My Short Stack #4
What am I reading these days? For my fellow lifelong learners who share common interests, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Disclaimer: I have not completed some of the books listed, but I have read enough of each to keep them in my 'to be continued' short stack.
I am a sampler. I rarely read a book from start to finish and then move on to the next one. I read a little of this, then a little of that.
When something really gets my attention, I drill down.
I will limit my judgments and opinions to avoid biasing other readers as much as possible.
*
1. The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin’s House by Daniel Mark Epstein
The story of Ben Franklin and his illegitimate son, William, their close relationship when William was a child, and later estrangement over politics is fascinating, especially in light of current events.
2. There is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone
How is it in the land of oligarchs that some people can work multiple jobs and cannot afford housing; they have to sleep in cars and roach-infested motels?
The income inequality problem is on full display.
Since John Edwards' downfall, no one talks about it.
*
Distinctions:
· 2026 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (Bertelsmann)
· Los Angeles Times Book Prize
· A finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal
· A finalist for the Bernstein Award
· Named a “Best Book of the Year” by several outlets, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, and The Washington Post. (The Pulitzer Prizes)
· My personal pick for best book of the year.
*
3. 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History and How It Shattered a Nation by Andrew Ross Sorkin
With over 400 pages of text and over 400 footnotes, some may find this daunting, but Sorkin is a great writer, and he makes the story of the Great Crash interesting, if not entertaining.
4. Wisdom is Work by Ryan Holiday
The Texas Sage completes his four-part series on Stoic virtues and includes a bold take-down of Elon Musk.
How could somebody so smart be so devoid of wisdom?
5. White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson
I fear we have forgotten and whitewashed the Great Euphemism we call “Reconstruction.”
President Andrew Johnson believed that the only way to hold the union together after Appomattox was the Neville Chamberlain approach: appease. He put all of the former slave owners back in power.
Carol Anderson, Professor and Chair of African American Studies at Emory University, does a great job of describing how the only thing “reconstructed” was slavery.
Must reading, along with The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.
What is wrong with us?
I will have more to say about this in a separate post.
6. Wisdom of the 90s by George Burns
I also worry that the once-popular Burns and Allen Show has been lost to history.
George Burns and Gracie Allen began as a vaudeville act.
They evolved to a thirty-minute radio show, which ran from 1934 to 1950, and then moved to television from 1950 to 1958.
That’s a long run.
Always ending with their famous close:
George: “Say goodnight, Gracie.”
Gracie: “Goodnight, Gracie.”
Gracie retired in 1958 and died of a heart attack in 1964 at the age of 69.
George lived to be 100.
They buried him next to Gracie.
Their comedic humor is timeless.
This book is George flying solo into his 90s: a short book guaranteed to make you laugh.
*
“There are many ways to die in bed, but the best way is not alone.” GB
*
7. Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
An insider’s view of what it was like to be a victim of Epstein’s trafficking.
8. The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe by James Patterson
The mystery of Marilyn’s death will always haunt us.
Raised in multiple foster homes, Marilyn, through her own hard work and natural beauty, becomes one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, first the lover of the President of the United States, then of his brother.
Add to the plot movie stars like Peter Lawford, also a member of the Kennedy clan; Sam Giacana, sociopathic mafioso; the CIA; J. Edgar Hoover; Joe DiMaggio, one of the greatest baseball players to ever swing a bat; and evidence at the scene of her death that never added up to the official pronouncement of suicide, and you have a story worthy of Agatha Christie.
How did they leave out Jimmy Hoffa?
I have noticed that Prime is now streaming several movies about Marilyn’s death and the connections among the Kennedys, the Mob, and the deaths of Jack and Bobby.
So, what happened to Marilyn?
Spoiler alert: a lot of fingers point to Bobby. But could the Attorney General of the United States really murder the most beautiful woman in the world? Others point to the CIA and suggest that they put out a hit on Marilyn, and Giancana took the contract.
Did she know too much?
James Patterson, master of crime fiction, weighs in.
9. Bossypants by Tina Fey
Tina Fey released this autobiographical memoir in 2011 to critical acclaim.
It is still getting buzz, having just been named “Number One Funniest Memoir” by Goodreads.
For my money, it was clever and witty, but I didn’t catch myself laughing as much as I do with Carlin or Patch Adams.
Then, again, while I appreciated her work on SNL (especially during the Sarah Palin days), I never watched 30 Rock.
10. Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben-Ghiat
A well-written and brief history of 20th-century dictators from Mussolini to Trump by a history professor at NYU.
*
Just read a little bit every day, and it will enhance your life (or, at least, make you more interesting at cocktail parties).