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Book Group: Past books
Book Group Information
Tue, 01/15/2013 - 5:34pm — Sandra.CoynerA list of books selected and read by this book group from 2008 to 2013 can be found here. For recent books, see below.
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| 09/02/2025 - 2:00pm | Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and how to Bring it Back Again |
Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and how to Bring it Back Again by Marc J. Dunkelman (2025, Public Affairs/Hachette 335pp). America was once a country that built big things, but today progress seems stifled. Conservatives deserve some of the blame, but progressives/democrats do too, because inherent fears of “The Establishment” persist, as “speaking truth to power” has become more important than building a better America. We can learn from the progressives of a century ago how to restore the power of democracy to do good and also restore confidence in democracy. |
| 08/05/2025 - 2:00pm | May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit our Biases—and What We Can Do About It |
May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit our Biases—and What We Can Do About It by Alex Edmans (2024, U. California Press, 300 pp.). “A Statement is not a Fact … A Fact is not Data … Data is not Evidence … ., After identifying flawed thinking referred to by these three statements, this book stresses examining the relationships among e.g. statistics and other sorts of facts. Includes strategies for improving both individuals and societies. Yes, this is about critical thinking, and helps some of our frustration about the current divides in our society. |
| 07/01/2025 - 2:00pm | Stolen Pride: Rise of the Resentful Right |
Stolen Pride: Rise of the Resentful Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild (New Press, 2024, 267pp.). Another careful scholarly study from Arlie Hochschild of people in an area that strongly supports Trumpian populism. Read this and you will understand a lot more. The meeting will take place on Zoom. Contact graf@sou.edu for zoom information. |
| 06/03/2025 - 2:00pm | Of Boys and Men: Why the modern male is struggling, why it matters, and what to do about it. |
Of Boys and Men: Why the modern male is struggling, why it matters, and what to do about it. Richard V. Reeves. 2022. Evan Osnos of the New Yorker calls it "provocative, timely, and rich with real-world solutions." It's a Barack Obama 2024 Summer Reading Selection. We've been reading a lot of books about women's issues. This would provide a good balance. Has a strong grounding in the idea that males are oppressed as males. Our discussion could be lively. The meeting will take place on Zoom. Contact graf@sou.edu for zoom information. |
| 12/03/2024 - 2:00pm | Book Discussion of Ours Was the Shining Future by David Leonhardt |
The Jefferson Center Book Group will meet on Zoom to discuss Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream by David Leonhardt (2023). Leonhardt traces origins, success of, and challenges to the American Dream from the Depression to the present. The big arc of the history he covers is probably familiar, but this author has non-standard (well supported) interpretations of how various parts of the trajectory interrelated. Ends with discussable ideas about what political “compromise” might mean. |
| 06/17/2024 - 12:00pm | What We Owe the Future |
What We Owe the Future: The author is a professor of moral philosophy and this is a philosophical argument that we should prioritize positively influencing the long term future. It’s philosophy, not social science, so it is an argument/essay. |
| 05/20/2024 - 12:00pm | Poverty, by America |
Names, examines, and evaluates all the usual explanations/justifications for poverty, showing what makes sense and what doesn’t. He discusses “what we can do about it” more extensively than other books we have read. Very discussable! |
| 04/22/2024 - 12:00pm | The Gender Knot |
The Gender Knot: A feminist man’s explanation of patriarchy avoiding guilt, blame, anger, denial. |
| 03/18/2024 - 12:00pm | The Power of Crisis |
The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats—and our Response—Will Change the World 2022 by Ian Bremmer. Recent crises show threats & possibilities for hope. Discusses global health emergencies, climate change, and AI. “Provides a roadmap for surviving—even thriving in—the 21st century.” |
| 02/19/2024 - 12:00pm | Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues |
Covid was definitely not the first one. This book examines human history as far back as the Paleolithic through eight serious encounters with infectious disease. Do any patterns emerge? Does it make a difference to view history with disease at the center, perhaps from the main viewpoint of the virus/bacterium? |
Pages
December 3, 2024 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom (not November 18)
Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream by David Leonhardt (2023 about 420 pp.). Traces origins, success of, and challenges to the American Dream from the Depression to the present. Ends with discussable ideas about what political “compromise” might mean.
