'Caste: The Origins of our Discontents' by Isabel Wilkerson

 

Caste: The Origins of our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson (3.5)

This book is very depressing. Filled with important information supporting the author’s points defining the racism in America as a caste system – but it was alarming to read the details of such atrocities as lynching and realize the extent to which they occurred long after you thought they had stopped. One of the most shocking chapters explained how the Nazis looked to the US to understand how to oppress a group of people believed inferior – and that they eventually thought we had gone too far! Nazis look to your country as ‘best practice’ of oppression, but decide you are a little crazy. That says a lot. I appreciated reading the multiple personal accounts Ms. Wilkerson included. It’s often too easy to say an author cherry- picked their stories to make their point. Her passages show she lives it every day. I did find some of the book repetitive and found myself skimming the middles sections. Much of the book was not surprising, but embarrassing (for our country) and sad. 

The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov

 Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Isaac Asimov (5.0)

After hearing that it was being made into a TV series, I decided to return to the O.G. of Science Fiction, Mr. Asimov, and his most famous trilogy. We follow a Galactic Empire where mathematicians use Psychohistory to predict the destruction of their worlds and a dark age that lasts 30k years. Hari Seldon (lead psychohistorian) has taken the predictions out in time to find a path that will reduce the dark ages to 1 millennium. He establishes a Foundation of scientists to manage the process and claims there is a Second Foundation on the opposite side of the Galaxy. Due to the long- term nature of this plan, the first book jumps 30-50 years per chapter. This makes it more like a group of short stories and can be a little disjointed. The second and third books allow the reader to follow and appreciate characters, which I found more enjoyable. ‘Foundation and Empire’ is my favorite – for both introducing one of the most interesting characters (The Mule) who spends much of the book in the shadows and for one of the best female characters in Science Fiction (Bayta Darell in book 2). This is quite an accomplishment, given the books were written in the 50’s. If you claim to like Sci-Fi, you must read this trilogy.