Thanks for the book! I am very happy. I will rate it and write a review after I cook some of the recipes. So far it is very promising. Great layout an...moreThanks for the book! I am very happy. I will rate it and write a review after I cook some of the recipes. So far it is very promising. Great layout and some awesome recipes that I didn't see before! Looking forward to deliciousness :)(less)
This book is a bit hard to rate. It has a lot of information on the topic of discarded science, but it is really not fun o read because it feels more...moreThis book is a bit hard to rate. It has a lot of information on the topic of discarded science, but it is really not fun o read because it feels more like encyclopedia than anything. After all the reading I remember basically nothing, except for a few topics that interested me and that I want to look up more on.
So it is an ok book. It serves its purpose of giving you a broad idea and selection of topics you may like, but it is not an enjoyable read in general. Maybe it is also because when it comes to universe and evolution I already knew most of it and was bored. The topics I was especially interested in such as Atlantis, ufology and medical science on the other hand were too brief.(less)
Jake Barnett is certainly an interesting individual. I was very interested when I read about the 12 year old who has a higher IQ than Einstein. And in...moreJake Barnett is certainly an interesting individual. I was very interested when I read about the 12 year old who has a higher IQ than Einstein. And in this book written buy his mother we get to read about his development and how he got where he is now. He was also diagnosed with autism when he was a small child and the doctors were even saying he may never be able to speak. In this book Kristine Barnett talks how this affected her family, how they were coping with his diagnosis and how Jake went from the kid he was to the one he is now.
The topic is very interesting. What I didn't like was Kristine Barnett's style of telling the story. It is full of cheesiness. Our family are fighters! We never give up! And some weird "humbleness". Like really lady, you want to tell me you really had no idea why people may be interested in your kid who is working on original theories at the age when kids struggle with something like Pythagorean theorem? There is just too much of it it in this book. I rather hear the real feelings and emotions than this pumped up motivational stuff.
I don't want to discredit her work though. Their family overcame a lot of obstacles, she did an amazing job as a mother and working with autistic kids. It is just that book writing is not what I see to be her strength.
All the best to their family, I am sure we will still hear about Jacob in the future since he has more than enough time and abilities to make amazing discoveries.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads(less)
Wow, this is the first book since I remember that I just decided to completely drop. I usually hate not finishing books. I went through books that I c...moreWow, this is the first book since I remember that I just decided to completely drop. I usually hate not finishing books. I went through books that I considered stupid, ignorant, insulting or badly written until the very end. Yet this one disgusted me so much that I can't force myself to finish it, I don't care what else it says and I don't want to know the opinion or advice of this author on anything.
Now this may be surprising, creative thinking is obviously not some controversial topic to provoke such emotions. Yes, but I guess how one presents them can be. I was fine reading the book until I got to page 100, and this was it to me.
This is in the chapter of Framing. Which discusses how changing what we see as right or the norm can lead to creativity. Which is a correct message (not an original one by any means, but absolutely right). This page was the subchapter talking about "knocking" which pretty much tells us how in our time we may "knock" to get our ideas accepted. And how with different cultures they have their own rituals that they us as a "knock" that one should accept as in showing that one respects their value and by that also make them see that you have some of your own in return.
As an example the author describes how he was in Philippines in a village and agreed to stay to eat. Now let me quote what happened:
"For lunch, they brought out a live monkey. The men, women and children around the big table laughed at my wide eyes and open mouth but insisted that it would be fine. One of the men took a small, sharp ax and removed the top of the monkey's skull. Another took a spoon, scoped out the monkey's brains, and offered it to the village guest, me.This was the "knock" to their community, and I could have refused. The monkey was screaming, the brains looked slimy, and all eyes were intently on me, so I was feeling a bit afraid (the Igorot have been fearsome warriors and headhunters two generations back). But I understood that eating the brains was my port of entry into Igorot acceptance, and so I did. The village exploded in laughter, embraced me as an honored guest, and sent a guide to show me parts of the mountains rarely seen by outsiders."
