FundamentallySound Blog

I'm typing this from a little cafe across the road from Booksmith bookstore in San Francisco. I just finished listening to William T. Vollmann read from his new book Europe Central and answer a few questions. One of which went like this (summarized), "So, do you think we're at the point now of the German population's acceptance of Nazi techniques?" To which Vollmann replied, "No, we're not Nazis here, not yet. But the war crimes perpetrated by the current administration are easily accepted by the public, that is a similarity to Nazi-era Germany. People want to be safe and with just a few more terroristic attacks we'll start locking up Arab-Americans, no questions asked."

The man obviously eats breathes and lives words, claiming to write every day all day. When asked how he could do this, he said, "I just love to write." Sounds easy enough. His new book is based on asking poor people in different countries, "Why are you poor?" He said he's fascinated how people from different cultures answer this question differently. I'm fascinated too.