Essays & Correspondence

“Fire and Fury,” Michael Wolff’s explosive 2018 exposé, delves deep into the turbulent first year of Donald Trump’s presidency, unraveling the inner workings of the Trump White House. Despite Wolff’s acknowledgment of potential inaccuracies, the overall depiction of Trump as a petulant figure who unexpectedly ascended to the presidency resonates. The book offers an unprecedented…

“Billion Dollar Whale” unveils a saga of unprecedented financial deception, where the central figure, Jho Low, orchestrates one of the most audacious heists in history. While the legal proceedings in Malaysia involve the conviction of former Prime Minister Najib Razak for defrauding millions, the narrative intricately peels back the layers to reveal Jho Low’s pivotal…

In the annals of American history, Spiro Agnew stands as an often-overlooked figure whose influence on the political landscape is both profound and unsettling. As Richard Nixon’s vice president, Agnew, a former governor of Maryland, initially drew little attention. However, his ascent to the upper echelons of American politics was marked by racism and corruption….

“Arguing with Zombies” by Paul Krugman emerges as a tour de force, unraveling the intellectual tapestry of Nobel Prize-winning economist’s articles primarily featured in The New York Times over the past two decades. Krugman assumes the mantle of a public intellectual, dissecting critical issues such as economic inequality, Social Security privatization, climate change, and fake…

Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste” exposes the hidden contours of America’s societal structure, revealing a deeply ingrained caste system with echoes of India and Nazi Germany. While the term “caste” often evokes thoughts of India, Wilkerson unearths striking parallels in the United States, where a caste hierarchy was constructed to justify slavery, persisting even after its abolition….

‘Blowout’ by Rachel Maddow intricately weaves together seismic events, nuclear experiments, political interference, and the far-reaching impacts of the oil and gas industry. The narrative begins with the unexpected earthquake surge in Oklahoma in 2010, a phenomenon seemingly unrelated to Michael Jackson’s memorabilia auction. Maddow, however, unveils a hidden connection, setting the stage for a…

‘Nomadland’ by Jessica Bruder, a New York Times bestseller, intricately illuminates the hardships faced by middle-class Americans who, in the aftermath of the 2008 market crash, found solace in the nomadic lifestyle, exchanging houses for vans, RVs, and trailers. Published in 2018, the book recently gained prominence due to its Academy Award-winning movie adaptation, a…

In 1948, George Orwell introduced the world to his iconic work, “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” a dystopian novel that satirized postwar dehumanization trends. Orwell envisioned a future dominated by propaganda and surveillance, a vision that seemed to target communism and the Soviet Union. However, when the actual year 1984 arrived without Orwell’s prophecy materializing, Western societies celebrated…

In October 2019, the world was oblivious to the impending COVID-19 storm when the U.S., deemed the most pandemic-ready nation by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, found itself at the forefront of a disastrous response. Michael Lewis’s ‘The Premonition’ dissects this failure, focusing on the group of brilliant minds that could have altered the trajectory, led…