Aaron's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 23 Oct 2024 10:32:07 -0700 60 Aaron's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Counseling American Minorities]]> 2065254 384 Donald R. Atkinson 0697201716 Aaron 0 5.00 1979 Counseling American Minorities
author: Donald R. Atkinson
name: Aaron
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1979
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/23
shelves: to-read, social-science, social-studies, human-services, sociology
review:

]]> <![CDATA[You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself]]> 11710522 An entertaining illumination of the stupid beliefs that make us feel wise, based on the popular blog, youarenotsosmart.com.

You believe you are a rational, logical being who sees the world as it really is, but journalist David McRaney is here to tell you that you're as deluded as the rest of us. But that's OK-delusions keep us sane. You Are Not So Smart is a celebration of self-delusion. It's like a psychology class, with all the boring parts taken out, and with no homework. Collecting more than sixty of the lies we tell ourselves every day, McRaney has produced a fascinating synthesis of cutting-edge psychology research to turn our minds inside out.

You Are Not So Smart covers a wide range of topics drawn from all aspects of life, such as coffee (it doesn't stimulate you; it's just a cure for caffeine withdrawal), placebo buttons (those fake thermostats and crosswalk knobs that give us the illusion of control), hindsight bias (when we learn something new, we reassure ourselves that we knew it all along), confirmation bias (our brains resist new ideas, instead paying attention only to findings that reinforce our preconceived notions), and brand loyalty (we reach for the same brand not because we trust its quality but because we want to reassure ourselves that we made a smart choice the last time we bought it). Packed with interesting sidebars and quick guides on cognition and common fallacies, You Are Not So Smart is infused with humor and wit.



]]> 320 David McRaney 1101545356 Aaron 0 to-read 4.00 2011 You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself
author: David McRaney
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[More Language of Letting Go: 366 New Daily Meditations (Hazelden Meditation Series)]]> 281883
This new volume of meditations offers clients ongoing wisdom and guidance about relationship issues. An excellent enhancement to therapy, daily thoughts provide clients with ongoing insights into issues such as surrendering, the damaging effects of manipulation, and healthy communication. More Language of Letting Go shares unsentimental, direct help for clients recovering from chemical dependency, healing from relationships and family issues, and exploring personal growth.]]> 432 Melody Beattie 1568385587 Aaron 0 to-read 4.47 More Language of Letting Go: 366 New Daily Meditations (Hazelden Meditation Series)
author: Melody Beattie
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.47
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories]]> 99300
Written from a feminist perspective, often focusing on the inferior status accorded to women by society, the tales include "turned," an ironic story with a startling twist, in which a husband seduces and impregnates a naïve servant; "Cottagette," concerning the romance of a young artist and a man who's apparently too good to be true; "Mr. Peebles' Heart," a liberating tale of a fiftyish shopkeeper whose sister-in-law, a doctor, persuades him to take a solo trip to Europe, with revivifying results; "The Yellow Wallpaper"; and three other outstanding stories.

These charming tales are not only highly readable and full of humor and invention, but also offer ample food for thought about the social, economic, and personal relationship of men and women � and how they might be improved.

Collects:
—The Yellow Wallpaper
—Three Thanksgivings
—The Cottagette
—TܰԱ
—Making a Change
—If I Were a Man
—Mr. Peebles' Heart]]> 129 Charlotte Perkins Gilman 0486298574 Aaron 0 to-read 4.05 1892 The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories
author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1892
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America]]> 9932847
In this astonishing and startling book, award-winning science and history writer Robert Whitaker investigates a medical mystery: Why has the number of disabled mentally ill in the United States tripled over the past two decades?

Interwoven with Whitaker’s groundbreaking analysis of the merits of psychiatric medications are the personal stories of children and adults swept up in this epidemic. As Anatomy of an Epidemic reveals, other societies have begun to alter their use of psychiatric medications and are now reporting much improved outcomes . . . so why can’t such change happen here in the United States?Why have the results from these long-term studies—all of which point to the same startling conclusion—been kept from the public?

Our nation has been hit by an epidemic of disabling mental illness, and yet, as Anatomy of an Epidemic reveals, the medical blueprints for curbing that epidemic have already been drawn up.

Praise for Anatomy of an Epidemic

“The timing of Robert Whitaker’s Anatomy of an Epidemic , a comprehensive and highly readable history of psychiatry in the United States, couldn’t be better.� � Salon

� Anatomy of an Epidemic offers some answers, charting controversial ground with mystery-novel pacing.� � TIME

“Lucid, pointed and important, Anatomy of an Epidemic should be required reading for anyone considering extended use of psychiatric medicine. Whitaker is at the height of his powers.� � Greg Critser, author of Generation Rx]]> 432 Robert Whitaker 0307452425 Aaron 5 4.21 2010 Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America
author: Robert Whitaker
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2017/08/03
date added: 2024/01/21
shelves: psychology, social-studies, sets-the-standard, human-services
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings]]> 870160
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones offers a collection of accessible, primary Zen sources so that readers can contemplate the meaning of Zen for themselves. Within the pages, readers will find:

When Zen Flesh, Zen Bones was published in 1957, it became an instant sensation with an entire generation of readers who were just beginning to experiment with Zen. Over the years it has inspired leading American Zen teachers, students, and practitioners. Its popularity is as high today as ever.]]> 211 Paul Reps 0804831866 Aaron 5 The Zen Monastic Experience, but that was not about Zen literature but Zen monks' lifestyle and practice.

One of my former coworkers gave this to me as a going away gift, saying it changed his life when he first read it decades ago. It held up well for him, and I can see why. ]]> 4.17 1957 Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings
author: Paul Reps
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1957
rating: 5
read at: 2008/12/11
date added: 2023/07/25
shelves: philosophy-religion, sets-the-standard
review:
Just as the subtitle says, this book is divided into four parts, each expressing Zen Buddhist writing in a different format. I have read a fair amount of writing on or about Zen, and this is probably the only book I would strongly recommend to everyone interested. The only other book on this caliber would be The Zen Monastic Experience, but that was not about Zen literature but Zen monks' lifestyle and practice.

One of my former coworkers gave this to me as a going away gift, saying it changed his life when he first read it decades ago. It held up well for him, and I can see why.
]]> <![CDATA[Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece]]> 931304 aturday Review
Although science did not begin in ancient Greece (millennia of work in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and other regions preceded Greek efforts) it is nevertheless true that methodic, rational investigation of the natural universe originated largely with early Hellenic thinkers. Thus, the major part of this book is of necessity devoted to Greece. Drawing wherever possible on original sources, Dr. Sarton, one of the world's foremost historians of science, paints a vivid and illuminating picture of mathematics, astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, and other sciences as they emerged from the mists of prehistory and ultimately flourished within the context of Greek society.
The book is divided into three parts. Part One begins with the earliest evidence of prehistoric mathematics, astronomy, and other science. Dr. Sarton then describes the achievements of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the dawn of Greek culture and the remarkable flowering of Ionian science in the sixth century B.C. Thales of Miletos, Anaximandrox, and Xenophanes are among the important figures discussed. An entire chapter focuses on the influential doctrines of Pythagoras.
Part Two opens with the glory of Athens in the fifth century B.C. and its magnificent achievements in poetry and the arts, philosophy, and science. Described in lucid detail are groundbreaking contributions of Heracleitos, Anaxagoras, Protagoras, Zenon of Elea, Parmenides, Democritos, and many others. Also included in this section are perceptive discussions of geographers and historians of the fifth century (Herodotos, Thucydides, and others) and Greek medicine of the fifth century (chiefly Hippocratic).
Part Three focuses on the extraordinary Greek thinkers of the fourth century B.C.: Plato and the Academy, Aristotle, Xenophon and many others, including such important schools of thought as the cynics, stoics, skeptics, and epicureans. Major attention is given to mathematics, astronomy and physics, natural sciences and medicine, Aristotelian humanities, and historiography and other topics.
"Of great value to the general historian and an exciting, arresting story for the lay reader. � The Yale Review]]> 688 George Sarton 0486274950 Aaron 0 to-read 3.92 Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece
author: George Sarton
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.92
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Understanding Behaviorism: Science, Behavior, and Culture (Behavior Analysis and Society)]]> 1705653 William M. Baum 0065002865 Aaron 1
Baum promotes the same kind of inexcusably naive and unsubstantiated claims about human behavior that B.F. Skinner did before him. Noam Chomsky wrote the definitive rejection of this kind of behaviorism (or more broadly, this kind of baseless speculation done behind the safety of one's established reputation) with his response to Skinner's Verbal Behavior. Skinner brought new ideas to psychology with his rigorous study of lab animals; however, he went well beyond his expertise into the realm of pure speculation with his totally ungrounded theories of human nature in Verbal Behavior and Walden II. Baum follows in his footsteps, using the latter to illustrate his own ideas about behavior in culture.

Two things bother me about this kind of writing. First of all, it's not scientifically grounded. He presents no evidence, unless we are to consider references to Walden II evidence; because it is a work of fiction, that's out of the question. Baum makes no attempt to draw from the enormous pool of literature available in anthropology, sociology, or any other field of study to support his claims.

Second, it's bad form and just plain embarrassing to resort to petty name calling. Baum doesn't quite go there, but stops just short. I've forgotten the exact language now, but in his glowing praise of Walden Two he points out how the philosopher in the story makes the perfect stereotype: fat, loud, and ignorant, someone who makes claims that are outside his expertise. This kind of low-grade bating has no place in scientific literature, or really literature of any kind.]]> 3.61 1994 Understanding Behaviorism: Science, Behavior, and Culture (Behavior Analysis and Society)
author: William M. Baum
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1994
rating: 1
read at: 2001/04/01
date added: 2022/10/03
shelves: social-science, just-terrible, social-studies, psychology
review:
The standout single worst book I read as assigned reading in college, and among the worst I've ever come across. Ever.

Baum promotes the same kind of inexcusably naive and unsubstantiated claims about human behavior that B.F. Skinner did before him. Noam Chomsky wrote the definitive rejection of this kind of behaviorism (or more broadly, this kind of baseless speculation done behind the safety of one's established reputation) with his response to Skinner's Verbal Behavior. Skinner brought new ideas to psychology with his rigorous study of lab animals; however, he went well beyond his expertise into the realm of pure speculation with his totally ungrounded theories of human nature in Verbal Behavior and Walden II. Baum follows in his footsteps, using the latter to illustrate his own ideas about behavior in culture.

Two things bother me about this kind of writing. First of all, it's not scientifically grounded. He presents no evidence, unless we are to consider references to Walden II evidence; because it is a work of fiction, that's out of the question. Baum makes no attempt to draw from the enormous pool of literature available in anthropology, sociology, or any other field of study to support his claims.

Second, it's bad form and just plain embarrassing to resort to petty name calling. Baum doesn't quite go there, but stops just short. I've forgotten the exact language now, but in his glowing praise of Walden Two he points out how the philosopher in the story makes the perfect stereotype: fat, loud, and ignorant, someone who makes claims that are outside his expertise. This kind of low-grade bating has no place in scientific literature, or really literature of any kind.
]]> <![CDATA[Head First JavaScript Programming: A Brain-Friendly Guide]]> 17912853 Head First JavaScript Programming is for you.

Learning a programming language is no easy task, but Head First JavaScript Programming uses puzzles, visuals, mysteries, interviews, and fun examples to make learning JavaScript fast, fun, and effective. But don't be fooled; you might be having a good time while you're learning JavaScript, but you're still learning all the serious stuff. Like how functions and objects work, what a callback is, how to interact with the web page using the Document Object Model, how to use arrays, and even what a closure is. JavaScript is one of the most popular languages in the world, and it's only getting more popular as the Web continues to grow. Learn JavaScript the Head First way, and get in on all the action.]]> 661 Eric Freeman 144934013X Aaron 4 programming
In terms of the technical stuff, they cover everything I would expect them to. The practice exercises are pretty straightforward, not too steep a learning curve for anyone new to programming. They acknowledge some of the, ahem, more strange, perhaps controversial matters (like stylistic preferences or what's "right" vs "practical"), without taking sides. You get a decent introduction to some key concepts like event handling, closures, and prototypes. For an intro tutorial, it's all you could expect.

In terms of the style, this may be part of the Head First series but they take a fun, light approach drawing from pop culture and some lighthearted humor. They dad jokes as mnemonic devices, but they do a great job with it. While I was reading it I kept thinking that if I were 10 years old I would absolutely love this, and convince myself I was becoming some kind of super hacker. At 40, I'm a far cry from a hacker but I still appreciate the approach. When I'm on the job, I do prefer the dry technical stuff just because it's to the point, but for a tutorial they really nailed it.

A great intro to JavaScript and one of the better intros to programming I've come across.]]> 4.22 2014 Head First JavaScript Programming: A Brain-Friendly Guide
author: Eric Freeman
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2022/08/20
date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: programming
review:
O'Reilly books are generally solid programming tutorials. This was my first in the Head First series, which appears to have a more fun, whimsical tone. I've done a bit of JavaScript programming, but I generally do database management and other back end work. I picked this up because I figured I was long overdue to take a deeper dive and get some experience. Very satisfied with it. Freeman and Robson do a great job.

In terms of the technical stuff, they cover everything I would expect them to. The practice exercises are pretty straightforward, not too steep a learning curve for anyone new to programming. They acknowledge some of the, ahem, more strange, perhaps controversial matters (like stylistic preferences or what's "right" vs "practical"), without taking sides. You get a decent introduction to some key concepts like event handling, closures, and prototypes. For an intro tutorial, it's all you could expect.

In terms of the style, this may be part of the Head First series but they take a fun, light approach drawing from pop culture and some lighthearted humor. They dad jokes as mnemonic devices, but they do a great job with it. While I was reading it I kept thinking that if I were 10 years old I would absolutely love this, and convince myself I was becoming some kind of super hacker. At 40, I'm a far cry from a hacker but I still appreciate the approach. When I'm on the job, I do prefer the dry technical stuff just because it's to the point, but for a tutorial they really nailed it.

A great intro to JavaScript and one of the better intros to programming I've come across.
]]> <![CDATA[Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power]]> 53927066 From the airlines we fly to the food we eat, how a tiny group of corporations have come to dominate every aspect of our lives--by one of our most intrepid and accomplished journalists
If you're looking for a book . . . that will get your heart pumping and your blood boiling and that will remind you why we're in these fights--add this one to your list. --Senator Elizabeth Warren on David Dayen's Chain of Title
Over the last forty years our choices have narrowed, our opportunities have shrunk, and our lives have become governed by a handful of very large and very powerful corporations. Today, practically everything we buy, everywhere we shop, and every service we secure comes from a heavily concentrated market.

This is a world where four major banks control most of our money, four airlines shuttle most of us around the country, and four major cell phone providers connect most of our communications. If you are sick you can go to one of three main pharmacies to fill your prescription, and if you end up in a hospital almost every accessory to heal you comes from one of a handful of large medical suppliers.

Dayen, the editor of the American Prospect and author of the acclaimed Chain of Title, provides a riveting account of what it means to live in this new age of monopoly and how we might resist this corporate hegemony.

Through vignettes and vivid case studies Dayen shows how these monopolies have transformed us, inverted us, and truly changed our lives, at the same time providing readers with the raw material to make monopoly a consequential issue in American life and revive a long-dormant antitrust movement.]]> 336 David Dayen 1620975416 Aaron 5 general
Books on economic reform often have a reactionary tone, which plays well for a certain audience but can also turn off a lot people. Dayen has crafted a readable, relatable book to raise awareness of how deeply monopolies have solidified themselves in the present economy.]]> 4.31 2020 Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power
author: David Dayen
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2022/07/20
date added: 2022/08/20
shelves: general
review:
An excellent tour of several sectors of the economy where consumers are essentially at the mercy of big business. In some cases it's a single company, a true monopoly, while in others it's a handful of companies that operate more like a cartel to fix prices than as true competitors. David Dayen has a conversational written style, which I feel makes the book accessible to a wide audience; an academic economist, an anti-trust lawyer, or a social activist could make the same points, but Dayen has a knack for putting this in terms of how it affects everyday people. This is largely because he roots each chapter in personal experiences of people affected. Honestly, we're all affected. It's not just the people that lose their jobs, lose their homes, face a crisis that was largely due to supply chain failures. There's plenty of that. But it's also the cable companies that suppress options affordable high-speed internet in rural areas. It's our dependence on China to produce military weapons. It's the fact that the majority of options on the shelf (even store brands) are owned by the same company; you can stop buying something but you can't take your business elsewhere.

Books on economic reform often have a reactionary tone, which plays well for a certain audience but can also turn off a lot people. Dayen has crafted a readable, relatable book to raise awareness of how deeply monopolies have solidified themselves in the present economy.
]]> <![CDATA[Game Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction]]> 38651112 Gödel, Escher, Bach
The foundations of game theory were laid by John von Neumann, who in 1928 proved the basic minimax theorem, and with the 1944 publication of the Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, the field was established. Since then, game theory has become an enormously important discipline because of its novel mathematical properties and its many applications to social, economic, and political problems.
Game theory has been used to make investment decisions, pick jurors, commit tanks to battle, allocate business expenses equitably � even to measure a senator's power, among many other uses. In this revised edition of his highly regarded work, Morton Davis begins with an overview of game theory, then discusses the two-person zero-sum game with equilibrium points; the general, two-person zero-sum game; utility theory; the two-person, non-zero-sum game; and the n-person game.
A number of problems are posed at the start of each chapter and readers are given a chance to solve them before moving on. (Unlike most mathematical problems, many problems in game theory are easily understood by the lay reader.) At the end of the chapter, where solutions are discussed, readers can compare their "common sense" solutions with those of the author. Brimming with applications to an enormous variety of everyday situations, this book offers readers a fascinating, accessible introduction to one of the most fruitful and interesting intellectual systems of our time.

]]> 252 Morton D. Davis Aaron 4 3.29 1970 Game Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction
author: Morton D. Davis
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.29
book published: 1970
rating: 4
read at: 2019/02/09
date added: 2022/07/02
shelves: theory, social-science, mathematics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders]]> 1184986 224 Peter Conrad 080188585X Aaron 5
For example, it's sometimes assumed that something may fall under the realm of medicine when enough doctors decide that they should be considered the sole authority for a given topic. True that has happened. But another factor may be desire from affected groups to frame something as a medical condition to lessen stigma, or diminish personal responsibility. Another factor may be economic demand, where conditions classified as medical may qualify for medical treatment covered by insurance companies. Another factor may be desire for access to things that would not be available otherwise if not classified as medical treatment.

The four areas covered are:
- Extension: extending the condition of menopause in women to the proposed "andropause" in men, to classify baldness and erectile dysfunction as conditions that require medical treatment. The question is to what extent the concept fits, should these conditions be classified as medical per se, and who decides that. There is a market for commercial products, and classifying this as a medical condition lessens the stigma of from considering it a measure of masculinity.
- Expansion: in the early days of the DSM, there were conditions that applied to restlessness, disruptiveness, and hyperactivity in children. Over time, studies showed that some children with these symptoms tended to retain them through adolescence or even adulthood. Later, controversially, there arose greater consciousness of these symptoms in adults, framed under the names ADD/ADHD, largely facilitated by marketing from drug companies and adults eager to seek a pill for their problems or to frame their behavior as a medical condition. This led to widespread self-diagnosis, and a huge demand for providers to fill. That's not to say that there aren't real conditions or that these conditions should not be classified as medical, but it shows that the condition itself largely arose to fill a public need and a consumer need.
- Enhancement: the human growth hormone (hGH) was once in extremely limited supply, and could only be obtain by extracting hormone from a cadaver after death; to me, it sounds like "hormone donation" was a practice along the lines of organ donation. By necessity, it could only be provided to people greatest need, that is, young children with severe hormone deficiencies. In the 1980s, a synthetic form of hGH was developed, and finally supply was no longer a problem. However, hGH has huge benefits for "normal," healthy people, with potential for increasing height to improving athletic performance. Obviously, there's market demand for anyone who wants to be bigger, stronger, faster, and accordingly there was a huge incentive for drug companies to find "off-brand" uses. One consequence is that it creates an arms race among athletes (and everyone else), where the average changes so everyone needs to take hGH to keep up; this is one of so many social and ethical issues raised as a consequence of medicalizing a condition.
- Continuity: the one case of demedicalization discussed here is homosexuality, which was classified as a mental illness is the DSM-II (1968), but de-classified in the DSM-III (1980). This reclassification was in response to changes in social attitudes, not a change in scientific literature or research. Gender Identity Disorder was included in the DSM-IV (1994), which Conrad discusses as an area of contention: some were concerned this was a reversal to try to re-medicalize sexuality, while others supported it for opening the door for insurance payers to cover sex change procedures.

Overall, this book was an excellent introduction into a topic I was aware of but knew little about. The case studies were relevant and clear, and he maintains an even and objective tone throughout. The style can be a little dry at times, but I think it's fitting for the subject matter, and considering that I don't read medical journals, I would presume that it fits well there. Definitely recommend this if you're interested in medicalization or in any of the specific topics covered.]]> 3.85 2007 The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders
author: Peter Conrad
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2021/12/31
date added: 2022/05/30
shelves:
review:
Peter Conrad explores medicalization, the process of something becoming a subject of medicine. Considering how modern medicine is such a huge and complex industry, it may seem obvious what's a medical issue and what isn't, especially with all the professionals, the schooling, the literature, the technology, and so on. Yes, there are so many formalities and technicalities in the world of medicine, but everything in medicine is fundamentally a human issue, which means there will always be gray areas, areas of dispute, and areas of commercial opportunity. (A related concept is demedicalization, where things formerly considered to belong under the expertise of physicians are no longer so; two common examples for this are childbirth and sexuality, as in the last several decades people generally feel that their doctor isn't the final authority on either how they choose to deliver or on their sex lives.) Conrad highlights several areas that have, contentiously, becomes medicalized over time. That's not to say that the medicalization for each has been universally accepted, but to demonstrate how medicalization happens through case study and to illustrate some of the factors involved.

For example, it's sometimes assumed that something may fall under the realm of medicine when enough doctors decide that they should be considered the sole authority for a given topic. True that has happened. But another factor may be desire from affected groups to frame something as a medical condition to lessen stigma, or diminish personal responsibility. Another factor may be economic demand, where conditions classified as medical may qualify for medical treatment covered by insurance companies. Another factor may be desire for access to things that would not be available otherwise if not classified as medical treatment.

The four areas covered are:
- Extension: extending the condition of menopause in women to the proposed "andropause" in men, to classify baldness and erectile dysfunction as conditions that require medical treatment. The question is to what extent the concept fits, should these conditions be classified as medical per se, and who decides that. There is a market for commercial products, and classifying this as a medical condition lessens the stigma of from considering it a measure of masculinity.
- Expansion: in the early days of the DSM, there were conditions that applied to restlessness, disruptiveness, and hyperactivity in children. Over time, studies showed that some children with these symptoms tended to retain them through adolescence or even adulthood. Later, controversially, there arose greater consciousness of these symptoms in adults, framed under the names ADD/ADHD, largely facilitated by marketing from drug companies and adults eager to seek a pill for their problems or to frame their behavior as a medical condition. This led to widespread self-diagnosis, and a huge demand for providers to fill. That's not to say that there aren't real conditions or that these conditions should not be classified as medical, but it shows that the condition itself largely arose to fill a public need and a consumer need.
- Enhancement: the human growth hormone (hGH) was once in extremely limited supply, and could only be obtain by extracting hormone from a cadaver after death; to me, it sounds like "hormone donation" was a practice along the lines of organ donation. By necessity, it could only be provided to people greatest need, that is, young children with severe hormone deficiencies. In the 1980s, a synthetic form of hGH was developed, and finally supply was no longer a problem. However, hGH has huge benefits for "normal," healthy people, with potential for increasing height to improving athletic performance. Obviously, there's market demand for anyone who wants to be bigger, stronger, faster, and accordingly there was a huge incentive for drug companies to find "off-brand" uses. One consequence is that it creates an arms race among athletes (and everyone else), where the average changes so everyone needs to take hGH to keep up; this is one of so many social and ethical issues raised as a consequence of medicalizing a condition.
- Continuity: the one case of demedicalization discussed here is homosexuality, which was classified as a mental illness is the DSM-II (1968), but de-classified in the DSM-III (1980). This reclassification was in response to changes in social attitudes, not a change in scientific literature or research. Gender Identity Disorder was included in the DSM-IV (1994), which Conrad discusses as an area of contention: some were concerned this was a reversal to try to re-medicalize sexuality, while others supported it for opening the door for insurance payers to cover sex change procedures.

Overall, this book was an excellent introduction into a topic I was aware of but knew little about. The case studies were relevant and clear, and he maintains an even and objective tone throughout. The style can be a little dry at times, but I think it's fitting for the subject matter, and considering that I don't read medical journals, I would presume that it fits well there. Definitely recommend this if you're interested in medicalization or in any of the specific topics covered.
]]> <![CDATA[Hate Inc.: Why Today's Media Makes Us Despise One Another]]> 44579900 Part tirade, part confessional from the celebrated Rolling Stone journalist, Hate Inc. reveals that what most people think of as "the news" is, in fact, a twisted wing of the entertainment business

In this characteristically turbocharged new book, celebrated Rolling Stone journalist Matt Taibbi provides an insider's guide to the variety of ways today's mainstream media tells us lies. Part tirade, part confessional, it reveals that what most people think of as "the news" is, in fact, a twisted wing of the entertainment business.

In the Internet age, the press have mastered the art of monetizing anger, paranoia, and distrust. Taibbi, who has spent much of his career covering elections in which this kind of manipulative activity is most egregious, provides a rich taxonomic survey of American political journalism's dirty tricks.

Heading into a 2020 election season that promises to be a Great Giza Pyramid Complex of invective and digital ugliness, Hate Inc. will be an invaluable antidote to the hidden poisons dished up by those we rely on to tell us what is happening in the world.]]> 380 Matt Taibbi 1949017257 Aaron 5 Rising (produced by The Hill) in 2020, and I was impressed by his wit and the clarity of his arguments. It was refreshing to see someone on a news program with a sense of humor and projecting a sense of confidence, without being smarmy or condescending. I heard his name come up a few times since then and I figured I'd give this book a try. It did not disappoint.

Taibbi originally published Hate Inc., in serial form, on Substack. Each chapter reads as a self-contained article, usually around 15 pages, dissecting an aspect of modern news media as a cross between an entertainment product and an addiction fix. A hopeless task, but I'll try to capture Taibbi's fundamental argument in a line: like all television programming, news media exists to sell advertisements (commercials) and in recent years media companies have modeled news coverage on an us-vs-them in the same vein as sports, so that people will tune into news programs as regularly as sports fans tune into sports. That's it. Television is based on ratings because advertising revenue is based on ratings. Yes, there are standards of journalism. No, those standards of journalism do not shape most news that we consume. So many of these news shows are centered around opinions, raising rhetorical questions, and keeping the audience tuned in for fear of missing something BIG. In sports, no one wants to miss the big play or the big comeback or otherwise be left out of what everyone else is talking about, and news has adopted this as the model. Just keep people coming back day after day.

There is a wide range of topics, but here's a quick sample. As a quick sample: media elites largely live in a bubble where they don't cover issues relevant to average Americans but blame average Americans for not appreciating their work (read: snobbish elitism); media elites are more concerned with maintaining access to politicians and other public figures so they avoid challenging questions; news reports are quite often wrong, but it's okay to be wrong if everyone else is (ex: WMD's) but those that question the majority will be discredited; news reporting used to be a lower-class to middle-class profession, but today most reporters come from affluent families and graduate from prestigious school, with their reporting reflecting their class biases; "polls say" is junk science, where poll results are either ignored or used to fit a narrative; when journalists should be questioning information from government sources, they too often swallow it hook, line, and sinker, effectively using the publisher's credibility to sell government propaganda.

I recommend this for anyone looking for a better understanding of how the news works behind the scenes or who just wants to understand why consuming the news just leaves them feeling worse.]]> 4.11 2019 Hate Inc.: Why Today's Media Makes Us Despise One Another
author: Matt Taibbi
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2022/05/15
date added: 2022/05/30
shelves:
review:
I discovered Matt Taibi as a guest on Rising (produced by The Hill) in 2020, and I was impressed by his wit and the clarity of his arguments. It was refreshing to see someone on a news program with a sense of humor and projecting a sense of confidence, without being smarmy or condescending. I heard his name come up a few times since then and I figured I'd give this book a try. It did not disappoint.

