Perseus

I'm a sucker for books that propose/explore historical cycles. This book does that... but really, really, really badly. That said, there is *something* to what they say; I do feel like they have not-quite-put-their-finger on a real cycle. Or an aspect of it. (This is reminiscent of Turchin's Fathers-and-Sons cycle of pre-industrial conflict.) But their "evidence" is... ludicrous. Their presentation more than annoying (books are not PowerPoint presentations!) Their extension of the (possibly real) cyclical pattern they've noticed to Biblical times, to ancient Greece, Rome, the Persians... India, China... WTF-laughable.

This would have been far (*far*) better if they had just stuck to the last 150 or 200 years of American history, maybe with a little Western Europe (maybe?). I think they went for the glory ("we've discovered a world-historical pattern!" vs "we've discovered a limited, contingent, approximate pattern!") to their great loss. Two stars for the something-something they are getting at, and probably -500 stars for everything else.… (more)

There is more to this man than many people know; I invite you to investigate. He has a way of saying things that you might take for granted, but that in many ways go against the dogma of our modern American society: it isn’t a good idea to maintain a cheerful facade all the time; people feel freer to be themselves when they are assured of rules and boundaries than when they are allowed to do anything with no responsibility; every now and again you need to stop and recharge and rethink- you can’t keep going 100% all the time.

There are many things to stop and think about from a man who dedicated his life to helping future generations develop their potential to the fullest and recognize the connection between all human beings.… (more)