January 7, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth by Ingrid Robeyns, 2024, 230 pp. Why would reducing extreme wealth be a good idea? And how much wealth is too much? Then, how can greater wealth equality actually be achieved? This book is written by an ethicist and endorsed by data-using scholars including Piketty and other economists. The review says "This provocative consideration of extreme wealth accumulation asks how society might improve if the phenomenon were eliminated. Robeyns, a philosopher, uses the term 'limitarianism' to describe an economic framework that would impose a cap on how much money any single individual can amass."
February 4, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules, and How to Bend them Back by Bruce Schneier, 2023, 252 pp. The concept of “hacking” comes to us from the computer world, and this book first helps us understand its meaning and practice, including how to defend against it. Then Schneier suggests that a hacking mentality underlies much of our social inequality, with whole professions (tax accountants and attorneys, for example) devoted to allowing the wealthy to escape and twist the rules. Includes legal, financial, political, cognitive, and AI hacks.
March 4, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness by Amil Zaki 2024, 225 pp. People on both sides of today’s political divide doubt the goodness of the people on the other side. But research shows that people consistently that people’s goodness is consistently higher—often a lot higher—than people give credit for. Why? What can be done about it? This book has suggestions for decreasing one’s own cynicism and for structuring societies in ways that reduce cynicism more generally. Based on social science studies by the author and others. Be sure to read pp 213-215 (or better, to p.224), Appendix B, in which the author assesses the evidence for and validity of the book's main claims.
April 1, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
I Heard There was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine by Daniel Levitin, 2024, 325 pp. Much of the book reviews ideas, stories, theory and evidence about the therapeutic power of “music as medicine.” The book also contains a great deal of up-do-date information about brain function, emphasizing but not limited to how humans process music.
May 6, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serhii Plokhty , get paperback updated to 2021. About 360 pp. This book starts in the time of the ancient Greeks and goes up to almost today, so it’s a broad scope. This book appeared on all the lists when I looked up recommended books on history of Ukraine. Does Putin have any justification for claiming Ukraine is part of Russia? How did Ukrainian identity develop over time? What main events were determinative?
June 3, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Of Boys and Men: Why the modern male is struggling, why it matters, and what to do about it. Richard V. Reeves. 2022. $17 in paperback. Rec. Ronnie, who says: Evan Osnos of the New Yorker calls it "provocative, timely, and rich with real-world solutions." It's a Barack Obama 2024 Summer Reading Selection. We've been reading a lot of books about women's issues. This would provide a good balance. Sandra Says: I am suspicious of analyses that have a strong grounding in the idea that males are oppressed as males, but willing to read it. Our discussion could be lively.
July 1, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Stolen Pride: Rise of the Resentful Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild (New Press, 2024, 267pp.). rec Ronnie. Another careful scholarly study from Arlie Hochschild of people in an area that strongly supports Trumpian populism. Read this and you will understand a lot more.
August 5, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit our Biases—and What We Can Do About It by Alex Edmans (2024, U. California Press, 300 pp.). “A Statement is not a Fact … A Fact is not Data … Data is not Evidence … ., After identifying flawed thinking referred to by these three statements, this book stresses examining the relationships among e.g. statistics and other sorts of facts. Includes strategies for improving both individuals and societies. Yes, this is about critical thinking, and helps some of our frustration about the current divides in our society. [A lie is easily accepted as “fact” if it resonates with preexisting beliefs. Organization of material seems different from other books on this topic—a good thing, probably a somewhat new perspective on a problem that has troubled us for a long time.]