And this is where I am done. Re-framing one's view, accepting other cultures is all good, but there are and should be limits. This isn't even like accepting to eat a dog steak which is not a norm for us even though we (we as in a culture, not me included) have no issues with eating cows. This is going beyond killing animals or animal abuse, this is actual torture. I won't judge people of that village (even though I judge their ritual) because it takes a while before one starts empathizing with other living beings, but I absolutely judge someone who is not part of it and yet accepts it for some sort of acceptance. I am so happy for him he got to be embraced and even see some other parts of the mountains in return of participating in the torturing of the monkey that screamed while he was eating his slimy brains (interesting that the grossness of the brain seems to be on the same level of importance to him as the fact that a living animal was screaming while they were enjoying it's brains from it's open skull...). Hey, maybe he should also bring as a great acceptance example some high school kid that goes into the pressure of doing drugs so that he gets invited to better parties!
So pardon me for not being as "open minded" (and luckily not "open brained"), but I have no interest in seeing further what a man who so matter of factually presents the accepting to participate in torturing of animals animals as a right way to accept other cultures so they accept you in return. I am better than that. I got his idea from the introduction and as a psychology and computer student I have heard it before. So I won't lose anything except maybe another disgusting paragraph.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads (thank god, would have hated to pay towards its profit)(less)
This book contains 4 slave narratives which are great pieces to learn about the history of that time. Reading the testimonies of the ones who were act...moreThis book contains 4 slave narratives which are great pieces to learn about the history of that time. Reading the testimonies of the ones who were actually involved in it and were the victims of slavery gives one a great perspective and more understanding of the details. This is also a great collection because all four while they were slaves were in different situations so it gives one a wide variety and they were also written for different purposes which is reflected in the tone of the writings and what details were emphasized.
My thoughts on each narrative in itself will contain spoilers of what happened to narrators. So if you don't want to know it before you read, don't continue.
The Life Olaudah Equiano was pretty difficult to read, the language used was sometimes hard for me to understand. His situation was different from that of the most slaves. For once, he wasn't born a slave. In this book we get to learn about the kidnappings of free people from Africa who were after treated like a property. He mainly talks about his life and we don't get to know about many details of the slavery. Unlike the following characters he didn't stay a slave until the very end of it. He was "lucky"(sorry to use this word, nothing better comes to mind) that he got to learn some sailing skills on the boat and also unlike the ones at the plantations he didn't face resistance from his owners to be able to make some money on the side and be able to buy his freedom. This doesn't mean that he didn't encounter any injustice after. Working as a free black sailor still involved danger of being kidnapped again. This is a great narrative to learn about this kind of slavery situation because I didn't know much about it.
The History of Mary Prince was written as an attempt to get the woman her freedom from her owners who were refusing to do so out of spite considering that she was physically unable to work anymore. For that reason this narrative emphasizes a lot of cruelty slaves faced at that time.Some passages are very hard to read due to that. And it is hard to understand why there was such hatred towards her that they even refused the money, since she could not be exploited anymore due to her health. I would love to read some psychology based books on this kind of attitude these people had. It is unfortunate that we don't know how it ended. It seems that she never got to return back to her husband as a free woman.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas is written by a slave who escaped to the north in order to make people in the north more aware of what is going on in the south. He goes into details about mistreatment of slaves and I also loved this narrative for it included a lot of his thoughts on details like how he saw religion among the plantation owners, how the singing of the slaves while doing their work was often presented as a sign of their happiness while it was them letting out their pain and many similar things. This book is one that I would recommend the most. Frederick Douglas was an especially intelligent man who presented a lot of deep thoughts in his narrative.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is also written to make the northern states more aware of the situation and get more actions from them to fight against slavery. Only it's target audience were women. This can be seen in the tone of the book. It uses a very romantic/poetic language similar to what one would read in the novels of that time. It does not concentrate as much on the physical abuse (although it is not left out, just involves less details) as it does on the emotional pain of a woman who is abused by her master as well as a mother worrying about her children and their future.
Like I said, it is a great collection and should be read by anyone to understand more about past and people.(less)
A beautiful book about the role of one's imagination when coping with trauma and trying to move forward.
I like how it is written, a very easy read. Th...moreA beautiful book about the role of one's imagination when coping with trauma and trying to move forward.
I like how it is written, a very easy read. The story and many arts of the book are heart breaking and yet it is written pretty lightly so the book makes one think without getting depressed. It is dark and melancholic at some arts and brings tears to one's eyes and then there are arts where make one smile and feel touched by actions of some of the characters.
