Here, I will describe several
new non-fiction books. I have grouped them together because I think that many
of these will interest our students, particlularly those working on their Junior
Theme research.
TRUTH by Hector
Macdonald (March 6, 2018; Little, Brown and Company) is, of course, extremely
timely and will add to a number of books already in our collection which deal
with Psychology, Critical Thinking, Journalism or Mass Media, Objectivity and
Bias. Macdonald subtitles his text “How the Many Sides to Every Story Shape Our
Reality” and takes a somewhat unusual stand in arguing that truth actually
comes in many forms. His book is divided
into sections titled: Partial truths, Subjective truths, Artificial Truths, and
Unknown truths. In each case, he provides examples; these range from the fad of
consuming quinoa to King George VI’s speech at the beginning of WWII to pamphlets
produced by the Texas Department of State Health Services. At one point, Macdonald notes that Orwell’s
“fears for the integrity of the truth are turning out to be well-founded but
misdirected. It is not simply that we are being lied to; the more insidious
problem is that we are routinely misled by the truth.” He describes three types
of communicators: advocates, misinformers and misleaders, where the latter are
deliberately trying to “deploy competing truths to create an impression of
reality that they know is not true.”
This lack of black vs. white and true vs false is a difficult concept
for our students and I believe that TRUTH with its many business
stories (involving labeling, advertising and motivation) will be a popular
resource, especially since teachers have often asked us to teach about “fake news” and
misinformation while limiting political examples.
THE SUSTAINABLE CITY by Steven Cohen (Nov. 2017; Columbia UP) is a
scholarly work that looks at “the sustainable city from an organizational and
public policy perspective.” Cohen has
divided the book into three parts: Concepts, Cases and Conclusions. He defines a
sustainable city as one which “facilitates human economic (production and
consumption) and social life with the least possible impact on the
environment.” He looks at several systems (energy, water, waste, sewage, food,
transport and public space) and devotes a chapter to examining the role of
local and state governments in setting policy.
His case studies are fascinating, including those from the US, China,
Columbia, Japan and Africa. Cohen, a professor at Columbia, is honest enough to
say, “While I am confident that the transition to a sustainable and renewable
economy will take place in the world’s cities, I am far from confident that I
understand how the change will take place.” He calls for more research,
discussion and analysis, all of which should appeal to our students interested
in the rapidly urbanizing world and related environmental concerns. 
MELTDOWN by Chris
Clearfield and András Tilcsik (March 20; Penguin Press) provides an intriguing
look at “Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It.” The authors (a pilot/former derivatives
trader and a business professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of
Management), discuss how as systems become increasingly complex and more
tightly coupled they are also more prone to failure. In an engaging, readable way they freshen the
mid-80s work of social scientist Charles Perrow with many current day examples
(an airliner crash, VW emissions scandal, and the Oscars mix-up among others ).
Another connection I made was to Levine’s and Stark’s 2015 op-ed on “Diversity Makes you Brighter.” MELTDOWN raises awareness of important issues and is likely
to appeal especially to fans of writing by Charles Duhigg, Adam Grant and Daniel
Pink, all of whom have posted positive review comments. On that side note; mark
your calendars: Daniel Pink will be speaking locally in April and I will post
those details soon.
The last two books which I will mention briefly deal with
international affairs and foreign policy. Again, I can readily see their appeal for students
pursuing those topics for Junior Theme.
THE RETURN OF MARCO POLO'S WORLD by best-selling author
Robert D. Kaplan (March 6, Random House) examines the interplay between
cultures and economics/trade through a series of essays. Kaplan is known as a strategic thinker and
while the execution seemed a bit dry at times, the subject matter is
fascinating and his text received a starred review from Kirkus. EMPIRE
IN RETREAT by Victor Bulmer-Thomas (March
27; Yale University Press) is subtitled, “The
past, present and future of the Unites States.”
Bulmer-Thomas provides a thorough review of “empire,” American
imperialism, and potential changes in world leadership/standing. One aspect I
particularly liked was his discussion of soft, hard and smart power. This is clearly
a more scholarly approach, but those are concepts that I found students to be
very curious about this year.
Please let us know if you
have a non-fiction title to suggest for purchase.
