This week I finished: Heirs of the Founders: The Epic Rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster, the Second Generation of American Giants, by H. W. Brands: The following words go through my mind a lot these days: We learn about Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Douglass, Lincoln, Gandhi, Mandela, and MLK because we want to be like them. Learning about role models helps us learn to live like them.[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: How to Get What You Want: Mastering the Art and Science of Persuasion, by podcast guest Josh Bandoch: This book compiles many essential building blocks of persuasion and influence into one place. Josh B. and I talk about it at length in a podcast episode (to be posted soon). I wish I’d had this book decades ago. It handles myths many people hold about persuasion that[…] Keep reading →

The other day I happened to watch a video on YouTube not in my usual way and saw an ad there in the video for the first time in five years or so. Besides using a browser plug-in that block ads, I use another that blocks suggested videos. When I go to watch a video, I usually just see that one, not others. Sure, others might be interesting, but there[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, by Isabel Wilkerson: I don’t know if or when I’ll meet Isabel Wilkerson, but I can’t wait. Her book begins and ends with significant talk about sustainability. I think she sees her work on caste, race, and racism as relevant, but I suspect it’s far more relevant than she expects. I think we’d enjoy learning from each other. I think[…] Keep reading →

I generally don’t just repost other people’s material and try to put media I finished each week on my Sunday posts, but I saw two short videos I thought you might like that were too short to mention there. I recommend them. The first is from Not Just Bikes by podcast guest Jason Slaughter. I recommend all his videos and I have watched them all. This one summarizes them. It[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840-1920, by Akhil Reed Amar: I came across Amar almost a year ago, learning about US Founders and Lincoln. By then I had finished biographies on Lincoln, Jefferson, and others, and was moving on to Madison. Here are the first videos I watched of him. My most important message on Amar and this book: The Constitution, Declaration, people who wrote them[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Ulysses S. Grant—A documentary on the 18th President, part 1: Grant plays a big role in my new book as a role model. He was a broke farmer recovering from malaria. His wife’s family owned slaves, giving him an easy way to recover if he chose it. Meanwhile, his father refused to help him as long as he stayed with slaveholders. He had acquired a slave[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: The Gulag Archipelago, volume 2, by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn: I think this book has changed my view of the world as much as it will, then it changes me more. The end of this volume becomes more reflective and introspective. It describes how it changes and corrupts society outside the archipelago. As horrific as the archipelago is on the inside, and how far beyond what I would[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Gulag—The Story: A three-part documentary on Gulags made in France and posted on a channel called Free Documentary—History, which looks full of documentaries that look interesting, though I haven’t watched any others. I’m about halfway through the second volume of The Gulag Archipelago. I’m curious other views of the Gulag system, the USSR, Stalin, and the system that I knew existed but hadn’t learned about. Since[…] Keep reading →