I. David Rosenstein's Blog: Focus on Non-Fiction , page 7

Book Review: The Quiet Americans: Four CIA Spies at the Dawn of the Cold War - A Tragedy in Three Acts

Excellent Book About the Human Side of Early CIA Activity

In The Quiet Americans: Four CIA Spies at the Dawn of the Cold War – A Tragedy in Three Acts Scott Anderson tells the story of the early years of the CIA through the lives of four agents. Anderson does not provide much new information on the story of the early years of the CIA. However, by using the four operatives for his perspective, he puts a human face on the tragic story and makes it quite poignant.

The early years of the CIA – from 1947 through 1961 – were characterized by the staunch anti-Communism of the United States government. US policy, as implemented primarily by Dwight Eisenhower’s Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, was to assume that the Soviet Union was bent on world domination, to distrust all actions of the Soviet Union and to assume that any country that was not wholeheartedly allied with the US was likely to become allied with the Soviet Union. While the Eisenhower administration wanted to confront the Soviet Union, it refrained from direct military confrontation because of the risk of nuclear war. The Administration, therefore, turned to the CIA to conduct a clandestine war.

The Administration’s policy and the CIA’s activities have been thoroughly criticized in the intervening years. Much of this criticism came in official forums such as the Senate Church Committee, the House Pike Committee and the Presidential Rockefeller Commission. However, Anderson goes beyond the issues addressed in the official criticism. He goes inside the agency and considers the CIA’s clandestine activities through the eyes of four CIA operatives - Frank Wisner, Edward Lansdale, Peter Sichel and Michael Burke.

All four had worked in intelligence for the Office of Special Services during World War II. Because of their special talents, all were recruited to join the CIA after the War. All joined the CIA thinking that they were going to help the US spread democratic ideals around the world. But, as Anderson explains, during their tenure with the CIA all were ultimately disillusioned.

While working for the CIA all four of these agents were asked to support the US’ efforts to undermine Communism by supporting the overthrow of democratically elected officials in third world countries, training émigrés from Eastern Bloc countries to infiltrate their native countries, and/or supporting fascist dictators who were allied with the US. They saw their efforts start to succeed as citizens of the Eastern Bloc countries began to protest against Soviet control. But, then, they were dismayed when the US failed to actively support these protests. As a result many people that these agents trained were killed or imprisoned when the Soviets violently clamped down. All four concluded that the US lacked a coherent overall strategy behind the CIA activity and that most of their efforts had been in vain. All left the CIA to try to put their lives back together.

Anderson relied heavily on newly declassified documents and on extensive interviews with Peter Sichel, the only one of the four that is still alive. He paints a picture of four very talented young men whose years were wasted conducting covert activity in support of national policies that proved to be flawed and ineffective. While the reader may be critical of the CIA’s activities during these years, after reading this book, it is hard not to empathize with these four agents.

I give this book 4 stars and recommend it for anyone interested in reading about the intelligence community or the early years of the cold war.

Three Recommendations: Russian History

Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert Massie – This Pulitzer Prize winning biography shows how, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Peter the Great introduced Western technology and thought to the isolated backwards realm of Muscovy. While the book deals with Peter’s impact on the Russian empire and its people, it focuses primarily on Peter the person, with all of his intellect, cruelties and curiosities. This is a must read for anyone interested in the evolution of the tsarist Russian empire.

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie – In this fourth of his portraits of the Romanovs Massie presents the remarkable life of Catherine the Great who governed the Russian empire in the late 18th century. Massie tells the tale of Catherine, the minor Princess from a German province, who was sent to Russia to marry the future tsar Peter III. The first half of the book deals with Catherine’s unhappy marriage to the buffoon who was in line to inherit the Russian throne. Massie describes how, during the 17 years of her marriage, she embraced the Russian orthodox religion, learned to speak Russian and ingratiated herself with leading Russian aristocrats. Once Peter ascended to the throne Catherine and her allies engineered a coup and she remained Empress until her death. In the second half of the book Massie shows how Catherine adeptly managed the Russian government, its foreign policy and its internal turmoil during her 34 years in power.

