The Unaccountability Machine - Once Again It's Somehow All Milton Friedman's Fault
Maybe the answer really is to be found in early 1970's Chilean socialism… The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions—and How the World Lost Its Mind By: Dan Davies Published: 2024 304 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The development of accountability sinks, a construct used by governments, corporations, and really any large-scale organization to deflect responsibility (and potential punishment) away from individuals and into processes. As part of his critique and his hoped for solution Davies leans heavily into management cybernetics and Stafford Beer. If neither of those ring a bell perhaps you've encountered Beer's most famous saying, "The purpose of a system is what it does." What's the author's angle? Davies sits in a weird place ideologically. He's a huge fan of Beer, and spends lots of time talking about Beer's partnership with Salvador Allende, the president of Chile in the early 70s. They partnered to create Cybersyn, a cybernetic management system for the whole economy. Davies admits it wouldn't have worked at the time, but seems to think that maybe with AI something like it might work now? On the other hand, in many places he seems to be channeling Taleb, and while I can't find anything by Taleb directly commenting on Cybersyn, I'm confident he would not be a fan. Davies also levels significant criticism at Milton Friedman, which makes sense in the Chilean context, but it feels out of character for a soberly written business book. Who should read this book? I read it as part of a Slate Star Codex/Astral Codex Ten book club. If that means anything to you, you'll probably find the book interesting. Additionally, anyone looking for another way to describe the hidden brokenness of the world will probably enjoy the book. What does the book have to say about the future?
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The Future of Truth - I'll Be Honest It Doesn't Look Great
Pick it up because it's short. Continue it because of the brutal Bavarian accent. Finish it because maybe he's on to something? The Future of Truth By: Werner Herzog Published: 2025 128 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? Legendary badass, and sometimes filmmaker Werner Herzog weighs in on the concept of truth, how best to represent truth, and what's happening to it. Drawing on his own experiences he distinguishes between dry, factual truth, and what he calls ecstatic truth, a deeper kind of truth revealed by art. Who should read this book? I don't think anyone should literally read this book. It's best consumed as an audiobook with Herzog's strangely compelling narration carrying you along. With a voice like Herzog's and clocking in at only 3.5 hours of audio, it almost doesn't matter what it's about. What does the book have to say about the future?
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The Mind Reels - Bipolarity Raw and Unfiltered
Many college age girls lead lives of quiet desperation. The Mind Reels By: Fredrik deBoer Published: 2025 168 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The book follows Alice. Alice has severe bipolar disorder. This doesn't come out until she's at college. It's entirely awful. Going from least to worst bad, we see: large weight fluctuations, social fallout, impulsive sex, being committed, psychotic and manic paranoia, and depression so deep she can't make it to the bathroom. What's the author's angle? Normally I don't talk about the angle for a fictional book, but this book deserves (demands?) an exception. DeBoer is known for many things. (And I would say that he's one of the few Substack writers where I read 90%+ of what they write.) One of the big things he's known for is pushing back against the old vision of the mentally ill as tortured geniuses or the more modern quirky, actually it's kind of a super power narrative. This book was explicitly written to provide a very real depiction of what it's like to have a severe mental illness. (It succeeds by the way.) Who should read this book? If you like anything deBoer has written, I think you'll like this. His unsparing view of reality is his biggest charm, and it definitely comes through in this book. I know people who don't like deBoer's fiction, but who nevertheless liked this book. If you've never heard of deBoer, but you like books where characters have an intense interior life, and there's not necessarily a hopeful "happily ever after" arc, I would also definitely recommend this book. Specific thoughts: Most men (and women) lead lives of quiet desperationÂ
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Drink Your Way Sober - Blocked (Receptors) and Reported (Sobriety)
Part memoir, part science writing, part history, and a lot of blaming her neighbor for her empties. Drink Your Way Sober: The Science-Based Method to Break Free from Alcohol By: Katie Herzog Published: 2025 208 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? You may be familiar with Katie Herzog from Blocked and Reported, the podcast she hosts with Jesse Singal. Or you might have seen her byline on the Free Press. What I didn't know (at least before she started promoting this book) is that she's also a recovering alcoholic. I also didn't know about the Sinclair Method for "extinguishing" alcohol use disorder (AUD). Finally I didn't  know that we are now calling it alcohol use disorder. So you could say this is a book about a bunch of things I didn't know. What's the author's angle? Herzog failed to get her drinking under control using any of the more common methods. Willpower, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), overwhelming shame, etc. The Sinclair Method was what finally worked for her. This method involves taking naltrexone before you drink. This blocks the reward circuit allowing you to train your body out of alcohol dependence. It's also something that not a lot of people have heard about, so her angle resembles that of a fiery recent convert, who believes that people trapped in similar despair need to hear the good word. Who should read this book? As someone who's never had a drink, I'm loath to recommend anything in the sobriety space. In the same manner that a fish doesn't know about water, can I have anything meaningful to say about sobriety? That very large caveat aside, if you have AUD, and nothing else has worked, and you haven't tried the Sinclair Method (or if you know someone who fits this category) I would definitely recommend this book. If you're thinking of reading it just as Herzog memoir, there's some pretty good stuff in here, but not enough to justify reading the entire book. But if you're on the fence I would push you towards getting the book. Specific thoughts: So why isn't the Sinclair Method better known?
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Replay - Groundhog Day in Novel Form, Sadly Without Any Groundhogs
Replay By: Ken Grimwood Published: 1998 320 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? A man dies and is sent back to his 18 year old self to relive his life over, and over, and over. Every time he dies he's sent back. He dies in 1988, and awakens in 1963, so there's a lot of discussion of those years (Kennedy Assassination, Moon landing, Iran Hostage crisis, etc.) Who should read this book? I came across a recommendation for this book on a Youtube channel that was doing a survey of all the movies that had functionally the same premise as Groundhog Day. And he included the book as sort of an appendix in other things people might want to check out. If you're a big fan of the Groundhog Day contrivance, then I think you'll like this book. Specific thoughts: Great on a personal level, weak on a world-building level. This review will go from spoiler free to light spoilers to full on spoilers. I will let you know at each transition.
We Are Not Saved discusses religion (from a Christian/LDS perspective), politics, the end of the world, science fiction, artificial intelligence, and above all the limits of technology and progress.
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