Review of Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 

Genre = History, Empires

Book Club Event = Book List (02/15/2025)

Intriguing Connections = 1) Get To Know The Peoples Of The World (Congo [Republic of the Congo], China), 2) How To Allocate Resources?, 3) The Persecuted and The Persecutors, 

4) How Is Sovereignty Is Gained And Lost?, 5) How Products Shape and Change the World, 

6) How Competitive Is Competition?, 7) The Impact of Inequality, 8) What Poverty Means?, 

9) War for Your Attention, 10) How To and Not To Run a Business, 11) What It Means to be an Activist, 12) To Cooperate Or To Defect?, 13) Why Conflict Occurs And How To Resolve Them?, 

14) Capitalism, Socialism, their Alternatives and Critiques, 

15) Globalization and International Trade: A Known Problem?, 

16) What Defines A Culture? How To Belong To A Community?

Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“The cobalt found in the dirt here provides maximum stability and energy density to rechargeable batteries, allowing them to hold more charge and operate safely for longer periods.  Remove cobalt from the battery, and you will have to plug in your smartphone or electric vehicle much more often, and before long, the batteries may very well catch on fire.  There is no known deposit of cobalt-containing ore anywhere in the world that is larger, more accessible, and higher grade than the cobalt under Kolwezi.” – Siddharth Kara, Chapter 1: “Unspeakable Richness”, Page 20

 

“The developments that sparked demand for each resource attracted a new wave of treasure seekers.  At no point in their history have the Congolese people benefited in any meaningful way from the monetization of their country’s resources.  Rather, they have often served as a slave labor force for the extraction of those resources at minimum cost and maximum suffering.” – Siddharth Kara, Chapter 1: “Unspeakable Richness”, Page 22

 

“Mobutu remained in power for decades, despite overt corruption, by embracing the U.S. cause against communism, which brought him the unwavering support of Presidents Nixon, Bush, Reagan, and Clinton.  Katanga’s minerals flowed to the West, and the proceeds flowed into Mobutu’s bank accounts.  However, that which Katanga gives, it can also take away.” – Siddharth Kara, Chapter 5: Colony to the World, Page 114

Review

Is This An Overview?

Cobalt is a rare resource used in electronic technologies to make devices hold more charge and operate safely for longer.  As societies are transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy, cobalt is a resource needed to satisfy sustainability goals.  Cobalt is most abundant, in Congo.  Congo contains the largest concentration of accessible and high-grade cobalt.  Congo has cobalt and a variety of valuable resources, which are in demand by foreign powers.  An abundance of resources, which has been severely exploited. 

 

Cobalt is mined through coerced labor, which involves children.  The people work in hazardous conditions, using rudimentary tools.  Barely paid for the effort and risk taken.  The wealth from the resources partly goes to corrupt officials, but most of the wealth goes to foreign companies.  The wealth is not being used to improve the conditions of the people.  The miners do not have negotiating power to ask for appropriate wages, or working conditions.  The people do not want to speak against the practices, for fear of violent reprisals.  The use of sustainable electronic devices is powered by the human and environmental catastrophe in Congo. 

 

No company or government is taking responsibility for the negative consequences of mining.  No company wants the inappropriate practices.  They claim that they are committed to high standards in their supply chain, promote the responsible sourcing of resources, and uphold international human rights.  They claim to send support to prevent the terrible conditions, but no sufficient efforts have been made to ameliorate the conditions.

 

What Is Congo’s Political Situation?

Through the independence movement in 1960, Congo democratically elected a prime minister, Patrice Lumumba.  Through Lumumba, the Congolese were going to gain sovereignty, to enable the resources to benefit the people rather than foreign powers.  Various foreign interests conspired to remove Lumumba, and install Joseph Mobutu.  Mobutu supported foreign power interests.  Foreign powers got resources, with Mobutu receiving the income.

 

How Does China Effect Congo?

China has been making infrastructure-for-resources agreements across the African continent.  Even though the infrastructure is low quality without social considerations to the location of the infrastructure, the Congo leaders such as Kabila have benefited financially from the agreements.  The cobalt is refined in China, because Congo does not have sufficient electricity capacity to refine cobalt.

 

As of 2021, the ownership of 15 of 19 mining companies are Chinese.  The mining sites have their own armed units, military contractors, and informal militias.  They keep minerals secure and prevent prying eyes.    

 

Caveats?

Although a short history of Congo and Congolese political situation is provided, the focus of the book is on the mining industry.  To understand the variety of conflicts in Congo, and life outside the mining industry would require more research.

 

Most of the book tries to capture the individual, human suffering.  As that information tends to be more emotional, which is often assumed to make people change their behavior.  As tragic as the human suffering is, the narrative can become repetitive.    

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?

•What are some limitations of the book?