I really loved the characters. I think this is the strongest part of the book. I don't think most of them are very complex but together they present a perfect combination and each perfectly illustrates his role in the book. I love the relationship of Saba, Reza and Ponneh. Very special,with jealousy and yet a lot of love among all 3 of them.I like the small parts of the three Khanom's giving us their perspective on Saba, this opinions even when one doesn't agree with them they definitely enrich the story. I like how Abbas is a character who even though represents the problem, is still someone whom I don't hate but actually feel bad for. I like that, it adds humanity to the problem and makes it more real. Also loved Saba's father. Actually my heart hurts for him even more than for Saba or anyone else in the book.
A great read that will stay in one's memory. I hope to read more by this author in the future
** I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. (less)
I got this book because I was interested in the idea and after flipping the pages it seemed that this could be a decent book, not like something writt...moreI got this book because I was interested in the idea and after flipping the pages it seemed that this could be a decent book, not like something written by Ann Coulter...Unfortunately after the fairly interesting introduction the book went downhill, it took me forever to finish it, I just don't like not finishing books.
I guess he only divided the book into chapters to give us some sort of timeline. But he was still jumping from one issue to another all over the book. And while I was reading how pretty much everything liberals have done is fascist I kept on asking myself "what is the point of his book?". I found the answer only after torturing myself through about 400 pages in his afterword. Apparently some liberals called him "fascist" and he got butthurt. So this book is just the adult version of "you call me fat(fascist)? I will call you even more fat (fascist)". And it still doesn't make me get the point, he kept on telling us that fascism =/= nazism (true) and by calling liberal fascists he is not trying to say that they are evil/wrong. Well, in this case whats the issue?
I won't call myself an expert on fascism. From what I know his definition of fascism is not exactly what fascism is considered to be. But so be it. This book is on his opinion. Plus I don't really know much about Mussolini, so the chapter on him was still interesting for me and I read it with an open mind. But what came after, having him distorting information and ideas that I am more familiar with, makes me question everything he said and not accept his view.
A very outstanding example would be his ideas on racism. He really tells us that "White male is the Jew of the Liberal Fascism". Yep, you got that right. Sorry, but this idea is not even philosophically correct...German preference of the Aryans has not the same idea behind it as Affirmative Action. And no, for liberals being born black is not an achievement on its own. So while it is very funny to hear that conservatives are the color blind ones and liberals are the reason for the problems of blacks (even though its the white male who is the jew, go figure) it is still a very ignorant view, or a very smart attempt to sell his main idea to the ignorant ones.
Besides it seems that instead of focusing on the main issues of the ideologies he does just go for some irrelevant details. Like Hitler being vegetarian. Oh boy. So Hitler didn't eat meat and loved his dog, that means that people who don't eat meat and love animals are fascists. How clever. First of all, the % of vegetarians is still too small (unfortunately) to make it a significant part of being liberal. Second, even if nazis actually have done a few good things by creating a few laws that protect animals from torture things like animal rights or free healthcare were really not the main ideas of that party. You know what are big parts of Hitler's mentality? His love for German culture, worry that it will be changed by "the undesirables" and promise of national and cultural renewal. I remember that in his afterword Goldberg tells us how liberals with their fascist ideals of Affirmative action, saving children, helping animals, trying to protect environment etc. will change America, make it Europeanized America and there is no reason to believe that it will merely stop that that. I am not really trying to compare him to Hitler. Just saying that if we want to point fingers and tell who are fascists it would be nice to at least use things that mattered and not what Hitler ate (or what music he listened to, never understood why this never becomes such a "controversial issue" as his vegetarianism). (less)
I will never look at anything I drink the same way again. A great book that shows us how history has affected drinking and how drinking has affected h...moreI will never look at anything I drink the same way again. A great book that shows us how history has affected drinking and how drinking has affected history.
It is broken down into 15 chapters, each is about a specific kind of a drink. There are some repetitions because some historical events involved more than one drink. This didn't bother me though, it didn't feel like too much repetition and also helped one to remember the information from the book better.
I think I liked the beginning more, because these drink chapters were more about history, while at the end there was more about development of certain companies. It was nonetheless still good and gave us a look at the American culture of the time.
My main complaint is about the milk chapter. There was a section about milk in the present and I wish it included two things. One, the fact that milk is considered to be less healthy now (even in a Harvard study it says that even though it is a good source for calcium, there are better ones now). And also about a major issue of cows in factory dairy farms these days. I didn't expect some big animal rights speech, but since it is a big issue these days I think they deserved a few sentences in "present" section. Could be in the same neutral tone as the description of the horrible mistreatment of cows in the past.
