It is only fitting that perhaps the most contentious presidency of my lifetime gets a second look in my quest to read a biography for every president in US history. And while Decision Points was shockingly insightful and somewhat changed my opinion of George W. Bush, Days of Fire is far deeper and considerably more thorough. In many ways, this is for Bush what Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals was for Lincoln: an interwoven narrative exploring the characters of the particular administration being studied. […]
I came for the dystopia, but stayed for the Ultraman references.
I am not, generally, a fast reader. These days, it’s a rare thing for me to devour a book over a weekend. Ready Player One started as a much-needed reprieve from presidential biographies (I’ve gotten bogged down in an FDR biography), and ended up a marathon session that left me both highly entertained and saddened by its inevitable end. For the few who haven’t yet read Ready Player One, it is (to put it simply) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but with 80s pop culture […]
Breaking Dawn of the American Century, or Twilight of Empire: all I know is, I’m covered in glitter
It’s the dawn of a new century, and the nation has gone through a tumultuous and self-affirming period of growth, with widespread new technologies spurring a hope that tomorrow will be better. But this misted veil of wonder and confidence masks a darker and more sinister reality. Wealth inequality has reset the social paradigm, resulting in hotbeds of political upheaval around the country. Meanwhile, the overwhelming influx of migrants seeking a better life has spurred racist and xenophobic tendencies, and the country always seems one […]
A great book marred by the absence of vampires.
Perhaps the most spectacular thing about this book is that it takes arguably the most mythologized president in US history – Abraham Lincoln – and builds a compelling and detailed account of his life and administration without losing any kind of emotional impact. We all know what happens, here. We all know who Lincoln was (more or less), and we all know that he was one of the greatest presidents (more or less), and we all know that this ends in tragedy. But the simultaneous […]