Books from 2025 about China and more

Things I read this year that helped me understand things

I don’t know if my Substack is mature enough for a “best books of the year” post or not, but I’m trying it anyway as the major outlets roll out their lists. I’ve managed to get through some of the year’s big books, although in full disclosure, I listened to some of them on long drives, bike rides in FL, and walks in DC.

Three have to do with China and/or the debate over whether the US can build things the way they do and how much our inability to do that will matter in the long run. Apple in China by Patrick McGee explains how exporting technology to China for their superior and less costly manufacturing has led to geopolitical and economic dangers, similar to those that have accrued through the transfer of solar energy and lithium battery technology. For folks who know a lot about the story, Apple in China may seem a bit simplistic, but McGee does a nice job of laying out the story from the very beginning of Apple, and I was enthralled by the whole thing.

Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson captured the political zeitgeist on the center-left more than any other book this year. So much has been said about it on podcasts that there’s not a lot that can be added except that it tells the aspect of the story to Apple in China, which is why the US must outsource the manufacturing to begin with. Our inability to make hard choices and overcome political objections has made it harder for the US to build housing and to compete in science, among other topics.

My favorite of the three is Breakneck by Dan Wang, which is a sequence of “letters” that lay out the differences between China as an engineering state and the US as a lawyerly state. China can do things big and fast while the US struggles to overcome its policies and politics to do the same things. While it’s common in science right now to look enviously at China and the massive investments being made, the high appreciation for science by the government, and the speed with which it all can be implemented, Wang lays out reasons why the US might win in the end. On which country is better positioned for the future, Wang says:

Beijing has been taking the future dead seriously the past four decades. That is why China will not outcompete the United States. The engineering state has delivered great things. But the Communist Party is made up of too many leaders who distrust their own people and have little idea how to appeal to the rest of the world. They will continue to bring literal-minded solutions for their problems, attempting to engineer away their challenges, leaving the situation worse than they found it. Beijing will never be able to draw on the best feature of the United States: Embracing pluralism and individual rights. The Communist Party is too afraid of the Chinese people to give them real agency. Beijing will not recognize that the creatives and entrepreneurs it is chasing into exile are not the enemy. It will not accept that their creative energy could bring as much prestige to China as great public works.

It feels right now like we are exiling talent in the US, also, but Wang’s point is that based on our history, the US is more likely to get back to a footing we once had than China is to get to a footing it has never had.

Here are a few others, most of which are on plenty of other lists.

Miracles and Wonder by Elaine Pagels. My favorite of the year. As an Episcopalian who has no trouble accepting the secular description of the scriptures and how the events of the New Testament may or may not have happened, I’m a big fan of Pagels’ books. This is a synthesis that brings together a lot of her earlier works into a cohesive picture of Jesus’ story. If you’re like me and want to dig into all of the possibilities, this is a great read, but I also think if you’re more of a believer who wants to understand the historicity of the scriptures, this is a great way to get it. (If you’re a very strong believer, you may find it sacrilegious.) Pagels is an engaging writer who brings a lot of personal narrative to the story to push it along.

Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. If you’re one of almost all of us who are stuck with using and studying social media to make our way in the world, this is a fun one. Very juicy and scandalous stuff about the Facebook brass.

Fort Bragg Cartel by Seth Harp. I grew up in Fayetteville, NC where most of this book takes place. My first jobs were all in theater and music on the Fort Bragg base, and I rode my bike through many of the neighborhoods where some grim things in this book happened. Harp deals with the challenge of training people to be killers and then bringing them home when many of them are crippled by violent instincts, addiction, and PTSD. I grew up with all of this in a big way. He makes a compelling case that the military brass knows how dangerous it is but considers it an acceptable cost of having a capable military. Was hard for me to know how much people would like this book if they didn’t grow up with it all like I did, but it has been pretty well acclaimed.

John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie. Hard for me to top a review written by the great T Bone Burnett, which is here. But having read more Beatles books than most, I’d put this up there, not quite, with the definitive tome by Bob Spitz but within striking distance. The book is organized by song, which is a good way to tell the story of the partnership. I kind of started doubting the premise towards the end when Leslie makes the case that seemingly every song from their solo careers is about the love/regret relationship between Lennon and McCartney. But the first 80% of the book is pure joy.

Tonight in Jungleland by Peter Ames Carlin. It was a big year for bios of the Boss. I read Tonight in Jungleland, which is about the making of Born to Run along with the earlier Deliver Me from Nowhere, which is about the making of Nebraska. The latter was the basis for the movie of the same name. Both books are mainly about the partnership between Bruce Springsteen and Jon Landau, which, like Lennon/McCartney, is one for the ages and gave us amazing music. Loved reading both books, and only liked part of watching the movie, which had two standout performances from actors named Jeremy that weren’t enough to overcome the drag of a predictable romance that was manufactured for the narrative. So if you were disappointed by the movie and wanted more about the partnership and the music, both of these books are a good remedy.

How I Won a Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto. This is a couple of years old, and someone just suggested it to me this year. I don’t read many novels, but this was hilarious and a stinging indictment of sexism and power dynamics in academic science. A good departure from all the difficulties (or at least an opportunity to laugh at them).

Finally, if you’re like me and skeptical of all the AI hype, I recommend The AI Con by Emily Bender. Bender takes apart a lot of the subterfuge and panic, and also lays out how bad AI is going to be for people with fewer resources in our society.

One thing AI can do, however, is make this picture of me for this column:

Enjoy. Happy Holidays.