Historian of antebellum technology and contemporary diplomacy.
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16% complete! Aaron has read 8 of 50 books.
Why do we place romantic partnership on a pedestal? What do we lose when we expect one person to meet …
Howard's history includes some good detail on individual cases and useful appendices, but interpretatively this book has been superseded by books such as Sean Kelley's American Slavers.
From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter …
Late in the novel, one of the characters says that "Chosen family … sometimes grow closer in sympathy than any other" (page 227). I'm not sure if they would have said "chosen family" in the time period of the novel -- the phrase struck me as a modern one -- but there's no question that it is a major and poignant theme of the book, as the characters we meet struggle to survive during the period of the U.S. Civil War and its aftermath. Phillips draws some wonderful characters, presents some incredibly harrowing but realistic scenes, and the ways in which these people coalesce into their chosen family is meaningful and consequential.
From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic …
Every liberal democracy has laws or codes against hate speech, except the United States. For …
I had Waldron's book sitting in my "to read" pile for some time, and as luck would have it I actually picked it up around the same time that Meta announced its changes to allow more hate speech on its platforms. Although Waldron wrote this over a decade ago, the book's arguments could not be more timely. As a citizen of the United States, I have of course been inculcated with the value of free speech, and it is a value that I share. But before Waldron's book I had never fully considered the implications of this stance -- namely, those who argue the loudest for free speech rarely have to deal with the consequences of hate speech, nor are they its targets. Rejecting restrictions on hate speech tout court looks like a sign of unmistakable privilege, with "others" having to bear the burden of this principled stance. Waldron is …
I had Waldron's book sitting in my "to read" pile for some time, and as luck would have it I actually picked it up around the same time that Meta announced its changes to allow more hate speech on its platforms. Although Waldron wrote this over a decade ago, the book's arguments could not be more timely. As a citizen of the United States, I have of course been inculcated with the value of free speech, and it is a value that I share. But before Waldron's book I had never fully considered the implications of this stance -- namely, those who argue the loudest for free speech rarely have to deal with the consequences of hate speech, nor are they its targets. Rejecting restrictions on hate speech tout court looks like a sign of unmistakable privilege, with "others" having to bear the burden of this principled stance. Waldron is aware that this stance is not likely to make headway in the United States, but his arguments must be read and grappled with by anyone who considers free speech to be a value.
An insider's perspective on Appalachia, and a frank, ferocious assessment of America's recent fascination with …
A blistering jeremiad about Appalachia and what you, frankly, are getting wrong about the region. Although it refers to Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, the book is not a point-by-point refutation of Vance's work. Rather, the book asks, pointedly, why we allow so many of the stereotypes about the region to endure. As our national press will no doubt continue to take voyages into "Trump country," Catte's guide to the region will continue to serve as a useful corrective to the media's assumptions.
Here in DC, we have a series of "Business Improvement Districts (BID)," which I confess I never really understood. At their most visible, they employ teams to clean up trash within the district and try to keep things generally tidy. Schaller's book explores the history of these districts (a relatively recent phenomenon in DC, although not elsewhere). Her research uncovers how BIDs give the impression of public service, but often remove decision-making from the public sphere and put it in the hands of landlords (who may or may not be the actual businessmen operating in the neighborhood). There is also a fascinating chapter on how different people characterize their neighborhoods, comparing long-time residents to newer residents, and so on. The book is a useful primer on this topic, and surely the lessons from DC are applicable elsewhere.
From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic …
An insider's perspective on Appalachia, and a frank, ferocious assessment of America's recent fascination with the people and the problems …