I really liked this book. Now my favorite drinks, lager, even seem to taste better.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. (less)
Just like the book about Antarctic that I just read and reviewed, this book about Antarctic is extraordinary.
An excellent collection that shows us Ar...moreJust like the book about Antarctic that I just read and reviewed, this book about Antarctic is extraordinary.
An excellent collection that shows us Arctic in different times, when the early discoverers were going to the Pole to today's global warming struggles, and from different sides. We get to read some great fiction writers such as Jack London and Jules Verne and mainly non fiction written by people who went there. Diaries of discoverers, an analysis of a possibility of a murder during an expedition, details of the beautiful nature and a look at the different native cultures that live there.
Because Arctic has been discovered and populated before the Western civilizations found it, this book unlike the Antarctic one has less about the nature and much more about the native populations. This doesn't make it any less interesting. All the writings about living with the natives offer some very fascinating details about life in a beautiful but a pretty cruel part of the world.
This book just like the Antarctic one is something I am very happy to have read and would recommend anyone interested in travel books and this part of the world.(less)
Antarctic, the wildest place on Earth. When I think about it what comes to my mind is undisturbed nature, mystery, incredible cold and adventure. And...moreAntarctic, the wildest place on Earth. When I think about it what comes to my mind is undisturbed nature, mystery, incredible cold and adventure. And this book brings all of it and a little bit more.
This is an amazing collection from various authors. This are writings talking about Antarctic starting from the times over hundred years ago when people were just beginning to discover it until our days when people research with modern equipment and even can go there as tourists. Those are all different experiences from people with different interests and attitude and combined they give us a very complex and complete picture of Antarctica. An amazing selection indeed.
There are a couple of fiction works, both sci fi, which is a great genre for this scenery. The rest are all non fiction. It is amazing to read about people sharing their experiences. Their diaries of times they were discovering this continent are so vivid. I can see it and I can feel it. Even though all those men were very courageous I personally feel a desperation when reading it and picturing myself in their place. I love reading the books about this continent, but it is unthinkable for me to spend months outside there, sleeping in a tent, fight through the blizzards, being frost bitten and never have really warm feet. This book is the closest I will ever come to living this adventures and it did an excellent job.(less)
A great read! I didn't expect to like the book as much as I did.
The first chapter is very powerful start. It evokes a lot of emotions and it continues...moreA great read! I didn't expect to like the book as much as I did.
The first chapter is very powerful start. It evokes a lot of emotions and it continues so throughout the book. I was really feeling for the characters and went through many emotions including anger, worry, sadness, happiness and optimism when reading it.
I liked the characters. They weren't too complex but the combination of them presented a big and diverse picture and was great in bringing the message of the book.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.(less)
I have trouble understanding human love for traditions. Why is it possible to excuse someone brutally killing an animal by just saying that it is a tr...moreI have trouble understanding human love for traditions. Why is it possible to excuse someone brutally killing an animal by just saying that it is a traditional ritual? Same goes with weddings. Don't get me wrong, I love weddings. I had fun at every wedding I was invited and think that they were beautiful. Yet I wonder why people want to continue with such rituals like the giving away of the bride by her father, it made perfect sense back in the days, it doesn't now. Or why do people spend so much money on things that shouldn't matter anymore, like the dress.
Unfortunately this book doesn't really address this. It is understandable that it makes the brides feel like celebrities, but it still doesn't explain to me the wish to follow the old traditions.
The book goes through the last century, telling us the changes in weddings what they could have been affected by and brings some examples from the pop culture. Actually I didn't like it so much. While it is understandable, considering the topic, I just felt too often as if I am reading a tabloid.
I also felt there were a lot of other traditions (like religious ones) that were not discussed even though they are a big part of the "American Wedding". It wasn't organized too well, some things seemed to be repeated too much.
It does have some interesting facts and trivia, and people who are into this topic may like it, but I feel this book could have been much better.(less)
Note: I think my review is to a different edition. It is a paperback with 192 pages.
This is a small tribute to a great Canadian landmark: Pier 21. The...moreNote: I think my review is to a different edition. It is a paperback with 192 pages.
