My goal for 2018 was to submerge myself in non-fiction, the better, I decided,
to make a stab at understanding events in my hemisphere and in the world. True confession:
I almost drowned (life raft in the next post). So, this column of my favorite non-fiction reads is not for
the faint of heart. It’s for the
resilient, the agents. It targets
those who need perspectives and information to get truth and rationality out
there in the trenches, to « rouse
a disaffected humanity and press the world’s physical truths into its
palms » as Barbara Kingsolver says, in Unsheltered
(p. 193). I’ll begin with my daily
news sources, and end with my book-of-the-year selection.
Journalism
Throughout the year, I continued to get my news from online
newspapers: The Globe and Mail, The New
York Times, the Washington Post,
and my two local papers. I
continue to follow the courageous columnists
I recommended in last
year’s best-reads post. This year, I stumbled on unconventional
news sources, namely :
•
Chris Hedges in Truthdig; his most recent article The Election Circus Begins,
exemplifies his lucid and frank prose.
•
Ryan Holiday, a personal strategist often
published in Medium, (cf How toDevelop Better Habits in 2019) who led me to
•
Umair Haque, an uncompromising chronicler of
American collapse and the menace
of authoritarianism.
Politics
•
No Is Not
Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need
(2017) by Naomi Klein—the Canadian activist’s call to action
"To have a hope of changing the world, we’re going to have to be
willing to change ourselves." (p. 261)
•
Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic
(2017) by David Frum
•
The World
As It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House (2018) by Ben Rhodes. Fascinating account of the critical
events of the Obama presidency. Here’s
the difference between what really happens and what we know about what
happens.
•
America, The Farewell Tour (2018) by Chris
Hedges
More on the American collapse,
with a stark message on the caveats of citizenship: "Resistance entails
suffering. It requires
self-sacrifice. It accepts that we
may be destroyed. It is not
rational. It is not about the
pursuit of happiness. It is about
the pursuit of freedom." (p. 305)
•
War on
Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence (2018) Ronan
Farrow
Understand
the cumulative effect of decades of budget cuts in diplomatic offices and
preferences for military solutions.
Indigenous Issues and
Truth and Reconciliation
Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-Up Call (2017) by
Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ron Derrickson
Manuel and Derrickson write a history
of the Indigenous peoples of British Columbia. The authors describe their experiences growing up, as well
as their roles as activists in the events that shaped the directions of
relations with First Nations on the federal and provincial levels. They are frank in their assessments,
and provide singular perspectives and insights.
The Comeback
(2014) by John Ralston Saul
Indigenous peoples are reclaiming their power and influence
in Canada. "The situation is
simple [he says]. Aboriginals have
made and will continue to make a remarkable comeback. They cannot be stopped. Non-aboriginals have a choice to make. We can continue to stand in the way so
that the comeback is slowed and surrounded by bitterness. Or we can be supportive and part of a
new narrative." (p. 6)
Being Human
Barking to the Choir:
The Power of Radical Kinship by Gregory Boyle (2017)
“Seek first the kinship, and watch what
happens,” Boyle says. The path to
reconciliation is relationship, and all of us have a responsibility to make it
happen. Why all of us? We have a pulse, Boyle says. “This larger sense of belonging to each
other acknowledges that many are the things that connect us, and those things
that divide us are few and no match for our kinship.” This book is the cumulative wisdom of Boyle’s decades of
developing relationships with former gang members to support them in building a
solid life.
The Widower’s Notebook
(2018) Jonathan Santlofer. Memoir
Santlofer’s wife dies in his arms in their living room a few
days after surgery. The book
describes his reaction and his efforts to rebuild his life.
Hockey Matters
Game Change: The Life
and Death of Steve Montador and the Future of Hockey (2017) by Ken Dryden
Breaking Away (2015)
by Patrick O’Sullivan
Both accounts provide insights into the physical and
emotional toll a hockey life can exact.
Yvette’s Book of the
Year
Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker and the
Anatomy of Intrigue (2018) by Ryan Holiday
Hands down, this was the best book I read in 2018. Not only did this real-life drama
read like a mystery novel, Holiday supplemented the account judiciously with
lessons in strategy from his vast reading. He explains a complex matter with unerring clarity, and
provides frequent summaries of names and events without ever sounding
condescending. A masterful job on
all levels—research, structure, storytelling, and language. This was an unexpected
page-turner. In fact, after I read
the library copy, I purchased a copy to keep. It was that good.
My favorite aspect, however, is the emphasis on agency, on the power of
the individual to make change: "If you want to have a different world, it is on you to make it
so. It will not be easy to do
it—it may even require things that you are reluctant to consider. It always has. Moreover, that is your obligation [author’s italics] if you are
called to a higher task. To do
what it takes, to see it through." (p. 294) Very timely message.
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