15 Books to Help You Understand Now

To understand our current era requires a certain breadth, as everything around us seems increasingly interconnected. But, in a world of dizzying change and ever-faster news cycles, what sources can you turn to to get your bearings? Whileit's possible to fashion a list of 100 such critical titles, and there are a *great* many classics that were left off such a condensation, I picked the following works based on having 1) actually read them, and 2) an emphasis on univerals over particulars. What I mean by the latter is, that when trapped in a whirlwind, as tempting as it is to focus on an individual piece of debris, you're better off by understanding the mechanics and laws of the overall cyclone itself. Universal books try to explain the big, background ideas, themes, and developments of our world, instead of getting bogged down in minutiae of the hot new thing of the moment. Those sorts of books are the ones I chose, (The value of teaching a man a pattern versus teaching a man to recognize patterns, to adapt the old fishy saying.)

As such, here are 15 books to help you take stock of where we are now.

Politics

These Truths - Jill Lepore, 2018

Lepore's massive work traces how America ended up in this political moment: the post-2016 American political state. She focuses on the political history, rather than cultural, military, economic, or other such - which is why I categorize it as a political work instead of a history of the United States. If you're scratching your head wondering why all this Trump, alt-right, Fox News, abortion v. guns stuff came to be, then this work will answer your questions.

Physics 

A Brief History of Time: Updated Edition - Stephen Hawking, 2017

Hawking is peculiar, since, as his book points out, he was often wrong about his biggest ideas. Really, the physicist who bested him time and again, is Kip Thorne, so why not read his book? Hawking's work remains the classic, then, because it remains the best description of our current understanding of cosmological physics. The updated version is a must, for both taking into account the discoveries of the past few years, and admitting and explaining his previous errors. His unanswered questions will be the forefront of the next quarter-century.

Economics

Capital in the 21st Century - Thomas Piketty, 2013

It's been a while since anyone tried to create an economics tome this ambitious. In a way Piketty's work may simply serve as a shot across the bow - whether it will become forgotten in a generation, or required reading, remains yet to be seen. The purpose of the work, though, is to try and explain how wealth inequality - the greatest economic challenge of our time - came to be, and what steps could be taken to reign it in.

Technology

Connections - James Burke, 2007

Technology is overwhelming in our world - easier than ever to use (give a toddler an iPad for proof) but we don't really fathom how any of it works. And the digitization and proliferation of screens in the past half century having become synonymous with 'technology' is a problem in of itself. In Connections Burke shows how technology drives change, and teases out the fascinating stories of how we got here, trapped in the bewildering array of devices and technological gizmos which keep us alive, and which we are helpless to try and understand.

Biology 

Endless Forms Most Beautiful - Sean B. Carroll, 2005

While the most exciting developments, these days, are in genetics, there is a broader background story happening in Biology. Evolutionary Biology and Developmental Biology are starting to synthesize - creating 'evo devo'. If that sounds like too much jargon already, no worries - Carroll guides you through it all easily, and explains how genetics is fitting into the singular world of both evolution and embryology.

Poetry 

The Great Enigma - Tomas Transtromer, 2004

Transtromer was a deserving Nobel Laureate for his universally-approachable works found in this collection. There's plenty to love here, whether you are wary of poetry or got your doctorate in the field. Consider one of his last poems, translated by Robin Fulton:

Snow Is Falling

The funerals keep coming

more and more of them

like the traffic signs

as we approach a city.

Thousands of people gazing

in the land of long shadows.

A bridge builds itself

slowly

straight out in space.

Childhood 

Three Seductive Ideas - Jerome Kagan, 2000

We spend about a quarter of our lives as children, and of course spend even more time trying to understand them if we become parents, or work with them as adults. Kagan's book is an excellent work on the field of developmental psychology, and the risks we have as a society of chasing the newest study, which so often gets debunked only much later. The three ideas he tackles were all phonies, but, two decades later, people are still chasing the notions of infant determinism, pleasure-seeking behaviorism, and whether temperament changes over time.

Social Science 

Guns, Germs, and Steel - Jared Diamond, 1997

In case you've not taken AP World History, or been in college, since 1997, Diamond's work is the most important piece of writing in the Social Sciences in decades. From an anthropological perspective, Guns Germs and Steel looks at the role of geography in trade of ideas and agriculture, as well as the three key forces that had the Eurasians dominate the global South. Clear, well-written, and essential.

History 

Voices from Chernobyl - Svetlana Alexievich, 1997

Prior to her win in 2015, no historian had gotten the Nobel prize for writing history in decades. But that's perhaps because Alexievich's prose did something new for the field. Ironically I made this list even before HBO's hit show 'Chernobyl', based on this book, brought her to more prominent attention. Voices is one of the best works of history I've ever read, and destined to remain a classic.

