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December 13
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Pspealman
gave
 
to:
Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History (California World History Library)
by David Christian
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my rating:
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recommended for: Uninspired Historians
read in December, 2007
Pspealman said:
"This book's main endeavor is to flesh out what is, apparently, the nascent field of 'Big Picture' research in history. That 'Big Picture' sense of history is mostly very large scale trends and very little attention to individuals. Which would hardly ...more
This book's main endeavor is to flesh out what is, apparently, the nascent field of 'Big Picture' research in history. That 'Big Picture' sense of history is mostly very large scale trends and very little attention to individuals. Which would hardly qualify as new if your family with the dialecticians and their ilk (Hegel, Marx, my grandmother) with their insistence on predictable progress, goal minded evolution, and over-arching narrative.
This is actually this first issue we encounter in the book. Cosmology, by another name, is this weaving of interpreting meaning on what we observe - or for the post-modern - it is the meta-narrative of our world. That the author embraces this tactic but also maintains his insistence that it his undertaking is different from these predecessors is entertaining if not altogether convincing. But, unlike most, he is forthright in his interpretations and knowingly unconvinced in their purported completeness.
The book really begins at the dawn of space and time at the moment of the universes birth, and quickly we spin through the cosmological portions of physics from the inflation to the birth of solar systems, planets, geological bits about continent formation, and finally the birth of life. Moral of this story is that dumb physical processes can produce complexity by the selection of structures that can handle larger and larger levels of energy.
Now I don't want to dismiss the rest of the book but the meta-narrative of this first portion was really quite my favorite. That complex forms are part of a energy-management gradient of existence with the later complexities building of the energy management techniques of their predecessors is really a neat idea, and definitely a good bit to read if you are in the mood for something like that.
The rest of the book tolls off the processes of biome formation, the diversification of life, the rise of the hominids, man, and civilization going into details about the possible reasons that certain trends emerged and certain contingencies occurred. While some bits of this were rather breathless the moral of complexity arising by further energy extraction and management systems still holds, the author - notably - goes to great lengths to prove this out in several cases. The general push of the argument is rather agreeable to me so I found it quite convincing.
For it's closing "Maps of Time" takes into account the future and draws from our current momentum and knowledge a projection of near, middle, and long term possible futures. This is bleak and tragic stuff - not that it is made melodramatic or histrionic by the author - it's just that we've got a bit of work to do if we're going to be doing well for ourselves and our world. And also there is the eventual death of the Universe itself, which is a bit depressing really.
In closing this is a great book - some parts need improvement but the author is able enough for the task at hand and the subject matter makes for a good meta-narrative. I would advise anyone who is into the big picture to consider checking it out. ...less
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November 08
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Pspealman
gave
to:
Satanic Bible (Mass Market Paperback)
by Anton LaVey
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my rating:
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recommended for: Disaffected Suburban Youth
read in January, 1993
Pspealman said:
"Ahh highschool. I can still smell the faux poetry and mascara from here. Thank the Flying Pasta that acne finally cleared up.
If you wonder what happens when the dionysian culture bomb of Crowley gets codified into a handy, and not at all subvers...more
Ahh highschool. I can still smell the faux poetry and mascara from here. Thank the Flying Pasta that acne finally cleared up.
If you wonder what happens when the dionysian culture bomb of Crowley gets codified into a handy, and not at all subversive, book - well now you know.
I'd rank this somewhere below a L. Ron Hubbard and a Jack Chick tract in terms of worth. Listen kids, skip this trite, just read a SubGenius and get some slack.
Also hugs, not drugs....less
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Pspealman
gave
to:
How to Read Wittgenstein (Paperback)
by Ray Monk
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my rating:
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recommended for: Armchair Philosophers
read in September, 2007
Pspealman said:
"I was pretty neutral going into this one. More ink has been shed in the last twenty years by Wittgenstein than seems right for any civilized people. And yet . .. at least it's not Derrida.
Mr. Monk takes the task of an introductory piece as a cha...more
I was pretty neutral going into this one. More ink has been shed in the last twenty years by Wittgenstein than seems right for any civilized people. And yet . .. at least it's not Derrida.
Mr. Monk takes the task of an introductory piece as a chance to push his own interpretation of the work to the fore. While this makes it very difficult for a new comer to see the many variations of meaning that people have applied to Wittgenstein's work it also makes it eminently readable.
'Tis true - a novel insight, well argued, does a lot to sweep clear the stage of detritus so as to better present a cohesive picture. That this picture is usually the one closest to Mr. Monk's heart is only a problem for anyone interested in a critical reading of Wittgenstein, but honestly those people should know better than to look for that in the svelte 100 pages of this book. ...less
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Pspealman
gave
to:
The Philosopher's Toolkit: A Compendium of Philosophical Concepts and Methods (Paperback)
by Julian Baggini
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my rating:
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recommended for: Armchair Philosophers
read in January, 2003
Pspealman said:
"This book is a solid introduction to the tools of the debate. Not a philosophical text, not a dictionary, it lives up to it's name as a serviceable toolkit for the back and forth of various philosophical stances.
