The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? by Michael J. Sandel

Review by Brian Tanguay The belief that markets and merit are the only way to organize society has become an article of faith in American society and culture. Over the…

Having and Being Had by Eula Biss

Review by George Yatchisin Eula Biss wants me to be better and I’m not sure I’m up for that. When I refer to the quick several page essays that build…

Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World by Tom Burgis

Review by Brian Tanguay Kleptocracy is nothing new. Dictators and tyrants like the Shah of Iran, Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, and Vladimir Putin in Russia,…

The Gospel According to H.L. Hix by H.L. Hix

Review by Walter Cummins First, came the gospel writer cluster of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Now, two thousand years later, the world has another “according to” version, in this…

The Presidents vs. The Press by Harold Holzer

Review by Elizabeth Starkey In The Presidents vs. The Press: The Endless Battle Between the White House and the Media from the Founding Fathers to the Fake News, Harold Holzer,…

What Were We Thinking by Carlos Lozada

Review by Elizabeth Starkey What Were We Thinking, from Washington Post book critic Carlos Lozada, bears the subtitle A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era, but could have just…

Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Review by Brian Tanguay For many white people in America, the work of confronting our history of racism is hard and uncomfortable, a topic to avoid or view as something…

Monopolized: Life In The Age Of Corporate Power by David Dayen

Reviewed by Brian Tanguay If you have flown on a commercial airline, rented a car, purchased tickets to a concert or sporting event, or shopped for an internet service provider,…

Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson

Reviewed by David Starkey Anyone who has looked out an airplane window while flying between the Americas and Asia has no doubt marveled at the vast expanse of water and…