We Are Not Saved

The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 3]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (1918-1956)

By: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Published: 1973 608 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

The final piece of Solzhenitsyn's amazing, depressing, baffling, chilling, frightening, absurd, terrible, cold, weighty chronicle of the Soviet gulags. This part includes the period after his release which, by itself, could be a fantastic guide to simple contentment.

What's the author's angle?

I found it interesting how much of this book concerned just preserving the notes he's made and all of the material which will eventually be turned into the book—the angle of making sure the story gets told.

Who should read this book?

I have not talked about the fact that there are actually two versions of the Gulag, this three volume behemoth, and an authorized abridgement. Here, at the end, it's worth considering whether I would recommend this three volume set, or the abridgement. I haven't read the abridgement, so I'm not in the ideal position to answer, but given that most people have only read the abridgement, getting the perspective of someone who's read all three volumes should be a contrast.

I'm glad I read the full three volume set first. Should I go back and read the abridged version (I plan to, but I plan to do a lot of things) it will be interesting to see what was deemed critical, and what was cut. But also there's a weight to the gulags, a massiveness, an ominous ponderousness which comes through best in the stories, upon stories, upon stories you get in the full set.

Specific thoughts: Cloaking power in ideology

Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

By: John Green Published: 2025 208 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

The ubiquity of tuberculosis (wait, did I just restate the title?) especially outside of the US. And its prevalence despite the fact that a cure is available.

What's the author's angle?

Green was already interested in global health when he met Henry, a young man with tuberculosis (TB) in Sierra Leone, literally on the way out of the country. Green was so affected by Henry and his plight that it eventually led him to completely change his focus, and while I don't want to minimize the vast harms caused by TB, it's apparent that, for Green, it's personal.

Who should read this book?

This is a good book to broaden your horizons. When you consider that (TB) kills over a million people per year. And when you consider that most Americans have only the most cursory knowledge about it (including, at the start, Green by his own admission) this book should be read just to fill out your knowledge of how the world really is. But also TB is terrible and it should receive more attention than it does.

Specific thoughts: Whatever else you may think TB should be getting more attention

Biden was just the tip of the iceberg...

Everything you know about WWI is wrong! Okay... maybe not everything, but some things definitely.

Forgotten Victory: The First World War: Myths and Realities

By: Gary Sheffield Published: 2001 318 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

An apologetic work directed at British leadership during WWI. It refutes the claim that the British Army was composed of "lions led by donkeys", and instead lays out a case for increasing competence, the necessity of offensives, and a string of victories in 1918.

What's the author's angle?

Sheffield is a noted member of the revisionist school. He wants to revise the vision of futility most commonly associated with the British participation in WWI.

Who should read this book?

Someone who wants a more complete view of WWI, and who is wary of simplistic tales of strategic idiocy.

Specific thoughts: WWI was horrible for the British, but it couldn't have been won any other way

Forbes magazine, the bastion of conservative American business journalism, called it "a filth-spattered lens of depravity and dysfunction".

Crisis Zone

By: Simon Hanselmann Published: 2021 296 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

A very non-traditional household navigates the pandemic using violence and porn production.

Who should read this book?

I would not recommend this book to anyone. It is without a doubt the grossest, crudest work I have ever read. Though Forbes reviewed it and said:

In the deluxe and beautifully designed Fantagraphics edition, Crisis Zone ends up looking like a children's book produced in an institution for the criminally insane. Assuming we have a future ahead of us, Crisis Zone will be the keepsake to remind us what we became in [2020].

But even they had to admit that it was "a filth-spattered lens of depravity and dysfunction".

Specific thoughts: A strong case against a certain lifestyle.

Noticing: An Essential Reader (1973-2023)

By: Steve Sailer

Published: 2024

458 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

A collection of essays from Steve Sailer covering immigration, culture war stuff, and human biodiversity.

What's the author's angle?

For some, Sailer is a horrible right-wing racist. For others he's a data-driven contrarian. I mostly fall in the latter camp. Also whatever you think of his opinions, his tone is exceptionally mild. He's not a fire-breather.

Who should read this book?

If you've been following Sailer forever there's nothing especially new here. Even if you haven't previously read all of the included essays (and I believe I was at probably 90%), he's covering territory which is very well-trod by him in general. On the other hand if you're only vaguely familiar with Sailer—perhaps you've come across his name once or twice, then this is a great summation of his opinions and writings.

Specific thoughts: How important is tone?

Collapse of Complex Societies

By: Joseph A. Tainter

Published: 1988

262 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

A new (at the time) theory for the collapse of societies based on declining marginal returns to complexity.

What's the author's angle?

This is a book definitely written in opposition to previous theories (think Spengler, Toynbee, etc.) many of which Tainter rejects as overly moralistic.

Who should read this book?

If you're interested in how the United States will end (and I can't imagine how you're not) this is a great book.

Specific thoughts: Okay so this is how collapse happens. Can it be stopped?

By: Patrick McGee

Published: 2025

448 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

How Apple went all in on China, not merely moving manufacturing there, but also educating their companies in, and co-developing with them, numerous advanced manufacturing techniques. These techniques then spread all throughout China. As such, Apple, far more than any other company, enabled China's rise to be the world's most sophisticated manufacturer. In effect they imported a super-charged industrial policy for China. This was bad enough, but the eventual result was that Apple is now utterly dependent on a capricious one-party state.

What's the author's angle?

McGee is not entirely unsympathetic to Apple, but it's also clear that he finds the consequences of their actions to be damaging, and, most of all, dumb.

Who should read this book?

If you're interested in China, technology, the future, or competition then you should read this book.

In which I start by using my massive intellect to predicte a timeline for the end of the world and end with admitting that I couldn't remember whether I'd read a specific book or not.

In which I engage in an extended, and somewhat clunky Star Wars metaphor. And eventually conclude that clunkiness is sort of the point.