Patrick Radden Keefe’s Empire of Pain: the secret history of the Sackler dynasty is one of the most upsetting, important books I have ever read. If you want to learn how America’s opioid crisis began and you aren’t afraid to be horrified by the corruption and dysfunction in American government, Empire of Pain is a must read.
My Life
Reviewing the Cup of Coffee Club
Jacob Kornhauser’s The Cup of Coffee Club: 11 players and their brush with baseball history is another light read that fit with my peek interest in this year’s baseball playoffs. In the book, Kornhauser introduces us to and takes us through the experiences of 11 men who managed to play in just one major league game.
Reviewing Presumed Guilty
Erwin Chemerinsky’s Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights is an important and upsetting read. Chemerinsky, a constitutional lawyer and professor, walks us through decades of shockingly bad sometimes overtly racist rulings made by the Supreme Court that have served to help create our current police state.
Contaminated Drinking Water Tells the Story
Yesterday, I read about the contaminated drinking water injuring and killing the people of Benton Harbor, Michigan. So many of the factors plaguing Benton Harbor are familiar to us.
Reviewing The Sentinel
The Sentinel is the 25th book in the Jack Reacher series. I have now read all 25. The first 24 were written by Lee Child. After reading an interview where Child basically said he didn’t really like writing the series or the Reacher character, I didn’t think I would read any more in the series. With Child’s relative Andrew taking over authorship and my desire to read something truly fictional, I gave The Sentinel a shot.
Reviewing The Wax Pack
With all the serious stuff happening, I wanted an entertaining read that would encourage me to think more about comforting subjects. Brad Balukjain’s The Wax Pack was just the ticket.
Like me, Brad is a huge baseball fan who began loving the game as a child in the 1980s. Unlike me, Brad was a big baseball card collector. In the summer of 2015, he got the fun idea to purchase an unopened pack of baseball cards from 1986 and try to track down the 15 players represented by the cards.
Reviewing Permanent Record
Permanent Record is the book written by Edward Snowden, who bravely told the world that America was spying on everyone. If you are interested in a better understanding of how things really work, Permanent Record is a must read. If you don’t already know the truth about America, you will find it upsetting.
Reviewing Muhammad Ali His Life and Times
Thomas Hauser’s Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times was one of the most influential books I have read. So many times I found myself thinking about people, politics, government, society, racism, sexism, or ableism.
While I typically don’t enjoy biographies, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times was a true exception. Of all the people that have ever lived, Muhammad Ali is one of the people I would most like to meet.
The Lack of Blind Mentors
For the month of July, I mentored a high school student interested in a job in the field of accessibility. While I really enjoyed the experience, I found myself regularly thinking about the lack of mentors for blind children. As someone who was born blind, this is a topic I have been thinking about for nearly my entire life.
Reviewing a Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
Hank Green’s A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is the sequel to <a href=”https://www.jonathansimeone.com/2021/05/09/reviewing-an-absolutely-remarkable-thing/”An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.”> As with An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, I enjoyed reading A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor.