Matthew

The long lead-up to the American Revolution

Revisado: 12-19-18

the author offers new perspective on the sociological aspect of the struggle. But he shows insufficient insight into British politics of the time.

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Filling in the blanks

Revisado: 08-06-18

Somewhat along the lines of "Rosencranz & Guildenstern are Dead," this fleshes out Shakespeare's tale, putting it in the context of medieval Scotland. Macbeth gets an inner voice, Lady Macbeth gets a persona. The performance is in pitch-perfect Scottish-inflected English. Great fun.

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A lively introduction to a new subject

Revisado: 05-22-18

Horse racing is an arcane field unto itself. Joe Drape clearly knows his stuff and provides a wonderful entry for readers (like me) who aren't familiar with the field, but recall the headlines over the years. Drape raises some difficult questions about why horses today are so fragile, whether they are sometimes abused, and why the owners are such (ahem) lively characters.

Drape tells the story of certain events from the points of view of several participants, a bit like LaPierre and Collins in "Is Paris Burning" or "Oh Jerusalem."

A good choice if you'd like to get into the subject.

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Explaining the Modern World

Revisado: 02-19-17

World War I pitted the cavalry against the machine gun, the empire (Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, Russian) against the Republic, and the idea of the nobility of battle against the reality of soldiers freezing and starving, gassed and shredded by artillery that could fire for tens of miles. Industrialized warfare was deployed without scruple or humanitarian consideration.
Meyer lays out most of that well, and explains the groundwork for the modern political world, and for modern warfare. A century later, it explains how 1914 resembled the modern world and how it didn't. It explained why Woodrow Wilson should rank near the bottom in a ranking of presidents.
The writing is clear and, at times, lively. The structure of the book is a bit unusual but suits the material well.
I found it hard to put down.

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A Very Millennial Book

Revisado: 01-20-17

An enjoyable tale set in contemporary San Francisco and New York, inflected with the current technology and information revolution. The author has some sense of the history of technology and information science. Novels sometimes shine for their gritty detail; this one's details are about information technology.

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Life is imitating Roth's art

Revisado: 08-04-16

A country with bitter internal divisions faces a world dissolving into savage war, and a man with no political experience but a high national profile marches into the White House. His radical policies begin to transform the country in frightening ways. It was written ten years ago but reads like a thinly-disguised version of America in the summer of 2016.
And the narration is pitch-perfect.

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The AK-47, ubiquitous but obscure, is explained

Revisado: 12-27-13

I'm no expert on guns but this is a fascinating work on the history of an important technology, from the Civil War through post-Vietnam. It's full of delicious detail and a great listen.

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Surprisingly lively

Revisado: 05-10-13

Lots you'd never have guest, delivered with wit and intelligence, and a narrator well-suited to the text.

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Raising a not-quite-average child

Revisado: 12-23-12

Anybody who has, or had, a child who is not quite at the statistical mean will appreciate this book. John Schwartz writes about putting a creative kid, who shows some of the human species' variability, through a one-size-fits-all school system and social structure - and coming out whole on the other side.
Millions of parents go through a version of what John and his wife did, whether their kids are gay or straight, and would benefit from his insight.
And his narration adds an entertaining element. Never underestimate the power of a Texan storyteller.

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An unofficial sequel to Spook Country.

Revisado: 10-22-12

The pleasure of Gibson is the texture of his prose. The story is entertaining but the gritty detail is the real attraction.

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