wahistorian's Reviews (506)

I can not recommend this book highly enough for anyone interested in the border. After completing a degree in International Studies, Cantu chose to join the Border Patrol; his mother had worked for the National Park Service and instilled in him a rare belief in government service. Cantu’s book traces his career in ‘la migra,’ and out of it. He was constantly mindful of opportunities to maintain his humanity, for the sake of his own soul and for those he often caught and returned to Mexico. He never points fingers at those he worked with, but he does demonstrate the dehumanizing effects of being on the front line against the coyotes and the narcos. This book is so enlightening and it’s heartening that men like Cantu choose to work on the border, even for a little while. There *has* to be a better way.

Jorge Ramos’s perspective as a Mexican-American journalist in Trump’s America provide a unique take on the immigrant experience. As a well-respected anchor for the national Spanish language network Univision and a citizen of the U.S. for 35 years, one might expect that Ramos would be sheltered from the worst of Trumpist xenophobia. But Ramos’s account—part memoir and part essay—convinces me that no one is safe. His advice: disobey, say no to racism, don’t be neutral in the face of discrimination and intolerance, if not for yourself, then for future generations. Good advice.

This first book is ostensibly a work of true crime that becomes a meditation on what it means to love another person, especially someone you hardly know. An incredibly keen observer, Wood also recreates life in coastal Florida—the sand, the sun, and, most importantly, the people who settle there because they can’t find anywhere else they belong. Wood does justice to everyone caught up in this hapless murder.

What happens when a self-taught political philosopher, steeped in White nationalist apocalypticism, meets a self-made legend-in-his-own-mind? The double selves in that sentence point to Green’s thesis: that the Donald J. Trump campaign and Steven Bannon came together out of their mutual desires to serve themselves, always the driving force behind whatever success each man has achieved in life. Does either man “believe” in the values they espouse? Green’s research and observations suggest that for these men, beliefs arise from expediency, that which benefits themselves and people like them (White and male, first, and then those who feel small, disfranchised, ridiculed, impotent, however misplaced those feelings are). This book traces Brannon’s pre-Trump career, from Catholic school to military to Goldman Sachs to Hollywood to Breitbart, until Robert and Rebekah Mercer’s sponsorship brought the two men together. The author’s extensive research captures an incredible—literally—moment in time by weaving together the tangled intellectual, political, and philosophical threads that these two men represent. The result? We are all likely to be disappointed, as most of Trump’s business associates are. Let’s hope that’s the worst that happens.

Tim Egan has researched and written an excellent work of history: he tells the dramatic and compelling story of the first major wildfire in the new national forest system *and* helps us understand why it matters. In August 1910 3M acres of forest in the Bitterroot Mountains burned in a two-day maelstrom. The U.S. Forest Service, underfunded and understaffed, rushed to put together a response that would convince the public of its usefulness and that of public space. The parallels with today are significant, as climate change gives rise to more deadly fires and westerners deplore federal lands.

This book is more important than ever, as Donald Trump strips the government of anyone who disagrees with him or simply demonstrates any independence whatsoever. (Kirstjen Nielsen, Jeff Sessions, are you listening?) I am convinced of Comey’s integrity, even if I am unsure that his multiple pre-election announcements about Hillary Clinton’s innocence were really necessary. Comey articulates what ethical and caring leadership looks like, using examples from throughout his own life; these early chapters turn out to be more compelling than the Trump-related parts that everyone was waiting for.

His take on Trump bears quoting, however, because we’ll be thinking for decades to come about his ruinous administration and why we allowed it. “Donald Trump’s presidency threatens much of what is good in this nation.... This president is unethical, and untethered to truth and institutional values. His leadership is transactional, ego driven, and about personal loyalty.... (p.275). I see no evidence that a lie ever caused Trump pain, or that he ever recoiled from causing another person pain, which is sad and frightening. Without all these things—without kindness to leaven toughness, without a balance of confidence and humility, without empathy, and without respect for truth—there is little chance that President Trump can attract and keep the kind of people around him that every president needs to make wise decisions. That makes me sad for him, but it makes me worry for our country (p.268).”