Bradford Fults
Deeply moving, poetic, compelling, and heartbreaking. I have two deeply felt wishes after reading this: that more writing such as this should exist in this world, from Elif Shafak and others, and that humans should be infinitely better than we are, to one another and to our planet.
So, so great. My only complaint is that it's only 880 pages long, when I would have preferred 3000–5000 pages. Stephenson's prose is, per usual, skillfully crafted, and his vision is expansive. The world-building in this one is especially fun, and his research and technical underpinnings are of course top notch. Stop what you're doing and read this.
There can be little doubt that Washington was an immensely influential figure during the formation of the United States, and that his strategic skill in war combined with, at the very least, the great respect afforded to him in affairs of state, were instrumental in the early success of the nascent nation. Johnson, however, in this biography, fails to do the great man justice.
It may be a pet peeve of mine not shared by others, but I found Johnson's relations of events and people to be distasteful and sometimes abhorrent, as they were nearly all positively dripping with his own bias. No event or action could simply have taken place in Johnson's view; instead, everything carried moral significance and reflected greatly on his caricature of the actors involved.
It's clear from early on that Johnson is no fan of Thomas Jefferson or his decentralized “anti-federalist” cohorts. He repeatedly attacks Jefferson throughout the narrative of Washington's life, even going so far as to call Jefferson a “coward” because of his lifelong battle with migraines. All of this could be written off as a simple and typical hagiography, though, if Johnson's prose weren't dull, repetitive and poorly edited.
Many events and personages are described superficially, without putting them into their greater context or diving at all into details that would explain otherwise strange situations. Inconsistencies in position range throughout the hagiography, too, with Johnson mostly praising Washington's genius, but often clumsily defending, obscuring or omitting issues more difficult to explain. Then, at the end, Johnson almost turns on Washington before re-printing in full Washington's mostly content-free and carefully couched farewell address, which Johnson thinks is more important and relevant to modern schoolchildren than the Declaration of Independence. I respectfully disagree, and I encourage Johnson to find a new editor before embarking on his next twist of history.
Ridley takes the roundabout path to explaining his optimism, first enthralling the reader with many of the terrible and calamitous aspects of modern humanity, only then digressing into his evaluations and reasons for his (very well-founded) rational optimism. Along the way, one finds much that is well known, but then much more from Ridley that is not widespread or immediately obvious. His depth of knowledge about myriad topics is almost as impressive as the passion and clarity with which he [eventually] delivers the good news.
From global warming to starvation, disease and corruption, Ridley patiently, thoroughly, but quickly dispels rumors, explains facts and offers brief yet poignant analyses. Ridley's prose is not fancy, but it is simple, approachable and well-paced. It is this overall pacing and structure of the book that lead one into the mind of optimism, not because of any emotional appeal, but because Ridley's unwavering rationality and encyclopedic treatment of his subjects and preemptive addressing of notable objections inspire a confidence based on the facts presented.
Ridley's view is a long one. His exposition should be seen as a long-term counterweight to the invective and doomsayer attitudes of the daily press, constantly and irrationally trying to convince the population that tomorrow will surely be much worse than today, despite several thousand years of evidence to support the opposite conclusion. Optimism may not sell as well as fear, but Ridley does more justice to it than one could ask; his cogent volume is one for the ages.
A unique and fascinating portrait of LBJ that is both inspiring and terrifying. What a singular personality and ambition, entwined with incredible impact and indelible scandal.
A long, arduous, often rambling but nearly always interesting trip through the life and thoughts of a colorful and opinionated writer, Hitch-22 offers a unique look at events and people so varied that it's worth the trip simply for the breadth of knowledge and experience contained within. One is struck again and again over the head by Hitchens's extreme literary promiscuity and knowledge by way of his near constant onslaught of references, allusions and block quotes. The impression left is that it must be tiring to live inside such a brain, so entangled with the works of past literary genius and folly, not only because the memoirs themselves are quite tiring.
Especially admired, though, is his ability to write simply enough, but without pretense and staleness. His prose is continually charming and pleasantly diverse. The narrative, if there is a consistent one, mirrors the volatility of his life. One gets the sense that Hitchens really isn't trying to impart any large lesson or derive a set of morals from his life, but rather just to convey it as it came: confusion, violence and shifting ideologies throughout.
There is no specific overarching benefit to be gained from reading Hitch-22, but it is a holistically rewarding book, even if barely so. I hesitate even to say that it is worth the tiresome effort required to finish it, but at the same time I don't feel remorse for having done so. I think I may have learned a thing or two, and perhaps some seeds of wisdom have been sown through my vicarious experience of his life. Either way, the memoirs feel appropriate to the man, which I suppose is all that a man could ask for.
“One man has a Big Idea for reversing global warming” indeed. One man. One big idea. And it's not really about reversing global warming so much as it is an admitted band-aid. But then it's just left there. Alone. While somehow hand-waving at actual solutions and never actually approaching them.
It's almost like climate change was the pretext for a story about international politics and Texas. Which, okay. But the whole thing just felt weak. Weak jabs at the state of the U.S. as an international mockery. Weak hand waving at real climate change solutions. Weak connection of the concept in the title of the book with the plot.
After we get past 200 pages of wild boars, there are some likable characters and some low-level intrigue. There's some cool barely-future technology, but other than the Big Idea, there's not much else for us there. It's just very near future living, with a folksy Texan and a self-assured European queen. And Sikhs. I learned a bunch about Sikh culture and the Punjab which was great. And yet, almost completely unrelated.
And then the actual build-up happens to an exciting showdown and it ends 2 pages from the end of the book. The end turns out to not be an end at all, but a beginning. Blah.
Someone get Neal a great editor. No disrespect intended, but this had the bones of something great, and just stumbled down the hallway bashing into the walls the whole way. Much like his last book, Fall.
I yearn for the halcyon days of The Baroque Cycle, Anathem and Seveneves. Hell, even REAMDE.
Just very, very good. An intense and unblinking look into the maw of misogynist murder and hatred. Linger with her in these un-talked-about spaces long enough to absorb her clarity of thought and inform your own perspective. You will be a better person for it.
An excellent finish to an epic series. Logistical and emotional closure with some great action along the way, per usual. I'm definitely going to re-read the whole series consecutively at some point in the future.
Starring the same character from The Martian, with small tweaks, this book tries to replicate the funny guy doing math & science to avoid death, but weirdly changes the stakes. Instead of the thoroughness from the Mars mission, or the sardonic and casual rebellion of Artemis—also entertaining—this book leaves a lot on the table.
The science is somewhat sloppier, the jokes not as funny, and the relationship rushed. The whole second half of the book feels like it was written hastily under a deadline and a maximum word count.
The main character needed more depth, more difference from Watney, and then about 800 more pages of telling the story properly instead of rushing to an improbable and trite ending. Oh well.
If you are curious and rigorous about trying to understand new ideas and their implications, you could probably stop reading this book after about 50 pages.
The best part of the book is easily just the thesis itself: growing the U.S. population to one billion people (approximate 3X its current amount), through family building and immigration, would lead to a richer, more powerful nation, which is especially relevant in the face of China's ascent.
In fact, if you're curious and rigorous enough, you don't even need to read the book now: I just summarized the thesis.
The rest of the book is spent hand-waving at some decent policy structures and removal of some obvious impediments to realizing the goal, while also half-heartedly attempting to bat away expected criticisms (because it's not worth spending more time arguing against people who have no intention of being dissuaded). It's fine. The last third of the book feels super rushed and clipped, like a lot of content was dropped to meet a deadline.
But the gist is worth three stars on its own: strength through growth, to create a better world for Americans and non-Americans alike; technology and investment to mitigate the downsides. The end.
Well, it's one third of a Stephenson novel. I'm guessing his publisher decided to split this one up to make 3 times the revenue from it.
It's really not a story at all, but a setup. There's not even a lazy version of “hero's first adventure” really. We know one character at the end of it and she hasn't yet done anything.
But I like his novels and I'm sure the full novel (series) will tell a fun story!
Chills. Not that I should have expected anything less from Coates, but the depths of emotion, setting, and dilemma in this book are impressive. His gift for turn of phrase and well-placed juxtaposition is a wonder, a talent felt so effortless that it seems he is merely playing with the English language. A truly awesome ability, shared by very few.
I feel I will be haunted by this story for many years to come, with all that brings. It is daring, nuanced, forceful, and full of sorrow and grace. I will read it again someday.
Written as if from the perspective of a good friend or child of Jefferson's, Hitchens's biography feels straightforward and honest, if generous, to the life and thoughts of this Founding Father. The prose is interesting and varied, while never revealing any hidden bias on the part of Hitchens; on the contrary: he's forthright with his thoughts, noted in parentheticals.