Taibbi originally published Hate Inc., in serial form, on Substack. Each chapter reads as a self-contained article, usually around 15 pages, dissecting an aspect of modern news media as a cross between an entertainment product and an addiction fix. A hopeless task, but I'll try to capture Taibbi's fundamental argument in a line: like all television programming, news media exists to sell advertisements (commercials) and in recent years media companies have modeled news coverage on an us-vs-them in the same vein as sports, so that people will tune into news programs as regularly as sports fans tune into sports. That's it. Television is based on ratings because advertising revenue is based on ratings. Yes, there are standards of journalism. No, those standards of journalism do not shape most news that we consume. So many of these news shows are centered around opinions, raising rhetorical questions, and keeping the audience tuned in for fear of missing something BIG. In sports, no one wants to miss the big play or the big comeback or otherwise be left out of what everyone else is talking about, and news has adopted this as the model. Just keep people coming back day after day.

There is a wide range of topics, but here's a quick sample. As a quick sample: media elites largely live in a bubble where they don't cover issues relevant to average Americans but blame average Americans for not appreciating their work (read: snobbish elitism); media elites are more concerned with maintaining access to politicians and other public figures so they avoid challenging questions; news reports are quite often wrong, but it's okay to be wrong if everyone else is (ex: WMD's) but those that question the majority will be discredited; news reporting used to be a lower-class to middle-class profession, but today most reporters come from affluent families and graduate from prestigious school, with their reporting reflecting their class biases; "polls say" is junk science, where poll results are either ignored or used to fit a narrative; when journalists should be questioning information from government sources, they too often swallow it hook, line, and sinker, effectively using the publisher's credibility to sell government propaganda.

I recommend this for anyone looking for a better understanding of how the news works behind the scenes or who just wants to understand why consuming the news just leaves them feeling worse.
]]> Enemies: A History of the FBI 13155934 Enemies is the first definitive history of the FBI’s secret intelligence operations, from an author whose work on the Pentagon and the CIA won him the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

We think of the FBI as America’s police force. But secret intelligence is the Bureau’s first and foremost mission. Enemies is the story of how presidents have used the FBI as the most formidable intelligence force in American history.

Here is the hidden history of America’s hundred-year war on terror. The FBI has fought against terrorists, spies, anyone it deemed subversive—and sometimes American presidents. The FBI’s secret intelligence and surveillance techniques have created a tug-of-war between protecting national security and infringing upon civil liberties. It is a tension that strains the very fabric of a free republic.]]> 537 Tim Weiner 1400067480 Aaron 4 government, history Legacy of Ashes and I loved it. The pace, the style, the author's command of the topic, the way it was practically composed entirely of excerpts from primary sources. The whole thing worked as a literary piece, as a history of a misunderstood government institution, and as an indictment of those in authority that misused their authority. I came to this book with high expectations. It's hard to put my finger on just what was different about it. On the surface it's a parallel work about another government institution. But a few dozen pages in it started to dawn on me that this was going to be a very different read. It's still good, still detailed, still sticks closely to the source material with direct quote. But there's something about this that feels second tier compared to Ashes. I don't think it's a matter of losing the spark or a lack of confidence in the subject matter or a lack of material. Honestly, it felt like espionage is Weiner's baby and he tried to shoehorn a CIA-style story into a book about the FBI.

About the topic: The FBI has a dual role of counter-espionage intelligence agency to protect the American public and to be the nation's premiere law enforcement agency. Weiner highlights this dual role. He also illustrates how Hoover was openly contemptuous of the law. Hoover believed that as security agency with wartime powers, the FBI was not bound by law. Weiner draws so many examples of the FBI breaking the law as standard operating procedure, presumably as service to a higher cause; this includes break ins ("black bag jobs"), illegal wiretaps, and blackmail. But for all the evidence he assembles, Weiner stops short of asserting the fundamental contradiction of this dual role: a law enforcement agency must respect and follow the law. What made Legacy of Ashes such a compelling read and damning indictment of the CIA is that Weiner had a mountain of evidence to drive a central idea: the CIA has a clear job and they're very bad at it. The FBI story is different: they have an ambiguous and sometimes contradictory job and they're very good at it. Unfortunately, the things they're good at include suppressing the labor movement, suppressing the civil rights movement, breaking into Watergate (in which they were instrumental, but the CIA alone was made to blame), countless unconstitutional searches and seizures, and acting as a partisan political tool for every sitting president. All of this is so deeply rooted in the culture of the FBI, Weiner illustrates, that when Hoover died no one was sure what the rules were or whether any agent would be held accountable for everything illegal they did under orders from Hoover (and out of ambition for advancement). Again, I felt that Weiner walks up to this point by the evidence presented without actually going there, without stating that the FBI has, for most of its history, acted as a Gestapo. In fact, he touches on this exact term Gestapo (p. 134), where Truman wrote in his diary in 1945 that the "FBI is tending in that direction. They are dabbling in sex-life scandals and plain blackmail... This must stop." Things weren't much better in 1987 when Judge William Sessions took over and was appalled to discover how comfortable they were with routinely breaking the law for business; he tried to reign it in, effectively neutralizing its role for counter-espionage, but the fundamental question is never answered: how can an agency that sees its national security role as above the law also be a law enforcement agency? From this point on, Weiner no longer seems to explore the question of what the FBI is, but instead to give a general recounting of events up through the book's publishing in 2013. Perhaps he's arguing that the FBI no longer has a clear role and so there's not much to say other than, "Here's some more stuff that happened," but it didn't really feel satisfying. Again, Legacy of Ashes felt solid and consistent right through to the end.

Overall, Enemies is a good read for what it is. Perhaps it's just me but given the topic it seems like a missed opportunity. Maybe Weiner could deviate more from the espionage-based perspective and even his analytic writing style in order to craft something more fitting for this subject. If the lens used for viewing the CIA doesn't work here, then find another lens. As above, I learned a lot about the history of the FBI, but felt like I was getting leftover materials from the last book processed through a tried and true formula, when new materials and a new approach were needed. I'm sure someday another author will tackle the history of the FBI, and I only hope they apply the same objectivity, source discipline, and thoroughness that Weiner applies but with a directness to tackle the remaining questions.]]> 3.90 2012 Enemies: A History of the FBI
author: Tim Weiner
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2021/12/07
date added: 2022/05/30
shelves: government, history
review:
I read Tim Weiner's previous book Legacy of Ashes and I loved it. The pace, the style, the author's command of the topic, the way it was practically composed entirely of excerpts from primary sources. The whole thing worked as a literary piece, as a history of a misunderstood government institution, and as an indictment of those in authority that misused their authority. I came to this book with high expectations. It's hard to put my finger on just what was different about it. On the surface it's a parallel work about another government institution. But a few dozen pages in it started to dawn on me that this was going to be a very different read. It's still good, still detailed, still sticks closely to the source material with direct quote. But there's something about this that feels second tier compared to Ashes. I don't think it's a matter of losing the spark or a lack of confidence in the subject matter or a lack of material. Honestly, it felt like espionage is Weiner's baby and he tried to shoehorn a CIA-style story into a book about the FBI.

About the topic: The FBI has a dual role of counter-espionage intelligence agency to protect the American public and to be the nation's premiere law enforcement agency. Weiner highlights this dual role. He also illustrates how Hoover was openly contemptuous of the law. Hoover believed that as security agency with wartime powers, the FBI was not bound by law. Weiner draws so many examples of the FBI breaking the law as standard operating procedure, presumably as service to a higher cause; this includes break ins ("black bag jobs"), illegal wiretaps, and blackmail. But for all the evidence he assembles, Weiner stops short of asserting the fundamental contradiction of this dual role: a law enforcement agency must respect and follow the law. What made Legacy of Ashes such a compelling read and damning indictment of the CIA is that Weiner had a mountain of evidence to drive a central idea: the CIA has a clear job and they're very bad at it. The FBI story is different: they have an ambiguous and sometimes contradictory job and they're very good at it. Unfortunately, the things they're good at include suppressing the labor movement, suppressing the civil rights movement, breaking into Watergate (in which they were instrumental, but the CIA alone was made to blame), countless unconstitutional searches and seizures, and acting as a partisan political tool for every sitting president. All of this is so deeply rooted in the culture of the FBI, Weiner illustrates, that when Hoover died no one was sure what the rules were or whether any agent would be held accountable for everything illegal they did under orders from Hoover (and out of ambition for advancement). Again, I felt that Weiner walks up to this point by the evidence presented without actually going there, without stating that the FBI has, for most of its history, acted as a Gestapo. In fact, he touches on this exact term Gestapo (p. 134), where Truman wrote in his diary in 1945 that the "FBI is tending in that direction. They are dabbling in sex-life scandals and plain blackmail... This must stop." Things weren't much better in 1987 when Judge William Sessions took over and was appalled to discover how comfortable they were with routinely breaking the law for business; he tried to reign it in, effectively neutralizing its role for counter-espionage, but the fundamental question is never answered: how can an agency that sees its national security role as above the law also be a law enforcement agency? From this point on, Weiner no longer seems to explore the question of what the FBI is, but instead to give a general recounting of events up through the book's publishing in 2013. Perhaps he's arguing that the FBI no longer has a clear role and so there's not much to say other than, "Here's some more stuff that happened," but it didn't really feel satisfying. Again, Legacy of Ashes felt solid and consistent right through to the end.

Overall, Enemies is a good read for what it is. Perhaps it's just me but given the topic it seems like a missed opportunity. Maybe Weiner could deviate more from the espionage-based perspective and even his analytic writing style in order to craft something more fitting for this subject. If the lens used for viewing the CIA doesn't work here, then find another lens. As above, I learned a lot about the history of the FBI, but felt like I was getting leftover materials from the last book processed through a tried and true formula, when new materials and a new approach were needed. I'm sure someday another author will tackle the history of the FBI, and I only hope they apply the same objectivity, source discipline, and thoroughness that Weiner applies but with a directness to tackle the remaining questions.
]]> <![CDATA[The United Nations: A Very Short Introduction]]> 2205386 originally conceived, how it has come to its present form, and how it must confront new challenges in a rapidly changing world.

After a brief history of the United Nations and its predecessor, the League of Nations, the author examines the UN's successes and failures as a guardian of international peace and security, as a promoter of human rights, as a protector of international law, and as an engineer of socio-economic
development. Hanhimäki stresses that the UN's greatest problem has been the impossibly wide gap between its ambitions and capabilities. In the area of international security, for instance, the UN has to settle conflicts--be they between or within states--without offending the national sovereignty
of its member states, and without being sidelined by strong countries, as happened in the 2003 intervention of Iraq. Hanhimäki also provides a clear accounting of the UN and its various arms and organizations (such as UNESCO and UNICEF), and he offers a critical overview of how effective it has been
in the recent crises in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, for example--and how likely it is to meet its overall goals in the future.

The United Nations, Hanhimäki concludes, is an indispensable organization that has made the world a better place. But it is also a deeply flawed institution, in need of constant reform.

About the

Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant
and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the
series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and
affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.]]> 184 Jussi M. Hanhimäki 0195304373 Aaron 4 government
Personally, the biggest takeaway for me was just an idea of what the UN actually is. I remember from college that people would criticize the UN for not doing enough, whether for world peace, justice, health, whatever. I remember having the idea that the UN has no teeth, and perhaps no purpose in the modern world other than to exist as theater of international cooperation. This was around the time of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and I remember a lot of calls to "get the U.S. out of the UN." I remember thinking at the time how strange that would be for the host country not to participate in the UN, but also how counter-productive it would be for whatever that was supposed to achieve; if you don't like what the U.S. policy is at the UN, then shouldn't you address that by policy change at the U.S., rather than withdrawing? What could that achieve? Fortunately for me, this book covers that very issue. While the UN does a lot of good for the world, the five permanent members of the Security Council have veto power for basically anything, which effectively means the U.S. (or any other permanent member) can stop the UN from doing anything it doesn't like. While this veto power has been the focus of so much criticism, it really lies at the heart of what the UN aims to achieve: participation from the major players of the world. A sovereign power will not forfeit its sovereignty just to belong to a club, no matter how prestigious. This means that the UN by necessity has to be welcoming for countries to join. If the U.S. left the UN, that would not stop the U.S. from pursuing its own national interest, but only to do so without, in a sense, endorsement from the UN. To go back to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the U.S. did this without UN support, and we're still in the UN.

So what is the purpose of the UN? It was originally conceived of as a deterrent to war, especially nuclear war. However, the threat of mutually assured destruction was more a deterrent than any UN resolution. So what has its actual purpose been? Mainly, it provides a place for countries to work together for common aims, to censure countries that act badly, and to spread peace, justice, and health to the peoples of the world as possible. These are high aspirations mitigated through the practical limitations of limited resources, limited budgets, and the limiting options of realpolitik. As above, the UN can only act in a way that doesn't rock the boat so much that countries, especially superpowers, will leave it. But within that constraint, it has been effective at helping to meet so many needs of so many people throughout the world. Hanhimaki is not shy to point out the ways that the UN has fallen short of its goals, but firmly expresses the value of the work that's been done. Overall, a short and informative overview of the United Nations.]]> 3.68 2008 The United Nations: A Very Short Introduction
author: Jussi M. Hanhimäki
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2021/12/28
date added: 2022/05/30
shelves: government
review:
I didn't know much about the United Nations before reading this, and this book served me well to that end. I think it was a excellent, short survey of the UN's history, its mission, its successes, and its shortcomings. Jussi Hanhimaki follows a course that defends the UN against some of common criticisms while not shying away from its very real failures and shortcomings. You'll get a bit of alphabet soup with all the abbreviations for the committees (UNSC, UNICEF, WHO, WTO, etc.) but even though I'd only heard of maybe half of these, I didn't have any trouble following along. There's a good amount of history to explain how the UN developed into what it is today. There's a fair amount of internal politics. There's some of the procedural aspects of the UN, such as the veto power of any of the permanent members of the Security Council, just to give you an rough idea of how business is conducted, especially when there are disagreements.

Personally, the biggest takeaway for me was just an idea of what the UN actually is. I remember from college that people would criticize the UN for not doing enough, whether for world peace, justice, health, whatever. I remember having the idea that the UN has no teeth, and perhaps no purpose in the modern world other than to exist as theater of international cooperation. This was around the time of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and I remember a lot of calls to "get the U.S. out of the UN." I remember thinking at the time how strange that would be for the host country not to participate in the UN, but also how counter-productive it would be for whatever that was supposed to achieve; if you don't like what the U.S. policy is at the UN, then shouldn't you address that by policy change at the U.S., rather than withdrawing? What could that achieve? Fortunately for me, this book covers that very issue. While the UN does a lot of good for the world, the five permanent members of the Security Council have veto power for basically anything, which effectively means the U.S. (or any other permanent member) can stop the UN from doing anything it doesn't like. While this veto power has been the focus of so much criticism, it really lies at the heart of what the UN aims to achieve: participation from the major players of the world. A sovereign power will not forfeit its sovereignty just to belong to a club, no matter how prestigious. This means that the UN by necessity has to be welcoming for countries to join. If the U.S. left the UN, that would not stop the U.S. from pursuing its own national interest, but only to do so without, in a sense, endorsement from the UN. To go back to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the U.S. did this without UN support, and we're still in the UN.

So what is the purpose of the UN? It was originally conceived of as a deterrent to war, especially nuclear war. However, the threat of mutually assured destruction was more a deterrent than any UN resolution. So what has its actual purpose been? Mainly, it provides a place for countries to work together for common aims, to censure countries that act badly, and to spread peace, justice, and health to the peoples of the world as possible. These are high aspirations mitigated through the practical limitations of limited resources, limited budgets, and the limiting options of realpolitik. As above, the UN can only act in a way that doesn't rock the boat so much that countries, especially superpowers, will leave it. But within that constraint, it has been effective at helping to meet so many needs of so many people throughout the world. Hanhimaki is not shy to point out the ways that the UN has fallen short of its goals, but firmly expresses the value of the work that's been done. Overall, a short and informative overview of the United Nations.
]]> <![CDATA[Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself]]> 481945 336 Harriet Ann Jacobs 0674002717 Aaron 3 life-story 4.13 1861 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself
author: Harriet Ann Jacobs
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1861
rating: 3
read at: 2003/10/01
date added: 2022/04/02
shelves: life-story
review:
This book is actually a slave narrative that was written as a novel for the sake of publishing (using a false name to protect her identity). Like all slave narratives it's full of pain, darkness, and suffering, but also courage and hope. She waited for, if I remember correctly, an entire year in a hidden apartment the size of a large box when she escaped her master; once she had an opportunity, she took off with her children. I can't even imagine that, but it's a true story.
]]> <![CDATA[100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present]]> 1105674
In each entry we are given the name and date of the battle, the commanders, the size of the opposing forces, and casualties. An account of the battle plan and the military action are strategically discussed, and each description closes with a valuable consideration of how history was affected by the outcome of the conflict. Among the battles presented are the Battle of Thymbra (546 BC), the Battle of Chalons (451 AD), the Battle of Cajamarca (1532), the Battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954), and the Tet Offensive (1968). Accompanying maps and sidebars help further orient us with each military action.

Global in scope, with excellent coverage of American, Central American, European, Asian, and Middle Eastern battles, and with its stirring accounts of familiar battles and many lesser known military conflicts, 100 Decisive Battles is essential reading for military buffs and anyone interested in how the modern world came to be.]]> 480 Paul K. Davis 0195143663 Aaron 5
There is one chapter for each of the hundred battles. Each chapter is only a few pages and is is a self-contained story, so you can conveniently flip to whatever battle interests you. I'm just writing this review today, but I've probably read this book five times over, just never cover-to-cover. This makes it accessible to a casual reader that is only interested in one or two battles At the same time, it's more than a survey text with each chapter having enough detail (and such excellent prose!) to satisfy a serious interest in the history of war. Davis uses a three part structure for each chapter: "Historical Setting" to put it in context, "The Battle" for what happened, and "Results" for the historical, political, and social consequences (essentially, why it's important). There are a fair number of illustrations, maps, battle formations, paintings, and brief side stories all to flesh out the text. The side stories typically take up half a page and range from further explanation of matters from the text (What was Greek Fire? Who were the Mamluks?) to additional background information (Emperor Justinian repeated forcing Belisarius into retirement for fear of his popularity, only to call on him again and again) or why one battle was included in the text in place of another (Moscow instead of Stalingrad).

You may think this book is geared toward aficionados of military history, but I honestly feel this book is best suited for a reader that is generally put off by the topic. That's not to say it's designed for conversion. But I feel military history is too often pigeonholed into a separate category, something interesting and valuable only to people that like fighting and war. This criticism often comes in the form of "a bunch of names and dates", and indeed many people do learn history as learning a list of things that happened and when they happened without actually understanding why they happened or why we still talk about them. Davis does an excellent job to humanize the parties involved, making the stories resonate from their time to our own.
]]> 4.05 1999 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present
author: Paul K. Davis
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2021/10/11
date added: 2021/10/11
shelves: history, sets-the-standard, social-studies, general
review:
I purchased a copy of this book for my father about ten years ago. He was an instant fan, and he would often tell me about what a pleasure it was to read each chapter. He liked to savor them for fear of running out. I concur. Paul K. Davis is an excellent writer, weaving together history, war, politics, and culture. The real emphasis is on the last, as these decisive battles are generally discussed more in terms of the cultural and social significance than in terms of combat. Davis does go into a fair amount of tactics, strategy, arms, battle formations, and the like, but it's more to set the stage than the main event. The battles range across thousands of years and nearly every corner of the Earth.

There is one chapter for each of the hundred battles. Each chapter is only a few pages and is is a self-contained story, so you can conveniently flip to whatever battle interests you. I'm just writing this review today, but I've probably read this book five times over, just never cover-to-cover. This makes it accessible to a casual reader that is only interested in one or two battles At the same time, it's more than a survey text with each chapter having enough detail (and such excellent prose!) to satisfy a serious interest in the history of war. Davis uses a three part structure for each chapter: "Historical Setting" to put it in context, "The Battle" for what happened, and "Results" for the historical, political, and social consequences (essentially, why it's important). There are a fair number of illustrations, maps, battle formations, paintings, and brief side stories all to flesh out the text. The side stories typically take up half a page and range from further explanation of matters from the text (What was Greek Fire? Who were the Mamluks?) to additional background information (Emperor Justinian repeated forcing Belisarius into retirement for fear of his popularity, only to call on him again and again) or why one battle was included in the text in place of another (Moscow instead of Stalingrad).

You may think this book is geared toward aficionados of military history, but I honestly feel this book is best suited for a reader that is generally put off by the topic. That's not to say it's designed for conversion. But I feel military history is too often pigeonholed into a separate category, something interesting and valuable only to people that like fighting and war. This criticism often comes in the form of "a bunch of names and dates", and indeed many people do learn history as learning a list of things that happened and when they happened without actually understanding why they happened or why we still talk about them. Davis does an excellent job to humanize the parties involved, making the stories resonate from their time to our own.

]]> <![CDATA[Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution]]> 8260364
Amazon.com The Rant Heard Round the World
By Steven Levy

Author Steven Levy When I began researching Hacker s--so many years ago that it’s scary--I thought I’d largely be chronicling the foibles of a sociologically weird cohort who escaped normal human interaction by retreating to the sterile confines of computers labs. Instead, I discovered a fascinating, funny cohort who wound up transforming human interaction, spreading a culture that affects our views about everything from politics to entertainment to business. The stories of those amazing people and what they did is the backbone of Heroes of the Computer Revolution .

But when I revisited the book recently to prepare the 25th Anniversary Edition of my first book, it was clear that I had luckily stumbled on the origin of a computer (and Internet) related controversy that still permeates the digital discussion. Throughout the book I write about something I called The Hacker Ethic, my interpretation of several principles implicitly shared by true hackers, no matter whether they were among the early pioneers from MIT’s Tech Model Railroad Club (the Mesopotamia of hacker culture), the hardware hackers of Silicon Valley’s Homebrew Computer Club (who invented the PC industry), or the slick kid programmers of commercial game software. One of those principles was “Information Should Be Free.� This wasn’t a justification of stealing, but an expression of the yearning to know more so one could hack more. The programs that early MIT hackers wrote for big computers were stored on paper tapes. The hackers would keep the tapes in a drawer by the computer so anyone could run the program, change it, and then cut a new tape for the next person to improve. The idea of ownership was alien.

This idea came under stress with the advent of personal computers. The Homebrew Club was made of fanatic engineers, along with a few social activists who were thrilled at the democratic possibilities of PCs. The first home computer they could get their hands on was 1975’s Altair, which came in a kit that required a fairly hairy assembly process. (Its inventor was Ed Roberts, an underappreciated pioneer who died earlier this year.) No software came with it. So it was a big deal when 19-year-old Harvard undergrad Bill Gates and his partner Paul Allen wrote a BASIC computer language for it. The Homebrew people were delighted with Altair BASIC, but unhappy that Gates and Allen charged real money for it. Some Homebrew people felt that their need for it outweighed their ability to pay. And after one of them got hold of a “borrowed� tape with the program, he showed up at a meeting with a box of copies (because it is so easy to make perfect copies in the digital age), and proceeded to distribute them to anyone who wanted one, gratis.

This didn’t sit well with Bill Gates, who wrote what was to become a famous “Letter to Hobbyists,� basically accusing them of stealing his property. It was the computer-age equivalent to Luther posting the Ninety-Five Theses on the Castle Church. Gate’s complaints would reverberate well into the Internet age, and variations on the controversy persist. Years later, when another undergrad named Shawn Fanning wrote a program called Napster that kicked off massive piracy of song files over the Internet, we saw a bloodier replay of the flap. Today, issues of cost, copying and control still rage--note Viacom’s continuing lawsuit against YouTube and Google. And in my own business—journalism--availability of free news is threatening more traditional, expensive new-gathering. Related issues that also spring from controversies in Hackers are debates over the “walled gardens� of Facebook and Apple’s iPad.

I ended the original Hackers with a portrait of Richard Stallman, an MIT hacker dedicated to the principle of free software. I recently revisited him while gathering new material for the 25th Anniversary Edition of Hackers , he was more hard core than ever. He even eschewed the Open Source movement for being insufficiently noncommercial.

When I spoke to Gates for the update, I asked him about his 1976 letter and the subsequent intellectual property wars. “Don’t call it war,� he said. “Thank God we have an incentive system. Striking the right balance of how this should work, you know, there's going to be tons of exploration.� Then he applied the controversy to my own situation as a journalism. “Things are in a crazy way for music and movies and books,� he said. “Maybe magazine writers will still get paid 20 years from now. Who knows? Maybe you'll have to cut hair during the day and just write articles at night.�

So Amazon.com readers, it’s up to you. Those who have not read Hackers, , have fun and be amazed at the tales of those who changed the world and had a hell of time doing it. Those who have previously read and loved Hackers , replace your beat-up copies, or the ones you loaned out and never got back, with this beautiful 25th Anniversary Edition from O’Reilly with new material about my subsequent visits with Gates, Stallman, and younger hacker figures like Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. If you don’t I may have to buy a scissors--and the next bad haircut could be yours!]]> 502 Steven Levy 1449388396 Aaron 5 Hackers was originally published in 1984. My copy has an afterword written ten years later and another afterword from 2010. It's interesting read the original book as kind of time capsule and then to look back with the author from 10 and 25 years later.

I'd heard references to this book for years but never really had much interest in picking up a copy until recently. Time lost. This book gives an excellent history hearkening back to the early days of commercial computing in the 1950s. Previously, computers were the size of an entire room and could only be afforded by the government; after this time, computers would fit on a table and could be purchased at a retailer across town. This was an era where an exclusive few in academia or big business had ready access to this new technology, but only a true, well, hacker could get the most out of it. The book verges on the edge of a-little-too-technical for the average audience, but Levy masterfully couches the technical jargon in such a smooth flowing narrative that you can always safely glaze over what you don't know (like any kind of made up techno-babble in a sci-fi movie). For me, I found it fascinating to learn that the Altair 8800 named after a star on some random episode of Star Trek, that is built on the new Intel 8080 (designed as a microcontroller for traffic lights and such!), and was only made possible because Ed Roberts negotiated the price per CPU from $350 to a wholesale price of $75. I also always wondered how exactly they got data into an out of the Altair, that box of switches and blinking lights. They didn't. The every program was entered switch by switch, bit by bit, blinking light by blinking light every time you powered it on. More a proof-of-concept toy that workable machine (at least until hackers went to work on it). You'll either find this book a riveting history or an intolerable bore, but that's entirely based on on the tales and not the telling. This could have easily been a snoozer for even most avid fans, but Levy shows himself as a first-order journalist, and only secondly as a fan of the subject.

Outline of the topics. The first section is the MIT scene in the 1950s and 60s. It was a hotbed of ideas as some of the more technically inclined (and hands-on) students got access to cutting edge machines, under the very loose (and hands-off) supervision of administrators. This allowed them to explore new technology, invent challenges for themselves, and try to get the very most out of the machines, which in turn led to new ideas, a wealth of programming, and a culture that defined what Levy's calls "The Hacker Ethic" - principles established at MIT but which appear to be the sine qua non of true hackers everywhere. Things such as freely sharing information, relentlessly working to overcome obstacles, working out of passion over profit, and doing "the right thing" (technologically speaking). As we see, not everywhere shares these principles, but by Levy's telling they seem to present in most anyone that adopts the hacker culture, and in all likelihood probably had it rooted deep in them before they ever touched a computer. The next section goes out to west coast, where computer enthusiasts met up to swap ideas, swap parts, hack solutions, and share programs in the burgeoning home computer scene. Most of them were had day jobs in the tech world, but were largely unfulfilled by it and looking for something more on their free time. Instead of being a bunch of hobbyists working in isolation, they created a kind of communal tech support, where everyone benefited from ideas and discoveries that were freely shared. This led to commercially available home computers such as the Apple II, probably the earliest example of what people would recognize as a true "home computer". The next section shifts from the small time hobbyist world to that of big business. The home computer market had proven commercially viable and an entire industry had ballooned around them. At the forefront are Ken and Robert Williams, who founded their own software publishing company Sierra On-Line (from scratch, a true startup out of their own kitchen, Ziplock bags in place of shrink wrap!) and demonstrated both the possibilities and the follies of merging the business world with hacker culture. In some ways it was wildly successful, more than anyone could have dreamed, while in others it showed the corrupting influence of profit (over passion) and the shift of values from The Hacker Ethic and good code to conveyor belt releases and fourth quarter market projections. Finally, Levy brings things back to MIT with Richard M. Stallman, "the last of the true hackers." More than any other figure Stallman has been responsible for the Free Software Movement, both the epitome and codification of The Hacker Ethic. On his own he took all the programs from the hacker scene at MIT, all still under copyright of their original authors, and wrote his own version to released freely to the public. He's done other things too, but the fundamental theme is that "all information should be free", and his work has been to that end.

