I don't remember much about reading this book, because I was with my spouse in the hospital, but I do remember that it was a very good book.I don't remember much about reading this book, because I was with my spouse in the hospital, but I do remember that it was a very good book....more
There was a very good article going around about the history of the MBTI: this is the book-length version, after the author got so intrigued that she There was a very good article going around about the history of the MBTI: this is the book-length version, after the author got so intrigued that she had to keep going. And it's a fascinating story, all tied up in the birth of both modern psychology and the white-collar workplace, a story of two women who married ideas that wouldn't seem to go together at all, and yet by the time I was a babby professional, were EVERYWHERE.
I really wish she'd had access to the official archives of the organization that owns MBTI, because I think the last third of the book could have been so much richer for it. My other wish is that she'd covered more about where other personality testing went in the 60s and later; it seems like the MBTI is in dialogue with so many other personality testing systems and I would have liked to have known more.
(But honestly, the entirety of this book was made by two extremely weird facts: Briggs having written Reader/Jung fanfic, and type testing having been carried out on an entire high school without the parents' knowledge or permission.)...more
It's been literally decades since I read this book, but it made all sorts of odd impacts on me. See also this sequence of tweets: https://twitter.com/It's been literally decades since I read this book, but it made all sorts of odd impacts on me. See also this sequence of tweets: https://twitter.com/epersonae/status/......more
Just when you thought it wasn't going to get any weirder, it DOES. There's so much fascinating bonkers stuff in this, I can't even. Just read it.Just when you thought it wasn't going to get any weirder, it DOES. There's so much fascinating bonkers stuff in this, I can't even. Just read it....more
Solid overview of a really fascinating topic. I learned quite a bit about the evolution of thinking about northwest quakes (and to some extent, earthqSolid overview of a really fascinating topic. I learned quite a bit about the evolution of thinking about northwest quakes (and to some extent, earthquakes in general). Somewhat Seattle-centric, as might be expected with a Seattle-based author, plus I think a lot of the actual science is centered in Seattle. If you live anywhere in the region, particularly in the Puget Sound area, absolutely worth reading....more
Read this quite a few years ago (pre-Goodreads), saving now so I don't keep forgetting the title. :\ What I remember is that it was a really good bookRead this quite a few years ago (pre-Goodreads), saving now so I don't keep forgetting the title. :\ What I remember is that it was a really good book....more
I really enjoyed most of this book. It gives a different perspective on large sweeps of American history, but in a way that's immediately intuitive foI really enjoyed most of this book. It gives a different perspective on large sweeps of American history, but in a way that's immediately intuitive for someone who's read quite a bit of history. I especially appreciated the colonial and antebellum sections, and the early chapters on El Norte included a lot that was entirely new to me. It definitely gives me a new and useful framework for thinking about American culture and politics. (Goes well with The Big Sort, which is to some extent about individual choices reinforcing those national identities.) It was so engrossing that I really truly couldn't put it down.
On the other hand, it didn't feel quite as thorough or deep after the start of the twentieth century, and that was where my interest drifted. Some things I would have liked to have seen covered in more depth:
* African-American migration out of the South and Asian-American influences on the Left Coast. The coverage of non-European non-Native people wasn't really that great, honestly. He's strongest talking about European-derived cultures, and I think there's a lot to explore in the black and Asian experience in particular.
* The culture of Los Angeles specifically (I'm coming to the opinion that LA is a fractal of the nation as a whole) -- also, I don't know much about Chicago, but my opinions about LA lead me to the conclusion that the other gigantic American city might be special too.
* The role of 20th century mass media (and the internet?!) in reducing and/or reinforcing the separation of the nations -- this is where the research in The Big Sort could have come in handy.
* The First Nations chapter at the end might have benefited from a bit of discussion of the Native populations of the Far West & Left Coast.
A tiny thing that's been bugging me: he described Obama as a member of the "Northern nations", and a footnote details that although he spent his early years entirely outside of the nations in the book (Hawaii, Indonesia), he spent his adult life mostly in the Northern nations. But his mother and grandparents were from Kansas; might one look at him differently if the Midlander or Far West background (I don't remember what part of Kansas) were taken into account? (Also: fractal America, like LA? Where he also lived as a teen IIRC.)...more
Thoughtful and angry examination of what's happened with America's military since WWII, with lots of references back to the Constitution & the FoundinThoughtful and angry examination of what's happened with America's military since WWII, with lots of references back to the Constitution & the Founding Fathers. Includes a genuinely terrifying chapter about our decaying nuclear weaponry....more
Just finished reading and am still somewhat overwhelmed by a sense of despair. Which is to say that this was a really good book. The author did what IJust finished reading and am still somewhat overwhelmed by a sense of despair. Which is to say that this was a really good book. The author did what I think is a very admirable thing: he took the access that he was given, and instead of using it to get more access, he actually shared what he saw. And put it into the context of things outside of those bubbles. Setting the ideology of the "COINdinistas" up against the reality of both on the ground and surveys like those done by RAND. (Look up "How Terrorist Groups End", for example.) I haven't been especially happy about the war in general, but this was...vivid and immediate.
