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July 31
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Forrest
gave
 
to:
Bringing Down the House : The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (Hardcover)
by Ben Mezrich
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Forrest said:
"A medicinal plant book I once read described the mandrake (also called 'may apple') as a plant that 'tasted like watermelon to small children'. An adult, of course, with much better powers of discrimination, could easily tell the two apart.
Simil...more
A medicinal plant book I once read described the mandrake (also called 'may apple') as a plant that 'tasted like watermelon to small children'. An adult, of course, with much better powers of discrimination, could easily tell the two apart.
Similarly, this book tastes like interesting gambling stories to non-gamblers. I am sure people exist with the talents described in the book, and I'm sure I am not one of them. I'm sure that casinos share info about card counting nerds and actively discourage their presence in their places of business.
I am also sure that in the annals of books that I have read and enjoyed that this is one I have read more than enjoyed.
As it was a book club selection of my wife's, and a fast read, I can't complain too much. It's well written enough, interesting enough, engaging enough, but just not enough. ...less
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July 18
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Forrest
gave
to:
Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America (Paperback)
by James Webb
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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recommended for: Scots-Irish folks
read in July, 2008
Forrest said:
"Decent read, replete with substantial, abbreviated history of the Scots, primarily, and their long, long travails with the English. If you enjoy the TV show "Connections", then this is a book for you.
It does shed some light on the 'inf...more
Decent read, replete with substantial, abbreviated history of the Scots, primarily, and their long, long travails with the English. If you enjoy the TV show "Connections", then this is a book for you.
It does shed some light on the 'infection' of North America by Europeans, generally, and offers plausible explanations of bedrock regional differences that I have subconsciously detected, but never articulated.
It's an interesting and reasonably fast read, too, and Webb tells a decent story. I feel better informed about the area in which I grew up (Western NC), where the Scots-Irish had a major historical presence. Though I am neither Scot nor Irish, I absorbed some of the local character by close association, much as one might stain fingertips blue whilst handling blackberries.
There is a good chance that YOU have some Scots-Irish in you somewhere if your family ties in the USA go back a few hundred years, and the book might be worthwhile to tell you how and why....less
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June 04
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Forrest
gave
to:
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (Paperback)
by Malcolm Gladwell
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended to Forrest by:
R. Fornoff
recommended for: social biology freaks.
read in January, 2008
Forrest said:
"Fun and fast read, this book cites a number of studies illustrating instantaneous, subconscious decision making in humans.
The author (Gladwell) also wrote "The Tipping Point".
His primary goal in writing this book is to show how non...more
Fun and fast read, this book cites a number of studies illustrating instantaneous, subconscious decision making in humans.
The author (Gladwell) also wrote "The Tipping Point".
His primary goal in writing this book is to show how non-analytic evaluation of situations can yield valuable and accurate assessments... i.e; 'gut' judgments. He presents a variety of information that suggests we process subconscious information very quickly and that these processes sometimes yield inarticulable conclusions that can mean the difference between life and death. Of course, the challenge is to learn to honor those impressions that are useful and discard those that are prejudicial.
Regardless, the book is worth a read....less
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May 28
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Forrest
gave
to:
Why We Run: A Natural History (Paperback)
by Bernd Heinrich
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in April, 2008
Forrest said:
"Useful book that I initially thought I was not going to like, as it started out with childhood reminiscences about life in Germany and ended up covering a lot of technical running issues, dealing with biology and comparative anatomy, at both the macr...more
Useful book that I initially thought I was not going to like, as it started out with childhood reminiscences about life in Germany and ended up covering a lot of technical running issues, dealing with biology and comparative anatomy, at both the macro and cellular levels.
It may be a book only a geek runner (is there any other kind?) could love, but I liked it and would recommend it to my geek runner friends....less
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April 21
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Forrest
gave
to:
Great American Hypocrites: Shattering the Big Myths of Republican Politics (Hardcover)
by Glenn Greenwald
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in April, 2008
Forrest said:
"Glen Greenwald is a lawyer, so he's no stranger to research or putting forth a reasoned case based on a lot of diverse information.
This book is a well researched and pointed indictment of the hypocrisy endemic to the nation's political right.
...more
Glen Greenwald is a lawyer, so he's no stranger to research or putting forth a reasoned case based on a lot of diverse information.
This book is a well researched and pointed indictment of the hypocrisy endemic to the nation's political right.
I'd probably recommend it to right wingers, but reason and evidence mail fail to convince most of them that they are backing the wrong horse. Even in socially conservative terms, it appears that the left has a higher level of conformance to national norms than the emotionally constipated right wing. Most of our gays, for instance, are not only 'out', they're honest. The Larry Craigs, Mark Foleys, and David Vitters out there are not, but seem determined to force feed the morality they lack down the throats of the rest of the country.
This hypocrisy extends to the image making and press manipulation that the right has successfully performed for nearly every major American political debate, including constutional rights, war and war making, torture, fiscal policy, 'conventional' marriage, etc. and it has not only made a mockery of our political process, it has brought the country to its collective knees, morally.
While the approach in this book is ideal for someone with a tolerance for extensive support of an argument, often, Greenwald seems to belabor his points, driving in 100 nails when 10 would do.
Stylistically, in that regard it leaves something to be desired, but for pure info and analysis, he has done a great pre-2008-election service. Dedicated writers of letters-to-the-editor should read this for points of inclusion. The word needs to get out.
John McCain is W, Term 3. At this point, it is essential to make sure that his mythology is highlighted and neutralized and that we hold the press to high standards this time around. We shouldn't care if McCain is a great guy to have a beer with, but we should know how many centuries he thinks he'd like to keep us in Iraq.
Gift this book to anyone on the fence this fall. Refer to it often in written and public communications. Use it to inform yourself in the ways in which the press generates myth and participates in disinformation.
And while you are at it, hope against hope that it is just one of many arrows that will destroy the aspirations of the right to continue the destruction of our republic this fall....less
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Forrest
gave
to:
The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (Hardcover)
by Jimmy Breslin
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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recommended for: friends into crime novels
read in February, 2008
Forrest said:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Breslin has a fair amount of close knowledge of the mob, and not too high an opinion of it. It's obvious in this fiction, which he says (by way of a recent NPR interview) ac...more
It's fiction, so what is the truth contained in the book? I don't know.
Breslin has a fair amount of close knowledge of the mob, and not too high an opinion of it. It's obvious in this fiction, which he says (by way of a recent NPR interview) accurately summarizes the laziness, imprecision, and crass motivations of folks involved in so-called 'organized crime'. If it's organized, according to him, it's organized according to rules of chaos.
The book is a one day read. If you like kind of silly crime novels, and appreciate the lexicon of a true Yankee, this would be a good book to read. In some ways, it's reminiscent of the Foxfire books for hillbillies in that it illustrates some characteristics of lower strata city dwellers and their street smarts.
The book doesn't leave a favorable impression for the mob, but probably paints a reasonably accurate sketch of the majority of its members... mostly average to below-average folks intent on making as easy a living as possible using violence, as necessary to make it happen, and without a lot of concern for the rule of law.
Again, this is a library checkout book, not one to own....less
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Forrest
gave
to:
The Good Rat: A True Story (Hardcover)
by Jimmy Breslin
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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recommended for: lawyers
read in February, 2008, has a copy to sell/swap
Forrest said:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
If ever there were an auditory sketch of what I assumed all New Yorkers were like, it would take the form of Jimmy Breslin's voice. I guess that was the primary reason...more
An NPR interview with the author, Jimmy Breslin, sent me off to buy this book.
If ever there were an auditory sketch of what I assumed all New Yorkers were like, it would take the form of Jimmy Breslin's voice. I guess that was the primary reason for the purchase.
The book examines the mob, viewed through the lens of one of its members who has decided to rat them out. He's a witness to the illegal exploits of two cops who were on the mob payroll for years, and his testimony paints a surprising picture of the level of violence, corruption, general depravity of the human species in some quarters of civilized America. That is the most surprising thing about it, I guess. There are people out there who routinely arrange to have their enemies smoked, sometimes employing human assets in places where you would expect to find protection against such things; in this case, the police department.
As a viewport into society most of us vanilla humans won't normally see, this book has great value. All kinds of crap goes on out there! Who'd a thunk?
Generally, it's a quick read, funny and sad is some places. I'd recommend checking it out from the library as opposed to owning it. ...less
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April 16
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Forrest
gave
to:
Why Things Break: Understanding the World By the Way It Comes Apart (Paperback)
by Mark Eberhart
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in April, 2008
Forrest said:
"A friend recommended this book, so I bought it and gave it a read.
It's a fast read, and the topic is fracture. The author is a professor at Colorado School of Mines, and the book is a summation of his career as well as his field of study.
T...more
A friend recommended this book, so I bought it and gave it a read.
It's a fast read, and the topic is fracture. The author is a professor at Colorado School of Mines, and the book is a summation of his career as well as his field of study.
The apparent upshot of it all is that the concept of materials "DESIGN", meaning the intentional creation of materials (mostly metals) with specific properties has been a Holy Grail of metallurgists for a long time, and he explores why this has been complicated. For someone with no metallurgy exposure, it might be a lot more fascinating than it was for me. It does have its humourous points regarding experimental, personal and professional bias, government funding of research, academia, and science and for a science book, it's kind of cute. He draws a great distinction repeatedly about the when-verus-why of fracture and failure, and brings in both quantum mechanics and topology to the discussion with illuminating, non-technical metaphor, but there is no meat behind his descriptions. It's like reading the ingredients on the potato chip package as opposed to eating the chips. Interesting, but not as filling.
There are better books on the "when" of structural failure, all of which seem more relevant to everyday life and most of which are better reads.
...less
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March 31
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Forrest
gave
to:
Catapult - Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon (hardcover)
by Paul, Jim
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in March, 2008
Forrest said:
"I bought a pristine copy of this book in a used bookstore in Ithaca, NY in late March, 2008.
After reading it, I understand why it was pristine.
Fortunately, it was a gift for someone who REALLY wants to build a catapult with me, so it's still ...more
I bought a pristine copy of this book in a used bookstore in Ithaca, NY in late March, 2008.
After reading it, I understand why it was pristine.
Fortunately, it was a gift for someone who REALLY wants to build a catapult with me, so it's still useful. As a gift, I can't imagine a better fit, but I may be unique in my motivations for its purchase.
A super fast read, it does contain a periodic glimmer of information on its subject, but truthfully, it appears to be a vehicle that aspired to a "Pet Rock" infectiousness and was apparently not successful.
Nonetheless, the author wrote at least one more book than I (my current count is 0), and I have to give him credit for doing that. It is readable, edited, organized, and somewhat informative, and totally lacking in photos. I'd have appreciated SEEING what was being described. I do feel more informed on the subject, which has long disappeared from daily discourse.
I am also now slightly better equipped for such time as I may find myself stranded on a desert island, and needing to defend myself from mutant dinosaurs.
...less
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