American revolutions
The American Revolution is often portrayed as a high-minded, orderly event whose capstone, the Constitution, provided the ideal framework for a democratic, prosperous nation. Alan Taylor, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, gives us a different creation story in this magisterial history of the nation's founding. Rising out of the continental rivalries of European empires and their native allies, Taylor's Revolution builds like a ground fire overspreading Britain's mainland colonies, fueled by local conditions, destructive, hard to quell. Conflict ignited on the frontier, where settlers clamored to push west into Indian lands against British restrictions, and in the seaboard cities, where commercial elites mobilized riots and boycotts to resist British tax policies. When war erupted, Patriot crowds harassed Loyalists and nonpartisans into compliance with their cause. Brutal guerrilla violence flared all along the frontier from New York to the Carolinas, fed by internal divisions as well as the clash with Britain. Taylor skillfully draws France, Spain, and native powers into a comprehensive narrative of the war that delivers the major battles, generals, and common soldiers with insight and power. With discord smoldering in the fragile new nation through the 1780s, nationalist leaders such as James Madison and Alexander Hamilton sought to restrain unruly state democracies and consolidate power in a Federal Constitution.
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- Yes, with strong religious and historically early ethnonationalist motivations, including against denominations of European colonists who weren't English-speaking, while the British opposition was largely motivated by pragmatic diplomatic efforts to avoid large wars, expenses or both. Taylor's book American Revolutions is a great starting point for the period (with depth exceeding the typical ACOUP article) and the bibliography delivers plenty of follow-up material by topic and/or place.
- 1. The Captured Economy by Lindsey and Teles
2. Tyranny, Inc. by Ahmari
3. American Revolutions by Alan Taylor
4. Everything Flows by Vasili Grossman
- List of books mentioned till now:
"The Man Who Folded Himself" by David Gerrold A fascinating exploration of time travel, despite its poor writing quality, according to the commenter.
"Dreaming: A Very Short Introduction" by J. Allan Hobson A hard science neurophysiological overview of dreaming.
"Material World" by Ed Conway A detailed look into basic minerals like sand, salt, oil, their supply chains, and the process of converting ores to materials.
"Blindsight" and "Echopraxia" by Peter Watts Sci-fi novels that deal with themes of consciousness and first contact with alien intelligence.
"The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again" by M. John Harrison Noted for beautiful writing and vivid descriptions.
"The Thursday Murder Club" by Richard Osman A light and amusing mystery novel; the beginning of a series.
"The Roman Empire in Crisis" by Paul N. Pearson A detailed account of the Crisis of the Third Century in Rome, incorporating recent archaeological discoveries.
"The Good Virus" by Tom Ireland Introduces phages and their pivotal role in advancing human health through phage therapy.
"Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness" by Richard H. Thaler A book about behavioral economics that suggests ways policies can be designed to "nudge" people into making better decisions.
"Blindsight" by Peter Watts A sci-fi novel that offers a less "anthropomorphic" first contact experience.
"Open Borders" by SMBC guy A book that presents an argument in favor of more open immigration policies.
"Snow Crash" and "Neuromancer" Classic cyberpunk novels, recommended for annual re-reading by the commenter.
"The God Engines" by John Scalzi A novella that is described as a sci-fi fantasy religious tale of space travel and manifested gods. Culture Series by Iain M. Banks A series of space opera novels set in a post-scarcity society.
"Art & Fear - Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking" by David Bayles & Ted Orland A book about human nature and creativity.
"The Case for God" by Karen Armstrong A book about the history of religion and how much is misunderstood in modern times.
"Years of Lyndon Johnson" by Robert Caro A detailed and well-researched biography of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.
"The Captured Economy" by Lindsey and Teles "American Revolutions" by Alan Taylor "Everything Flows" by Vasili Grossman "Silk Roads" by Peter Frankopan A history of the world from a Central Asian perspective.
"Too Perfect: When Being in Control Gets Out of Control" by Allan Mallinger "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael E. Gerber A book about why most small businesses don't work and what to do about it.
"Prisoners of Geography" by Tim Marshall An exploration of how borders and geography shape nations.
"Impro" by Keith Johnston A book with unique and radical views about how society functions.
"Peter Singer's books" Noted as being worldview-changing, but specific titles aren't listed.
"Two Years Before The Mast" by Richard Henry Dana An account of the cattle hide trade along the California coast in the 1830s.
"Empire of the Summer Moon" A book about the Comanche tribe and their conflict with settlers in the American West.
"Dune" by Frank Herbert A classic science fiction novel about politics, religion, and ecology on a desert planet.
"God, Human, Animal Machine" by Meghan O’Gieblyn Traces parallels between Christian theology and transhumanism.
"The Water Knife" A dystopian future novel set against a backdrop of water scarcity in the western United States.
- > peasant refugees
There's an attempt at painting criminals of the American Revolutions as "refugees" when they fled north. Interesting the history courses are building up this narrative.
> Cash payments for indigenous scalps
What's often omitted from history books is that indigenous people fought a lot even before Europeans arrived.
