Jill Ciment, Consent: a memoir. A great short book on how to have a terrific life for decades, and not even realize it. In this case, a 17-year-old girl (Ciment) ends up getting married to a man who started sleeping with her when she was 47 years old. They had a common-law marriage for decades, though? How important is “scary” anyway? He doesn’t seem to cry out of displeasure. But is it just a mistake?
Hugh Warwick, Cull of the Wild: Killing in the Name of Conservation. A well-written and nuanced account of the tensions and paradoxes involved in conservation efforts. What if saving one animal leads to the destruction of others? I’m slowly learning how many British people are obsessed with hedgehogs. And I had no idea how much the introduction of earthworms in the 18th century, from Britain to North America, was shaping the environment.
Ebbe Dommissse, Anton Rupert: A Sign of Business Life is a history book that acknowledges that perhaps the richest man in South Africa, tobacco is a central part of his business empire. For a different perspective, read Pieter h de Toit, The Stellenbosch Mafia: Inside the Billionaire’s Club.
Charles King, All the Valley: The Desperate Life and Troubled Times That Made Handel’s Messiah. This is what you can look for in Handel’s Messiah. I didn’t know that Handel was supported for a while by the Medici in Florence. After all, Suzuki will be driving the Messiah in DC in late December, be there or square off!
Phumlani M. Majozi, Lessons of Past Heroes: How the rejection of victimhood doctrines will save South Africa. The Zulu style is free from what the title promises.
David Albright and Andrea Stricker, South Africa’s Nuclear Weapons Program Revisited: Its History, Dismantling, and Contemporary Lessons. It’s strange how little-noticed this episode is in world history, however this is a book worth following, fascinating throughout.
I’m still in my lecture on Nathaniel Popper’s The Trolls of Wall Street: How Outcasts and Rebels Hacked the Markets, which covers what happened at WallStreetBets.
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