•To whom would you suggest this book?

•How can cobalt be used?

•How has cobalt been used historically?

•What resources are found in the Congo?

•How are cobalt and other resources extracted from the Congo? 

•Who mines the cobalt?

•By what conditions is cobalt mined?

•Where is cobalt refined? 

•What do technology companies think of the mining conditions?

•Who owns the mining companies?

•What support does Congo receive from companies wanting responsible sourced resources? 

•Who are the artisanal (ASM) miners? 

•What negotiating power do artisanal miners have?

•What information is allowed to be shared by the miners? 

•How is the wealth from the resources used? 

•How did Patrice Lumumba effect Congo?

•How did Joseph Mobutu effect Congo? 

•How did King Leopold II effect Congo?

•How does an Indian pullulation effect Congo?

•How does China effect Congo? 

•How were African working conditions hidden from the England’s public in the 18th century?

•What is the history of electric cars?

•What is the effect of the transportation fees from cobalt? 

•What happened to CHEMAF site?

Book Details

Edition:                   First St. Martin's Griffin Edition

Publisher:               St. Martin's Griffin {St. Martin's Publishing Group}

Edition ISBN:         9781250284297

Pages to read:          230

Publication:             2024

1st Edition:              2023

Format:                    eBook 

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    5

Content          5

Overall          5

Review of Social Justice Fallacies by Thomas Sowell

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 

Genre = Sociology

Book Club Event = Book List (02/22/2025)

Intriguing Connections = 1) The Persecuted and The Persecutors, 

2) How Does Data Get Use, And Misused?, 3) When Intelligence Goes Wrong, 4) War for Your Attention, 5) Why Do People Think Differently?, 6) How To Allocate Resources?, 7) The Impact of Inequality,

Watch Review

Excerpts

“In the real world, there is seldom anything resembling the equal outcomes that might be expected if all factors affecting outcomes were the same for everyone.  Even in a society with equal opportunity – in the sense of judging each individual by the same standards – people from different backgrounds do not necessarily even want to do the same things, much less invest their time and energies into developing the same kinds of skills and talents.” – Thomas Sowell, Chapter 1: “Equal Chances” Fallacies, Page 9

 

“The fundamental issue is not whether employer discrimination – or societal discrimination in general – can be a cause of different economic and social outcomes among racial or ethnic groups.  It can be, it has been, and there is no reason whatever to preclude it from the possibilities in our own times.  But there is also no reason to preclude any of the many other factors that have also produced outcome disparities among all sorts of groups, around the world and throughout recorded history.” – Thomas Sowell, Chapter 2: Racial Fallacies, Page 30

 

“Politicians do learn.  They learn what is politically effective, and what they do is not a mistake politically, despite how disastrous such policies may turn out to be for the country.  What can be a mistake politically is to assume that particular ideals – including social justice – can be something that society can just ‘arrange,’ through government, without considering the particular patterns of incentives and constraints inherent in the institution of government.” – Thomas Sowell, Chapter 3: Chess Pieces Fallacies, Page 63

Review

Is This An Overview?

There are many factors that create disparities between people.  Human bias that is part of discrimination is a single factor, among many factors.  Discrimination does not have a monopoly on creating disparities or even always a dominant factor, as there are many factors that influence human achievement.  There have been societies with industries dominated by ethnic minorities, who did not control politics or other social aspects.  People with the same skill sets, do not necessarily want the same things, do not want the same outcomes.  As people do have different skills, different people and groups can excel in some achievements while lag in others. 

 

Nature itself is not egalitarian, as resources are not distributed equally between political boundaries.  Knowledge can be used to transform nature, but not all societies have equal access to the same information.  Geographically linked people have more access to information and develop faster than geographically isolated people.  Even with access to information, cultures need to be receptive to different ideas to make use of the information.  Not all cultures are receptive to different ideas.

 

What Can Be Done About The Disparities?

Social justice activists may want to fix social problems, but that does not mean their claims and policies achieve their goals.  Intervention in society is claimed by social justice activists as needed to ameliorate the problems, but they can fail to share supporting evidence that intervention is needed.  Social justice activists tend to hide evidence of how the problem they sought to ameliorate was ameliorating before their intervention, and do not share evidence of the problem being exacerbated after the intervention. 

 

Politicians who advocate social justice to gain votes, learn to enact politically desirable policies even as there are negative consequences for society.  Society might suffer, but the politician gains political support.  There are increased chances that terrible policies are enacted for their political desirability, when the politicians do not face the consequences of being wrong.

 

People react differently to the imposition of rules and policies than expected.  They do not simply accept and carry out someone else’s grand design.  Policies can have the reverse consequences than expected, such as raising tax rates with the expectation of increasing tax revenue, can have the consequence of lowering tax revenue as people find ways of avoiding the taxed activity or product.  Alternatively, lowering tax rates can increase tax revenue as more people will find the activity or product attractive.

