Antonio García Martínez

Read this over shabbat. Learned two surprising things: 1. Just what a touch-and-go affair the founding of Singapore really was, and how it all could have come to nothing. Also, how desperately poor and fractious the city-state was on its founding.

Finally got around to reading 'Season of the Witch,' an excellent (though biased) history of post-WWII San Francisco. It lucidly delineates the abrupt 60s/70s-era shift from a conservative Catholic town to the petri dish of American crazy it is now.

New on The Pull Request! The fully AGM-ified version of my review of @balajis's 'The Network State,' which I liked and recommend.

Laura's book is part-drama and part-comedy, and very eye-opening about how some of the more insane and disruptive tech of recent years was created.

“Man is diminished if he lives without knowledge of his past; without hope of a future he becomes a beast.” -P.D. James, ‘The Children of Men’ (The book and spectacular film imagine a world where all humans are suddenly infertile and society crumbles as a result.)

No Logo might have been Naomi Klein’s best book.

A 'pseudo-event' is made-for-consumption media event, usually involving celebrities: entities known for their well-known-ness. These now seem natural, but were once odd: life once consisted of real people and events. Boorstin's book is outstanding.

Such a great book!

The most misunderstood intellectual in modern times is Francis Fukuyama (@FukuyamaFrancis), whose much-maligned masterpiece 'End of History' actually called much of what we're seeing today. In the latest Pull Request, I summarize this essential work.

Her book, both sociological study and cultural rumination, is worth reading. Filled with interviews with actual employees who've subbed in their work lives for a broader religious or community one. It'll resonate with anyone in the Valley daze.

It’s a spectacular work.

Yeah, Bottum is particularly good here. His book is a must-read.