Society – Page 5 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole & Just

By Scott J. Pearson | June 25, 2022June 25, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

The year 2022 resides in an era where there is renewed interest in the African American experience. That experience, of course, is incredibly rich and deep and historically spans Slavery, Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights Movement. Atcho, a Christian pastor, brings out that spiritual depth by highlighting ten pieces of literature that illuminate the African American experience and the African American perspective on theology. This book in unabashedly in the Christian tradition.…

History Society

African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals

By Scott J. Pearson | May 30, 2022May 30, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

African-American contributions to American history are often pushed to the side and either given a lower priority when presented or segregated into its own area. These stories are often discussed during Black History Month, but then forgotten in the remaining eleven months of the year. In this book, a (white) Pulitzer Prize-winning author seeks to make a comprehensive, foundational case that enslaved people significantly enriched the cultural course of America – all before the Civil…

Healthcare Society

Hot Spot: A Doctor’s Diary from the Pandemic

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

The pandemic era provided the world many types of stories that have not been seen in generations, at least since the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918. Healthcare workers and governmental leaders had the most stress refracted their way. Jahangir, a colleague and trauma surgeon at Vanderbilt Medical Center and chair of the board of health in Metro Nashville, served in both roles. What was naively thought to last perhaps only weeks or even a few…

Healthcare HIV/AIDS Psychology Society

My Nerves are Bad: Puerto Rican Women Managing Mental Illness & HIV Risk

By Scott J. Pearson | April 27, 2022May 7, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

This sociological work examines a niche group with a lot of social factors going on that impacts their health. First, there is gender as these are women. Regionally and racially, these women are from Puerto Rico but now live in the mainland US. They are impoverished, like many who come from the island. They have to deal with very real health issues like mental illnesses and the looming risk of HIV. They have risk factors,…

Biography-Memoir Society

The People’s Plaza: 62 Days of Nonviolent Resistance

By Scott J. Pearson | April 18, 2022October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Full disclosure: I am professionally employed Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The Medical Center, though a separate fiscal and legal entity, shares the Vanderbilt name with Vanderbilt University, whose press publishes this book. Nashville, Tennessee, is a historic town in the move for civil rights. In fact, locals just call it “the movement.” That movement is very much alive, in Nashville and in America, as the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 have recently shown. This…

History Society

South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation

By Scott J. Pearson | April 13, 2022April 16, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

This book took me all over the place. As a southerner, I felt a little defensive of the area where I’ve lived for most of my life. Though from Alabama, Perry’s point of view is clearly northeastern (especially when describing border states), and there’s a long history of northeasterners (i.e., Yankees) stereotyping southerners. As a software developer, I found that she overlooked the “New South” almost entirely. The research triangle in North Carolina was only…

Environment Science Society

From Knowledge to Power: The Comprehensive Handbook for Climate Science & Advocacy

By Scott J. Pearson | March 23, 2022March 23, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Climate science is a hot topic these days, and many books (like Bill Gates’ How to Avoid a Climate Disaster) provide introductions to the topic for a popular audience. Those books are written to be digested by the masses, but detailed academic work is often lacking in them. Enter Perona’s textbook. (He calls it a “handbook,” but it more resembles an interdisciplinary textbook.) He explains the nitty-gritty of the science and extends the reasoning from…

Fiction-Stories Society

Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison

By Scott J. Pearson | February 12, 2022February 12, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Juneteenth, of course, is the day that word of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation reached the depths of Texas and marks the day when freedom was finally brought to all American slaves. Ralph Ellison, an African-American author of the outstanding and renowned Invisible Man, spent forty years compiling notes for this book. Eventually, death overtook him before a final version could be reached. Nonetheless, scholar John F. Callahan compiled this edition a few years after Ellison’s…

Society Software-Technology

The Hidden History of Big Brother in America

By Scott J. Pearson | January 30, 2022January 30, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

As a professional software developer and researcher, I have mixed reactions towards this book. On the one hand, it points out very valid concerns and complaints about how Internet technologies intersect with contemporary society, particularly with the political classes. On the other, I found myself repeating over and over to myself, “But that’s just how technology works!” As such, this book is a good conversation starter for an issue that needs broad discussion in America.…

Leadership Management-Business Society

All Are Welcome: How to Build a Real Workplace Culture of Inclusion that Delivers Results

By Scott J. Pearson | January 29, 2022September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Historically, diverse workplaces – for various reasons – have out-competed workplaces with less complex cultures. Especially after the social movements surrounding the untimely death of George Floyd in 2020, American employees have increasingly demanded their employers to take diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) into its management practices. As the American workforce becomes more diverse, it’s hard not to believe that these trends represent the future. However, many business attempts to address these issues only…