Episode · The Book Review · 2016-11-25
Thomas Friedman on The Book Review: books mentioned
Thomas Friedman on 'Thank You for Being Late'
Gilbert Cruz discussed Thank You for Being Late by Thomas L. Friedman and How to Survive a Plague by David France. David France discussed The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer. Pamela Paul discussed And the Band Played on by Randy Shilts and The American political tradition by Richard Hofstadter. John Williams recommended Sleepless Nights by Elizabeth Hardwick, and discussed Swing Time by Zadie Smith, Speedboat by Renata Adler, and Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill. Also mentioned: A Spy Among Friends Kim Philby And The Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre and others, Twilight of the Elites by Chris Hayes, Anti-intellectualism in American life by Richard Hofstadter and others, The Vegetarian by Han Kang, Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda and others, and In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Thank You for Being Late
Thank You for Being Late by Thomas L.
Discussed“Tom fredman has some reassurance and even some Solutions in his new book thank you for being late an optimist guide to thriving in the age of accelerations”
Where to get it
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How to Survive a Plague
How to Survive a Plague by David France is a comprehensive historical account detailing how ordinary citizens, activists, and scientists came together to fight back and eventually tame the AIDS epidemic.
Discussed“author and filmmaker David France finds new ways to tell the history in his book how to survive a plague”
Where to get it
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The Normal Heart
Discussed“Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart ends even earlier it's about the formation of the first aid service organization in 1980”
Where to get it
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And the Band Played on
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts is widely recognized as the definitive, authoritative history of the public health failures and political negligence that fueled the early HIV/AIDS crisis.
Discussed“it's funny because my initial reaction when seeing the book was of course to think of Randy Schultz and the band played on and I was like well but that book just came out”
Where to get it
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A Spy Among Friends Kim Philby And The Great Betrayal
A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre is a gripping historical non-fiction book that details the life and betrayal of the notorious British double agent Kim Philby and his association with the Cambridge Five spy ring.
Recommended“yes so a little bit ago I had started reading a spy among friends by Ben McIntyre which is about Kim filby and the Cambridge 5 and I got maybe about 50 pages in and it's amazing”
Where to get it
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Twilight of the Elites
Twilight of the Elites by Chris Hayes explores the systemic failures of modern meritocracy and the institutional corruption that followed the 2008 financial crisis.
Discussed“then because I had been thinking a lot about Chris Hayes's book The Twilight of the elites which I had read a few years ago when it came out in 2012 I wanted to return to it”
Where to get it
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Anti-intellectualism in American life
Discussed“so I ended up picking up the Richard hoffstad Book anti-intellectualism in American Life which seemed in some ways connected to Hay's book and started reading that a couple nights ago”
Where to get it
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The American political tradition
Discussed“my first Richard Hofer book which was in high school when I was a junior I for some reason I I I wanted to find what I thought was like a very serious authoritative book on American politics and so in the school library they had an extremely boring looking very stay covered the American political tradition by Richard hoffstead”
Where to get it
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Swing Time
Swing Time by Zadie Smith is an intricate novel that explores themes of race, class, friendship, and cultural identity through the lens of young girls dreaming of becoming tap dancers.
Discussed“I have put aside for the moment swing Time by zadee Smith which is which I'm enjoying but which is a big book”
Where to get it
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Sleepless Nights
Sleepless Nights by Elizabeth Hardwick is a fragmented, deeply atmospheric 1979 novel that blends memoir, fiction, and sharp social observation to reflect on a woman's life across various American and European locations.
Recommended“so I picked up elizabeth Hardwick's sleepless nights which is a from the late 1970s”
Where to get it
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Speedboat
Speedboat by Renata Adler is a fragmentary, highly influential novel defined by its sharp observations and disjointed narrative style.
Discussed“it reminds me a lot of things like rata Adler's speedboat and Jenny ael's Department of speculation from a couple of years ago”
Where to get it
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Dept. of Speculation
Dept.
Discussed“it reminds me a lot of things like rata Adler's speedboat and Jenny ael's Department of speculation from a couple of years ago”
Where to get it
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The Vegetarian
The Vegetarian by Han Kang is a haunting South Korean novel that explores a woman's sudden decision to stop eating meat, which triggers a devastating psychological and familial crisis.
Discussed“listeners will be happy to know that I finished the vegetarian Han Kang's novel so no lurd readings about dying dogs”
Where to get it
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Hamilton
Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter is a non-fiction companion book to the hit musical that explores the creation of the show alongside the original biographical work by Ron Chernow.
Discussed“and I finished Hamilton I haven't quite been able to close the door on it”
Where to get it
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In a Dark, Dark Wood
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware is a suspenseful thriller about a reclusive writer who gets drawn into a chaotic weekend in a remote glass house that ultimately ends in murder.
Recommended“so I picked up a copy of in a dark dark wood which is now in paperback and apparently soon to be a major motion picture”
Where to get it