 

Caveats?

While the author shares the biases of the opposition, the author has biases of one’s own.  There are various examples of how the opposition used evidence incorrectly or did not share the appropriate evidence, while the author presents favorable alternative evidence to support the authors’ claims without questioning the evidence in the same way.

 

This book contains examples and ideas found in various other books that the author wrote, without many changes to the examples or additional examples.  This book can be used as a short reference book to the authors’ other books. 

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?

•What are some limitations of the book?

•To whom would you suggest this book?

•Are equal outcomes possible?  Are equal outcomes wanted?

•Is there exploitation and discrimination?

•Is discrimination the only factor that prevents people from what they want to obtain?

•Can there be racial or ethnic minorities which dominate industries? 

•Does a group need to excel in every achievement? 

•What is the first-born bias?

•Does having a father make a difference in life?

•How can geography shape outcomes? 

•How does culture shape outcomes?

•How did draft animals affect outcomes?

•Is nature egalitarian? 

•How does honesty effect outcomes?

•Is IQ inherited? 

•What is the chess board fallacy? 

•How do tax rates effect tax revenue?

•What do politicians focus on when creating policies? 

•What do politicians learn?

•What is an inflation tax and who does it effect?

•Who makes up the 1%?

•What is consequential knowledge?

•How do social justice advocates effect the problem they are trying to alleviate?

•What happened to the trend in venereal diseases? 

•What are the consequences to people making decisions when they face no repercussions for their decisions? 

•What can cause totalitarian regimes to take over a democracy?

Book Details

Edition:                   First Edition

Publisher:               Basic Books [Hachette Book Group]

Edition ISBN:         9781541603936

Pages to read:          127

Publication:             2023

1st Edition:              2023

Format:                    eBook 

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    5

Content          4

Overall          4

Review of Korea: A History by Eugene Y. Park

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 

Genre = History, Empires

Book Club Event = Book List (03/01/2025)

Intriguing Connections = 1) Get To Know The Peoples Of The World (North Korea, South Korea), 

2) How Is Sovereignty Is Gained And Lost?, 3) To Cooperate Or To Defect?, 4) How To Allocate Resources?, 5) The Persecuted and The Persecutors, 6) What Goes Into An Economic Crisis?, 

7) Capitalism, Socialism, their Alternatives and Critiques, 

8) Globalization and International Trade: A Known Problem?, 

Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“Towards the end of the Bronze Age, stronger tribes headed by such political leaders subordinated weaker groups and extracted tribute from them.  The frequency and scale of battles increased with the spreading use of metal, including iron, and warfare produced rulers and the ruled.  As tribes merged through war and alliances, larger polities arose, first in Liaoning and north-western Korea.  The earliest known and the most powerful was Kojosǒn.” – Eugene Y. Park, Chapter 1: The Dawn of Korean Civilization to 391 CE, Page 23

 

“The Three Kingdoms improved economic productivity by strengthening tax collection and manpower mobilization, disseminating iron farming tools, and promoting plowing with oxen.  Each also produced luxury goods that required sophisticated craftsmanship to meet the demands of royals and aristocrats.  Increased manufacturing and agriculture allowed surplus production, which stimulated commerce and trade.  The state and elites instituted strict laws to buttress a caste-like aristocracy system, with administrators, commoners, and slaves, while promoting Buddhism for social harmony and order.” – Eugene Y. Park, Chapter 2: The Three Kingdoms, Pyuǒ, and Kaya, 391-676, Page 40

 

“As the appointment and promotion of those paying bribes became rampant, rapacious officials filled their pockets by imposing unjust taxes and surcharges on the population.  Furthermore, as the population began to decrease, after frequent natural disasters led to widespread famine and epidemics, the tax burden on struggling ordinary farmers only increased.  With spreading discontent, outright resistance became more frequent as Korea underwent significant socioeconomic changes.” – Eugene Y. Park, Chapter 8: Late Chosǒn Renovation and Decline, 1724-1864, Page 195

Review

Is This An Overview?

Korea’s technological progress in the Bronze Age brought with it social stratification and the subordination of weaker tribes by stronger tribes.  Tribes became larger and more centralized, eventually bringing about the Three Kingdoms of Paekche, Koguryǒ, and Silla.  The kingdoms were brought together under the Koryǒ monarchy, which transitioned into the Chosǒn.  Becoming the two states of North and South Korea after the end of Japanese occupation. 

 

The kingdoms had their similarities and differences within conflicts and foreign relations.  Even from the early Kingdoms, Korea’s culture and politics has been influenced by China.  The kingdoms developed strict aristocracies, with Buddhism, Confucianism, and later Protestantism for social harmony and governance legitimization.  Governance which became a compromise between meritocracy and aristocracy through examination and privileges.  At times, monarchs became figureheads.  

