Book Review: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Part 1 was an interesting discussion of the Cognitive Revolution(speculative as it is) and the ascension of Homo Sapiens over the Neanderthals. But moving into the “Agricultural Revolution, Harari got kind of deconstructive, with a long, boring takedown of the Declaration of Independence seemingly to prove that Sapiens all live in different worlds of our own ideas that have no substance, no physical reality, no ultimate truth, and therefore no real existence. And then true to form the author follows with sub-chapters like The Cult of the Free Market and Capitalist Hell, claiming that “We may not like Capitalism, but we cannot live without it.” Now, I’m not really into Post Modernism. but if it quacks like a duck…I think I’ll skip the rest of Harari’s works. (2 of 5 Stars)

 

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Book Review: Gone Girl

“You two are the most fucked-up people I have ever met, and I specialize in fucked-up people.”

 

So said attorney Tanner Bolt (aka the “Hubby Hawk” or “Dickhead Defender”) who is hired by Nick Dunne when he is suspected of murdering his wife, Amy.

 

And indeed Nick and Amy truly are, which quickly becomes tiresome–and I came to that conclusion long before Tanner arrived on the scene.

 

The alternating storylines between Nick’s narrative and Amy’s diary were initially intriguing, though it seemed a bit overwritten–oh, yeah, Nick and Amy are both writers.

 

Basically, their tale is like the movie Fatal Attraction without any good guys, happy endings, or any dead main characters…unfortunately. (3 of 5 Stars)

 

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Book Review: The Bomber Mafia

I knew about the American plans for “precision daylight bombings” during World War II and, of course, the infamous Norden bombsight.  What I didn’t know (but should have) is there was a cabal of Air Corps Generals from the Army Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, led by Hap Arnold, acting as lobbyists for the Eighth Air Force’s Twelve O’clock High strategy.  Malcolm Gladwell lays this out beautifully in this book as well as the shortfalls of their plans and the reversion to area bombing over Japan.  Not sure why Curtis Lemay comes off as the bad guy for making that switch. He seemed to be a Patton-like can-do guy. Besides, it’s not really his fault that “dropping a bomb into a pickle barrel from six miles up” didn’t come about until the GPS smart bombs used during Desert Storm. A fascinating read.  (5 of 5 Stars)

 

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Book Review: Undaunted Valor

Some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent—evidently given the appendixes of casualties and citations. A fine gauze separates fiction from biography here, but that’s okay if you are looking for an accurate portrayal of pressing on another man’s rudder pedals in his combat boots.  Matt Jackson gives us an excellent day-in-the-life story of a helicopter pilot serving in Vietnam. Well worth the read. (4 of 5 Stars)

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Book Review: Songs of a Befuddled Muse

I like the “Befuddled Muse” in the title, as this collection of stories is definitely…well, eclectic.  Time travel to Tudor times…ordering out for pizza from outer space…artists on camels in Algeria like T.E. Lawrence…and—my favorite—Clumbo, a clown PI searching for the killer of his friend and mentor, Jelly Bean. Cohen-Kiraly covers a lot of ground and I’m sure you’ll find something you like. (4 of 5 Stars)

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Book Review: Island of the Sequined Love Nun

I really wanted to like this book—especially because I’m a pilot and the main character flies a Learjet for a South Pacific Island doctor. Alas, I just wanted it to end. I loved Noir. And Practical Demonkeeping was okay. But this book was a boring mess. The characters weren’t terribly engaging (shockingly for Christopher Moore) and the story was just kind of dumb. It makes me wonder about picking up Razzmatazz. Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead. (2 of 5 Stars)

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Book Review: Fahrenheit 451

 

Forget about George Orwell and Aldous Huxley.  Ray Bradbury offers up a fantastic metaphor for our social media-crazed times with his story about firemen who burn books. See for yourself:

“And so when houses were finally fireproofed completely, all over the world (you were correct in your assumption the other night) there was no longer need of firemen for the old purposes. They were given the new job, as custodians of our peace of mind, the focus of our understandable and rightful dread of being inferior; official censors, judges, and executors. That’s you, Montag, and that’s me…

“If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none…

“Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it. Someone’s written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag. Take your fight outside. Better yet, into the incinerator.

“Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of ‘facts’ they feel stuffed, but absolutely ‘brilliant’ with information. Then they’ll feel they’re thinking, they’ll get a sense of motion without moving. And they’ll be happy, because facts of that sort don’t change…

“The important thing for you to remember, Montag, is we’re the Happiness Boys, the Dixie Duo, you and I and the others. We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought.

“Those who don’t build must burn. It’s as old as history and juvenile delinquents peace of mind, the focus of our understandable and rightful dread of being inferior; official censors, judges, and executors. That’s you, Montag, and that’s me…

“If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none…

“Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it. Someone’s written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag. Take your fight outside. Better yet, into the incinerator.

“Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of ‘facts’ they feel stuffed, but absolutely ‘brilliant’ with information. Then they’ll feel they’re thinking, they’ll get a sense of motion without moving. And they’ll be happy, because facts of that sort don’t change…

“The important thing for you to remember, Montag, is we’re the Happiness Boys, the Dixie Duo, you and I and the others. We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought.

“Those who don’t build must burn. It’s as old as history and juvenile delinquents.”

Definitely 5 of 5 Stars

 

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Book Review: Tarzan of the Apes

 

I hate to post a review like this, but I have to. Forget about “suspending my disbelief.” I had to put it into a medically induced coma to get through this book. Incredibly stupid—especially the part (SPOILER ALERT) where Tarzan swings through the “jungles” of Wisconsin to save Jane from a prairie fire threatening her family farm. Not to mention the whole business about Lord Greystone being raised by apes. Remember, you can’t fix stupid. (1 of 5 Stars)

 

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Book Review: True Believer

 

I started out by rounding this book up from 3.5 stars to 4, but then I remembered how the author redacted his own book with sections of the text blacked out in my Kindle edition, which I guess is an annoying reminder that Jack Carr was a real-life Navy SEAL and subject to Department of Defense censorship.  The book is loaded with lots of tech goodies and realistic tactics, but the plot is borderline “Come on, man.” Should have read the first book in the series, but that story seems even fantastical. (3 of 5 Stars)

 

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Book Review: Artemis

 

There was a lot that was okay with this book. The lead character/narrator was mostly entertaining, though sometimes veered into annoying. The moonscape descriptions were interesting enough, but after talk about the low gravity, the fear of fire, the dusty surface, and the lack of atmosphere outside, we’re pretty much stuck with a caper was a little far-fetched, but it moved along nicely. The ending was a bit too pat for me, especially Jazz’s remarkable EVA recovery. The most interesting thing for me was that I read Artemis at the same time I was reading First Man, The Life of Neil A. Armstrong. I’ll round up from 3.5 stars. (4 of 5 Stars)

 

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