(Minus one star for overly "Rolling Stone" style, which I suppose I ought to have been expecting.)...more
It was ok; decent bus ride reading when it was too warm to knit. Don't remember a ton of detail.It was ok; decent bus ride reading when it was too warm to knit. Don't remember a ton of detail....more
A tremendous book, covering a vast scope and intimate detail at the same time. I'd been meaning to read this for a while, but then in a Metafilter thrA tremendous book, covering a vast scope and intimate detail at the same time. I'd been meaning to read this for a while, but then in a Metafilter thread about American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America someone mentioned this book again and it happened to be available in ebook from the library. I'm so glad I finally read it! The sense of horror, the enormity of the migration, and the degree to which this movement shaped the 20th century: I hardly contemplated it. The author moves back and forth almost effortlessly between statistics, contemporary accounts, anecdotes, and the overarching stories of her three protagonists. (It reminds me a bit of Michener James A, who I read a lot of in high school/college.) So good, I teared up a bit at the end as Robert (migrated from Louisiana to Los Angeles) and George (Florida to NYC) got sick and passed away.
A semi-chronological narrative of life along the Mississippi River, primarily before the Civil War, when the river valley was still part of the frontiA semi-chronological narrative of life along the Mississippi River, primarily before the Civil War, when the river valley was still part of the frontier. It was a dangerous place, both from nature (storms, earthquakes, the river itself) and from other humans (lots of drunkenness and piracy). Includes the origin of the term "lynching", which didn't always mean hanging. Found myself unreasonably amused by the fact that the voyageurs (boatmen, somewhat expendable) were known for their red shirts. Tidbits that I want to use for future D&D games: the Crow's Nest, an island of pirates in the middle of the river, which was destroyed by the New Madrid quakes; Natchez-Under-the-Hill, the sketchy/wild town down by the river, partially built into the bluffs, with the "respectable" town up above. Ends with Mark Twain's last visit to the river, when few boats traveled it, the traffic all having gone to rail, and when the course of the river itself was being tamed; in the epilogue, he revisits the "panorama" paintings that were all the rage in the early 19th century, and how the last one disappeared. (Fittingly, part of it may still be hidden under a wall somewhere in South Dakota.) Very engaging; probably wouldn't have read it if it hadn't been one of the few non-fiction books available in Overdrive, but glad I did anyway....more
So many fascinating aspects of this book. I think I'll want to read it again at some point to absorb more of it, since I basically inhaled most of it So many fascinating aspects of this book. I think I'll want to read it again at some point to absorb more of it, since I basically inhaled most of it over the course of two or three days. In short: all about what he refers to as "the Columbian Exchange" and how to led to the "Homogecene," ie, the modern age when ecosystems blend together and cross over. He ranges back and forth all over the globe, and from the dawn of the exchange (Colon himself!) up through the years to the present. (Most of it seemed to be in the "colonial" period, 16th-18th century.) Different sorts of malaria and malaria-bearing mosquitos; potatoes and sweet potatoes. Chinese migrants to colonial Mexico making replicas of Chinese pottery to sell in Europe. (Kicker to that story: now the Chinese are making copies of that style. Imitations all the way down.) Enormous colonies of Indians and escaped slaves, a few even recognized as mini-states. And traditions of slavery among Indians and Africans, and how those got tangled up in extractive industry.
The most curious bit of history, for me, was the Little Ice Age -- which I already knew of, but had assumed it was related to volcanos or sunspots or something. Turns out that while those things were factors, another major factor was reforestation. All throughout the Americas, land had been cleared by fire set by humans -- in Central America, for at least two thousand years. But with the beginning of the Columbian Exchange came smallpox, malaria, and yellow fever, and that killed off plenty of people who never saw a European or African. So the fires stopped, and it was like the opposite of the climate change we're facing now. Then the cold itself (along with flooding and drought) caused social upheaval in Europe and China, which led to more human craziness, etc., etc.
Fascinating stuff, and I feel like I've just got the surface of it. Very highly recommended.
[Final bit of trivia: at the end he goes looking for the place where the Spanish first landed in the Philippines. Turns out it's a village with the same name as one of my very good friends in high school.]...more
Fascinating book on a topic I knew nothing about. (I vaguely remembered that Garfield was shot by an office seeker, but not much more than that.) The Fascinating book on a topic I knew nothing about. (I vaguely remembered that Garfield was shot by an office seeker, but not much more than that.) The switching back and forth between the life of President Garfield and his (crazypants!) assassin was very well done. And I'm a little sad I hadn't known anything about Garfield before this; he comes off as a really wonderful human being.
Also: holy premodern medicine, Batman! It's clear early on that he may have been shot by Guiteau, but he was killed by appalling medical practices. If he'd been left the hell alone, he probably would have lived; if he'd been shot two decades later, they would have gotten out the bullet AND he would have lived. (There's an interesting sidetrack into Alexander Graham Bell's development of a metal detector in hopes of finding the bullet.) But in 1881, getting the best possible medical care basically finished him off.
Now I'm curious why American docs in particular were so slow to take up Lister's antiseptic methods and the germ theory. I got pretty well grossed out by the descriptions of doctors basically rooting around in his back with their bare hands looking for the bullet...which happened to have ended up on the opposite side from where they thought it was...and pus, and fevers, and blood poisoning. Ewwww.
A interesting story very well told. Highly recommended....more
Read several weeks ago; it had to be "returned" before I was finished, and it wasn't available to be checked out again. :(
Less of a coherent narrativeRead several weeks ago; it had to be "returned" before I was finished, and it wasn't available to be checked out again. :(
Less of a coherent narrative than a series of historical vignettes, taking aspects of American life in the late 19th century and examining them through a lens of the growth of modern capitalism. Most interesting to me were the chapters that looked at areas that aren't normally associated with big business: cowboys and Indians (so to speak) were particularly intriguing.
I was somewhat disappointed by the disjointed nature of the book, but once I accepted that, I enjoyed it, and I'd like to read this again....more
Loading...
