Steven D. Ward's Blog, page 5
April 25, 2014
Review: How to Fight Presidents: An Illustrated Comedic History of the Wildest, Toughest, and Most Interesting and Badass Facts About Every US President
How to Fight Presidents: An Illustrated Comedic History of the Wildest, Toughest, and Most Interesting and Badass Facts About Every US President by Daniel O’Brien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
For what this book purports to be, it succeds smashingly. It’s a fun, light, read broken up into bite sized chapters making it ideal for bathroom or bedtime reading. You may even accidentally learn a few interesting things about U.S. presidents.
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April 24, 2014
Review: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Wow, well, I feel like making it through this hefty tome is itself some kind of life milestone, like graduating High School or something. Similarly, there is a wealth of information contained in this book for those that are willing to put in the time. So would I recommend it to other people? Hmm, not necessarily.
This is clearly an important book. Granted, it’s not an academic history,...
April 22, 2014
Processing the Sewol Tragedy
I assumed from the beginning that if any country could pull of a miracle rescue in a case like this, it would be Korea. Considering the world class heavy industry infrastructure and, I admit, stereotypical hard working/sacrificing characteristic of Koreans I wasjust waiting for the news that a miracle rescue had occurred. As far as I know, no one I know is directly affected by it, but this event has rocked the whole country, including my family.In fact, while I don’t know exactly how far the...
April 19, 2014
April 15, 2014
Building the Case for Campaign Finance
Among my friends in the real world, as well as those I follow on social media, I am probably the biggest advocate I know on the issue of campaign finance reform. The biggest and best voice on the issue, though, is that of Law Professor Lawrence Lessig. A proficient author, he has written a few books on the topic, but this TED talk he gave does an excellent job of distilling the argument to it’s essence, and it saves you from having to read:
In particular, there are four things Lessig does in t...
April 10, 2014
Richard Francis Burton
Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect applause; He noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self-made laws.
-Richard Francis Burton
April 8, 2014
Review: Why Evolution Is True
Why Evolution Is True by Jerry A. Coyne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really wanted to love this book, and the content of it is good, don’t get me wrong, but I’m just not the target market for it.
I don’t need to be convinced about evolution and in my social circles I have never found myself arguing with anyone over evolution vs. creationism. My purpose in reading the book was purely to bring myself up to speed on the field of Biology in general. Other reviewers insisting in their reviews that th...
April 6, 2014
Review: Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus
Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m glad I read this book, but it isn’t nearly as engaging of books like The Emperor of all Maladies, or The Demon Under the Microscope, which are both more entertaining and more educational.
The fact that it is the only book in the genre focusing on Rabies, however, makes it worth reading and there are certainly interesting and thought provoking parts. In particular the chapter drawing connec...
Review: Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered
Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It was a good read, and there are some thought provoking tips contained therein, but I wasn’t impressed with the Kindle edition. I understand the artwork and design of the book itself is part of the appeal of this book, so it’s reasonable that it wasn’t so impressive on Kindle.
I appreciate the low price, but if it was just a tad bit cheaper then I’d think it would be a reasonable deal...
April 5, 2014
Review: The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I find it appalling that, considering the amount of debt I went into in pursuit of my master’s degree in Public Administration, the name “Robert Moses” was never even mentioned.
First of all, The Power Broker is epic. Why this hasn’t been made into a miniseries along the lines of Boardwalk Empire, I have no idea. There is so much material here about the life of this man.
Second, There are many les...