The Romanovs: 1612-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore – In his history of the 20 plus Romanov tsars and tsarinas Montefiore focuses on the people in the palace rather than on their empire or the people that they governed. These rulers were well aware of certain Westernized ideas about governance. And adoption of those ideas through a form or representative government might have saved their rule. But they firmly believed that their authority was absolute and that they ruled pursuant to divine authority. Prior to their overthrow in 1918 this insularity led to never-ending tales of sex and violence in the palace that is fully explored by Montefiore.

Other Recommendations:

Three Recommendations: The Vietnam War (September 20, 2020 Post)
Three Recommendations: 19th Century Presidents (September 26, 2020 Post)
Three Recommendations: Spectacular Corporate Implosions (October 3, 2020 Post)
Three Recommendations: The Histories of American Cities (October 6, 2020 Post)
Three Recommendations: Spies (October 11, 2020 Post)

Book Review: The Hour of Fate: Theodore Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan, and the Battle to Transform American Capitalism

Good Book on the Battle Between the Government and the Wealthy But a Weak Ending

In The Hour of Fate: Theodore Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan and the Battle to Transform American Capitalism, Susan Berfield describes the confrontation between Theodore Roosevelt, the trust-busting President of the United States, and J.P. Morgan, the powerful banker who never met a monopoly that he did not like. While this is generally a very good book, Berfield’s use of the Northern Securities anti-trust case as the climatic conclusion is something of a disappointment.

Berfield draws the reader into the story by describing the life and times of the early 1900s, a time known as the “Gilded Age”, when a small number of businessmen were growing very rich through rapid economic growth in America. She skillfully brings Theodore Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan to life and prepares the reader for the inevitable clash of their worldviews.

While direct interactions between Roosevelt and Morgan were limited, Berfield explains how their interests often overlapped in the major events of the age. One of those events was the anthracite coal miners strike that began on May 12, 1902. Berfield compares the hyperactive Roosevelt, who tried everything in his power to resolve the strike, to the taciturn Morgan, who initially acted as if he knew nothing about it.

As the strike extended into the fall of 1902 there was a real fear that coal might not be available for heating during the winter of 1902-1903. The mine owners, however, continued to refuse to negotiate with the miners. Notwithstanding his best efforts, President Roosevelt was unable to convince the mine owners to enter into negotiations.

While he was initially reluctant to get involved in the strike, Morgan saw that the public was going to blame the mine owners if they started freezing in their homes. He was afraid that this might look bad for business in general. So he used his influence with the owners and convinced them to agree to binding arbitration to end the strike.

In Berfield’s capable hands the coal strike and its settlement is a very compelling story. She shows how Roosevelt and Morgan approached the dispute from different perspectives - Roosevelt wanted what was best for the general public and Morgan wanted what was best for business – to resolve a matter that could have had tragic consequences for the American people. If the book had ended here I would have given it a five star rating and recommended it unconditionally.

Unfortunately, the book did not end with settlement of the coal strike. As the title of the book indicates, Berfield wanted to show a “Battle that Transformed Capitalism”. And to depict that battle she used the Northern Securities anti-trust case in which the federal government sought to break up a major railroad monopoly created by Morgan and two associates.

While the first part of the book, related largely to the coal strike, is filled with the colorful human details that make this type of narrative history so enjoyable, the second part of the book, leading to the Supreme Court decision in the Northern Securities case, veers away from that rich narration and leaves the reader searching for the following types of missing insights:

• What made Roosevelt and his Attorney General, Philander Knox, choose Northern Securities as the target of their first case under the Sherman Anti-trust Act?

• Who would have suffered and what specific harm would they have incurred from the Northern Securities monopoly? The only references to that harm are general objections to the anti-competitive impact of this type of monopoly. Such general objections pale in comparison to Ron Chernow’s Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. in which he describes how Rockefeller used his Standard Oil monopoly to put numerous independent oil refiners out of business.

• Did Roosevelt protect the public interest by following up on the Supreme Court’s decision in Northern Securities to prosecute and break up any other trusts?

• Why did Congress feel it was necessary to pass a second Anti-trust Act, the Clayton Anti-trust Act, ten years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Northern Securities?

Notwithstanding my disappointment with the Northern Securities discussion I generally liked this book. I rate it 3.5 stars and recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about the interaction between the ultra-rich and the government in the early 1900s.

