Politics

** 44th, 47th, 51st books of 2020: Roosevelt Trilogy: The most interesting American ** Theodore Roosevelt wasn’t supposed to be president. Coming from a wealthy family, he was nearly on track to become a naturalist. Living in a world of books, he devoured literature, “reading some twenty thousand books and writing fifteen of his own”. But since he suffered from asthma while growing up, doctors advised ‘avoiding strenuous exercise.’ “Doctor,” came the reply, “I’m going to do all the things you tell me not to do. If I’ve got to live the sort of life you have described, I don’t care how short it is.” ...

** 44th, 47th, 51st books of 2020: Roosevelt Trilogy: The most interesting American ** Theodore Roosevelt wasn’t supposed to be president. Coming from a wealthy family, he was nearly on track to become a naturalist. Living in a world of books, he devoured literature, “reading some twenty thousand books and writing fifteen of his own”. But since he suffered from asthma while growing up, doctors advised ‘avoiding strenuous exercise.’ “Doctor,” came the reply, “I’m going to do all the things you tell me not to do. If I’ve got to live the sort of life you have described, I don’t care how short it is.” ...

** 44th, 47th, 51st books of 2020: Roosevelt Trilogy: The most interesting American ** Theodore Roosevelt wasn’t supposed to be president. Coming from a wealthy family, he was nearly on track to become a naturalist. Living in a world of books, he devoured literature, “reading some twenty thousand books and writing fifteen of his own”. But since he suffered from asthma while growing up, doctors advised ‘avoiding strenuous exercise.’ “Doctor,” came the reply, “I’m going to do all the things you tell me not to do. If I’ve got to live the sort of life you have described, I don’t care how short it is.” ...

27th book of 2020: This man Fights. Grant was not destined to rise through the ranks. Had the civil war not created a dire need for somebody, (anybody!) with an officer’s training, he would have lived out his life as a struggling head of a poor family with a problem drinking and driving fast cars horses. Indeed both before and after his second run in public service, this was his life path. ...

TBW

Good summary, I feel like I haven’t missed anything after skipping out on the news for the last two years. Now I’ll continue to tune out and wait for the next book.

The thesis of this book is that cities should be designed around pedestrians and more livable spaces rather than cars and commutes, and that this sort of design would make people happier. I wanted to like this book, and I even agree with the thesis, but the author’s approach was infuriating and left me less convinced than when I started. He often relies on anecdotes about super-commuters who bike through piles of snow and live happy, healthy lives. That may be great, but I can tell you that none of the residents in the 8 properties I own fit this category. The best parts are about acknowledging why people want privacy and want to drive, and I wish the entire book were an honest accounting of why people drive despite the obvious drawbacks, and the right way to think about urban design in a way that can accommodate these desires while improving on our suburban, low-density status-quo. ...

Not recommended. It is a mediocre theory that seriously overfit data from the mid-90’s and has led to some really problematic ideas and policies since. For a much more nuanced perspective on the role of civilizations on the current state of global affairs, try World 3.0 by Pankaj Ghemawat.

Suggested reading for Iraq familiarization for working at the U.S. Embassy. Interesting, but I quickly realized it had nothing to do with my job in Baghdad so didn’t finish it. Too bad.