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July 01
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Mike
gave
 
to:
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions)
by Edwin A. Abbott
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Mike said:
"While written as a comment on the times...still enjoyable and relevant today.
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June 23
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Mike
gave
to:
The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom (Paperback)
by Jonathan Haidt
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mike said:
"A review of ancient wisdom and how it pertains to happiness in our life today, the book is very informative and enjoyable to read and makes several excellent points on virtue, religion, pure evil, love and modern consumption.
His description of th...more
A review of ancient wisdom and how it pertains to happiness in our life today, the book is very informative and enjoyable to read and makes several excellent points on virtue, religion, pure evil, love and modern consumption.
His description of the balance between the conscious and subconscious (the rider and the elephant) along with the concept of a genetic "set point" for happiness was very interesting and formed a framework for understanding much of the book.
I also found the practical nature of the book refreshing. The author provides ideas on how achieve the happiness preached by the ancients and backed up by modern day science. There is even a happiness formula: H=S+C+V (H=happiness, S=biological set point, C=conditions, V=voluntary activities).
The only gripe I have about the book is that the author seems to willing to find a gap or short-coming in ancient wisdom so that it does not provide the complete answer to happiness in the modern age. He, of course, reveals the happiness hypothesis for the modern age in the concluding chapter.
An example would the his stated shortcomings of Buddha and Epictetus having only an "internal" focus and thus only addressing the S and V portions of the formula (not addressing C). However, the conditions (C) that he mentions as being import include some that have no context in the time of Buddha or Epictetus (commuting time, noise, cosmetic surgery) or greatly discount or ignore the external message of both (relationships, lack of control). I think he makes a wrong assumption; being wary of attachment is not the same as seeking non-attachment. Additionally, the author ends Happiness Hypothesis with two key ideas that are thousands of years old: Yin - Yang and the Middle Way (although he does not use the term middle way it is essentially what he is writing about).
But that one gripe aside, I found the book both enjoyable to read and very informative.
...less
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June 08
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Mike
gave
to:
Severance Package (Paperback)
by Duane Swierczynski
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mike said:
"A comic book (err..."a graphic novel") without the pictures.
Basic fun, very predictable but it was decent for the beach.
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May 28
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Mike
gave
to:
Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist (Hardcover)
by Tyler Cowen
bookshelves:
regrets
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mike said:
"Ugh....I couldn't get through it. Just a mess of random thoughts - maybe because he is a regular blogger?
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May 27
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New comment on Terrie's review of
Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist
(see all 2 comments)
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New comment on Mike's review of
Robert E. Lee's Civil War
(see all 2 comments)
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May 25
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Mike
gave
to:
Robert E. Lee's Civil War (Paperback)
by Bevin Alexander
bookshelves:
re-reads
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mike said:
"The best of the Bevin Alexander works that I have read, his analysis of Lee's actions as commander of The Army of Virginia call into doubt the sterling reputation he has as a battlefield commander.
One of Alexander's main points is that Lee's desi...more
The best of the Bevin Alexander works that I have read, his analysis of Lee's actions as commander of The Army of Virginia call into doubt the sterling reputation he has as a battlefield commander.
One of Alexander's main points is that Lee's desire to attack in all situations, along with his style of direct frontal assault, bled the confederate army of soldiers it could ill afford to lose.
Alexander is also critical of Lee for his lack of progressive use of military engineering to better the position of his army and develop knowledge of the terrain where his army could end up fighting. Alexander finds this aspect of Lee especially confusing because Lee was an engineer by trade and had shown great skill as a military engineer during the Mexican War.
Finally, Alexander questions Lee's pattern of delegating responsibility for the most critical elements of a battle to his subordinates while providing them with, at times, vague direction (i.e. the 2nd and 3rd days at Gettysburg).
Certainly there are many people who would think this book is pure revisionist trash as Lee is beyond any criticism. Alexander goes at great to support Lee as the most important figure in the confederacy, praises him for his character and for how he handled the end of the war.
But as a battlefield commander, Alexander makes the case that Lee benefited more from the superior abilities of other CSA generals (Jackson, Longstreet) and from the ineptitude of some of his opponents (McClellan, Burnside, Pope, Hooker) than he did from his own battlefield skill.
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Mike
gave
to:
How Great Generals Win (Paperback)
by Bevin Alexander
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mike
gave
to:
How Hitler Could Have Won World War II: The Fatal Errors That Led to Nazi Defeat (Paperback)
by Bevin Alexander
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mike said:
"Bevin Alexander is a bit of an unknown gem in the military history field. A professor from Longwoods College in Farmville, VA, Alexander also served in a "historical battalion" during the Korean War.
Besides this analysis of the militar...more
Bevin Alexander is a bit of an unknown gem in the military history field. A professor from Longwoods College in Farmville, VA, Alexander also served in a "historical battalion" during the Korean War.
Besides this analysis of the military errors of the Third Reich, Lee's Civil War, How Great Generals Win and Korea the First War We Lost are worth the time if you enjoy being an armchair general.
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