Person
Every book Gal Beckerman recommended on podcasts
Books recommended by Gal Beckerman
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Dirty Work
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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Eat the Buddha
Barbara Demick's book Eat the Buddha received notable attention on The Book Review in July 2024.
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 investigates the deep-seated political and cultural perspectives of rural Louisiana conservatives.
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 explores how Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic societies developed distinct psychological profiles shaped by historical shifts in family structures and religious institutions.
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 forty-fourth President of the United States, detailing his early life, political rise, and the first term of his 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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At the Existentialist Café
At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell is a group biography detailing 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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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
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
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The British Are Coming
The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson is a comprehensive historical account detailing the early stages of the American Revolution.
Discussed“I am reading Rick Atkinson's the British AR coming”
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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The Jewish American Paradox
Discussed“and finally the Jewish American Paradox embracing choice in a changing World by Robert manukan”
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The new American Judaism
Discussed“the new American Judaism how Jews practice their Religion Today by Jack ver Heimer”
Where to get it
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The Witch Elm
The Witch Elm by Tana French is a suspenseful psychological mystery novel exploring memory, trauma, and family dynamics following a young man who returns to his ancestral home.
Discussed“and I was really intrigued by a cover review we had very recently that Stephen King wrote over her most recent book the the witchel the witch Elm”
Where to get it
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Those who knew
Those Who Knew is a novel by Idra Novey that examines collective complicity, silence, and the reckoning with abuse in a fictional island nation.
Discussed“I'm reading uh those who knew which is a novel by idra Novi it's actually her second book her earlier book was called ways to disappear”
Where to get it
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When Affirmative Action Was White
When Affirmative Action Was White by Ira Katznelson is a historical analysis documenting how public policies and government programs historically benefited white citizens while excluding Black Americans.
Discussed“another book that I reread not too long ago was Ira Catz Nelson's when affirmative action was white which is a history of the new deal”
Where to get it
Books Gal Beckerman wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| From Brooklyn to the Gulag | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 2 |
| Mary Beard on 'Women & Power' | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| Parenting in the Age of Omnipresent Screens | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| Tayari Jones on 'An American Marriage' | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| The Epic Tragedy of Vietnam | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 2 |
| Fiction About Unprecedented Situations | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| Marilyn Stasio on True Crime | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| The Past, Present and Future of Jews in America | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 5 |
| Interrogating the Change Makers | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| The Year in Reading | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 4 |
| Poetry & Politics | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| The Second Coming of the KKK | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| Talking About the 10 Best Books of 2020 | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 3 |
| 10 Best Books of 2019 | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
| Talking About the 10 Best Books of 2021 | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 1 |
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”