Ed Simon

 

An Alternative History of Pittsburgh

 

Ed Simon is a staff writer for The Millions and a contributing author at Belt Magazine, as well as the author of several books.

Why I Love Belt
Belt Publishing provides a much needed voice for a part of the country too often reduced to cliche by journalists who are unfamiliar with it. In their titles, they convey the full complexity, beauty, and difficulty of this region which so many of us love.

Recommended Titles
Conspiracy to Riot: The Life and Times of One of the Chicago 7 by Lee Weiner. Weiner's account of the tumultuous 1968 Democratic convention protests moves beyond boomer hagiography into a trenchant and pertinent account of what it means to stand up for justice.

Sustainable, Resilient, Free: The Future of Public Higher Education by John Warner. Not an obituary, but a manifesto. Warner's diagnosis of what ails American higher education and what could cure it is an ecumenical and democratic celebration of universities as engines of curiosity and equity.

The History of Democracy Has Yet to Be Written: How We Have to Learn to Govern All Over by Thomas Geoghegan. So much of our current moment can't but help to engender despair, and yet in the most powerful of progressive activist traditions, Geoghegan offers something infinitely preferable to mere optimism—hope.

Where to Find Me
Twitter - @WithEdSimon

Website - http://www.edsimon.org

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