In summary, Steven Levy is a masterful writer and this is a fascinating topic. I believe it took a writer of his skills and genuine curiosity about the topic to bring this story to life. This is the definitive text of this story. It will be up to someone else to write the next chapters as the story of the computer revolution continues to unfold.
]]> 4.21 1984 Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
author: Steven Levy
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1984
rating: 5
read at: 2021/09/25
date added: 2021/10/03
shelves: computer, history, sets-the-standard
review:
If you're not familiar, this is Steven Levy's classic text on the history of the "true" Hackers. I'll clarify what that means in a moment, but first let me say what this book is not about. It's not a guide to hacking, nor is (mostly) about digital trespass, cyber crime, or breaking into secure systems. Those activities tend to be what people associate with the word "hacking," along with the stereotype of hackers as awkward nerds wearing hoodies, obsessed with computers, living a slovenly lifestyle. I can't say they're wrong since that association is so widespread, and often fitting, but in the beginning it had a different connotation: someone who's game is on another level. What Michael Jordan is to basketball, these hackers are to computers. This book is about the men and women that truly brought game to the strange and novel world of computers in a time they found their way into the average American home. The subtitle is "Heroes of the Computer Revolution," which I don't believe is entirely fitting in the sense that all the characters are worthy of celebrating (some may better labelled as villains), but all of them played a key role in this revolution that is still unfolding. Hackers was originally published in 1984. My copy has an afterword written ten years later and another afterword from 2010. It's interesting read the original book as kind of time capsule and then to look back with the author from 10 and 25 years later.

I'd heard references to this book for years but never really had much interest in picking up a copy until recently. Time lost. This book gives an excellent history hearkening back to the early days of commercial computing in the 1950s. Previously, computers were the size of an entire room and could only be afforded by the government; after this time, computers would fit on a table and could be purchased at a retailer across town. This was an era where an exclusive few in academia or big business had ready access to this new technology, but only a true, well, hacker could get the most out of it. The book verges on the edge of a-little-too-technical for the average audience, but Levy masterfully couches the technical jargon in such a smooth flowing narrative that you can always safely glaze over what you don't know (like any kind of made up techno-babble in a sci-fi movie). For me, I found it fascinating to learn that the Altair 8800 named after a star on some random episode of Star Trek, that is built on the new Intel 8080 (designed as a microcontroller for traffic lights and such!), and was only made possible because Ed Roberts negotiated the price per CPU from $350 to a wholesale price of $75. I also always wondered how exactly they got data into an out of the Altair, that box of switches and blinking lights. They didn't. The every program was entered switch by switch, bit by bit, blinking light by blinking light every time you powered it on. More a proof-of-concept toy that workable machine (at least until hackers went to work on it). You'll either find this book a riveting history or an intolerable bore, but that's entirely based on on the tales and not the telling. This could have easily been a snoozer for even most avid fans, but Levy shows himself as a first-order journalist, and only secondly as a fan of the subject.

Outline of the topics. The first section is the MIT scene in the 1950s and 60s. It was a hotbed of ideas as some of the more technically inclined (and hands-on) students got access to cutting edge machines, under the very loose (and hands-off) supervision of administrators. This allowed them to explore new technology, invent challenges for themselves, and try to get the very most out of the machines, which in turn led to new ideas, a wealth of programming, and a culture that defined what Levy's calls "The Hacker Ethic" - principles established at MIT but which appear to be the sine qua non of true hackers everywhere. Things such as freely sharing information, relentlessly working to overcome obstacles, working out of passion over profit, and doing "the right thing" (technologically speaking). As we see, not everywhere shares these principles, but by Levy's telling they seem to present in most anyone that adopts the hacker culture, and in all likelihood probably had it rooted deep in them before they ever touched a computer. The next section goes out to west coast, where computer enthusiasts met up to swap ideas, swap parts, hack solutions, and share programs in the burgeoning home computer scene. Most of them were had day jobs in the tech world, but were largely unfulfilled by it and looking for something more on their free time. Instead of being a bunch of hobbyists working in isolation, they created a kind of communal tech support, where everyone benefited from ideas and discoveries that were freely shared. This led to commercially available home computers such as the Apple II, probably the earliest example of what people would recognize as a true "home computer". The next section shifts from the small time hobbyist world to that of big business. The home computer market had proven commercially viable and an entire industry had ballooned around them. At the forefront are Ken and Robert Williams, who founded their own software publishing company Sierra On-Line (from scratch, a true startup out of their own kitchen, Ziplock bags in place of shrink wrap!) and demonstrated both the possibilities and the follies of merging the business world with hacker culture. In some ways it was wildly successful, more than anyone could have dreamed, while in others it showed the corrupting influence of profit (over passion) and the shift of values from The Hacker Ethic and good code to conveyor belt releases and fourth quarter market projections. Finally, Levy brings things back to MIT with Richard M. Stallman, "the last of the true hackers." More than any other figure Stallman has been responsible for the Free Software Movement, both the epitome and codification of The Hacker Ethic. On his own he took all the programs from the hacker scene at MIT, all still under copyright of their original authors, and wrote his own version to released freely to the public. He's done other things too, but the fundamental theme is that "all information should be free", and his work has been to that end.

In summary, Steven Levy is a masterful writer and this is a fascinating topic. I believe it took a writer of his skills and genuine curiosity about the topic to bring this story to life. This is the definitive text of this story. It will be up to someone else to write the next chapters as the story of the computer revolution continues to unfold.

]]> <![CDATA[Python Programming for Beginners: An Introduction to the Python Computer Language and Computer Programming]]> 23181859 162 Jason Cannon 1501000861 Aaron 4 programming
What do you look for in an intro book? Not just programming, but any topic? Let's make a quick list. Easy for outsiders to understand? Check. Interesting exercises that aren't over challenging for beginners? Check. No mistakes? Well, the examples with the talking cat don't escape backslashes, which I believe is the preferred practice in Python, but I guess that's good enough. Check. Reasonable coverage of material a beginner should learn (data types, loops, conditionals...)? Check. Okay, so it checks all the right boxes, where could it improve?

It's not fundamentally flawed but it seems a bit overpriced for what it delivers. I think I paid $22 for this in 2015. That's a pretty small investment to get started in a new programming language. However, it's pretty steep for this particular book given that books in that price range typically deliver maybe twice the content. Compare this with Introduction to Networking by Charles Severance, a book about the same size and aimed and a similar technical level, which I purchased this year for $10 (and arguably contains more content). I'm not suggesting the cost should be set on word count (more likely the opposite!), but that was a general feeling I had reading through it this second time. This is subjective, but I seemed to always be aware of the font size, the feeling of excessive white space padding, and at once the sense that content was too mashed together without room to breathe. Maybe another font or formatting tool would help, but the design felt closer to a tech manual than my other tutorial books. Also, it would probably be wise to put the problem solutions at the end of the book, not immediately following the question... or at least on the following page. It takes away the challenge when the solution is within range of eye drift. These aren't critical flaws, but definitely room for improvement on another edition.

There are tons of free resources on programming, especially on Python as it's one of the most popular languages of the last 10 years. If you don't mind the price tag, it's a good place to get started.]]> 4.12 2014 Python Programming for Beginners: An Introduction to the Python Computer Language and Computer Programming
author: Jason Cannon
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2021/04/15
date added: 2021/08/31
shelves: programming
review:
According to ŷ, I read this book on December 10, 2015. And according to ŷ, at the time I gave it a 5-star rating, but no review. I guess that makes it easier to update since there's no review to amend. Revisiting it some 5 years later, I'm a little reluctant to place it at that same level but I think it still makes a decent 4-star intro book.

What do you look for in an intro book? Not just programming, but any topic? Let's make a quick list. Easy for outsiders to understand? Check. Interesting exercises that aren't over challenging for beginners? Check. No mistakes? Well, the examples with the talking cat don't escape backslashes, which I believe is the preferred practice in Python, but I guess that's good enough. Check. Reasonable coverage of material a beginner should learn (data types, loops, conditionals...)? Check. Okay, so it checks all the right boxes, where could it improve?

It's not fundamentally flawed but it seems a bit overpriced for what it delivers. I think I paid $22 for this in 2015. That's a pretty small investment to get started in a new programming language. However, it's pretty steep for this particular book given that books in that price range typically deliver maybe twice the content. Compare this with Introduction to Networking by Charles Severance, a book about the same size and aimed and a similar technical level, which I purchased this year for $10 (and arguably contains more content). I'm not suggesting the cost should be set on word count (more likely the opposite!), but that was a general feeling I had reading through it this second time. This is subjective, but I seemed to always be aware of the font size, the feeling of excessive white space padding, and at once the sense that content was too mashed together without room to breathe. Maybe another font or formatting tool would help, but the design felt closer to a tech manual than my other tutorial books. Also, it would probably be wise to put the problem solutions at the end of the book, not immediately following the question... or at least on the following page. It takes away the challenge when the solution is within range of eye drift. These aren't critical flaws, but definitely room for improvement on another edition.

There are tons of free resources on programming, especially on Python as it's one of the most popular languages of the last 10 years. If you don't mind the price tag, it's a good place to get started.
]]> <![CDATA[Bad Paper: Inside the Secret World of Debt Collectors]]> 23637530 Bad Paper reveals why. It tells the story of Aaron Siegel, a former banking executive, and Brandon Wilson, a former armed robber, who become partners and go in quest of "paper"-the uncollected debts that are sold off by banks for pennies on the dollar. As Aaron and Brandon learn, the world of consumer debt collection is an unregulated shadowland where operators often make unwarranted threats and even collect debts that are not theirs.

Introducing an unforgettable cast of strivers and rogues, Jake Halpern chronicles their lives as they manage high-pressure call centers, hunt for paper in Las Vegas casinos, and meet in parked cars to sell the social security numbers and account information of unsuspecting consumers. He also tracks a "package" of debt that is stolen by unscrupulous collectors, leading to a dramatic showdown with guns in a Buffalo corner store. Along the way, he reveals the human cost of a system that compounds the troubles of hardworking Americans and permits banks to ignore their former customers. The result is a vital exposé that is also a bravura feat of storytelling.]]> 256 Jake Halpern 1250076331 Aaron 5 general
Halpern takes you on a journey into the world of debt collections. You meet a whole cast of colorful characters, from high rollers to street hustlers, from rough but honest traders to slimy scammers. A lot of people are trying to get over in some form, but everyone is trying to survive. The first character introduced is Aaron Seigel, a well-off business type that found himself more at home running his own collections agency than he did in the banking world. He is contrasted with his associate Brandon Wilson, a roughneck who grew up on the streets of Somerville, MA (back when it was a rougher town to say the least) and later discovered he could make more money through collections than through armed robbery. Halpern uses their stories to illustrate not only the range of practices, philosophies, and character types in this world, but to show how both of these men live in a bigger ecosystem. Everyone in that ecosystem can struggle in times of famine, as with the 2008 recession. Furthermore, we discover that Seigel, despite owning his business and brokers deals in the millions, is actually a relatively small player who has to basically plead for business from the big fish. By contrast, Wilson always tries to press his tough image, but we find he's actually an honest dealer use uses his persona to curb anyone trying to rip him off. We see him ready to physically throw down with another collector that tries to steal his accounts, but he's also powerless when business is just tough and no one has done him wrong; he's not about to go back to robberies.

Above all, this book is a good work of journalism. Halpern exposes the more scandalous and grimy side of debt collection (that is, what's beyond the aggressive collection calls), but more than that it's really a book about people. You meet people from all walks of life who ended up in the collections world one way or another. Some people become collectors because it was easy money, some people have bad records and it's one of the few jobs around where they can support themselves. Some people get into debt by living irresponsibly while other fall on hard times and just have no one around to even help with good advice. A lot of people are just bad with money. (How about you?) Halpern doesn't apologize for bad decisions nor claim that people should be forgiven for debts they've incurred. But he does show how vulnerable people can get trapped in the system and then totally exploited. You may think that people so deep in debt would be anxiously tracking every cent paid to collectors, but that's often not the case. Some unscrupulous collectors will collect on debt that's already been paid or that they don't even own. (Yeah, those Excel files I mentioned? Not uncommon for "mistakes" on amount paid or someone copying some company files to sell off to another collector.) People get a bill, they pay it (or pay what they can) without checking that against the expected balance. Honestly, when was the last time I checked my own phone bill? Do you check every item of your credit card purchases? Not everyone does.

This book isn't a call to action aims as it really aims to illustrate the collections world. However, there are two areas of reform that Halpern seems to support. First, there's not a lot of oversight or regulation for the industry as a whole. Much of the book is centered at Buffalo, NY, which apparently is the world clearinghouse for the collections industry. At the time of publishing, New York State had two investigators assigned to monitor it. In other words, they're impossibly understaffed. Given the nature of debt collection I doubt that it will ever be the most "legit" line of work, but it seems like it needs to be more regulated than it is. Just how, I don't know. Maybe more done at the federal level? Whatever the solution, better regular would benefit both the public by enforcing laws and also the collectors that play by the rules. The second place for reform is the actual management of the debt records. It's appalling that countless Social Security Numbers, home addresses, phone numbers, and the like are just out there in the wild, perhaps indefinitely, and being traded across any number of hands with effectively no oversight. It seems like a centralized repository of debt records would resolve so many of these problems. You could control who has access to what, users would have to be registered, collectors could only access the information they need (like contact info, not your SSN). Implementing it would be a challenge, but it would go a long way toward serving the public.

Halpern goes a long way toward humanizing these people and their problems. If you're not in debt, I'm happy for you. But consider those in debt that want to turn things around. Most people aren't looking for handouts but they don't want to be judged for their choices, especially choices they made long ago. Let's give everyone a fair chance to get back on their feet.]]> 4.06 2014 Bad Paper: Inside the Secret World of Debt Collectors
author: Jake Halpern
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/12
date added: 2021/08/31
shelves: general
review:
I learned about this book on an episode of Last Week Tonight ("Debt Buyers", from 2016, that same episode where they forgave some $15 million of debt). They showed an interview clip of the author Jake Halpern explaining that the way our information is handled by debt collectors is not nearly as regulated or secure as you'd expect. Specifically, he said that information is typically stored and traded in Excel spreadsheets. I've been doing data management for ten years now, and like it or not, Excel is the unofficial industry standard for transferring data when you're working with your average user. Everybody has Excel on their computer and Excel is decent when it comes to numbers, so it's usually good enough to get the job done. With that said, I'd be terrified to learn that the IRS or Bank of America has no centralized database system for managing data, but only a loose collection of Excel files. (The horror!) Yet, that appears to be exactly the case in the debt collections industry. I highlight the use of Excel because its use is representative of the entire industry: low barrier to entry, little to protect from errors, and found absolutely everywhere.

Halpern takes you on a journey into the world of debt collections. You meet a whole cast of colorful characters, from high rollers to street hustlers, from rough but honest traders to slimy scammers. A lot of people are trying to get over in some form, but everyone is trying to survive. The first character introduced is Aaron Seigel, a well-off business type that found himself more at home running his own collections agency than he did in the banking world. He is contrasted with his associate Brandon Wilson, a roughneck who grew up on the streets of Somerville, MA (back when it was a rougher town to say the least) and later discovered he could make more money through collections than through armed robbery. Halpern uses their stories to illustrate not only the range of practices, philosophies, and character types in this world, but to show how both of these men live in a bigger ecosystem. Everyone in that ecosystem can struggle in times of famine, as with the 2008 recession. Furthermore, we discover that Seigel, despite owning his business and brokers deals in the millions, is actually a relatively small player who has to basically plead for business from the big fish. By contrast, Wilson always tries to press his tough image, but we find he's actually an honest dealer use uses his persona to curb anyone trying to rip him off. We see him ready to physically throw down with another collector that tries to steal his accounts, but he's also powerless when business is just tough and no one has done him wrong; he's not about to go back to robberies.

Above all, this book is a good work of journalism. Halpern exposes the more scandalous and grimy side of debt collection (that is, what's beyond the aggressive collection calls), but more than that it's really a book about people. You meet people from all walks of life who ended up in the collections world one way or another. Some people become collectors because it was easy money, some people have bad records and it's one of the few jobs around where they can support themselves. Some people get into debt by living irresponsibly while other fall on hard times and just have no one around to even help with good advice. A lot of people are just bad with money. (How about you?) Halpern doesn't apologize for bad decisions nor claim that people should be forgiven for debts they've incurred. But he does show how vulnerable people can get trapped in the system and then totally exploited. You may think that people so deep in debt would be anxiously tracking every cent paid to collectors, but that's often not the case. Some unscrupulous collectors will collect on debt that's already been paid or that they don't even own. (Yeah, those Excel files I mentioned? Not uncommon for "mistakes" on amount paid or someone copying some company files to sell off to another collector.) People get a bill, they pay it (or pay what they can) without checking that against the expected balance. Honestly, when was the last time I checked my own phone bill? Do you check every item of your credit card purchases? Not everyone does.

This book isn't a call to action aims as it really aims to illustrate the collections world. However, there are two areas of reform that Halpern seems to support. First, there's not a lot of oversight or regulation for the industry as a whole. Much of the book is centered at Buffalo, NY, which apparently is the world clearinghouse for the collections industry. At the time of publishing, New York State had two investigators assigned to monitor it. In other words, they're impossibly understaffed. Given the nature of debt collection I doubt that it will ever be the most "legit" line of work, but it seems like it needs to be more regulated than it is. Just how, I don't know. Maybe more done at the federal level? Whatever the solution, better regular would benefit both the public by enforcing laws and also the collectors that play by the rules. The second place for reform is the actual management of the debt records. It's appalling that countless Social Security Numbers, home addresses, phone numbers, and the like are just out there in the wild, perhaps indefinitely, and being traded across any number of hands with effectively no oversight. It seems like a centralized repository of debt records would resolve so many of these problems. You could control who has access to what, users would have to be registered, collectors could only access the information they need (like contact info, not your SSN). Implementing it would be a challenge, but it would go a long way toward serving the public.

Halpern goes a long way toward humanizing these people and their problems. If you're not in debt, I'm happy for you. But consider those in debt that want to turn things around. Most people aren't looking for handouts but they don't want to be judged for their choices, especially choices they made long ago. Let's give everyone a fair chance to get back on their feet.
]]> <![CDATA[Learn Computer Forensics: A beginner's guide to searching, analyzing, and securing digital evidence]]> 53347360 370 William Oettinger Aaron 3 computer, law
On the flip side, this book is probably not technical or advanced enough if you're looking to:
- attempt data recovery from your own hard drive or some other device (it's about collecting and managing digital evidence, not data recovery)
- set up your own forensic lab (it's really just a primer)
- testify as a forensic expert in court (again, it's just a primer)

What this book does well:
It covers a reasonably wide range or topics both on the technical side and on the legal side. It covers topics in enough depth to get a fair idea of what it is, what it looks like, and what evidence it will provide. Oettinger also addresses the limitations of what you can determine with certainty from an investigation. For example, you can determine when files were last accessed by their timestamps and the user account that accessed those files, but it's harder to demonstrate that a particular person was in fact the using that account (the counter claim being, "it's my device/account but someone else was using it"). Oettinger goes beyond the how-to aspect of gathering evidence to cover chain-of-custody, using new or wiped drives, regularly testing forensic tools (to demonstrate the validity of the findings in court), considerations of presenting evidence in court, neutrality as a fact finder (for the truth, not for either party in court), and professional integrity. He spend a good amount of text illustrating how much work goes into preparation and readiness before the investigation begins and into handling materials and composing reports afterward.

What this book could do better:
It's not a bad book, but this first edition looks like it was rushed to print. It's published by Packt Publishing, and it's one of two Packt books I own. I guess Packt has been around since 2003 but it seems to be an emergent playing in the tech publishing world, with a sharp increase in volume in the last few years. I support their effort to cover a topic that doesn't have much in print and I like that they support open source tools (which this book demonstrates). However, it looks like this book was rushed to press and could have used a little more time to cook. (Maybe that's because it came out in April 2020 right as the pandemic hit, but my other Packt book suffers from similar editing problems so that's probably not a factor.) There are a lot of minor typos and technical errors - not every page and nothing that will derail the reader, but they come up frequently enough warrant mentioning. Little stuff like that can needlessly tarnish a work and take it down half a letter grade. Another editing problem is the organization and flow: it's pretty uneven. I think all the topics are relevant and useful, but the weight given to each topic is unbalanced. For example, the chapter Computer Systems goes into depth on filesystems, specifically FAT and NTFS. Now filesystems are really, really complex, so you can quickly go down a rabbit hole depending on how much you want to know. It's fair to say different people will want a different amount of detail and you can't please everyone. However, I feel like Oettinger just got lost in weeds with excessive detail that's not sufficiently related back to the ideas he's trying to illustrate. Again, maybe that's just me, but it felt like a it could have used another review with an editor with consideration of what a "beginner's guide". In the chapter Computer Investigation Process he discusses some of the challenges of string searches, and spends a fair amount of text explaining regular expression (regex). Okay, that is definitely beyond the scope of a book like this. I would rather he said something like, "There are all kind of sophisticated rules to apply when doing a string search. For a good guide to regex see this link. For now you just need to be aware of the following pitfalls." See? Keep it on topic, point the reader to additional resources, and never get more than a few sentences from the reason they picked up the book.

Overall this book accomplishes what it aims to, with room for improvement in the next edition. I bought this book because I was curious about computer forensics and it looked like a good survey of related technologies. I wasn't disappointed. I've definitely learned a good amount about both, and it confirmed a lot of what I already kind of knew. The good is all good enough and the bad was just things to work on for next time.
]]> 4.33 Learn Computer Forensics: A beginner's guide to searching, analyzing, and securing digital evidence
author: William Oettinger
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2021/04/24
date added: 2021/06/26
shelves: computer, law
review:
The subtitle to this book is, "A beginner's guide to searching, analyzing, and securing digital evidence". Now that's not wrong, but it may be misleading, depending on what you consider a beginner. For this topic I think a beginner is someone knowledgeable of common components and devices (CPU, RAM, hard drive, USB flash drive, etc.), with a basic idea of how data is used and stored, and generally comfortable with "computer stuff" like installing programs, reading text and hex values, working in different operating systems (Window, Mac, or Linux), etc. This book is not for you if your uncomfortable troubleshooting technical problems, if you're not comfortable looking at hexadecimal values (as you'd expect, there's a lot here), or if you need a visual guide. There are plenty of tables and screenshots, but they're for more for technical illustration and not for hand-holding. You don't need to know the command line, but as always it helps.

On the flip side, this book is probably not technical or advanced enough if you're looking to:
- attempt data recovery from your own hard drive or some other device (it's about collecting and managing digital evidence, not data recovery)
- set up your own forensic lab (it's really just a primer)
- testify as a forensic expert in court (again, it's just a primer)

What this book does well:
It covers a reasonably wide range or topics both on the technical side and on the legal side. It covers topics in enough depth to get a fair idea of what it is, what it looks like, and what evidence it will provide. Oettinger also addresses the limitations of what you can determine with certainty from an investigation. For example, you can determine when files were last accessed by their timestamps and the user account that accessed those files, but it's harder to demonstrate that a particular person was in fact the using that account (the counter claim being, "it's my device/account but someone else was using it"). Oettinger goes beyond the how-to aspect of gathering evidence to cover chain-of-custody, using new or wiped drives, regularly testing forensic tools (to demonstrate the validity of the findings in court), considerations of presenting evidence in court, neutrality as a fact finder (for the truth, not for either party in court), and professional integrity. He spend a good amount of text illustrating how much work goes into preparation and readiness before the investigation begins and into handling materials and composing reports afterward.

What this book could do better:
It's not a bad book, but this first edition looks like it was rushed to print. It's published by Packt Publishing, and it's one of two Packt books I own. I guess Packt has been around since 2003 but it seems to be an emergent playing in the tech publishing world, with a sharp increase in volume in the last few years. I support their effort to cover a topic that doesn't have much in print and I like that they support open source tools (which this book demonstrates). However, it looks like this book was rushed to press and could have used a little more time to cook. (Maybe that's because it came out in April 2020 right as the pandemic hit, but my other Packt book suffers from similar editing problems so that's probably not a factor.) There are a lot of minor typos and technical errors - not every page and nothing that will derail the reader, but they come up frequently enough warrant mentioning. Little stuff like that can needlessly tarnish a work and take it down half a letter grade. Another editing problem is the organization and flow: it's pretty uneven. I think all the topics are relevant and useful, but the weight given to each topic is unbalanced. For example, the chapter Computer Systems goes into depth on filesystems, specifically FAT and NTFS. Now filesystems are really, really complex, so you can quickly go down a rabbit hole depending on how much you want to know. It's fair to say different people will want a different amount of detail and you can't please everyone. However, I feel like Oettinger just got lost in weeds with excessive detail that's not sufficiently related back to the ideas he's trying to illustrate. Again, maybe that's just me, but it felt like a it could have used another review with an editor with consideration of what a "beginner's guide". In the chapter Computer Investigation Process he discusses some of the challenges of string searches, and spends a fair amount of text explaining regular expression (regex). Okay, that is definitely beyond the scope of a book like this. I would rather he said something like, "There are all kind of sophisticated rules to apply when doing a string search. For a good guide to regex see this link. For now you just need to be aware of the following pitfalls." See? Keep it on topic, point the reader to additional resources, and never get more than a few sentences from the reason they picked up the book.

Overall this book accomplishes what it aims to, with room for improvement in the next edition. I bought this book because I was curious about computer forensics and it looked like a good survey of related technologies. I wasn't disappointed. I've definitely learned a good amount about both, and it confirmed a lot of what I already kind of knew. The good is all good enough and the bad was just things to work on for next time.

]]> <![CDATA[The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution]]> 20369783 64 C.P. Snow 1614275475 Aaron 4 social-studies
Snow talks about how in the 1800s it was considered a mark of high esteem to be reasonably well versed in both literature and science, whereas now people on either side tend to view the other with a distant contempt. One quote captures this well: "Once or twice I have been provoked and have asked the company how many of them [literary intellectuals] could describe the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The response was cold: it was also negative. Yet I was asking something which is about the scientific equivalent of: 'Have you read a work of Shakespeare's?'" I remember Arthur Koestler wrote, perhaps in Act of Creation, something such that people will have no hesitation expressing their opinions on modern art, while saying with almost a kind of pride at being baffled by how a toaster works. Not exactly the same idea, but along the same lines. Neither side is bad, neither is completely right or wrong about the other, but there is a wide gulf of mutual understanding. Furthermore, people in each camp tend to socialize with mostly people from their own side, tend to hold similar political beliefs, tend to express similar ideas of society and human nature. This was written in 1959 and it's just as true today. How much misunderstanding is there between is because we no longer break bread?

To clarify the title, Snow makes the case that the true Scientific Revolution was not the new ideas of nature that emerged from astronomy in the 1600s, but the application of science and technology to industry in the early 1900s. He argues that this revolution is similar to how the Industrial Revolution before it brought material changes to the lifestyles and standards of living of millions of people. Snow emphasizes that so many innovations of the 1800s where the result of tinkerers. That approach was defined people with bold ideas and precision skills, but categorically different from the deliberate application of scientific knowledge that took off in the early 1900s. When I read this I'm picturing the revolver vs the atomic bomb, the railroad engine vs the Saturn V rocket. No amount of tinkering can take you to the moon. Some things are just of a different order. The best example of this is how our daily lives are saturated with electronics, something that could not happen without a high degree of applied science. Snow's point is that these dramatic lifestyle changes were a direct result of applying science to new ideas. With this definition in mind, he traces the historical development of the cultural divide, which he grounds in the optimism of material gains of prior generations from technology and the promise of a better tomorrow through industrial technology. As he describes it, the intellectual snobbishness about technologists is rooted in class elitism. A common expression of this is the collective lament of writers and artists decrying the rise of factories and urbanization, ruining the idyllic life of old; on the other side is the fact that the poor of the world flocked to these same factories and cities, suffering those conditions as an improvement over a lifetime of toil working the land. It's easy to complain about the big factory in town when you don't have to worry about it closing.

