Tag: Nonfiction

Let the People Pick the President

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

Let the People Pick the President has a subtitle that sums up its content well: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College. In this insightful book, Jesse Wegman explores the system that we use for electing the highest leader of the country. Although mayors, governors, senators, and other representatives are chosen by popular vote, the president is elected using a complicated system of electors based on, but not proportionally representative of, a given state’s population. Through an examination of the creation of this system at the time of the country’s founding, to a discussion of the current implications of the way the system works, Let the People Make the President presents a convincing case for moving to a popular vote election for president of the United States.

What I loved most:

Let’s be real here… does anyone actually understand the electoral college? Before reading this book, I was confident that I could explain the general way the electoral college works to a first grader… but also confident that I couldn’t explain satisfactorily to a high school student why two out of the last six presidents did not win the popular vote. The concept of a popular vote made sense to me, since it works for literally every other position we elect in this country, but I didn’t understand the electoral college enough to be able to make a solid argument for abolishing it. Wegman makes this seemingly-complex topic accessible to a wide audience. Even if you are pro-electoral college, this would be an interesting read for the exploration of the Constitution’s creation alone. It’s definitely worth your time!

Read this book if you like:

Politics, thinking through long-standing ways of doing things, democracy, learning from history

Book details:

You Ought to Do A Story About Me

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

Ted Jackson is a photojournalist. In 1990, he was working on a story about people experiencing homelessness. When he encountered a man sleeping under the bridge, that man said to him, “You ought to do a story about me.” Jackson had heard this statement a million times, but indulged the man by asking why he should have his story shared. The man responded by telling Jackson he had played in three Super Bowls.

You Ought to Do a Story About Me shares the story of Jackie Wallace, former star of the NFL. It explores his life, from his childhood through his football days, before going into the circumstances that led to his addictions and eventual homelessness. This would be a great book for people who are avid sports fans, as a lot of time is spent discussing Wallace’s football career. It would also be an interesting read for fans of psychology or sociology.

What I loved most:

One of my favorite things of all time is exploring why and how people become the people that they are. I’m fascinated by life circumstances, and how they impact cognitive patterns and the decisions people make. By the measures of our current society, Wallace had “made it”. He was a professional football player. He was living the dream. To go from the peak, the glory, to sleeping under a bridge, is a fascinating transition. I also appreciate that Jackson addressed some cultural/societal factors that impacted Wallace’s circumstances, in addition to discussing Wallace’s choices.

Read this book if you like:

Psychology, sociology, football/sports in general

Book details:

Thirst

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

Scott Harrison was a successful nightclub promoter, living the high life in New York City. When he was 28 years old, he hit the metaphorical wall, turned his life over to Jesus, and eventually started a nonprofit organization aimed at meeting one of the most pressing issues across the world: lack of clean water. Thirst is Harrison’s memoir chronicling his journey to starting and running the amazing global nonprofit charity: water, which aims to provide access to clean and safe water to people in developing countries.

What I loved most:

Until I read Thirst, I hadn’t realized the magnitude of the problem of lack of access to clean water globally. This book does a great job of balancing out Harrison’s story of starting the nonprofit, and explaining why this organization is so necessary. An estimated 785 million people across the world don’t have access to clean water. They have to spend hours each day walking to collect water… which takes time away from school, earning income, raising a family, and all the other crucial tasks to thrive in life. This is the kind of book that fires you up as you read it, and makes you want to take action and make a real difference in people’s lives.

Read this book if you like:

Seeing a need and meeting it, changing the lives of people around the world, nonprofits, redemption stories, global worldview

Book details:

  • Author: Scott Harrison
  • Publisher: Currency
  • Date of Publication: October 18, 2018
  • Interest level: Adult
  • Look up Thirst on WorldCat to find it at a library near you!