Janet
This is an illuminating book and so well written. The writer is very clear but also empathetic. She puts American history in context. I am unable to do it justice in my review cos I suck with words. But this should be required reading for all Americans and anyone who wants to understand America
Excellent book. Quick tour of the history of liberalism and its values. His suggested reading at the book means I have a lot to add to my to-read list.
I read this because Annabel had to read it for school and she didn't actually complain about it. I was as interested in her comments as the story. I enjoyed Part 1 and Part 3 but found the Pacific section interminable - was that the author's intention to reflect the situation?
I can understand why Annabel was flummoxed by the assignment to PROVE with contextual evidence which version of the story was true - she got a massive zero points out of 50 for her comments. Her English teacher must use a different definition of proof than scientists - one more akin to opinion.
My interpretation is that the human story is true but that Pi is so traumatized by events that he makes up the animal narrative in order to cope with it - like the last episode of MASH where Hawkeye relates the story of the woman who kills a chicken to avoid capture by the enemy but she really killed her own baby.
I enjoyed this book - it was a quick read as it designed for preteens but I love biographies.
An excellent book. I knew of the Dust Bowl but had no appreciation of the magnitude of human and ecological devastation that it wrought
As I was reading it, I would have given it 4 stars, but I felt that it ended too abruptly, it felt unfinished.
Listened to it on Audible. So apparently there have always been crackpots and crazies in America and unfortunately I guess there always will be. If you don't require any evidence to support your beliefs then there is nothing to stop you believing in anything. The author is more optimistic about our future than I am
I liked this book from the beginning but it just continued to grow on me as I read it til by the end I loved it
(An Audible listen). This is an excellent book.
I remember watching the news with horror as the Columbine shootings were reported when my first child was 18 months and I was pregnant with my second. At the time, I was thinking of the victims and the other students in the school. Now as a mother to three young adults I found this a hard listen as I know how possible it is that your children can hide their mental health struggles and the thought that anyone I might know and love could commit such an act is just horrific to contemplate. I also work in a school and know just how lacking the mental health support for students is (as it is for adults too).
Twenty four years on I don't think that America has learned the lessons we needed to, not just in regard to violence and school shootings but also with regard to suicide. Too many people think that there is a simplistic quick fix and do not want to invest in solutions they see as costly. It is too easy for people to turn their heads away until the problem hits close to home. Tech is not the solution to any of these problems. People problems need people solutions.
I like the comparison to risk assessment by one of the experts the author talked with who compared the issue with cardiovascular health. Diet, exercise, medication to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels will all save lives at the population level but you still can't predict who will have a heart attack and who won't. Similarly with suicide.
A powerful read - although I personally find the writing less direct than I prefer and therefore harder to understand.
Amazing woman - women's rights have come a long way in the last century - let's hope the USA is not about to return to the dark ages
