2016 Reading #63 and 64
Trying to Float: Coming of Age in the Chelsea Hotel by Nicolaia Rips
I'm suspicious of memoirs by 18-year-olds, and I suspect Rips' stories should be taken with a generous helping of salt. However, her writing is funny, charming, and frequently insightful. If you need a nice vacation from depressing reality, there are worse places to be than in her version of life in the Chelsea Hotel.
Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 by Volker Ullrich
I read this book with an eye towards, "What will Trump do?" What are the warning signs of the march towards fascism? And there is plenty of that in this book, more than enough to write an extended analysis -- but after the shitshow of this year I'm just not up for it.
Suffice it to say that there are plenty of parallels. That Hitler was (as Trump is) an expert in the con, in judging an audience and telling that audience what it wants to hear, saying whatever it takes to drive his own agenda forward. That obstructionism and refusal to compromise led to the collapse of lawful government and Hitler's invitation into power. That an entire nation rushed through the final steps to fascism in less than six months, cheering all the way. That time after time, journalists and political opponents fooled themselves into thinking that the monster couldn't win, couldn't be that bad, could be controlled.
There are some small differences between then and now -- mainly, that America's economic and political situation are marginally better. But if Volker's history is any example then we're already into the endgame, and the outcome doesn't look good.