A final point: as with most books that call for changes, this book is stronger in describing a problem than in the proposed solution. Snow speaks from the position of British academia and he compares the British system of the time with that of the Soviet system and the American system. It's interesting as a historical perspective, but I think the real strength of the book is describing these two cultures, not how to unify them. I think that's its strength and on that alone I can recommend it as an interesting read.]]> 4.07 1959 The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution
author: C.P. Snow
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1959
rating: 4
read at: 2021/04/21
date added: 2021/06/06
shelves: social-studies
review:
This was an interesting essay (or a small collection of essays) on the cultural divide between scientists (and technologists, etc.) and what C.P. Snow calls "literary intellectuals". It's an informal divide, but very real. Snow was both a chemist and a writer, and as such he felt he was in a unique position to straddle the divide between these two cultures so estranged from each other. I can relate as I see myself firmly in both cultures, and I have since my youth. He wrote this in 1959, and laments that even 30 years prior the cultures were already pulling apart but were at least on speaking terms. But Snow claims that by the late 1950s things were already icy between them. I found this surprising, as I always assumed that the gulf between "readers" and "techies" was something that emerged in my lifetime, but it's obviously much older.

Snow talks about how in the 1800s it was considered a mark of high esteem to be reasonably well versed in both literature and science, whereas now people on either side tend to view the other with a distant contempt. One quote captures this well: "Once or twice I have been provoked and have asked the company how many of them [literary intellectuals] could describe the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The response was cold: it was also negative. Yet I was asking something which is about the scientific equivalent of: 'Have you read a work of Shakespeare's?'" I remember Arthur Koestler wrote, perhaps in Act of Creation, something such that people will have no hesitation expressing their opinions on modern art, while saying with almost a kind of pride at being baffled by how a toaster works. Not exactly the same idea, but along the same lines. Neither side is bad, neither is completely right or wrong about the other, but there is a wide gulf of mutual understanding. Furthermore, people in each camp tend to socialize with mostly people from their own side, tend to hold similar political beliefs, tend to express similar ideas of society and human nature. This was written in 1959 and it's just as true today. How much misunderstanding is there between is because we no longer break bread?

To clarify the title, Snow makes the case that the true Scientific Revolution was not the new ideas of nature that emerged from astronomy in the 1600s, but the application of science and technology to industry in the early 1900s. He argues that this revolution is similar to how the Industrial Revolution before it brought material changes to the lifestyles and standards of living of millions of people. Snow emphasizes that so many innovations of the 1800s where the result of tinkerers. That approach was defined people with bold ideas and precision skills, but categorically different from the deliberate application of scientific knowledge that took off in the early 1900s. When I read this I'm picturing the revolver vs the atomic bomb, the railroad engine vs the Saturn V rocket. No amount of tinkering can take you to the moon. Some things are just of a different order. The best example of this is how our daily lives are saturated with electronics, something that could not happen without a high degree of applied science. Snow's point is that these dramatic lifestyle changes were a direct result of applying science to new ideas. With this definition in mind, he traces the historical development of the cultural divide, which he grounds in the optimism of material gains of prior generations from technology and the promise of a better tomorrow through industrial technology. As he describes it, the intellectual snobbishness about technologists is rooted in class elitism. A common expression of this is the collective lament of writers and artists decrying the rise of factories and urbanization, ruining the idyllic life of old; on the other side is the fact that the poor of the world flocked to these same factories and cities, suffering those conditions as an improvement over a lifetime of toil working the land. It's easy to complain about the big factory in town when you don't have to worry about it closing.

A final point: as with most books that call for changes, this book is stronger in describing a problem than in the proposed solution. Snow speaks from the position of British academia and he compares the British system of the time with that of the Soviet system and the American system. It's interesting as a historical perspective, but I think the real strength of the book is describing these two cultures, not how to unify them. I think that's its strength and on that alone I can recommend it as an interesting read.
]]> <![CDATA[Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling]]> 35135474 145 John Taylor Gatto 1771422440 Aaron 3 social-studies
Gatto uses some compelling examples to make his point, and it's easy to nod along as his attacks the glaring problems. With that said I can't say I came away with a clear sense of what exactly he wants. Better teacher training? Lesson plans that accommodate a wider range of learning styles? Abolishing of public education? I think this book belongs to a genre of literature that's strong on identifying real problems, but then goes a step too far and suggests solutions that are optimistic and best and potentially harmful at worst. He also goes a step too far by overstating his case, tying the evils of schooling to any number of broader social ills, which have at best at tenuous relationship. He says children these days are materialistic and uncomfortable with intimacy: setting aside the fact that it's about as anecdotal as evidence can get, can a change in schooling really make the difference? A theory that has no bounds actually diminishes his credibility.

The good: you can read the first chapter ("The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher") and walk away confident that you know his central beliefs and the experiences that inspired them. Gatto breaks down the ways that schooling is at its heart not really education but a dark form of socialization. The idea is basically to teach conformity, emotional dependence, intellectual dependence, to accept the established social order without question. Students that successfully make it through schooling will know their place in the world, know what they are allowed to question, know that success in life depends on obedience to authority, know that originality and individually matter much less than conformity. In part this comes from the practical matter of controlling a classroom - everyone can't just do their own thing when you're teaching fractions. But there's also a subtle and insidious agenda where "good" students are the teachers pet and "bad" students are disruptive, disorganized, unfocused, just can't get with the program. Basically your success in school (and in life) has less to do with your intellectual curiosity, your talents, or even doing your homework than it has to do with behaving the right way for the teacher. We all know people that have a hard time sitting still, people that have problems with authority, people dealing with heavy stuff at home. Unfortunately, the system is not designed to consider or accommodate any of this, but they're graded and judged on it nonetheless. The examples he uses are too familiar.

The bad: as above, he's better at recognizing the problem than solving it. Nothing wrong with that, but some of his ideas are a stretch at best. In the chapter "The Green Monongahela" he describes his experiences growing up in a town on the Monongahela River, near Pittsburgh. The chapter is basically there to illustrate how people without minimal education can still be successful and contribute to society productively and meaningfully. Now doing the math, he must be talking about life in a sleepy American town in the 1950s or so. I don't doubt his claim, but times have changed. I don't doubt he describes it accurately for the time, but he could make a more convincing case to return home after all these years and see how people with less education faring today. That's not entirely a fair comparison since he's arguing that, at least in part, schooling provides only apparently value and not the real value, but success in society is believe in schooling. Again, I would agree with his point but I don't think he's making a strong case. Another baffling proposal is to adopt a New England congregational-style approach to... schooling? Life in general? I don't know. It feels like an unrelated topic that was added to pad this book to 100 pages. It has a lot of name-dropping and it wanders all over the place. I can't understand what he's talking about despite that fact I was born and raised there. It seems like another loose attempt to ground his ideas of education reform on broader themes of social organization, but it didn't work for me.

Worth the read? As above, I recommend the first chapter, "The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher". It hits all the key points, and I think anyone who went to school in the U.S. can probably relate to it. But it would be difficult to sell a single essay for the price of a book, so my cynical hunch is that the publisher tried to squeeze a book out of it with a lot of filler. I think Gatto draws attention to a serious and pervasive issue that really affects all of us in society, but it's something we don't think much about. The ones that pay the most attention to the failings of the school system are the students and the teachers trying to make their way through it, whether to graduation or retirement. It's a system that I do agree is badly in need of reform, but my thoughts on that are outside the scope of a book review. If you're passionate about the topic it may be worth reading to articulate the issues discussed, but I wouldn't draw on it for solutions.
]]> 4.35 2002 Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
author: John Taylor Gatto
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/06/06
shelves: social-studies
review:
John Taylor Gatto was a New York City school teacher for 30 years, and this book is his indictment of the American educational system at large. In 1991 he was named New York State Teacher of the Year; the first chapter is his speech he gave for it. He covers a number of topics and the book tends to meander and retrace his steps, but it's all aimed a central point: the education system is bad. It's bad for students. It's bad for society. It's bad and urgently needs to be change. Did he convince me? Well, I already have a lot of feelings about education, in large part from, well, being there. I can't say he convinced me of a new opinion on education but he does raise good points.

Gatto uses some compelling examples to make his point, and it's easy to nod along as his attacks the glaring problems. With that said I can't say I came away with a clear sense of what exactly he wants. Better teacher training? Lesson plans that accommodate a wider range of learning styles? Abolishing of public education? I think this book belongs to a genre of literature that's strong on identifying real problems, but then goes a step too far and suggests solutions that are optimistic and best and potentially harmful at worst. He also goes a step too far by overstating his case, tying the evils of schooling to any number of broader social ills, which have at best at tenuous relationship. He says children these days are materialistic and uncomfortable with intimacy: setting aside the fact that it's about as anecdotal as evidence can get, can a change in schooling really make the difference? A theory that has no bounds actually diminishes his credibility.

The good: you can read the first chapter ("The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher") and walk away confident that you know his central beliefs and the experiences that inspired them. Gatto breaks down the ways that schooling is at its heart not really education but a dark form of socialization. The idea is basically to teach conformity, emotional dependence, intellectual dependence, to accept the established social order without question. Students that successfully make it through schooling will know their place in the world, know what they are allowed to question, know that success in life depends on obedience to authority, know that originality and individually matter much less than conformity. In part this comes from the practical matter of controlling a classroom - everyone can't just do their own thing when you're teaching fractions. But there's also a subtle and insidious agenda where "good" students are the teachers pet and "bad" students are disruptive, disorganized, unfocused, just can't get with the program. Basically your success in school (and in life) has less to do with your intellectual curiosity, your talents, or even doing your homework than it has to do with behaving the right way for the teacher. We all know people that have a hard time sitting still, people that have problems with authority, people dealing with heavy stuff at home. Unfortunately, the system is not designed to consider or accommodate any of this, but they're graded and judged on it nonetheless. The examples he uses are too familiar.

The bad: as above, he's better at recognizing the problem than solving it. Nothing wrong with that, but some of his ideas are a stretch at best. In the chapter "The Green Monongahela" he describes his experiences growing up in a town on the Monongahela River, near Pittsburgh. The chapter is basically there to illustrate how people without minimal education can still be successful and contribute to society productively and meaningfully. Now doing the math, he must be talking about life in a sleepy American town in the 1950s or so. I don't doubt his claim, but times have changed. I don't doubt he describes it accurately for the time, but he could make a more convincing case to return home after all these years and see how people with less education faring today. That's not entirely a fair comparison since he's arguing that, at least in part, schooling provides only apparently value and not the real value, but success in society is believe in schooling. Again, I would agree with his point but I don't think he's making a strong case. Another baffling proposal is to adopt a New England congregational-style approach to... schooling? Life in general? I don't know. It feels like an unrelated topic that was added to pad this book to 100 pages. It has a lot of name-dropping and it wanders all over the place. I can't understand what he's talking about despite that fact I was born and raised there. It seems like another loose attempt to ground his ideas of education reform on broader themes of social organization, but it didn't work for me.

Worth the read? As above, I recommend the first chapter, "The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher". It hits all the key points, and I think anyone who went to school in the U.S. can probably relate to it. But it would be difficult to sell a single essay for the price of a book, so my cynical hunch is that the publisher tried to squeeze a book out of it with a lot of filler. I think Gatto draws attention to a serious and pervasive issue that really affects all of us in society, but it's something we don't think much about. The ones that pay the most attention to the failings of the school system are the students and the teachers trying to make their way through it, whether to graduation or retirement. It's a system that I do agree is badly in need of reform, but my thoughts on that are outside the scope of a book review. If you're passionate about the topic it may be worth reading to articulate the issues discussed, but I wouldn't draw on it for solutions.

]]> <![CDATA[Introduction to Networking: How the Internet Works]]> 25616802 151 Charles Severance Aaron 5 computer, sets-the-standard
For example, if you asked me how does your phone connect the local WiFi, I'd say, "Oh yeah, that's all defined in the IEEE 802.11 standards". And how exactly does that work here? "Magic." Honestly I had no idea how new devices automatically, but it's actually fairly straightforward (at least in principle). Stuff like that. Another is how two computers connecting over the Internet know how much data to send at a time (the window size). Basically they start out sending a small amount of data to see how that goes, then they increase the amount up to the limit they can send reliably. Even email. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I'd never really thought about how emails works, considering that the person sending the email may not be online at the same time as the recipient. Where does it live in the meantime? How do you know it's sent? How do you retrieve it? All these years it was just magic.

So this book gives you explanations for so much of that magic. And all of it written comfortably for a high school audience (or a tech-savvy middle school reader). Anything you don't understand can safely be skipped over, so don't think you need to read it end to end. The whole idea of the network stack is that each layer is essentially independent of all the others, so it helps to ready chapter 3 before chapter 4, but they're really about different things. Each chapter also has a glossary and short quiz to test yourself on terms and ideas.

It's a five-star gem and I recommend to anyone interested in how the Internet works.]]> 4.39 2015 Introduction to Networking: How the Internet Works
author: Charles Severance
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2021/03/16
date added: 2021/06/06
shelves: computer, sets-the-standard
review:
Excellent introduction to computer networking. It's everything you'd want in an introduction, covering the key ideas and terms without going into too much detail. For myself, I don't do networking professionally, but I have worked in IT for about a decade now. Even with a tech background there's a lot I don't know about networking or only know at an abstract level. So even with that background there were some new things I learned in this book, mostly just by simple, clear illustrations.

For example, if you asked me how does your phone connect the local WiFi, I'd say, "Oh yeah, that's all defined in the IEEE 802.11 standards". And how exactly does that work here? "Magic." Honestly I had no idea how new devices automatically, but it's actually fairly straightforward (at least in principle). Stuff like that. Another is how two computers connecting over the Internet know how much data to send at a time (the window size). Basically they start out sending a small amount of data to see how that goes, then they increase the amount up to the limit they can send reliably. Even email. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I'd never really thought about how emails works, considering that the person sending the email may not be online at the same time as the recipient. Where does it live in the meantime? How do you know it's sent? How do you retrieve it? All these years it was just magic.

So this book gives you explanations for so much of that magic. And all of it written comfortably for a high school audience (or a tech-savvy middle school reader). Anything you don't understand can safely be skipped over, so don't think you need to read it end to end. The whole idea of the network stack is that each layer is essentially independent of all the others, so it helps to ready chapter 3 before chapter 4, but they're really about different things. Each chapter also has a glossary and short quiz to test yourself on terms and ideas.

It's a five-star gem and I recommend to anyone interested in how the Internet works.
]]> Rashomon and Other Stories 672376 Rashomon, tells the chilling story of the killing of a samurai through the testimony of witnesses, including the spirit of the murdered man. The fable-like "Yam Gruel" is an account of desire and humiliation, but one in which the reader's sympathy is thoroughly unsettled. And in "The Martyr," a beloved orphan raised by Jesuit priests is exiled when he refuses to admit that he made a local girl pregnant. He regains their love and respect only at the price of his life. All six tales in the collection show Akutagawa as a master storyteller and an exciting voice of modern Japanese literature.]]> 110 Ryūnosuke Akutagawa 0871401738 Aaron 3 fiction 4.04 1915 Rashomon and Other Stories
author: Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1915
rating: 3
read at: 2006/11/01
date added: 2021/04/20
shelves: fiction
review:
Six interesting stories, all very dark and perhaps "existential." Akutagawa might be called a Japanese Kafka. Akira Kurosawa made a movie named after the story "Rashoman," which is in fact based mostly on another story "In A Grove." I once read that Akutagawa suffered from intense depression throughout his life and committed suicide in his 30's. The stories all have very dark overtones, full of suspicion, deception, cruelty, suffering, and hopeful despair. There is nothing I would call particularly obscene, just a very nasty picture of humanity at it's worst. It's a good read, and relatively short.
]]> <![CDATA[The Illustrated A Brief History of Time]]> 17355
Eager to bring to his original text the new knowledge revealed by these many observations, as well as his most recent research, for this expanded edition Professor Hawking has prepared a new introduction to the book, written an entirely new chapter on the fascinating subject of wormholes and time travel, and updated the original chapters.

In addition, to heighten understanding of complex concepts that readers may have found difficult to grasp despite the clarity and wit of Professor Hawking's writing, this edition is enhanced throughout with more than 240 full-color illustrations , including satellite images, photographs made possible by spectacular technological advances such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and computer-generated images of three- and four-dimensional realities. Detailed captions clarify these illustrations, enabling readers to experience the vastness of intergalactic space, the nature of blackholes, and the microcosmic world of particle physics in which matter and antimatter collide.

A classic work that now brings to the reader the latest understanding of cosmology, The Illustrated A Brief History of Time is the story of the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space.]]> 259 Stephen Hawking 0593040597 Aaron 2 physical-science Sex. I don't doubt that. The both sell for the same reason: good promotion and and a curious audience (and now, both with flashy pictures).

This book is somewhat disappointing as it aims to bring very abstract, perhaps esoteric, science about astronomy and physics to the general public. The graphics look really cool, but I don't think they justify the nearly $50 price tag. Furthermore, the writing seemed to deliberately avoid excess technical explanation in favor of novel presentation; I remember one graphic of two figures shaking hands with the caption reading something like, "If you meet your anti-matter self, don't try to shake hands." That's a neat image to have in mind, but I don't know if it's particularly informing. The entire book runs roughly along those lines, using lightness and humor to make the science more "digestable."

My real issue with this book is there isn't much "science" per se. What I mean by that is the book is more aimed at sparking imaginations (discussions of wormholes, time travel, what happens insides a black hole) than in exploring the difficult and technical science that all these ideas are based on. It packages imagination and calls it "physics." It should be clear enough by the overwhelming majority of reviews in praise of this book that insist on how they didn't understand the concepts. Isn't that weird? The purpose of this kind of literature, I believe, is to inform the public, not to wow us or to make us feel that these ideas are beyond our grasp.

I have much respect for Stephen Hawking and I understand that he has done great work at the cutting edge of astrophysics. I would be very interested in reading a book that clarified ideas and presented science in way that makes it meaning and sensible. This book did not. ]]> 4.28 1988 The Illustrated A Brief History of Time
author: Stephen Hawking
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1988
rating: 2
read at: 1998/01/01
date added: 2021/04/15
shelves: physical-science
review:
Hawking wrote in the introduction that he's sold more books about science than Madonna has sold on Sex. I don't doubt that. The both sell for the same reason: good promotion and and a curious audience (and now, both with flashy pictures).

This book is somewhat disappointing as it aims to bring very abstract, perhaps esoteric, science about astronomy and physics to the general public. The graphics look really cool, but I don't think they justify the nearly $50 price tag. Furthermore, the writing seemed to deliberately avoid excess technical explanation in favor of novel presentation; I remember one graphic of two figures shaking hands with the caption reading something like, "If you meet your anti-matter self, don't try to shake hands." That's a neat image to have in mind, but I don't know if it's particularly informing. The entire book runs roughly along those lines, using lightness and humor to make the science more "digestable."

My real issue with this book is there isn't much "science" per se. What I mean by that is the book is more aimed at sparking imaginations (discussions of wormholes, time travel, what happens insides a black hole) than in exploring the difficult and technical science that all these ideas are based on. It packages imagination and calls it "physics." It should be clear enough by the overwhelming majority of reviews in praise of this book that insist on how they didn't understand the concepts. Isn't that weird? The purpose of this kind of literature, I believe, is to inform the public, not to wow us or to make us feel that these ideas are beyond our grasp.

I have much respect for Stephen Hawking and I understand that he has done great work at the cutting edge of astrophysics. I would be very interested in reading a book that clarified ideas and presented science in way that makes it meaning and sensible. This book did not.
]]> <![CDATA[Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire]]> 549752 368 Jason Goodwin 0312420668 Aaron 5 history Very Short Introduction series by Oxford University Press, and I've always wanted on the Ottoman Empire, but I couldn't find one so I purchased this instead. Great find.

What's the book about? Well, the Ottoman Empire. That means it covers the Turkish people arriving in modern day Turkey from the steppe. It means wars, sieges, and famous battles. It means the history of the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and it means the history of Islam. So that must be a book of people, places, and things, of names and dates, of customs and cultures, of a series of events leading from the past to the present. Well, yes, it has all of that. But if you're expecting a "name and date" kind of book, this isn't it.

It's hard to describe Goodwin's approach. Maybe there's a name for this style or genre and I'm just not familiar, but this is unlike most history books I've read. It feels like he's coming at the topic obliquely, more like a kind of casual story telling based more on feelings that facts. That's not to say it's not factual. It's actually loaded with interesting tidbits scattered throughout the big stories like potpourri, including so many names and dates. But it has none of the feeling of a typical history textbook, more like a lush travel guide mixed with old yarns told by your grandfather. After reading the book, I read some reviews and this style of his seems to be main point of contention.

If you're expecting a strict chronological ordering of major events, persons, and figures told in a manner in the detached style of Gibbon or informed by the considerations of the Annales school, you will likely be disappointed. But come dreading a dry recounting of days past and you might be pleasantly surprised. The book opens with a fitting quote, "These songs will not be to everyone's taste... May those who find them pleasing sing them; may those who do not go off to sleep," - Andrija Kacic-Miosic, The Pleasant Conversations of Slavic People, Venice, 1756.]]> 3.64 1998 Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire
author: Jason Goodwin
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2020/12/13
date added: 2021/01/31
shelves: history
review:
What a gem. I've read a lot of books in the Very Short Introduction series by Oxford University Press, and I've always wanted on the Ottoman Empire, but I couldn't find one so I purchased this instead. Great find.

What's the book about? Well, the Ottoman Empire. That means it covers the Turkish people arriving in modern day Turkey from the steppe. It means wars, sieges, and famous battles. It means the history of the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and it means the history of Islam. So that must be a book of people, places, and things, of names and dates, of customs and cultures, of a series of events leading from the past to the present. Well, yes, it has all of that. But if you're expecting a "name and date" kind of book, this isn't it.

It's hard to describe Goodwin's approach. Maybe there's a name for this style or genre and I'm just not familiar, but this is unlike most history books I've read. It feels like he's coming at the topic obliquely, more like a kind of casual story telling based more on feelings that facts. That's not to say it's not factual. It's actually loaded with interesting tidbits scattered throughout the big stories like potpourri, including so many names and dates. But it has none of the feeling of a typical history textbook, more like a lush travel guide mixed with old yarns told by your grandfather. After reading the book, I read some reviews and this style of his seems to be main point of contention.

If you're expecting a strict chronological ordering of major events, persons, and figures told in a manner in the detached style of Gibbon or informed by the considerations of the Annales school, you will likely be disappointed. But come dreading a dry recounting of days past and you might be pleasantly surprised. The book opens with a fitting quote, "These songs will not be to everyone's taste... May those who find them pleasing sing them; may those who do not go off to sleep," - Andrija Kacic-Miosic, The Pleasant Conversations of Slavic People, Venice, 1756.
]]> <![CDATA[Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA]]> 970488
Now Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tim Weiner offers the first definitive history of the CIA—and everything is on the record. LEGACY OF ASHES is based on more than 50,000 documents, primarily from the archives of the CIA itself, and hundreds of interviews with CIA veterans, including ten Directors of Central Intelligence. It takes the CIA from its creation after World War II, through its battles in the cold war and the war on terror, to its near-collapse after September 11th, 2001.

Tim Weiner’s past work on the CIA and American intelligence was hailed as “impressively reported� and “immensely entertaining� in The New York Times.

The Wall Street Journal called it “truly extraordinary . . . the best book ever written on a case of espionage.� Here is the hidden history of the CIA: why eleven presidents and three generations of CIA officers have been unable to understand the world; why nearly every CIA director has left the agency in worse shape than he found it; and how these failures have profoundly jeopardized our national security.]]> 514 Tim Weiner 038551445X Aaron 5
The main value of this book is to raise serious questions about what an intelligence agency should be and what it should do. That may seem out of place as the responsibility of the public. Shouldn't government leaders oversee government agencies? We don't want military action or foreign relations at the whim of the public. But the United States is a government of, by, and for the people, so any government agency is not directly accountable to the public, but it is it ultimately accountable to the public. For that reason alone it's important to consider what government agents do on our behalf. With that in mind, there are three major challenges facing the CIA that Legacy of Ashes illustrates clearly.

The first is a question of where does the CIA fit in the government. By its charter it answers to the president, but it doesn't fit squarely into any department, it's not overseen directly by any secretary; the agency seems to fall in gray area between the State Department and the Department of Defense. Rather than having no boss, they have the unfortunate dilemma of pleasing two bosses in an endless turf war. Sometimes they even undermined each other's actions (such as the ambassador trying to improve diplomatic relations, unaware that agents are covertly working to stage a coup). Furthermore, the CIA technically reports directly to the president, but one of the book's running themes is the perennial frustration of CIA directors trying to get the president's ear (often being limited to luncheons and occasional 15-minute briefings), and on the other side the president feeling a constant sense that the CIA always seems to promise more than it delivers. Across political parties, administrative agendas, and decades of policy changes, a painful constant has been this disconnect between the president and the CIA. Every president has gone on record expressing feelings of frustration to rage at the CIA.

The next question is what is the nature of the CIA? Does it exist to gather information (that is, intelligence)? Does it exist to carry out all the off-the-books (covert) actions in our national interest? The CIA is officially divided into two branches to reflects these distinct roles: the Clandestine Service (now called Directorate of Operations) and the Directorate of Intelligence (now called Directorate of Analysis). These are the basically the secret spy branch and the information processing branch, respectively. (If you're interested, Robert Baer describes these from a agent's point of view in his book See No Evil.) It seems like these two departments have been arm wrestling for priority as the real heart of the agency. It's gone back and forth over the years, and the budget and staffing for each seems to be almost entirely dependent on the philosophy and mentality of an endless stream of new directors and presidential administrations. Without consistency of purposes and reliably support, I can't imagine how either branch can expect to be effective. How much can you can get accomplished when downsizing and budget cuts loom around the corner, or when funds are squandered on teams that don't pull their way. Like you can say about most any government organization, they have a common cause on the surface but deep down each one believes it's the real deal and the other is over-glorified. Is clandestine action the heart and soul of the agency - spying, sabotage, acquiring defectors, invading foreign countries, assassinations? That's the real Mission Impossible, James Bond-type stuff. And while there have been successful missions, the vast majority have either been duds or debacles. This has been the main source of presidential frustration with the CIA: they promise too much, deliver too little, and come across looking like bungling idiots. On the flip side are the analysts, who take all the intelligence gathered to find something value and actionable. And while they haven't produced any major embarrassments (like the Bay of Pigs incident or the Iran-Contra scandal), they also haven't produced much in terms of, well, valuable information. Instead, like so many government organization, they seemed to be mostly determined to find any kind of good news, things that the president wanted to hear, basically anything that would secure their position and their budget. In other words, most of their job was to produce whatever would let them keep their jobs. You can imagine how they're seen by the field operatives who risk life and limb in foreign lands, drinking dirty water, far from a cushy Georgetown bungalow. There's always going to be rivalry in organizations, but the CIA exists for nation security, so the stakes demand that these rivalries be minimized and properly managed. In Eisenhower's words, "It probably takes a strange kind of genius to run it." Some directors did it better than others, but it looks like generally it hasn't been the case.

Finally, there's the question of accountability. Weiner covers so many cases where not only was so much kept secret from the public, but so much was kept secret from even the president. Let me pause on that point for a moment. The CIA answers to the president, but there have been been agents that withheld information even from the president. This is all real and on the books. (Again, there's no way to know how much more was off the books, but the official record is concerning enough.) This basically redefines the idea of "top secret" - that there are government agents more privileged than the head of state. It's one thing to keep sources anonymous for security, but something else entirely to carry out secret actions in the name of the United States. The gut response to this is, "Well of course, the world's a big place full of bad stuff - these guys must know secrets and do shady things that have to be done but the public would find distasteful, right? I mean, they must be patriots to even be there in the first place, so we have to trust them." Well, yes and no. First of all, these actions aren't just kept secret from the public (that is, classified), but kept from even the president. And if you're willing to withhold information from the president, well, how about that new director of operations - what does he know? In fact, this new station chief is a political appointee and will mess up our two-year operation, so he doesn't need to know. How comfortable are you with that? If you've ever worked in an organization of a few dozen people, you're probably all too familiar with how things can fall apart when people start running their own agendas and deciding who needs to know what. Again, this is for national security. And again, you may say we should give them the benefit of the doubt because they're fighting the modern battlefield "in the shadows" (the common cliche of recent spy movies). Okay, but I'll ask in response, what if the "wrong" political party takes control of the government - how do you feel about secret government organizations, with no oversight, and not even the pretense of the accountability? This idea feeds the whole idea of the "deep state" or shadow governments, etc. A related question is when an agent acts on their own and does wrong, whether out of self-interest or from a sincere sense of duty, what should the consequences be? Who should hold them accountable? Do they get a pass by virtue of their role? Does responsibility ultimately fall on the president, regardless of what was disclosed and withheld? If a CIA agent does something deplorable and flagrantly against American values and the law, what should the consequence between. Say an agent overseas kills your grandmother - no authorization, no approval - out of the belief that she's a spy: get a pass because they were trying to do their job or simple murder? Kennedy tried to have Castro assassinated, only to later be assassinated himself. Do we really want assassination to be fair game in international conflicts? What are we as the public okay with? Are you okay with doing it? Are you okay with it happening to you?

