Steven D. Ward's Blog, page 2
August 10, 2014
Review: Just Business: Multinational Corporations and Human Rights
Just Business: Multinational Corporations and Human Rights by John Ruggie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Parts of the book are pretty interesting, but it is mostly about the back story of the creation of Ruggie’s recommendations to the UN, rather than going through the General Principles framework and educating the reader about them specifically.
July 25, 2014
Review: How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking
How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Of the several books I’ve read recently in an effort to boost my motivation to re-learn all the math I’ve forgotten, most of them get bogged down in formulas and obscure theories. This book, while there is some of that, keeps the big picture in mind and doesn’t get too technical for lay readers.
Aside from this, there were two big takeaways from this book that I will carry with me for the rest...
July 15, 2014
Abraham Lincoln
You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry.
-Abraham Lincoln
June 17, 2014
Review: Meat Eater: Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter
Meat Eater: Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter by Steven Rinella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Rinella is a solid writer, and he interjects education along with his stories from the hunt with great literary fluency.
The problem I had with the book was I wasn’t sure what the purpose was. I get that it’s a collection of essays telling stories of various hunts, but given Rinella’s intellect and writing ability it felt like the whole thing together lacked trajectory.
Towards the end it final...
Review: Mortality
Mortality by Christopher Hitchens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was cautioned by a friend that this is not the best introduction to Hitchens work, but considering the last book I finished was On Killing, an academic study of the psychological effect the act of killing has on killers, I guess you could say the topic of death and dying has been on my mind.
That being said, I found it an excellent introduction to the man and his way of thinking, but I suppose I won’t know for sure until I’ve read so...
Review: The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature
The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is my 66th book of the year, and only the second I couldn’t make it all the way through. I finally gave up about halfway, as the book just wasn’t fulfilling my expectations and I didn’t feel like I was learning much useful from it.
I think the problem is that the book is, quite literally, about the idea of “The Blank Slate” and, at least up until the part I finally threw in the tower, is mostly ab...
June 15, 2014
Mark Twain
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
-Mark Twain
June 12, 2014
Review: Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World
Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World by Joel Salatin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I simultaneously loved and hated this book. On the one hand, Salatin’s thoughts on agribusiness are gold. The book is worth reading for this aspect alone. His research and deep knowledge in his field changed my views on the food industry.
On the other hand, when speculating in areas like health care, he goes off the rails and clearly doesn’t have the same...
Review: The Beginner’s Guide To Hunting Deer For Food
The Beginner’s Guide To Hunting Deer For Food by Jackson Landers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m not a hunter, although I would like to be some day, and found that this book demystified the activity for me quite a bit. It answered a lot of questions for me related to whether or not it is something I’m even capable of doing, and if it’s doable without investing a boat load of money. My hunting friends are always going on and on about their various guns and equipment, but Landers shows that it hun...
Review: The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an amazing book. One of those books that makes you wonder what the point of fiction is at all when there are amazing true stories like this out there.
In fact, Vaillant’s style of writing puts many novelists to shame with his many artful turns of phrase. All for the purpose of driving home what it must have felt like to live in that place, at that time (not THAT long ago!), and to live through t...
