The Expat by Hansen Shi, 2024
Michael Wang is a disenfranchsed Princeton graduate working on autonomous driving technology. His research and attempts to get management's attention is overlooked.
He suspects that he is not managing up correctly, but continues to focus on the breakthrough technology he is working on.
Friends like his former classmate Lawrence have the ability to fit into the 'white' world while Michael gets lost and struggles with his identity.
He meets Vivian on Samarkand, a hacking website, and is introduced to her uncle Bo, who connvinces him to join an automous driving technology firm in China, runnng the division. At last, Michael's ideas and work are being recognized and rewarded.
When Michael moves to China though, Vivian can no longer be found. His job does not seem to exist. Michael is soon entangled with the FBI and works with Ferris Guo, a handler who is a Chinese American English teacher.
An enjoyable book highlighting an Asian American male experience, I would recommend The Expat.
Hope by Andrew Ridker, 2023
I picked up Hope after browsing at the library since it was set in Brookline, MA. It's always enjoyable to read about places that I know.
It also allows me to imagine the characters clearer as they navigate familiar places.
Hope is about the Greenspans.
Scott is cardiologist with his own practice. Stay at home mom Deb undergoes an awakening after being a dedicated Mom to daughter Maya and son Gideon, with her life orbiting around her children.
The picture perfect Brookline family starts to fall apart when Scott cuts some corners at work to pay for his overbearing mom's retirement home.
Deb awakens to freedom in the arms of a woman. Maya's high school crush, former teacher William re-enters her life with a twist in the end as he tries to get his book published.
Gideon is lost when he questions his desire to follow his father's footsteps as a Columbia pre-med.
Of the stories, Maya's coming of age is the most interesting. Gideon's the most drastic as he joins a youth trip to Israel and befriends war photographer Ernie Power.
Deb's story has elements of the grass is greener on the other side while Scott faces his demons (his mother) and starts a more true and meaningful routine including as a volunteer physician at a jail.
Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream by Megan Greenwell, 2025
What I did not realize until reading this book is how little risk private equity companies take on. The millions and billions to purchase a company is saddled back to the company, not the private equity firm.
The firm gets to enjoy the proceeds from management fees, selling off real estate that retail or healthcare companies own while renting it back to the company for a fee.
The original company clearly loses out on this type of deal while the private equity firm(s) will make literally millions.
The millions and billions keep growing though and the 1% get even more unfathomably wealthy while industries, companies and SO many people are left poorer and must worse off.
Private equity is truly killing the American dream. In addition to wringing money out of the poor, private equity continues to get involved in new industries to make their millions, leaving industries decimated.
Bad Company follows four people and how their lives have been impacted by private equity.
Liz works at Toys R' Us, represening how private equity will drive retail outlets to the ground. Even for stores that are performing well, Toys R' Us will not invest in any of the stores, letting them go out of business while profiting millions.
Roger is a physical at a small rural hospital in Riverton, Wyoming. How private equity has decimated rural hospitals by cutting budgets was highlighted a few years ago.
After private equity has taken over Roger's hospitals, staffing has been cut and whole departments (like obstetrics) have been cut while informing the community that they are in search of an OBGYN to provide delivery services again.
Riverton residents must drive 30 minutes to another hospital to deliver a baby or for other services. Yet, in the winter, the road out of Riverton is not able to be traversed. Private equity is ruthless, making decisions on care for towns and people whom the executives have nothing visited, much less spoken to.
Natalia is a journalist. Private equity has killed off many local newspapers, leaving a dearth of news and accountability for communities, leading to increased fraud and misconduct.
Many newspapers are now filled with generic wire stories instead of local news since paying for reporter is much more expensive than copy and pasting stories.
Loren lives in an apartment complex owned by private equity. The ruthless cost-cutting is the most heartbreaking when dealing with housing. Many impacted are lower income residents who are unable to afford to purchase a house or have a voice.
Apartment repairs are delayed, rodent issues are ignored. There is no emergency contact as Loren finds out when a pipe bursts and floods her and her neighbors' apartments. For millionaires to make money off of lower income people is truly horrendous.
Private equity has also gone into mobile home parks. The greed and lack of emphathy is just incredible.
People have fought back and Congress has proposed legislation to scale back the loopholes that allow private equity firms to ruthlessly make billions, but private equity has deep lobbying pockets for both Republican and Democratic leaders.
There are victories here and there against private equity once a community gets involved, but they are few.
The company I worked with went through a few private equity hands. And, I profited from the change of hands each time with generous bonuses. Others were not as lucky as their positions were eliminated shortly after each acquisition.
Despite being a part of the evilness, I stayed with my company, getting promoted and collected bigger paychecks and bonuses. It finally got to be too much and I gave notice.
I worry what the economy will look like for my daughter and hope a tipping point is coming up.
By The Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight For Justice on Native Land by Rebecca Nagle, 2024
Our government forcibly moved Native Americans from their land, slaughtered those who refused to move and continue to repress these people.
It goes beyond prejudice.
I had no idea of the systemic lies that were told, and continue to be told, to take away from the Native American leaving them destitute and barely able to survive.
What is even more shameful is that the every aspect of power - whether governmental, judicial or societal - participated in the repression and illegal taking away of land for personal gain.
And, this maltreatment continues to be reinforced even to this day. Lies and misinformation are spread by the people in leadership positions like the Governor of Oklahoma. These lies are then parrotted by Supreme Court Justices
Nagle's extensive reporting covers histories, bills, legal language, and humna interest. She includes black and white photos of the people she writes about, which add a very real face to the injustices that are brought against Native Americans.
With her engaging writing, even the dry details of the law and its nuance makes for interesting reading.
The book centers around the story of Patrick King, of Muscogee blood, who appeals his death sentence for for the murder of George Jacobs by arguing that the murder took place on the Muscogee reservation; therefore, the state of Oklahoma's punishment of a death penalty should not be upheld.
Ruling in King's favor recognizes the Muscogee (or Creek) reservation, as well as the reservations of the other Five Tribes: Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, and Chickasaw. This is a major telling of the truth as states have claimed the land for themselves.
Despite the legal victory, the injustices against Native Americans and what truly belongs to them remain unrecognized. There is simply too much money spent by those who benefit from the stolen land (like the oil industry) for there to be real change.
As a side note, conservative Supreme Court Judge Neil Gorsuch is a surprising advocate for recognizing reservations given that no laws have ever taken them away. When I was a Research Assoicate at a Washington DC K Street firm, Gorsuch was one of the attorneys.
