Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow is what happens when a classic geek extrapolates the cyberpunk future of a reputation-based economy combined with the extrusion of an open source ethos into the management of everyday affairs, tosses in immortality and lean project management, and sets it all in the context of the semi-religious experience of Disney World.
A well-crafted amusement park ride of the Disney-variety leads you through a thrilling story in a matter of minutes. The rider does not foresee the end of the ride; when it arrives, the rider disembarks enthused and ready to jump back into line. So it is with Down and Out; reading on the nook, where ignorance of page count is natural, I was stunned to look at the bottom of the screen and realize I was at the end. What a ride it had been! I wanted to exclaim out loud and rave about the book, but prudence restrained me from disturbing my fellow airline passengers.
I've been to Disney World twice in conscious memory, and I think once when too young to recall. Memories of Disney Land in the pre-K years also stir. That frequency outs me as a privileged middle class American. To those who haven't experienced Disney, I've been unsuccessful in explaining the awe and joy I still feel with respect to these parks. Explaining the mystique is like explaining Star Wars; those who didn't grow up with it rarely grok it. Doctorow's protagonist lets us in on one of the secrets: "The mark of a great ride is that it gets better the second time around, as the detail and flourishes start to impinge on your consciousness. The Mansion was full of little gimcracks and sly nods that snuck into your experience on each successive ride." In dialogue, in discourse, in contrasting experiences, the book makes a serious contribution to understanding the mythos without destroying it
Down and Out exudes love, joy, reverence for the cultural icon and the experience of Disney. And more imporantly – <span style="background-color: silver">for the condition of being human. The characters are not paragons of virtue; they are human; no, they are more-than-human: immortal, altered, freed of many of today's physical and social constraints. But still they are human: petty, ambitious, caring, loving. For all of Julius's failings, I cared about him, my fictional friend who has started to realize the failings of the society he has embraced.
The book is only 208 pages, so give it a shot. See the present and the future in a different light. Consider the implications of technology for humanity while having a heck of a ride. Stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the best Sci Fi around. Buy it, check it out at a library, or download Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom for free.
This first book in the series is, as some have commented, perhaps "simplistic". It is straight-forward and rather like reading one of the Sh...moreThis first book in the series is, as some have commented, perhaps "simplistic". It is straight-forward and rather like reading one of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Except with familiar characters whose backgrounds you will largely know -- thus adding an entire universe with very little need for explication. It was a delightful, light read. No more or less than basic story telling, without moralizing, without trying to find some deep new insight into the human psyche.(less)
Briefly: very good, richly evocative as the other Otori books, and beautifully sets the stage for the rest of the series - both in events and the Otor...moreBriefly: very good, richly evocative as the other Otori books, and beautifully sets the stage for the rest of the series - both in events and the Otori character. You see and learn about certain traits that run through the Otori lords that help explains their triumphs and downfall in the other works. This puts a new light on the last book in particular, making Shigeko's actions stand out as an overcoming of the negative traits. The book stands on its own, but makes sense as an after-the-fact prequel. (less)
There are now many worthy biographies of Bahá'u'lláh available to both the casual and serious student. Choosing from among them can be difficult; than...moreThere are now many worthy biographies of Bahá'u'lláh available to both the casual and serious student. Choosing from among them can be difficult; thankfully, there is enough diversity of perspective, and a rich enough body of source material, that one is enriched by reading several of them. Dr. David Ruhe's Robe of Light: The Persian Years of Supreme Prophet, Baha'u'lllah hones in on Mírzá Husayn Alí's life before He became the "Supreme Manifestation" – as a youth, and particularly as one of the foremost Bábís. That he does so in a relatively objective and scientific manner gives his work an additional refreshing lens through which to gaze on the life and teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
The book's subject matter is meticulously researched, using both the "standard sources" (The Dawnbreakers, Bahá'u'lláh – King of Glory, the writings of the Guardian) and carefully employing other historical works whose usefulness is granted, but large-scale accuracy sometimes doubted (for instance, Tarikh-i-Jadid in various editions, and minor works that are difficult for those of us not in Haifa to come by). In many cases, Dr. Ruhe gives a brief note explaining the differences between several works, and how he came to choose a particular version of the story to present.
Personal experience and illustrations are used to excellent effect throughout the book. The illustrations include numerous expert drawings as well as black-and-white photographs. I believe the photographs were largely taken by the author while on a pilgrimage of sorts through Iran well before the revolution. That tour of the country allows Dr. Ruhe to verbally paint the picture of the land that Bahá'u'lláh loved in His youth, traveling from hamlet to hamlet, through steep mountain passes to Tehran or other regional cities in the north. The reader who knows Iran merely as an adversary of the West will learn to fall in love too with the majesty of this ancient homeland.
