Making our history one step at a time
OK, so I originally read this book out of a feeling of self-importance (we engineers virtually made the modern world as you know it, y'know), but it actually leaves you feeling humbled with an appreciation for the imperfect as well as the ultra-precise.
My proposed alternate titles: When Mormons Got Their Horns What Religion Are You So I Can Hate On You Correctly Before Fake News: The Penny Press and Portrayals of Mormonism
I was feeling fiscally conservative this past month, so I picked this book up. I'm not very loyal when it comes to politics-- I'm not good at being a team player, I hate mud-slinging down purely partisan lines, and I like to try to find the good in everyone. But I do like a good... Continue Reading →
Which LDS apostle Saved the University of Utah from going under. Blinded his kid brother with a rake Pulled out his microscope every. single. FHE. Had kids who referred to his as "the Inquisitor" when they brought dates over. A: James E. Talmage
Niebuhr wouldn't easily fit into an ideological box in these politically charged days. Written in the early Cold War era, The Irony of American History includes a critique of Communism alongside a humbling reevaluation of our own favorite self-delusions in American liberalism.
Your knowledge of the Muslim World was probably Disney's Aladdin before 9/11. Then it became limited to the daily news cycle of the "war on terror." How did such a rich and diverse civilization become relegated to the dustbin of history? Ansary does a masterful job of putting modern conflicts in their historical context from Babylon to the Six Day War.
Like playing Axis and Allies, but for real. I've always been OBSESSED with WWI/II, and what makes this book really shine is experiencing the war from multiple perspectives, whether it be emperor of Austro-Hungary, or a floundering and short-lived democratic Soviet Union.
The Mormon Jesus by John Turner, answering all the questions you've been dying to ask like, was Jesus a polygamist? or did Jesus have abs?
Hot take: If I were ever to apostatize, I'd become an Orthodox monk. But seriously, Orthodoxy has so many surprising affinities to the Latter-Day Saint tradition, you'd be surprised.
