The Scramble for China: Foreign Devils in the Qing Empire - Robert Bickers

 An account of the humiliation and exploitation of China in the late 1800s by England and America.

Goes a long way to explaining the current determination of the Chinese government to build a strong system of central control, project a strong presence in the world and to build a system of links and allies, and to remain at the crest of new technology, both civilian and military.  The current leaders have learned their lessons from history...

Le tranquille affligé - Gilles Jobidon

    Un écrivain québécois mais aux thèmes très larges.   Un petit livre, très lisible.  Il se déroule en Chine au cours du 19e siècle peu avant la deuxième guerre d'opium en 1850 et la chute de la dynastie Qing.  Il suit qui pourtant ne fait que partie de l'histoire.  L'auteur a aussi fait ses recherches sur la cour impériale et présente de façon vraisemblable des réflections sur la façon de voir et de comprendre le monde courante en Chine à l'époque.
     Un autre côté intéressant du livre est les aperçus qu'offre l'auteur des rapports entre la Chine et l'Occident, c'est à dire l'Angleterre dans le contexte du livre.  Il offre un aperçu des effets de ce commerce forcé d'opium sur la société chinoise.  Il raconte aussi la sac et la destruction du Palais d'été et du jardin impérial par les troupes britanniques.  Il fait mention aussi de la rapacité des forces coloniales en Chine après la chute des Qing.
     Ces aperçus offrent peut-être une explication de la méfiance contemporaine de la Chine envers l'Occident, et aussi de son désir de se rétablir comme un pouvoir important et capable.  Les perdants ont la mémoire longue, chose qu'oublient toujours les gagnants....

    Un sujet à explorer en plus de profondeur.

Adua- Igiaba Scego

A novel by a Somali-Italian author, translated from the Italian. 
It portrays the life of a Somali woman who moves to Rome to become a film star, but ends up working in the porn field.
What is interesting is the portrait of Italy's engagement with Somalia and the Horn of Africa in the course of the 20th century.  There is a lot of exploitative history there, and historical ugly racism that is explored in the book.  Somalia was Italy's exotic East, same role as the Levant and North Africa played for France and Britain.

Peace and Good Order - Harold R. Johnson

Another wonderfully clear and concise book from this great author.  He has such clarity of thinking and of expression, no meanders, no bullshit.
This book is basically and indictment of the Canadian justice system in relationship to Canada's indigenous people.  Chapter by chapter he outlines the harms, both intentional and unintentional, that the system perpetrates (note:  many of the same things could be said  about the system in relation to white society...).  He also outlines the system bias that basically means even an increase in native lawyers and judges will not change the system itself nor the outcomes.  He also explores the cultural differences that ensure that the dominant system will never work for native communities. 
Johnson, in the case of the treaty for his people, also shows that native communities in fact have the right to maintain order and administer justice on the lands covered by the treaty.  He sees this as a possible solution or way forward.
Johnson also proposes a return to native traditional values and culture, and an education in these as one possible alternative to incarceration.  It seems like a good idea, but one potential weakness in the is that some native people may not want to return to this tradition viewpoint.  To me, it seems there is some kind of inherent conflict or inconsistency in wanting to live by a non-western set of values while at the same time benefiting from or keeping the fruits and products of that set of values - technology, entertainment, daily living enhancements...

White Fragility: Why it's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism - Robin DiAngelo

    A patiently argued book.  As she points out in the book, as a race relations workshop leader, she has faced a lot of angry push-back around these ideas.

    For me, her main idea is that the nature of racism has changed.  Whites are still stuck in the image of racism from the 60s, deliberate acts and attitudes aimed at hurting and excluding people of colour - lynchings, exclusion signs, institutionally separate services.  DiAngelo's point is that the nature of currently troubling racism is much deeper, much more all-pervasive, much harder to pinpoint.  It is what is referred to as systemic racism.  And her idea that causes so much push-back is that, as whites, whether we wish it or not, we all benefit from this systemic racism.  Benefits accrue to us without us even trying.  Therefore we all participate in/benefit from racism.  (I say 'we', which is true, as she points out this white superiority and racism benefits all whites around the world within the context of different societies.  But most of her concrete examples are pulled from the U.S.)
     The type of racism she refers to includes more obvious things like segregation through such means as property prices, where the undesired group is shut out by economics.  This then creates segregation in available services, especially in the area of education quality.  She is also talking about media representation of racial groups and the stereotypes that influence our perception when interacting with members of other racial groups. 
      Notice she is careful to state that whites are also a racialized group, and that some people can hold prejudices and stereotypes that denigrate whites, but the difference is these groups do not have the social position and power to impose their prejudices and stereotypes on us.  They do not control the levers of power that make this racism pay or hurt.

