Two Stars

Best for:
People interested in learning about various thought leaders who might be related to socialism (but probably more likely communism?) throughout history, but not so much the practical applications behind their ideas.

In a nutshell:
This felt a bit like a History of Communism 101, as opposed to a primer on the different beliefs and implementations of socialist beliefs (which is what I was expecting).

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
I’m very clear that capitalism is not working. I’m also not comfortable subscribing to political or philosophical systems that I’m not well-versed in. I thought this might help me better understand the different schools of thoughts and practical applications of socialism.

What it left me feeling:
Vaguely annoyed

Review:
Obviously it’s an absolute challenge to try to fit information about a single political theory into a small 250-page book, but the cover description really doesn’t feel like it matches what’s on the inside.

The book roughly follows a time line, but it jumps around a lot. Sometimes it feels like it’s chronological description of various communist and socialist movements; other times it feels like it’s more a regional description. Most of the focus is on the people involved, from folks like Marx through to Bernie Sanders. I don’t know if the people and the actions those people are taking are socialist or not – or how they are viewed by other socialists. Sometimes Sears will say one faction disagree with another contemporary faction in one country, but that doesn’t really help me understand what the core tenets are. Or if there even are any!

There are like four pages devoted to Scandanavian-style socialism, but that’s the kind of stuff I’m interested in. People talk about how communism has always failed – has it? What are the examples and were these failures because of communism itself or because of the leaders choosing instead to be dictators? What are the specific policies that can be viewed as socialism? And why are we talking about Margaret Thatcher?

I think what Sears was trying to do was cover everything, when what I was looking for was much more focused: a description of socialism and what that looks like in practice. There are a couple of pages at the start, but then it turns into a history book that jumps all around space and time. In looking up the author while writing this review, I see that she has written many ‘101’ books, so I think that explains it. Socialism is just another book she’s researched and written for this series of books; I think readers interested in the topic should instead seek out people who either are socialists or have extensively studied the topic.

Recommend to a Friend / Keep / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it

Four Stars

Best for:
People interested in a novel way of looking at the complexities of modern politics.

In a nutshell:
Author Klein explores the different political realities people inhabit in areas as vast as vaccines and middle east policies.

Worth quoting:
We are told that the way things are is the only way they can be, because every other model has supposedly already been tried, and all have failed. But these ideas about different ways of being and thinking and living did not all fail; rather, many of them fell, crushed by political violence and racial terror. Being crushed is not the same as failing, because what was crushed can be revived, reimagined anew.

Why I chose it:
I’ve heard a lot of people talking about it, and I had some long travel coming up so decided to get the audio book (especially after I heard it was read by the author).

What it left me feeling:
Challenged

Review:
This is a hard book to review. It was fascinating – really interesting. But hard to review, mostly because I think I need to re-read it next year, and read a physical copy.

Naomi Klein is often confused with Naomi Wolfe. They are both white Jewish women, both have the same first name, and for a time, both known for having liberal (or in Klein’s case, lefitst) politics. Wolfe wrote the Beauty Myth, which I recall reading and recall thinking highly of. Klein has written about disaster capitalism, climate catastrophe, and other critical political and cultural topics. But sometimes over the last few years, Wolfe has taken a hard right turn, delving deep into conspiracies – she’s a regular on Steve Bannon’s podcast. And when she offers a hot take, people mistakenly attribute it Klein, who then feels a need to defend herself.

In this book, Klein uses this as a stepping off point to explore how people ostensibly living in the same world have such vastly different experiences of reality. She uses fictional accounts of the concept of the double or doppelganger to illustrate the sections, which shows I think a really complex level of thinking, but one that I had trouble following in the audio version of the book.

The last chapter of the book focuses on the conflict between Israel and Palestine – obviously written before what is going on there now. But it was interesting to read, to get her thoughts as a Jewish woman and a leftist. I think it’s a chapter a lot of people would benefit from reading right now.

As I said, I’m thinking this would be a good one to read again next year, because I know there’s a lot in here that I didn’t absorb as much as I could have. I really should stick to mysteries and memoirs when it comes to audio books.

Recommend to a Friend / Keep / Donate it / Toss it:
Recommend to a Friend