This is an academic book and is occasionally dry, but Tainter’s coverage of the topic is excellent and he put forward a compelling argument. He’s especially dismissive of the many hand-wavy arguments about “moral collapse” or other mystical ideas, but doesn’t totally disregard culture either....

This is an interesting book. Is it compelling? Not really. There are elements of the conventional story of Christ that the authors challenge in compelling ways, but their alternative theory doesn’t seem much more plausible....

Sad story, well written. I read quite a few books from the time period last year and enjoyed them. This one had a good balance of story along with historical information.

This was highly recommended by other history buffs, and it didn’t disappoint. Horrifying details mixed with much historical information about Chicago, and the US, during this period.

Listen to the audiobook, Fry’s voice is worth it alone. They are classic myths, and Fry is unabashed about trying to present them in a compelling way.

I really like this book until about 2/3 of the way in, when he began interviewing someone who is trying to implement some of the ideas of the book in his business, and some of the claims seemed a bit handwavy to me. I stopped reading eventually. The history part of it was good. The modern stuff seem...

As is typical of these authors, there’s a clear bias throughout. You can see where some quotations and arguments aren’t presented charitably. However, there are some good questions posed, and it’s clear the author has engaged with people other than those who share his beliefs.

Sad story, but if you’re interested in this era, a must read. I learned a lot.

I like books like this, where they try to give you an overview of various fields but from their own personal framework of beliefs. I enjoyed it.