The War on Normal People

Short review: Yang is well read, persuasive and compassionate in this book that was a companion to his failed 2020 bid for the Democratic nomination. He errs toward being a technocrat—believing that smart solutions offered by business and tech moguls, as well as social scientists can solve most ailments in our nation. This is a slight problem, but his argument for UBI is far more specific and useful than what is offered in Utopia for Realists.

Yang is more of a moderate in most arenas and comes across as a far deeper and complex thinker than Joe Biden and others. It’s a shame that our nomination system favors the ultra rich and connected. Yang would’ve had my vote.

This book is targeting a real problem: how automation will affect "normal" people (read most of us). This problem is already here and being ignored since it doesn't have a simple solution (at least given the current state of governments around the world). Andrew Yang tries to present the problem in light of real data and also delivers a good sense of urgency since these issues are going to affect us more and more. Even if you are not going to read this book (which I recommend you do) at least try to go over the graphs and tables in the book to get a sense of how bad the situation is already and where we are heading to.

I can’t remember the last time I made it to the end of a nonfiction book. And so glad I did — the last chapter is a stirring call to action. Everyone needs to pay attention to the message of this book. It addresses problems in our society that are snowballing. Yang is the leader our country needs at this moment in time, and I strongly urge you to heed his message.

Thanks for your leadership, Mr. Yang!

Important insight into the current state of the US and where it’s headed. Smart, practical, timely.