 

The Korean states maintained their sovereignty through a balance of power between them, and other neighboring states.  But were often a tributary state, a colony of another power such as China, Mongolia, Manchuria, or Japan.  Preserving their identity while being subordinate. 

 

The economic burden of societies tended to be placed on the lower classes, the farmers.  When there was more extraction from farmers, the economy suffered, which sparked rebellions.  The socioeconomic situation improved when the lower classes were not under dire pressure, and were supported by knowledge and innovation.  The political and economic tension persisted into the two states of North and South Korea.  Both had authoritarian regimes, but while North Korea was influenced by Russia to pursue economic self-sufficiency, South Korea was influenced by the United States to pursue economic integration into a global economy.  North Korea’s economy initially fared better than South Korea’s, but South Korea flourished due to globalization, while North Korea suffered through a lack of needed support. 

 

Caveats?

This book can be difficult to read, as a lot of diverse details are provided in quick succession.  There is often a lack of explanations for events other than the details of what happened, with poor transitions between events.  The informational organization when describing contemporaneous Korean states can make it difficult to understand what information effects what state.  The difficulty of reading the book was alleviated when the author was describing shorter time horizons, with fewer political states.

 

As a book on Korea, the author favors interpreting information to favor Korea.  A present but not major bias, is the representation of Korea as more victim and others as perpetrators, while limiting information on Korea’s aggressions. 

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?

•What are some limitations of the book?

•To whom would you suggest this book?

•From what is Korea’s name derived from?

•How did the Bronze Age effect Korea?

•Where did Koreans come from?

•What were features of the Kojosǒn?

•What are the Three Kingdoms?

•What was the political, social, economic situation of Silla?

•What was the political, social, economic situation of Koguryǒ?

•What was the political, social, economic situation of Paekche?

•What was the political, social, economic situation of Koryǒ?

•What was the political, social, economic situation of Chosǒn?

•What was the political, social, economic situation of North Korea?

•What was the political, social, economic situation of South Korea?

•What was the political, social, economic situation when Korea was occupied by Japan?

•How did Korea become the two states of North and South Korea? 

•How do North and South Korea interact with each other? 

•How has China influenced Korea throughout history?

•How was Korea influenced by Mongolia?

•How was Korea influenced by Manchuria?

•How was Korea influenced by Japan?

•How was Korea influenced by Buddhism? 

•How was Korea influenced by Confucianism? 

•How was Korea influenced by Protestantism? 

•What happened to Korean’s knowledge base?

•What are the true-bone aristocrats? 

•How did relationships change?

•How did family structure change?

•How did slavery change? 

Book Details

Publisher:               Stanford University Press

Edition ISBN:         9781503629844

Pages to read:          382

Publication:             2022

1st Edition:              2022

Format:                    Paperback

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    3

Content          4

Overall          3

Review of Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds by Jim Sterba

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 

Genre = Science

Intriguing Connections = 1) Earth's Flora and Fauna, 

2) What Defines A Culture? How To Belong To A Community?, 3) The Persecuted and The Persecutors, 4) What Is The Power Of Belief Systems?, 

5) Get To Know The Peoples Of The World (United States of America), 6) How To Allocate Resources?, 7) Why Do People Think Differently?, 8) To Cooperate Or To Defect?, 

9) Why Conflict Occurs And How To Resolve Them?, 10) How Competitive Is Competition?, 

11) What It Means to be an Activist,

Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“People now share the landscape with millions of deer, geese, wild turkeys, coyotes, and beavers; thousands of bears, moose, and raptors; formerly domesticated feral pigs and cats; and uncountable numbers of small wild animals and birds.  And more are on the way, moving in among us as their populations thrive and spread to regions where they haven’t been seen for centuries – in some cases far beyond their historic ranges.” – Jim Sterba, Introduction, Page xv

 

“Stewardship means making use of a resource and at the same time leaving it to future generations in as good or better condition than before.  But this wasn’t happening.  In the 1960s and 1970s, the environmental protection movement grew out of a widespread recognition that the landscape had been abused and harmed.  It fought the overuse of agricultural herbicides and pesticides; campaigned to clean up air, water, and land fouled by those and other man-made pollutants; called for protection of wildlife threatened by overharvesting, pollution, and other forms of human abuse; and pushed to curtail such extractive eyesore industries as clear-cut logging and strip mining.” – Jim Sterba, Introduction, Page xvi

 

“It is understandable that after generations of wildlife scarcity many people might be skeptical of the idea that many wild species are now not only plentiful but overabundant enough to cause serious problems for people and ecosystems.  After decades in which wild populations had to be nurtured, the idea that creatures’ numbers needed to be reduced, by lethal means if necessary, was disturbing to them.” – Jim Sterba, Introduction, Page xix

Review

Is This An Overview?

