CONNOR’S LIST OF READS

SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck, 1939

As a monumental piece in classic American literature, John Steinbeck produces the journey of the Joad family who experience the bleakness of the Great Depression and the determination of the human spirit amid adversity. Steinbeck's work is celebrated for its realistic portrayal of the era's socio-economic issues and remains a significant piece that critiques the capitalist system and its disregard for the common person.

Wherever You Go There You Are

Jon Kabat-Zinn, 1994

Recommended to me by the Director of Young Adult Ministry in the ELCA, Daniel Kirschbaum, Jon Kabat-Zinn provides an insightful exploration into the practice of mindfulness. He posits that mindfulness is a powerful tool for transforming one's relationship with oneself and the world and that mindfulness is not about escaping life's problems but about engaging with them in a more conscious, deliberate, and compassionate way. One particular section I found really helpful was his teachings on how to meditate with the images of a mountain, a lake, and other meditation practices like walking, standing, and lying down.

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning

Chris Hedges, 2002

Recommended by my country coordinator Kelly, this is a must-read for everyone in later secondary and higher education. Hedges, an American journalist and war correspondent, has covered wars around the globe, which he uses as examples, supplemented with philosophy, psychological studies, and classical literature throughout the book. His main aim is to dispel the romanticized images of war that are often portrayed in the media and culture, which leads to wars perpetuation. Specifically, while war creates a sense of purpose and identity, making it seductive, and this allure, based on myths and illusions, produces immense destruction and despair. In turn, he emphasizes the need for critical examination of the narratives that lead nations to war and the importance of recognizing the human cost of conflict.

Talking to Strangers

Malcolm Gladwell, 2019

Malcolm Gladwell, a renowned journalist and author, explores the complexities and pitfalls inherent in our interactions with unfamiliar people. With his signature blend of storytelling and sociological insight, Gladwell delves into the nuances of human communication, misunderstanding, and the consequences of our inherent biases when navigating the unfamiliar. His central thesis is that humans often default to truth, meaning we tend to believe that people's actions and words align with their internal state and intentions. This default, combined with other factors, often leads to severe misinterpretations when interacting with unfamiliar individuals.

The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho, 1988

This novel by Paulo Coelho, tells the story of Santiago, a young Andalusian shepherd, who embarks on a journey to fulfill his personal legend and find a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. Along his journey, Santiago meets various characters who guide and challenge him, including an alchemist who teaches him about listening to his heart and understanding the soul of the world. The novel explores themes of destiny, the interconnectedness of all things, and the importance of following one's dreams. Coelho's narrative emphasizes the idea that personal fulfillment and the pursuit of one's dreams are the most significant endeavors in life.

Journey By Moonlight

Antal Szerb, 1937

Recommended to me by my Hungarian teacher, Dorka; Antal Szerb wrote a captivating novel, “Utas és holdvilág,” in Hungarian. Szerb, a noted Hungarian scholar, graduated from the University of Budapest and later taught there, as well as the University of Szeged. His academic interests spanned from English and Hungarian literature, to general world literature and their respective histories. Being of Jewish descent, his life was tragically cut short when he refused to leave Hungary during the Holocaust and died in the Balf concentration camp. The novel revolves around Mihály, a bourgeois Hungarian, who, while on his honeymoon in Italy, becomes haunted by figures from his youth and embarks on a journey of self-discovery. While traveling through various Italian cities, the story unfolds in a nonlinear way with flashbacks and encounters through various characters. With a very anti-climatic ending, the story nonetheless provides an interesting tale of Mihály’s existential crisis caused by societal pressures clashing with his innermost desires.

Animal Farm

George Orwell, 1945

George Orwell has produced some of my favorite works. In his iconic Animal Farm, Orwell provides an allegorical novella that delves deep into the realms of political ideology, power dynamics, and the often-tragic trajectory of revolutionary fervor. Through the lens of an English farm's animal uprising, Orwell delivers a biting critique of totalitarianism and the corruption of socialist ideals.

Think Again

Adam Grant, 2021

Organizational psychologist, Adam Grant takes readers on an exploration of the importance and power of rethinking one's own beliefs, ideas, and opinions. His thesis is that the ability to think again, to reassess our beliefs, opinions, and strategies, is a crucial skill for personal and professional success. Rather than priding ourselves on our knowledge and convictions, we should prioritize humility, curiosity, and a willingness to change our minds when faced with new evidence. While at times, the book borders on the idealistic, the book's central argument for the importance of mental flexibility in an ever-changing world is an important aspect anyone could benefit from.

Ferguson, Niall. Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power. New York: Basic Books, 2004. Apple Books.

In Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power, Niall Ferguson provides a controversial interpretation of the British Empire and its legacies. Ferguson’s aim is to reevaluate the role and impact that the British Empire had on the modern world, the demise of her Empire, and the ‘lessons’ for its air, the United States. He provides an all-to-familiar exceptionalist narrative, countering negative contemporary interpretations from post-colonial historians. Ferguson argues that, on a balance sheet, while the British Empire was not without blemishes, the empire was a force for good (10-12). The work's structure traces the beginnings of the empire in the 16th century, its expansion through ideology and mission, the cultural and military dynamics in her empire, the eventual dissolution of the empire, and lessons for the U.S.

Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell, 2008

In this Gladwell work, he produces a fascinating exploration of what truly lies behind the pinnacle of success. Through narratives and critical analysis, Gladwell argues that success is not solely the product of innate talent or intelligence. Rather, it’s a complex interplay of external factors, like timing, cultural legacy, and practice. One central point made is his famous “10,000 Hour Rule,” where he explains that it takes that amount of hours of intentional practice to achieve mastery in any field. This is evident in the success stories of the Beatles and Bill Gates.

The Four Agreements

Don Miguel Ruiz, 1997

Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, Ruiz dives into self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create unnecessary suffering. Four principles are proposed to readers; be impeccable with your word, don’t take anything personally, don’t make assumptions, and always do your best. While the general wisdom seems to oversimplify complex psychological obstacles with its overly broad prescriptions, they remain to be general practices one would benefit from.

Ferguson argues that the empire had “pioneered free trade,” capital movements, and labor freedom, post-slavery abolition. He emphasizes Britain’s significant investments in global communication networks, spreading the rule of law and Western norms, and ultimately unmatched global peace. He highlights the early twentieth century’s substantial foreign direct investments in developing countries, which, with British influence, reduced investors' risks in weak economies. Ferguson contends that 'British-style institutions' significantly improved the economic prospects of sparsely populated colonies. He further cites studies showing that colonies under British common law outperformed others, like France's, and in larger British colonies, democratic institutions emerged instead of dictatorships. Overall, he views the empire as a beneficial global governance model, serving more than just the elite (155-159).

Such claims of free markets benefiting colonies' economic developments are contradicted with evidence mentioning the “imperial preference” policy, which restricted trade for those outside the sterling bloc, for African's rights to trade in other colonies (115-128), and the “notorious ‘drain’ of capital from India to Britain” (25). Regarding the promotion of rule and law, these too, are contradicted by the inclusion of evidence showing the promotion of customary law, which excluded Africans from the colonial legal system. In Ferguson’s own words, “Africa would be ruled…with existing African rulers as puppets” of the empire (113). Needless to say, Ferguson also admits that in a sample of fifty-three of Britain's former colonies, only twenty-six remained democracies by 1993, which he simply attributes to the indirect power of Britain, which encouraged collaboration among the elites in those who remained (157). Such a point makes one question the long-term viability and positivity of British frameworks imposed and other factors that shaped former colonies' destinies.

Finally, to claim that global peace was maintained like no other period during the British Empire seems foolish when considering two world wars that took tens of millions of lives, imperial conquests, massacres, and suppression of revolts, hardly a peaceable reign. While Ferguson does acknowledge the dark moments of violence and oppression under British rule like the Amritsar Massacre, the Boer Wars, Mau Mau, the famines in both Bengal and Ireland, and the Partition of India, he takes a suspect approach in attempting to reconcile or redeem the empires atrocities. This is done by juxtaposing these to the ‘far worse’ atrocities of evil empires like Germany, Japan, and Belgium under King Leopold II (155).

Concerning debates over decline, Ferguson argues that Britain sacrificed her empire to do the right thing by opposing the “evil empires of the East,” consequently leaving global power to her “most successful former colony,” the U.S. (134). Yet the idea of sacrificing its empire is far from accurate. In the 1940s and early 1950s, the Labour and Conservative leadership of the British government tried to revive the empire. He argues that it was not a decline but rather a rapid collapse over three decades. Such a collapse had two causal forces. First, Britain's liberal leaders' avoidable failures in both 1914 and 1939 surrounding deterrence policy against the rising empires like Germany. The primary evidence is the lack of conscription, compared to Germany in 1914 (130), and the decrease in the defense budget until 1932 (144). Secondly, the U.S.’s intentional dismantling of the empire through the immediate suspension of the Lend-Lease program between the U.S. and Britain, which bankrupted Britain. The once mighty financial force of the world was now the largest debtor nation, making a revival implausible (152-154).

Ferguson doesn’t take a monocausal or deterministic approach to the Empire’s demise. His argument aligns with the three most necessary conditions for demise in Britain's case: shifting global economics, rival powers' rise, and policymakers' decisions. However, he does not rank these and neglects key moments of decline occurring long before his ‘rapid’ collapse theory. Such moments include the impact of the Berlin Conference of 1884 and its impact on imperial overstretch theory, as well as the Treaty of Versailles’ impact on the eventual rise of Germany and figures like Hitler. Furthermore, he fails to analyze prominent literature on nationalistic challenges within British colonies, simply arguing that Britain could handle such insurrections (12).

Finally, his ‘lessons’ for the U.S. are instead a reality check and warning. Ferguson believes that the U.S. is “an empire in denial” due to its experiences under British control. In this, the U.S. “lacks the drive to export its capital, its people, and its culture” to the areas that need them ‘urgently’ and if neglected, “the greatest threats to its security” will appear. While military technology has evolved, empire is a reality just as much today as it was during the British Empire (160).

Overall, while Ferguson provides an adequate argument to the demise of the British Empire, he fails in his attempts to revive a positive memory of the Empire and in his ‘lessons’ for the U.S. He severely confuses the intentions of its liberal democratic ideals and leaders to the actual consequences of the Empire, and provides an outdated outlook on future global power.