The book's brevity requires a summary-style treatment of Jefferson and the various plots and intrigues of his life, though, which necessitates omission of details that would, I think, greatly improve the reader's understanding of the events in which Jefferson found himself and perhaps more of why he acted the way he did. I enjoyed the lack of overt pull from Hitchens, though, and the effortless lessons about Jefferson from the perspective of an admirer.
This book is quite good. The content and chapters are short, digestible and to the point. He doesn't meander, but he does take time to look at topics from different angles.
It's also eminently practical. You can put it into action today. And maybe it's partly philosophical alignment, but the ideas and methods are good ones. It's very practical advice that you should actually follow if it applies to you.
That's it. Good stuff. Go read it and implement it.
Another ambitious Stephenson project. It has some of the adventure and futurism we've grown to love, but definitely gets stuck in some laborious character building in the middle that doesn't seem to matter all that much in the end. This aspect made the book more tedious for me, and in a way that was more boring than the esoteric technical and bureaucratic details of Cryptonomicon, for example.
I'd really love to see more adventures in the Stephenson worlds already built—Seveneves, please!—than more attempts to build new ones whole cloth. This one, like some others in the past, feels unfinished and frayed with innumerable loose ends.
I also can't avoid a heavy eye roll at the final (and, one could argue, over-arching) concept landed in the book. Stephenson doesn't spend any time convincing his audience, but instead gives a cheap wink to the people who already agree with the concept. No spoilers, but suffice to say that this has become the techno-religious totem of our time, and I find Stephenson's entry into that debate—if we can call it that—thoroughly uninspired.
Suarez once again (see Daemon & Freedom™) gives us a very real-feeling peek at the very near future and some of the most interesting technological opportunities and challenges that face our species.
Anyone who appreciates hyper-practical orbital mechanics and hard realities of space, combined with an unwavering pioneering spirit and ruthless focus on executing a mission will deeply appreciate this quick trip into humanity's near future. Big problems are met with uncommon audacity that could just inspire.
The form and format of this book may be as important as its content. The whole idea of setting down principles and describing how and when they apply, and walking through conscious trade-offs is a powerful exercise for sharing an intellectual framework.
The content of the principles are good for reflection, and as the author notes: you should figure out principles of your own—his aren't meant to apply to everyone. But he has some deep thinking that have gone into many of his principles, and they are relatively well-balanced against one another, enabling them to work well together as a whole. That last bit is notable because many writers love to talk about their principles or approaches, but never actually manage to create a balanced whole of attributes that don't conflict with or confuse one another. Dalio does.
A deep dive into AI/human/sapient feelings, personal histories, and finding an implementation of self in the physical world that fits one's mind.
Deeply moving and poetic as it tows you through the slow realities and unrealities of family, personal history, pain, and what it feels like to be on the lesser side of power against the backdrop of an unsimplified Gold Coast of Africa, shifting into America. The weights of shame, helplessness, social exclusion, family judgment, ambition, fear, triumph, and indignation are heavy in this book. Generations are explored from the perspective of those struggling through them, and fully imparted is a knowledge deeper and more permanent than any facts of the era and events could convey.
A pretty solid overview of a compelling philosophy, rooted in real-world experience at Google and Apple. Scott has an engaging writing style and knows how to balance claims with anecdotes, rather than the all-too-common anecdote-until-submission strategy of many business book authors.
I learned some new things and found her perspective to be clear and helpful for things which which I already had experience or opinions. Recommended overall.
A fun, multi-species adventure that's more about mutual understanding, emotion, and friendship than its sci-fi background, but in a good way. I'm not usually one for aliens, but Chambers paints a future that is at once humbling and heartwarming without falling into hackneyed idealism. The characters are deep and purposeful in their imperfect quests to be better, together.
This book made me feel frustrated and a bit ill.
Super weird, for sure, and as with other Liu works, it tests concepts far beyond what nearly all other authors would even dare. But my subjective experience reading this book wasn't great—it felt...wrong—probably for exactly the reasons that it's challenging and unique fiction. Being human in this world would be very...different, if we're avoiding spoilers.
Pretty solid history of bookshops in the U.S., with the appropriate amount of self-conscious navel gazing about the bookshop vibe. I thought the history of Black, Communist, Nazi and queer bookstore was also well-done.