Shinn the Writer

~ Books ~

​

Current Book

Blowout (R. Maddow) In this book, Rachel takes on the Oil industry. Enlightening to say the least. Fracking, international corruption, yikes!

​

May

Red Team Blues (C. Doctorow) This time, Cory is setting his mystery (same central character, Marty Hensch as in "The Bezzle") in the cryptocurrency business. Again, Doctorow draws on his expertise in matters technical, sometimes leaving me a bit lost, but I pick things up again and find the exploration fascinating.

​

Apr

The Bezzle (C. Doctorow)  I've been a fan of Cory Doctorow since a friend introduced me to to "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom". I've really liked some of his stuff, not so much some others. This one was good, and serves as a warning about privatizing the prison system. Actually, Cory has written quite a bit in the last few years. I think I'll try another.

​​

Mar

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (H. S. Thompson) I found that "Lake Wobegon Days" without Garrison Keillor's voice didn't do it for me, so I put it aside and read its polar opposite. I found it to be as fun a read as I've ever encountered. WAY strange, but fun.

​

Feb

The Presidents and the People (C. Brettschneider) Although I didn't care for the writing style, the thesis was interesting: Presidents who overextend their reach are less constrained by the courts and other institutional guardrails than they are by we the people. We build "constitutional constituencies" to fight back. He starts with John Adams and the Alien and Sedition Acts and goes through Nixon, leaving us with where we are today.

 

Jan

Drift (R. Maddow) I'm a big fan, and loved "Bag Man", the story of VP Spiro Agnew's corruption. (I didn't like living through having Agnew as VP, it was the book that I liked.) "Drift" tells the story of our military's getting away from its original mission as described in the constitution and more and more being used by presidents to serve their political interests. And like the saying goes, things are more like they are today than they've ever been before. ​