This is a small tribute to a great Canadian landmark: Pier 21. The location of immigrant arrival during the 20th century when the majority of immigration was happening through the sea.
The book goes through the time telling us about different historical events like Great Depression and WW2 and how the immigration looked at that time at Pier 21. It introduces us to some wonderful people who volunteered there to make the arrival for new Canadians easier as well as tells some stories of people and their experience. In addition there are many photographs that illustrate it for us.
I definitely liked this book. I just wish there would be some more details about the less pleasant things. Like the racism that was mentioned in the Appendix and at one of the pictures where it is said that the man was deported because Armenians "weren't welcome" at that time. It would in no way make Pier 21 a less significant location or the work that people have done less amazing. Just more realistic in relation to the times.
It is still a good book that tells us a lot of details and will be of interest to someone who likes Canadian history.(less)
I myself am an agnostic. I assume there is a possibility of God but don't believe in religion. The main reason I read this book is because the hardest...moreI myself am an agnostic. I assume there is a possibility of God but don't believe in religion. The main reason I read this book is because the hardest for me to discuss animal rights is when I meet a religious person who just tells me that God put animals on Earth for us to use so there is nothing wrong with what we are doing. I am always lost there because I don't know how to respond. The best is to present arguments that the person will accept and that come from his beliefs. And this is where I don't know much.
I was very excited to receive this book. This is what I was looking for.Since Ian Stuart is someone who both believes in God and also doesn't accept that the religion that is about love would accept cruelty towards animals he did a wonderful job looking through Bible and presenting some great arguments, interpretations and quotes that support the idea that God loves us all and cares about everyone, including the animals.
He did a great job here, it is amazing how many times animals are mentioned in the Bible. Besides interpreting the quotes he also gives us an idea on the attitude towards different animals at the times certain parts of the Book were written which can explain how they were mentioned. It is interesting that one of the most loved animals these days, the dog, was one of the most vilified ones.
The Animal's Bible goes through many different topics, like sacrifice, whether animals are aware of God, the diet of Adam and Eve, if animals go to heaven, how come they are made to suffer for our sins etc.
It is a bit of a heavy read from time to time, but it is time someone wrote something like that. I definitely will use it as a reference for many quotes in my future conversations on this issue. And it is something that should be read by people of faith who want to know more on the issue or about Bible and also by the ones who want to fight cruelty against animals and need to learn about it from religious perspective. I really liked this book.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
*NOTE: I would like to make it clear that I use the goodreads suggested rating in which 3 stars don't mean mediocre. It means that I liked it. I didn'...more*NOTE: I would like to make it clear that I use the goodreads suggested rating in which 3 stars don't mean mediocre. It means that I liked it. I didn't "REALLY like it", but it was more than "ok"
I did like this book, but there were parts that stopped me from loving it.
I sure don't like the main guy, Alex. He is a vegan hater (not the major element of the character), kind of a guy that I consider a douchebag. This in no way stopped me from enjoying the book. Sometimes books are greater when written about someone you would rather not meet up with.
The idea with stories inside the main story and all being mixed up is kind of neat. Although sometimes I didn't know why the story was there and sometimes I'd rather get to know more about the inside story than go on with the main one.
I absolutely loved the main idea of Alex going on the quest of finding Anabelle the Hipster. All the details of it were great. I just didn't like the turn the book took. I was still amused but it kind of stopped me from enjoying it as much as I did at first. Maybe it was just too much for me, I feel I would have liked it more if it was kept simpler with the story development.
Still will recommend this book to anyone. There were parts that literally made me laugh out loud and I can see that some things that were not for me would be liked by others.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. (less)
This is a great collection of work by several professors in social work on a variety of topics regarding social work with older people. It brings up c...moreThis is a great collection of work by several professors in social work on a variety of topics regarding social work with older people. It brings up challenges that caregivers face as well as makes one rethink some of the practices.
It takes us in many directions, thinking about the position of the person that is requiring care and how they need to be given more independence, the challenges of divorced people, challenges the way we in our society often equate old age with disability and there is less provided to rehabilitate older people, differences (and most of all similarities) in different ethnic groups etc.
