AndyB

When the whole story is just Jason whining…

Revisado: 12-18-23

I’m 9.5 books in (I haven’t even finished this one yet) so I’m a true HWFM fan, but this book is really awful. I am seriously thinking about not finishing it and ditching the whole series.

Halfway through and there’s little in the way of a story here - it’s erratic and lacking focus.

Much worse, we are stuck in a perpetual loop of talking and hearing about Jason’s character - he broods, he threatens, he regrets, he acts like a child, then he tells others off for acting like children, he boasts, the author boasts for him (‘the others couldn’t believe what they were seeing’). More than anything he whines. And yet we follow the old trope of his friends sticking with him cos he’s really a great person on the inside (he even gives a cringeworthy ‘my little pony friendship is magic’ speech at one point).

Where I enjoyed him in previous stories, this self-indulgent version of him is taken too far here (we’ve been going that way for several books). At this point I’m willing a diamond ranker to kill him and the point of view to shift to literally any other character on his team.

I think I’m done if the next book is like this!

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Unsupported mystical assertions, little science

Revisado: 11-26-23

This was disappointing. I had hoped for a careful examination of the potential benefits and history of kombucha. Instead the author, who genuinely seems to have had a near-religious experience with kombucha, frequently asserts the kombucha or kombucha’s characteristics (e.g. natural effervescence) without evidence but as though it were science. A particular passage that stood out as an example (delivered seriously): Kombucha is ‘'life in a bottle, health in a mouthful, a connection to all that is'.

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'New Map' or old ideas?

Revisado: 04-18-21

I had high expectations for this book. I loved Yergin's The Prize (do look it up if you haven't heard it). For me Yergin's writing in that made him something like the Michael Lewis of energy storytelling.

Sadly this book doesn't repeat past brilliance. The storytelling is at times compelling - I was fascinated by the discovery of the 'slick' fracking technique, for example, which I hadn't heard before. However the author beats repeats his points, and with too much detail. For example he gives repeated descriptions of the discovery of different shale gas deposits etc. by different companies. So the pace slows and the narrative becomes, at times, monotonous.

More concerningly, though, nothing in the author's 'New Map' seems very new. The ideas and outlook have been peddle by energy experts (including Yergin's own CERA) for about 10 years.

It is difficult to know who the audience for this book is therefore. Those who know the energy industry will find little new here. Those who don't will likely be dragged down by the detail. But there are certainly interesting anecdotes and elements within if you're willing to stick with it.

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Disappointing in tone and lack of detail

Revisado: 03-20-21

I hoped to learn all about the science of fasting as well as how to do it from this book. I was disappointed on all levels.

Briefly the problems with the book are :

- It is a book about fasting to resolve diabetes not for other reasons. There is no discussion, for example, if emerging science about fasting perhaps preventing or combating cancer (when combined with normal treatment) or about evidence that fast can extend lifespan. The impacts of fasting are assessed very narrowly
- the author repeats the same points again and again. He must say, for example, 10-15 times that the only things you can consume while fasting are water, tea, coffee and bone broth.
- this could with the narrator's approach and tone just make the book a sound very preach and a little condescending. Like the author is talking to a small child. For example under the section on advantages of fasting he spends a minute explaining that it doesn't cost any money. No-one needs an explanation of why if you don't buy anything to eat it doesn't cost money
- Lastly it's just a very boring writing style - so formulaic.

I suggest you find a different book. The only exception may be if you are fasting for Type 2 Diabetes, which this explains in some detail

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Good, but outdated in 2021

Revisado: 02-25-21

This it's a well designed set of lectures but I presume they were written and given about 2011 - provides no references after this time. While the lectures teach a lot about economics they are heavily rooted in the US, which seems outdated now with China not mentioned much. The lectures also talk a great deal about the 2008 financial crisis and speculate on many issues which are less under discussion in economics these days. And, of course, there's no mention of the pandemic though I wouldn't seriously expect that.

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Find better sci-fi

Revisado: 10-31-20

Overall I was pretty disappointed with this book. It's not well written - the story is formulaic, there's too much background but it didn't feel like it added depth and the 'action' feels like process rather than excitement. It also finishes in a really random place - one of the characters says 'let's do this thing and then after we can do that', then they share a cheesy line and it's done.

You can find better books. I won't be listening to the rest of the series

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Slow going

Revisado: 02-03-19

Scott has some amazing experiences to share but the writing - for me at least - is terrible. Long build ups to 'dramatic' bits of his life, the meat of which are then dealt with in 30 seconds of narration; frequent lists of names and descriptions of people who play no role in the story; perfunctory comments on how he was feeling; and technical references without explanation were just some of the irritations here. In the end, though, the issue for me was that it just wasn't enthralling...

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Can't hear it

Revisado: 10-29-16

Great stories and well told, but in all three performances we found the quiet bits were too quiet to hear while driving in the car while at the same time the loud bits were too loud!

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