A semiautobiographical collection offers ruminations from 2019 and 2020 on various issues.

Fogg, the author of Deferred Pay, Mergers and Acquisitions and Sectoral Deflation, Frame Deconstructions: Emails From 2011 Through 2013 (2014), delivers another set of reflections that tend to revolve around socio-economic matters. The writer has a lot to say on topics that range from the plight of the middle class to the Mueller Report and the United States government reaction to Covid-19. The pieces address an article in The Economist, something seen on MSNBC, and an interaction with a friend. What does Fogg have to say over the course of 700-plus pages? In general, his answers tend to involve left-wing thoughts. Time and again, the author expresses a need for a wealth tax. He frequently critiques the many “automated robotic computer enhanced innovations” that threaten workers. He is no fan of President Donald Trump or his tariffs on Chinese goods. Readers occasionally receive more personal revelations. At one point, Fogg mentions how he worked for over a decade in a warehouse, a position he does not describe in detail though he felt it “was satisfying.” Taken as a whole, there is much for readers to go through. And with the information organized by date rather than subject matter, the ideas progress in a loose manner. Although one could find more structured arguments for, say, a universal basic income, the book is notable for its candid and casual tone. At times, the author even admits he may not remember something he had heard or read (for example, he expresses uncertainty about Occam’s razor). All told, the opinions are nothing short of authentic even if more insights into their origins would have been welcome. Was it through working in a warehouse that Fogg came to understand the true need for higher taxes on the wealthy? Inferences can be made yet the material here only tells so much.

This work provides an honest, albeit drawn-out, take on many modern-day topics.