Each chapter is a brief of the sub...more
This book is a solid introduction to the tools of the debate. Not a philosophical text, not a dictionary, it lives up to it's name as a serviceable toolkit for the back and forth of various philosophical stances.
Each chapter is a brief of the subject at hand, historical approaches, the assumptions of those approaches, and lastly how every single philosophical stance is ultimately undermined by either a succinct argument, logical inconsistency, or pithy quip.
If you've ever wanted to be a smug know it all who crushes your less-than-rigorous enemies, yearns to see their cherished beliefs driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women (or some superlative noun of your own devising) . .. .then this book is for you. ...less
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Pspealman
gave
to:
What If?: The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been (Paperback)
by Robert Cowley
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my rating:
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recommended for: Contingency Planners
read in January, 2002
Pspealman said:
"I'm not one much for military history and yet this is easily one of the best history books I've read.
It isn't that the writing is particularly great - there are no lines that beat you in the face with the sublime till you spout ramblings about Gr...more
I'm not one much for military history and yet this is easily one of the best history books I've read.
It isn't that the writing is particularly great - there are no lines that beat you in the face with the sublime till you spout ramblings about Grecian urns. But it is consistently clear with an excitement over the subject matter that is infectious to the general reader. The selection of writers is excellent and the tone, mostly, consistent hovering somewhere between a textbook and a deranged time traveling beltway think tanker. Maybe my appreciation of the book is because it isn't about history but the near-history.
Like a Lipstick Traces of close calls, near misses, and improbable long shots that still panned out, the book careens through the turbulent times of our bloody world to land, safely at last, on the deeply disturbing idea that the world is happenstance, coincidence, error, and seriously dim bulbs with armament.
...less
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Pspealman
gave
to:
Invisible Cities (Paperback)
by Italo Calvino
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my rating:
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recommended for: you.
read in January, 2005
Pspealman said:
"There is little I can add to the reviews that surround this work. As it was my introduction to Mr. Calvino's work I can only say that it has cast a shadow over all of his other writing.
It is a potent and personal relation - I would attribute it ...more
There is little I can add to the reviews that surround this work. As it was my introduction to Mr. Calvino's work I can only say that it has cast a shadow over all of his other writing.
It is a potent and personal relation - I would attribute it to that one solid song you heard years ago and still to this day will smuggle itself into each mix tape you make for any one you know.
I may not want to be buried with this book but I would tuck a copy in the back pocket before I took a trip across a wide expanse by rail. ...less
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Pspealman
gave
to:
Einstein's Dreams (Paperback)
by Alan Lightman
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my rating:
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recommended for: Pretty much everybody
read in January, 1995
Pspealman said:
"A brilliant book of vignettes based on the premise that Einstein, while working our the ramifications of relativity, dreams of alternate universes where time behaves differently than in our own.
Mr. Lightman's application of imagination in the prov...more
A brilliant book of vignettes based on the premise that Einstein, while working our the ramifications of relativity, dreams of alternate universes where time behaves differently than in our own.
Mr. Lightman's application of imagination in the province of how time dictates the domain of our world is the greatest part of these tales. The divergences between time as it exists and time as it could exist are of varying degrees - each highlighting the subtle effects of the all pervasive and oft overlooked firmament of our existence.
While Mr. Lightman is a talented writer - he is no Calvino and some of the shorts drag around the scant two or three pages he devotes to their central conceit. But even at that, these are well thought out notions and the book provides plenty of hooks to kick-off and satisfy any thirst of anyone delighted by what-if scenarios....less
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Pspealman
gave
to:
Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo (Paperback)
by Sean B. Carroll
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my rating:
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recommended for: Second Year Bio Majors
read in October, 2007
Pspealman said:
"This book opened up some great ground on recent developments in biological sciences, namely the evolutionary development aspects.
The text is ample with the results (and author's interpretations) of various recent studies and the effect of the wh...more
This book opened up some great ground on recent developments in biological sciences, namely the evolutionary development aspects.
The text is ample with the results (and author's interpretations) of various recent studies and the effect of the whole is a feeling of a well rounded insight. It is definitely awareness raising pop-sci but not too watered down with background or trivia. Instead the author has a clear goal and adheres to getting the message across.
Which brings up the single problem with this book. The author at times seems to overstate the case of evo-devo, claiming it to be revolutionary enough to necessitate a re-evaluation of the modern synthesis. Don't get me wrong evo-devo is making great strides in efficacy, and I'm all for idiosyncratic iconoclasts, but argument of evo-devo's gravity seems unsupported. And the author's attempts to bolster support come off a bit lopsided.
This may be because the author doesn't properly couch the limitations of the modern synthesis. Or maybe is over-hyping the science....less
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Pspealman
marked as to-read:
Endgame: Volume 1: The Problem of Civilization (Paperback)
by Derrick Jensen
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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