It was published in 1999, so it is safe to assume that some information is a bit outdated. But there is a lot that still affects our society these days and many useful ideas. I found it a very interesting read and that it most likely would be useful for people who are working in that field. Taking care of the elderly and improving their lives is one of the most important issues for our society to deal with. (less)
This is a very remarkable book about Freud's family. This is not a Sigmund Freud biography, actually he dies in the middle of the book right at the st...moreThis is a very remarkable book about Freud's family. This is not a Sigmund Freud biography, actually he dies in the middle of the book right at the start of the WW2. It mainly concentrates on his son Martin and grandson Walter.
We go through all different stages in their life. Starting with the days before WW1, then WW1, the times in between and then in great detail for the most part of the book we find out about their lives during the Nazi times and WW2.
This book had many fascinating parts for me. It was very interesting to read how the Freud family was facing the beginning of Nazi Reich. Some sort of denial that what will happen in Vienna won't be as bad and then getting in real danger. The fact that Freud was the father of psychoanalysis and a big name did not help them. Actually not all of his relatives could escape.
Another interesting part for me to read was the time when they were in England and treated as "enemy aliens". This is the part of WW2 which I had very little knowledge of and in a way I found it a bit shocking.
Besides this I found the whole book not any less interesting. Their life during peace, Martin's service in WW1, Walter's in WW2, their letters of communication with each other as well as with Sigmund Freud were very interesting as well.
The book is also written very well. I usually find war books a bit hard, but this one was going very smoothly and easily for me. Helen Fry did a great job of keeping me hooked by going through major details and also by providing other sources such as letters, biographies of them and their friends and also some unpublished work. I really recommend it to anyone who is interested in history, Freud or WW2.(less)
I love travel books. They give us a look into places we have never been at and maybe will never go to. And it is also interesting to see it through th...moreI love travel books. They give us a look into places we have never been at and maybe will never go to. And it is also interesting to see it through the eyes of somebody who has different interests and expectations. Unlike Gary Heath I would go crazy about seeing the prehistoric caves and the pyramids! I even looked up these areas to see if it is safe to go there now, but unfortunately I have to wait.
Still, the author's idea of going on this trip to learn about the culture is incredibly interesting. Especially considering what happened in that area not so long after he left.
I also like how he often tells us about the history of the place he currently visits. Having an idea about the conditions and past gives the pictures he describes a greater level.
I wish he would just have more conversations with people and a bit less passages about things like airports, waiting in lines etc. While those are important parts of traveling, they are not necessarily the most interesting part to read. Not that the book was rotating around that, but sometimes it was feeling a bit slow because of it.
I loved his final chapters. Very good thoughts on how to look at things things. Would recommend it to anyone interested to read about this part in the world. An interesting experience.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. (less)
I was very interested in this book and it ended up being even better than I thought.
At first I was a bit bothered by the dialogues and relationship de...moreI was very interested in this book and it ended up being even better than I thought.
At first I was a bit bothered by the dialogues and relationship development between Jai and Kaahi. They seemed to be a bit too simplistic and kind of tacky. Luckily this didn't ruin the book. I think this is because first of all, in this case the love story between the characters is there to mainly support the main message of the book and there is no need for it to be complex, actually the simplicity is making the story even more powerful, second, this tackiness adds a bit to the charm of the book (I am no Bollywood expert, but I saw some of their old movies and their love stories were indeed very very tacky, I heard it changed now) and third, because of all the great factors I will mention in the next paragraphs.
I really like the idea of having paragraphs in italic in the middle of the story that are telling us some information related to what we are reading. Some history, cultural background or some trivia. It really helps with understanding what is happening and connecting more to the characters. I love to learn about other cultures and this was one of the best ways to do it.
The author is also great at describing the settings and situations. It was so easy for me to picture the situation and not just see it in front of my eyes but also feel the atmosphere. His descriptions of for example, Jai's parents' house or rail road trip made me feel the beauty of India and its culture and really want to see it some day myself.
I also like the mood of the book. The first part is full of happiness and beauty. And the it all gets shaken when the conflict of the book starts. This strong contrast does a good job at bringing across the message and make the reader feel the sadness and the pain of the situation.
This is a special book with a strong message that is very skillfully brought to the reader. I had a great time reading it and strongly recommend it.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. (less)
Hunter S Thompson wrote this book after spending a year following The Hell's Angels closely and gives us a great look into the culture of the motorcyc...moreHunter S Thompson wrote this book after spending a year following The Hell's Angels closely and gives us a great look into the culture of the motorcycle outlaws at that time.