I know this is kind of of all over the map, but this book covers a lot of ground a raises so many challenging questions. I imagine 600 pages is far too much for most people to sit through, so I tried to pull out some of the main themes and ideas above. The main takeaway for me was the demystification of CIA. It's often used as the epitome of mystery in books, movies, and television - the go-to example for government power, secrecy, and super-powered technology. Yes, it's had it's moments for each of those. But more often it's been closer to what we encounter in any other government organization. I believe that every government needs an intelligence agency for its own security and survival - you have to know what threats you're facing. I also believe the job of intelligence is by nature dirty and thankless, so it will always require dedicated agents taking risks, doing dirty work, and holding ugly secrets. But I also believe in transparency and it looks like the worst of the CIA has been it's attempts to go beyond gathering intelligence into the realm of sabotage, assassination, bribing foreign officials, election tampering, and coups. Again, things that have rarely last or produce fruitful ends. Things that tarnish our reputation internationally. Things that run contrary to our values and ideals. The CIA wants to see itself as the successor to the OSS, but that was a wartime organization committing true acts of war. We need different rules in times of peace in order to keep the peace. To that end, the CIA needs to consider its purpose. To that end, the public needs to consider want it wants from the CIA.]]> 3.93 2007 Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
author: Tim Weiner
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/22
date added: 2020/11/11
shelves: to-read, government, history, sets-the-standard
review:
An excellent survey of the CIA, it's successes, and it's failures. The name sounds provocative and Tim Weiner pulls no punches recounting the many times the CIA was embarrassed, came up short, or succeed through just plain luck. The phrase actually comes from Eisenhower expressing his frustration at failing to turn the CIA into the kind of intelligence organization he wanted it to be. He summed up his efforts to reform it with, "I have suffered and eight-year defeat on this," (p. 194). With that said, you'd think this book would only be a polemic against the CIA or against intelligence organizations in general. I don't think so. Weiner is careful to distinguish substantiated facts from plausible yet un-backed claims from pure speculation. In the Author's Note at the beginning Weiner states that his work is based more than 50,000 official documents, 2,000 oral histories, and 300 interviews. The text is loaded with direct quotes. The main text is 601 pages, followed by 177 pages of notes on sources and additional details (a bit much for me after finishing 600 pages, but I'm sure some people have even more appetite for this stuff). With all that said, Weiner is quick to give credit where credit is due by acknowledging the true successes the CIA has enjoy over the years, and to recognize the committed and competent officers that have faithfully served the country. Unfortunately, that legacy is marred by selfish, incompetent, corrupt officials, collectively contributing to bad reputation the agency holds today. Weiner acknowledges that this book is by nature incomplete: there's always more to what happened than what's on the record, and there's two sides to every story. But what's on the record tells a compelling and enlightening on its own - from there you'll have to decide for yourself what to believe.

The main value of this book is to raise serious questions about what an intelligence agency should be and what it should do. That may seem out of place as the responsibility of the public. Shouldn't government leaders oversee government agencies? We don't want military action or foreign relations at the whim of the public. But the United States is a government of, by, and for the people, so any government agency is not directly accountable to the public, but it is it ultimately accountable to the public. For that reason alone it's important to consider what government agents do on our behalf. With that in mind, there are three major challenges facing the CIA that Legacy of Ashes illustrates clearly.

The first is a question of where does the CIA fit in the government. By its charter it answers to the president, but it doesn't fit squarely into any department, it's not overseen directly by any secretary; the agency seems to fall in gray area between the State Department and the Department of Defense. Rather than having no boss, they have the unfortunate dilemma of pleasing two bosses in an endless turf war. Sometimes they even undermined each other's actions (such as the ambassador trying to improve diplomatic relations, unaware that agents are covertly working to stage a coup). Furthermore, the CIA technically reports directly to the president, but one of the book's running themes is the perennial frustration of CIA directors trying to get the president's ear (often being limited to luncheons and occasional 15-minute briefings), and on the other side the president feeling a constant sense that the CIA always seems to promise more than it delivers. Across political parties, administrative agendas, and decades of policy changes, a painful constant has been this disconnect between the president and the CIA. Every president has gone on record expressing feelings of frustration to rage at the CIA.

The next question is what is the nature of the CIA? Does it exist to gather information (that is, intelligence)? Does it exist to carry out all the off-the-books (covert) actions in our national interest? The CIA is officially divided into two branches to reflects these distinct roles: the Clandestine Service (now called Directorate of Operations) and the Directorate of Intelligence (now called Directorate of Analysis). These are the basically the secret spy branch and the information processing branch, respectively. (If you're interested, Robert Baer describes these from a agent's point of view in his book See No Evil.) It seems like these two departments have been arm wrestling for priority as the real heart of the agency. It's gone back and forth over the years, and the budget and staffing for each seems to be almost entirely dependent on the philosophy and mentality of an endless stream of new directors and presidential administrations. Without consistency of purposes and reliably support, I can't imagine how either branch can expect to be effective. How much can you can get accomplished when downsizing and budget cuts loom around the corner, or when funds are squandered on teams that don't pull their way. Like you can say about most any government organization, they have a common cause on the surface but deep down each one believes it's the real deal and the other is over-glorified. Is clandestine action the heart and soul of the agency - spying, sabotage, acquiring defectors, invading foreign countries, assassinations? That's the real Mission Impossible, James Bond-type stuff. And while there have been successful missions, the vast majority have either been duds or debacles. This has been the main source of presidential frustration with the CIA: they promise too much, deliver too little, and come across looking like bungling idiots. On the flip side are the analysts, who take all the intelligence gathered to find something value and actionable. And while they haven't produced any major embarrassments (like the Bay of Pigs incident or the Iran-Contra scandal), they also haven't produced much in terms of, well, valuable information. Instead, like so many government organization, they seemed to be mostly determined to find any kind of good news, things that the president wanted to hear, basically anything that would secure their position and their budget. In other words, most of their job was to produce whatever would let them keep their jobs. You can imagine how they're seen by the field operatives who risk life and limb in foreign lands, drinking dirty water, far from a cushy Georgetown bungalow. There's always going to be rivalry in organizations, but the CIA exists for nation security, so the stakes demand that these rivalries be minimized and properly managed. In Eisenhower's words, "It probably takes a strange kind of genius to run it." Some directors did it better than others, but it looks like generally it hasn't been the case.

Finally, there's the question of accountability. Weiner covers so many cases where not only was so much kept secret from the public, but so much was kept secret from even the president. Let me pause on that point for a moment. The CIA answers to the president, but there have been been agents that withheld information even from the president. This is all real and on the books. (Again, there's no way to know how much more was off the books, but the official record is concerning enough.) This basically redefines the idea of "top secret" - that there are government agents more privileged than the head of state. It's one thing to keep sources anonymous for security, but something else entirely to carry out secret actions in the name of the United States. The gut response to this is, "Well of course, the world's a big place full of bad stuff - these guys must know secrets and do shady things that have to be done but the public would find distasteful, right? I mean, they must be patriots to even be there in the first place, so we have to trust them." Well, yes and no. First of all, these actions aren't just kept secret from the public (that is, classified), but kept from even the president. And if you're willing to withhold information from the president, well, how about that new director of operations - what does he know? In fact, this new station chief is a political appointee and will mess up our two-year operation, so he doesn't need to know. How comfortable are you with that? If you've ever worked in an organization of a few dozen people, you're probably all too familiar with how things can fall apart when people start running their own agendas and deciding who needs to know what. Again, this is for national security. And again, you may say we should give them the benefit of the doubt because they're fighting the modern battlefield "in the shadows" (the common cliche of recent spy movies). Okay, but I'll ask in response, what if the "wrong" political party takes control of the government - how do you feel about secret government organizations, with no oversight, and not even the pretense of the accountability? This idea feeds the whole idea of the "deep state" or shadow governments, etc. A related question is when an agent acts on their own and does wrong, whether out of self-interest or from a sincere sense of duty, what should the consequences be? Who should hold them accountable? Do they get a pass by virtue of their role? Does responsibility ultimately fall on the president, regardless of what was disclosed and withheld? If a CIA agent does something deplorable and flagrantly against American values and the law, what should the consequence between. Say an agent overseas kills your grandmother - no authorization, no approval - out of the belief that she's a spy: get a pass because they were trying to do their job or simple murder? Kennedy tried to have Castro assassinated, only to later be assassinated himself. Do we really want assassination to be fair game in international conflicts? What are we as the public okay with? Are you okay with doing it? Are you okay with it happening to you?

I know this is kind of of all over the map, but this book covers a lot of ground a raises so many challenging questions. I imagine 600 pages is far too much for most people to sit through, so I tried to pull out some of the main themes and ideas above. The main takeaway for me was the demystification of CIA. It's often used as the epitome of mystery in books, movies, and television - the go-to example for government power, secrecy, and super-powered technology. Yes, it's had it's moments for each of those. But more often it's been closer to what we encounter in any other government organization. I believe that every government needs an intelligence agency for its own security and survival - you have to know what threats you're facing. I also believe the job of intelligence is by nature dirty and thankless, so it will always require dedicated agents taking risks, doing dirty work, and holding ugly secrets. But I also believe in transparency and it looks like the worst of the CIA has been it's attempts to go beyond gathering intelligence into the realm of sabotage, assassination, bribing foreign officials, election tampering, and coups. Again, things that have rarely last or produce fruitful ends. Things that tarnish our reputation internationally. Things that run contrary to our values and ideals. The CIA wants to see itself as the successor to the OSS, but that was a wartime organization committing true acts of war. We need different rules in times of peace in order to keep the peace. To that end, the CIA needs to consider its purpose. To that end, the public needs to consider want it wants from the CIA.
]]> <![CDATA[Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art]]> 102920 222 Scott McCloud Aaron 5 4.00 1993 Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
author: Scott McCloud
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2020/08/04
date added: 2020/08/05
shelves: manga-comic, sets-the-standard, writing, art, general
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Global Economic History: A Very Short Introduction]]> 11569567 170 Robert C. Allen 0199596654 Aaron 4
To really, really oversimplify it, Allen says that in the year 1500 the standard of living for the average person was approximately the same all around the world. People had basically a substance diet (meaning better than skin and bones but not by much), and maybe they had a little left over for a new hammer or a new cooking pot, but not much more. And let's be clear here, we're talking about the average person, not fabled stories of kings with luxurious wealth. Everything started to change with European colonialism. It didn't happen overnight, but it was a steady stream of siphoning wealth off the oversees lands and a feedback loop of technical and commercial innovations. Basically the more money was being made, the more incentive people had to try to get piece of it. Things went into high gear with the industrial revolution (and its demand for skilled labor, supply chains, and networks of industry) where the wealthiest countries of today leaped ahead of the rest. This left the rest in the world in vicious cycle where more labor is unskilled and therefore cheap, but industry powers don't want to invest in development of skilled labor since it's in their interest to keep wages low.

While Allen covers several factors in play, here a some of the key factors for what he calls the standard model. Improvements in transportation (better ships, better roads, railways, etc.) bring down the total cost; this means you can produce something cheaply at one place (farm, plantation, factory) and ship it a greater distance while maintaining a profit, increasing the pressure on competitors. Next is education, especially literacy, since knowledge and skills are essential for more complex, specialized work. I found one of his points especially interesting in that I recently read The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction, which made the claim that literacy is generally higher in Protestant countries, especially northern Europe. At the time I thought this was a strange claim, mostly since I don't think I'd ever heard it before. Allen takes the opposing position, pointing out that the literacy rates follow industrial development borders more accurately than religious borders, and specifically notes the Catholic areas of northern France and Belgium that have literacy rates in line with their Protestant neighbors. Allen takes the position that better economic opportunities drive the motivation for education. I guess decide for yourself. A few other items to round out the standard model are removing internal tariffs (to encourage internal trade), raising external tariffs (again, to encourage local trade), embracing technical innovations, and having a strong financial system (from banks or the government) for loans. Again, these describe the standard model, and countries need to use a "Big Push" to escape the vicious cycle of low wages described above. Allen describes how Japan did this with much success, Russian and Argentina with mixed success, and how China working to do it today.

Who should read this book? I'd like to say everyone, but I know most people won't pick up a book on economic history, no matter how you pitch it. I'm still going to recommend it. It's more the topic than anything: this is someone I can hear anyone at all having an opinion about without the slightest bit of knowledge. Someone standing in line or sitting on a barstool or leaning over the neighbors fence. "See, you know what they need to do is..." Yeah, they need to solve a complex problem involving industry, politics, economics, infrastructure, investing, local job opportunities, education... and doing all this while being economically viable so the business doesn't move somewhere else for cheaper. And you got all that figured out without opening a book. Honestly, I just wish people would challenge themselves more to learn about things like this, things that don't have easy answers. By all means, have an opinion about it, but do read up first!

Anyway, if you've ever wondered why some countries are rich and some are poor, this is a good place to start.]]> 3.85 2011 Global Economic History: A Very Short Introduction
author: Robert C. Allen
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2020/07/12
date added: 2020/08/02
shelves: general, history, social-science
review:
"Why are some countries rich, and some poor?" That's the question on the inside of the jacket, and it's the reason I read this book. Just going by the book's title I thought, what a snoozer. What is this, a book full of line graphs and historical price indexes? And yes, it definitely has those. But you can easily skip past all the math and the figures to follow Robert C. Allen's analysis as he tries to answer that basic question: why are some countries rich, and some poor. I'm not an economist and even some of the basic ideas were new to me, but I found his examples clear and his arguments compelling.

To really, really oversimplify it, Allen says that in the year 1500 the standard of living for the average person was approximately the same all around the world. People had basically a substance diet (meaning better than skin and bones but not by much), and maybe they had a little left over for a new hammer or a new cooking pot, but not much more. And let's be clear here, we're talking about the average person, not fabled stories of kings with luxurious wealth. Everything started to change with European colonialism. It didn't happen overnight, but it was a steady stream of siphoning wealth off the oversees lands and a feedback loop of technical and commercial innovations. Basically the more money was being made, the more incentive people had to try to get piece of it. Things went into high gear with the industrial revolution (and its demand for skilled labor, supply chains, and networks of industry) where the wealthiest countries of today leaped ahead of the rest. This left the rest in the world in vicious cycle where more labor is unskilled and therefore cheap, but industry powers don't want to invest in development of skilled labor since it's in their interest to keep wages low.

While Allen covers several factors in play, here a some of the key factors for what he calls the standard model. Improvements in transportation (better ships, better roads, railways, etc.) bring down the total cost; this means you can produce something cheaply at one place (farm, plantation, factory) and ship it a greater distance while maintaining a profit, increasing the pressure on competitors. Next is education, especially literacy, since knowledge and skills are essential for more complex, specialized work. I found one of his points especially interesting in that I recently read The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction, which made the claim that literacy is generally higher in Protestant countries, especially northern Europe. At the time I thought this was a strange claim, mostly since I don't think I'd ever heard it before. Allen takes the opposing position, pointing out that the literacy rates follow industrial development borders more accurately than religious borders, and specifically notes the Catholic areas of northern France and Belgium that have literacy rates in line with their Protestant neighbors. Allen takes the position that better economic opportunities drive the motivation for education. I guess decide for yourself. A few other items to round out the standard model are removing internal tariffs (to encourage internal trade), raising external tariffs (again, to encourage local trade), embracing technical innovations, and having a strong financial system (from banks or the government) for loans. Again, these describe the standard model, and countries need to use a "Big Push" to escape the vicious cycle of low wages described above. Allen describes how Japan did this with much success, Russian and Argentina with mixed success, and how China working to do it today.

Who should read this book? I'd like to say everyone, but I know most people won't pick up a book on economic history, no matter how you pitch it. I'm still going to recommend it. It's more the topic than anything: this is someone I can hear anyone at all having an opinion about without the slightest bit of knowledge. Someone standing in line or sitting on a barstool or leaning over the neighbors fence. "See, you know what they need to do is..." Yeah, they need to solve a complex problem involving industry, politics, economics, infrastructure, investing, local job opportunities, education... and doing all this while being economically viable so the business doesn't move somewhere else for cheaper. And you got all that figured out without opening a book. Honestly, I just wish people would challenge themselves more to learn about things like this, things that don't have easy answers. By all means, have an opinion about it, but do read up first!

Anyway, if you've ever wondered why some countries are rich and some are poor, this is a good place to start.
]]> <![CDATA[The Daemon, the Gnu, and the Penguin]]> 5273962 204 Peter H. Salus 097903423X Aaron 3 computer, history
What this book gets right:
It's a history of a technical topic, told by someone who was there for a good part of it. I don't know anything about Peter Salas, but he includes some of his personal anecdotes, and I don't have any reason to doubt what he says. In writing a history there's always going to be some degree of subjectivity, and he's firmly advocating for open source software, but I think he does a reasonable job of being objective. Another thing Salus gets right is he goes back pretty far in history, well before to UNIX to the days of DARPA and the IMB 701. (In fact, he actually names this chapter "Ancient History".) I think it makes sense to ground the narrative in the ideas, practices, and practical user needs of a time long before software had been conceived of as a commercial interest. Salus does a good job of tracing this thread across a wide span of time, locations, people, institutions, and technologies, so it gives you a real sense of the scope of complexity of the issues of determining ownership of ideas. Furthermore, he brings in all the big names and key terms, so this book gives you a brief who's who tour of IT. I knew most of these names, but only because I have an interest in the history of IT (and all learned piecemeal), but I still a fair amount.

What this book could have done better:
In a word - editing. There are some minor copy editing problems. There are a few technical editing goofs that even casual readers will notice (like p. 158, "To opt for a different browser, Mozilla or Firefox, perhaps." That's like opting for a different operating system, Microsoft or Window, perhaps.) Okay fair enough, I'd have plenty the same mistakes even with a dozen drafts. My real problem with the editing is structure and content. It felt like it really need a strong editor to go through and slash a lot of bloated text throughout. Some of the content was so interesting, but you had to sift through all these random side stories, footnotes that added no value, parenthetical info that should have been dropped, just a lot of sifting through nonsense to get the good stuff. I had this recurring sense that Salus started with a box of random notes on IT and just tried to cram in as many as possible. They could probably cut a third of the book without losing anything of interest. And the book is interesting! I just feels like some required reading assignment for class where you're trying to figure out what you really need to pay attention to. Another aspect of this is the target audience: who is this book for? I'd love to recommend this book to people interested in the history of open source, but Salus drops a lot of names and terminology in passing. To contrast with what I wrote above, it's great to flesh out the specific contributions of Richard Stallman, Ken Thompson, Linus Torvalds, Tim Berners-Lee, etc.; it's not great to have passing name drops without knowing if you were supposed to know who that it, or references to technical terms or concepts that a casual reader wouldn't understand. So is it a book for experts? Not really, it's just uneven with how much Salus seems to expect the reader to know, almost like different chapters came from different drafts or from different conference presentations. Lastly, the cover says, "How Free and Open Source Software is Changing the World", but the book never really delivers on this promise. Yes, it has changed the world, and yes, this book covers some major threads in that history, but Salus never seems to quite close the deal on that piece. The end kind of devolves into some lofty opinions about: society, human nature, and capitalism; Microsoft's bad faith business practices attacking any perceived threat to their market position; and gushing about (relatively new at the time of publication) Google, Amazon, and other tech companies that have embraced open source. This book came out in 2008, so in fairness you can't expect Salus to have anticipated the concerns about these same companies today, now that they're in market-dominant positions. But still, I think an editor would have help to temper his tone while still making his underlying point: that open source software can still mean making money.

I don't know if he's interested, but I'd like to see him revisit this topic, maybe do a 20th anniversary edition or something. I support open source, I support the effort to tell its history, and I'd support Salus (or someone else) to take another stab at telling the story.]]> 3.47 2008 The Daemon, the Gnu, and the Penguin
author: Peter H. Salus
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/05
date added: 2020/07/05
shelves: computer, history
review:
Okay, a bit to unpack here. I'd say this is a decent effort to trace the history of open source software/the free software movement. It's a mixed bag.

What this book gets right:
It's a history of a technical topic, told by someone who was there for a good part of it. I don't know anything about Peter Salas, but he includes some of his personal anecdotes, and I don't have any reason to doubt what he says. In writing a history there's always going to be some degree of subjectivity, and he's firmly advocating for open source software, but I think he does a reasonable job of being objective. Another thing Salus gets right is he goes back pretty far in history, well before to UNIX to the days of DARPA and the IMB 701. (In fact, he actually names this chapter "Ancient History".) I think it makes sense to ground the narrative in the ideas, practices, and practical user needs of a time long before software had been conceived of as a commercial interest. Salus does a good job of tracing this thread across a wide span of time, locations, people, institutions, and technologies, so it gives you a real sense of the scope of complexity of the issues of determining ownership of ideas. Furthermore, he brings in all the big names and key terms, so this book gives you a brief who's who tour of IT. I knew most of these names, but only because I have an interest in the history of IT (and all learned piecemeal), but I still a fair amount.

What this book could have done better:
In a word - editing. There are some minor copy editing problems. There are a few technical editing goofs that even casual readers will notice (like p. 158, "To opt for a different browser, Mozilla or Firefox, perhaps." That's like opting for a different operating system, Microsoft or Window, perhaps.) Okay fair enough, I'd have plenty the same mistakes even with a dozen drafts. My real problem with the editing is structure and content. It felt like it really need a strong editor to go through and slash a lot of bloated text throughout. Some of the content was so interesting, but you had to sift through all these random side stories, footnotes that added no value, parenthetical info that should have been dropped, just a lot of sifting through nonsense to get the good stuff. I had this recurring sense that Salus started with a box of random notes on IT and just tried to cram in as many as possible. They could probably cut a third of the book without losing anything of interest. And the book is interesting! I just feels like some required reading assignment for class where you're trying to figure out what you really need to pay attention to. Another aspect of this is the target audience: who is this book for? I'd love to recommend this book to people interested in the history of open source, but Salus drops a lot of names and terminology in passing. To contrast with what I wrote above, it's great to flesh out the specific contributions of Richard Stallman, Ken Thompson, Linus Torvalds, Tim Berners-Lee, etc.; it's not great to have passing name drops without knowing if you were supposed to know who that it, or references to technical terms or concepts that a casual reader wouldn't understand. So is it a book for experts? Not really, it's just uneven with how much Salus seems to expect the reader to know, almost like different chapters came from different drafts or from different conference presentations. Lastly, the cover says, "How Free and Open Source Software is Changing the World", but the book never really delivers on this promise. Yes, it has changed the world, and yes, this book covers some major threads in that history, but Salus never seems to quite close the deal on that piece. The end kind of devolves into some lofty opinions about: society, human nature, and capitalism; Microsoft's bad faith business practices attacking any perceived threat to their market position; and gushing about (relatively new at the time of publication) Google, Amazon, and other tech companies that have embraced open source. This book came out in 2008, so in fairness you can't expect Salus to have anticipated the concerns about these same companies today, now that they're in market-dominant positions. But still, I think an editor would have help to temper his tone while still making his underlying point: that open source software can still mean making money.

I don't know if he's interested, but I'd like to see him revisit this topic, maybe do a 20th anniversary edition or something. I support open source, I support the effort to tell its history, and I'd support Salus (or someone else) to take another stab at telling the story.
]]> <![CDATA[The Graphic Work of M.C. Escher]]> 558583 79 M.C. Escher 0330255967 Aaron 3 art 4.28 1954 The Graphic Work of M.C. Escher
author: M.C. Escher
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1954
rating: 3
read at: 2001/06/01
date added: 2020/04/29
shelves: art
review:
This is a collection of some of Escher's more well known illustrations, and if I remember correctly they were ordered chronologically, giving some sense of "progress" over the course of his career. Nice drawings, but very light on the writing; there is almost no explanation or context provided.
]]> <![CDATA[African History: A Very Short Introduction]]> 17835771 - Terence Ranger, The Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

"You will finish this book better informed, with a better understanding of Africa and a clearer idea of the questions."
- Robert Giddings, Tribune

"This small book is a smart and stimulating essay exploring issues of history, sources and methods, Africa in the world, colonialism and postcolonialism, and the past in the present as a means of introducing students and others to academic thinking about African history."
- Tom Spear, Journal of African History

John Parker teaches African history at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He specializes in the history of Ghana and is the author of Making the Town: Ga State and Society in Early Colonial Accra and (with Jean Allman) Tongnaab: The History of a West African God. He is currently researching a book on the history of death and burial in Ghana.

Richard Rathbone is Honorary Professor of History in the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and Emeritus Professor in History at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Other books include Murder and Politics in Colonial Ghana and Nkrumah and the Chiefs.]]> 144 John Parker Aaron 5 history, social-studies
This book is in part a historiography - writing about writing about history. It discusses some of the theories, methods, and challenges of writing the history of a topic. As expected, these challenges includes an especially limited written record prior to the last few centuries and also bias from outside, and political pressure to shape narratives from inside. As a introduction, it doesn't go too deep into the details, but it touches on events and agendas to illustrate how these themes have shaped the study of African history. As a history book it still covers many of the major events and forces that played out across the continent over time, but these are primarily explored in terms of how they fit themes of African history rather than just what happened when.

What stuck out for me: realizing own ignorance about a huge part of the world, most centered around a handful of images. I remember watching television throughout the 1990s with so many images and stories of poverty, starvation, warlords, and genocide that these are still some of the first thoughts that come to mind; I'm sure it's the same with many people in the U.S. The Rwandan genocide, South African apartheid, Kenyan Mau Mau uprising, the Algerian War of Independence, military juntas in sub-Saharan states. All examples of extreme violence, injustice, and social breakdown. But these all happened at different times, with different people, and in response to different things. From the earliest written records of Egypt and Rome there's always been violence in Africa, just like everywhere else. These events here stand out because they happened in recent memory, during the lifetime of people alive today. Furthermore, the violence are so often viewed from the perspective of countries that used to have these people as colonies, with a tinge of saying "see what happened once we left", which turning a blind eye to the violence imposed by colonialism. A related takeaway was how this book highlighted how relatively brief the colonial period was despite the relative size of its perceived role in history.

I could give a breakdown by chapter but the book is short enough and interesting enough that I recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in African history. There is one point I will highlight is "the invention of Africa," discussed as a section of the very first chapter. Africa is, of course, a continent. But when most people refer to "Africa" they're not referring to geology but to something else. But what is that something else? Is a convenient symbol, an easy way to blend so many countries and people together as a monolith entity? Is there something real and essential about African-ness? Does it make sense to talk in the same way about Asia or North America, as one homogeneous block? ]]> 3.50 2007 African History: A Very Short Introduction
author: John Parker
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/04/26
shelves: history, social-studies
review:
I expected this to be a history of Africa: places, people, and events. Instead, I found a book on African history, in the sense of African history as a subject itself. Of course, it does cover places, people, and events. But it's more a book about understanding the themes in African history and of Africa as a symbol (or construct). Some of the reviews I've read seem to point to this as a shortcoming. I guess they also expected this to be more about events and dates, and they weren't satisfied with what they found. But I liked it.

This book is in part a historiography - writing about writing about history. It discusses some of the theories, methods, and challenges of writing the history of a topic. As expected, these challenges includes an especially limited written record prior to the last few centuries and also bias from outside, and political pressure to shape narratives from inside. As a introduction, it doesn't go too deep into the details, but it touches on events and agendas to illustrate how these themes have shaped the study of African history. As a history book it still covers many of the major events and forces that played out across the continent over time, but these are primarily explored in terms of how they fit themes of African history rather than just what happened when.

What stuck out for me: realizing own ignorance about a huge part of the world, most centered around a handful of images. I remember watching television throughout the 1990s with so many images and stories of poverty, starvation, warlords, and genocide that these are still some of the first thoughts that come to mind; I'm sure it's the same with many people in the U.S. The Rwandan genocide, South African apartheid, Kenyan Mau Mau uprising, the Algerian War of Independence, military juntas in sub-Saharan states. All examples of extreme violence, injustice, and social breakdown. But these all happened at different times, with different people, and in response to different things. From the earliest written records of Egypt and Rome there's always been violence in Africa, just like everywhere else. These events here stand out because they happened in recent memory, during the lifetime of people alive today. Furthermore, the violence are so often viewed from the perspective of countries that used to have these people as colonies, with a tinge of saying "see what happened once we left", which turning a blind eye to the violence imposed by colonialism. A related takeaway was how this book highlighted how relatively brief the colonial period was despite the relative size of its perceived role in history.

