A quick read about the lessons learned from developing a mobile app/website with the user in mind. Obviously Polar is promoted here, since it's how thA quick read about the lessons learned from developing a mobile app/website with the user in mind. Obviously Polar is promoted here, since it's how they learned and Wroblewski is proud of it. But I think Polar is used as a concrete example that makes it easier to understand the concepts presented, like an extended case study. Plus the polar bears everywhere are cute.
I read the iBook version, which included videos and links to further reading. I recommend this version as it really fills out the details, especially where interactions like one-thumb navigation are being discussed.
Well that was epic! I don't think I've ever consulted a dictionary, Wikipedia and Google Translate as frequently as I did while reading this doorstoppWell that was epic! I don't think I've ever consulted a dictionary, Wikipedia and Google Translate as frequently as I did while reading this doorstopper. But Brendon does exactly what he promises: gives a comprehensive overview of the events of the 1930s which led to WWII. If you've ever wondered how Japan even got involved with the Axis powers, or why the Spanish Civil War had so many foreign fighters, this is the book for you.
Brendon focuses each chapter on one of the primary combatants of WWII, sometimes overlapping time periods so he can present the same event from a different angle. He adds snippets of pop culture to demonstrate public opinion of political events, which really makes them come alive for me. The ten dollar words and bits of untranslated French were unnecessary, but that's academic writing for you I suppose. And skipping the lists of furnishings and the revolving-door ministries of Britain and France would have shortened it without losing much of interest.
The "panorama" of the subtitle is a really good description of this book. I didn't take history in high school, so I feel like this has filled in a large gap in my knowledge by presenting the standard thinking on the causes of WWII. Of course, that just raises more questions but now I have a context for them. ...more
If you're only going to read one book about Scientology, make it this one. It's a comprehensive look at the religion up until Tom Cruise's couch-jumpiIf you're only going to read one book about Scientology, make it this one. It's a comprehensive look at the religion up until Tom Cruise's couch-jumping and the Anonymous protests. It began with Wright interviewing Paul Haggis after his public separation from the church, but grew from there.
I've read a lot of Scientology non-fiction and I appreciated Wright's even-handed attitude. Some of this evenness is courtesy of the legal disclaimers inserted so frequently that I started to laugh when I read the statement "The church categorically denies..." for the umpteenth time. But it also comes from Wright's attempts to understand the appeal of the religion for both celebrities and the ordinary person on the street. Everyone who's been part of the religion (apart from Hubbard and Miscavige) is treated respectfully, because the way Wright sees it, they all wanted to save the world and just got caught up in something more sinister than that.
Jon Atack has more detail on the initial Dianetics/Scientology split in the 50s and the non-Sea-Org parts of the 70s and 80s, while Barefaced Messiah is a better biography of Hubbard. The recent books from ex-Scientologists give good detail on the Sea Org cult-within-a-religion.
But for an overview of the major milestones of the group as a whole, with accounts from people who haven't written their own books about their experiences, you can't go past this one. ...more
Loved this book, although I was disappointed that I couldn't buy it as an e-book :)
I've often been close to the line between cluttering and hoarding, Loved this book, although I was disappointed that I couldn't buy it as an e-book :)
I've often been close to the line between cluttering and hoarding, although I'm not as bad as I used to be. The authors helped me understand why we all feel impulses to keep things, and the consequences of letting those impulses get out of hand. I certainly identified with some of these hoarders, although not the more extreme cases!
There's a broad selection of case studies, including animal hoarding, children, and people with varying levels of insight into their problem. Like the authors I think it's a more widespread problem than people realise, and worthy of more study so people can be helped before they get health departments issuing ultimatums.
The research done so far contradicts popular opinion on why hoarders act the way they do. If you know a hoarder (or suspect yourself) this is well worth a read to get a better understanding of the situation. I'd love to see a follow-up book when more research is done....more
Grimy and bleak, this story takes a real-life unsolved crime and uses it as the jumping-off point for a look at the corrupt and corrosive life of HollGrimy and bleak, this story takes a real-life unsolved crime and uses it as the jumping-off point for a look at the corrupt and corrosive life of Hollywood/LA in the 40s. It starts with far too much boxing and ends with a ridiculously lurid 'solution'. There's so much time- and place-specific slang I had to keep Google on tap. I loved it anyway, because there was just something about the protagonist's too-late honesty and glimpse of imperfect redemption that got to me, and Ellroy creates the world so well you feel like you're walking through it with Bucky and Lee.
Do not use this book to learn about the real-life case of Elizabeth Short's murder. The major details are correct, but then Ellroy fictionalises as much as he needs to in order to create a page-turning plot, and it isn't really about Short anyway.
On the other hand, if you like stories filled with racist, sexist, corrupt cops who are trying to do just one thing right in their lives, this is pretty good. I've heard Ellroy is an arsehole, but I'll give him a gold star and a lot of leeway just for the moment when he (via Bucky) demonstrates the connection between domestic violence and sensational murders by psychopaths, instead of writing off the latter as inexplicable. ...more
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