I've been trying to catch up on various scifi-related classics that I somehow missed out on, so I read this and Wetware recently, and was entertained...moreI've been trying to catch up on various scifi-related classics that I somehow missed out on, so I read this and Wetware recently, and was entertained but not particularly impressed. The premise was fun and the plot progressed reasonably quickly, but it all seemed crudely juvenile and one-dimensional.(less)
I've 'read' this insofar as I read most of the relevant chapters on the website, and it would be worlds less offensive if it called itself 'what trend...moreI've 'read' this insofar as I read most of the relevant chapters on the website, and it would be worlds less offensive if it called itself 'what trendy are reasonably affluent hipsters like'. The conflation of race with specific class and cultural markers is part of their schtick, I get it, but it's really off-putting.(less)
I use this textbook for my intro to environmental studies class - it does an excellent job providing a blend of basic science, environmental law, and...moreI use this textbook for my intro to environmental studies class - it does an excellent job providing a blend of basic science, environmental law, and public policy. It's too expensive, but what are you gonna do...(less)
Wu's book was a real eye-opener for me, as it was my first foray into the field of information theory. His overview of telegraphy, radio, telephone, t...moreWu's book was a real eye-opener for me, as it was my first foray into the field of information theory. His overview of telegraphy, radio, telephone, television, and the internet all flowed seamlessly into his discussion of what he terms the cycling between open and closed industrial/information formats. I'm sure others in the field take claim with the largely pro-regulatory bent of his final analysis, but as a historical overview I thought it was fantastic.(less)
Peter Singer, one of the most philosophically consistent thinkers out there (for better and for worse, many would say), discussing the inconsistencies...morePeter Singer, one of the most philosophically consistent thinkers out there (for better and for worse, many would say), discussing the inconsistencies of Dubya's ethics. This book is pretty much what you think it's going to be.(less)
Whatever else your views of the man, or this book, you have to admit that Orwell was legit. He worked in a coal mine. He tramped around before it was...moreWhatever else your views of the man, or this book, you have to admit that Orwell was legit. He worked in a coal mine. He tramped around before it was hipster-grotesque-cool. He fought the fascists in the Spanish Civil War and got shot in the neck.
I'll admit that this book is oddly disjointed, but I still, well, dug it.(less)
For me, reading MacIntyre is like reading John Gray's "Straw Dogs" - I often find that I violently disagree with his conclusions, but his positions ar...moreFor me, reading MacIntyre is like reading John Gray's "Straw Dogs" - I often find that I violently disagree with his conclusions, but his positions are argued with such force and clarity that I come away altered. (less)
A serious attempt at addressing a monumentally difficult issue, with mixed success. Some might say he 'sold out' his domestic conception of justice to...moreA serious attempt at addressing a monumentally difficult issue, with mixed success. Some might say he 'sold out' his domestic conception of justice to appease what is clearly a "reasonable" version of political Islam. Either way, figuring out the parameters of whether and how countries should respect each other is no easy task.(less)
A broad-ranging and informative overview without descending into the muck of Smith-worship or ad hominem Marx-bashing (or worship) that characterizes...moreA broad-ranging and informative overview without descending into the muck of Smith-worship or ad hominem Marx-bashing (or worship) that characterizes so much of our political discourse. The supplementary focus on Ricardo and George was also welcome.(less)
If you can get past the God-speak, this is a really well written book. Scully is a former speechwriter for Dubya and Palin, and it shows (in multiple...moreIf you can get past the God-speak, this is a really well written book. Scully is a former speechwriter for Dubya and Palin, and it shows (in multiple respects). This book makes odd bedfellows with Singer's Animal Liberation, to put it mildly, but at the very least it contributes rhetorical force and a host of well-crafted passages to the animal advocacy arsenal.(less)
I'm probably biased in favor of this play - I saw a production of it in LA with Ian McKellan as Stockmann. McKellan could play a garbage can and make...moreI'm probably biased in favor of this play - I saw a production of it in LA with Ian McKellan as Stockmann. McKellan could play a garbage can and make me think it was the most interesting garbage can in the world.(less)
This underlooked Orwell classic documents and equally underlooked phenomenon: the struggles faced by those living not in poverty but on the outskirts...moreThis underlooked Orwell classic documents and equally underlooked phenomenon: the struggles faced by those living not in poverty but on the outskirts of 'respectability': those who cannot give in to living poorly and dirtily, and being content to live as such in a community, but who must constantly maintain face even when maintaining face is the last thing that would be conducive to a happy or fulfilling life.(less)
