Weekly Non-Fiction Reading List 11.6.23
This week we have three amazing books. The first book on the list is about the pressure parents put on their kids to be overachievers. Then, we have one of my new favorite books of the year about critical thinking. Lastly, we have a book about one of the most evil companies on Earth. 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).
Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic-and What We Can Do About It by Jennifer Breheny Wallace
I have a lot to say about this book, but overall, yes. Get this book. This is a really good book, and the target audience is upper-middle-class parents as well as wealthy parents. The book discusses the pressures put on teenagers to achieve and get into great colleges and how it affects teen mental health. Jennifer is an excellent writer and did a ton of interviews for this book. She also cites a ton of resources and is vulnerable enough to share her experience as a parent as she self-reflects.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t include some social commentary on this based on my experience. While the author does an excellent job in the beginning of the book explaining who this book is for and that there are children who never get the same opportunities, I still wish that topic got more attention. I come from the lower class, and I’ve worked insanely hard to provide a better life for my son. While this book had some great things for me to think about because my son is a straight-A student in the middle class, I just kept thinking, “Great. Another book to help well-off people.”
Again, I completely understand who the target audience is, so this is nothing against the author. The main takeaway from this book is that wealthy people need to realize they’re obsessed with status games. As the author discusses throughout the book, most of the time, the parents are pressuring their kids to do well in school just so they can keep up with the other wealthy people in their communities.
And yes, although they’re not the 1%, I still consider them wealthy. Most of these families are probably making $200k to $500k. Some of the families are definitely making more. I don’t think a single family interviewed lives in an apartment.
Overall, excellent book for the target audience, but we need to give lower-class kids a chance. At the end of the day, I doubt many of the parents interviewed would give up their kid’s seat at a prestigious college for a less-privileged child.
Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results by Shane Parrish
This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year. Shane’s book The Great Mental Models was the first book I read on how to be a better critical thinker, and ever since, I’ve been obsessed with the topic. When I found out he had a new book, I got it immediately and binged it. Although this book sounds like it’s similar to the previous book, it’s definitely not. There are a ton of tips and tools in here to help you manage your emotions and make better decisions.
When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm by Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe
I’ve known about McKinsey for years but never really knew much about them until a recent Last Week Tonight episode with John Oliver, and he referenced this book a few times. I grabbed a copy and binged it within a couple days. Bogdanich and Forsythe do such a great job showcasing how awful McKinsey is.
I’m a guy who debunks conspiracy nonsense, but the best analogy I can give is that McKinsey is basically like the Illuminati. This consulting group is behind so many terrible things in this world, but their super secretive and nobody gives them much attention. Each chapter in this book discusses how McKinsey’s advice to different companies and even countries has led to disasters.
Because of McKinsey, countless people have died or been injured. Some examples include people dying or being injured at Disneyland, the opioid crisis, and much more. They’re even behind helping insurance companies not paying people out. Their top priority is maximizing profits for their clients, and the advice they give will make you want to puke.
What’s worse is that McKinsey has these “values”, so they trick young people into working for them to “change the world”. Before these kids know it, they’re advising companies to do the most atrocious things capitalism has to offer. While some people speak up, nothing changes.
If you want to learn more about one of the most evil companies I’ve personally ever learned about, read this book. And the next time you read a story about a corporation doing something terrible, just realize that they were probably following McKinsey’s advice.
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