An exploration of evil by a crime novel writer who came to Christ after seeing the vacuity of thinkers like Nietzsche and de Sade and Foucault. He explores famous murders and murderers and films and novels about them and ends with personal notes and a somewhat fanciful treatment in the form of a poetic approach to theodicy. A book more to be appreciated than enjoyed.
Saturday, October 4, 2025
A Plague Upon Our House: My Fight at the Trump White House to Stop COVID from Destroying America by Scott W. Atlas M.D.
A retelling from the inside of the early days of COVID and the first Trump administration. Basically Atlas subscribed or previewed the focused intervention view of the Barrington Declaration. Dr Birx and Fauci pushed alarm and lockdowns and deprecated natural immunity. The press was pro-Fauci and anti-Trump. The Stanford faculty was rabidly opposed to Atlas.
Deception: The Great COVID Cover-Up by Rand Paul
A long recounting of the COVID pandemic. Paul remained firm throughout. He thought the virus might have come from a lab, that natural immunity was real, that children were at extremely low risk, that masks didn't help, that Fauci was funding gain-of-function research in China. All of these ideas were ridiculed then found to be very likely true. A sad accounting by an often lone voice.
Collisions: A Physicist's Journey from Hiroshima to the Death of the Dinosaurs by Alec Nevala-Lee
A biography of Luis Alvarez, grandson of evangelical missionaries to China and Nobel Prize-winning physicist. Very varied career with many contributions. Not very well liked it seems. Worked with cyclotron, developed bubble chamber, worked on A-bomb and H-bomb. Surprisingly interesting to me even though I have read many books about these discoveries.
Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times by Kenneth Whyte
A balanced, long biography about a surprisingly interesting figure. An orphan raised in Oregon, he became a wealthy mining engineer around the world through ambition and some chicanery. His political career began with amazing compassionate administrative work in post-WWI relief in Belgium, where he probable saved hundreds of thousands of lives. He served with distinction as Secretary of Commerce in Harding's cabinet, won the presidency in a major landslide. Probably through no fault of his own the country and world economy cratered, possibly from effects of Versailles Treaty in Europe and stock market greed in U.S. Roosevelt rose to power on blaming Hoover and the nation's tiredness of prohibition and resultant lawlessness. Hoover was bitter in defeat, hoped to get back in politics, but no-one was interested. He was wealthy, ethical (in politics) and actually a very competent administrator.
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
Thursday Murder Club - missing heroin and a friend's death. Fun, overdrawn characters and a clever plot twist. Lots of deaths. Enjoyable escape read.
Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything by Salvatore Basile
The history of air conditioning. An early patent by J. Gorrie #8080 was forgotten for 70 years after being ridiculed by the so-called science of the day. Also the book is remarkable for the ignorance of building ventilation and sun exposure.
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