This book needs to be understood as what it is, and not warped into something it isn't. (What it is, however, is an oddly secular stepchild of thoroug...moreThis book needs to be understood as what it is, and not warped into something it isn't. (What it is, however, is an oddly secular stepchild of thoroughly Christian tradition.) Walzer's proclamantions about what 'counts' in just war - whether ad bellum, in bello, or post bellum - are just that: his own calculations about the relative costs and merits of noncombatant immunity, to take one example, as weighed against other relevant factors. To merely claim that Walzer 'doesn't understand the realities of war' or that he is somehow 'against the USA' is to miss the point. Yes, philosophizing about war is very different from actually being in it, and we should all be attuned to that immensely obvious distinction. And yes, taking some positions about the ethics of war seriously will inevitably lead to criticisms of government decisions, whether US or otherwise. But any honest critique of Walzer's work can't really be based on these two criticisms alone, and those that are strike me as little more than smokescreens for chauvinist jingoism.(less)
I read this book almost a decade ago, but its acerbic wit and brutal clarity were great. The moral of the story is that education is great, but educat...moreI read this book almost a decade ago, but its acerbic wit and brutal clarity were great. The moral of the story is that education is great, but educationism is really, really bad.(less)
The English translation of Levi's title, "Survival at Auschwitz", is one of the worst mistranslations in history. A literal translation is "if this is...moreThe English translation of Levi's title, "Survival at Auschwitz", is one of the worst mistranslations in history. A literal translation is "if this is a man", which has literally the opposite meaning, and which more closely corresponds to the text of this deeply unsettling memoir.(less)
I haven't read this in forever (the two movie versions, distinct as they are from each other, are both fresher in my mind), but this is a great book w...moreI haven't read this in forever (the two movie versions, distinct as they are from each other, are both fresher in my mind), but this is a great book which can be read either as a straight, self-contained narrative or as an extended allegory of Middle East resource politics from a loosely dependency theory-rooted perspective. (This is true of most great books that perform this dual function - Animal Farm and, to a lesser degree, Lord of the Flies, can both be read as self-contained stories, and then opened up to their 'real' Stalinist/state of nature purposes.)(less)
I'm a huge fan of Bittman's work, both in his minimalist and post-minimalist stages, but I couldn't help but see this as a lesser hybrid of Omnivore's...moreI'm a huge fan of Bittman's work, both in his minimalist and post-minimalist stages, but I couldn't help but see this as a lesser hybrid of Omnivore's Dilemma (the text part) and Diet for a Small Planet (the recipes part). It was good for what it was, but for what it was there are better things out there. That said, the core message is spot on.(less)
Another one of those works that I think are thrust on people too young - this trilogy really gets at the core of a lot of key aspects of the human con...moreAnother one of those works that I think are thrust on people too young - this trilogy really gets at the core of a lot of key aspects of the human condition. I especially like the conflict between state and family laid out in Antigone, as it frames a lot of my own views on the nature of tragedy and the conflict of competing goods.(less)
A gorgeous work; rarely have I felt such a sense of reality in the way Banks paints his portraits of individual lives and blends them into a collage d...moreA gorgeous work; rarely have I felt such a sense of reality in the way Banks paints his portraits of individual lives and blends them into a collage depicting how communities respond to senseless tragedies.(less)
2.5 stars - I've read all of the Shannara books, and Brooks is a great storyteller...but sometimes I wish his books would grow up, because most of his...more2.5 stars - I've read all of the Shannara books, and Brooks is a great storyteller...but sometimes I wish his books would grow up, because most of his readers have.
I liked Bearer of the Black Staff - and I particularly liked the Word and the Void trilogy - but this one had too many schmaltzy boy-girl and teary-heroine passages.(less)
(This is a review of all the Sandman graphic novels...) Gaiman works best in this hybrid form - I loved most of these books, even though the shifting...more(This is a review of all the Sandman graphic novels...) Gaiman works best in this hybrid form - I loved most of these books, even though the shifting illustrators took some getting used to, and I liked some a lot more than others. The themes discussed here - myth, dreams, desires, death - are eternal, and the Sandman probes them with gusto.(less)
Easily my favorite of all the RPGs my friends and I played in high school. It's probably one of the more difficult ones from a storyteller's perspecti...moreEasily my favorite of all the RPGs my friends and I played in high school. It's probably one of the more difficult ones from a storyteller's perspective, for exactly the same reason I loved it: the plasticity of the rules and realities presented made our gameplay limited only by our imaginations and our understandings of science, etc.(less)
The closest I've found to a kindred philosophy to my pick-and-choose blend of various schools of moral, political, and aesthetic thought. I really lov...moreThe closest I've found to a kindred philosophy to my pick-and-choose blend of various schools of moral, political, and aesthetic thought. I really loved this book, and I'm surprised I hadn't come across Rorty earlier.(less)
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