During the 20th century, Americans recognized how the ecosystems has been harmed and damaged.  In response, various environmental organizations were born.  Culture gradually changed to become more protective of the flora and fauna.  The protection was so successful, that there are species which were near extinct, which began to flourish, and have become overpopulated.  Overpopulation of animals has negative consequences for people and the ecosystem.

 

As people have lost tacit experiences with the ecosystem, people no longer know how to properly protect and interact with the ecosystem.  The more animals there are, the more food resources are needed.  Species which have become overpopulated due to human intervention such as by giving them more food, cannot find enough food for themselves in their habitats, leading to starvation. 

 

Human intervention can be on an ecosystem scale, but often, people advance the cause of a few or a single species.  While the supported and protected species becomes overpopulated, the species competes with unprotected species, taking away resources from the unprotected species.  Protecting a single species at the expense of others damages the ecosystem, as the numbers of the unsupported species decline.  An overpopulation can pollute and degrade the ecosystem thought their consumption methods and waste, which damages the habitats of other creatures.

 

Animals which habituated to the presence of humans, and recognize that humans are not a threat, can become a threat to humans.  Those who handle animal related problems are appreciated by those whose problems they resolve, but are disapproved by those who idealize the animals. 

 

Various means of controlling species populations are discussed within communities, often with tense debates as the various interest groups do not think the means of others are appropriate.  As culture has become protective of animals, many do not want to use lethal means of controlling the population.  Even though people do not want to use lethal means, people appear to not find the frequent road kill as problematic. 

 

Who Invaded Who?

As people invaded animal regions, animals reciprocated by invading human regions.  Though developing an environment for people, certain species have benefited from these developments as well.  Species which were able to thrive in developments for people, which otherwise would have had difficulty surviving.  Within human associated regions, there are various legal protections for animals, such as laws that prohibit hunting.

 

How To Control The Population?

There are lethal methods of reducing animal populations, but they have become disapproved of.    The overpopulation of animals makes hunting seasons less effective, for they remove less animals than the reproduction rate of the animal, and there are less people willing to hunt.

 

A nonlethal method of removing animals from an environment is to relocate the animal.  Relocation is not a safe method as relocated animals have low survival odds.  The animals are relocated to strange environments and need to compete with animals already there.  The relocated animals can also carry diseases. 

 

When repopulating wild population, domesticated species to not necessarily thrive.  For their behavior has changed to be domesticated, rather than what is needed to survive.

 

Caveats?

The focus of the book is on the species which are overpopulated due to human intervention.  Not all species are overpopulated.  More research would be needed for species which have not recovered.

 

This book shares a diverse number of species which have flourished from human contact.  Sharing the biological traits of a species, a history of how they were endangered, how culture changed to support them, the consequences of their overpopulation, and the political conflict on population control.  Even with the diversity and varied details on each species, the explanations can become self-similar.  Such as the conflict over how to manage a species, from different lethal to nonlethal methods, can appear to be the same as other species but with different interest group names.

 

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?

•What are some limitations of the book?

•To whom would you suggest this book?

•What is the American history of how they have treated flora and fauna?

•What species have seen a revival?

•How do people interact with nature?

•What is ecosystem stewardship?

•What gave rise in environmental protection movement?

•How do people in America think of nature?  

•How did would a Darwinian think of nature? 

•What are single species obsessed? 

•How have people invaded animal lands?  How have animals invaded human lands?

•How have the forested been treated?

•What is the difference between modern forests and ancient forests?

•How did trees effect settler populations? 

•How has symbol of trees changed?

•What caused a decline in the consumption of trees? 

•What is the American method of wildlife conservation?

•How does American tree consumption effect the world? 

•Why do beavers build dams? 

•What caused the beaver overpopulation? 

•What is America’s informal army?

•How has deer season effected white-tailed deer population? 

•How have deer effect the forest ecosystem?

•How did hunting for sport effect the ecosystem? 

•What effect did the buck law have? 

•What is the effect of baiting? 

•How did overpopulation of geese effect the ecosystem?

•Do geese migrate? 

•How do turkeys effect the ecosystem?

•What happened to domesticated turkeys when released into the wild? 

•Why are turkeys scapegoats? 

•How does baiting effect bears?

•What is the difference between the experience of nature and the way denatured people perceive nature?

•What is the difference between nature documentaries and what is experienced in nature? 

•What did the farming experience teach about animals?

•What happens to roadkill meat? 

•How can infrastructure be changed to be inclusive with animals? 

•Which birds were favored or unfavored by farmers? 

•How did cats become pets?

•What is the effect of bird feeders?

