Mitch Olson

Enjoyed the last 2/3rds of this book. But boy of boy did it take a long time to get started. First came across this author in the movie of his book A man called Ove. Fuck I loved that movie; just beautiful. He has a good feel for moments that wet the back of your eyes.

I've enjoyed everything I have read from this author.

Totally unuseful. Self indulgent Zen mystic bullshit.

A waste of time.

More accurately its a 4.5 stars. Second time through this quite amazing story. An amazing life & very well told. Real entertainment

Peterson is like an Old Testament fire & brimstone preacher, masquerading as a modern psychologist. So only a few thousand years out of date with his worldview. Having said that he occasionally does have a useful thought. I liked the chapter heading of “treat yourself as someone you are responsible for helping”. Great idea. But he gets lost in the poetry of his preaching and like most of the bible ends up with some great rules to live by but fuck all insight on how to put them into action. This book is a recontemporised set of commandments with accompanying sermon but notwithstanding he is so old skool he forgets that the devil is in the details.

I didn't realise this was a short story when I bought it & wouldn't have bought if I had. I rarely find short stories satisfying as there's not enough time to build a relationship with the characters or build much of a story arc. This one is no exception.

I can hardly speak with more admiration than for that of Shackleton's journey. This beautiful and entertaining book does an awesome job of telling their story. Amazing!!!!

I love the stories from the Mercury, Gemini & Apollo moon missions. This one covers most of that period & the main people involved. Great story.

A good story teller but a poor model builder. The consequence is entertainment without much in the way of actionable insight. If you want to extract the available nutrition from this book I suggest just reading a few reviews of it.

I got 80% of the way through this book & gave up. Too slow for my tastes. Enjoyed the creativity of his approach in presenting a “hard sci-fi” story but moved too slowly to keep me engaged.

enjoying the story but the experience is marred by Scalzi & his publisher's scroogeball attempts to rip off the reader selling half books

This is literally half a book so 4 stars on that basis is pretty good. But John Scalzi & your publisher; fuck you for releasing half a book. Breaking a 672 page book in the exact middle & selling them as 2 separate books should be some sort of publishing crime.

Whilst the ostensible topic of this book is depression & its causes, it reveals something much broader and relevant to everyone; what it means to be a human being. Beautifully mixing powerful stories with interesting research it takes the reader on a journey to their own core needs and the essential ingredients of a satisfying life, both as individuals as well as a society. Recommended to all.

On the positive: very accessible. A toolbox of thoughts & practical techniques. Easy to read. Especially suited to developing a physical skill.

On the negative: not so useful to developing mental or emotional skills. Not a single cohesive approach.

Probably not quite a 4 Star but more than a 3. Interesting story based on a future where CRISPR technology is creating choices for humanity around shaping our individual DNA & what happens when Bad people exploit this capability. A reasonably good beginning & middle but the end felt a little flat.

Food for thought about how to build more self determination in your life. Down to earth, acceeeible & witty.

A fantastic journey through the history of mankind viewed through the perspective of culture. Reading it made me more conscious of the implicit choices that resulted in the world as we know it. A little drawn out

A well thought-through technothriller. It doesn't need AI to make its premise conceivable that technology could effectively rule us. Characters & dialog are nothing special but the plot is great.

One of the best science fiction books I have read in a long time. Asher has one of the biggest imaginations of any writer I have read & weaves this together into a rewarding story.

The byline of this book “There is a presentist bias in policy making in the democratic world” caught my eye and made me want to pick this book up. For me this was one of the core issues of NZ's last election with both major parties making a disappointing stand on systemic slow-burn and future-discounting issues like superannuation and capital gains tax. I appreciated Boston's thoughtful analysis of these and other long term issues like climate change and the essential role that future-stewarted policy makes in caring for our children and grand-children. I'm left feeling that humanity's inability to relate to the inherent intangibility of the future is perhaps the core issue that will limit the horizon on humanity's future.

I have been meaning to read this book for half my life. I am so glad I finally got around to reading it. I think my favourite book ever. Profound, moving, inspirational, thought-provoking. Loved it.

Like a gourmet burger of a read. Nothing outstanding but an original idea that is well executed and enjoyable.

Too slow to get started.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book.
First of all a great subject. Einstein. What a guy.
Not only do you find out about Einstein the physicist. You'll get a great overview of 20th century physics and Einstein's part in that. And in his later years you'll learn about Einstein the world citizen and defender of social justice and individual freedom. And an interesting overview on anti-Semitism which as a New Zealander I've never personally experienced I found rather peculiar. Anyway, solidly engaging and entertaining. Recommended