One thing that gave me a bad feeling when reading it was some victim blaming when discussing the rapes. While I do see that not all rape accusations are being correct most of his reasons denying the rapes were wrong. It doesn't matter that the girls that were raped at the beach went there voluntarily. It doesn't even matter why they went there. Some Angels have said several times in the book that girls wanted to have sex but the amount they got was "too much for them". This still says rape to me. If this girls went to the beach to have sex with Angels but didn't want to have more than let's say sex with 3 of them they still had the right to get out after it became "too much". The fact that when the cop came to the scene they were sitting there half undressed and crying tells me that what was happening now was against their will. Same goes for the girl that was not in the right state of mind and had about 50 Angels have sex with her. The fact that she didn't leave right after it because she was under the state of shock does not deny the fact that she was raped. As Hunter S. Thompson said himself the atmosphere when this was happening was not sexual but that of vengeance.
But we have to remember when this book was written. Hunter S Thomas was not excusing rapes for the most part and he didn't deny that rapes were very common among Angels. Him putting some of the responsibility on the victims just reflects the ignorance of that time. And he was still ahead of them when it comes to violence towards women. Look at this video which shows a confrontation of him and one of the Angels on television shortly after the book came out. The Angel confronts him for speaking against one of the Angels beating up his old lady and says that one "needs to beat up the woman once in a while to keep her in line", and you can see the audience (including women!!!) applaud and laugh to this statement.
So yes, one should not forget the opinions of the society back then and not expect the author to have the same advanced ideas as we do now after almost half a century.
I really did find the book very interesting. Not only does he present us a very detailed look on the lives of the Angels, their attitudes towards different things and provides a great analysis towards the end on them as a group (which can make me see why Angels didn't love him and the book) he also shows us a very fascinating view on the role the media had in creating the image of the Angels and how it influenced them as a group. Media manipulates our views all the time and in this book he provides many great examples to see how they did it in the case of the Angels.
I've seen some reviews who are against this book because they believe that he either demonized the Angels or that he excused them from everything. I believe he did neither. What he did was provide a very level headed look at them and both of the sides.
I love the writing style of Hunter S Thompson, he is very good at presenting the picture. I think my only problem with the book was that I didn't like the organizing of it too much
I would love to read something like that from our time. Almost 50 years have passed since the book was published. I would like to read now about the changes, why those changes happened etc. I did a very quick google search after finishing the book and found some articles about recent arrests of BC Angels because of drugs and an article of overlapping between the Angels and White Supremacists. Would be interesting to see more details and also maybe some analysis on how media looks at them now. If anyone who reads my review knows a good book they could recommend I would be very happy. (less)
Every once in a while we stumble upon a book which we are almost ashamed of not liking. This is the case for me.
I just did not like it. I was basicall...moreEvery once in a while we stumble upon a book which we are almost ashamed of not liking. This is the case for me.
I just did not like it. I was basically forcing myself to read every essay without skipping. It was so tedious and I just really didn't care what he has to say. There were a few quotes that I thought were beautiful, but those were maybe 2-3 in the whole book. Other than that I found it very hard to read and I really didn't care for his ideas and thoughts on those topics. Not even his famous Self Reliance.
I am not saying that he wasn't an intelligent man and that his essays aren't indeed a masterpiece for many. But I just am not one of them. I do have this sort of love-hate feelings to many philosophy works. I am interested and yet when I read it I have no idea why I did it. It sure isn't for everyone.(less)
*NOTE: I would like to make it clear that I use the goodreads suggested rating in which 3 stars don't mean mediocre. It means that I liked it. I didn'...more*NOTE: I would like to make it clear that I use the goodreads suggested rating in which 3 stars don't mean mediocre. It means that I liked it. I didn't "REALLY like it", but it was more than "ok
This is a collection of several African Canadian artists and in different styles. They are all diverse and I think it was a good selection.
I am not a fan of poetry, but there were several in this collection that I liked a lot. I especially liked Dwayne Morgan's which talk about the issues of our times and are very to the point. A Record of the Ruction by George Elliot Clarke is another one of my favorites in the poetry section. Very powerful and vivid.
Among the short stories there were a few that stood out for me. The Man of Her Dreams by Joanne C. Hillhouse and Push by Althea Prince were especially great in bringing out emotions and used the language greatly to get one to picture it all.
