- Jul 10, 2010
- 2,906
- 1
- 0
SafeBet said:
Back when I was a kid, I had something like 1K paperbacks of various SF on my shelves. Asimov was one of the first, and one of my first favorites. But, just as writing SF quit appealing to Asimov, SF quit appealing to me as a reader. I was just "into other things". Like I used to enjoy classical music more, now I'd rather listen to zydeco and worldbeat.
However, for those into history or Russia:
The Rebellion Of Ronald Reagan; by James Mann
A history of Ronald Reagan's dramatic turnaround towards the Soviet Union when Gorbachev began perestroika. He analyzes why Reagan supported Gorbachev, and discusses how Reagan's policies impacted the era (or didn't, as the case may be). Very well researched, very easy to read, and a valuable outlook on Reagan and the politics of the period.
The March of Folly: Barbara Tuchman
Tuchman takes several periods of history that fit the definition of folly and examines them in her typical detail. I never find Tuchman easy to read, as her writing is incredibly dense with detail. However, she is one of the best historians ever. Here she takes the topic of folly - when a group of people all made the same bad decisions repeatedly, in the face of contrary evidence and experience. She starts with the Trojan horse. She covers the popes before the Protestant revolution. She covers the actions of George III and his cabinet leading up to the American Revolution. And she closes with the Vietnam War. What we learn from this is to recognize that folly is alive and well, and may only be on the other side of your front door. In the case of the American Revolution, it is interesting to also discover what the history of events was. The version we usually get (in the US) is biased and watered down. Which may be understandable, but one must learn from history if one does not wish to repeat it. And, while our men certainly fought bravely, it is useful to realize just what part English folly, vanity, and incompetence played in the events.
Last book for this post. Russia again. Since working over there in 2004-5 for a year or so, I wanted to learn more about how things happened after the fall of the Soviet. I turned to the above book on Reagan, and this book:
Russia's Capitalist Revolution: Why Market Reform Succeeded and Democracy Failed; author Anders Aslund
Aslund does a very technical job of looking at the economy and the events and movements. He is also thorough. An understanding of the language economists use will be helpful. Of course, google can also be your friend! Aslund does an excellent job of recording this bit of history. He clarifies why certain economic trends happened (like why did the oligarchs come into success and power?). And, he shows us a lot of what most of us in the US and Europe do not understand - due to our stereotypes of "Russians". I will say Europeans generally have fewer stereotypes of Russians, but they still do. Aslund discusses why an economic transfer to an open market, such as has been accomplished by China, did not happen (and could not have happened) in the Soviet Union. Like Tuchman, the text is thick with detail, and it is not an easy read. Still, it is a valuable contribution to the history of Russia from the collapse of the Soviet until Medvedev. It makes a good pair with Mann's book on Reagan.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram