Books That Might Save Us

God, what an idiot I am. I can’t even get anyone to read a sentence or two on Facebook, what made me think they would read these books? Ha.

May 1, 2017 ·
We have gotten through the first 100 days of Trump, and there are 1,389 to go. We, as the Resistance, have to have the basic tools to fight on. It seems to me that we need a basic framework to work from, and these ten books cover a lot of that ground. I looked to see what books would cover the 3 branches of government, international affairs, and the economy. This is what I came up with:
100 Days of Books For The Resistance:

1. “The Best and The Brightest,” by David Halberstam. An exhaustive overview of the Kennedy and the Johnson administrations, and the men who staffed them, and how we creeped so disastrously into Viet Nam.

2. “The Guns of August,” Barbara Tuchman’s Pulitzer Prize winning book shows how politicians, kings, czars, and diplomats bumbled into World War I, and set the 20th century on fire.

3. “Capital in the 21st Century,” Income inequality, the misuse of capital, the terrible social price that we pay when we have too much capital concentrated among too few people. Surprisingly readable, even if you don’t know about economics.

4. “Truman,” by David McCullough. President Truman, the 33rd President, made monumental decisions, ushered in the nuclear age, designed a strategy to contain Communism, and put the country on a path with the Truman Doctrine, which is still relevant today.

5. “No Ordinary Time,” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. This book, which covers the Roosevelt White House during WWII, is a great example of how presidential power works, and how Mrs. Roosevelt used her influence to change the country.

6. “The Power Game: How Washington Works,” by Hedrick Smith. Mr. Smith was a New York Times reporter who helped with the Pentagon Papers, and covered the Soviet Union. His book, which covers the efforts to get the 1984 Reagan tax bill through, is a graduate course in legislating.

7. “The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court “ Jeffrey Toobin interviewed hundreds of former clerks, and writes a very readable book about how the court works.

8. “The Passage of Power,” Robert Caro’s five books about Lyndon Johnson are a graduate course in Washington. This book, about the transition from the Kennedy to the Johnson Administrations, shows what happened when the President was assassinated, and what Lyndon Johnson had to do to not just hold the government together, but to push forward, in terrible circumstances.

9. “How To Survive A Plague,” The first reported case of what would become the HIV epidemic was first reported in the CDC publication, The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the MMWR, which alerted doctors to a cluster of 40 men in Los Angeles who had cases of Kaposis Carcinoma. David French covers everything from then on. But, his highly readable, if heartbreaking, study of the AIDS epidemic, and the activism that sprung up, is a great template for today’s resistance.

10. “What I Saw At The Revolution,” Peggy Noonan was one of Ronald Reagan’s speechwriters, and she casts a keen eye on the workings of an administration. Her observations provide a great roadmap of what to watch for when the President is at work.

My disillusionment is complete, so I wrote quick summaries for all the books. Everyone can PRETEND they read them.

Yeah, no one will bother. Here are short summaries:

1. The Best and The Brightest: David Halbermstam eviscerates the Eastern elite for misleading LBJ, and getting 54,000 Americans killed in Viet Nam. Lessons are not learned, and we repeat in 2001. Steve Bannon is spotted with the book. We don’t know why.

2. The Guns Of August: Barbara Tuchman wins a pulitzer Prize, and shows that the 20th Century was set on fire by a handful of bumbling Diplomats, Tzars, Kings, and Kaisers. President Kennedy reads the book, and vows, during the Cuban missile crisis that there won’t be a book, “The Guns of October.” He was right.

3. Capital In the 20th Century. Some French guy points out that the rich are not like us, and they steal all of our money. We are shocked.

4. Truman. David McCullough resurrects Truman, and through an exhaustive study shows just how great Truman was. He re-made the world, liked steak, had lots of whiskey, saved Europe, set up the whole post war world, shepherded the GI Bill along, appointed Eleanor Roosevelt to the UN, and told everyone to fuck off. He read books, and was the last President not to graduate from college, which should give us all pause.

5. No Ordinary Time. Doris Kearns Goodwin shows how both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt got the country through World War II. She focuses on the personal traits — Eleanors determination to save the New Deal, and FDR’s laser like focus to defeat the NAZI’s. Both played a huge role in saving the world. I was exhausted after reading about Eleanor, but then decided if she could do something, so could I.

6. The Power Game: How Washington Works. @Hedrick Smith uses the 1986 tax bill to show how things get done in Washington. Joe Rostenkowski, Speaker of the House, and Chicago area Congressman, cries at one point. The current members of the House and Senate can’t be bothered to read their own bills, let alone a book that explains what THEY might consider doing. Hedrick continues to save the world. Rosenkowki went to jail. There was NO crying.

7. The Nine: Inside the Supreme Court. Jeffrey Toobin shows us that the Supreme Court, like most things, is high school, but with good food and robes.

8. The Passage of Power. Robert Caro, who is the greatest Presidential Historian ever, shows us that LBJ was a great man, was a bad man, was everything, but played Washington, got Medicare, and Voting Rights, and Civil Rights, changed Immigration, wrecked the country with Viet Nam, and paved the way for Barack Obama. We could us some LBJ about now. He was big, and great, and flawed, and remade the country. I love him.

9. How To Survive A Plague: David Frank somehow sets aside his personal story, and writes a clear eyed and frank look at the AIDS epidemic. He shows that a bunch of gay guys, mortally endangered, pull their shit together, and fight. They save the world, and then get depressed afterward. I cannot say enough good things about the book, and have nightmares about all the guys who died when I read it, but I don’t care. It is always good to see the guys, if only in my dreams.

10. What I Saw At the Revolution: Peggy Noonan, young and enthusiastic, goes to Washington, has great success, but leaves disillusioned. Her greatest advice: Don’t fall in love with a politician. I have a plaque that says this, but I fall in love with the fucking politician EVERY FUCKING TIME. I am weak. I live with my failings.