"The Managerial Revolution"

Not a corporate-manager-type book,
despite the prominent pyramid graphic

Political theorist James Burnham published "The Managerial Revolution" in 1941 in the shadow of a depression and world war.¹  He observed that capitalism had recently had a bad run and appeared to be in an unstoppable decline, but saw little evidence that it was being replaced by socialism. In fact, socialism itself, as practiced by Russia, appeared to be morphing into something quite different from its ideals. Stalin's five-year plans, European fascism, and Roosevelt's New Deal seemed to point to a different way of organizing societies and economies around governmental planning. A new class of official, the Manager, would hold power in the coming regimes.

"Anabasis"

I read the Henry Graham
Dakyns translation

"Anabasis" – sometimes translated as "The March of the Ten Thousand" – is Xenophon's autobiographical account of the tribulations of an army of Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger to fight against his brother, Achaemenid king Artaxerxes II. Cyrus is cut down by a javelin in the Battle of Cunaxa, and the Greeks are left stranded and surrounded by enemies with no supplies, shelter, or even pay¹.

"Waking Up"

 

That face looks like clouds.

"Waking Up" was a book group read by proxy: I added it to my list after one of the participants in our discussion of "Zen Mind, Buddhist Mind" recommended it. Author Sam Harris presents spirituality as a psychological need distinct from religious belief and its associated rituals, a search for meaning outside the mundane.

"Swann's Way"

The cookie that launched
4000+ pages (not a joke)

My book group decided to tackle Proust's seven-volume A La Recherche du Temps Perdu, usually translated as "In Search of Lost Time," over the next two years. The idea is to space out the reading and schedule multi-month breaks between volumes so we have time to read other things in the meantime. For my part, I find the optimism required to schedule anything out that far in advance quite admirable, and there's no way I'd read this work on my own, so I decided to join in and see what the draw is...and, of course, see how the original compares to Monty Python's classic All-England Summarize Proust Competition.

"Immune"

 

Not so mysterious after reading this book

"Immune" is a book about, well, the immune system, created by the head writer of Kurzgesagt. They animate some of my favorite science videos on the internet, so this book was a day one buy for me.

"The Way of Kings"

Michael Whelan's cover art is gorgeous

I learned about Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series from a video talking about his approach to worldbuilding. Sanderson apparently spent years fleshing out the setting, history, and characters before starting "The Way of Kings," and it shows.

A few minor plot details follow.

"The Elements of Computing Systems"

 

Not as intimidating as it sounds.

As a kid, I always liked museums: paintings, sculptures, dinosaur fossils, natural history: they were all fun, and science museums were my favorite. "The Elements of Computing Systems" (ECS) is a bit like a science museum in a book, and in conjunction with the author's free online class is also one of the best courses I've ever taken.

Art Spiegelman on "Maus"

 

A few times each year, the Chicago Public Library chooses a book reflecting some societal theme, sets up programming and events, and presumably procures a bunch of extra copies. This season's pick is Art Spiegelman's "Maus," a graphic novel depicting his father's experiences during the Holocaust. I saw Spiegelman speak last week in Chicago¹ about the case for comics, his relationship with his father, and more, and it was fantastic.

"Middlemarch"

 

Definitely looks like the Victorian era.

"Middlemarch" is widely considered to be George Eliot's greatest work. It follows the people of the fictional town of Middlemarch through years of their lives, including marriages, births, deaths, and the occasional scandal and dispute over the terms of a rich relative's will. This is English historical fiction, after all!

"Ancient Greece"

Urn art: so pretty!

One of my favorite books as a child was an illustrated collection of Greek myths. There was something fantastic and evocative in imagining those people and times: the fierce gods, mountain palaces, extravagant feasts, sleek ships, sun-dappled olive groves, secluded riverbanks, valleys echoing with Pan's mournful flute melodies.

Thomas Martin's "Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times" surveys the history and culture of the land and people who told those tales. Surprisingly, it also convinced me to add two additional works to my one-day reading list. A few takeaways follow.

"War and Peace"

...and Love and Feuds and
Ironic Money Troubles and
Tolstoy's Philosophy of History, etc.

When I tell people I've read Tolstoy's War and Peace, the two most common reactions are "The whole thing?" and "Eh, I liked Anna Karenina." I think a few things make this a difficult read: the length¹, that the recommended translations use overly florid language², and the subject matter. It's a novel that reads a bit like history, or perhaps more like philosophy wrapped in a parable about, well, war and peace.

"Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing"

My most offbeat book group read yet

"Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing" is at least as odd as implied by its title. The book is structured as a fictional autobiography, irreverently describing guru Jed McKenna's time leading a Zen-inspired retreat in, wait for it, rural Iowa.

"The Stone Sky"

 

Three Hugos in a row!
What are the odds?

 

"The Stone Sky" is the final installment in N. K. Jemisin's fantasy trilogy, preceded by "The Fifth Season" and "The Obelisk Gate" (also featured on this blog).¹ I originally discovered the series on a list of recommended dystopian novels, and the first two books are fascinating examples of worldbuilding. The story takes place during an eponymous fifth season, or climate apocalypse, and the characters struggle to survive while their dystopian society denigrates into a collection of warring city-states. In this final volume, the society's origins are revealed, and the main characters must choose which ancient wrongs to right and which to let stand.

Brief thematic discussion below.

"Letters from a Stoic"

 

I don't often see marble busts with
facial hair; looks hard to carve!

"Letters from a Stoic" – another of my book group reads – compiles 124 letters written by Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca to his friend Lucilius. Seneca writes about daily life and current events, using them to expound upon the stoic philosophy of living a good life by cultivating virtue.

Contrary to the common modern take, Stoicism is not about covering up emotions (keeping a stiff upper lip, as the British might say); that's a caricature created by the Epicurean critics of Stoicism. Stoics returned the favor, and now we typically think of Epicureans as incorrigible hedonists. It's pretty ironic that these days, each philosophy is best remembered for what its critics, rather than founders, had to say about it.

"Mother of Learning"

Not the actual cover art for this month's review

"Mother of Learning" is a fantasy novel with an original premise. Zorian is a young wizard studying at the premier academy of magical arts in his homeland's capital city. As he returns to school for the fall term, Zorian is unaware of political machinations taking place behind the scenes, and he soon finds himself trapped in a time loop he can't control. The novel was originally published in serial form by amateur writer Domagoj Kurmaic, Dickens-style, but I read the whole work in about six weeks — which is coincidentally about how long it took me to get through "Great Expectations."

"The Obelisk Gate"

 

That's two Hugos in a row

 

 

"The Obelisk Gate" is the follow-up to "The Fifth Season" and I believe the only sequel I've written about on this blog.¹ I read the previous book back in 2016 and consider it a great example of effective world-building, so I'm a bit surprised that I forgot about the series until this year.

A couple plot points from the first book are mentioned below.

"Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind"

 

"In the beginner's mind there are
are many possibilities; in the
expert's mind there are few."

I initially heard about "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" on a podcast I listened to a while back. The book sounded kind of interesting, but I promptly forgot about it until this year, when a book club I follow added it to their list. I'm glad I participated – it turns out that virtual book club discussions on Zen Buddhism attract really interesting people. But first, the book.

"The Plague"

 

"La Peste" en français

Though it's been a couple months since I finished reading it, I still haven't decided whether "The Plague" is a bit too on the nose – or the perfect book – for this COVID-19 era. It tells a fictional tale of bubonic plague in a coastal city, following the lives of various citizens as they look for meaning amidst the suffering. Much of the human experience is on display: selfishness and greed and denial, yes, but also empathy and care and even heroism found pursuing a shared purpose. It's part philosophy, part psychology, and fully profound.

A few of my favorite passages follow¹.

"The Fire Next Time"

"God gave Noah the rainbow sign.
No more water, the fire next time."

"The Fire Next Time" had been recommended to me several times in the past, and 2020 is the year I finally read it. Baldwin's work is a powerful personal account of race and civil rights, told in two essays. First, a letter written to his nephew on the 100th anniversary of emancipation; second, Baldwin's observations about religion and race in America.

"A Gentleman in Moscow"

 

Not his everyday view

I'd categorize "A Gentleman in Moscow" as historical fiction with a humorous slant. The titular gentleman is Alexander Rostov, a Russian aristocrat who returns to the country after the Communist revolution of 1917. To his own surprise, rather than being put to death, he's sentenced to live under house arrest in the Hotel Metropol in the center of Moscow, never again to leave its premises.

A few first chapter details below.