•What is the difference between how dogs and cats were trained on the farm and urban environments?

•How much do veterinarians know about the wildlife ecosystems? 

Book Details

Publisher:               Crown Publishers [Random House]

Edition ISBN:         9780307341969

Pages to read:          307

Publication:             2012

1st Edition:              2012

Format:                    Hardcover 

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    5

Content          5

Overall          5

Review of Crazy Horse by Larry McMurtry

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 

Genre = History

Intriguing Connections = 1) Biographies: Auto, Memoir, and Other Types, 

2) Get To Know The Peoples Of The World (United States of America), 

3) How Is Sovereignty Is Gained And Lost?, 4) What Defines A Culture? How To Belong To A Community?, 5) To Cooperate Or To Defect?, 6) The Persecuted and The Persecutors, 

7) Why Conflict Occurs And How To Resolve Them?, 

Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“The Sioux peoples in the time of Crazy Horse were spread across the northern and central plains in many loosely related tribes of bands, each governed, for the most part, not by one leader but by councils composed of tribal elders, men of skill, experience, and wisdom.” – Larry McMurtry, Chapter 3, Page 14

“Red Cloud and Spotted Tail both recognized quickly that the whites were too powerful to oppose directly – much too powerful.  Whatever might be said in the parleys, and whatever was written on the papers, the whites meant to win; they were going to take what they wanted, which, in the end, was all the country that the native peoples had once inhabited.” – Larry McMurtry, Chapter 3, Page 26

“That the whites were willing, almost casually, to destroy a whole village was a new fact that the Sioux would have to come to terms with.  In the warfare between tribes such a thing did not happen; there was no such imbalance of weaponry.” – Larry McMurtry, Chapter 5, Page 40

Review

Is This An Overview?

For the Sioux, names are not permanent but earned.  Crazy Horse earned the name after being recognized for the risky behavior taken during confrontations with the opposition.  Crazy Horse was a force of resistance to American expansion.  Crazy Horse and others understood that the Americans intended to conqueror all their land.  Made possible by American power and a willingness to destroy their adversaries.  Over time, various Native Indians changed their strategy of resistance, to being part of the American administration system. 

 

Crazy Horse was someone who tended to defect from cultural obligations, and was often isolated in thought and behavior.  A mysterious person even to those close to Crazy Horse.  Crazy Horse retained a connection to the community because there were those who were dependent on Crazy Horse, with Crazy Horse having a sense of responsibility.  Crazy Horse was one of the last Sioux warriors who resisted American expansion, but joined the American administration to protect those who depended on Crazy Horse.

 

The Sioux were composed of various related tribes.  Tribes which were governed by a council.  Native Indian governance was misunderstood by the American negotiators.  The negotiators thought that Native Indians were governed in a similar manner as the American system, with a single individual who held authority to speak for all people.  For the Native Indians, they did not obey other leaders unless their own interests were aligned with the other tribes. 

 

Governance misunderstanding was only part of the negotiation failures.  Another negotiation problem was that no treaty made by the Americans, was expected to be upheld.  There were American negotiators who made genuine claims and treaty terms that respected the local conditions to gain the trust of Native Indians.  Treaties that would have enabled cooperation and improved the political situation, but were denied by distant government officials.  Leading to further distrust of the Americans.  

 

Caveats?

The focus of the book is on a single individual.  There are various references to the culture, politics, and events that affected Crazy Horse, but to understand the era would require more research. 

 

There are various references to data gaps on what is known about Crazy Horse.  The author refrains from speculating on unverified details, but shares how others have thought of the details.  

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?

•What are some limitations of the book?

•To whom would you suggest this book?

•Who is Crazy Horse?  What was Crazy Horse’s personality?

•Who are the Sioux?

•How were the Sioux governed? 

•How did the American negotiations think the Sioux were governed?

•What was expected from treaties and claims?

•How are the people named?

•What was the consequence of trade? 

•Why did Americans expand? 

•What did the Native Indians think of the American expansion intent?

•What is the difference between tribal warfare and American warfare? 

•What effect did dreams have on political and personal decisions for the Native Indians?

•What dream did Crazy Horse have?

•Why did American’s loss battles?  How did they react? 

•Who was Black Buffalo Woman to Crazy Horse? 

•What is a Shirt-wearer?

•How did Native Indians support the Americans? 

•What happened in the reservations?

•How was Crazy Horse treated in the reservation? 

