Person
Every book Gal Beckerman recommended on podcasts
Gal Beckerman’s most recommended books
- Dirty Work by Eyal Press
- The chosen wars by Steven R. Weisman
- Eat the Buddha by Barbara Demick
- Faithful Place by Tana French
- Strangers in their own land by Arlie Russell Hochschild
- The dawn watch by Maya Jasanoff
- The flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
- The Last Whalers by Doug Bock Clark
- The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Patrick Henrich
- Who is Rich? by Matthew Klam
Gal Beckerman appeared as a guest on The Book Review to discuss and recommend a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction titles during podcast roundtable discussions. Beckerman discussed reading Rachel Kushner's novel The Flamethrowers and highlighted Tana French's Faithful Place as a breakout book for the author. He also recommended Matthew Klam's comic novel Who Is Rich?, noting that it uniquely balanced incredibly depressing elements with laugh-out-loud moments on nearly every page. Among his personal favorites, Beckerman recommended Arlie Russell Hochschild's Strangers in Their Own Land as a notable explanation for trying to understand contemporary viewpoints. He further expressed admiration for Maya Jasanoff's The Dawn Watch, Doug Bock Clark's The Last Whalers, and Barbara Demick's Eat the Buddha. Additionally, Beckerman recommended Joseph Henrich's The WEIRDest People in the World as an extra favorite book that he deeply enjoyed. Through these regular podcast contributions, Beckerman highlighted contemporary fiction, cultural studies, narrative history, and immersive journalistic non-fiction.
Books recommended by Gal Beckerman
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Dirty Work
Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America by Eyal Press is a powerful work of investigative reportage exploring the psychological and moral costs borne by workers in society's most difficult occupations.
Recommended“so I want to talk about a wonderful work of reportage it's a all press's Dirty Work essential jobs and the hidden toll of inequality”
Where to get it
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The chosen wars
Discussed“Steve wiseman's The Chosen Wars how Judaism became an American religion”
Where to get it
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Eat the Buddha
Eat the Buddha is a poignant and deeply reported non-fiction book by Barbara Demick that explores the tumultuous history, life, and tragic deaths within a Tibetan town under Chinese rule.
Recommended“one is eat the Buddha by Barbara demic”
Where to get it
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Faithful Place
Faithful Place by Tana French is a dark and atmospheric psychological mystery novel that follows an undercover detective forced to confront ghosts from his past when a cold case hits close to home.
Recommended“she pointed to faithful place which is her third book and I think in some in some ways was kind of a from what I could tell from the criticism that I've read was kind of a breakout book for her”
Where to get it
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Strangers in their own land
Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild is a sociological study that attempts to understand the political landscape and emotional logic of conservative communities in Louisiana.
Recommended“another book that that uh that was notable for me was Arlene Hawk Shields strangers in their own land which I really loved also is an explanation for kind of trying to kind of get our minds around”
Where to get it
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The dawn watch
The Dawn Watch by Maya Jasanoff is a biographical and historical examination of Joseph Conrad and his world.
Recommended“I really liked Amaya jasanoff's the dawn watch which also just came out pretty recently”
Where to get it
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The flamethrowers
The flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner is a sweeping novel set in the 1970s art and radical politics scene.
Recommended“I'm reading Rachel kushner's the flamethrowers I saw that she has a new book coming out the mar room I believe it's called April 15th”
Where to get it
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The Last Whalers
The Last Whalers by Doug Bock Clark is a work of immersive journalism documenting the lives of the last traditional whale hunters on a remote Indonesian island as the modern world encroaches on their ancient way of life.
Recommended“it's called the last Whalers by Doug Bach Clark”
Where to get it
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The WEIRDest People in the World
The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Patrick Henrich, Joseph Henrich, and Korey Jackson is an exploration of how psychology, anthropology, and culture intersect to shape distinct societal structures.
Recommended“it's the weirdest people in the world by Joseph Henrik”
Where to get it
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Who is Rich?
Who Is Rich? by Matthew Klam is a darkly comic contemporary novel about a middle-aged cartoonist grappling with marriage, art, and desire.
Recommended“I'm reading a a comic novel that came out earlier this year I think in the summer by Matthew clam is called who is Rich and this book has had the distinction for me of being a book that I find like incredibly depressing but that has like laugh out loud elements on like like every page”
Where to get it
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A horse walks into a bar
A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman is a bleak and darkly comic novel that centers on a tragic stand-up comedy performance in a small Israeli town.
Discussed“well I'll explain um it's David Grossman's horse walks into a bar which I've been meaning to read for about a year”
Where to get it
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A Promised Land
A Promised Land by Barack Obama is the presidential memoir by the 44th President of the United States, offering a detailed and reflective look into his early life, political rise, and the first term of his historic presidency.
Discussed“second book on the non-fiction side is a Promised Land by Barack Obama call so this is a memoir by someone who all of our readers all of our audience watching this will be very familiar with who he is the 44th President of the United States”
Where to get it
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An Empire of Their Own
Discussed“I've become very interested in Hollywood Chronicles and that got me to Neil gabler's book an Empire of their own which came out in the late 80s”
Where to get it
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At the Existentialist Café
Sarah Bakewell's "At the Existentialist Café" is a lively group biography that chronicles the lives and ideas of the prominent existentialist philosophers of the twentieth century.
Discussed“yeah um so I I read last year I read um Sarah Bell's uh at the existentialist Cafe”
Where to get it
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Coming apart
Coming Apart by Charles A.
Discussed“so uh he talks about reading charl Murray's coming apart Robert putnam's our kids uh I think both those books uh came out in this past year”
Where to get it
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Ghettoside
Ghettoside by Jill Leovy is a powerful non-fiction book that explores the reality of homicide and law enforcement in American cities.
Discussed“and the one that I've been I'm I'm almost at the end of now is Jill Leo's ghetto side it's a non-fiction book came out in 2015”
Where to get it
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Girls to the Front
Discussed“I think for the moment it's a Sarah Marcus's book girls to the front which is uh a history of the riot Girl Movement”
Where to get it
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Irrational man
Irrational Man by William Barrett is a classic 1958 survey that introduces readers to the foundational concepts and key figures of existentialist philosophy.
Discussed“is William Barrett's uh irrational man which was a a survey kind of of existentialism that came out in 1958”
Where to get it
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Our Kids
Our Kids by Robert D.
Discussed“so uh he talks about reading charl Murray's coming apart Robert putnam's our kids uh I think both those books uh came out in this past year”
Where to get it
The other 7 books Gal Beckerman recommended or discussed, ranked
- The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson
- The Jewish American Paradox by Robert H. Mnookin
- The mirage factory by Gary Krist
- The new American Judaism by Jack Wertheimer
- The Witch Elm by Tana French
- Those who knew by Idra Novey
- When Affirmative Action Was White by Ira Katznelson
Appearances
Other mentions (5: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I'm reading Rachel kushner's the flamethrowers I saw that she has a new book coming out the mar room I believe it's called April 15th”
“it sounds a little similar to you know what Thomas Frank tried to do with what's the matter with Kansas”
“her earlier book was called ways to disappear and I guess you could call this a political thriller”
“she's the author of a previous Memoir priest staddy and something of a Twitter performance artist”
“And I still plan to is Gary Young's book which was called another day in the death of America”