Three Recommendations: Spies

The Brother: The Untold Story of the Rosenberg Case by Sam Roberts – This book recounts the story of the 1953 execution of Julius and Ethyl Rosenberg for spying for the Soviet Union. Roberts relies principally upon his interviews with Ethyl’s brother, David Greenglass, whose testimony was largely responsible for the Rosenbergs’ conviction. The story of why Ethyl, whose “spying activity” consisted of little more that typing up the notes of the real spies, was convicted and executed is absolutely incredible.

The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam, written by Max Boot, considered to be one of the “world’s leading authorities on armed conflict.” This biography of CIA Agent, Edward Lansdale, shows how he was sent to South Vietnam to represent the United States’ interests during the 1950s when the French were withdrawing from the conflict. Lansdale established a close personal relationship with the President of South Viet Nam, Ngo Dinh Diem, and attempted to work behind the scenes to implement a non-violent “hearts and minds” strategy to garner the support of the South Vietnamese people. But, when Lansdale was pushed aside by the generals and the politicians, the tragedy that was the Vietnam War ensued.

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre – This is the story of Kim Philby, the well-born head of counterintelligence at the British Secret Intelligence Service (known as MI6) who was actually working as a Russian spy until his defection to Russia in 1963. Among the other fascinating revelations in this book are the details of confidential discussions he had with both British and United States intelligence officers that undoubtedly led to the deaths of numerous agents and infiltrators while working on the other side of the iron curtain.

Other Recommendations:

Three Recommendations: The Vietnam War (September 20, 2020 Post)
Three Recommendations: 19th Century Presidents (September 26, 2020 Post)
Three Recommendations: Spectacular Corporate Implosions (October 3, 2020 Post)
Three Recommendations: The Histories of American Cities (October 6, 2020 Post)

Book Review: Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took on the West

All Americans should read Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took on the West by Catherine Belton!

On March 8, 1983 President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” At the time, Reagan said that “the Soviet leaders have openly and publicly declared that the only morality they recognize is that which will further their cause which is world revolution.” Eight year later, in 1991, the Communist Party lost control of the Soviet Union and the threat of “world revolution” that so concerned Reagan seemed to be over. But, if President Reagan were alive today, and, if he read Catherine Belton’s description of modern Russia, he would likely say that nothing has changed. He would warn us in no uncertain terms that Russia remains an evil empire.

Putin’s People can be divided into two distinct parts. The first part describes how Vladimir Putin rose to power as the elected President of Russia. The last part describes how Putin has consolidated and used that power.

Vladimir Putin’s rise to power is a fascinating story. Putin was a minor KGB operative working in Dresden, East Germany, before the fall of the Soviet Union. Belton has been unable to obtain many definitive details on Putin’s responsibilities during this time. However, she suggests that he may have been responsible for training terrorists to carry out violent attacks in Western countries. This expertise in undermining Western societies may have laid the foundation for his activities years later when he became the undisputed leader of Russia.

In the late 1980s the KGB knew that the days of the Communist Party were numbered. Belton describes how they used this time to funnel cash out of the Soviet Union and launder it with trusted allies in the West for use at a later date.

In 1990, as the Soviet Union was collapsing, Putin took a position with the office of the Mayor of St. Petersburg. For the next 6 years he held various positions with the Mayor’s office. During that time he became very adept at working with former KGB agents and members of local organized crime families to get things done.

In 1991 Boris Yeltsin was elected President of Russia. During his tenure Russia converted from a state owned economy to a market economy. This required the transfer of government owned assets to private ownership. Most of the government owned assets ended up in the hands of a few individuals for a fraction of their value. The owners were known as the oligarchs.

By 1999 Russia had suffered through several financial crises and various government agencies were investigating Yeltsin and the oligarchs. Yeltsin knew that his time in office was coming to an end and he needed a successor who would protect him. Putin was not well known nationally. But he seemed like a loyal administrator who could get things done. Yeltsin stepped aside and allowed Putin to temporarily take his place as President. Putin was then elected in his own right in 2000. At the time most people in Russia expected Putin to serve only a single term.

