Detroit Dan

Common Sense Optimism

Revisado: 11-08-23

It is refreshing to read a book that just makes sense -- cutting through the ideological propaganda that pervades the "free world" discourse about rival superpowers.

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Incoherence Reveals Much About Subject & Author

Revisado: 10-30-23

I am fairly knowledgeable regarding recent Russian history -- i.e. the war in Ukraine. I found the book to be most convincing in describing the younger Putin and his rise to power, things I knew little about. With regard to recent events, the author seems to adopt conventional outrage instead of the more logical conclusion that present circumstances are the predictable consequences of Western pressure on Russia. More specifically, the author tries to have it both ways. The irony is delicious! The author, operating in an environment (the West) where Putin must be villified, describes a comparable situation in Russia as sick.

I recommend the book for its ability to see things from Putin's, and Russia's, point of view. I learned a lot. But the author evidently wants to avoid being tarnished as a "Putin apologist" and therefore employs the expected derisive tone

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Progressive Patriotism Put to the Test

Revisado: 10-11-23

Surpassed my expectations by combining storytelling regarding one specific historical / natural event, with context that shows the role of the civil service, along with the trials and tribulations of government service. TR is the hero, but FDR and the CCC make a brief appearance at the end. Youthful hubris -- Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the National Forest Service, boasts that his government team, led by idealistic Ivy League men, can eliminate destructive forest fires. But it is clear that this was excessive hubris and it's not good to even try to do this.

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Stands the Test of Time

Revisado: 06-13-23

I'm a Universalist, but this book helps me to realize the limits of Univeralism Huntington is mostly just descriptrive in this. The world is a complex place with around 10 major civilizations. The civilizations have much in common including the propensity to make war with one another and thus destroy civilization in the aggregate. Civilizational leadership should try to encourage cooperation amongst civilizations. Western enlightment values and democracy have not proven uniquely good at providing good civilizational leadership.

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My Favorite Economist!

Revisado: 12-13-22

One of favorite books on human history and how we got to where we are today is "Guns, Germs, and Steel", by Jared Diamond. This book builds on Jared Diamond's work and takes us forward to 2020. Sachs is a prominent economist who worked on the fascinating task of try to help formerly Communist countries convert to more market based economies. He had good success in Poland and several other countries, but was unsuccessful in Russia due to circumstances beyond his control. His resume is also impressive in more recent years with work on sustainable development as an advisor to the UN Secretary General, among many other things, and chairing the Lancet Commission investigating the origins of COVID 19, where he has been a breath of fresh air in reporting honestly on this subject. Sachs also describes the successful Nordic economies and their social democrat systems as models for sustainable development. So he hits a trifecta for me: Nordic social democracy, sustainable development, and recognition of western cultural/governance problems (although the latter is not covered much in this book which is rather about the evolution of human civilization as seen from an economic perspective.) 5 STARS!!!!!

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Constructive Look at Race in America

Revisado: 01-19-22

I found this highly entertaining as well as informative. As a sociological study or ethnography, it's more descriptive than opinionated. I grew up in a white suburb and have now lived in Detroit for over 40 years. I felt this book would help me to understand my adoptive city and it delivered. I'll think and feel a bit differently the next time I read in the local papers about a drive by shooting or drug crime. There few real villains in the book. Rather, it shows how the system works in this subculture and thus can help us to constructively engage with one another to improve our community.

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Straightforward, yet Fascinating Tale

Revisado: 02-08-21

I was mesmerized by this story. It was an astonishing conspiracy presented with remarkable clarity -- so many clear details, yet no unfounded certainty.

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