Photo by Matt Perko
Five book on life's shadows and light
Five book on life's shadows and light
An assistant professor of global studies, Kai Thaler studies civil wars, political violence, protest and authoritarianism. His research spans Africa, Latin America and beyond, and examines how power is built and contested — and what happens when former rebel movements move from fighting to governing.
His book “When Rebels Win: Ideology, Statebuilding, and Power after Civil Wars” (Cornell University Press, 2025) analyzes how insurgent groups that capture the state translate their ideas into institutions.
Outside his academic research, Thaler gravitates toward fiction, poetry and literary essays. The subject matter often overlaps with his research but the form allows for a different kind of engagement.
“Choosing only five was difficult,” Thaler says. “As some books here suggest, they often still explore themes close to my work — conflict, violence, authoritarianism and resistance — so it’s not always a full escape. But I also seek out writing that reminds me of the beauty and laughter in the world, even when things seem dark.”
“Free Planet, Vol. 1” by Aubrey Sitterson
This collected first volume of comics writer Aubrey Sitterson’s new science fiction series examines the aftermath of a planet’s successful rebellion against imperial elites, centering the stories of the security force tasked with defending the planet. Based on extensive research, it covers colonialism, economic exploitation, ideological debates and revolutionary fragmentation, anarchist principles, terrorism. I’ll happily admit that it conveys the hopes, disappointments and general messiness after rebel victories in a much more eye-catching, entertaining way than my own book.
“Transparent City” by Ondjaki
Despite vast oil and mineral wealth and war having ended decades ago, the majority of Angola’s population still struggles under the regime of the MPLA party, which once fought to liberate the country from Portuguese rule. Ondjaki’s beautiful magical realist novel highlights the corruption, infrastructural decay and bureaucratic absurdities of modern authoritarian rule alongside the ways people still get by and find joy.
“The Moor’s Account” by Laila Lalami
Laila Lalami’s novel narrates the story of Spanish conquistadors’ ill-fated 16th-century Narváez expedition through the viewpoint of Estebanico, an enslaved African man who must not only survive while traveling across North America but must challenge both his captors and the biases that he has internalized. Lalami replaces the brief mention of Estebanico in the historical record with a full picture of someone finding his way across the swamps of Florida and beyond to a form of redemption.
“Mirrors” by Eduardo Galeano
One of the great Latin American writers of the last century, Eduardo Galeano tells the history of humankind poetically, elegantly and critically through short vignettes spanning time and space, mythology and “reality.” This book that will make you rethink conventional wisdom and the versions of history or other stories you may have been taught.
“Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude” by Ross Gay
A poet and essayist who knows how to be devastating, Ross Gay also looks for the beauty in everyday things, occurrences and relationships, both natural and cultivated. This book of poems and Gay’s ongoing “Book of Delights” series offer poignant and frequently funny reminders to wonder at life’s serendipity, silliness, sweetness and simple pleasures, and his work also led me to the similarly wonderful books and poems of Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
