Missive #755 Published 14 Jul 2026
In this new collection of eleven essays, Berry confronts head-on the necessity of clear thinking and direct action. Never one to ignore the present challenge, he understands that only clearly stated questions support the understanding their answers require. For more than fifty years we've had no better spokesman and no more eloquent advocate for the planet, for our families, and for the future of our children and ourselves.
Missive #754 Published 13 Jul 2026
Inventing the Future is a bold new manifesto for life after capitalism. Against the confused understanding of our high-tech world by both the right and the left, this book claims that the emancipatory and future-oriented possibilities of our society can be reclaimed. Instead of running from a complex future, Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams demand a postcapitaiist economy capable of advancing standards, liberating humanity from work and developing technologies that expand our freedoms.
Missive #753 Published 12 Jul 2026
Continuing The Federalist Papers
Federalist No. 77
The Appointing Power Continued and Other Powers of the Executive Considered
Author: Alexander Hamilton
To the People of the State of New York:
Missive #752 Published 10 Jul 2026
147. The Door to Nasruddin’s House
Nasruddin had been robbed many times, but this was something new: a thief came in the night and stole Nasruddin’s door.
When Nasruddin saw what had happened, he marched to the mosque and took that door off its hinges. He then carried it home and set it up in place of his own missing door.
“I recognize that door!” shouted his wife. “That’s the door to the mosque. What do you think you’re doing?”
“God only knows who stole our door,” he replied. “And when God tells me the name of the thief, I’ll return the door to his mosque.”
Missive #751 Published 8 Jul 2026
A consistent theme in positive reviews is the appreciation for Schumacher’s focus on people over goods. Reviewers resonate with the argument that economies should prioritize meaningful work and psychological stability over endless GDP growth. The concept of "intermediate technology"—tools that are efficient yet accessible to small communities—is frequently cited as a standout idea.
Reviewers often discuss Schumacher’s definition of wisdom as the ability to project permanence. The critique that modern economics treats irreplaceable natural capital (like fossil fuels) as income is widely praised as a fundamental truth that mainstream economics still ignores. This section of the book is often described as a "call to restraint" that contrasts sharply with consumerist culture.
Missive #750 Published 7 Jul 2026
This is the first of the authors freestanding books that I have read. It has a legal base for the plot but her Caper Court series was based on her shipping lawyer background. That knowledge does not carry over as well into other sectors of the law. Not a spoiler but the book ends as if the author was going to start another series.
Missive #749 Published 5 Jul 2026
Continuing The Anti-Federalist Papers
Federal Farmer X
by Federal Farmer
Missive #748 Published 4 Jul 2026
In Regeneration Through Violence , the first of his trilogy on the mythology of the American West, Richard Slotkin shows how the attitudes and traditions that shape American culture evolved from the social and psychological anxieties of European settlers struggling in a strange new world to claim the land and displace the Native Americans. Using the popular literature of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth centuries-including captivity narratives, the Daniel Boone tales, and the writings of Hawthorne, Thoreau, and Melville-Slotkin traces the full development of this myth.
Missive #747 Published 3 Jul 2026
146. Nasruddin and God’s Own Guest
A dervish arrived at Nasruddin’s house one night, dressed in fine garments and wearing an impressive turban. “I come as God’s own guest,” he proclaimed loudly, “and I thank you in advance for food and drink and also a bed in which to rest.”
Without a word, Nasruddin took the dervish by the arm and led him down the street to the mosque.
“But this place is empty and cold!” shouted the dervish. “I will find no comforts here.”
“You yourself said you were God’s own guest!” replied Nasruddin. “So please make yourself at home here in God’s own house.”
Missive #746 Published 30 Jun 2026
