*A History of the
Future: A World Made by Hand Novel by James Howard Kunstler depicts
a simpler post-apocalyptic United States after oil, after pandemics, after
environmental disaster. Yet, in little
Union Grove, the townspeople are preparing for
Christmas without the consumerist shopping
frenzy of an earlier era when they are shocked by a double murder and news of a
new civil war in the South. Adaptable folks or those with practical skills face
numerous challenges but seem doing well
in isolated pockets. Kunstler has an engaging way of presenting potential unanticipated consequences and
challenge.
*The
Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution bt
Walter Isaacson tells the story of the people who created computer hardware, software and the
Internet. “It is destined to be the standard
history of the
digital revolution and an indispensable guide to how
innovation really happens.” The litany of names is sometimes mind numbing, but
the slog is well worthwhile.
The Best Care
Possible: A Physician's Quest to
Transform Care Through the End of Life by Ira Byock is built around the
thesis that it is now much harder to die than ever and palliative care should
be given a higher priority. Because of tremendous advances in keeping people alive, many
Americans suffer needlessly and die badly.
Byock provides good illustrations of
best practices in “end of life” medicine but is weak on policy or
personal recommendations.
*Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki
Murakami and Philip Gabriel a meditation by
a young man haunted by a great loss and about his dreams and nightmares
that have unintended consequences for the world around him. Tsukuru makes journey into the past that is necessary to
mend the present. “It is a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak “ that is
uniquely Japanese and also universal.
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