Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
On the one hand, Maxwell had ties to Israel dating back to the early 1980s that included close relationships with the most powerful people in Mossad, the legendary Israeli spy agency. On the other, in the Soviet Union, Maxwell’s regular visits to the KGB’s Lubyanka headquarters went all the way to the top—to the office of the KGB chairman General
... See moreCraig Unger • American Kompromat
wider the influence of the executive power extends, the greater and the more necessary is its constant action, the more fatal is the term of suspense; and a nation which is accustomed to the government, or, still more, one used to the administrative protection of a powerful executive authority would be infallibly convulsed by an election of this
... See moreAlexis de Tocqueville • Democracy in America, Volume I and II (Optimized for Kindle)
- Edward’s favorite documentaries Bennett Miller’s The Cruise and Adam Curtis’s films. “He’s got a four-part film called The Century of the Self, and then a three-part series called The Power of Nightmares. I think those are absolutely brilliant films, dense but really eye-opening.” TF: The Century of the Self has been recommended to me by several
Timothy Ferriss • Tools Of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
No one (except perhaps a tyrant) has a private life that can survive public exposure by hostile directive.
Timothy Snyder • On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Enfin, autant l’écriture de Tocqueville est d’une lumineuse clarté, autant sa pensée est complexe. Si on ne trouve chez lui ni esprit de système, ni sens de l’histoire, ni prophétie sur l’avènement ou le triomphe éternel de la démocratie, son génie fut de dégager, sous l’Amérique et la France, le principe du fait démocratique et du fait
... See moreNicolas Baverez • Le Monde selon Tocqueville: Combats pour la liberté (French Edition)
« Son Excellence a peut-être cessé de donner l’ordre de [me payer], en pensant que j’avais assez d’argent », écrit-il. « Je suis profondément contrarié par le fait que, pour gagner de quoi subsister, je me vois contraint d’interrompre mon travail pour accomplir de petites tâches, au lieu de continuer l’œuvre que Son Excellence m’a confiée10. »
Walter Isaacson • Léonard de Vinci: La biographie (QUANTO) (French Edition)
All told, Smith polled more than 15 million votes, virtually as many as Calvin Coolidge’s winning total in 1924 and almost twice as many as any previous Democratic candidate. In that sense, it can be argued that Smith’s candidacy established the basis of the Roosevelt coalition and paved the way for FDR’s victory in 1932.
Jean Edward Smith • FDR

Toutes ces puissances réunies, gouvernées avec acharnement, lui valaient en deux ou trois ans ce triomphe mérité, et, ce qu'il souhaitait davantage encore, la liberté suprême : le droit de choisir ses sujets, sa manière, ses lieux de séjour, ses amitiés.