A Reading List For The Future
Information to help the average person orient himself/herself in a chaotic world
It has been a couple of months since my last post. After publishing a few fragments of stories, I felt comfortable enough writing fiction to begin working on a complete tale. The next time I publish a story, it will be fully developed. In the meantime, I’ve prepared this post for my subscribers.
A few weeks ago, I met up with another member of the Texas Forward Party for coffee. Our conversation covered many different topics and, towards the end, he asked me if I could put together a reading list that would help him build a solid foundation of general knowledge. I spent the next few hours combing my personal library for books that would make good additions to this list. I have spent the last four years both “unlearning” many of the things I was taught throughout my life and reading about topics that, frankly, should have been covered by the institutions I attended. It’s impossible to change the past, but my hope is that this list can help others who are curious about the world and understand that much of the knowledge we need to solve our problems will have to be acquired outside the institutions that would have provided it in the past.
This list is meant to serve as a starting point for further, self-directed research (links to Amazon or other websites included). Though most, if not all, of the texts were written for laymen, they include plenty of references for those who wish to dive deeper into the subjects they cover. They should provide you with a thorough understanding of humanity’s fascinating history along with a clearer picture of the challenges we will face in the future and the tools we will have at our disposal to tackle them.
*A final note - I recommend going through this list in the order I have indicated.
Part One: Understanding The West And Its Child, The United States
Dominion - Tom Holland
The WEIRDest People In The World - Joseph Henrich
Entangled Empires: The Anglo-Iberian Atlantic, 1500-1830 - Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra
Albion’s Seed - David Hackett Fischer
History Has Begun: The Birth Of A New America - Bruno Maçães
You can’t understand the West or America without extensive knowledge of Christianity. Dominion begins with the end of the Greco-Roman world. It then explores the birth of Christianity and charts its evolution up to the present. The WEIRDest People In The World focuses on the Christian institutions and European cultural practices that allowed the West to generate such great prosperity for its people. Entangled Empires explores the connections between the Iberian and British colonial projects in the Americas. It also includes many accounts of the diverse groups that played important roles in these projects. Albion’s Seed covers the folkways of four groups of British colonists whose cultures provided the foundation for the political culture of the United States. History Has Begun makes the bold claim that the United States is becoming a new civilization separate from the European West that birthed it. Though I disagree with Maçães’s argument that virtualism will be the foundation for this new civilization, I think he is absolutely right that we are experiencing a break with the West.
These books should be useful to you whether you are a person with ancestral ties to the West, an immigrant from a non-Western background, or someone trying to understand Europe and the United States from afar.
Part Two: Systems, Randomness, Risk
Thinking In Systems - Donella Meadows
Fooled By Randomness - Nassim Taleb
The Black Swan - Nassim Taleb
Antifragile - Nassim Taleb
Complementary Reading:
Skin In The Game - Nassim Taleb
Thinking In Systems is an excellent introduction to the tools and methods of systems thinking and pairs well with the other books in Part Two. Nassim Taleb is a controversial figure with many insightful things to say. Fooled By Randomness, The Black Swan, and Antifragile are incredibly valuable books. They will change the way you think about randomness, risk, and other subjects. His work has influenced me deeply. Do not skip them. I haven’t read Skin In The Game (and you may not need to), but I included it simply because I enjoyed his other books so much.
Part Three: New Pictures Of The Distant Past And Their Implications For The United States
Who We Are And How We Got Here - David Reich
The Great Divide - Peter Watson
The Dawn of Everything - David Graeber, David Wengrow
Self Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race - Thomas Chatterton-Williams
Complementary Reading:
Unsupervised Learning - A Substack series by Razib Khan
Our understanding of the distant past is changing with every passing year. The first three books of Part Three should help you get up to speed on the latest findings in ancient DNA analysis and archaeology. Who We Are And How We Got Here is a fantastic introduction to the study of ancient DNA. Analysis of ancient genomes has demonstrated that groups of Homo sapiens have been migrating and mixing with each other and other species of humans, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, throughout our history (though these mixing events, unfortunately, were likely the non-consensual results of conquest). Modern science is capable of detecting genetic differences among diverse human populations, but the boundaries among said groups are fluid. Unsupervised Learning covers the latest findings in ancient DNA analysis, though it’s probably enough to just read Reich’s book if you’re pressed for time. Peter Watson’s The Great Divide explores the various indigenous civilizations of the Americas. In particular, it notes that the volatile geographies and climates found in the Western hemisphere, absence of various domesticable plant and animal species, and abundance of hallucinogenic substances vastly altered the trajectories these civilizations followed compared to their Eurasian counterparts. The Dawn Of Everything challenges our assumptions about the progression of civilization by examining evidence showing humans have lived in diverse, complex systems for millennia. The traditional, linear model of civilizational development that holds that human social organization began in the form of egalitarian hunter-gatherer bands before transitioning into hierarchical agricultural societies and beyond is deeply flawed. If our ancestors were living in various unique social configurations, perhaps we can summon some of their creativity to devise new ways of living in the 21st century.
I have included Thomas Chatterton-Williams’s Self Portrait In Black And White in Part Three because it complements the work that Reich and others have performed with ancient genomes in a modern way. It is clear now that the story of humanity is one of extensive genetic mixing. Modern Europeans, for example, are the product of mixing among three distinct “races” of the past. In the United States, we are witnessing new mixing events as rates of interracial and interethnic marriages increase dramatically. Children produced by these marriages often possess more fluid identities than those of their parents. The rigid categories we employ when discussing race and ethnicity in America are increasingly unsuited to the task of describing our social reality. Indeed, it appears we’re actually witnessing a totally organic and voluntary process of hyper-assimilation. Self Portrait In Black And White is a beautifully written account of the author’s awakening to this reality through his marriage and the births of his children.
