Weekly Non-Fiction Reading List 10.3.22
This week I finished 5 books from some amazing authors. On the list is a brand new, phenomenal book about the crisis facing young men as well as a great book on status. There are also two fantastic books on the corruption that’s hurting millions of Americans as well as a book of essays. Enjoy!
Each of the links to the books are affiliate links, so if you use my link to purchase any of these books, some comes back to support what I do (and it also helps fund my reading habit).
They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent by Sarah Kendzior
With as much as I read, somehow Sarah Kendzior books haven’t been on my radar, but after reading this book, I’m an instant fan. This book is about all the real conspiracies and corruption among the powerful, like the wealthy elites and politicians. Aside from being a phenomenal writer, what makes Sarah’s book unique is that she doesn’t come from a partisan angle. She goes after both the left and the right and discusses how they cover up and even publicly discuss corruption that’s affecting all of us.
There were many stories in the book that I was familiar with, such as all of Donald Trump’s corruption, the shadiness of everyone associated with Jeffrey Epstein and much more. Although I was familiar with these stories, Sarah discusses how all of these actual conspiracies are able to be covered up because the powerful know how many insane, baseless conspiracies are out there. When journalists try to expose real conspiracies, the powerful can easily brush them off as being on the same level as QAnon or flat earthers.
If you’re aware of these stories as well, I still think this book is worth the read. I learned some new details, and as mentioned, Sarah’s a fantastic writer and also offers a unique angle and insight.
Sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care and How We Can Repair It by John Abramson
I binged this book out of pure anger. John Abramson has been researching the corruption in the American healthcare system for years, and I was absolutely shocked by all of the details I learned. I’m pretty up to date on how corrupt all of this is and how it screws over and kills many Americans, but this book informed me of so much more.
With Abramson’s background in medicine, he shined a light on so many medications that are pushed by doctors even though they’re not as effective and often dangerous. This happens due to corrupt research that’s paid for by Big Pharma, and it’s really disgusting. Doctors are none the wiser because they’re getting research that they don’t know has a conflict of interest.
In addition to all of the issues with medicines and surgeries that Abramson covers, he discusses how Americans die because we don’t have Universal Healthcare. This book is a must-read because I think when more people understand what’s actually going on, we can get closer to some fixes.
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino
I’m not a major fan of books that are collections of essays, but this book keeps popping up, so I finally decided to read it. First off, Jia is a really good writer, and I’m jealous of how well she’s able to tell stories while also providing a ton of information and history. This book is a sort of memoir, but it also has a ton of social commentary in it. I think my favorite essays were the last two where Jia writes about rape culture on college campuses, feminism and the societal pressure about marriage. I actually found the marriage essay really interesting, and now I want to learn more about the history of how making a big show of weddings and spending an insane amount of money became the norm.
Envy Up, Scorn Down: How Status Divides Us by Susan Fiske
Status is one of my favorite topics to learn about, and I’m officially a massive fan of Susan Fiske. I hadn’t heard of her work, but I absolutely loved this book. She’s done a ton of research on status, scorn, envy and more. In this book, you’ll learn about why low-status people resent higher-class people as well as why high-class people look down upon and are disgusted by people in lower classes.
I couldn’t put this book down because it helped solidify a lot of theories I had about interactions and perspectives of people at various statuses. At the end of the book, she says she’s not equipped to give the answers for solutions, but she tries. Basically, her solutions are what I expected, but I don’t see them happening anytime soon because it involves high-class people putting in the work. They have zero incentive to do so, and that’s the biggest challenge we face.
I definitely think everyone should read this book, and I can’t wait to check out her others.
Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It by Richard Reeves
Richard Reeves’ previous book Dream Hoarders is one of my favorite books about wealth and opportunity inequality, so I’ve been counting down the days until this new one came out. I was a little concerned since this topic was so different, but I should have known better. Richard Reeves did a phenomenal job, and this book should be required reading for so many people. As Reeves states in the epilogue, as he told people about the topic of this book before it came out, a ton of people are concerned about young men. This includes liberals.
I’ve been trying to find books about what’s going on with young men, but each one has disappointed. Richard Reeves’ book did it perfectly, and I don’t think I have many criticisms of it. Other books lack by just talking about how much better women have it while dismissing all of the issues women still face to this day. Richard Reeves acknowledges these issues throughout the book and regularly reminds the reader that we can care about both things at once. It’s not zero-sum.
I learned a ton from this book, and I really loved the ideas for solutions Richard presents toward the end. What’s awesome is that you can tell he’s thought deeply about the challenges we’d face implementing these ideas like having boys start school a year earlier, and he provides resolutions for those challenges.
My only criticism isn’t a big one, and it may not have even had a place in this book. The book was largely based on societal issues, but I think one of the biggest issues we face is how men talk to each other and hold up these ideas of “what it means to be a man”. For example, Richard discusses how we need more men who are teachers, nurses and social workers. The problem I see is that many men don’t do this because of what other men will say to them by saying these are “women’s jobs”. That’s an issue we really need to address.
Which reminds me, Reeves has an excellent chapter on The Manosphere, where a lot of really bad ideas of masculinity are being thrown around to young, lost men. So, there are quite a few challenges, but Reeves’ book gives readers a ton of insight into this growing issue, and I really hope this book gets the attention it deserves.
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