller was frustrated by the numerous metrics being imposed upon him in academia, frustrated enough to write a book about it. Who should read this book? If you’re in an environment where you feel like metrics are being overused and abused, this book can help you identify how that’s happening, and what you might be able to do about it.  Specific thoughts: Bad metrics are everywhere, why isn’t this problem better known?

Lawyers vs. Engineers. Infrastructure in America, China and Europe. Edmund Burke and the Revolutionary War.

Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future By: Dan Wang Published: 2025 288 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The rise of China’s immense manufacturing prowess, where it comes from (a culture of engineering according to Want), and where it might be going. What's the author's angle? Wang has been putting out a well regarded annual letter on China for many years now. This is a distillation of his thoughts in book form. Also he has Chinese parents who often regret leaving China when they did.  Who should read this book? If you’re at all interested in what’s happening with China you should absolutely read this book.  Specific thoughts: Which theory of China is correct?

Shorting the Grid: The Hidden Fragility of Our Electric Grid  By: Meredith Angwin  Published: 2014 496 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? A deep dive into the convoluted nature of the electrical grid with a particular focus on how attempts to make it more effective through competition have failed. Beyond that Angwin describes how the challenge of integrating and encouraging renewables has turned a convoluted problem into an impossible one. What's the author's angle? Angwin is a blogger (her newsletter is titled “Electric Grandma”) who has dedicated her energies to the very narrow focus of the power grid and related issues. Before retiring she worked with the utilities as a chemist. Since then she’s been a consumer advocate, primarily in the northeast where she has been closely involved in the laws and regulations for many years. Who should read this book? This is a book for infrastructure nerds. Particularly if you’re interested in the fragility of infrastructure or the challenge of grid management in an era of intermittent renewals. An initial caveat: I read this book a year ago...

Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution By: Carl R. Trueman Published: 2022 208 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The long philosophical journey that took us to the current prioritization of expressive individualism, and how this journey eventually carried us to a strange new world, where expressive sexual/identity politics seem normal if not inevitable.  What's the author's angle? Trueman is a Christian, and this book is written towards a religious audience.  Who should read this book? Trueman’s previous book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self is one of my all-time favorite books. (You can see a review here.) This covers basically the same territory, but in a shorter, more accessible format. If you’ve read his longer book, you can probably skip this one, but if you haven’t then I would recommend this book to anyone trying to understand the modern world.  Specific thoughts: It is indeed a strange new world

How much of the mania is inherent to crypto and how much is just SBF? Cryptomania: Hype, Hope, and the Fall of FTX's Billion-Dollar Fintech Empire By: Andrew R. Chow Published: 2024 416 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The 2020-2022 crypto boom. Three groups stand out. The scammers, as represented by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The idealists, as represented by Vitalik Buterin and the victims as represented by African NFT artist Owo Anieti.  What's the author's angle? Chow definitely thinks that there was a crypto bubble that popped in 2022 with the implosion of FTX. Whether he thinks crypto is a bubble in its entirety is less clear. He’s definitely not a crypto booster. Who should read this book? I mostly read it to partake in some schadenfreude at SBF’s expense. It delivered on that. If you have similar desires I would recommend it, but it also did a great job of outlining the craziness of that era. What Black Swans does it reveal? The collapse of FTX played out over a much shorter time period than the collapse of, say, Enron or Lehman Brothers. If crypto gets more entrenched into the world’s financial system while maintaining this quality of rapid volatility, that would be bad.  Specific thoughts: Owo vs. SBF

Should I translate someone's glee at the murder of Charlie Kirk into an actual willingness to commit it?

Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1) By: Chinua Achebe Published: 1958 209 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The main character is Okonkwo, and saying that he’s complicated is to put it mildly. He’s desperately afraid of failure, which in his case means following in the footsteps of his father. On top of the complexity of Okonkwo there’s the additional complexity and richness of the Igbo culture: its customs, its gods, its method of delivering justice, etc.  Into this rich and (for me) strange world, the Europeans arrive. Though not till around the 2/3rd mark. The consequences are perhaps not as bad as you might fear, but they’re bad enough. Who should read this book? I quite enjoyed the book, and it was certainly different from my normal fare. Also it reads quickly. Finally, it’s widely regarded as a modern classic. I’m not sure I have a good reason why you wouldn’t read this book.  Specific thoughts: The flattening of colonialism