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Let's read books that meet the moment!
Books that transform our worldview and help us see more clearly what's really going on in today's world. Books that give us insight and share what we can do about it all.
These are highly acclaimed best-selling non-fiction books that are well-written and therefore easy to read, and make us smarter about something happening in the world that affects all our lives in some way.
Books on the list include:
All the Shah's Men, by Stephen Kinzer (Iran & roots of Middle East crisis)
1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin (financial crisis, maps 1929 to current moment)
Goliath's Curse, by Luke Kemp* (societal collapse)
The Nutmeg's Curse, by Amitav Ghosh* (roots of environmental crisis in colonialism)
Empire of AI, by Karen Hao (debunks current AI hype)
The Devil's Chessboard by David Talbot (CIA & US domination)
The Brothers by Stephen Kinzer (how the Dulles Brothers made the world as it is today)
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine, by Rashid Khalidi (history of Israel-Palestine conflict)
*Luke Kemp and Amitav Ghosh are speaking at the Sydney Writers' Festival in May!
https://www.swf.org.au/program/festival-2026/big-histories
This will be a monthly book club. Come join us for good intellectual discussion on top issues of the day. It's great motivation to read excellent books.
Let's meet this moment together!
Upcoming events
1
June Book Club on AI: Empire of AI
The ERKO Erskinville Hotel, 102 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville NSW 2043, Sydney, AUWelcome to Meet the Moment Book Club, where we read books that meet the moment and make sense of it all together. Please see our group page for a list of upcoming books.
After discussing collapse, our third book club will examine one of the key drivers of collapse: artificial intelligence.
Karen Hao's international bestseller "Empire of AI" is as illuminating as it is brilliantly written. It's precisely the book we need to be clear-eyed about the much-hyped sector of AI.
"An eye-opening account of the tech arms race shaping out planet, from an award-winning journalist and AI insider to the world of Sam Altman and OpenAI...
In exhilarating prose and with unparalleled access to those closest to Sam Altman, Hao recounts the meteoric rise of OpenAI and shows us the sinister impact that this industry is having on society."
https://www.amazon.com.au/Empire-AI-Inside-reckless-domination/dp/1802064656/We will be meeting at the Erko Hotel, in the open area in the back.
There's no fee, but please purchase your own food/drinks from the venue.
If you have trouble getting the book, message me.
It's okay if you haven't finished the book by the time of the event, but please at least try -- the more the merrier!
If the RSVP list is full, please join the waiting list as there will likely be fluctuations closer to the date.
If you RSVP'ed and can't make it, please edit your RSVP so that others can attend. No-shows will be noted and barred from the book club.
Please try to be on time as we start and end on time.
Look forward to seeing you there.
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