The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream (Steve Case)

Steve Case made his mark as one of the cofounders of AOL in the 1990’s, eventually becoming a venture capitalist and investor. Over the past decade, Case has spearheaded bus tours of a number of mid-sized cities throughout America to help promote innovation and venture capital for startup companies in parts of the country that typically are not known for technological innovation. He chronicles his journeys over the past decade in The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs In Surprising Places Are Building the New American Dream.

Case breaks his book down into small stories and case studies into areas of America where innovation is taking place outside of the “known” hubs of Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston. In each of these examples, Case offers insight into how these communities have supported and cultivated innovation, providing the incubation for startups to grow to scale. Case highlights several examples of companies his group invested in through his bus tours and pitch competitions, highlighting what factors guided the decisions to award them money.

The book spends very little time highlighting the “secret sauce” that cities should strive for in becoming hubs for regional innovation. That sauce, if you’re wondering, is a combination of corporate, government, and community support and money. While Case spends much of the book talking about some of the nation’s successful innovation cities, I think more attention could have been paid to discuss how more national investment to the local level would be useful, along with how larger companies and the federal government could help level up the Pittsburghs and Salt Lake Citys of the world. 

MY RATING - 3.5

The Crossroads of Civilization: A History of Vienna (Angus Robertson)

Vienna has held unique importance in European and international affairs for centuries. From rising to prominence with the Habsburg Dynasty, to hosting an international peace conference in the wake of Napoleon’s defeat in 1814-1815, to its present as a home to promote diplomacy and international relations, Vienna is the crossroads of not only Europe but also the world. Angus Robertson, a Scottish politician whose prior media career included a stint reporting on news from Vienna, documents the rich history of Vienna in Crossroads of Civilization: A History of Vienna.

Many of us know that great works of art and music were created in Vienna and many great historical events occurred within the Austrian capital. Robertson’s book documents much of the Habsburg dynasty and its contribution to Europe and prominence in European affairs during the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries. He also devotes much of the book to the chaos after the end of Habsburg rule in 1918, the fascism that soon took over, and Nazi occupation during World War II. After the war, Vienna took on its current role as a more neutral international city, hosting several global agencies and acting as a major scene of espionage between Western Europe and the Communist Bloc during the Cold War.

Despite no longer being an imperial capital, Vienna’s adaptability as a cosmopolitan city has served it well in becoming the modern crossroads of political and scientific diplomacy. Crossroads of Civilization effectively captures the important role Vienna played and will continue to play in culture and politics throughout Europe and beyond.

MY RATING - 4

The War of Nerves: Inside the Cold War Mind (Martin Sixsmith)

The Cold War between the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies, was a long-standing conflict of psychology and tension. While some proxy wars were fought in places like Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, the bulk of the Cold War was fought through propaganda and diplomatic channels. In his book, Martin Sixsmith, a journalist with an extensive amount of experience covering Russia and the Soviet Union, talks about The War of Nerves that dominated much of the Cold War.

Between Nixon, Brezhnev, Khruschev, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan, Gorbachev, and Stalin, the US and Soviet leadership during the Cold War fought each other over the airwaves, through trying to out-muscle and out-science each other, and through the use of propaganda or outright control (in the case of the Warsaw Pact countries) of their citizenry. With the looming threat of atomic warfare hanging over the world, American schoolkids were taught to duck under desks, and Soviets were taught how to evacuate or find a nearby bomb shelter should war break out. Sixsmith points out stories of individuals that still vividly recall the stress and tension of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and even to this day have nightmares or fears of “the bomb” being unleashed.

I found The War of Nerves an intriguing take on how both the Soviets and Americans viewed each other during this timeframe. Sixsmith plays an arguably neutral role in this book, pointing out flaws in American foreign policy towards the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia, as well as the flaws of the Soviets and Eastern Europe throughout the Cold War. While some Americans may not find Sixsmith’s detailing befitting the view that America “won” the Cold War, his understanding of Russian history and Russian thinking is well worth paying attention to. Sixsmith tellingly points out that today’s decision-makers are no better at understanding psychology than their predecessors, that we still have nuclear missiles pointed at numbers of cities throughout both countries, and that our collective outcomes as nations depend on the personalities and decision-making of those who lead us.

MY RATING - 4

America's Philosopher: John Locke in American Intellectual Life (Claire Rydell Arcenas)

John Locke is considered by many historians as one of the leading philosophical voices of The Enlightenment and early thinkers of classical liberalism. His insight and philosophy into politics and social thinking has had strong resonance to Americans throughout the nation’s history, although those ties to the country have occasionally ebbed and have often morphed. Claire Rydell Arcenas discusses America’s relationship to John Locke in America's Philosopher: John Locke in American Intellectual Life.