      DiAngelo does not really offer much in the way of solutions.  Speaking up when other whites speak or act insensitively from racial stereotypes.  Raising awareness of one's own racialized stereotypes and ideas as they whisper away in our own heads.

Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

A novel recounting the life of an upstanding Igbo man in his society just before the collapse of the traditional social structure.  In latter part of the book it also looks at the confrontation of traditional Igbo society and values with European colonizers in Niger during the very early years of the 20th century.
The story is told completely from Okonkwo's perspective.  Achebe develops a detailed picture of the society, its values, its structures and how different groups relate. Okonkwo, as a successful member, stands behind the values and norms of his society and strives to maintain a high socia position.  Part western style tragedy, things fall apart for him partially because of bad luck, partially because of his own unbending character.  And finally, because of European colonization and its effects - loss of status, loss of tribal strength and social cohesion.  Unlike the other theme I was thinking about, those who live between two cultural worlds, Okonkwo refuses to engage with that foreign system of values.  (I suppose, given that Achebe studied in Europe and is using essentially a western literature structure,  he would be the one living between two cultures....)

The Dawn Watch - Maya Jasanoff

A biography of Joseph Conrad.  The author also sets his novels against the historical events and shifts of the time.  Nice integration of historical perspective and literary themes.  Jasanoff is basically developing the idea that Conrad was ahead of his time in exploring the alienation and rootlessness of modern society, the mechanization of work and the passing of skilled workers and tradesmen, and also the predatory nature of modern capitalism hidden beneath its veneer of social improvement.

A People's History of Scotland - Chris Bambery

An interesting book that takes a working person's perspective on history and changes in Scotland since the 1600s.  Some time is spent looking at the Clearances, but a lot of the book chronicles social history of urban and working class Scots through the Industrial Revolution to the post-Independence vote.
A lot of the history of Scotland since the beginning of industrialization seems to be a history of unions and social protest for better working conditions, better pay, stable jobs.  This history, particularly in the 20th century, seems to mark it off from the history of England, where social protest seems to have been less of a force (except in the Border regions, which shares similarities with Scotland economically.
Bambery manages to bring out the elements of colonialism operating in the relation between England and Scotland.
He also touches on a lot of other issues, some worth exploring further:
- blows up the myth of Scottish clans, tartans and all:  upper class English romantic invention in the late 1800s
- the general decline of England since 1900:  causes, elements
- Thatcher's goals and policies which deliberately lead to the collapse of British manufacturing, social hardship, and incidentally shifted the economy to a London/finance base
- also a source for Scottish authors, both current and historical, who stand apart from the English literary stream

Through this book you get a sense of the ugly, exploitative effects of the British/Anglo model of capitalism.

The Inconvenient Indian - Thomas King

A harsh but clear-eyed story of native-white relations in North America since the beginning.  He clearly outlines the constants in the relationship, and the barely masked goals that continue to underly political and social policy in relation to native groups in both Canada and the U.S.  While he is mostly focused and events and perspectives of natives, he at the same time paints a picture of our greedy, self-centred, feckless, amoral anglo-american culture.
The whole thing is still told in King's ironic, humorous, jokey voice.
Worth a reread, as there is a lot to absorb.

The Islamic Enlightenment - Christopher de Bellaigue

An interesting look at modernizers and enlightenment figures in Muslim societies from the 1800's on.  He first looks at early figures country by country, and then in the 20th c., switches to a broader perspective as figures and movements become international in influence.  As you read about these figures, you get a sense of how the religious conservatives have fought this movement for the past two centuries.  You also get a sense of how the West's duplicity, naked pursuit of self-interest, and blatant hypocrisy in the region has played into the hands of the conservative religious leaders, discrediting ideas and movements that have any association with the West and the Enlightenment tradition.
A bit too much detail at times, but it is easy to skim over some sections.

Firewater: How Alcohol is Killing My People (and Yours) Harold R. Johnson

A tough book.  Johnson pulls no punches.  He looks clearly at the problem of alcohol and its consequences in native communities in Canada.  Some of his ideas and points can spin off into Canadian society in general.  He shows a good understanding of the subtleties of this issue, and the many hot buttons that surround it, which make it so hard to discuss and explore solutions.  He collects interesting, sometimes surprising, statistics on the role of alcohol in a variety of crimes and injuries, where you see alcohol behind so much of the accidental deaths and legal charges in society - even though this is never discussed openly as a problem.  He explores the difference between addiction and alcohol abuse.  He looks at the economic effects of alcohol abuse in the North - they are not all negative.  So many justice system, health system and social work jobs depend on the continued abuse of alcohol and all the problems it creates.

His most interesting idea is that everything is stories.  The story you tell yourself about alcohol, the image you create of it, the role you assign it in your life, is at the root of the problem.  To change the situation, you, your community, your society, need a different story.  This, of course, can be applied to many other aspects of your life.

