A review by luisvilla
Red Plenty by Francis Spufford

5.0

This book is pretty unique, both in style and topic, and almost certainly not for everyone. But if you're in that weird niche of people seriously fascinated by the intersection of technology and high politics, it is a unique read you'll remember for a long time.

You can follow up afterwards by reading the Red Plenty Seminar from Crooked Timber, featuring the best serious analysis of "the optimization problem" that I've ever seen, as well as lots of other interesting material.