Novel 

Beloved - Toni Morrison, 1987

Novels haven't changed much since the advent of the post-modern form. After the heyday of experimentation of the late 18- to mid-1900s, prose has been fairly dormant, regarding innovations. All the same, some virtuoso voices have come forth, and Nobel Laureate Morrison's most famous work, Beloved, is as powerful now as it was thirty years ago. Taking advantage of the magical realism that originated in Latin literature, the novel stakes out important territory regarding race in America.

Chemistry 

The Periodic Table - Primo Levi, 1975

Chemistry is hard to get into. It can be difficult to visualize the chemical reactions that are surrounding us and the millions of chemical combinations we experience daily. Levi's remarkable work, deemed one of the greatest pieces of nonfiction of the 20th century (the Royal Institute named it the best science book. ever.), allows us to see the world through a chemist's eyes, explaining, via memoir, fiction, and a bit of science, to understand the world chemically. If you only read three books on this list, make this one of them.

Art 

Ways of Seeing - John Berger, 1973

The now-classic work was, fittingly, based on a television series. Personally, I strongly prefer Berger's 'About Looking' (1980), but Ways of Seeing was a landmark and remains a good book to read if reading books about art makes you queasy. The focus is on how we see art, and what, of course, counts - referring to things like advertising and creating important distinctions that have value today in a world that is still mass media-driven.

Environment 

Silent Spring - Rachel Carson, 1962

Why not pick something more recent, more timely? Something that specifically deals with our existential threat of climate change? Because, at its heart, humanity's interaction with the environment was fundamentally altered with this book. DDT may no longer be a scourge, but most of the book doesn't deal with those specifics, instead fleshing out a view of the environment that we take for granted today - including our role in affecting it. 

Drama 

Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett, 1953

Interesting, isn't it, how drama hasn't shifted all that significantly since Godot's debut over 65 years ago. There have been dramatic masterpieces since then, of course (Angels in America by Tony Kushner comes to mind). But for a remarkable on-the-page experience, Godot continues to deliver as the greatest dramatic work since Modernism began defying both prose and theatrical conventions nearly a century ago. 

Philosophy 

The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir, 1949

Most dated on the list, but it remains one of the most important. De Beauvoir's partner, Jean-Paul Sartre, wrote one of the defining tomes of existentialism, Being and Nothingness. And that book's still eminently readable and important - but in strict philosophical terms, increasingly outdated. Indeed, for current philosophical trends, angling towards language, Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations should, by rights, be the obvious choice for this list. But de Beauvoir's landmark second-wave feminist text has more to offer, I think, than either of those volumes, and is far more prescient in achieving the goal of understanding now: all the more surprising, perhaps, when regarding the role of women in our society today compared to our perceptions of their lives in the 1940s. Lengthy, and at times challenging, admittedly parts haven't aged super well, but very rewarding for the dedicated reader.

Two Education Mini-Posts

Here’s a mix of silliness and profundity: Immanuel Kant and View-Masters are my favorite analogies for education.

Kant was the phenomenological philosopher of the 1700s. View-Masters are those little thingies you hold up to your eyes and click through a wheel of slides to see different images.

They are related in my mind because Kant said we can’t help but see the world through the “lenses of space and time” – they are irremovable goggles. His (vastly oversimplified) model is of a single way to see the world. Contrast that idea with a View-Master model – where that you can ‘flip’ through different ways of seeing – that is my model of a good education. A poor education leaves you like Kant – with a single way of seeing the world. A good education allows you to change your view as you wish.

An example of this central idea I guide students through, of different ways of seeing, is the farmer’s market. The biologist walking down the street would probably notice particular things: the displays of cultivated fruits and vegetables, the trees lining the sidewalks, the invasive pigeons. An economist, however, would be aware of a totally different market: the setting of prices, the haggling, the effects of abundance and scarcity, the competition of the egg vendors. Still again, the photographer while winding through the crowds is looking at light, angles, potential subjects, and strong contrasts.

Each experiences the farmer’s market in a different way. An education should, ideally, allow one to flip through these ways of seeing at will. The educated person should have the choice to walk through the market however they choose.

The world has specialists – rare, talented, students with an outstanding gift in dance or math, poetry or programming. The kids who can’t take off the goggles of the scientist or the painter. We, as a society, all benefit from those schools that nurture those unique gifts. For the rest of us mere mortals, though, a well-rounded model is best. How come?

Some argue education is to get you ready for the workforce, but this is not very persuasive. With the current rate of change, a large number of students will work in fields that don’t yet exist. The original education system was developed in the industrial revolution – and the goal was, indeed, to ensure a workforce that could handle the factory system. But, nowadays, as technologies progress, every field has had to adapt. Whether you want to be a journalist or a musician, the role of technology in just the past five years has radically altered your world: so, can we really say education is to get job training?

Exploring your passions is another reason for education, some say. There is some truth to this – if your passion is part of school. Alas, as many of my middle school students will lament, Fortnite and Karate are not part of the curriculum. If your passion is basketball, American History, or writing stories, school is great. But we are fooling ourselves if we think that schools cater to all passions. We do our best, allowing students to explore their passions through clubs, electives, and extra-curriculars – but must admit, due to limitations, that school serves a different function.