The reason why I didn't rate it higher is because besides the really outstanding works that I mentioned there were also some that just didn't speak out to me.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. (less)
It connects psychology and activism by bringing various researches that show how people are more likely to respond to chan...moreAn absolutely amazing book.
It connects psychology and activism by bringing various researches that show how people are more likely to respond to change and what is the best way to achieve it. It answers different questions like "Why are about 95% against factory farming and yet the great majority of them does nothing?", talks about the influence of social norms, benefits of social networking and brings up many different techniques that can be used by activists.
A great thing this book talks about is how attitude change doesn't necessarily results in behavior change. And how one can work more on the behavior (for example not just tell them what they should do, but also more advice on how it can be done)
The book doesn't answer all questions, but it gives one a lot of information to think about and model ones actions around it. One major thing in making the change is to understand society and to understand how they will respond to actions and to make change in ones own actions if they are not being productive. This is what this book is great for.
I personally will read it many times. One time just isn't enough considering how much information there is, one needs to read it several times and digest it in order of being productive.
A great thing this book will be useful to me is understanding people who refuse to change. Every book and blog directed to people who want to change the world tells one to always keep the cool. And while I know it I still often lose it which results in the opposite of what I am trying to achieve. But keeping oneself together is so much easier when one doesn't just look at people as selfish ****s who refuse to be compassionate to others, but people who just like me are willing to be good and yet there are some psychological phenomena that stand in our way. I am sure not better than them. While there are behaviors which I have already changed there are still others where I have done nothing. For example, I am sure against sweatshop exploitation and yet I don't know 100% where my clothes come from.
The author's main field is animal rights but this book is helpful for any kind of activism and he brings many examples of how people in other areas, like gay rights, can use the information provided.
A must have for everyone who is an activist, wants to become one or wants to at least make some influence in his own social circle. (less)
When I entered the giveaways for this book I didn't realize that it was a comic book, so I was expecting something very different. But regardless I re...moreWhen I entered the giveaways for this book I didn't realize that it was a comic book, so I was expecting something very different. But regardless I really got into this book and enjoyed it even though I am usually not reading graphic novels.
I like the simplicity of it. The pictures don't go into too much details, but tell one all one needs to know. I also liked the idea of using the colors. Not only do they tell the reader at what point in the timeline we are, but they also help to feel the right mood.
Very much loved the ending. Very poetic. It doesn't tell one everything, but it gets one to think and build what happens next based on these thoughts.
It is a bit too short. There is so much more one could do with this idea. I read it the first time in only 20 minutes, and I did concentrate a lot on the illustrations. Now, I already read it twice and I still feel like opening it and read in case I missed something. This is a sign that I really liked the book.
* I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. (less)
I am no expert in neither brain activity nor building intelligent machines. This is why it is hard for me to say anything about the idea itself, nor w...moreI am no expert in neither brain activity nor building intelligent machines. This is why it is hard for me to say anything about the idea itself, nor would it really matter.
I did find it very interesting. I am pretty sure I learned about hierarchical brain functioning in my Cognition class a few years ago. I don't want to make a mistake to think that it is 100% right or that this kind of thinking is indeed superior to what is done by AI people. As Jeff Hawkins said, it is impossible for computers being exactly like humans, so maybe having their intelligence work in a different way than ours would make more progress. Humans are not really perfect to try to make everything work like us.
Jeff Hawkins says himself in this book that he is sure a lot of what he says may end up being wrong. This happens in science pretty often with new hypotheses and theories. But this doesn't make this idea any less interesting. It could be a progress towards something great, even if only 40% of what he says is correct.
One thing I know that even though fish are not mammals and have a small brain, there have been studies done that have shown that fish can indeed learn, unlike it is said in the book.
It is the year 2012 now and the book was written in 2004. I am sure there is a lot of progress done by now and some of the details improved. I just had trouble finding it in the past hour. All I can find are the reviews of the book.
The book was written for people like me. Neuroscientists will most like find it too trivial. But us, general public who work in other fields, can appreciate how this book is written. I liked his way of explaining. He is great at providing examples and analogies to make one see what he is talking about. He is also good at simplifying the brain activity to make it easier to understand. My main problem was that he kept on repeating things. It seemed to me that he tried to go from a completely simplified view on his idea to the complete version of it by repeating it many times and always adding something new to it. I ended up being bored and wish he would break it down less.(less)
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