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Nonfiction Views: We're doomed! Read all about it! And the week's new nonfiction [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-06-27
No new review this week, but two of the books in this week’s list of new nonfiction did get me thinking about one of the multitude of things I have mixed feelings about: the seductive call of the voice of doom. This week we have books about the damage modern processed foods are doing our bodies and minds, AND we have a book about the damage unregulated toxic chemicals in our clothing is doing to our bodies and minds.
I believe there is a persuasive case to be made for the science behind these subjects...up to a point. I also believe biology—human and otherwise—is remarkable resilient and can still manage to thrive despite the various stresses we are subject to.
There is always a place—and a market—for books warning us of the dangers of modern life. Certainly Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is a classic example, and one that had a big effect: who knows where the planet’s ecology would be had not Carson’s calling out of the dangers of pesticides had been entirely unheeded. Perhaps we would be living in a food-insecure world decades after the collapse of the honeybee population.
On the other hand, the dire predictions of Paul Ehrlich’s 1968 The Population Bomb (just six years after Carson’s Silent Spring) didn’t age as well. The original editions began with the warning
The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate.
Well, that didn’t quite happen. In part, it didn’t happen because of the technological ingenuity of humanity, which helped keep food and raw material production and distribution advancing along with the population. Of course, a lot of that very technology has produced the dangers lurking in our food and our fabrics that these two new books discuss. But let’s be clear: while many of the specifics listed in The Population Bomb did not come to pass, that is not to say the book was wrong. Population growth has caused a lot of problems throughout the world, not least of which is climate change. Ehrlich, now 91 years old and presumably well-fed, fiercely defends his book as foretelling the environmental crisis we are facing.
In 2009, he wrote that “we underestimated the resilience of the world system,” but correctly points out that he predicted the water shortages, famines, wars, migration and environments catastrophes that have indeed happened. in 2015, he said "I do not think my language was too apocalyptic in The Population Bomb. My language would be even more apocalyptic today." And for the record, Ehrlich was also criticized what seemed to be racist, oppressive leanings verging on eugenics in some of the proposals he made to control population, and gave short shrift to problems of distribution and wealth disparity. He acknowledged these failings in his later years. In a 2018 interview, he said “too many rich people in the world is a major threat to the human future, and cultural and genetic diversity are great human resources,” and said that the redistribution of wealth was vital, but "the rich who now run the global system — that hold the annual 'world destroyer' meetings in Davos — are unlikely to let it happen."
I’ve read accounts of the fearful predictions in the past of the dangerous effects of electrification of communities, or of the dangers to the human body of traveling faster than the speed of a horse. Well, those specific dire scenarios did not happen...and yet, is not the environmental crisis we face a direct result of generating electricity and of the internal combustion engine?
In the end, I do believe our achievements also contain the seeds of our destruction. I do believe that the crap in our processed foods and the chemicals in everything we use in our daily lives have damaging effects. But I also believe in that resilience, and I also can acknowledge that those agricultural and chemical technologies have save millions of lives. It’s a trade-off.
I believe in tipping points. I am persuaded by the science that we are quickly approaching environmental catastrophe that it may be too late to stop. I do believe that despite the wonders of the internet, we haven’t come to a full understanding of how the remoteness of connection, the ease of misinformation and the shallow, short attention spans are affecting us. I do believe that AI is a growing threat that can easily get out of control and degrade our ability to tell truth from falsehood.
On the other hand, I DO NOT believe vaccines cause autism. We all have the alarming theories we buy into and others we reject.
In the end, as in everything, it comes down to the human need for narrative. Whether is is about living a successful life, falling in love, or facing a doomsday scenario, we always need to shape things into a story form.
THIS WEEK’S NEW NOTABLE NONFICTION
American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress, by Wesley Lowery. In 2008, Barack Obama’s historic victory was heralded as a turning point for the country. And so it would be—just not in the way that most Americans hoped. The election of the nation’s first Black president fanned long-burning embers of white supremacy, igniting a new and frightening phase in a historical American cycle of racial progress and white backlash. Lowery charts the return of this blood-stained trend, showing how the forces of white power retaliated against Obama’s victory—and both profited from, and helped to propel, the rise of Donald Trump. Interweaving deep historical analysis with gripping firsthand reporting on both victims and perpetrators of violence, Lowery uncovers how this vicious cycle is carrying us into ever more perilous territory, how the federal government has failed to intervene, and how we still might find a route of escape.
The Age of Insurrection: The Radical Right's Assault on American Democracy, by David Neiwert. From a smattering of ominous right-wing compounds in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, to the shocking January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, America has seen the culmination of a long-building war on democracy being waged by a fundamentally violent and antidemocratic far-right movement that unironically calls itself the "Patriot" movement. Neiwert explores how the movement was built over decades, how it was set aflame by Donald Trump and his cohorts, and how it will continue to attack American democracy for the foreseeable future.
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Britain and the American Dream, by Peter Moore. This book explores the story of what may be the most successful import in US history: the “American dream.” Centered on the friendship between Benjamin Franklin and the British publisher William Strahan, and featuring figures including the cultural giant Samuel Johnson, the ground-breaking historian Catharine Macaulay, the firebrand politician John Wilkes, and revolutionary activist Thomas Paine, this book looks at the generation that preceded the Declaration in 1776. Everyone, it seemed, had “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” on their minds; Moore shows why, and reveals how these still-nascent ideals made their way across an ocean and started a revolution.
