The Importance of Snake Oil: How Xi Jinping Shut Down the World
The Importance of Snake Oil: How Xi Jinping Shut Down the World
If you haven’t already got a copy of Snake Oil: How Xi Jinping Shut Down the World, I really do encourage you to do so. It is far and away my best and most important writing, and also the most impactful way to support my work. (Already got the book? Then leave a quick review.)
People often say the internet is forever, but that isn’t really true. Yes, web pages that get enough views are archived for reference, but even then they often recede in search results and get lost over time. As many saw firsthand when I was banned from Twitter, years of online work can be erased in an instant and quickly forgotten by most of the world.
Books, on the other hand, have surprising impact and staying power even in modern times. The pesky things have vexed tyrants for centuries. Ban them and they only seem to multiply. Burn one and more pop up all over the place. They turn up in attics and chests and dressers, full of dangerous thoughts and seditious facts, grabbing attention on shelves even from those who would never otherwise agree, who can’t help but thumb through and start asking “Why?” They’ve brought down many a regime before and will continue to do so well into the future. They really are forever.
P.S., if you didn’t catch the phenomenal documentary of the first chapter produced by Kate Wand and William Gervais, be sure to check it out.
This is a great read. Meticulous research and a thoroughly engaging writing style.
Great interview here https://brownstone.org/video-podcast/whats-going-on-in-china-interview-with-michael-senger/
Books are fantastic, but is there also a good place online to which people can be directed? I've recently found myself in discussions where people actually question whether our pandemic response has anything to do with Chinese authoritarianism, but they're not necessarily going to read a book about it to get started.