Book Details

Publisher:               Viking [Penguin Group]

Edition ISBN:         9780670882342

Pages to read:          141

Publication:             1999

1st Edition:              1999

Format:                    Hardcover 

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    5

Content          5

Overall          5

Review of Charlemagne by Johannes Fried

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 

Genre = History, Empires

Book Club Event = Book List (03/08/2025)

Intriguing Connections = 1) Biographies: Auto, Memoir, and Other Types, 

2) Get To Know The Peoples Of The World (Franks), 3) What Is The Power Of Belief Systems?, 

4) How Is Sovereignty Is Gained And Lost?, 5) War, 

6) The Motive, Method, Ideology, and Consequences of Intervention,

Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“A number of different tactics were employed in this conflict.  Particularly, the Saxon nobility were more amenable than the common people to being annexed to the Franks.  After all, they stood only to gain from being locked into Mediterranean culture and the Frankish system of rule.  In addition, the king appointed loyal Saxons as counts, a powerful stimulus to joining the Franks.  Indeed, the resistance was led first and foremost by the free men and the serfs; they rose up on two further occasions, in 841 and 843, during the Stellinga Rebellion.  A program of annual campaigns, castle building, and repeated overwintering by the king and his army on Saxon territory took a heavy toll on the populace and the land.  Hostages were required to be handed over on a regular basis, and deportations and mass executions were also the order of the day.” – Johannes Fried, Chapter 3: The Warrior King, Page 158

 

“Robbery – whether out of desperation or on other grounds – was widespread in the Frankish Empire.  And it was the same poor people who were its victims – a cycle that the poor in general were forced to pay for through increasing dependence on regional rulers.  Charlemagne sought in vain to find a lasting solution to this problem.  He was just as unsuccessful in this endeavor as any of his successors.  Mindful of the physical distance that separated them from the center of power, strongmen obeyed the king only when there was something in it for them in return – in the form of gifts, grace and favor, greater prestige, honor, or advancement in rank.” – Johannes Fried, Chapter 4: Power Structures, Page 231

 

“Charlemagne, though, was very fond of the foreigners in his kingdom.  He eagerly adopted the suggestions even of those who had come from far afield.  The king supported episcopal churches, monasteries, and religious houses, be they long-established foundations or recently created ones, and he put several foreigners in charge of such institutions.  An abundance of centers of culture and learning came into being as a result.  New schools, whose importance soon transcended their local region, began to flourish, and the first episcopal schools were founded at this time.  In the ensuing decades, the length and breadth of the Frankish Empire, from north to south and west to east, was covered with a network of educational institutions.” – Johannes Fried, Chapter 5: The Ruler, Page 284

Review

Is This An Overview?

Charlemagne was a warrior king, who became a medieval emperor.  The Franks were in a constant state of conflict to finance itself and organize the social classes.  As king, Charlemagne needed to expand territory to prove oneself worthy of leadership, and to provide the retinue with rewards.  Efforts were made towards integration of the conquered lands and people, but local laws and customs tended to be accepted and retained.   

 

During the era, there was no separation between Church and state.  Charlemagne was a defender of Christendom.  Needed to protect churches and the faithful.  Even Rome needed the Franks for defense of their independence.  Various conquests were justified for providing religious services.  Charlemagne gave the clergy wealth and power, and in return, the clergy were to bring salvation to the people.

 

Charlemagne initiated the development of an educational infrastructure.  Wanted to educated oneself and the empire.  Educational efforts which enabled literacy, that was used to improve the efficiency of Frankish bureaucracy and to understand religious matters.  Churches established schools which enabled a literate administration of power.  Knowledge was sought after no matter the source, as foreign ideas were welcomed and schools established which supported their culture and learning.

 

Caveats?

This book is difficult to read, mainly caused by the data gaps.  The author often repeats how much is not known about Charlemagne, the Franks, and the era.   Data gaps that contribute to a lack of details on many events, and reasons for the events.  

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?

•What are some limitations of the book?

•To whom would you suggest this book?

•How much is known about Charlemagne?

•How has Charlemagne been used posthumously? 

•How was Charlemagne as a boy?

•What did Charlemagne learn on how to be a good king when Charlemagne was a boy? 

•What was the Franks class structure?

•What did the queen do?

•Who did were Charlemagne’s wives?

•What defined justice?

•What were Charlemagne’s social policies? 

•How did Frankish office holders behave? 

•What was the Franks relation with religion? 

•Did Charlemagne live in accordance with ecclesial law? 

•Who benefited from a tithe? 

•What was the conflict with images in religion?

•How did the Franks effect Rome?

•Why were the Franks in a constant state of conflict?

•How much did the Frank know of foreigners? 

•How were foreigners treated? 

•What was the purpose of hunting expeditions? 

•What were the Franks weapons of war?

•How did the Franks organize for war?

•What happened with the Lombards?

•What happened with the Saxons?

•How did Vikings effect the Franks?

•How did the decline of the classical civilizations, such as the Roman Empire, effect Europe?

•What was the state of Frankish road infrastructure? 

•What were Charlemagne’s policy towards forests and farmland?

