What We Are Reading Today: Ten Thousand Things

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Updated 30 August 2023
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What We Are Reading Today: Ten Thousand Things

Author: Lothar Ledderose 

Chinese workers in the 3rd century BC created 7,000 life-sized terracotta soldiers to guard the tomb of the First Emperor.

In this book, Lothar Ledderose takes us on a remarkable tour of Chinese art and culture to explain how artists used complex systems of mass production to assemble extraordinary objects from standardized parts or modules.

He reveals how these systems have deep roots in Chinese thought and reflect characteristically Chinese modes of social organization.


What We Are Reading Today: Miracle Children

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Updated 23 January 2026
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What We Are Reading Today: Miracle Children

  • This book is an extraordinary look at the American higher educational system, and the lengths in which people will go to get there

Authors: Katie Benner, Erica L. Green

“Miracle Children” tells the story of a small private school in the US state of Louisiana that found itself at the center of a college admissions scandal after providing fake transcripts and fictional personal essays. 

The book expends some jaw-dropping reporting from the two authors about the school, TM Landry, that seemed to get amazing results for their pupils.  It presents a nice balance between historical perspective and investigative journalism. It is a well-researched, factual presentation of racism in education, both in the past and present day.

This book is an extraordinary look at the American higher educational system, and the lengths in which people will go to get there.
Through their journalistic investigation, Katie Benner and Erica L. Green put focus on the couple that ran the prep school along with some of the students that attended it.