Scott J. Pearson

The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, & the Longest Night of the Second World War

By Scott J. Pearson | January 20, 2022January 20, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

World War I unleashed many technological advances into warfare. These mainly brought about more advanced ways to kill more and more humans. After the war, a group of American military thinkers nicknamed the “Bomber Mafia” developed a theory about airplanes and the ability to undertake precision bombing. They thought that wars could be won in a more humane manner by targeting critical industries through carefully crafted bombing routines. These could cut down on land casualties…

Management-Business

Promotions Are So Yesterday: Redefine Career Development. Help Employees Thrive.

By Scott J. Pearson | January 19, 2022January 19, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Workers commonly judge their professional selves by their job title, salary, or position on the organization’s hierarchy. Unfortunately, only so many people can receive promotions. Thus, managers cannot reward everyone on the team with success. How should they manage and develop careers then when not everyone is immediately moving towards high placement? Winkle Giulioni suggests a paradigm shift in management thinking towards alternative dimensions of career development, something she calls the “seven C’s.” Contribution, competence,…

Pitch Like Hollywood: What You Can Learn From the High-Stakes Film Industry

By Scott J. Pearson | January 16, 2022January 16, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Pitching, a core business practice, involves marketing an idea to a potential collaborator. Because thousands or millions of dollars can depend on a ten-minute presentation – or less – mastering every element of this type of presentation significantly benefits those who sell their ideas for a living. Desberg and Davis use their experiences coaching people in the film industry in Hollywood, an especially demanding domain, to bring these pitches to life. First, the good. The…

Biography-Memoir History

The First Emancipator: Slavery, Religion, & the Quiet Revolution of Robert Carter

By Scott J. Pearson | January 15, 2022January 15, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

For most of us, American history consists of well-attested narratives. Northerners were against slavery while Southerners were for it. General emancipation of slaves after the Revolution was impractical. The founding fathers were deist in their religious orientation. To these three national myths, the case of Virginian aristocrat Robert Carter stands in stark opposition. In the late eighteenth century, he freed around 500 of his own slaves, to the ire of his neighbors and without compensation,…

Research-Education Writing-Communication

Stylish Academic Writing

By Scott J. Pearson | January 14, 2022January 14, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Academic writing has a reputation for being a bit dry and only interested in the dissemination of abstract information. Concreteness, style, and vivacity often fall to the wayside. As Sword points out, much of this dryness is due to social structures, not deliberate mastery of the craft. This book teaches how to bring a sense of style to academic writing without compromising its informational purposes. By examining 1,000 academic papers in ten different fields, Sword…

Biography-Memoir History Leadership Politics

My Life by Bill Clinton

By Scott J. Pearson | January 9, 2022September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

The name Bill Clinton evokes several reactions among people, each with its own emotional subtext: economic prosperity, partisan conflict, sexual misconduct, and international peacemaking. In a long history of American presidential memoirs, Clinton adds his to the list in this book. It is lengthy, thoughtful, and carefully crafted. He attempts to provide insight into himself and his leadership while advocating for the policies his administration enacted during his presidency. I was a Republican teenager from…

Biography-Memoir Economics History

Nailing It: How History’s Awesome Twentysomethings Got It Together

By Scott J. Pearson | January 8, 2022January 8, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Early adulthood – life after schooling ended – is often portrayed as somewhat meaningless. In this book, Dilenschneider says that not only is that impression wrong but that the twenties define many people’s lives. He offers this book as a sort-of devotional book of success stories based on individual talents. Twenty-three chapters about twenty-five people provide biographical vignettes about people who were disproportionately influential. He offers these to provide hope for those who might despair…

Fiction-Stories History Psychology

The Lobotomist’s Wife: A Novel

By Scott J. Pearson | January 3, 2022August 13, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

For a period of time, lobotomy was the go-to treatment for psychiatry. It involved disabling the frontal lobes of the brain with the hopes of averting psychiatric symptoms. If “disabling the frontal lobes of the brain” sounds scary to you, it is to me, too. Over time, bad outcomes were chronicled, and lobotomy was eventually relegated to the historical record (much like other equally scary psychological treatments). However, in this book, Greene Woodruff brings frighteningly…

Healthcare HIV/AIDS Research-Education

Scrambling for Africa: AIDS, Expertise, & the Rise of American Global Health Science

By Scott J. Pearson | January 1, 2022January 1, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

The prevalence of HIV and AIDS in Africa was a looming problem at the turn of the millennium, but heavy American investment in treatment for Africans under George W. Bush’s PEPFAR program addressed the acute symptoms. However, like much in life, smaller, no-less-significant problems exploded soon afterwards, particularly in the vein of post-colonialism. Was this a scientific partnership of equals or was it a contribution from a superior to an inferior? Does PEPFAR create a…

Kids Religion-Philosophy

The Good for Nothing Tree

By Scott J. Pearson | December 28, 2021December 28, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

It’s easy for children to feel as if they are “good for nothing” because they do not commonly make as significant of societal contributions like adults. Sometimes, forgotten in a Christian, technological culture is that care and nurture are required for all things to bloom. This book, based on one of Jesus’ parables from Luke 13.6-9, reminds us all – children and adults alike – of the value of love so that things can grow.…