The author might have taken a few too many liberties while filling in some blanks, so I think anyone reading this should keep that in mind. Good book.The author might have taken a few too many liberties while filling in some blanks, so I think anyone reading this should keep that in mind. Good book. Not a good guy!...more
A rather good beginner's primer (and primary source!) on Apartheid and the African National Congress. Autobiographies are weird because I'm more accusA rather good beginner's primer (and primary source!) on Apartheid and the African National Congress. Autobiographies are weird because I'm more accustomed to biographies that are a bit more critical of their subjects; autobiographies don't exactly require authors to be all that self-aware. An unwavering lifetime of consistently solid principles with only surfacey explorations of the internal conflicts that come with holding onto your principles is a bit hard to relate to. In fact, the omission of the deeper contours of his internal struggles made some decisions come off as a bit of self-righteous especially as Mandela was essentially unilaterally initiating negotiations without much input from those who'd been risking their lives to carry out the resistance on the ground for the 27 years while he was locked up. That entire section of the book came off rather defensive, as he emphasized over and over that he wasn't making promises but was only initiating talks. This autobiography is also not where you'd go to absorb powerful political analyses. I didn't get a strong impression that Mandela was as much of an original/radical thought-leader as he was a tireless organizer whose constant presence + access to resourced education naturally elevated him to leadership and eventually, as the face of the movement. He just seemed like a really nice, stubbornly principled guy hellbent on seeing the humanity in every single person, even people who treated him like garbage, and I can imagine a large section of an exhausted populace really thirsty for that kind of forgiveness and peace after decades of stressful conflict. But I can also imagine a lot of freedom fighters being mad about such a simplistic appeasement of white guilt. I came away from this with many more questions about what the ANC and other leaders in the struggle were doing and working on for the 27 years while Madiba was locked up, since you can really only organize so much from prison....more
Still don't understand Senate procedure more than I did when I started this, but I do think I understand LBJ more. Phew, what a thorough book on a hugStill don't understand Senate procedure more than I did when I started this, but I do think I understand LBJ more. Phew, what a thorough book on a huge personality. A horrible husband, a horrible boss, an ass-kissing and calculating political climber, an absolute workhorse, got shit done like no other, a magnetic and fearsome powerhouse, and way more inconsistent on Civil Rights than I'd originally assumed, in that it wasn't always a strongly held conviction for him, but he did come around to genuinely passionately believing in it when the political circumstances (and necessities) led him to its doorstep.
*CONTENT WARNING*: fucked up racist language: . . . . . . . . . Another big takeaway was that white segregationists, and even often the political leaders elected to represent them in the south would publicly say shit that was 100X more vile than any grade school curriculum would ever have you know. I couldn't believe my ears at times. I feel like a lot other accounts of this era's racial inequities are often reduced to policies and actions but man, the things people would actually write and say give the evil a whole new dimension. Senator Eastland of Mississippi, for example: "In every stage of the bus boycott we have been oppressed and degraded because of black, slimy, juicy, unbearably stinking n****rs … African flesh-eaters. When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to abolish the Negro race, proper methods should be used. Among these are guns, bows and arrows, slingshots and knives… All whites are created equal with certain rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of dead n****rs."
WTAF. Should also note that Eastland was one of the guys Joe Biden referenced when he talked about fond days back in the 70s when folks used to be "civil" with each other across the aisle. Eastland called Biden "son" and mentored him in his early days in DC. This shit wasn't very long ago, y'all. And it also didn't ever really go away....more
One of the best biographies of a dead American leader that I've completed so far. It stands out for being so willing to explore Hamilton's inner softnOne of the best biographies of a dead American leader that I've completed so far. It stands out for being so willing to explore Hamilton's inner softness. This guy was so talented and his journey was so improbable. The tradition of dueling was so ridiculous and entrenched in toxic masculinity, ugh. ...more
Thorough. I've also never thought about Revolutionary Era foreign policy until now. Totally get why people loved and hated this idealistic and crotcheThorough. I've also never thought about Revolutionary Era foreign policy until now. Totally get why people loved and hated this idealistic and crotchety old man. ...more
This book turned me into a Thomas Paine fangirl. I listened to this on a solo roadtrip and was shouting "YES!!!!!" alone in my car at some of the jabsThis book turned me into a Thomas Paine fangirl. I listened to this on a solo roadtrip and was shouting "YES!!!!!" alone in my car at some of the jabs Paine made at Burke during their career-long beef. ...more
This era was absolute fuckin' chaos. I feel a little better about our country's current predicament.This era was absolute fuckin' chaos. I feel a little better about our country's current predicament....more
Good primer on the Mongolian Empire-- I didn't know much at all when I started beyond the conjectural fun stuff about the high likelihood of me or anyGood primer on the Mongolian Empire-- I didn't know much at all when I started beyond the conjectural fun stuff about the high likelihood of me or any other person of Eastern descent being distantly related to him because of how much sex he somehow found time to have while conquering the world! Sucks that there isn't much good source material on the Mongols besides their "Secret History" which is a bible-like word of mouth retelling generations after Genghis Khan's death-- plenty of tall tales. Seems that Mongols didn't ask many questions about the psyche/feelings of their leaders so the stories we get only have the option to sound rather aloof despite the unimaginable trauma/bloodshed/cultures getting smashed together, spread around, erased. Would have appreciated a whole lot more critical analysis of how trauma may have shaped Genghis Khan, and how, despite the cultural/standard of living advancements that the empire brought to many communities, these advancements could not have come without a huge helping of societal trauma-- trauma that had its own history/society shaping powers. Anyway, something very romantic about Mongol spirituality, their highly principled codes of honor and ways of running societies (less mindlessly bloodthirsty than white supremacists want you to think), the odd intangibility of their huge legacy (no buildings, writings in the global literary canon, monuments, or art) which reflects their transient lifestyles + total disassociation with their earthly bodies after death, and bucolic horsey windy sexy-trade-route-luxe-silky-textiled Big Blue Sky steppe culture in general. Or maybe I'm still having trouble separating the romanticized Chinese soap opera depictions of Mongols that I grew up with from everything I just learned?
Oh! And learning about the connection between ableism and anti-Mongol/Asian racism was mindblowing. John Langdon Down, who first really studied Down's Syndrome called it "Mongolism" and claimed that people with Downs looked Asian and therefore had more "primitive" Mongol blood! Bad! Bad, embarrassing white supremacist western medicine!...more
Lincoln is America's original emo icon. Highly highly highly recommend the shot-chaser combo of this, then George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo.Lincoln is America's original emo icon. Highly highly highly recommend the shot-chaser combo of this, then George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo....more
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