My Books

To the Mountains and Back

Book 1

To the Mountains and Back

This book is part of a diary which traces the author's reflections and observations about politics, macroeconomics, war and peace during and between skiing trips in northern New England and then back to his semi urban working existence in Somerville, Massachusetts, a small city adjoining Boston and Cambridge. Employed in a fortune 500 corporation, he applies home schooled social science insights in an effort to understand why things are as they are and how they might change for the better. He attempts to get inside the heads of his coworkers as well into the heads of more public political actors in order to give the reader a sort of inside out look at the thinking and implicit thinking that may well be driving the decisions that American society makes. Topics addressed include but are not limited to the usual suspects: the effects of addiction to television and oil consumption, the effects of the oil lobby on the TV news business, an attempt to reframe the way Democrats frame the problem of disparate racial accomplishments in such a way as to allow that party to regain some or all of the influence it has lost as a result, it is alleged, of the way these disparities are currently framed.

Book 2

Getting Past “The End of History”: Reflections from a Bottom Rung of the Corporate System

This book represents a year's (the year 2000) segment of ongoing intellectual work regarding a series of intellectual, economic and sociological difficulties. (An earlier volume titled To the Mountains and Back is available from IUniverse.com and on the web.) The diary addresses a broad range of topics including psychological roots of war as homophobic attacks, theistic versus secular boot-strapping of legal systems and ideas, repression and numbing stemming from addiction to television-watching that may contribute to acts of (suicidal) terrorism, and the trade deficit modifying the composition of the "power elite" and perhaps bankrupting the country. There is also a discussion of sales and value-added taxes being imposed on "the corporate seller" rather than the buyer in an effort to control inflation and raise needed governmental funds, the advantages and drawbacks of increasing the money supply significantly by printing needed money, the discrepancies between male and female pay and who asks whom out for a date, television's effects upon childhood sexuality and subsequent socialization (growing up) end results, the natural versus artificially inseminated family and other interesting topics including the roots of racist and other discriminations.

Getting Past The End of History
Emails from the Year 2001

Book 3

Emails from the Year 2001: Reflections on War, Peace, Economy

Society's interest in the preservation of persistent social problems; That society or cultures often have an unspoken, often unrecognized interest and some sort of gratification from the continued existence of most persistent and loudly decried social and economic even political problems. Since this appears to be the case, one way of attempting to solve such problems is to attempt to articulate or otherwise indicate which specific interests and needs are being served as a result of society's ongoing inability to formulate or agree upon any specific course of legislation, policy making, or even some sort of specific discourse whose utilization might lay the groundwork for some sort of improvement. Consider the possibility that humanity might, while engaging in ever more efficient and less expensive modes of computerization and automation, effectively destroy real human economic activity. The possibility exists that as human "work" comes to be defined as ever less efficient and necessary for the production of goods and services, that real people will begin to be paid less and less. Eventually, however, humanity's ability to purchase these ever more mechanized goods and services will begin to be seriously depleted. So that a point could theoretically arrive when a vast plethora of goods and services would be available for sale, however, the numbers of available purchasers would be constantly diminishing to the point where civility would begin to disappear, theft would become rampant. The scene would not be pretty.

Book 4

Emails From 2011 Through 2013

The book incorporates several revised pieces, which have been mostly preserved in their original form. According to suggestions received, some or many of these pieces have been displayed on a bulletin board at Harvard Law School. However, it remains uncertain whether they have garnered significant attention. Many of these writings were also shared with members of faculties at Harvard, Yale, and other universities. Thus far, there has been minimal direct feedback from these recipients, including whether the emails were even opened. On a couple of occasions, the author was asked to discontinue sending the emails.
The approach the author has taken involves analyzing news and viewpoints from journalists and social scientists. By building upon the analyses of others, he aimed to develop a set of recommendations that, if taken seriously, could enhance the overall conditions of the United States and the world. One aspect He emphasized the need for a shift in the SEC's and DOJ's criteria for approving mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Rather than focusing solely on intra-sectoral approvals justified by economies of scale and market control, he proposed cross-sectoral actions justified by the potential to lower prices and increase wages.
The book also delves into the concept of deferred or partially distributed corporate and institutional compensation. It questions the practice of withholding such rewards based on the notion that initial recipients may not be "mature enough" to handle them immediately. In hindsight, it considers how fully receiving rightfully earned rewards could compromise or impede individuals in significant ways.
In summary, the book explores various topics ranging from the influence of these writings at prestigious institutions to advocating for a shift in M&A approval criteria, and the examination of deferred or not fully distributed compensation in corporate and institutional settings.
Emails From 2011 Through 2013
Emails From the Year 2002

Book 5

Emails From the Year 2002

Author Andreas Daniel Fogg takes an in-depth look at society’s interest in preserving persistent social problems through a series of email messages archived in his book: “Emails From the Year 2002.” He examines how cultures thrive on their own implicit interest in the continued existence of the most persistent and loudly decried social and economic, and political issues.

This archive of emails, shared with friends, newspapers including the NY Times, and various faculty persons, remains a timely exploration of the complex relationship between society and persistent social problems. Fogg argues that while societal critics may be vocal in their criticism of these issues, society as an aggregate often has an unspoken, often unrecognized, interest in their continued existence. The author probes how this interest can manifest itself in various forms, from the perpetuation of stereotypes to the perpetuation of acute economic inequality.

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