But, once he was elected, Putin surrounded himself with his former associates from the KGB. They utilized the new security agency, called the Federal Security Service or FSB, to consolidate control over the country. Initially, this meant regaining control of the assets transferred to the oligarchs. According to Belton, the FSB would bring charges (such as tax evasion) against one or two of the oligarchs and send them to jail. With the outstanding threat of jail time Putin was able to either force the oligarchs to transfer the assets back to the state or to spend their funds as he directed.

Much of the book involves the flow of money, lots of money, many billions of dollars of money. Some of it is from the oligarchs’ assets. Some of it is from assets that remained with the state. Much of the money went into the pockets of Putin and his lieutenants. But much of it moved outside of Russia and was added to the funds transferred by the KGB to trusted allies before the fall of the Soviet Union. It is the use of the funds that were transferred outside of Russia that would have led Ronald Reagan to restate his assertion that Russia is still an evil empire.

Belton points out that, since the time of Peter the Great, Russia has always been suspicious and jealous of the West. Throughout most of the twentieth century the Soviet Union threatened the West with nuclear arms, Marxist ideology and attempts to influence third world countries. These threats have disappeared. But through her extensive research, Belton has discovered how Russia continues to threaten the West. She details how the funds that were transferred out of the country are now funneled to organizations, political parties and powerful individuals who are then encouraged to take actions that will upend the stability of their Western countries.

The threat from Russia can no longer be determined by counting the number of missiles aimed at Western targets or the number of Soviet advisors located in some Third World country. This threat can only be determined by following the shadowy flow of funds to intermediaries outside of Russia and then to their ultimate destination in the West.

Belton relied largely upon interviews with many of Putin’s former colleagues. These individuals had their own agenda and may, or may not, have been totally credible. In order to verify the accuracy of their information she needed to find corroborating witnesses and documentary support. The result of this painstaking research is a book that all Americans should read. And it is with the perspective gained from this book that we should all evaluate the interactions between our leaders and the Russians.

I rate this book 5 stars. While dealing with the Russian names and complexities of the numerous financial transactions may make the book a challenge to some readers, I think it is well worth the effort to be able to understand the threat posed by the current incarnation of the Russian state.

Book Review: The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 (the Revolution Trilogy Book 1)

The Revolutionary War as Viewed From the Trenches

The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 (The Revolution Trilogy Book 1) is the first of three planned books on the Revolutionary War by Rick Atkinson. I can only hope that Books 2 and 3 are as exceptional as Book 1.

I have read a number of books about the Revolutionary War. Most deal with the politics of the War. None depict what it was like to be a soldier. The British Are Coming, Book 1, fills that void.

Through his extensive reliance on letters and entries in diaries Atkinson paints a brilliant picture of what life was like for both officers and enlisted men on both sides of the battles. The reader can almost hear the noise of the artillery, smell the odor of the gunpowder, see the death and destruction, and feel the weariness, the hunger and the ice cold of marching through freezing mud and rivers.

As Atkinson so vividly describes, the early battles in and around New York City are defined by George Washington’s continuing mistakes and his army’s inability to stand up to the overwhelming British and Hessian forces. Between casualties, desertions and the end of enlisted periods the American army was shrinking to just a few thousand men by the end of 1776. The reader has to ask: “How did the Americans ever win this War?”

But Atkinson explains how those early defeats transformed Washington and his army into a fighting force that could hold out against the British until help could arrive later in the War in the form of the French. During those early defeats Washington learned how to direct strategic retreats to limit casualties. And the enlisted men grew to trust and admire Washington.

Atkinson fittingly ends Book 1 with the Battle of Princeton. By the end of 1776 the British had chased the Americans across the Delaware River and they controlled all of New Jersey. But, on Christmas Day in 1776, Washington led his army back across the Delaware and routed the Hessians in the Battle of Trenton. Several days later, in the early days of 1777, Washington and his army defeated the British in the Battle of Princeton. After these victories the morale of the American army soared and enlistments increased.

When I lived in Princeton I had the opportunity to walk the Princeton battlefield and to visit Nassau Hall on the Princeton University campus where part of the battle was fought. However, until reading Atkinson’s description of the Battle and the events leading up to it I did not fully appreciate how heroic the Battles of Trenton and Princeton were and how critical they were to the outcome of the War.

I enthusiastically give this book 5 stars and recommend it for anyone interested in American history. If you only have time for one book on the Revolution I would recommend this one.