He also looks at what he refers to as the victim story, which justifies or explains so many of the issues native communities face.  He points out how the victim story leaves you powerless to effect a change to your own situation, as the victim story is one of powerlessness and submission.

Underneath it all, his main stress is personal responsibility and choice.

Insightful analysis of a difficult situation.  Some hard ideas and thoughts.  Personal and from the inside.

There are implications in this book RE the nanny state issue.  Native people in Canada have been living in a nanny state for far longer than the rest of us because of the Indian Act.  Many issues that are beginning to be discussed around guaranteed income and giving people "in need" personal choice and control in redirecting their lives.

Vanishing New York: How a Great City Lost Its Soul - Jeremiah Moss

Brilliant look at gentrification - causes, specifics, effects.  Told through the changes that have happened in different New York neighbourhoods.  He looks at specific longtime businesses, at the politics and policy behind changes, at the effects on lower income families, at the disaster that sometimes follows high rent gentrification.  He also adds comments and analysis from the literature on gentrification and its effects - these are good sources for followup.  There is also some discussion of the social changes that are behind this gentrification and suburbanization of the city.
I like his view of the historical role and importance of cities - essentially an environment of freedom and tolerance.
Reading this book brings back a lot of memories from my trips to New York in the late 70s.  Also, early days in Toronto.  The process of urban change has been similar in Toronto, though not so extreme or so rapid.  But the result, the "same-ification", the whitewashing, the commodification has been the same.
Interesting to read someone writing about the same questions and complaints I have had about Toronto over the past few years.  A subject to pursue.

The real question though, is what next?  If the city has lost its place and role as a home for diversity and difference, where do you go?  Scattered and down your own rabbit hole?

Ten Myths about Israel - Ilan Pappé

Another brilliant book by this critic of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians.

The book is divided into three sections:  myths about the past and the genesis of the state; myths about current situations and myths about the two state solution.

In the first section, there are some rather shocking bits of information that I was unaware of:
- Zionism began essentially as a European Christian powers projects and initially received little support from Jewish leaders - it was seen as a back door colonialist policy for dealing with the Middle East (which it in fact is)
- in the 30s, the Zionists tried to form an alliance with the Nazis to help them fight the British in the Mandate territories!

In the second section, he clearly outlines how and why the Israeli state is a colonial power and essentially a project of ethnic cleansing, by looking at patterns of land confiscation, abrogation of basic rights, persistent harassment and use of military and extrajudicial punishments.

In the section on Gaza, he also outlines his reasons for seeing the Israeli actions as a form of genocide, based mostly on the number of deaths and the overwhelmingly civilian nature of those deaths.

Throughout the book, Pappé also underlines how elimination of the Palestinian population has always been the goal, and how Israeli governments have never entered into peace negotiations in good faith.

A well-written book - direct and to the point.

An Indigenous People's History of North America - Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

A brilliant overview of United States colonial history with all the parts that are normally left out.  Like the fact that the first settlers survived because they stole the food of Native villages, and forced them to hunt and grow food to supply the white settlement.  It all starts right at the beginning of the history.  The whole american dream built on theft and exploitation right from the start.
For me, her main accomplishment is how she places the whole process in the context of colonialism and colonialist structures as carried out by Europe in Africa and the Far East, and also the U.S. in more recent history in relation to South and Central America as well as smaller Pacific Islands.  (Reading Varoufakis at the same time - I wonder if the whole post Bretton-Woods economic structure could be interpreted as a form of global colonialism?)
The usual american narrative avoids this colonial perspective by refusing to see the Native groups as nations with distinct and valid political structures and culture.  Yet at the same time, the U.S. treaty history refers to Native groups as nations or political powers.
The book also raises the issue of how this extremely exploitative colonialism enriched the U.S. so lavishly that it created the base of wealth for them to be able to project their power and economic colonialism globally in the following decades and century.

At the beginning there is also a reference to colonial exploitation as a result of the nature of capitalism itself.  I would like to read more about this idea to grasp it more fully.  You can see a similar structure at work in England during the late 17th century is the early stages of capitalism - the Enclosures period, when small farmers and landholders were chased off their traditional land and traditional commons land was seized by the moneyed aristocracy to practice an early form of industrial farming.  It is interesting to contrast this view of capitalism with the facts presented at the beginning of the recent book, Utopia for Realists, which highlights the rapid improvement in living conditions in the modern era due to the efficiency of capitalism as a system.  Is it a questions of some advancing so far so fast at the expense of exploited others?  How do you rebalance all this?  If it is possible?

The book is a long litany of lies, broken promises, cruelty and absolute disregard for human life.

When you place this murderous colonial exploitation alongside the institution of slavery, you are left wondering how Americans can possibly see their country as the greatest nation on earth, and a beacon of civilization, progress and freedom.  Tells you how deeply white privilege and superiority run in their culture...