No, the best reason to develop well-rounded people, students who have the View-Master of vision instead of the Kantian irremovable goggles, is because we all live in this world together. We share a society, and are fortunate enough to have a say in that society. When you go to the polling place, or to the gym, the coffee hour at church, or the office party, we all do well to see the world through the eyes of others. To be able to make decisions that are open-, rather than narrow-, minded. To consider the effects of a policy, or a law, from all the angles we are capable of. We educate, in short, so that our children see the world through as many pairs of eyes, and “ways of seeing”, as possible. Armed with this pluralism of vision, our students will be able to take on everything the future holds, far better than if limited to a single viewpoint, or simple set of skills.

*     *     *

When living in Singapore I gave a repeated lecture, in different areas around the island. The topic was on how to teach History – of interest to me, since I am a History teacher. It opened, after pleasantries, with the following:

“History is unique in the global curriculum. Most classes you take teach you how to do the subject they profess – the subject in the title of the course. In a Science class you do science. You complete lab work, write lab reports, formulate hypotheses: in a word, scientific research. In literature courses you learn how to write fiction, write criticisms, analyze texts, and gain some familiarity with the classics.

“History doesn't do this, and is unique for it. No professional historian sits around memorizing facts. Not a one. The only poor souls who have to do that are history teachers. In the US I teach World History. This is a course that covers everything – everything worth knowing apparently – between Australopithecus and the Renaissance. No joke.”

My Singaporean audience was often startled and amused by this notion. The lecture continued:

“Why is this useful?

“The predominant argument comes from E.D. Hirsch, the main name behind cultural literacy. Basically, if you and I share a cultural background, we can communicate through cultural shorthand. An example: You are feeling guilty about treating someone badly. To convey that I'm aware of your distress, I can look at you and say, in a certain reproachful but leading tone, ‘Out, damned spot!’ If you know Macbeth it makes sense. If you don't, it doesn't. We use this shorthand all the time: A Faustian bargain, his Achilles heel. Of course, it's not just literary: movies, comics, music: nearly all media is part of our shared cultural literacy.

“The problem is, since cultures are geographically bound, so, too, are historical events part of this literacy. If you live in America there are certain historical names, events, and places of significance: the Alamo, Graceland, Gettysburg, Franklin, the 49ers.

“This is what history classes teach, the world over. Only, now that the world is globalized, it has become necessary to not only know your own stuff, but everyone else's, as well. Now that I'm in Singapore what do I teach? The Cold War. Because they need to know about McCarthyism, Stalin, and the Brandenburg Gate. That's not fatuous – they really do need to know.”

At this point in the lecture I gave a quick history of History (how meta!) which is, perhaps surprisingly, a very young field of study. You could get a University degree in North Africa in theology in the 900s, or a medical degree in Italy by 1300. Oxford’s been handing out law degrees for a millennium. But American schools didn’t recognize History majors until the Civil War era.

So, what do these Historians do, if not sit around memorizing facts? From the lecture:

“On my American syllabus – it doesn't matter for which course – I begin with a simple statement: ‘History is about questions, not facts.’ Facts help us answer questions, but the same facts can be manipulated to serve opposing interests. (Entering WWI all the countries had the same facts, but each came up with histories, influenced by Nationalism, that ‘proved’ that they were the superior country.)

“What instead of memorizing facts, should historians do? Historians, professionally, try and answer questions about the past. They need facts to do this, of course, but it is the questions that motivate them, and drive their work. But how often do we let students devise their own history questions?

“If we were to get students together in a room and say: ‘This is a class on The Cold War. Each of you brainstorm your individual research projects, and I'll discuss them with you. In three weeks expect to present what you've written.’ Now we've gained what historians actually do, and if history is to be taught like other classes, this is what it would have to look like. But the flip side is we've lost what the classes currently provide: cultural literacy. Do we want students walking around who don't know what Gettysburg or 1776 is? No.”

The lecture’s conclusion was that the most radical approach was to teach History would be neither as cultural literacy, nor mirroring the professional actions of historians:

“Maybe research methodology isn't the ideal classroom. I propose that history isn't about questions, but is instead, not a discipline at all. It could be that history is a mental tool, like logic or scientific method. Merely a tool for making sense of things. You can apply history to anything, just as you could apply logic or scientific experimentation: some things it will work well on, others it won't. It won't work on everything: just as a wrench won't help when you need a screwdriver. When applied to the proper field, it can lend new insight. Art history is an example – by studying pieces of art, in sequence, we can reach a new understanding on what art is.

“Maybe, then, we can just teach this historical mindset. Maybe, like logic, we can teach how historians see and make sense of the world, and have students then apply history to different subjects, such as math, literature, and science. But maybe that’s more of a dream, I suppose, than a move to teach historical research methods.”

A few final pleasantries and recap, and the TED-talk-style lecture was over.