LitQueuelitqueue

After

Command and Control

Eric Schlosser1848

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more
  • Three Cups of Deceit

    Jon Krakauer2011

    An investigative report into Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute. It details financial mismanagement and fabricated memoir claims.

    Same clinical register, still investigative journalism

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more
  • Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

    Michel Foucault

    A philosophical history examines the shift from public torture to modern prison surveillance. It analyzes how power controls the body.

    Same clinical register, still history

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • The Gulag Archipeligo 1918-1956: An Experiment In Literary Investigation I - Ii.

    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

    A history of the Soviet forced labor camp system based on survivor reports and the author's own imprisonment. It documents state-run repression.

    clinical → bleak, still history

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies

    Nick Bostrom

    An analysis of the risks posed by artificial intelligence reaching human-level cognition. It maps out potential control problems and outcomes.

    Same clinical register

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more
  • Building a Second Brain

    Tiago Forte2022

    A guide to a digital organization system designed to store and retrieve ideas, notes, and information for long-term projects.

    clinical → earnest

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Last Question

    Isaac Asimov2007

    A short story told in seven vignettes spanning billions of years. Humanity asks a supercomputer if the heat death of the universe can be avoided.

    clinical → meditative

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Apollo 8

    Jeffrey Kluger2017

    A chronological account of the 1968 mission to send three men around the moon for the first time.

    clinical → propulsive, still history

    pace0·prose0·bleak-2

Faster

3 more
  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    clinical → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon2012

    A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

    clinical → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Poke the Box

    Seth Godin2011

    A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

    clinical → earnest

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Slower

3 more
  • The Frontier in American History

    Frederick Jackson Turner1920

    A series of essays arguing that the American character and democracy were shaped by the continuous expansion into the western wilderness.

    Same clinical register, still history

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2

  • Confessions

    Augustine of Hippo

    A 4th-century bishop writes a spiritual autobiography addressed to God. He recounts his sinful youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

    clinical → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

  • How to Read a Book

    Mortimer J. Adler1940

    This is a guide to active reading techniques for different genres. It outlines levels of reading from basic literacy to syntopical analysis.

    clinical → mysterious

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more
  • Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

    Dee Alexander Brown

    A chronological history of the displacement and systematic destruction of Native American tribes in the late 19th century.

    clinical → elegiac, still history

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West

    Dee Brown

    A chronological account of the displacement and slaughter of Native Americans by the U.S. government in the late 19th century.

    clinical → elegiac, still history

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Auschwitz

    Laurence Rees2005

    A chronological history of the camp's evolution from a Polish barracks to a site of mass industrial murder, based on archival research.

    Same clinical register, still history

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1