I could give a breakdown by chapter but the book is short enough and interesting enough that I recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in African history. There is one point I will highlight is "the invention of Africa," discussed as a section of the very first chapter. Africa is, of course, a continent. But when most people refer to "Africa" they're not referring to geology but to something else. But what is that something else? Is a convenient symbol, an easy way to blend so many countries and people together as a monolith entity? Is there something real and essential about African-ness? Does it make sense to talk in the same way about Asia or North America, as one homogeneous block?
]]> <![CDATA[Civil Engineering: A Very Short Introduction]]> 14827751 Brunel, the acclaimed builder of steamships, railways, and tunnels, and Sir Joseph Bazalgette, whose sewer system in central London was instrumental in relieving the city from cholera epidemics. Finally, Muir Wood considers the growing difficulty of managing our water and energy supplies, and he looks at the engineering profession's increased sensitivity to building and the environment.]]> 143 David Muir Wood 019957863X Aaron 3 3.58 2012 Civil Engineering: A Very Short Introduction
author: David Muir Wood
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2020/03/04
date added: 2020/03/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction]]> 372557
Here, historian Christopher Kelly covers the history of the Empire from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius, describing the empire's formation, and its political, religious, cultural, and social structures. It looks at the daily lives of the Empire's people: both those in Rome as well as those living in its furthest colonies. Romans used astonishing logistical feats, political savvy, and military oppression to rule their vast empire. This Very Short Introduction examines how they "romanised" the cultures they conquered, imposing their own culture in order to subsume them completely. The book also looks at how the Roman Empire has been considered and depicted in more recent times, from the writings of Edward Gibbon to the Hollywood blockbuster Gladiator. It will prove a valuable introduction for readers interested in classical history.
]]> 153 Christopher Kelly 0192803913 Aaron 3 3.44 2006 The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction
author: Christopher Kelly
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2020/01/07
date added: 2020/02/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations]]> 36700347 Good Talk delves into the difficult conversations about race, sex, love, and family that seem to be unavoidable these days.

Inspired by her popular BuzzFeed piece "37 Difficult Questions from My Mixed-Raced Son," here are Jacob's responses to her six-year-old, Zakir, who asks if the new president hates brown boys like him; uncomfortable relationship advice from her parents, who came to the United States from India one month into their arranged marriage; and the imaginary therapy sessions she has with celebrities from Bill Murray to Madonna. Jacob also investigates her own past, from her memories of being the only non-white fifth grader to win a Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest to how it felt to be a brown-skinned New Yorker on 9/11. As earnest and moving as they are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, these are the stories that have formed one American life.]]> 349 Mira Jacob 039958904X Aaron 5 4.45 2019 Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations
author: Mira Jacob
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/06/16
date added: 2019/12/19
shelves: sets-the-standard, writing, life-story, general
review:

]]> Official Ubuntu Book, The 28192210
The Official Ubuntu Book, Ninth Edition, has been extensively updated with a single goal: to make running today’s Ubuntu even more pleasant and productive for you. It’s the ideal one-stop knowledge source for Ubuntu novices, those upgrading from older versions or other Linux distributions, and anyone moving toward power-user status.

Its expert authors focus on what you need to know most about installation, applications, media, administration, software applications, and much more. You’ll discover powerful Unity desktop improvements that make Ubuntu even friendlier and more convenient. You’ll also connect with the amazing Ubuntu community and the incredible resources it offers you.

Learn how to
� Reliably install, customize, and update Ubuntu for any home, business, school, or government environment
� Get up and running quickly, and then explore Ubuntu and download powerful free software
� Customize Ubuntu for performance, accessibility, and fun
� Get comfortable with the highly efficient Ubuntu command line
� Install, administer, and secure Ubuntu Server, including advanced features such as LVM and RAID
� Get involved with related Ubuntu projects
� Help build, promote, distribute, support, document, or translate Ubuntu
� Get up-to-the-minute help and troubleshooting advice from Ubuntu users worldwide]]> 368 Matthew Helmke 0134513428 Aaron 4 computer
My technical background:
I'm a database administrator so I do a lot with databases and SQL. On the side I do web development with PHP. I can confidently say that all this is overkill for using Ubuntu. The desktop (Unity) looks a bit different from the Windows desktop, but it basically works the same; I'd say it's about as different from Windows as a Mac desktop. It only takes a couple minutes to get familiar. The book gives you some background with the desktop and contains guidelines for customizing. I never needed to bother.

Install and Computer build:
I just built a new computer from all new parts. I don't have a lot of experience working with hardware, so I wanted to take this as a challenge as well as a way to get the most bang for my buck. I was really fed up with Windows 10. (You know... lots of crashing, long load time, poor system feedback, cryptic user licenses, data dumps sent to Microsoft, and did I mention the frequent crashes?) This was a great opportunity for a clean start. I figured the worst case scenario is that I'd just go back to Windows, but fortunately I haven't considered it since. I don't have a bleeding-edge system, but I do have decent specs for everything. I can't say for sure without testing, but I think I could have run this on my former computer (low end Dell from 9 years ago), and it would have worked just fine. Oh, and the install CD has a trial feature so you can get a feel without actually installing it.

Version (and related issues):
I got the 2017 version of the book, which came with Ubuntu version 16.04. The good news is that nearly every device worked immediately: Linux discovered the device and loaded the proper drivers. The bad news is that the one device that was not working was ethernet; this means that I couldn't download anything or upgrade to 18.04 - a catch 22. Fortunately, I was able to great a bootable DVD with 18.04 on my old computer and that worked just fine. Everything worked fine after that, just a word of warning that you might need to do some technical troubleshooting. Oh yeah, and only one crash so far... my first week when I ran about 100 tabs of YouTube at once in Firefox just to see what would happen. (That's not normal use for me. Is it for you?)

Command Line:
I had some limited experience using Windows PowerShell but honestly I never felt comfortable with it. Also, I always felt a little frustrated (and a little jealous?) whenever I was trying to troubleshoot a technical problems and online forums would have some one-line solution, I guess assuming that the audience was using Linux. (This was actually another reason I wanted to use Linux - it just seems there are so many easy solutions available for all kinds of problems.) I've been using the command line (AKA shell AKA bash) pretty regularly since I installed Ubuntu. Times I needed to use it: zero. Times it made things easier: every time. I basically only use the command line when it seems like there should be an easy way to do something, like moving a much of files and folders. I only look for solutions or try out the solutions I find it if looks like I can do something in, say, a third the time; otherwise I'll just do it the long way. The more I use it, the easier it gets, but you'll never need to touch the command line unless you want to. The book has a whole chapter on the command line with a handful of useful starter commands to get familiar.

That's it. I'm not going to sell it to you, but I have found myself telling everyone I know about it just because it's been a game-changer and it took a lot of daily frustration out of my life. If Windows (or whatever you use) is working for you, I hope it keeps working for you. If you take up Ubuntu, I hope you have a great experience.]]> 3.46 2011 Official Ubuntu Book, The
author: Matthew Helmke
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2019/12/01
date added: 2019/12/01
shelves: computer
review:
A great starter book for Ubuntu (or for the Linux world in general). If you're not familiar, Ubuntu is a distribution ("distro") of Linux, which you can think of as a flavor of Linux. Ubuntu is one of the major distros and it has an ever-growing list of specialties, but originally it was tailored as a user-friendly option for home computers. I've been using Windows since I was 10 years old (Windows 3.0), but for years I've been interested in getting into the Linux world. I really didn't know where to begin. This book was an excellent guide. I'd say I used about, say, 70% of it, which is really high for your average tech book. If you're interested in trying out Linux (and Ubuntu in particular), this is a good place to start. I really don't know what more to say about it beyond that, so I'll just give a little relevant info about myself for context.

My technical background:
I'm a database administrator so I do a lot with databases and SQL. On the side I do web development with PHP. I can confidently say that all this is overkill for using Ubuntu. The desktop (Unity) looks a bit different from the Windows desktop, but it basically works the same; I'd say it's about as different from Windows as a Mac desktop. It only takes a couple minutes to get familiar. The book gives you some background with the desktop and contains guidelines for customizing. I never needed to bother.

Install and Computer build:
I just built a new computer from all new parts. I don't have a lot of experience working with hardware, so I wanted to take this as a challenge as well as a way to get the most bang for my buck. I was really fed up with Windows 10. (You know... lots of crashing, long load time, poor system feedback, cryptic user licenses, data dumps sent to Microsoft, and did I mention the frequent crashes?) This was a great opportunity for a clean start. I figured the worst case scenario is that I'd just go back to Windows, but fortunately I haven't considered it since. I don't have a bleeding-edge system, but I do have decent specs for everything. I can't say for sure without testing, but I think I could have run this on my former computer (low end Dell from 9 years ago), and it would have worked just fine. Oh, and the install CD has a trial feature so you can get a feel without actually installing it.

Version (and related issues):
I got the 2017 version of the book, which came with Ubuntu version 16.04. The good news is that nearly every device worked immediately: Linux discovered the device and loaded the proper drivers. The bad news is that the one device that was not working was ethernet; this means that I couldn't download anything or upgrade to 18.04 - a catch 22. Fortunately, I was able to great a bootable DVD with 18.04 on my old computer and that worked just fine. Everything worked fine after that, just a word of warning that you might need to do some technical troubleshooting. Oh yeah, and only one crash so far... my first week when I ran about 100 tabs of YouTube at once in Firefox just to see what would happen. (That's not normal use for me. Is it for you?)

Command Line:
I had some limited experience using Windows PowerShell but honestly I never felt comfortable with it. Also, I always felt a little frustrated (and a little jealous?) whenever I was trying to troubleshoot a technical problems and online forums would have some one-line solution, I guess assuming that the audience was using Linux. (This was actually another reason I wanted to use Linux - it just seems there are so many easy solutions available for all kinds of problems.) I've been using the command line (AKA shell AKA bash) pretty regularly since I installed Ubuntu. Times I needed to use it: zero. Times it made things easier: every time. I basically only use the command line when it seems like there should be an easy way to do something, like moving a much of files and folders. I only look for solutions or try out the solutions I find it if looks like I can do something in, say, a third the time; otherwise I'll just do it the long way. The more I use it, the easier it gets, but you'll never need to touch the command line unless you want to. The book has a whole chapter on the command line with a handful of useful starter commands to get familiar.

That's it. I'm not going to sell it to you, but I have found myself telling everyone I know about it just because it's been a game-changer and it took a lot of daily frustration out of my life. If Windows (or whatever you use) is working for you, I hope it keeps working for you. If you take up Ubuntu, I hope you have a great experience.
]]> <![CDATA[The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction]]> 2530304
Coogan explains the differences between the Bible of Jewish tradition (the "Hebrew Bible") and the Old Testament of Christianity, and also examines the different contents of the Bibles used by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Protestants. He looks at the rise of modern biblical scholarship as well as the recovery of ancient Near Eastern literatures and their significance for biblical interpretation. Coogan explores the use of invented dialogue and historical fiction in the Old Testament, the presence of mythic elements in apparently historical accounts, and the relationship of ancient Israelite myths to those of their neighbors. The book considers the Old Testament's idea of divine justice, especially in Ecclesiastes and Job, and looks at notions of the afterlife in the ancient Near East and in ancient Israel. Coogan highlights the significance of the history and literature of the Old Testament and describes how non-biblical evidence, such as archaeological data and
texts, has placed the Old Testament in a larger and more illuminating context. The book also discusses law and ritual in the Bible as well as the biblical understandings of prophecy.

Here then is a marvelous overview of one of the great pillars of Western religion and culture, a book whose significance has endured for thousands of years and which remains vitally important today for Jews, Christians, and Muslims worldwide.

About the Oxford's Very Short Introductions offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, and Literary Theory to History. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given topic. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how it has developed and influenced society. Whatever the area of study, whatever the topic that fascinates the reader, the series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.]]> 160 Michael D. Coogan 0195305051 Aaron 5 3.77 2008 The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction
author: Michael D. Coogan
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2019/11/06
date added: 2019/11/17
shelves: general, history, philosophy-religion
review:

]]> <![CDATA[African History: A Very Short Introduction]]> 738854 Africa has been known as 'the cradle of mankind', and its recoverable history stretches back to the Pharaohs. But the idea of studying African history is itself new, and the authors show why it is still contested and controversial. This VSI, the first concise work of its kind, will prove essential reading for anyone interested in the African continent and the diversity of human history.]]> 192 John Parker 0192802488 Aaron 5 3.35 2007 African History: A Very Short Introduction
author: John Parker
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/24
date added: 2019/11/17
shelves: general, history, social-studies
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Islamic History: A Very Short Introduction]]> 6754961
Finally, the roles that Islamic history has played in both religious and political contexts are analysed, while stressing the unique status that history enjoys amongst Muslims, especially compared to its lowly place in Western societies where history is often seen as little more than something that is not to be repeated.Some of the questions that will be answered are:

- How did Islam arise from the obscurity of seventh century Arabia to the headlines of twenty first century media?
- How do we know what we claim to know about Islam's rise and development?
- Why does any of this matter, either to Muslims or to non-Muslims?"]]> 157 Adam J. Silverstein 0199545723 Aaron 5 3.44 2009 Islamic History: A Very Short Introduction
author: Adam J. Silverstein
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/08
date added: 2019/09/29
shelves: history, philosophy-religion, social-studies
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage]]> 25898195 Blind Man's Bulffis a dramatic, and riveting history. Over the course of five years, investigative reporters Sherry Sontag and Chris Drew interviewed hundreds of men who had never spoken about their underwater lives—not even to their wives and children. They uncovered a wealth of classified information: the tapping of undersea Soviet telephone cables, the stealing of Soviet weapons, the tragic collisions of enemy submarines. They tell of medals awarded in secret and deaths disguised with disinformation. Blind Man's Bluff is a critical work of history that reads with all the excitement of a Tom Clancy novel and all the tragedy of Das Boot.
]]> 448 Sherry Sontag 1610393589 Aaron 5 4.34 1998 Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage
author: Sherry Sontag
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2019/09/05
date added: 2019/09/29
shelves: history, government, military, social-studies
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Confessions of an Economic Hit Man]]> 5191535 300 John Perkins 1576758486 Aaron 4 3.93 2004 Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
author: John Perkins
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/16
date added: 2019/09/29
shelves: government, general, manga-comic, social-studies, history
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The History of Life: A Very Short Introduction]]> 5283591
Beginning with an explanation of the controversies surrounding the birth of life itself, each following chapter tells of a major breakthrough that made new forms of life possible: including sex and multicellularity, hard skeletons, and the move to land. Along the way, we witness the greatest mass extinction, the first forests, the rise of modern ecosystems, and, most recently, conscious humans.

Introducing ideas from a range of scientific disciplines, from evolutionary biology and earth history, to geochemistry, palaeontology, and systematics, Michael Benton explains how modern science pieces the evidence in this vast evolutionary puzzle together, to build up an accessible and up-to-date picture of the key developments in the history of life on earth.]]> 192 Michael J. Benton 0199226326 Aaron 5 physical-science Very Short Introduction series generally has solid writing, but Michael J. Benton seems to have a solid sense of what his audience wants to read about. Every chapter is fascinating and you get just enough of each topic. Benton knows how to paint a picture. I often found myself picturing the landscapes he describes, from the dense but flowerless vegetation of the Carboniferous to the not-so-different from today's forests of the late Cretaceous. (I picture the T-rex in the tropical setting of Jurassic Park, but I guess it would have found itself at a home in the forests back home in New Hampshire, at least during the warmer months.)

Each chapter covers a lot of ground, painting with broad strokes, and particular cases are used to illustrate broader themes. One thing I appreciate (as I do for books on any topics) is that Benton highlights the limit to what we know, or how the prevailing theories have changed over time or been challenged by new evidence. It's always good to remind people there's so much out there we don't know, but that's okay. We've never going to have all the answers, but there's still a huge volume we do know about distant past. In fact, perhaps by biggest takeaway from this book is that for some period of paleontology we have an overabundance of fossil and geological evidence. Another surprise is that there were so many challenges from life going from sea to land (not the least of which was dehydration) that scientists consider the adaptation of gills into lungs wasn't a major barrier. "Air breathing, as mentioned before, was a relatively minor problem," (p. 83).

In case you're curious about the major topics, here are the chapters:
1. The origin of life
2. The origin of sex
3. The origin of skeletons
4. The origin of life on land
5. Forests and flight
6. The biggest mass extinction
7. The origin of modern ecosystems
8. The origin of humans

The book is super-readable and written for a general audience - no science background required. But if you are familiar with biology you'll probably still enjoy this little gem.]]> 3.80 2008 The History of Life: A Very Short Introduction
author: Michael J. Benton
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2019/09/28
date added: 2019/09/29
shelves: physical-science
review:
A brief but rich introduction to, well, the history of life. The Very Short Introduction series generally has solid writing, but Michael J. Benton seems to have a solid sense of what his audience wants to read about. Every chapter is fascinating and you get just enough of each topic. Benton knows how to paint a picture. I often found myself picturing the landscapes he describes, from the dense but flowerless vegetation of the Carboniferous to the not-so-different from today's forests of the late Cretaceous. (I picture the T-rex in the tropical setting of Jurassic Park, but I guess it would have found itself at a home in the forests back home in New Hampshire, at least during the warmer months.)

Each chapter covers a lot of ground, painting with broad strokes, and particular cases are used to illustrate broader themes. One thing I appreciate (as I do for books on any topics) is that Benton highlights the limit to what we know, or how the prevailing theories have changed over time or been challenged by new evidence. It's always good to remind people there's so much out there we don't know, but that's okay. We've never going to have all the answers, but there's still a huge volume we do know about distant past. In fact, perhaps by biggest takeaway from this book is that for some period of paleontology we have an overabundance of fossil and geological evidence. Another surprise is that there were so many challenges from life going from sea to land (not the least of which was dehydration) that scientists consider the adaptation of gills into lungs wasn't a major barrier. "Air breathing, as mentioned before, was a relatively minor problem," (p. 83).

In case you're curious about the major topics, here are the chapters:
1. The origin of life
2. The origin of sex
3. The origin of skeletons
4. The origin of life on land
5. Forests and flight
6. The biggest mass extinction
7. The origin of modern ecosystems
8. The origin of humans

The book is super-readable and written for a general audience - no science background required. But if you are familiar with biology you'll probably still enjoy this little gem.
]]> <![CDATA[At Home: A Short History of Private Life]]> 7507825
Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.� The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade; and so on, as Bryson shows how each has figured in the evolution of private life. Whatever happens in the world, he demonstrates, ends up in our house, in the paint and the pipes and the pillows and every item of furniture.
(front flap)]]> 497 Bill Bryson 0767919386 Aaron 0 to-read 3.98 2010 At Home: A Short History of Private Life
author: Bill Bryson
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/09/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Writing and Script: A Very Short Introduction]]> 7006501 from 3300 BC to AD 2000, a list of titles for further reading, and an index.

About the Series : Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.]]> 157 Andrew Robinson 0199567786 Aaron 5 3.75 2009 Writing and Script: A Very Short Introduction
author: Andrew Robinson
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/09
date added: 2019/07/18
shelves: writing, social-studies, general
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction]]> 6934380 martyrdom were equally its products. A paradox of the Reformation--that it intensified intolerance while establishing pluralism--is one we still wrestle with today.]]> 176 Peter Marshall 0199231311 Aaron 5 3.90 2003 The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction
author: Peter Marshall
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2019/06/20
date added: 2019/06/20
shelves: history, philosophy-religion, social-studies, general
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Railway Journey: The Industrialization of Time and Space in the 19th Century]]> 918674
In a highly original and engaging fashion, Schivelbusch discusses the ways in which our perceptions of distance, time, autonomy, speed, and risk were altered by railway travel. As a history of the surprising ways in which technology and culture interact, this book covers a wide range of topics, including the changing perception of landscapes, the death of conversation while traveling, the problematic nature of the railway compartment, the space of glass architecture, the pathology of the railway journey, industrial fatigue and the history of shock, and the railroad and the city.

Belonging to a distinguished European tradition of critical sociology best exemplified by the work of Georg Simmel and Walter Benjamin, The Railway Journey is anchored in rich empirical data and full of striking insights about railway travel, the industrial revolution, and technological change. Now updated with a new preface, The Railway Journey is an invaluable resource for readers interested in nineteenth-century culture and technology and the prehistory of modern media and digitalization.]]> 219 Wolfgang Schivelbusch 0520059298 Aaron 4 4.15 1977 The Railway Journey: The Industrialization of Time and Space in the 19th Century
author: Wolfgang Schivelbusch
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1977
rating: 4
read at: 2019/05/31
date added: 2019/06/13
shelves: general, history, social-studies
review:

]]> <![CDATA[See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism]]> 9073
A veteran case officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations in the Middle East, Baer witnessed the rise of terrorism first hand and the CIA’s inadequate response to it, leading to the attacks of September 11, 2001. This riveting book is both an indictment of an agency that lost its way and an unprecedented look at the roots of modern terrorism, and includes a new afterword in which Baer speaks out about the American war on terrorism and its profound implications throughout the Middle East.

“Robert Baer was considered perhaps the best on-the-ground field
officer in the Middle East.�
–Seymour M. Hersh, The New Yorker

From The Preface
This book is a memoir of one foot soldier’s career in the other cold war, the one against terrorist networks. It’s a story about places most Americans will never travel to, about people many Americans would prefer to think we don’t need to do business with.

This memoir, I hope, will show the reader how spying is supposed to work, where the CIA lost its way, and how we can bring it back again. But I hope this book will accomplish one more purpose as well: I hope it will show why I am angry about what happened to the CIA. And I want to show why every American and everyone who cares about the preservation of this country should be angry and alarmed, too.

The CIA was systematically destroyed by political correctness, by petty Beltway wars, by careerism, and much more. At a time when terrorist threats were compounding globally, the agency that should have been monitoring them was being scrubbed clean instead. Americans were making too much money to bother. Life was good. The White House and the National Security Council became cathedrals of commerce where the interests of big business outweighed the interests of protecting American citizens at home and abroad. Defanged and dispirited, the CIA went along for the ride. And then on September 11, 2001, the reckoning for such vast carelessness was presented for all the world to see.]]> 336 Robert B. Baer 140004684X Aaron 4 life-story 3.94 2002 See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism
author: Robert B. Baer
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2019/05/21
date added: 2019/05/28
shelves: life-story
review:

]]> Soul on Ice 75162
By turns shocking and lyrical, unblinking and raw, the searingly honest memoirs of Eldridge Cleaver are a testament to his unique place in American history. Cleaver writes in Soul on Ice, "I'm perfectly aware that I'm in prison, that I'm a Negro, that I've been a rapist, and that I have a Higher Uneducation." What Cleaver shows us, on the pages of this now classic autobiography, is how much he was a man.]]> 242 Eldridge Cleaver 038533379X Aaron 4 general, life-story
This book is distinctly product of the 1960s. Since then a lot of things have changed, a lot of things have not, but you have to read the events he discusses as current events at the time of writing. We're able to look back at the last 50 years and consider this a period piece with so many names of the time that have faded from the public consciousness, but this was written to speak to people of the time. There are references to Mario Savio, Floyd Patterson, Elijah Muhammad, Lenny Bruce - all names well known in their respective circles today, but these were public figures that the average reader would have recognized at the time, with all that they represented symbolically. I first heard about Eldridge Cleaver in a history class I took on the 1960s, so I know these names even though this was all from a generation before me. But I think most of that context would be lost on a casual reader today. I'm not suggesting that you have to study history to understand this book - in fact, I think a lot of what he says about people and race relations in America resonates today - but there's something lost with the passage of time.

As for Cleaver as a writer, there's much to enjoy in his style and much to abhor in his content. He wrote this from Folsom Prison, convicted of sexual assault; he actually elaborates on this to say he deliberately stalked women as prey, as a kind of revenge for all the racism, bitterness, and oppression in his life. In his writing he states that he came to see this as a heinous wrongdoing, and that during his time in prison, especially with religion, he came to see how far astray he'd gone. At the same time, he also says that he was a product of a racist American society, and that the heinous crimes of America against the Vietnamese in the war had washed away his sins; I'll bet the women he assaulted would disagree. Furthermore, he goes on to say so many, many ugly things about women, and homosexuality, and his wild imagining and theories on sexuality at the end that, well, it's just hard to stomach.

At the same time, he speaks so articulately and compellingly about people, about their motives, about their subtle tells and reveals, about their hypocrisies. One particular anecdote involves a white Jewish man in prison with a Lenny Bruce-like style of telling jokes. Cleaver tells how they would go on and on arguing about this or that, just to pass time in prison, and they both got lost in conversation so that they didn't realize that it was time for supper, when this other guy got visibly nervous and "just remembered" he had to talk to someone else - apparently mess hall lines are "integrated" but they don't mix at tables. Later on this guy felt embarrassed by it so he brought it up in conversation - "You saw through me the other day, didn't you?" Cleaver responded, "I see through you every day"; the man then broke the tension of the moment by launching into Lenny Bruce-like comedy routine (p. 69). Cleaver then elaborates, "My own reaction is to have as little as possible to do with the whites. I have no respect for a duck who runs up to me in the yard all buddy-buddy, and then feels obliged not to sit down with me. It's not that I'm dying to sit down with him either, but there is a principle involved which cuts me deeply." There are a lot of passages like this, and with each of them I feel like I'm reading the voice of Eldridge Cleaver. He's best when he's reading people for what they are and calling them out on their bullshit. On the other side, I feel like a lot of this book is his effort to make some bigger point, and it ends up coming across as this bloated metaphysical nonsense. It just feels like it's the ramblings of a man in prison, desperate for love, and cut off from the outside world. But when he talks about people, not as symbols or a evidence for some bigger point, but as actual people, he's best. This is his unique voice, and that gives him his unique place in 20th century literature.

At the risk of sounding defensive, I want to be clear on this: I won't defend Eldridge Cleaver as a person (for the simple fact that I never knew him personally). I won't defend the things he did to women or wrote about women. I won't defend him as a symbol (especially considering he was a symbol for many, often contradictory, things throughout his life). I won't even defend what he's most outspoken about and known for - his opinions on race in America. There are plenty of people that have written plenty of opinions on all that. I suggest you make up your own opinion on each. But I will speak for him as a writer: both for how he wrote and what he wrote about. He has his own half-conversational, half-academic style, his own way of engaging the reader, bringing together ideas in a way that seems sometimes analytical but and at the same time obvious. A lot of it comes out with the pain, rage, and frustration of a man in prison, so I think you have to keep that in mind with every page. (If you kept a journal in prison, what would you write about? How would it come out? What tone would you writing take?) Cleaver has a unique voice and perspective, not only for his time but in American literature as a whole. With that said, I recommend this book knowing that it's a hard read.]]> 3.98 1968 Soul on Ice
author: Eldridge Cleaver
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1968
rating: 4
read at: 2019/04/15
date added: 2019/04/21
shelves: general, life-story
review:
I first heard about this book twenty years ago, in 1999, and in a sense it took me twenty years to read it. I knew it was about racism in America, and that Eldridge Cleaver wrote it while he was in prison. But apart from that I had only heard that it was "heavy". About a year ago I visited my sister and saw it on her bookshelf, so I asked to borrow it. It took me another year to pick it up again. This one was an especially hard read and I think it's probably best that I waited those twenty years to start it. It's nor that the language was challenging, although Cleaver is so articulate, but just the content is so raw and harsh, especially the stuff on women. I'm sure plenty has been written about it before, so I'll just comment on two things here: it's historical context and Cleaver as a writer.

This book is distinctly product of the 1960s. Since then a lot of things have changed, a lot of things have not, but you have to read the events he discusses as current events at the time of writing. We're able to look back at the last 50 years and consider this a period piece with so many names of the time that have faded from the public consciousness, but this was written to speak to people of the time. There are references to Mario Savio, Floyd Patterson, Elijah Muhammad, Lenny Bruce - all names well known in their respective circles today, but these were public figures that the average reader would have recognized at the time, with all that they represented symbolically. I first heard about Eldridge Cleaver in a history class I took on the 1960s, so I know these names even though this was all from a generation before me. But I think most of that context would be lost on a casual reader today. I'm not suggesting that you have to study history to understand this book - in fact, I think a lot of what he says about people and race relations in America resonates today - but there's something lost with the passage of time.