We May Dominate the World: Ambition, Anxiety, and the Rise of the American Colossus, by Sean A. Mirski. The author tells the riveting story of how the United States became a regional hegemon in the century following the Civil War. By turns reluctant and ruthless, Americans squeezed their European rivals out of the hemisphere while landing forces on their neighbors’ soil with dizzying frequency. Mirski reveals the surprising reasons behind this muscular foreign policy in a narrative full of twists, colorful characters, and original accounts of the palace coups and bloody interventions that turned the fledgling republic into a global superpower. Today, as China makes its own run at regional hegemony and nations like Russia and Iran grow more menacing, Mirski’s fresh look at the rise of the American colossus offers indispensable lessons for how to meet the challenges of our own century.
Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind the Food That Isn't Food, by Chris van Tulleken. For the first time in human history, most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food. There’s a long, formal scientific definition, but it can be boiled down to this: if it’s wrapped in plastic and has at least one ingredient that you wouldn’t find in your kitchen, it’s UPF. These products are specifically engineered to behave as addictive substances, driving excess consumption. They are now linked to the leading cause of early death globally and the number one cause of environmental destruction. Yet almost all our staple foods are ultra-processed. UPF is our food culture and for many people it is the only available and affordable food.
is our food culture and for many people it is the only available and affordable food. To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick--and How We Can Fight Back, by Alden Wicker. Many of us are aware of the ethical minefield that is fast fashion: the dodgy labor practices, the lax environmental standards, and the mountains of waste piling up on the shores of developing countries. But have you stopped to consider the dangerous effects your clothes are having on your own health? Award-winning journalist Alden Wicker breaks open a story hiding in plain sight: the unregulated toxic chemicals that are likely in your wardrobe right now, how they’re harming you, and what you can do about it. In To Dye For, Wicker reveals how clothing manufacturers have successfully swept consumers’ concerns under the rug for more than 150 years, and why synthetic fashion and dyes made from fossil fuels are so deeply intertwined with the rise of autoimmune disease, infertility, asthma, eczema, and more.
Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims, by Jennifer Vanderbes. In 1959, a Cincinnati pharmaceutical firm, the William S. Merrell Company, quietly began distributing samples of an exciting new wonder drug already popular around the world. Touted as a sedative without risks, thalidomide was handed out freely, under the guise of clinical trials, by doctors who believed approval by the Food and Drug Administration was imminent. But in 1960, when the application for thalidomide landed on the desk of FDA medical reviewer Frances Kelsey, she quickly grew suspicious. When she learned that the drug was causing severe birth abnormalities abroad, she and a team of dedicated doctors, parents, and journalists fought tirelessly to block its authorization in the United States and stop its sale around the world. Jennifer Vanderbes set out to write about this FDA success story only to discover a sinister truth that had been buried for decades: For more than five years, several American pharmaceutical firms had distributed unmarked thalidomide samples in shoddy clinical trials, reaching tens of thousands of unwitting patients, including hundreds of pregnant women. Deceived by the pharmaceutical firms, betrayed by doctors, and ignored by the government, most of these Americans had spent their lives unaware that thalidomide had caused their birth defects.
Directions to Myself: A Memoir of Four Years, by Heidi Julavits. One summer Heidi Julavits sees her son silhouetted by the sun and notices he is at the threshold of what she calls “the end times of childhood.” When did this happen, she asks herself. Who is my son becoming—and what qualifies me to be his guide? The next four years feel like uncharted waters. Rape allegations rock the university campus where Julavits teaches, unleashing questions of justice and accountability, as well as education and prevention. She begins to wonder how to prepare her son to be the best possible citizen of the world he’s about to enter. And what she must learn about herself to responsibly steer him. Intimate, rigorous, and refreshingly unsentimental, Directions to Myself cements Julavits’s reputation as one of the most shrewdly innovative nonfiction writers at work today.
Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians, by Tara Isabella Burton. As attitudes towards religion, politics and society evolved, our sense of self did as well, moving from a collective to individual mindset. Through a series of chronological biographical essays on famous (and infamous) "self-creators" in the modern Western world, from the Renassiance to the Enlightenment to modern capitalism and finally to our present moment of mass media, Burton examines the theories and forces behind our never-ending need to curate ourselves. Through a vivid cast of characters and an engaging mix of cultural and historical commentary, we learn how the personal brand has come to be.
Money, Power, Respect: How Women in Sports Are Shaping the Future of Feminism. by Macaela MacKenzie. Women’s sports receive a fraction of the airtime allotted for men’s sports, as well as a fraction of the marketing dollars, media coverage, and training resources. For every dollar that the NBA’s highest-paid player brings home, the WNBA’s highest-paid player earns just half a cent. But while misogyny in sports is particularly visible, it’s not unique. Women athletes face the same sexist barriers found in all career fields: the motherhood penalty, transphobia and misogynoir, underpromotion, and more. But women in sports are fighting back, debunking myths that women aren’t as skilled, competitive, or capable of generating revenue as men.
All book links in this diary are to my online bookstore The Literate Lizard. If you already have a favorite indie bookstore, please keep supporting them. If you’re able to throw a little business my way, that would be appreciated. Use the coupon code DAILYKOS for 15% off your order, in gratitude for your support (an ever-changing smattering of new releases are already discounted 15% each week). We also partner Libro.fm for audiobooks. Libro.fm is similar to Amazon’s Audible, with a la carte audiobooks, or a $14.99 monthly membership which includes the audiobook of your choice and 20% off subsequent purchases during the month.
READERS & BOOK LOVERS SERIES SCHEDULE
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