Overview You are a ________ fill in the blank. Go ahead, fill it in. You’re a Democrat, a Republican, a libertarian, or a socialist. Or maybe you’re an Evangelical Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, or an atheist. And you think everyone else – those greedy Republicans, those lazy Democrats, those godforsaken atheists – is at […]
Category: Book Club
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Overview In Sapiens, historian Yuval Noah Harari tells the story of our species. He covers the last 150,000 years with brilliant writing, interweaving history with science. I learned a great deal from Sapiens. It was easily one of my favorite books of the year, and you’ll love it too. I’ll briefly cover why we – Homo sapiens – went […]
The Genius of Birds
Recommendation Before reading The Genius of Birds, I didn’t know (or care) much about birds, and I certainly didn’t think they were geniuses. Fortunately, Jennifer Ackerman changed that and was able to open my mind to the intelligence and beauty of our avian friends. Ackerman demonstrates how birds form complex social relationships, use tools, remember faces, […]
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Overview Timothy Snyder, Yale historian of Eastern and Central Europe, wrote On Tyranny to teach Americans how to resist slides toward illiberal democracy and authoritarianism based on Europe’s experience in the 20th Century. He wrote it because of the election of Donald Trump, whose candidacy was marred by his authoritarian tendencies. As president, he has attacked the […]
The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk
Overview The Mayor of Castro Street by Randy Shilts chronicles the life of Harvey Milk, the famous gay rights icon who won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, making him the first openly gay elected official in California. Milk was a relatively conservative Democrat who raged against “the machine” in populist fashion, demanded equal […]
The Way of the Shepherd: 7 Ancient Secrets to Managing Productive People
Overview The Way of the Shepherd is concise and offers good advice for managers looking to improve their leadership abilities. The author attended the McCombs School of Business, and a professor taught him about leadership while they tended to his sheep. A former teacher recommended this book to me. I will be brief. Lessons Know the […]
Dark Money
“We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” – Louis Brandeis Overview In Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, investigative journalist Jane Mayer meticulously uncovers the political machine built […]
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate
Overview In This Changes Everything, Naomi Klein explains the science behind climate change, the potential environmental catastrophes that will result from a changing climate, and how we can avert a planetary crisis by fundamentally changing our political and economic structure. A quick overview of climate change: it is real, anthropogenic (human-caused), and it has wreaked havoc […]
San Francisco Trivia
Overview A Short History of San Francisco, at a little over 100 pages, is indeed short. I too will be brief by listing facts that I found interesting (and that may be useful in a game of trivia). The overarching theme is that San Francisco is a beautiful, adaptable city like no other. I’ve lived […]
How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Rank About Being Sick in America
Overview In How We Do Harm, Otis Webb Brawley, MD, the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of the American Cancer Society, combines decades of anecdotes backed by empirical data to disprove the notion that the American healthcare system is the best in the world. Indeed, we aren’t even close. Most of the […]