Jeffrey Sachs Is Making Me Schizophrenic.

It's a sad truth. I've become a little bit schizophrenic about Jeffrey Sachs' book. There's an eternal optimist in me that wants desperately to believe Sachs thesis, thinking, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could get everyone in the world to work together?" At the same time, the absolute skeptic in me says, "Yeeahhhh, there's NO WAY this is gonna work."

The first thing that I noticed about Sachs' book is that it's intensely boring. It would be great to read on nights when I'm stricken with insomnia. Not so great when I need to stay up and actually, you know, read it. Because the cynic in me has a much louder voice than the timid optimist, I also find Sachs' hopeful idealism a little naive. If the four people in my high school graduating class couldn't agree where to go for our senior class trip, how can I possibly expect the 6.6 billion people on this earth to agree on how to solve world hunger?

I do have to admit that there are some things that I like about the book. While the style of writing makes me sleepy, I find that the information presented in the book is fascinating. Jeffrey Sachs has a realistic presentation of our country's less-than-spectacular history, and I like that. Also, he is extremely earnest in his research and opinions, and that makes me respect him more than I otherwise would. I think that it'll be interesting to see how the book plays out. (I'll also be keeping an eye on myself--if you see me walking around campus mumbling to myself, please take Common Wealth away from me.)