Books

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📖 One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

in-progress, Apr.

📖 The Looting Machine

completed, Mar-Apr. Not as readable as Bevins' work, but interesting nonetheless. The age of the book does make me interested to do my own research on the situation post-2015. The main subject person of the book, Sam Pa, has not been seen since the book was published, and is listed on Wikipedia as having disappeared. It was also a great followup to Season 6 of Blowback Pod, which focused on the civil war in Angola, and I was glad to have some context while reading this.

📖 If We Burn

completed, Mar. Another great read. Much less immediately depressing than The Jakarta Method, with both feet firmly in the 2010s, but still looking forward. It feels very much actionable, like a "yes, and", rather than just history. Really appreciate Bevins' self-awareness of his own biases and limited perspective, and his efforts to write beyond that too.

📖 The Jakarta Method

completed, Mar. Unbelievably harrowing read. I found it extremely gripping and readable despite how bleak the subject matter was.

📖 Manchukuo 1987

completed, Feb. I absolutely loved this book, and found it very affecting. It's very good at humanising its characters, and expressing the tension of conforming into your role, society, your race, class. One of my favourite pieces of alt-history fiction.

📖 Hadji Murad

completed, Jan - Feb. The first Tolstoy I've read. Wonderful, evocative prose. I found the various wives and women surprisingly compelling, given that none were main or POV characters. The characterization of Tsar Nicholas felt incredibly timeless, and really evoked for me the classic tweet:

... Your life is just a series of your own preferences. In terms of cognitive impairment it's probably like being kicked in the head by a horse every day