Read some of my reflections on Rhythm of War! I go on tangents about Mormon doctrine, The Santa Clause, and COVID!
Book review: “Rhythm of War” by Brandon Sanderson
Book review: “The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad” by Fareed Zakaria
Zakaria is in many ways a heretic. The basic premise of his book is: there is such a thing as too much democracy. A system that is more "democratic" just means it is more open to influence by billionaires, extremists, and demagogues. You replace one set of elites with another.
Book review: “True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements” by Eric Hoffer
Following the storming of the Capitol this week, I chose to pull out Hoffer's "True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements." Definitely has a lot of explanatory power, but Hoffer strikes me as a pessimist. It left me with the impression all mass movements, regardless of their ideals, are inherently evil.
Book review: “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamant
Retelling the events of Genesis from the perspective the daughter of Jacob, Dinah, The Red Tent is both beautiful and harsh. Dinah's tragic story is recounted in Genesis 34. Dinah is taken to wife by a Canaanite prince. Her brothers, the sons of Jacob do not take kindly to this, and slaughter the entire city in retribution. I feel like I haven't fully seen this chapter, as we usually pass by the uncomfortable parts of the Bible in Sunday School. From an LDS perspective, our efforts to liken the scriptures unto ourselves may blind us to how utterly different the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was practiced. The book clearly relies on much research to try to recreate the setting, but also has to use some creative license to weave together this stunning tale.
Book review: “Nathan der Weise” by G.E. Lessing
A Jew, a knights Templar, and a sultan walk into a bar... Perhaps a modern version of Nathan the Wise would begin like that. Written by the Enlightenment figure G. E. Lessing in response to a fight with his pastor, Lessing's play still feels very much relevant today.
Book review: “Rise of the Fomori” by JA Curtis
My partner is finishing up her second novel in the Rise of the Fomori series, and I got an insider look at the manuscript while it's still in progress! Here is my review
Book review: “Ich und Du” by Martin Buber
In I-It relationships, you treat others something to be used, as means to your own ends. In I-Thou relationships, you encounter another being as unique and unlimited as yourself.
Book review: “Politik als Beruf” by Max Weber
Richard Bushman analyzed Joseph Smith's claims of authority as prophet through the lens of Max Weber's concept of political legitimacy. So I went straight to the source and read Politik als Beruf in the original German!
Book review: “Morality” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Rabbi Sacks' last book "Morality" is a deeply moving call to action to rediscover our shared responsibility to one another. If COVID-19 teaches us anything, it is that we need each other and our actions have direct consequences on those around us.
Book review: “Hitler: Ascent” by Volker Ullrich
A political outsider with a mass following comes to the top post in the nation at the invitation of an embattled party wanting to ride on his popular appeal. They are convinced they can control him, but woefully miscalculate. Sound familiar? I picked up Volker Ullrich's recent biography of Adolf Hitler, wanting to understand all the details that led to the fall of Weimar Germany's democracy. In this first volume of a three-part biography, Ullrich covers Hitler's beginnings as transient artist to political agitator to chancellor of Germany.