As for Cleaver as a writer, there's much to enjoy in his style and much to abhor in his content. He wrote this from Folsom Prison, convicted of sexual assault; he actually elaborates on this to say he deliberately stalked women as prey, as a kind of revenge for all the racism, bitterness, and oppression in his life. In his writing he states that he came to see this as a heinous wrongdoing, and that during his time in prison, especially with religion, he came to see how far astray he'd gone. At the same time, he also says that he was a product of a racist American society, and that the heinous crimes of America against the Vietnamese in the war had washed away his sins; I'll bet the women he assaulted would disagree. Furthermore, he goes on to say so many, many ugly things about women, and homosexuality, and his wild imagining and theories on sexuality at the end that, well, it's just hard to stomach.

At the same time, he speaks so articulately and compellingly about people, about their motives, about their subtle tells and reveals, about their hypocrisies. One particular anecdote involves a white Jewish man in prison with a Lenny Bruce-like style of telling jokes. Cleaver tells how they would go on and on arguing about this or that, just to pass time in prison, and they both got lost in conversation so that they didn't realize that it was time for supper, when this other guy got visibly nervous and "just remembered" he had to talk to someone else - apparently mess hall lines are "integrated" but they don't mix at tables. Later on this guy felt embarrassed by it so he brought it up in conversation - "You saw through me the other day, didn't you?" Cleaver responded, "I see through you every day"; the man then broke the tension of the moment by launching into Lenny Bruce-like comedy routine (p. 69). Cleaver then elaborates, "My own reaction is to have as little as possible to do with the whites. I have no respect for a duck who runs up to me in the yard all buddy-buddy, and then feels obliged not to sit down with me. It's not that I'm dying to sit down with him either, but there is a principle involved which cuts me deeply." There are a lot of passages like this, and with each of them I feel like I'm reading the voice of Eldridge Cleaver. He's best when he's reading people for what they are and calling them out on their bullshit. On the other side, I feel like a lot of this book is his effort to make some bigger point, and it ends up coming across as this bloated metaphysical nonsense. It just feels like it's the ramblings of a man in prison, desperate for love, and cut off from the outside world. But when he talks about people, not as symbols or a evidence for some bigger point, but as actual people, he's best. This is his unique voice, and that gives him his unique place in 20th century literature.

At the risk of sounding defensive, I want to be clear on this: I won't defend Eldridge Cleaver as a person (for the simple fact that I never knew him personally). I won't defend the things he did to women or wrote about women. I won't defend him as a symbol (especially considering he was a symbol for many, often contradictory, things throughout his life). I won't even defend what he's most outspoken about and known for - his opinions on race in America. There are plenty of people that have written plenty of opinions on all that. I suggest you make up your own opinion on each. But I will speak for him as a writer: both for how he wrote and what he wrote about. He has his own half-conversational, half-academic style, his own way of engaging the reader, bringing together ideas in a way that seems sometimes analytical but and at the same time obvious. A lot of it comes out with the pain, rage, and frustration of a man in prison, so I think you have to keep that in mind with every page. (If you kept a journal in prison, what would you write about? How would it come out? What tone would you writing take?) Cleaver has a unique voice and perspective, not only for his time but in American literature as a whole. With that said, I recommend this book knowing that it's a hard read.
]]> <![CDATA[The Devil's Broker: Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in Fourteenth- Century Italy]]> 1116 416 Frances Stonor Saunders 0060777303 Aaron 4 3.99 2004 The Devil's Broker: Seeking Gold, God, and Glory in Fourteenth- Century Italy
author: Frances Stonor Saunders
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2019/02/18
date added: 2019/02/24
shelves: military, history, general, social-studies
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Scientific Blunders: A Brief History of How Wrong Scientists Can Sometimes Be...]]> 1713873
Examples investigated here include:

- early scientific blunders - the flat earth theory, the earth-centred universe blunder and the scientific rejection of the Copernican theory
- the scientist and the bishop - the great evolution debate
- the Piltdown Man hoax
- the Tay Bridge collapse
- Chernobyl
- the Hubble telescope blunder
- the Challenger space shuttle disaster
- the cold fusion affair

"Scientific Blunders" is by turns investigative and humorous. It is an account of the errors into which seemingly infallible humans have fallen, and gives a useful perspective of the risks and benefits of scientific advance.]]> 338 Robert Youngson 0786705949 Aaron 1 3.29 1998 Scientific Blunders: A Brief History of How Wrong Scientists Can Sometimes Be...
author: Robert Youngson
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.29
book published: 1998
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2019/02/16
shelves: just-terrible, physical-science, psychology, social-science
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Soundscapes : Exploring Music in a Changing World]]> 585027 393 Kay Kaufman Shelemay 0393975363 Aaron 3 social-science, art 2.92 2000 Soundscapes : Exploring Music in a Changing World
author: Kay Kaufman Shelemay
name: Aaron
average rating: 2.92
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at: 2005/04/01
date added: 2019/02/01
shelves: social-science, art
review:
A good introduction to enthnomusicology, the anthropology of music. Shelemay does a good job explaining various music traditions in terms or the cultures and cultural forces that shape them. This book at the same time serves as a good introduction to anthropology as a whole.
]]> <![CDATA[Primitive Culture V2: Researches Into The Development Of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Art And Custom]]> 979450 In Two Volumes. Edward Burnett Tylor 142863830X Aaron 0 to-read 4.20 1958 Primitive Culture V2: Researches Into The Development Of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Art And Custom
author: Edward Burnett Tylor
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1958
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Primitive Culture V1: Researches Into The Development Of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Art And Custom]]> 979449 In Two Volumes. Edward Burnett Tylor 1428638296 Aaron 0 to-read 4.10 Primitive Culture V1: Researches Into The Development Of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Art And Custom
author: Edward Burnett Tylor
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.10
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey]]> 148394
Fabled, feared, romanticized, and reviled, the Gypsies—or Roma—are among the least understood people on earth. Their culture remains largely obscure, but in Isabel Fonseca they have found an eloquent witness.

In Bury Me Standing , alongside unforgettable portraits of individuals—the poet, the politician, the child prostitute—Fonseca offers sharp insights into the humor, language, wisdom, and taboos of the Roma. She traces their exodus out of India 1,000 years ago and their astonishing history of persecution: enslaved by the princes of medieval Romania; massacred by the Nazis; forcibly assimilated by the communist regimes; evicted from their settlements in Eastern Europe, and most recently, in Western Europe as well. Whether as handy scapegoats or figments of the romantic imagination, the Gypsies have always been with us—but never before have they been brought so vividly to life.

Includes fifty black and white photos.]]> 336 Isabel Fonseca 067973743X Aaron 5 life-story 3.94 1995 Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey
author: Isabel Fonseca
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1995
rating: 5
read at: 2018/09/19
date added: 2018/09/19
shelves: life-story
review:

]]> Romeo and Juliet 18135 Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud.

In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers� final union in death seems almost inevitable. And yet, this play set in an extraordinary world has become the quintessential story of young love. In part because of its exquisite language, it is easy to respond as if it were about all young lovers.]]> 281 William Shakespeare 0743477111 Aaron 4 fiction 3.74 1597 Romeo and Juliet
author: William Shakespeare
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1597
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/04
date added: 2018/04/06
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Merchant of Venice 187491 288 William Shakespeare 0671722778 Aaron 4 3.64 1596 Merchant of Venice
author: William Shakespeare
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1596
rating: 4
read at: 2018/02/27
date added: 2018/02/27
shelves:
review:

]]> Humans of New York: Stories 24019187 Humans of New York. In the first three years, his audience steadily grew from a few hundred to over one million. In 2013, his book Humans of New York, based on that blog, was published and immediately catapulted to the top of the NY Times Bestseller List. It has appeared on that list for over twenty-five weeks to date. The appeal of HONY has been so great that in the course of the next year Brandon's following increased tenfold to, now, over 12 million followers on Facebook. In the summer of 2014, the UN chose him to travel around the world on a goodwill mission that had followers meeting people from Iraq to Ukraine to Mexico City via the photos he took.
Now, Brandon is back with the follow up to Humans of New York that his loyal followers have been waiting for: Humans of New York: Stories. Ever since Brandon began interviewing people on the streets of NY, the dialogue he's had with them has increasingly become as in-depth, intriguing, and moving as the photos themselves. Humans of New York: Stories presents a whole new group of humans, complete with stories that delve deeper and surprise with greater candour.]]> 428 Brandon Stanton 1250058902 Aaron 5 general, life-story
Of course, these aren't the stories of Brandon Stanton but hundreds of stories from my fellow humans of New York, so I can't give him credit for writing stories. But with that said he's a masterful editor, knowing exactly when to take a line, when to take a full story, matching pictures to caption, the whole deal. To get some of these gems he must have collected a huge volume to work with, so great work there.

I received book a few years ago from a good friend (and a follower of the website), and it won me over. I'm recommend this to anyone into people, into stories, or just looking for something fresh and interesting. Hope you enjoy it too.]]> 4.55 2015 Humans of New York: Stories
author: Brandon Stanton
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/31
date added: 2018/01/30
shelves: general, life-story
review:
I've been reading this book over the last two years, so while I finished it today I've actually read it several times over in bite-sized pieces. It's a perfect "coffee table book" in the sense that you can open to any page and start reading, it's really accessible, and it's packed with great stories and snippets. However, it's also full of really heavy and personal stories. Some of these move me every time like I'm reading them for the first time. I wouldn't call them sentimental, but truly touching. A lot of stories and one liners are just hilarious, and there are some toned-down quieter thoughts, so this book really covers a wide spectrum.

Of course, these aren't the stories of Brandon Stanton but hundreds of stories from my fellow humans of New York, so I can't give him credit for writing stories. But with that said he's a masterful editor, knowing exactly when to take a line, when to take a full story, matching pictures to caption, the whole deal. To get some of these gems he must have collected a huge volume to work with, so great work there.

I received book a few years ago from a good friend (and a follower of the website), and it won me over. I'm recommend this to anyone into people, into stories, or just looking for something fresh and interesting. Hope you enjoy it too.
]]> <![CDATA[Principles of American Journalism: An Introduction]]> 13717657
With its bottom line under assault, its values being challenged from without and from within and its future anything but certain, it has never been more important to think about what’s unique about journalism. This text is ideal for use in introductory Principles of Journalism courses, and the companion website provides a full complement of student and instructor resources to enhance the learning experience and connect to the latest news issues and events.]]> 248 Stephanie Craft 0415890179 Aaron 5 4.33 2005 Principles of American Journalism: An Introduction
author: Stephanie Craft
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/22
date added: 2018/01/24
shelves:
review:

]]> The Drinker 674260
In a brilliant translation by Charlotte and A.L. Lloyd, it is presented here with an afterword by John Willett that details the life and career of the once internationally acclaimed Hans Fallada, and his fate under the Nazis—which brings out the horror of the events behind the book.]]> 350 Hans Fallada Aaron 3 4.11 1950 The Drinker
author: Hans Fallada
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1950
rating: 3
read at: 2017/12/22
date added: 2017/12/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism]]> 6262531 352 Kevin Phillips 0143114808 Aaron 4 history, general 3.35 2008 Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism
author: Kevin Phillips
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2017/11/18
date added: 2017/11/25
shelves: history, general
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Social Psychology]]> 5251382 448 Jason A. Nier 0072978791 Aaron 0 4.00 2004 Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Social Psychology
author: Jason A. Nier
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/06/17
shelves: to-read, anthology, social-science
review:

]]> <![CDATA[On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction]]> 53343 On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental priciples as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With more than a million copies sold, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valuable resource for writers and would-be writers.]]> 321 William Zinsser 0060891548 Aaron 5 4.23 1976 On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
author: William Zinsser
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1976
rating: 5
read at: 2017/06/13
date added: 2017/06/14
shelves: general, writing, sets-the-standard
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction]]> 14828046 147 David M. Gwynn 0199595119 Aaron 5 4.01 2012 The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction
author: David M. Gwynn
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2017/05/26
date added: 2017/05/27
shelves: history, general, government, social-studies
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want]]> 959775 Women Don't Ask, Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever uncovered a startling fact: even women who negotiate brilliantly on behalf of others often falter when it comes to asking for themselves. Now they've developed the action plan that women all over the country requested - a guide to negotiation that starts before you get to the bargaining table.

Ask for It explains why it's essential to ask (men do it all the time) and teaches you how to ask effectively, in ways that feel comfortable to you as a woman. Whether you currently avoid negotiating like the plague or consider yourself hard-charging and fearless, Babcock and Laschever's compelling stories of real women will help you recognize how much more you deserve whether it's a raise, that overdue promotion, an exciting new assignment, or even extra help around the house. Their four-phase program, backed by years of research, will show you how to identify what you're really worth, maximize your bargaining power, develop the best strategy for your situation, and manage the reactions and emotions that may arise on both sides. Guided step-by-step, you'll learn how to draw on the special strengths you bring to the negotiating table to reach agreements that benefit everyone involved.

This collaborative, problem-solving approach will propel you to new places both professionally and personally and open doors you thought were closed. Because if you never hear no, you're not asking enough.]]> 324 Linda Babcock 0553383752 Aaron 0 to-read 3.98 2008 Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want
author: Linda Babcock
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/05/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Devil in the White City 21996
Erik Larson's gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.

Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America's rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair's brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country's most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his "World's Fair Hotel" just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.

The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.]]> 496 Erik Larson 0739303406 Aaron 5 general, history, life-story 3.99 2003 The Devil in the White City
author: Erik Larson
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2017/05/08
date added: 2017/05/08
shelves: general, history, life-story
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Starting to Unit Test: Not as Hard as You Think]]> 23848857 104 Erik Dietrich Aaron 3 programming 4.33 2014 Starting to Unit Test: Not as Hard as You Think
author: Erik Dietrich
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2017/04/10
date added: 2017/05/02
shelves: programming
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Galileo: A Very Short Introduction]]> 914744
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
]]> 127 Stillman Drake 0192854569 Aaron 3 3.74 2001 Galileo: A Very Short Introduction
author: Stillman Drake
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2017/04/03
date added: 2017/04/03
shelves: physical-science, history, life-story
review:

]]> <![CDATA[SSCP Systems Security Certified Practitioner All-in-One Exam Guide]]> 11351050 486 Darril Gibson 0071771565 Aaron 4 computer, networks, security 4.02 2011 SSCP Systems Security Certified Practitioner All-in-One Exam Guide
author: Darril Gibson
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2017/04/02
date added: 2017/04/03
shelves: computer, networks, security
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Newton: A Very Short Introduction]]> 784158
This book makes use of previously unpublished private writings and manuscript sources to present a concise exploration of the internal springs of Newton's complex character. Robert Iliffe describes Newton's studies in fields ranging from alchemy, physics, and mathematics, as well as his controversial religious beliefs, and concludes with a consideration of the legacy left after his demise. Newton will gratify readers who are interested in the real history behind one of the world's most legendary scientists.]]> 141 Rob Iliffe 0199298033 Aaron 3 3.48 2007 Newton: A Very Short Introduction
author: Rob Iliffe
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2017/03/13
date added: 2017/03/13
shelves: history, physical-science, life-story
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Materials: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)]]> 22104297 144 Christopher Hall 0199672679 Aaron 5 3.66 2014 Materials: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
author: Christopher Hall
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2017/01/12
date added: 2017/01/14
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters]]> 1191767 In Search of Over Twenty Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters, Second Edition is National Lampoon meets Peter Drucker. It's a funny and well-written business book that takes a look at some of the most influential marketing and business philosophies of the last twenty years. Through the dark glass of hindsight, it provides an educational and entertaining look at why these philosophies didn't work for many of the country's largest and best-known high-tech companies.

Marketing wizard Richard Chapman takes you on a hilarious ride in this book, which is richly illustrated with cartoons and reproductions of many of the actual campaigns used at the time. Filled with personal anecdotes spanning Chapman's remarkable career (he was present at many now-famous meetings and events), In Search of Stupidity, Second Edition examines the best of the worst marketing ideas and business decisions in the last 20 years of the technology industry.

This second edition includes new chapters on Google and on how to avoid stupidity, plus the extensive analyses of all chapters from the first edition. You'll want to get a copy because

Features an interesting preface and interview with Joel Spolsky of "Joel on Software" Offers practical advice on avoiding PR disaster Features actual pictures of some of the worst PR and marketing material ever created Is highly readable and funny Includes theme-based cartoons for every chapter]]> 412 Merrill R. Chapman 1590597214 Aaron 4 computer 3.97 2003 In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters
author: Merrill R. Chapman
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2017/01/09
date added: 2017/01/09
shelves: computer
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Accidental Trainer: You Know Computers, So They Want You to Teach Everyone Else]]> 20801882
You'll learn how to:




Build bridges between people and computers
Create a blueprint for computer training
Assess the learners
Check your training results]]> 152 Elaine Weiss Aaron 4 4.00 1996 The Accidental Trainer: You Know Computers, So They Want You to Teach Everyone Else
author: Elaine Weiss
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2016/12/30
date added: 2016/12/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America]]> 3266722
Upon its first publication, A Different Mirror was hailed by critics and academics everywhere as a dramatic new retelling of our nation's past. Beginning with the colonization of the New World, it recounted the history of America in the voice of the non-Anglo peoples of the United States–Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and others–groups who helped create this country's rich mosaic culture.

Now, Ronald Takaki has revised his landmark work and made it even more relevant and important. Among the new additions to the book are:
This new edition of A Different Mirror is a remarkable achievement that grapples with the raw truth of American history and examines the ultimate question of what it means to be an American.]]> 529 Ronald Takaki 0316022365 Aaron 5 A People's History of the United States. I'll also add to that my personal favorite American Nations. These books eschew the standard fare "big events" or "names and dates" approach to history to focus on the human aspect. Some do this better than others. I'm not opposed to the "big event" type of history - they are, after all, big events. But I support these writers and historians for telling the stories that give a sense of what it was like for people at the time. It seems that so often people are treated as kind of the backdrop of history even though they're the ones fighting the wars, holding the elections, producing the works of art, winning the contests, inventing those better light bulbs. And naturally, since these are effort to tell more of the story, such history is usually told with a focus on those who has been largely left out of the story - the disenfranchised, the abused, the misremembered and ultimately forgotten. Again, I'm all about setting the story straight and telling it like it is, so I'm all in favor of a telling these stories and bringing truth to the light.

However, throughout this genre there is another common theme. I believe that these writers and historians are acting in good faith and aim to right the wrongs of history. I believe there is so much focus on the people that have been wronged, and specifically on the what was done to them, that these become histories of victims and monsters. I want to be careful with this point so that it's clear what I'm saying, and what I'm not saying. A People's History is perhaps the best and most often-cited example of this. I've read reviews from critics saying that it's Anti-American. I've had conversations about that book where people have told me that Zinn is biased against white people and "the establishment", just trying to defame America out of spite, to sell books, to score points with minorities. Now that's a bit much. From what I can tell, Zinn seemed like he really wanted to balance out the history books by bringing to light the shameful stories in our history. Because it's our history - all of us. Not pretty, but it did happen and we must recognize it. And to that point, I totally agree and support him. But I have a problem with his approach. Yes, we do need to face the land grabs of the Mexican-American War and the Spanish-American War. Yes, we do need to face the history of slavery in all its ugliness. Yes, we do need to acknowledge the role of privilege throughout American history, privilege of race, sex, religion, association, and so on. Yes, we do need to acknowledge that the public institutions created of, for, and by the people have often been exploited for the interests of those in power at the expense of the rest. I'm on board with all of this. But it can't be only this. What is the sum effect of talking exclusively about the evils committed by the United States government? Or on the American Indians exclusively as victims of genocide? Or of black people exclusively as people struggling against slavery, Jim Crow, and pervasive, ongoing racism? There must be more to the story. Otherwise, the very groups you aim to humanize back into the story are exploited as props and placeholders in your own version of history, and stripped of their humanity all the same. There’s more to black people than racism ¬¬� so let’s round out the story here. In other words, by focusing exclusively on institutions as agents of wrongdoing, and on people as noble victims but victims nonetheless, it doesn't balance out the story - it creates a politically and ideologically charged polemic, and it aims it at anyone comfortable with the status quo. I can't emphasize this enough - I'm all for challenging the status quo and for getting people out of their comfort zones, but I can't believe this is the way to do it. "Us versus them". "Drawing a line in the sand." "With the people or against the people" is still an ultimatum. Is there another way? Is there a way to tell these stories without creating more division? Can we find a way that fosters understanding, and reaches out to people that don't feel comfortable looking at these events in history? Yes, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King shook the world, and their stories are woven into the big events of history. But George Washington Carver was subject to the very same institutions of slavery and Jim Crow that they struggled against; Carver didn't have any stories with the heroic courage of Douglass, or the grand and noble dignity of King. Yet he was still a giant of industry (to this day, how many commercial products contain peanuts) and a scientist who never really got his due in the history books. Who will tell his story? (Okay, I read a biography on him in the 5th grade, and it left a huge impression on me, but you know what I mean.) History is not just blood and guts, shame and glory. Surely someone can take an honest look at it, and capture the things that fell in between.

Enter Ronald Takaki. I doubt he set out to write the definitive book on multiculturalism in American history. No single book could do that. In fact, that's kind of the whole idea. But with that said, I doubt anyone could do a better job to capture so much, written so eloquently, with a fair and even hand. As you'd expect from the above, so many of these stories are sad. So sad. A lot of betrayal. A lot of exploitation. A lot of hardship and defeat. But also a lot of success through struggle. A lot of hope, joy, humor, cleverness, and of course a bit of luck. After all, these are real stories of real people. Who would tell your story? Or the story of your hometown? Would it be a sad story? Or a glorious story? Would it be a boring story? It would probably be a mixed bag - so many people, so many things happening over so many years. I think Takaki set out to capture that, and I can't imagine he did it so well by accidental. There's no single tone throughout the book, nor even throughout a section. He captured so much of the uniqueness, the specialness of all the different groups of people he talks about. No, never treating them as a caricature, but more than that, never trying to reduce them to a singular identity, a singular narrative. These are groups of people; no single story could tell it all.

It may seem strange that I wrote such a long introduction for such a short review. I did this for two reason. First, I wanted to place this book in that genre of social history, which I do believe is correct, but I wanted to make it clear that this stands apart from so many other popular books that define that genre. I'm not saying those other books are bad, but they're so often typical of what I described above. And since I don't know of any word to capture that, I had to spell it out so I can clearly contrast it against A Different Mirror. And second, I don't want to over-sell this book, but I really thought it was an excellent work of history and of writing, and there's no way I could capture that in a review. If you have any interest in this topic, I highly recommend this book.

Before I close, a couple quick notes about the style and some devices Takaki uses. First, he never seems to go for big effects - no action scenes, no hard contrasts to evoke a reaction. I think he accepts the stories are strong enough on their own that no Hollywood movie magic is required, and would only lessen the effect compared to telling the stories plainly. Second, in the first several chapters he employs a device of using Shakespeare's The Tempest with its character Caliban personifying the Other incarnate. Takaki doesn't overplay it, but he uses this as a metaphor or even as a model to illustrate how English colonists would have understood the new peoples they came into contact with. It's not a perfect metaphor, but I think he employs it well, even if only as a reminder that English people in 1610 did not have the same experience, ideas, values, or exposure to information that we do today. Finally, the organization and style is entirely his own, but the text is saturated with direct quotations. There was a far higher percentage of quoted language in this text than, probably, anything I've ever read. It's not just the volume of quoted text, but it's skillful application. He must have a huge amount of material to draw from because he always seems to have just the right quote to capture the sentiment. This heavy use of quotation both tethers the book close to the topic (no waxing philosophical) and it gives a lot of voice and personality to the people themselves. It's subtle but powerful.

So overall, good writing, good topic, great style, excellent work.]]> 4.17 1993 A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America
author: Ronald Takaki
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/01
date added: 2016/11/25
shelves: general, sets-the-standard, social-studies, history
review:
Social History (as opposed to "official" history) has emerged as its own genre in recent years. Perhaps its most famous book is Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. I'll also add to that my personal favorite American Nations. These books eschew the standard fare "big events" or "names and dates" approach to history to focus on the human aspect. Some do this better than others. I'm not opposed to the "big event" type of history - they are, after all, big events. But I support these writers and historians for telling the stories that give a sense of what it was like for people at the time. It seems that so often people are treated as kind of the backdrop of history even though they're the ones fighting the wars, holding the elections, producing the works of art, winning the contests, inventing those better light bulbs. And naturally, since these are effort to tell more of the story, such history is usually told with a focus on those who has been largely left out of the story - the disenfranchised, the abused, the misremembered and ultimately forgotten. Again, I'm all about setting the story straight and telling it like it is, so I'm all in favor of a telling these stories and bringing truth to the light.

However, throughout this genre there is another common theme. I believe that these writers and historians are acting in good faith and aim to right the wrongs of history. I believe there is so much focus on the people that have been wronged, and specifically on the what was done to them, that these become histories of victims and monsters. I want to be careful with this point so that it's clear what I'm saying, and what I'm not saying. A People's History is perhaps the best and most often-cited example of this. I've read reviews from critics saying that it's Anti-American. I've had conversations about that book where people have told me that Zinn is biased against white people and "the establishment", just trying to defame America out of spite, to sell books, to score points with minorities. Now that's a bit much. From what I can tell, Zinn seemed like he really wanted to balance out the history books by bringing to light the shameful stories in our history. Because it's our history - all of us. Not pretty, but it did happen and we must recognize it. And to that point, I totally agree and support him. But I have a problem with his approach. Yes, we do need to face the land grabs of the Mexican-American War and the Spanish-American War. Yes, we do need to face the history of slavery in all its ugliness. Yes, we do need to acknowledge the role of privilege throughout American history, privilege of race, sex, religion, association, and so on. Yes, we do need to acknowledge that the public institutions created of, for, and by the people have often been exploited for the interests of those in power at the expense of the rest. I'm on board with all of this. But it can't be only this. What is the sum effect of talking exclusively about the evils committed by the United States government? Or on the American Indians exclusively as victims of genocide? Or of black people exclusively as people struggling against slavery, Jim Crow, and pervasive, ongoing racism? There must be more to the story. Otherwise, the very groups you aim to humanize back into the story are exploited as props and placeholders in your own version of history, and stripped of their humanity all the same. There’s more to black people than racism ¬¬� so let’s round out the story here. In other words, by focusing exclusively on institutions as agents of wrongdoing, and on people as noble victims but victims nonetheless, it doesn't balance out the story - it creates a politically and ideologically charged polemic, and it aims it at anyone comfortable with the status quo. I can't emphasize this enough - I'm all for challenging the status quo and for getting people out of their comfort zones, but I can't believe this is the way to do it. "Us versus them". "Drawing a line in the sand." "With the people or against the people" is still an ultimatum. Is there another way? Is there a way to tell these stories without creating more division? Can we find a way that fosters understanding, and reaches out to people that don't feel comfortable looking at these events in history? Yes, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King shook the world, and their stories are woven into the big events of history. But George Washington Carver was subject to the very same institutions of slavery and Jim Crow that they struggled against; Carver didn't have any stories with the heroic courage of Douglass, or the grand and noble dignity of King. Yet he was still a giant of industry (to this day, how many commercial products contain peanuts) and a scientist who never really got his due in the history books. Who will tell his story? (Okay, I read a biography on him in the 5th grade, and it left a huge impression on me, but you know what I mean.) History is not just blood and guts, shame and glory. Surely someone can take an honest look at it, and capture the things that fell in between.

Enter Ronald Takaki. I doubt he set out to write the definitive book on multiculturalism in American history. No single book could do that. In fact, that's kind of the whole idea. But with that said, I doubt anyone could do a better job to capture so much, written so eloquently, with a fair and even hand. As you'd expect from the above, so many of these stories are sad. So sad. A lot of betrayal. A lot of exploitation. A lot of hardship and defeat. But also a lot of success through struggle. A lot of hope, joy, humor, cleverness, and of course a bit of luck. After all, these are real stories of real people. Who would tell your story? Or the story of your hometown? Would it be a sad story? Or a glorious story? Would it be a boring story? It would probably be a mixed bag - so many people, so many things happening over so many years. I think Takaki set out to capture that, and I can't imagine he did it so well by accidental. There's no single tone throughout the book, nor even throughout a section. He captured so much of the uniqueness, the specialness of all the different groups of people he talks about. No, never treating them as a caricature, but more than that, never trying to reduce them to a singular identity, a singular narrative. These are groups of people; no single story could tell it all.

