English
May was all about preparing Bitva pod Horou, launching Requiem, and working pretty intensely, including a security conference in Kyiv.
But since I was also travelling quite a bit, I still managed to get through some books. The biggest banger? Probably Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts. The award for artistic impression and controversy goes to Natasha’s Dance. Also, this month has quite a lot of longer reviews in links, which is…good I guess?
Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump
Rick Reilly
Great collection of stories and anecdotes about Trump actively being horrible, this time in the world of golf. Some stories are still kinda surprising (like not paying contractors), a lot of them are already well known.
Also, shout out for being more inclusive and explaining “this is the game, this is why it is interesting” about golf. Suddenly feel like “well, might as well try that.”
(Of course, nothing groundbreaking.)
Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare
Edward Fishman
I did a wider review of Chokepoints here:
https://www.dfw.cz/2025/05/12/chokepoints/
Natasha’s Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
Orlando Figes
Wrote down a longer reflection here, including a few bits on the controversies around the author.
https://www.dfw.cz/2025/05/21/when-natasha-dances/
The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living
Joseph M. Marshall III
I loved the stories. I liked the reflections on how they connect to real contemporary Lakota (and human) life.
Not every one of them is a banger, some are quite universal and you’ll probably already know them, but all of them gave me both relaxation and something to think about—with a healthy dose of insight into a culture very distant from where I live.
Of course, this is definitely NOT academic reading in any sense, but it passes as a fine, fun read.
Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again
Jake Tapper, Alex Thompson
Wider reflection here, tl;dr: “anonymous sources, but aligns well with public image, deeply problematic on institutional level if true.”
https://www.dfw.cz/2025/05/23/original-sin/
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
What can one say about one of the best pieces of a certain kind of life philosophy that exists?
Yeah, cool. Some sentences go unreasonably hard (“do not ponder how to be a good man, be one”), a lot of it is just very reasonable “get your shit together and don’t waste your time.”
I liked Boethius a bit more, but still a classic—not going to pretend I have something key to add.
Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past
Sam Wineburg
Review is available here, tl;dr: “cool”.
https://www.dfw.cz/2025/07/21/historical-thinking-and-other-unnatural-acts/