Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Best of Spring / Summer 2014

Been a long time since any book related activities were updated, and not for lack of reading (although I am on pace for my lowest reading totals since 2007).  Here are some of the best books I have read in the last few months:

Michael Jordan: A Life by Roland Lazenby - A really in depth view of the life of Michael Jordan, and his family background.  Stalls slightly with the things we already know (the titles / Bulls years) but overall a very well written biography.

Griftopia by Matt Taibbi - Incredibly rich look at the financial crisis in the United States and why the economy collapsed (and why it will again).  Taibbi examines all aspects of the crisis from mortgage disasters to oil speculation and beyond.  Highly researched and powerful reading.

Going Clear by Lawrence Wright - A book that forms a rough dark religion trilogy with Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven and Janet Reitman's searing Inside Scientology, this is the other side of a devastating coin.  Wright details the life of L. Ron Hubbard and the movement he started (and how he began twisting it into something it did not set out to be), and how Scientology is as rich and powerful as it is.  There is plenty of horrifying material here and it certainly cuts deep.

League of Denial by Mark and Steve Fairnua-Wade - The truth about concussions is much, more worse than you can imagine, and the impact much more devastating.  This book is a seminal work on a topic which demands more investigation.

The Hypothetical Book Championship Belt

At the last writing, David Winner's Brilliant Orange snagged it, but...
as time has passed, it has become increasingly clear that Spillover by Quammen is a much more important book and one that has had a bigger impact on my reading.  Quammen, in a shocker, regains the belt. 

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