The Great Influenza - John Barry

Given the global pandemic we are currently undergoing, it seemed entirely appropriate to read about the last global pandemic: how it was experienced, understood, and its effects. Barry primarily examines the effect of the Influenza within the United States and the (American-centered) attempts to combat virus. Barry grounds his history in the men and women who worked in labs across the eastern States to uncover how the virus was transmitted, its epidemiology, and possible approaches to stopping, or at least slowing, it.

What struck me most was how dissimilar the symptoms, spread, and toll between the Influenza and Covid-19 are. The Influenza spread like a whirlwind and took down people at an astonishing and terrifying pace. Given the US response to Covid-19, not noted for being either aggressive or proactive, it is somewhat terrifying to imagine the effect of the Influenza in our modern context. There are lessons to learn from each.

The Fate of Africa - Martin Meredith

An overview of the post-independence history of many African nations. Meredith accounts for the difficult hangovers of colonialism, such as an under-capacitated civil service and economies that were often geared towards enriching a small segment of the population, but emphasizes the failure of African leaders. Written in the mid-2000s, Meredith lays the ongoing troubles of the continent primarily at the feet of 'Big Men' rulers, who have swindled, stolen, destroyed, and defrauded their countries. Though he recognizes the near-impossible task of governing many countries whose boundaries were drawn with little regard to culture or history, Meredith also details how political leaders and military rulers have pursued power by pitting different cultural groups against one another, often with disastrous results. Much of Africa, he writes, is in a worse economic place in the twenty-first century than at independence. Captures the over-arching themes of recent African history without delving too deeply into any country or region. One wonders how the countries which are overlooked here would complicate these stories?

Dark Money - Jane Mayer

Mayer lifts the veil on a small group of extraordinarily wealthy American iconoclasts who have achieved no less than the transformation of American politics. Focusing on the Koch brothers and their extended network of like-minded political activists, Mayer shows how many politically-conservative outcomes, from the Citizen's United Supreme Court case, to the rise of the Tea Party, have been driven by the goals of a select few. Much of the country's political changes have been largely treated as a series of semi-independent, grassroots driven, reactions by white Americans in response to the changing face and politics of the country. Mayer convincingly argues that many of these newly ascendant political currents are not nearly as bottom-up as the uninitiated might imagine. It is an achievement that Dark Money does not read as conspiracy theory; Mayer puts in the work to show how slowly these changes have come about, including the set-backs along the way and the intricacies of how new legal designations for foundations and non-profits shelter the identities of those who are broadly influencing discourse. Tying together climate change denial, lowered corporate and individual tax rates, and the rise of free market economics, Mayer accounts for not only the occurrence, but timeliness of changing discourse. Her closing evocation that this network of donors has functionally come to overshadow the Republican Party ties the threads of the story together. I started the book incredulous but it has added a new dimension to how I consider American politics.

The River - Peter Heller

Two young men on a canoeing trip in the remote Canadian wilderness. The story moves along as they encounter unexpected people and challenges along the way. Reminds even the most intrepid outdoor enthusiast that the enjoyment and excitement of the natural world is tied to its power and unpredictability. Heller vividly imagines a world come alive in mesmerizing and even terrible ways. Recommended as a good adventure story and cause for reflection on how one would fare when the unexpected occurs. The two young men at the center of the story demonstrate a competence which belies their age. But the challenges are great.