When a book has stood the test of time, has been deemed a “classic,” reviewing becomes something of a futile effort. Like an art critic reviewing the Mona Lisa or the Sistine Chapel with anything short of awe and respect, reviewing a classic novel feels a little arrogant. How does one critique what is universally […]
Review | Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
2012-10-22 · by ·
Every once in a while I read a book because I’m supposed to, whether because it won the Pulitzer or Nobel or Booker, or some other prestigious prize, or it’s just old enough to have been granted “classic” status. Usually, the book turns out to be just as good, or at least just as notable, […]
Review | The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
2012-10-21 · by ·
I wish I had read this in the early years after 9/11. While the characters in Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Agent” are not superficially the same as the characters that would figure into the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the subsequent events, the themes are eerily similar. As a piece of literature, though, the book […]
Review | Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
2012-08-16 · by ·
Until I got my iPad for Christmas, the only Apple product I had ever owned was an iPod that ended up collecting dust on my dresser. A cool product, but since I couldn’t work out with it, I never much used it. My iPad, however, is another story. For me, it is a tool I use daily. I take notes, read books, […]
Review | Redshirts by John Scalzi
2012-07-02 · by ·
This is the fourth Scalzi I’ve read, and Scalzi proves again that he has a talent for dialogue, for character, and for crafting a clever plot in a bite size portion. While I would never call myself a Trekkie–I much prefer Star Wars, and I have never been able to buy into Roddenberry‘s vision of a utopian […]
Review | Civilization: the West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson
2012-05-24 · by ·
The elevator pitch for Niall Ferguson‘s “Civilization: The West and the Rest” is simple: Western civilization has risen to dominate world affairs over the last five hundred years, a record unmatched in world history and at odds with its population and geography relative to other countries and civilizations, due to six “killer apps” that have provided an advantage […]
Review | The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
2012-04-06 · by ·
Michael Lewis can tell a story like no other. In fact, even before I finished reading his “The Big Short,” I wanted to work the book into every conversation I had. The story was that interesting and compelling. Anyone who can take the financial crisis of the last few years, find a story in it that […]
Review | 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann
2012-04-05 · by ·
“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” But what happened next? More than just the discovery of the new world that we call the Americas,Christopher Columbus set off globalization of ecology, trade, biology, and nationality beyond anything that preceded it, argues Charles Mann in “1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created.” The discovery of America did more than […]
Review | Chasing the Runner’s High by Ray Charbonneau
2012-03-25 · by ·
If there’s one thing Ray Charbonneau understands, it is runners. In Chasing the Runner’s High he may claim that he isn’t sure what a typical runner is, but if the proof is in the pudding, not only is Charbonneau a true blue, died in the wool, run in the sun, rain or snow runner, but he talks […]
Review | Grand Strategies: Literature, Statecraft, and World Order by Charles Hill
2012-03-21 · by ·
I’m always on the look out for new books to read (but what I really need is more time). Suggestions from friends, mentors, reviewers, blogs, and references in other books send me off on an endless cycle: hear about a book, find it on Amazon (or the library), purchase (or check out) said book, bring […]
