Since I did all this reading, I think I can spare more discerning prospective readers’ time by providing some recommendations. For those interested in politics, I strongly recommend David Byrne’s new intellectual biography of James Burnham. Burnham is a overlooked 20th century intellectual whose influence endures in modern political thought. For those interested in American history, I recommend American Nations by Colin Woodard, though for anyone picking up that title they should first read Albion’s Seed by David Hackett Fischer, which is a much more comprehensive and compelling version of Woodard’s book, though Woodard tries to game out how America’s deep cultural roots affect modern politics in greater detail. For those interested in edgy modern literary fiction, I recommend Tony Tulathimutte’s work. He’s a bit of an Asian American cross between David Foster Wallace and Lena Dunham. The work is every bit as funny as you’d expect such a crossing to be.