How Naziism arose
The Death of Democracy: Hitler’s Rise To Power by Bnjamin Carter Hett My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is the clearest and most concise of all the books I have read (many) to understand how Germany, known for its philosophers, scientists and artists, and with the largest social democratic party in Europe or anywhere … read more »
Projects for the new year
This coming June will be the 60th anniversary of my Harvard graduating class. There, at our reunion in Cambridge MA, Susana and I hope to see f2f and embrace classmates that I have seen recently only by Zoom, including in our weekly gatherings hosted and organized by classmate Kent Garrett, author of a very good … read more »
After Bucha…
The massive Russian invasion of Ukraine and the savage cruelties of many of Russia’s soldiers have brought to mind for me and many other journalists and writers Adorno’s anguished lament of almost 80 years ago : “After Auschwitz, to write a poem is barbaric…” … and that barbarism “is why it has become impossible to … read more »
Politics and personalities, war and suffrage
To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is brilliant reporting of the British side of the Great European War of 1914 to 1918, “World War I” as we now know it. The focus is not on the big strategic decisions, the … read more »
How to save Europe
Chronicles: On Our Troubled Times by Thomas Piketty My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a translation of monthly articles written between 2008 and 2015 for Libération, devoted almost entirely to the crises before the European Union and Piketty’s proposals of how to confront them. Though written before Trump, Brexit or the Catalonian secession … read more »