Book Review: MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohamed bin Salman

The relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States has always been something of an enigma. Saudi Arabia is a religiously repressive society that exports a highly conservative version of Islam and may, or may not, provide shelter for terrorists. Not the type of country that the United States would normally befriend. But the two countries have remained close allies primarily because Saudi Arabia sells oil to the United States and the United States sells billions of dollars of military equipment to Saudi Arabia.

The relationship between the two countries appeared to be fraying in the final days of the Obama administration. But then a new member of the House of Saud appeared. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salmon (known as MBS) announced that Saudi Arabia was going to build a modern multi-billion dollar project to attract new business to the country that would reduce its reliance on oil production. He promised to reduce religious repression by allowing women to drive, opening cinemas and allowing music concerts. And he conducted diplomacy in a modern way – by exchanging messages on Whatsapp with President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

So who is MBS? And will he really bring change to Saudi Arabia? In his book, MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohamed bin Salman, Ben Hubbard, who has worked as a reporter from the Middle East for 12 years, does a remarkable job of introducing the real MBS to the reader.

Hubbard adeptly chronicles the history of Saudi Arabia and the House of Saud. He explains the unlikely circumstances of MBS’ ascendance to the position of Crown Prince. And he describes MBS’s announced plans for economic development and modernization of Saudi Arabia society.

But he also suggests that there might be a darker side to MBS. For example, he discusses MBS’ possible involvement in the murder of author Jamal Khashoggi, the strong-arming of Muhammad bin Nayef, MBS’ cousin who abdicated the title of Crown Prince in favor of MBS, the detention of over 350 Saudi royals and businessmen who were forced to turn over much of their fortunes to the state and Saudi Arabia’s killing of civilians during its participation in the war in Yemen.

Hubbard does not predict where Saudi Arabia is likely to go from here. But he paints an intimate portrait of the man who might lead them there. Hubbard is one of those rare writers who can take a complex subject and make it readily accessible to almost any reader. I wish I had had someone like him to teach me calculus when I was in high school.

I give this book 5 stars and recommend it for anyone who has the slightest curiosity about Saudi Arabia and its relationship to the United States.

Book Review: The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire

Corporations Gone Wild

In The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire, William Dairymple tells the story of the East India Company’s ruthless conquest of the Indian subcontinent. We all know the story of Britain’s imperial rule over India in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, in The Anarchy, Dairymple reminds the reader that Britain did not conquer India. It was conquered in the eighteenth century by a private corporation, the East India Company, and then handed over to Britain. The book could have been called “Corporations Gone Wild.”

The East India Company initially sent its representatives to India to obtain permission to set up commercial trading sites. But, over time, those representatives engaged in military actions to gain control of greater and greater swaths of the subcontinent. Eventually, the East India Company controlled the entire subcontinent. And they treated it like a corporate asset. They sent all valuable possessions of the prior rulers back to England, they taxed the local residents into abject poverty and they forced local artisans to produce goods for the Company at slave wages.

Dairymple does an excellent job of describing the Company’s diplomatic and military actions in India that led to the subjugation of the subcontinent. And he shows how the East India Company used its influence in London to lobby members of parliament, many of whom were Company shareholders, to obtain government support for their purely private enterprise.

But, Dairymple is clearly appalled that a private enterprise like the East India Company was permitted to subjugate an entire subcontinent. He seems to believe that, at some point during the East India Company’s takeover of India, the home office in London should have reigned in its employees and prevented their military activities. But because all of their activity was, apparently, perfectly legal, the home office presumably told their employees “You’re good to go. Keep up the good work.”

The story, as told by Dairymple, is an indictment, not only of the East India Company, but of corporate culture in general, where all actions are undertaken solely for the benefit of shareholders. He suggests that powerful corporations in our own time are similarly cruel and greedy (though possibly not on the same level) because they continue to act solely for the purpose of increasing income for shareholders.

I tend to disagree with Dairymple. The laws currently governing corporations impose a fiduciary duty upon the officers and directors to act in the best interests of the shareholders. In fact, corporate lawyers sometimes have to remind officers and directors that, if they fail to act solely for the purposes of increasing income for shareholders (without violating the law) they will be in breach of their fiduciary obligation.

