Cary Neeper's Blog: Reviewing World-changing Nonfiction - Posts Tagged "race"
Reviewing How To Give Up Plastic and Coming Apart: The State of White America
How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Changing the World, One Plastic Bottle at a Time
It isn’t easy. It requires minute by minute awareness of how much plastic runs our lives. Photos tell the tale. The oceans are full of it, over 90% gets into birds, and the finest, toughest plastic wraps are choking small ocean dwellers. One third of plastic in the ocean is microfibers released when washing clothes!
The answer is difficult for all of us, since we rely on so many handy items.made of plastic. The hard part is to recognize each plastic item and find a substitute. Ultimately, however, its the manufacturers and waste managers who hold the ultimate keys to saving the oceans
For starters, this small book gives us a very useful list of finding plastic in our houses, room by room.
Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010
(version 2012-13 reviewed here)
In his crystal clear prologue, author Charles Murray paints a detailed portrait of America before 1963, when President Kennedy was shot. The “civil religion” that held America together began to unravel after World War II with rumors of class differences, an“independent ethnic heritage” in the country.
Today, in 2020, it is all too clear: “…an evolution of America…has taken place since November 21, 1963, leading to the formation of classes that are different in kind …and separation from anything that the nation has ever known.” The differences “…diverge on core behavior and values.” the whys “…involve forces that cannot be changed.”
Examples explored in the book include marriage, “residential segregation,” job types, industriousness, crime, perhaps honesty, and religion. After 300 pages the reader finds a long list to support Murray’s theses. He suggests that we compare differences between parents at elementary schools in a median income zip code and in an “elite private elementary school”.
The author suggests that the solutions require the “new upper class” to focus on restoring “what makes America different.“A life well lived requires engagement with those around us.”
It isn’t easy. It requires minute by minute awareness of how much plastic runs our lives. Photos tell the tale. The oceans are full of it, over 90% gets into birds, and the finest, toughest plastic wraps are choking small ocean dwellers. One third of plastic in the ocean is microfibers released when washing clothes!
The answer is difficult for all of us, since we rely on so many handy items.made of plastic. The hard part is to recognize each plastic item and find a substitute. Ultimately, however, its the manufacturers and waste managers who hold the ultimate keys to saving the oceans
For starters, this small book gives us a very useful list of finding plastic in our houses, room by room.
Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010
(version 2012-13 reviewed here)
In his crystal clear prologue, author Charles Murray paints a detailed portrait of America before 1963, when President Kennedy was shot. The “civil religion” that held America together began to unravel after World War II with rumors of class differences, an“independent ethnic heritage” in the country.
Today, in 2020, it is all too clear: “…an evolution of America…has taken place since November 21, 1963, leading to the formation of classes that are different in kind …and separation from anything that the nation has ever known.” The differences “…diverge on core behavior and values.” the whys “…involve forces that cannot be changed.”
Examples explored in the book include marriage, “residential segregation,” job types, industriousness, crime, perhaps honesty, and religion. After 300 pages the reader finds a long list to support Murray’s theses. He suggests that we compare differences between parents at elementary schools in a median income zip code and in an “elite private elementary school”.
The author suggests that the solutions require the “new upper class” to focus on restoring “what makes America different.“A life well lived requires engagement with those around us.”
Reviewing World-changing Nonfiction
Expanding on the ideas portrayed in The Archives of Varok books for securing the future.
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