Charlie Harvey

September 2014 Reading

  • The World Until Yesterday, by Jared Diamond

    Cover of The world until yesterday

    Diamond’s epic look at what we might learn from how non-state traditional societies work. I am not well enough read in anthropology to be able to critique Diamond fairly, but to an amateur it sometimes seems a little reductionist. Nevertheless, fascinating and detailed.

    2014-09-03 by Charlie Harvey
  • The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula LeGuin

    Cover of The left hand of darkness

    A fascinating novel of an "ambisexual" planet where people only become gendered during a short monthly window. LeGuin saw the novel as a thought experiment about how a society without men or women might be. An entertaining novel of ideas. I struggled at first with the somewhat Lord of the Rings-like invented language, but am glad I stuck with it because it became a rather profound meditation on social difference and friendship.

    2014-09-20 by Charlie Harvey


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