The first-hand knowledge garnered on his travels, and from his medical practice, allows Dr. Ruhe on several occasions to explain some seemingly dubious incidents. Without taking away from the heroism of Fort Shaykh Tabarsi, he tells us about the conditions around it that were inhospitable to the attacking army. As a medical doctor, he provides a reasonable explanation of how `Abdu'l Khaliq-i-Isfáhání would have survived cutting his own throat at Badasht, among other physician's notes.
This book was a joy to read. Dr. Ruhe's writing style is both refined and accessible. His prose is influenced by the academic style, without becoming mired in it. I would happily recommend it to any interested reader.(less)
The first time I picked up God Emperor some years back, I put it back down pretty quickly. It got weird. Too weird. After re-reading the first three D...moreThe first time I picked up God Emperor some years back, I put it back down pretty quickly. It got weird. Too weird. After re-reading the first three Dune books recently, I had a greater appreciation for Herbert's attempt to explore the meaning of humanity and the arc of future physical and cultural evolution. This is one of those rare books that has very little in the way of plot, and yet keeps you turning the page. Herbert has a way of exploring concepts in every day language that is unparalleled.(less)
I took my nook on pilgrimage, with a whole slew of Bahá'í e-books. I realized after the first day that I wanted to read a first-hand account from a pilgrim who visited the Holy Land during the time of the Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá. I had already read God Passes By just last year, The Dawnbreakers some years ago, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era fairly recently, and several other books dealing with Babí and Bahá'í history. So I decided to try out Lady Blomfield's The Chosen Highway – and was well-rewarded for it.
The books is written in a semi-epistolary style, which struck me as a very odd way of presenting a history. But it worked. Lady Blomfield's aim was to give a sense of the times, to share with others around her what had occurred in the Master's trip to the West and what she had learned from the Master's family in Haifa on her own pilgrimage. The goal was not to present an academically-rigours historical treatise.
The stories she tells are consistent with other histories, and many of them are based on interviews with the women of the Holy family – including Bahiyyih Khanum, Munirih Khanum, and others. Reading their perspectives on the exiles is fascinating. They were able to share insights that made the pilgrimage experience deeper, such as details of the difficulty of the passage from Gallipoli to Akka; the joy at leaving the Citadel mixed with the oppression of being essentially locked away in the House of Abbud; the fear for the Master when the Turkish authorities were seeking an excuse to execute him. These stories are made richer through their sharing, and Lady Blomfield expertly navigates the cultural differences in bringing them to light for a western audience.
Shoghi Effendi's God Passes By clearly remains the pre-eminent book for understanding the momentous events of Bahá'í history. The Chosen Highway makes an excellent companion, and is quite frankly an easier read. I cannot recommend it more highly.
A cat's eye view of a romp in the woods that turns sinister. A fun read with an amazing amount of world building for a "short" Tad Williams ...moreA cat's eye view of a romp in the woods that turns sinister. A fun read with an amazing amount of world building for a "short" Tad Williams book.(less)
I have mixed feelings about this book. I've spent several years working diligently on my flow-charting capabilities, using what scan resources I could easily and quickly sift through on the Web and in the Visio Help, studying the charts in all the comp-sci books I've read, and garnering feedback from my colleagues. This book might have sped up that process significantly, and has already had a positive impact on the communication efficacy of my charts. But, I simply didn't completely like the specific modeling "language" presented by the authors.
The flow charting is good, though I prefer having a few more block types to illustrate the type of data being dealt with (i.e. documents vs databases). The petri net was interesting but seemed like overkill -- when that level of detail is needed, then it is probably time to move into UML. But my experience is limited; I certainly don't know what others would find. And then there's the entity diagramming (ERD), which was simply non-standard. Too much space was dedicated to the fine details of the mechanics of these three viewpoints on modeling, although I suppose that would be appropriate for anyone trying to use them as such and with little prior familiarity with flowchart or UML modeling.
The second half of the book moves beyond mechanics, and it is the more powerful portion. For it is there that we dive in to application, learning how the authors think and approach problems (most of which are in the domain of computing, but allusions are made to uses for other industries). The second half is also home to rare and valuable discussions of style, consistency, and simple communication. I suspect I shall return to the second half many times in coming years, looking for tips and reminders that will further improve the architectural models I build.
Recommended for: system architecture modeling and business analysis. Not recommended for: application design modeling. Even the authors agree that you should stick with UML for design of particular applications.
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