September 2, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and how to Bring it Back Again by Marc J. Dunkelman (2025, Public Affairs/Hachette 335pp). America was once a country that built big things, but today progress seems stifled. Conservatives deserve some of the blame, but progressives/democrats do too, because inherent fears of “The Establishment” persist, as “speaking truth to power” has become more important than building a better America. We can learn from the progressives of a century ago to restore the power of democracy to do good and also restore confidence in democracy.
October 7, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
The Best of All Possible Worlds: A Life of Leibniz in Seven Pivotal Days by Michael Kempe, 2022. The man who, in parallel with Newton, invented calculus, was clearly able to think outside at least some boxes. Why? How?
December 2, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom [Postponed from November 4]
Religion as Make-Believe: A Theory of Belief, Imagination and Group Identity by Neil Van Leeuwen, 2023, 238 pp. Argues that “belief“ (he calls it “credence”) in religion is not the same as “belief” in ordinary factual issues. It functions more like the creative imaginings that guide make-believe play—with major social functions.
January 6, 2026 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom [NOT December ]
Latinoland: A Portrait of America’s Largest and Least Understood Minority by Marie Arana, 2024, 400 pp. Goes beyond the usual conventional-style histories of Latinos in America discussing the subgroups with reference mainly to their countries of origin. This book is clearly 21st century and sees Latinoland as composed of diverse groups that nevertheless have some similarities—including politics shifting to the right. Based on interviews, personal experience, research into existing scholarship and some journalism.
March 3, 2026 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age by James Chappell, 2024, 296 pp. Ideas about aging have been reframed several times in our culture in ways that affect not only the infrastructure, but also the experience. Clear writing and organizing in this book..
April 7, 2026 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom (check your calendar; has been rescheduled)
We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite by Musa al-Gharbi, 2024, 311 pp. An unusual critique of a “new elite” of the college-educated and professional, who profess wokeness but protect their own privileges. I could hardly put this book down and I am eager to discuss with others, if you are game.
December 3, 2024 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom (not November 18)
Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream by David Leonhardt (2023 about 420 pp.). Traces origins, success of, and challenges to the American Dream from the Depression to the present. Ends with discussable ideas about what political “compromise” might mean.
January 7, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth by Ingrid Robeyns, 2024, 230 pp. Why would reducing extreme wealth be a good idea? And how much wealth is too much? Then, how can greater wealth equality actually be achieved? This book is written by an ethicist and endorsed by data-using scholars including Piketty and other economists. The review says "This provocative consideration of extreme wealth accumulation asks how society might improve if the phenomenon were eliminated. Robeyns, a philosopher, uses the term 'limitarianism' to describe an economic framework that would impose a cap on how much money any single individual can amass."
February 4, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules, and How to Bend them Back by Bruce Schneier, 2023, 252 pp. The concept of “hacking” comes to us from the computer world, and this book first helps us understand its meaning and practice, including how to defend against it. Then Schneier suggests that a hacking mentality underlies much of our social inequality, with whole professions (tax accountants and attorneys, for example) devoted to allowing the wealthy to escape and twist the rules. Includes legal, financial, political, cognitive, and AI hacks.
March 4, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness by Amil Zaki 2024, 225 pp. People on both sides of today’s political divide doubt the goodness of the people on the other side. But research shows that people consistently that people’s goodness is consistently higher—often a lot higher—than people give credit for. Why? What can be done about it? This book has suggestions for decreasing one’s own cynicism and for structuring societies in ways that reduce cynicism more generally. Based on social science studies by the author and others. Be sure to read pp 213-215 (or better, to p.224), Appendix B, in which the author assesses the evidence for and validity of the book's main claims.
April 1, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
I Heard There was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine by Daniel Levitin, 2024, 325 pp. Much of the book reviews ideas, stories, theory and evidence about the therapeutic power of “music as medicine.” The book also contains a great deal of up-do-date information about brain function, emphasizing but not limited to how humans process music.