Part Four: The Future Is Now
HOTSCIENCE Series - Tackle these in any order you like.
Hacking the Code of Life - Nessa Carey
The Graphene Revolution - Brian Clegg
Rewilding - Paul Jepson, Cain Blythe
Cosmic Impact - Andrew May
The Space Business - Andrew May
Outbreaks and Epidemics - Meera Senthilingam
The Genetic Lottery - Kathryn Paige Harden
Hacking Darwin - Jamie Metzl
Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
The Beginning Of Infinity - David Deutsch
Now that you have a solid understanding of the West, the United States, systems, risk, and prehistory, among other topics, you can start learning about the challenges of the future and the exciting advances in science and technology that will help us tackle them. The first six books in this section are part of the HOTSCIENCE series and are great entry points for the general public. As you read them, you’ll notice connections among the various topics that can power further investigations. Remember, the point is to familiarize yourself enough with this information so that you are not caught off guard by new developments and are potentially able to exploit opportunities related to them when they arise. You can and should go much deeper into these subjects when you have the time.
The next two books deal specifically with genetics. The Genetic Lottery introduces the latest findings in the field and argues that knowledge about genetics must be considered if we are to create a fairer society (the current trend among left-leaning individuals, for example, is to ignore it completely). There may be better books about genetic engineering than Hacking Darwin, but I think this one does a sufficient job introducing the reader to potential applications of the technology. Again, these are starting points for your own research.
Red Mars is the only work of fiction that I have included on this list. Though I found the prose underwhelming, especially compared to that of Gene Wolfe or Dan Simmons, KSR’s enthusiasm when describing the establishment of Martian colonies and initiation of terraforming projects is infectious. His book is also a master class in depicting the ways science and technology can be used to solve important problems.
Although I haven’t finished The Beginning Of Infinity, I think it’s worth including in this list. The basic premise of the book (so far at least) is that the pursuit of better explanations is the foundation of all progress, which is potentially limitless as long as we continuously pursue these better explanations. It’s a fascinating book. When considered alongside the others in Part Four, it will hopefully lead you to the conclusion that our present challenges can, in fact, be solved. All it will take is a population willing to embrace the future and an elite capable of crafting forward-thinking policies that benefit all.
Part Five: Politics and International Relations
Good Strategy, Bad Strategy - Richard Rumelt
The Machiavellians - James Burnham
The Entrepreneurial State - Mariana Mazzucato
The Rise And Fall Of The Great Powers - Paul Kennedy
The Grand Chessboard - Zbigniew Brzezinski
The Sovereign Individual - James Dale Davidson, William Rees-Mogg
The Network State - Balaji Srinivasan
I chose Good Strategy, Bad Strategy as the first book in Part Five because it provides many insights that will be useful to you as you progress through the final sections of this list. By this point, considerable knowledge covering multiple subjects will be at your disposal. It’s time to think about how that knowledge can be applied in your community, state, and country. Rumelt’s book will help you identify bad strategies at work across several contexts while teaching you how to create good, focused strategies.
The Machiavellians is a classic that examines the work of five political scientists: Niccolò Machiavelli, Gaetano Mosca, Georges Sorel, Robert Michels, and Vilfredo Pareto. Topics include, but are not limited to, the composition and tendencies of ruling classes, the functions of political myths and violence, and the circulation of elites. The Entrepreneurial State examines the crucial role the American government has played in boosting innovation throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. It’s filled with interesting case studies, though the writing can be dry.
I was an undergraduate the first time I read both The Rise And Fall Of The Great Powers and The Grand Chessboard. They are still worth reading today. The former provides a grand overview of great power relations from approximately 1500 to the late 1900s while the latter explores the challenges the United States will face in the 21st century. Once you’re finished with these, you can move on to The Sovereign Individual and The Network State. These books deal with the transition to the Information Age and are required reading if you want to understand political trends we’re seeing amongst tech founders and workers. Finally, Palladium Magazine publishes fantastic, wide-ranging work on governance, international relations, and other matters. Consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Part Six: Problem Solving, Design, Misc.
The Death And Life Of Great American Cities - Jane Jacobs
The Timeless Way Of Building - Christopher Alexander
The Design Of Everyday Things - Don Norman
More From Less - Andrew McAfee
Whole Earth Discipline - Stewart Brand
I’ll admit I haven’t read the first three books in Part Six because I ordered them last week. I was looking for books on design and these were recommended to me. Based on what I’ve gathered by flipping through the pages of each text, they seem like natural complements to the last two books on my list. More From Less and Whole Earth Discipline were both included in Marc Andreessen’s reading list back in 2020. McAfee’s book shows how the marriage of technology and capitalism has allowed advanced nations to prosper using fewer resources. Whole Earth Discipline, meanwhile, explores the potential of nuclear power, genetic engineering, and geoengineering, along with increasing urbanization, to transform the way we live. It’s an optimistic way to end this list.
I don’t expect most people to read the entries on this list quickly. As I mentioned before, I’ve read most of these —along with many others not mentioned— over the course of four years. Still, completing even a single section should be enough to partially orient you in a world that is rapidly changing. My hope is that you come out of this exercise feeling more confident in your knowledge and capabilities. If you have any further recommendations, please shoot them my way!
Best,
Cesar