It may seem strange that I wrote such a long introduction for such a short review. I did this for two reason. First, I wanted to place this book in that genre of social history, which I do believe is correct, but I wanted to make it clear that this stands apart from so many other popular books that define that genre. I'm not saying those other books are bad, but they're so often typical of what I described above. And since I don't know of any word to capture that, I had to spell it out so I can clearly contrast it against A Different Mirror. And second, I don't want to over-sell this book, but I really thought it was an excellent work of history and of writing, and there's no way I could capture that in a review. If you have any interest in this topic, I highly recommend this book.

Before I close, a couple quick notes about the style and some devices Takaki uses. First, he never seems to go for big effects - no action scenes, no hard contrasts to evoke a reaction. I think he accepts the stories are strong enough on their own that no Hollywood movie magic is required, and would only lessen the effect compared to telling the stories plainly. Second, in the first several chapters he employs a device of using Shakespeare's The Tempest with its character Caliban personifying the Other incarnate. Takaki doesn't overplay it, but he uses this as a metaphor or even as a model to illustrate how English colonists would have understood the new peoples they came into contact with. It's not a perfect metaphor, but I think he employs it well, even if only as a reminder that English people in 1610 did not have the same experience, ideas, values, or exposure to information that we do today. Finally, the organization and style is entirely his own, but the text is saturated with direct quotations. There was a far higher percentage of quoted language in this text than, probably, anything I've ever read. It's not just the volume of quoted text, but it's skillful application. He must have a huge amount of material to draw from because he always seems to have just the right quote to capture the sentiment. This heavy use of quotation both tethers the book close to the topic (no waxing philosophical) and it gives a lot of voice and personality to the people themselves. It's subtle but powerful.

So overall, good writing, good topic, great style, excellent work.
]]> <![CDATA[The Structure of Scientific Revolutions]]> 61539 The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is that kind of book. When it was first published in 1962, it was a landmark event in the history and philosophy of science. Fifty years later, it still has many lessons to teach.

With The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don’t arise from the day-to-day, gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation but that the revolutions in science, those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas, occur outside of “normal science,� as he called it. Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences, his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in our biotech age.

This new edition of Kuhn’s essential work in the history of science includes an insightful introduction by Ian Hacking, which clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn, including paradigm and incommensurability, and applies Kuhn’s ideas to the science of today. Usefully keyed to the separate sections of the book, Hacking’s introduction provides important background information as well as a contemporary context. Newly designed, with an expanded index, this edition will be eagerly welcomed by the next generation of readers seeking to understand the history of our perspectives on science.]]> 226 Thomas S. Kuhn 0226458083 Aaron 5 social-science is, but I was confident that it did have some definition, if only to professional scientists. An except from this book was among the first readings in that class, and it rocked my world.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is one of the landmark books of the 20th century. As a professional scientist you might never come across it, but it's certainly had a major impact on your work. Thomas S. Kuhn was a physicist by training, but a historian by trade. He was one of the first people to look at Science from a sociological/anthropological viewpoint, as a human activity with its own culture, values, practices, etc. I think this approach was absolutely necessary for the topic, if only because he shifted the focus from Science as an ideal to Science as a real activity. There are a lot of perspective and ideas on the topic, and some famous debates (most famously Kuhn vs Karl Popper), but I'll spare you all that here.

I think what makes this book so successful is the focus on what people actually did, wrote, and said as opposed to writing about how previous scientific discoveries and achievements got us to where we are today. Kuhn takes a historical approach and analyzes some of the great discoveries, including oxygen and X-rays (in section VI). For example, Joseph Priestley is usually credited with (or as the scientific community says, given prior for) the discovery of oxygen. The first to isolate it from other chemicals in the atmosphere? Probably not - a lot of people were tinkering with gases in laboratories for at least a decade before it, and someone likely separated out oxygen without realizing what it was. Was Priestley's sample the purest? Not really, just good enough for his purposes. Did he have a better understanding of what he had done, the more valid theory? Well, that's kind of what's in question. Priestly discovered many elements, but he never actually claimed to have discover the element oxygen; instead he thought he had discovered "dephlogisticated air" - air with the phlogiston removed. (In the late 1700s there was still a well-accepted theory that things burn because they had a special substance, called phlogiston, and it was this substance that actually burned.) In fact, Priestly was so committed to this idea that it eventually cost him his reputation and he ended up marginalized by the scientific community for holding on to outdated beliefs. Still want to argue that this man discovered oxygen? Kuhn isn't trying to take credit away from Priestley, nor is he saying that Priestley was actually a bad chemist - he remains one of the greatest in the field. Kuhn is saying that there's a bit of verbal trickery when we say that a new phenomenon is discovered at such a time in such a way. Of course, there are still important experiments and studies conducted, but our understanding of what they show and what tell is us isn't so simple. Throughout the book Kuhn approaches his argument from several angles: psychology, sociology, world view, analogy, etc. But I think the historical approach is his most natural and most compelling.

To round out this review, a few notes about the writing style. This book is responsible for popularizing the term "paradigm", as well as several other technical terms (probably more often misused than used properly). In the edition I read (the third edition) he had a Postscript section where he clarified his ideas and especially what he meant by "paradigm"; if you make it through the book, it's definitely worth reading this last part. Overall, some of the language is pretty dense, and sometimes he writing style is needlessly wordy. It seems he really didn't like putting a preposition at the end of a sentence, which led to some really long and forced sentence constructions. But that aside, I think he did a good job at making a very technical and arcane topic readable for the general public.

In the Philosophy of Science, this book is required reading - one of the core texts of the field. If you're interested in Science or you're a practicing scientist, I recommend this book, if only to get some background on the topic and one of the more popular perspectives.]]> 4.03 1962 The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
author: Thomas S. Kuhn
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1962
rating: 5
read at: 2016/11/17
date added: 2016/11/25
shelves: social-science
review:
My first class in college, so many years ago, was a first year student seminar called "Science, Religion and Reality". It was essentially an introduction to the Philosophy of Science. What is "Science"? How do you define "Science"? What do you consider "pseudoscience", and how do differentiate (or "demarcate") the two? Should be easy, right? Scientists are professionals with professional education and training. They have all kind of fancy scientific tools, you know, test tubes, telescopes, microscopes, blood antigen tests, weights and measures. You know, tools of the trade, like Saul said in Breaking Bad: "Walt's a scientist. Scientists like lasers!" Plus, in addition to these physical tools they have all kinds of abstract tools: statistical tools, mathematical tools, genome models, things of that nature. This is all really complex stuff, takes a lot of training, takes a lot of resources. I mean, if those guys aren't doing science, then what are they doing? Science is what they do and what they say it is. Before taking that class I couldn't have given you a solid definition to science actually is, but I was confident that it did have some definition, if only to professional scientists. An except from this book was among the first readings in that class, and it rocked my world.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is one of the landmark books of the 20th century. As a professional scientist you might never come across it, but it's certainly had a major impact on your work. Thomas S. Kuhn was a physicist by training, but a historian by trade. He was one of the first people to look at Science from a sociological/anthropological viewpoint, as a human activity with its own culture, values, practices, etc. I think this approach was absolutely necessary for the topic, if only because he shifted the focus from Science as an ideal to Science as a real activity. There are a lot of perspective and ideas on the topic, and some famous debates (most famously Kuhn vs Karl Popper), but I'll spare you all that here.

I think what makes this book so successful is the focus on what people actually did, wrote, and said as opposed to writing about how previous scientific discoveries and achievements got us to where we are today. Kuhn takes a historical approach and analyzes some of the great discoveries, including oxygen and X-rays (in section VI). For example, Joseph Priestley is usually credited with (or as the scientific community says, given prior for) the discovery of oxygen. The first to isolate it from other chemicals in the atmosphere? Probably not - a lot of people were tinkering with gases in laboratories for at least a decade before it, and someone likely separated out oxygen without realizing what it was. Was Priestley's sample the purest? Not really, just good enough for his purposes. Did he have a better understanding of what he had done, the more valid theory? Well, that's kind of what's in question. Priestly discovered many elements, but he never actually claimed to have discover the element oxygen; instead he thought he had discovered "dephlogisticated air" - air with the phlogiston removed. (In the late 1700s there was still a well-accepted theory that things burn because they had a special substance, called phlogiston, and it was this substance that actually burned.) In fact, Priestly was so committed to this idea that it eventually cost him his reputation and he ended up marginalized by the scientific community for holding on to outdated beliefs. Still want to argue that this man discovered oxygen? Kuhn isn't trying to take credit away from Priestley, nor is he saying that Priestley was actually a bad chemist - he remains one of the greatest in the field. Kuhn is saying that there's a bit of verbal trickery when we say that a new phenomenon is discovered at such a time in such a way. Of course, there are still important experiments and studies conducted, but our understanding of what they show and what tell is us isn't so simple. Throughout the book Kuhn approaches his argument from several angles: psychology, sociology, world view, analogy, etc. But I think the historical approach is his most natural and most compelling.

To round out this review, a few notes about the writing style. This book is responsible for popularizing the term "paradigm", as well as several other technical terms (probably more often misused than used properly). In the edition I read (the third edition) he had a Postscript section where he clarified his ideas and especially what he meant by "paradigm"; if you make it through the book, it's definitely worth reading this last part. Overall, some of the language is pretty dense, and sometimes he writing style is needlessly wordy. It seems he really didn't like putting a preposition at the end of a sentence, which led to some really long and forced sentence constructions. But that aside, I think he did a good job at making a very technical and arcane topic readable for the general public.

In the Philosophy of Science, this book is required reading - one of the core texts of the field. If you're interested in Science or you're a practicing scientist, I recommend this book, if only to get some background on the topic and one of the more popular perspectives.
]]> <![CDATA[Hysteria: The Disturbing History]]> 19704013
The lurid history of hysteria makes fascinating reading. Charcot's clinics showed off flamboyantly 'hysterical' patients taking on sexualized poses, and among the visiting professionals was one Sigmund Freud. Scull discusses the origins of the idea of hysteria, the development of a neurological approach by John Sydenham and others, hysteria as a fashionable condition, and its growth from the 17th century. Some regarded it as a peculiarly English malady, 'the natural concomitant of England's greater civilization and refinement'. Women were the majority of patients, and the illness became associated with female biology, resulting in some gruesome 'treatments'. Charcot and Freud were key practitioners defining the nature of the illness. But curiously, the illness seemed to swap gender during the First World War when male hysterics frequently suffering from shell shock were also subjected to brutal 'treatments'. Subsequently, the 'disease' declined and eventually disappeared, at least in professional circles, though attenuated elements remain, reclassified for instance as post-traumatic stress disorder.]]> 227 Andrew Scull 0191623334 Aaron 0 to-read 3.66 2009 Hysteria: The Disturbing History
author: Andrew Scull
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/10/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Discourse Strategies (Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics, Series Number 1)]]> 1650772 240 John J. Gumperz 0521288967 Aaron 0 to-read 3.85 1982 Discourse Strategies (Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics, Series Number 1)
author: John J. Gumperz
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/09/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Disenchanted Night: The Industrialization of Light in the Nineteenth Century]]> 350025 240 Wolfgang Schivelbusch 0520203542 Aaron 4 4.19 1983 Disenchanted Night: The Industrialization of Light in the Nineteenth Century
author: Wolfgang Schivelbusch
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at: 2016/09/07
date added: 2016/09/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Physical anthropology and archeology]]> 2359409 518 Clifford J.; Plog Jolly 0394354281 Aaron 0 5.00 1976 Physical anthropology and archeology
author: Clifford J.; Plog Jolly
name: Aaron
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/08/19
shelves: social-science, did-not-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Short History of Nearly Everything]]> 21 544 Bill Bryson 076790818X Aaron 0 4.21 2003 A Short History of Nearly Everything
author: Bill Bryson
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at: 2016/07/31
date added: 2016/07/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Language and control 381194 224 Roger Fowler 0710002882 Aaron 0 to-read 4.35 1979 Language and control
author: Roger Fowler
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1979
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Missing Links: In Search of Human Origins]]> 11445530
Central to the story is the part played by fossils--first, in establishing the age of the Earth; then, following Darwin, in the pursuit of possible "Missing Links" that would establish whether or not humans and chimpanzees share a common ancestor. John Reader's lifelong passion for this quest--palaeoanthropology--began when he reported on the celebrated "Lucy" finds in Ethiopia, for Life Magazine. Drawing on both historic and recent research, he tells the fascinating story of the science as it has developed from the activities of a few dedicated individuals, into the rigorous multidisciplinary work of today. His arresting photographs give a unique insight into the fossils, the discoverers, and the settings. His vivid narrative reveals both the context in which our ancestors evolved, and also the realities confronting the modern scientist. The story he tells is peopled by eccentrics and enthusiasts, and punctuated by controversy and even fraud. It is a celebration of discoveries--Neanderthal Man in the 1850s, Java Man (1891), Australopithecus (1925), Peking Man (1926), Homo habilis (1964) and beyond. It is a story of fragmentary shards of evidence, and the competing interpretations built upon them. And it is a tale of scientific breakthroughs--dating technology, genetics and molecular biology--that have enabled us to set the fossil evidence in the context of human evolution.

Boasting seventy-five original color photographs--taken by the author, specifically for this book--Missing Links offers a wealth of scientific insight.]]> 538 John Reader 0199276854 Aaron 0 to-read 4.39 1982 Missing Links: In Search of Human Origins
author: John Reader
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/07/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction]]> 12592952 168 Eric Scerri 0199582491 Aaron 4 3.56 2011 The Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction
author: Eric Scerri
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/19
date added: 2016/07/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[21 Dirty Tricks at Work: How to Beat the Game of Office Politics]]> 17805112
So, if you are fed-up of being on the receiving end of constant backbiting and skulduggery from workmates, join hands with the authors and get Machiavelli on the run!]]> 280 Mike Phipps 0857084844 Aaron 4
The running themes of the book are:
- find the courage to do the right thing
- don't let your emotions get the best of you (especially fear, embarrassment, and anger)
- be fair
- be wise

In other words, this is not a book about being a model citizen or a goody two-shoes, but a book about how to maintain your integrity without getting walked on.

The title 21 Dirty Tricks might be a bit of a misnomer, as there are many more dirty tricks illustrated, depending on how finely you want to divide them up. Phipps and Gautrey use 21 tricks for the sake of analysis and clarity, but they could have just as well done 7 or 70. I wouldn't take this as a list to use for diagnosing work scenarios, or use the suggested advice as a recipe for handling them. Instead, I think the fictional story is better used as a case study for what I might have done in that situation, how I've encountered things similar in my own life, and what I can try to do differently next time. The authors are very clear that these are guidelines and that it takes finesse to handle conflicts and crookedness.

I imagine most people reading this and similar books have already found themselves in a nasty workplace and are looking for some fast advice to make things better. Unfortunately, I don't believe that this book, or any book, can reverse your bad luck or bestow social skills upon you. It might give you a greater awareness of what's happening, and bolster your confidence to do something about your circumstances. But sometimes, well, that's life. This books would be better used at a time when you're not in a job/career/life crisis and have more time and perspective to take in the lessons. That said, I think this was a fortunate time for me to read it.

Hope you find it helpful! ]]> 3.58 2005 21 Dirty Tricks at Work: How to Beat the Game of Office Politics
author: Mike Phipps
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2014/08/16
date added: 2016/06/29
shelves: organization, sets-the-standard
review:
From the title, you might assume that this a book on how to effectively play the games of ruthless office politics. I purchased it because it was highly rated on Amazon, and I wondered what exactly I'd get. I was glad to find that this is a book about how to spot dirty tricks at work and how to maintain your integrity without playing the victim. If you're interested in a good book for being opportunistic and exploitative... well, no one's probably looking for such a book. But still, there are worse books with worse advice out there for handling yourself in the trying world of modern organizations.

The running themes of the book are:
- find the courage to do the right thing
- don't let your emotions get the best of you (especially fear, embarrassment, and anger)
- be fair
- be wise

In other words, this is not a book about being a model citizen or a goody two-shoes, but a book about how to maintain your integrity without getting walked on.

The title 21 Dirty Tricks might be a bit of a misnomer, as there are many more dirty tricks illustrated, depending on how finely you want to divide them up. Phipps and Gautrey use 21 tricks for the sake of analysis and clarity, but they could have just as well done 7 or 70. I wouldn't take this as a list to use for diagnosing work scenarios, or use the suggested advice as a recipe for handling them. Instead, I think the fictional story is better used as a case study for what I might have done in that situation, how I've encountered things similar in my own life, and what I can try to do differently next time. The authors are very clear that these are guidelines and that it takes finesse to handle conflicts and crookedness.

I imagine most people reading this and similar books have already found themselves in a nasty workplace and are looking for some fast advice to make things better. Unfortunately, I don't believe that this book, or any book, can reverse your bad luck or bestow social skills upon you. It might give you a greater awareness of what's happening, and bolster your confidence to do something about your circumstances. But sometimes, well, that's life. This books would be better used at a time when you're not in a job/career/life crisis and have more time and perspective to take in the lessons. That said, I think this was a fortunate time for me to read it.

Hope you find it helpful!
]]> Html5 & Css3 for Dummies 17891515
HTML5 and CSS3 have ushered in an entirely new era in web development and web design. This easy-to-understand full-color guide presents the elements of design and development as equal; therefore, both designers and developers will benefit from learning how to leverage the power behind HTML5 and CSS3. The two-page spreads and helpful insight show you how to use HTML5 and CSS3 in conjunction in order to create websites that possess both powerful function and beautiful design. Incorporates all the trademark elements of the "For Dummies" series writing style - approachable, friendly, reliable, and functional - to assist you in gaining a solid foundation of the basics Fills the void for both developers and designers who are looking to merge the power and function of HTML5 and CSS3Features a website with code and templates

"HTML5 and CSS3 For Dummies" covers what you need to know to use HTML5 and CSS3, without weighing you down in unnecessary information.]]> 387 David Karlins 1118639650 Aaron 4 computer, programming 3.50 Html5 & Css3 for Dummies
author: David Karlins
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2015/02/22
date added: 2016/06/27
shelves: computer, programming
review:

]]> XML: Visual QuickStart Guide 3339815 269 Kevin Howard Goldberg 0321559673 Aaron 0 3.74 2008 XML: Visual QuickStart Guide
author: Kevin Howard Goldberg
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at: 2016/06/09
date added: 2016/06/09
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization]]> 10133950
Drawing on a wealth of new archaeological research, Richard Miles brings to life this lost empire-from its origins among the Phoenician settlements of Lebanon to its apotheosis as the greatest seapower in the Mediterranean. And at the heart of the history of Carthage lies the extraordinary figure of Hannibal-the scourge of Rome and one of the greatest military leaders, but a man who also unwittingly led his people to catastrophe.]]> 521 Richard Miles 0670022667 Aaron 5 3.94 2011 Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization
author: Richard Miles
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2016/05/21
date added: 2016/06/05
shelves: history, military, sets-the-standard, social-studies
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Analytical Psychology, Its Theory and Practice (Tavistock Lectures)]]> 829352 239 C.G. Jung 0691019185 Aaron 0 to-read, social-science 4.26 Analytical Psychology, Its Theory and Practice (Tavistock Lectures)
author: C.G. Jung
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.26
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/05/08
shelves: to-read, social-science
review:

]]> The Illustrated Tao Te Ching 1047899 Tao Te Ching, the esoteric but infinitely practical book written most probably in the sixth century B.C. by Lao Tsu, has been translated more frequently than any work except the Bible. This translation of the Chinese classic, which was first published twenty-five years ago, has sold more copies than any of the others. It offers the essence of each word and makes Lao Tsu's teaching immediate and alive.

The philosophy of Lao Tsu is simple: Accept what is in front of you without wanting the situation to be other than it is. Study the natural order of things and work with it rather than against it, for to try to change what is only sets up resistance. Nature provides everything without requiring payment or thanks, and also provides for all without discrimination—therefore let us present the same face to everyone and treat all men as equals, however they may behave. If we watch carefully, we will see that work proceeds more quickly and easily if we stop "trying," if we stop putting in so much extra effort, if we stop looking for results. In the clarity of a still and open mind, truth will be reflected. We will come to appreciate the original meaning of the word "understand," which means "to stand under." We serve whatever or whoever stands before us, without any thought for ourselves. Te—which may be translated as "virtue" or "strength"—lies always in Tao, or" natural law. In other words: Simply be.]]> Lao Tzu 1566196175 Aaron 5 philosophy-religion 4.23 -350 The Illustrated Tao Te Ching
author: Lao Tzu
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.23
book published: -350
rating: 5
read at: 1995/12/28
date added: 2016/04/29
shelves: philosophy-religion
review:
I can't say how the translation compares to others, but the book was an interesting read, the editors provide a good sense of orientation and background with the introduction, and the artwork included was pleasant and interesting. Book is a five-star classic and a fairly quick read, worth reading through if you have any interest in Taoism.
]]> Ancient Worlds 12691444 Accompanying the major BBC TV series, Richard Miles's Ancient Worlds tells the epic story of civilization, and the cities that made us who we are.

The path of human progress is one of enlightenment and cruelty, achievement and bloodshed, creation and destruction. Here Richard Miles reaches back into our distant past to bring alive its most glorious and terrible people and places: from the first ever city in Mesopotamia to the death cults of Egypt, from the Phoenician seafarers who invented the alphabet to the brutal Assyrian empire, and on to the great city-states of Athens and Rome.

By choosing to live together with strangers in vast urban settings, Miles shows, humans harnessed the very best and the worst of ourselves, setting civilization in motion and forging the modern world.

'Epic and compelling'
Daily Mail

'An epic, spanning five millennia and half the globe'
Daily Telegraph

'Engaging ... full of interesting things about the radical social experiment of the city-state, and the new ways of living it permitted'
Independent

'Ancient Worlds really does put flesh on the bones of history and Richard Miles brings long lost cities to life'
Observer

Richard Miles is the author of Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization. A six-part TV series of Ancient Worlds was broadcast on BBC2 in 2011. He teaches classics at the University of Sydney and was previously a Newton Trust Lecturer in the Faculty of Classics and Fellow and Director of Studies at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge.]]> 366 Richard Miles 0241951364 Aaron 5 history, sets-the-standard 3.90 2010 Ancient Worlds
author: Richard Miles
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2016/04/13
date added: 2016/04/13
shelves: history, sets-the-standard
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rhetoric: A Very Short Introduction]]> 16700079 appreciation of the art of rhetoric.

About the

Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.]]> 144 Richard Toye 0199651361 Aaron 5 3.45 2013 Rhetoric: A Very Short Introduction
author: Richard Toye
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2016/03/22
date added: 2016/03/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction]]> 784156
Beginning with their discovery in the 1940s, through the political, legal, and scholary controversies that still persist today, public interest in the Dead Sea Scrolls has remained exceptionally high. This is an accessible and well-written mini-history that will appeal to anyone interested in the true history of these fascinating documents.]]> 152 Timothy H. Lim 0192806599 Aaron 5 3.30 1997 The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction
author: Timothy H. Lim
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.30
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2016/02/26
date added: 2016/02/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Michael Faraday: A Very Short Introduction]]> 8595408 192 Frank A.J.L. James 0199574316 Aaron 1 3.63 2010 Michael Faraday: A Very Short Introduction
author: Frank A.J.L. James
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2010
rating: 1
read at: 2016/01/28
date added: 2016/02/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Enlightening Symbols: A Short History of Mathematical Notation and Its Hidden Powers]]> 18730612
While all of us regularly use basic math symbols such as those for plus, minus, and equals, few of us know that many of these symbols weren't available before the sixteenth century. What did mathematicians rely on for their work before then? And how did mathematical notations evolve into what we know today? In Enlightening Symbols , popular math writer Joseph Mazur explains the fascinating history behind the development of our mathematical notation system. He shows how symbols were used initially, how one symbol replaced another over time, and how written math was conveyed before and after symbols became widely adopted.

Traversing mathematical history and the foundations of numerals in different cultures, Mazur looks at how historians have disagreed over the origins of the numerical system for the past two centuries. He follows the transfigurations of algebra from a rhetorical style to a symbolic one, demonstrating that most algebra before the sixteenth century was written in prose or in verse employing the written names of numerals. Mazur also investigates the subconscious and psychological effects that mathematical symbols have had on mathematical thought, moods, meaning, communication, and comprehension. He considers how these symbols influence us (through similarity, association, identity, resemblance, and repeated imagery), how they lead to new ideas by subconscious associations, how they make connections between experience and the unknown, and how they contribute to the communication of basic mathematics.

From words to abbreviations to symbols, this book shows how math evolved to the familiar forms we use today.]]> 312 Joseph Mazur 0691154635 Aaron 0 to-read 3.53 2014 Enlightening Symbols: A Short History of Mathematical Notation and Its Hidden Powers
author: Joseph Mazur
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Logic: A Very Short Introduction]]> 703712 deals with issues ranging from the existence of God and the reality of time to paradoxes of probability and decision theory. Along the way, the basics of formal logic are explained in simple, non-technical terms, showing that logic is a powerful and exciting part of modern philosophy.

About the Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds
of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.]]> 128 Graham Priest 0192893203 Aaron 5 sets-the-standard, general 3.63 2000 Logic: A Very Short Introduction
author: Graham Priest
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2016/01/06
date added: 2016/01/06
shelves: sets-the-standard, general
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War]]> 3729771 Based on Evan Wright's National Magazine Award-winning story in Rolling Stone, this is the raw, firsthand account of the 2003 Iraq invasion that inspired the HBO(R) original mini-series.

Within hours of 9/11, America's war on terrorism fell to those like the twenty-three Marines of the First Recon Battalion, the first generation dispatched into open-ended combat since Vietnam. They were a new pop-culture breed of American warrior unrecognizable to their forebears--soldiers raised on hip hop, video games and The Real World. Cocky, brave, headstrong, wary and mostly unprepared for the physical, emotional and moral horrors ahead, the "First Suicide Battalion" would spearhead the blitzkrieg on Iraq, and fight against the hardest resistance Saddam had to offer.

Hailed as "one of the best books to come out of the Iraq war"(Financial Times), Generation Kill is the funny, frightening, and profane firsthand account of these remarkable men, of the personal toll of victory, and of the randomness, brutality and camaraderie of a new American War.]]> 380 Evan Wright 0425224740 Aaron 5 military 4.33 2004 Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War
author: Evan Wright
name: Aaron
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2015/12/26
date added: 2015/12/26
shelves: military
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction]]> 10773232 zoology), and much more. The story is told from the perspective of the historical characters themselves, emphasizing their background, context, reasoning, and motivations, and dispelling well-worn myths about the history of science.]]> 148 Lawrence M. Principe 0199567417 Aaron 5 3.96 2011 Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
author: Lawrence M. Principe
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2015/12/24
date added: 2015/12/24
shelves: history, sets-the-standard, social-science, physical-science, general
review:

]]> <![CDATA[HTTP Pocket Reference: Hypertext Transfer Protocol]]> 726494 80 Clinton Wong 1565928628 Aaron 4 computer 3.81 2000 HTTP Pocket Reference: Hypertext Transfer Protocol
author: Clinton Wong
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/21
date added: 2015/11/21
shelves: computer
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Madness: A Very Short Introduction]]> 12217871 fascinating history, many fascinating and arresting pictures illuminate the overall portrait of madness in its various contexts.]]> 160 Andrew Scull 0199608032 Aaron 4 3.52 2011 Madness: A Very Short Introduction
author: Andrew Scull
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/10
date added: 2015/10/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Human Evolution: A Very Short Introduction]]> 74654 the eighteenth century to today's latest fossil finds. Along the way we are introduced to the lively cast of characters, past and present, involved in evolutionary research. Although concentrating on the fossil evidence for human evolution, the book also covers the latest genetic evidence about
regional variations in the modern human genome that relate to our evolutionary history. Wood draws on over thirty years of experience to provide an insiders view of the field, and demonstrates that our understanding of human evolution is critically dependent on advances in related sciences such as
paleoclimatology, geochronology, systematics, genetics, and developmental biology. This is an ideal introduction for anyone interested in the origins and development of humankind.]]> 144 Bernard Wood 0192803603 Aaron 2 3.67 2005 Human Evolution: A Very Short Introduction
author: Bernard Wood
name: Aaron
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2005
rating: 2
read at: 2015/02/26
date added: 2015/09/29
shelves: physical-science, anthropology
review:

]]>