May 6, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serhii Plokhty , get paperback updated to 2021. About 360 pp. This book starts in the time of the ancient Greeks and goes up to almost today, so it’s a broad scope. This book appeared on all the lists when I looked up recommended books on history of Ukraine. Does Putin have any justification for claiming Ukraine is part of Russia? How did Ukrainian identity develop over time? What main events were determinative?
June 3, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Of Boys and Men: Why the modern male is struggling, why it matters, and what to do about it. Richard V. Reeves. 2022. $17 in paperback. Rec. Ronnie, who says: Evan Osnos of the New Yorker calls it "provocative, timely, and rich with real-world solutions." It's a Barack Obama 2024 Summer Reading Selection. We've been reading a lot of books about women's issues. This would provide a good balance. Sandra Says: I am suspicious of analyses that have a strong grounding in the idea that males are oppressed as males, but willing to read it. Our discussion could be lively.
July 1, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Stolen Pride: Rise of the Resentful Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild (New Press, 2024, 267pp.). rec Ronnie. Another careful scholarly study from Arlie Hochschild of people in an area that strongly supports Trumpian populism. Read this and you will understand a lot more.
August 5, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit our Biases—and What We Can Do About It by Alex Edmans (2024, U. California Press, 300 pp.). “A Statement is not a Fact … A Fact is not Data … Data is not Evidence … ., After identifying flawed thinking referred to by these three statements, this book stresses examining the relationships among e.g. statistics and other sorts of facts. Includes strategies for improving both individuals and societies. Yes, this is about critical thinking, and helps some of our frustration about the current divides in our society. [A lie is easily accepted as “fact” if it resonates with preexisting beliefs. Organization of material seems different from other books on this topic—a good thing, probably a somewhat new perspective on a problem that has troubled us for a long time.]
September 2, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and how to Bring it Back Again by Marc J. Dunkelman (2025, Public Affairs/Hachette 335pp). America was once a country that built big things, but today progress seems stifled. Conservatives deserve some of the blame, but progressives/democrats do too, because inherent fears of “The Establishment” persist, as “speaking truth to power” has become more important than building a better America. We can learn from the progressives of a century ago to restore the power of democracy to do good and also restore confidence in democracy.
October 7, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
The Best of All Possible Worlds: A Life of Leibniz in Seven Pivotal Days by Michael Kempe, 2022. The man who, in parallel with Newton, invented calculus, was clearly able to think outside at least some boxes. Why? How?
December 2, 2025 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom [Postponed from November 4]
Religion as Make-Believe: A Theory of Belief, Imagination and Group Identity by Neil Van Leeuwen, 2023, 238 pp. Argues that “belief“ (he calls it “credence”) in religion is not the same as “belief” in ordinary factual issues. It functions more like the creative imaginings that guide make-believe play—with major social functions.
January 6, 2026 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom [NOT December ]
Latinoland: A Portrait of America’s Largest and Least Understood Minority by Marie Arana, 2024, 400 pp. Goes beyond the usual conventional-style histories of Latinos in America discussing the subgroups with reference mainly to their countries of origin. This book is clearly 21st century and sees Latinoland as composed of diverse groups that nevertheless have some similarities—including politics shifting to the right. Based on interviews, personal experience, research into existing scholarship and some journalism.
March 3, 2026 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age by James Chappell, 2024, 296 pp. Ideas about aging have been reframed several times in our culture in ways that affect not only the infrastructure, but also the experience. Clear writing and organizing in this book..
April 7, 2026 at 2 pm Pacific Time on Zoom (check your calendar; has been rescheduled)
We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite by Musa al-Gharbi, 2024, 311 pp. An unusual critique of a “new elite” of the college-educated and professional, who profess wokeness but protect their own privileges. I could hardly put this book down and I am eager to discuss with others, if you are game.