Some books that I’ve read recently…
Revolutionary Iran – The subtitle is A History of the Islamic Republic and the author is Michael Axworthy (2013). A pretty heavy subject but really interesting. It generally supports the view I’ve always held, that the orientation of the U.S., Israel and Iran as adversaries runs contrary to the status quo of history. And that eventually the antagonisms between them will resolve to a more comfortable equilibrium. Beyond that, much as Islam has been misused in other settings, the Islamic Republic has a ripe history of episodes where its leadership has compromised its religion in order to maintain power and control. Either way, this book serves as a great one volume serving of Iran’s modern history
Just Mercy – The subtitle is A Story of Justice and Redemption and the author is Bryan Stevenson (2014). Mr. Stevenson is a preeminent lawyer in the field of civil rights, specifically with respect to representing the indigent and those on death row across the country. Having seen him speak before, the book well captures his tremendous gifts as an orator and teacher. And every time I see him speak or read his work, I am reminded of why I have always held reservations about capital punishment and a general empathy for the poor and disenfranchised.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
The Colder War
The subtitle is How the Global Energy Trade Slipped from America’s Grasp and the author is Marin Katusa (2014).
From the energy analyst at Casey Research, this book looks at the history of the petrodollar system and how that era seems to be coming to an end. Primarily the focus is on Putin and Russia, and how they have taken a more assertive approach relative to the United States, as well as major steps to control large swaths of important natural resources (namely, oil, gas and uranium). As they have done that, and as countries around the world figure out how to conduct trade in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar (for a whole host of reasons), the U.S. is setting up for a big fall. Basically, if you read anything from the Casey chain of publications, you have heard versions of this song and dance before. Katusa is less bombastic than the other writers in that circle, and this book tries to be more balanced, but in the end it sounds fairly consistent with ground that has been treaded before.
From the energy analyst at Casey Research, this book looks at the history of the petrodollar system and how that era seems to be coming to an end. Primarily the focus is on Putin and Russia, and how they have taken a more assertive approach relative to the United States, as well as major steps to control large swaths of important natural resources (namely, oil, gas and uranium). As they have done that, and as countries around the world figure out how to conduct trade in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar (for a whole host of reasons), the U.S. is setting up for a big fall. Basically, if you read anything from the Casey chain of publications, you have heard versions of this song and dance before. Katusa is less bombastic than the other writers in that circle, and this book tries to be more balanced, but in the end it sounds fairly consistent with ground that has been treaded before.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
A New Year
Better late than never to welcome everyone to 2015. I have been hard at work on a new project that I hope will take off this year. It has left me with little time to offer my usual commentary on the inane.
I did finish Skyscraper Dreams by Tom Shachtman (1991), the subtitle of which is The Great Real Estate Dynasties of New York. A good read for anyone interested in that industry in that city. And it arguably doubles as a bit of Jewish history as well. Published over twenty years ago, it concludes as the country is in recession and there is a bit of uncertainty about what will be coming next. Except to say, the dynasties understood that if they had patience and staying power, they were in an asset in a location where losses would eventually be recovered and generational wealth could continue to grow.
I did finish Skyscraper Dreams by Tom Shachtman (1991), the subtitle of which is The Great Real Estate Dynasties of New York. A good read for anyone interested in that industry in that city. And it arguably doubles as a bit of Jewish history as well. Published over twenty years ago, it concludes as the country is in recession and there is a bit of uncertainty about what will be coming next. Except to say, the dynasties understood that if they had patience and staying power, they were in an asset in a location where losses would eventually be recovered and generational wealth could continue to grow.
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