After watching the HBO series about the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine during the Soviet Union, I wanted to read more about the tragedy. Readers of my blog know, I’m an avid reader. While there is a place for television, books, especially if done right, tell a more accurate picture of history. In Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy tells a compelling story about what happened at Chernobyl and frames it through the lens of the collapsing Soviet Union.
Anna Clark’s The Poisoned City is about the contaminated drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The Poisoned City is a difficult, necessary read. It says so much about America and human nature; unfortunately, it too often highlights the worst of both.
The Flu that Killed 50 million is a BBC documentary on the worldwide pandemic of 1918. As someone who enjoys history and didn’t know much about the pandemic, I found The Flu that Killed 50 million to be an interesting documentary. I’m not entirely sure it’s completely accurate, but the documentary paints a reasonable picture of what drove the pandemic.
Bag Man is a podcast produced by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow about the criminal investigation and resignation of Richard Nixon’s vice president Spiro Agnew. Bag Man is one of the most informative, thought-provoking podcasts I have ever heard.
Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic addresses the history of atheists in America. As an atheist, I have a personal interest in this subject, but I think this book is worth a read for anyone interested in history, law, politics, and/or religion.
If you follow politics, you like history, you want to learn about the United State’s overthrow of a democratically-elected government, you want to be disgusted by corporate control of our government, or you want to understand one of America’s foreign policy failures, you need to read Bitter Fruit. It’s amazing how many of the issues we are facing today have resulted from failed policies from decades earlier.
Bitter Fruit is the story behind the United States coup to overthrow the government of Guatemala in 1954. It’s one of the books I most recommend.
The Second Coming of the KKK The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition is an especially relevant read today. If you enjoy history, aren’t afraid to be confronted by America’s racism, and follow today’s politics, you should read The Second Coming of the KKK.
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated as he stood on a second-story balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. A bullet struck Dr. King in the jaw and severed his spinal cord. Dr. King was 39 years old when he was murdered.
Obviously, everyone needs an education in basic math. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions are encountered by most people on a very regular basis. On the other hand, the vast majority of people rarely use algebra, calculus, or geometry.
Oversized letters on the façade of the NRA’s headquarters depict an edited version of the Second Amendment. The letters on the NRA’s building read as follows: “. . . the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
