Tag: recommended for the enthusiast
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Review: Harrington’s I’ll Have What She’s Having
I’ll Have What She’s Having: My Adventures in Celebrity Dieting Rebecca Harrington When I decided to do this project where I reviewed every book I read, I thought about how embarrassing some of my selections would be. This is one of those embarrassing selections. A throw-a-away type book in which young comedy writer tries a…
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Review: Bennett’s City of Stairs
City of Stairs (The Divine Cities) Robert Jackson Bennett As the brilliant and exceedingly well read Cosma Shalizi would say – mind candy. A well done fantasy (dare I say “urban” fantasy?) about the goings on in a once great city protected by ancient gods who may or may not be reappearing to save the…
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Review: Gregorio’s Critique of Criminal Reason
Critique of Criminal Reason: A Mystery (Hanno Stiffeniis Mysteries) Michael Gregorio A perfectly serviceable murder mystery where one of the detective is Immanuel Kant. The author, Michael Gregorio is a pseudonym for two Italian academics with deep knowledge of Prussia during the Napoleonic wars. Their knowledge of the history of the Konigsberg give the book…
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Review: Strayed’s Wild
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail Cheryl Strayed Lee Child aside, my reading tastes almost never intersect with the New York Times bestseller list, but when the best seller in question is about a completely unprepared hiker taking on the notoriously difficult Pacific Coast Trail, you know I’m going to check…
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Review: Macintyre’s A Spy Among Friends
A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal Ben Macintyre Its surprising that, until now, there hasn’t been a really thorough, well done, book about the fascinating possibly sociopathic, definitely alcoholic Kim Philby. Philby, as we all know, was a member (perhaps leader?) of the Cambridge spy ring who while working in the…
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Review: Levitin’s the Organized Mind
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload Daniel Levitin I’m a sucker for the books incorporating behavioral science and cognitive research in a self-help self-improvement framework. Give me the cliff notes versions of studies on how I can be more productive/focused/healthier, etc. package it up with some charts and smart writing…
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Review: Battelle’s The Search
This and the many more reviews I’ve been posting lately originally appeared in a now long defunct livejournal. The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business andTransformed Our Cultu re John Battelle This book is two things – first, it is a detailed and interesting look at how searching online…
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Review: Hegel’s On Art, Religion, and the History of Philosophy
This and so many more reviews I’ve been posting lately originally appeared in a now long defunct livejournal. On Art, Religion, and the History of Philosophy: Introductory Lectures (Hackett Classics) G.W.F. Hegel I read a pretty big chunk of Hegel in my first undergrad philosophy class. He scared the living shit out of me. I…
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Review: Woodward’s The Brethren
This review was originally published on a now long defunct livejournal account. I am moving it over here as part of a project to get all my writing into one spot. The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court Bob Woodward OK, I haven’t read All the Presidents Men, (which is a shame and really should be…
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Review: Braudel’s Perspective of the World
This review originally appeared in a now long defunct livejournal sometime around 2007. The Perspective of the World: Civilization and Capitalism 15Th-18th Century, Vol. 3 Fernand Braudel The final volume of this magnum opus tracing in minute, painful, detail the creation of capitalism in the west, and the precursors and repercussions of that creation in the…
Milo and the Calf 