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Book reviews

The annotated shelf

Personal reviews, ratings, and recommendations for books that shape the wider world of The Middle Z.

Theme

9 reviews

I Deliver Parcels in Beijing

Memoir / labor / April 2026

I Deliver Parcels in Beijing

by Hu Anyan

Hu Anyan's memoir of delivery work in modern China is a sharp, humane reminder that the convenience economy depends on workers most of us barely notice.

★★★½

The CIA Book Club

History / Cold War / April 2026

The CIA Book Club

by Charlie English

Charlie English's The CIA Book Club traces the covert effort to smuggle millions of banned books into Eastern Europe and makes a larger case for the written word as one of history's most powerful political weapons.

★★★

The Taiwan Tinderbox

Geopolitics / current affairs / April 2026

The Taiwan Tinderbox

by J. Michael Cole

J. Michael Cole explains why Taiwan's rapidly consolidated identity and China's insistence on reunification have created one of the world's most combustible geopolitical standoffs.

★★★★

Nuclear War: A Scenario

Geopolitics / security / March 2026

Nuclear War: A Scenario

by Annie Jacobsen

Annie Jacobsen's Nuclear War: A Scenario is terrifying not because of the bombs themselves, but because it shows how little real human choice remains once the machinery of deterrence starts moving.

★★★★

A Tiny Book About One of History's Biggest Killers

Public health / nonfiction / July 2025

A Tiny Book About One of History's Biggest Killers

by John Green

I've gernally found myself drawn to books about disease. Not out of morbid curiosity but because they offer a window into both human suffering and resilience. After reading Fever 1793, The Great Influenza, and Salt Breath, a few years ago, Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green seems like anouther interesting read on a disease I dont reallly know much about.

★★★

Abundance and the Progressive Dilemma

Politics / public policy / July 2025

Abundance and the Progressive Dilemma

by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

I picked up Abundance in part because nearly every podcast I follow has been enthusiastically recommending it and partially because I've been looking for a book that is finally self-critical of the progressive movement with respect to the things i care about, building a better world.

★★★★

The Making of a Machine: The Means of Ascent by Robert Caro

Biography / history / May 2025

The Making of a Machine: The Means of Ascent by Robert Caro

by Robert Caro

The Means of Ascent, the second volume in Robert Caro's epic biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, covers a seemingly narrow slice of history: the years between LBJ's failed 1941 Senate bid and his infamous victory in the 1948 Texas Senate race.

★★★★½

Power, Politics, and the Echoes of History: The Path to Power

Biography / history / April 2025

Power, Politics, and the Echoes of History: The Path to Power

by Robert Caro

It is difficult to read the news today without sensing that something is deeply wrong in America. Trust in our institutions is eroding, and Americans feel more divided than ever. This is partly why I chose to read The Path to Power by Robert Caro.

★★★★½

A Childhood Rewired: Thoughts on The Anxious Generation

Technology / society / February 2025

A Childhood Rewired: Thoughts on The Anxious Generation

by Jonathan Haidt

Few books have struck me with the relevance and urgency of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. It didn't feel like I was encountering new realizations, but rather like someone had finally put data and language to something I've long belived.

★★★