•How did Charlemagne effect the literacy of the Franks?

•What were Charlemagne’s educational reforms?

•How was distance measured?

•How had Charlemagne become an emperor?

Book Details

Translator:              Peter Lewis

Original Language: German

Translated Into:       English

Publisher:               Harvard University Press

Edition ISBN:         9780674973411

Pages to read:          621

Publication:             2016

1st Edition:              2013

Format:                    eBook 

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    3

Content          3

Overall          3

Review of The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths by Mariana Mazzucato

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 

Genre = Economics

Book Club Event = Book List (12/21/2024)

Intriguing Connections = 1) Capitalism, Socialism, their Alternatives and Critiques, 

2) The Entrepreneurial Spirit, 3) How To Allocate Resources?, 

4) Learning Economics: Basic to Advanced, 5) War for Your Attention

Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“These companies are of course helping to push the innovation frontier by further developing State-funded technologies, and, crucially, contributing to a transition to a more environmentally sustainable economy.  But all we hear in the media is the one-sided myth of the lone entrepreneur.” – Mariana Mazzucato, Introduction: Thinking Big Again, Page 43

 

“Public venture capital, for example, is very different from private venture capital.  It is willing to invest in areas with much higher risk, while providing greater patience and lower expectations of future returns.  By definition this is a more difficult situation.  Yet the returns to public versus private venture capital are compared without taking this difference into account.” – Mariana Mazzucato, Chapter 1: From Crisis Ideology to the Division of Innovative Labour, Page 61

 

“The State’s role is not just to create knowledge through national labs and universities, but also to mobilize resources that allow knowledge and innovations to diffuse broadly across sectors of the economy.  It does this by rallying existing innovation networks or by facilitating the development of new ones that bring together a diverse group of stakeholders.  Rather than fixing ‘market failures’, evolutionary economists and innovation scholars have therefore put emphasis on the State’s role in fixing ‘system failures’.” – Mariana Mazzucato, Chapter 2: Technology, Innovation and Growth, Page 83

Review

Is This An Overview?

There is a myth that governments cannot make appropriate investments, and intervention in the market would create problems.  The myth implies that the main role of the government is to fix the private sector, to fix market failures, and to provide equitable laws.  This myth enabled the dismantling of public organizations and outsourcing responsibilities.  Leading to governments lacking tacit knowledge, and preventing long term agendas.   The myth of government’s ability, is associated with the myth of the lone entrepreneur who knows how to invent and invest in the future.

 

In practice, many entrepreneurs innovated state-funded technologies and used public funding sources.  Private sector investments tend to occur when an idea is ready for commercialization, after various failed ideas have been filtered out.  Governments tend to invest in earlier stages of an idea before commercialization.  Governments invest in the seed stage of an idea, which carries more uncertainty and higher risk than the later commercialization stage.  The private sector invests in ideas after government has transformed the uncertainty of an idea into much lower risk. 

 

Government has more patience with lower expectations of returns to ideas.  A strategy that has been effective, given that while government is spending more on Research and Development, the private sector is spending more on boosting share prices.  Government investments enabled forthcoming innovations, thereby stimulating private investments rather than crowding out investments.

.

Caveats?

In trying overcome one myth, another myth was written.  Although the author references that effective innovation is a collaboration between public and private sectors, the book prioritizes state activities.  A myth that the private sector is secondary to the state, being not as effective with financing and social functions.  Sharing only little reference to the consequences of state activities.  The bias in favor of state action, reduces the value of collaboration.

Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?

•What are some limitations of the book?

•To whom would you suggest this book?

•What are the consequences of dismantling organizations?

•What is the effect of outsourcing functions?

•What is the myth of government?

•What is the myth of the private sector?

•What is the role of the government?

•What should the government be fixing?

•What are market failures?

•What are government failures?

•Does government crowed out or crowed in investments?

•What kind of debt caused the 2008 financial crisis?

•What is the state’s self-fulfilling prophecy of being ill-equipped?

•What are the problems of regulatory capture? 

•Why do government not profit from innovation as private companies do?

•Should a government own a stake in companies that used government investments? 

•What is the difference between government and private investment strategies? 

•What happened to private sector R&D?

•How is the private sector free-riding on government investments? 

•What are the effects of inequality of growth?

•How does government mobilize resources within the sectors of the economy?

•How do companies use patents? 

•What drugs do private companies produce? 

•What makes R&D spending effective? 

•What enabled the Apple’s technology?

•What enabled the Green Industrial Revolution?  

Book Details

             

Publisher:               Penguin Books [Penguin Random House]

Edition ISBN:         9780593656945

Pages to read:          221

Publication:             2024

1st Edition:              2013

Format:                    eBook 

Ratings out of 5:

Readability    4

Content          5

Overall          4