Stephanie Kelton’s The Deficit Myth is one of the most thought-provoking books I have read in years. Setting aside the fact that this reality indicates I’m a nerd, The Deficit Myth is an important contribution to our understanding of the economy and government’s involvement in the economy.
Tag: nonfiction
Reviewing The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fydrich
Growing up in Massachusetts, I heard a little bit about Mark “the Bird” Fidrych I vaguely remember people talking about him talking to the ball. I remember people talking about his patting the dirt in front of the mound. Most of all, I remember people talking about the joy watching him pitch brought them.
Reviewing Shades of Glory
Shades of Glory: The Story of the Negro Leagues and African-American Baseball, by Lawrence D. Hogan is exactly what its title promises. If you want to learn a lot about the history of black people playing baseball in America, Shades of Glory is for you.
Reviewing the Soul of Baseball
Joe Posananski’s The Soul of Baseball: a Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America struck many cords with me.
Reviewing Eugen V. Debs Speaks
Eugene Debs is the most famous American socialist. He ran for president several times around the beginning of the 20th century as a socialist. Around 1912, the Socialist Party had hundreds-of-thousands of members nationwide. Several mayors were elected under the Socialist Party banner and Debs got hundreds-of-thousands of votes during his runs for the presidency.… Continue reading Reviewing Eugen V. Debs Speaks
Reviewing a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
A Beautiful day in the Neighborhood is the movie about Mr. Rogers’s relationship with a journalist who profiled him for an issue of Esquire in 1998. This movie, unlike the documentary Won’t you be my Neighbor, does not talk much about Mr. Rogers’s life or his show; instead, it focuses on his relationship with the… Continue reading Reviewing a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Reviewing True Flag
Stephen Kinzer’s True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the birth of American Empire is an important examination of another portion of American history too few Americans understand. Specifically, the book looks at the discussion of American imperialism that took place during and after the War of 1898. The book uses the experiences and words… Continue reading Reviewing True Flag
Reviewing All the Shah’s Men
Stephen Kinzer’s All the Shah’s Men is one of those books far too few Americans have read.. In All The Shah’s Men, Kinzer details how the CIA led a coup to overthrow the democratically elected Iranian government of Mohammad Mosoddegh after his decision to nationalize Iran’s oil industry. Since many Americans don’t realize the reality… Continue reading Reviewing All the Shah’s Men
Reviewing Overthrow
Stephen Kinzer’s Overthrow reviews a century of America’s overthrowing governments from Hawaii to Iraq. Overthrow is simply one of the most consequential books I have ever read about American foreign policy. Given what is happening in Syria and Chile and the reality of the 2020 election, people interested in politics would do well to read… Continue reading Reviewing Overthrow
Reviewing Beaten Down Worked Up
Steven Greenhouse’s Beaten Down Worked Up is a critical look at the past, present and future of unions in America. While Greenhouse’s work, as he acknowledges, doesn’t provide the detail into historical incidents other books do, Beaten Down Worked Up is an important read.