Hiatus

I'm a pretty diverse reader. I don't really do one genre and only one genre. But it seems that lately, a lot of the books I've read have showcased the stupidity of the human race. The last few books I read include:

• How to be an Anti-Racist. This is a great book, a mix of sociology, current events, biography, and history. And there were multiple moments when I was furious about something that someone somewhere did that was so blatantly evil and nasty. Like the 2000 election and voter suppression. Which, first of all, how did I not know about this?!?!?!?! And, second of all, WHAT?!?!?!?!
• The Fifth Sun. This one is a history of the Aztecs that draws on more Nahuatl documents than have typically been available in the past. I've never really liked Cortez since I took a colonial lit class in college, and this really didn't help much. And just the injustice of colonialization in general is pretty maddening. Although, I will say I was less angry after reading this one and just more fascinated by all the history I didn't know. Like, the attempt by Spaniards to establish a colony in North America, and it's disastrous outcome. 
• The Berlin Wall: A World Divided, 1961-1989. Fairly obvious what this one is about. And it really does make one irritated with people. Well, not all people, but as in the other books, with people who crave power more than anything.

And now I am reading All the Shah's Men. And what is this one about? Well, in the 1950s, Britain basically owned Iran and was getting rich off of their oil fields while Iranians were, well, you can imagine what was going on with them. Not getting anything from the deal. Then they got a prime minister who tried to kick the British out, so the British convinced the US that this PM was going to lead Iran down the path to Communism (gotta love the Cold War), so the US and Britain staged a coup, kicked out the PM and empowered the Shah, and we all know how that worked out for everyone.

So, yeah. Add all of that to the shenanigans going on currently and I've realized I either have to stop reading history for a while or stop hearing the news. Because I've been getting pretty tetchy about people. 

It's not that I haven't read other stuff, too, but clearly, it's not enough. So, as soon as I finish with Iran, I will be taking a break from history for a bit. It will be my contribution to world peace.