America’s Philosopher tracks the history of Locke’s influence through American political and philosophical thought. Locke helped shape the first constitution of the Carolina colony in the 17th Century, and his views held sway in print journalism throughout the 18th Century as America gradually developed its independent streak. Locke’s thinking shaped much of 19th and 20th Century academia as well before present day historians looked to the past in a different light based on Locke’s views on colonialism and equality. Despite those views, Lockean thought still runs strong in America’s general appetite for individual liberty, property rights, and limited government. While Locke was often a champion of liberal values based on his time, his views now often are championed by those of the libertarian right.

The author does a good job in the brief pages of this text to highlight Locke’s guiding role in America. Her argument that Locke’s story reveals how Americans have gradually nurtured and maintained a functioning democratic society is important to note in light of today’s attempts by some to paint democracy as being in peril or at risk of doom because of our political enemies. While Locke may not agree with the current state of political heat in America, he would strongly advocate for our elected government to consent to the governed, and not the other way around, no matter the branch of government. This was a point that I felt was left hanging at the end of the book and could have strengthened a pretty strong account of Locke’s relationship to our nation and how his thinking should help us in the years to come, even if the man behind them was rather imperfect.

MY RATING - 4

The Other Passenger (Louise Candlish)

Louise Candlish's books are no stranger to this blog -- I reviewed Our House and Those People a few years ago. While I really enjoyed Our House, Those People started off strong and then petered out. The Other Passenger has the same issue.

Jamie is our narrator -- he lives in an expensive home owned by his girlfriend, Clare. Even though Clare tries to get him career counseling, Jamie is content to work every day as a barista in a coffee shop. After meeting his new neighbors, Kit and Melia, Jamie decides to join Kit in commuting to his job via riverboat. But one day, Kit isn't aboard the boat and goes missing. After Melia reports Kit missing, two detectives interview Jamie since another passenger witnessed them arguing. 

After the "big twist" (which Candlish is known for) was revealed, The Other Passenger took me a long time to finish. Most of the book was exciting, but the ending was predictable. I would put this square in the middle of enjoyment between Our House and Those People. 

MY RATING - 3

Napoleon: The Decline and Fall of an Empire: 1811-1821 (Michael Broers)

In a few short years, a man that had fought for France’s legitimacy on Europe’s stage and then the rest of Europe to stand shoulder to shoulder with England as one of the premier global powers of the time, lost his global standing and title as Emperor of the French and spent his last days in secluded exile in a remote part of the Atlantic Ocean. Napoleon’s rise was as sudden and dramatic as his downfall, and Michael Broers captures the final ten years of Napoleon’s life in the well-researched Napoleon: The Decline and Fall of an Empire: 1811-1821.

Broers, who has written two other books on Napoleon, starts by covering the run-up to Napoleon’s march on Russia and subsequent retreat, the loss of his title after an invasion of France by Russia and her allies in 1814, and Napoleon’s subsequent exile to Elba. From there, Napoleon’s escape and attempts to rebuild his army and his empire are beautifully detailed by as we see how Napoleon worked himself to the point of exhaustion before the infamous battle at Waterloo. The former Emperor was then exiled to a remote island in the South Atlantic to spend his last days in gradually worsening health.

Napoleon covers the battles fought by the book’s namesake in great detail, including personal correspondence from the Emperor to his supporters and French military leaders throughout his final years in charge of France. For historians who study and read up on Napoleon, this book is a great addition given the inclusion of Napoleon’s personal correspondence.

MY RATING - 4

Path Hit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe (David Maraniss)

Author David Maraniss has written a number of biographies throughout his career, including When Pride Still Mattered, about football coach Vince Lombardi. Jim Thorpe has had a number of biographies written about him but not one that captures the modern historical perspective. In Path Hit By Lightning, Maraniss covers the turbulent and, at times, troubled life of Jim Thorpe.

Thorpe is known by many for his athletic prowess, winning gold medals in the 1912 Olympics that were stripped from him for several decades because of his summer stints playing minor league baseball. He was a multi-sport star that excelled at football and track but also played professional baseball for over a decade, including several years in the National League with the Giants, Reds, and Braves. Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox tribe, also dealt with discrimination, forced assimilation into broader American society, and alcoholism that developed late in his athletic career but continued for much of the rest of his life. Thorpe died in 1953, ultimately buried in a town he never spent time in thanks to the efforts of his third wife. Thorpe’s legend on the athletic field, captured largely without film and television, took on mythic proportions thanks to a number of champions in the press.

Maraniss does a good job of covering the struggle Thorpe faced throughout his life. The struggle to get his gold medals back. The struggle of being a Native American in a white-dominant society. The struggle with alcohol. All in all, his coverage of Thorpe is powerful and persuasive.

MY RATING - 4