Thus, while it would be nice if, as Dairymple suggests, corporations used their power to act more in the public interest, they will probably not do so until the governing laws are amended to provide that the officers and directors have an obligation to act for the benefit of third parties, such as employees and the public good, as well as for shareholders.

Because of all the names and places that are not familiar to the casual reader, this is not an easy read. Thus, this book is not for everyone. However, I give this book four stars and recommend it highly for anyone interested in the history of the Indian subcontinent, the rule of England over the subcontinent or this rarely told story of early corporate power.

Book Review: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard, is the story of the assassination President, James Garfield. It is one of those rare books that succeeds on several levels.

First, it is a superbly researched history of a story that takes place in the fascinating era of the late nineteenth century. This is a time when the practices of the emerging modern Western world contrast with the practices of the diminishing medieval world of the empires.

This modern versus medieval theme plays out in many ways during this time. But Millard vividly provides a tragic example of how this theme played out, not between the two worlds, but within our own world. In particular, she shows what happened when, in treating the gravely wounded President Garfield, the medical practitioners in the United States refused to adopt the modern antiseptic practices of their European peers.

But this book is not only an exceptionally well-told story of historical events. Millard also succeeds in bringing the characters in the book to life. She shows that, unlike most other politicians, President Garfield, is not a driven ideologue. Instead, he is simply a decent person who loves his family, loves his country and loves his books. As a native of Ohio, I know all too well that it is known as the birthplace of mediocre Presidents. After reading this book, I am convinced that, had Garfield lived, there would have been at least one great President from Ohio.

But Millard does not just develop the character of Garfield. She also paints eloquent pictures of people like Garfield’s wife Lucretia, his Vice President Chester Arthur, and his rival, New York Senator Roscoe Conkling. But perhaps Millard’s best depiction is that of Garfield’s assassin, Charles Guiteau. Her description of Guiteau as he descends into madness towards is his tragic meeting with Garfield at the Washington, DC train station is the equal of any good horror tale.

I give this book 4 stars and recommend it for anyone interested in American history or anyone interested in a touching story of a very decent man whose life was tragically cut short.

Three Recommendations: The History of American Cities

New York City: I wanted to recommend my favorite book about New York City. But I could not decide on one. So I ended-up with this three-way tie:

City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York by Tyler Ambinder – This book reminds us that we all came to America as immigrants resented by the immigrants that came before us.
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro. This Pulitzer Prize winning book tells the story of how one man shaped New York City in his own vision and, along the way, destroyed numerous vibrant neighborhoods that were the soul of the City.
Fear City: New York’s Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics by Kim Phillips-Fein. This book begins with the story of how New York City’s efforts to provide wide-ranging social programs for its citizens led it to the brink of bankruptcy in 1975. It then tells how, when the bankers gained control of the City’s budgetary process, they dialed back those programs and left New York City’s residents to fend for themselves.

Oklahoma City:

Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, its Chaotic Founding, its Apocalyptic Weather, its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World Class Metropolis by Sam Anderson. Before reading this book I would not have imagined that a book about Oklahoma City could end up on anyone’s list of the best books about American cities. But this entrancing book makes this list because it shows that there is just something prototypically American about Oklahoma City, with its origins in the 1889 “Land Rush” to settle formerly Native American land, its construction of public works projects that may or may not be used, and its support for an NBA basketball team that continually falls short of expectations.

Los Angeles:

The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles by Gary Krist. – There is something very ethereal about the City of Los Angeles. It is built on desert land which should never have supported a large metropolitan area. And its main industry is the production of “make believe”. So it makes sense that Gary Krist tells the City’s story through the lives of three larger than life characters that contributed to the City’s development. D.W. Griffith was the film producer that developed feature length films. Aimee Semple McPherson was an extremely popular evangelist and radio preacher. And William Mulholland developed the aqueduct system that brought water to the city. In his very entertaining story Krist shows how, in typical Los Angeles style, all three spectacularly flamed out.


Other Recommendations:

Three Recommendations: The Vietnam War (September 20, 2020 Post)
Three Recommendations: 19th Century Presidents (September 26, 2020 Post)
Three Recommendations: Spectacular Corporate Implosions (October 3, 2020 Post)