A. Toomey

An interesting tale, but needs direction.

Revisado: 01-12-23

This book tried to trod upon many narrative avenues at once and never settled into it's purpose.

This is one part autobiographical and tribute to her experiences with a woman who acted as mentor on her journey. She talks of coming to terms as a vegetarian with the nature of Hawks as hunters.

It's one part philosophical, discussing the natures and personalities of several Hawks and their relationship as a species with humanity.

It's one part historical/scientific with interludes into the terminology and biology (to a limited extent) of the birds.

Any one of these may have been interesting to pursue in far more depth than this book in its entirety. Instead the combination feels lacking. None of the various threads of potential materialize into a main plot for the piece. She's not a falconer, having never taken up the apprenticeship offer. She's still a vegetarian who gets squeamish, however briefly, in the final chapter when she goes on a hunt. There isn't enough detail to be considered a science of hawks piece.

To the positive, the author reads with clarity and good emotion. Descriptions are vivid and detailed. It's an easy listen and provides some interesting perspective to contemplate. If you're the type who enjoys travelogue or "day in the life" genre books, you will likely enjoy this more than I.

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A History... Starting with Calculus

Revisado: 06-27-22

I'm pleased to report, given the short length, this book does not cover the entire history of mathematics, but instead starts at the concepts which became calculus and moves forward chronologically from there. It covers a wide range of concepts and includes interesting stories of the mathematicians involved. The author is very expressive and easy to listen to. The examples are well explained and clear to understand even for those not initiated into the particular theory. There are numerous real-world connections presented of how the concepts are used in our day to day lives.

My one complaint is the repeated "title card" playing throughout. This is clearly due to the fact it was originally presented in another, episodic, format. This could have been removed in editing before being presented as a single audiobook without any loss of information and the individual episodes split into "Chapters" for those who wish easier navigation.

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Please view the accompanying PDF...

Revisado: 10-14-21

This is a very good introduction to some of the terminology of stargazing and suggestions of how and what to look for when observing. The author is very clear in his tone and keeps a consistently high quality in speaking. The recording is of high quality and easy to listen to. That said, the repeated reminders to look at the PDF are very distracting from the narration. This is only a 3.5 hour audiobook, I'm unlikely to forget there is a PDF after the first 2-3 mentions.

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Superficial Introduction

Revisado: 08-23-21

This is a brief introduction of some of the conceptual ideas of weather's impact on human history. It is very superficial as you might expect given it's only 54 minutes. She very briefly covers a number of events, but only the highlights. (What, When, Why we remember it.) I get the sense she knows her stuff, it's just too short of a work to go into it in any detail. If the author were to have a longer lecture series I would give it a try, but as it stands, there are far more comprehensive looks at the effects of weather on historical events. Or in the case of one of her examples -- the effects of volcanism on weather/climate. IMO, it would have been better to select a single event and dive deeply into the event, its causes, and its impact on humanity.

The bad -- the audio quality is laughably amateurish. It's clear they are using a statically placed mic instead of a lapel mic. You hear her voice fade as she (presumably) walks to where her slides are showing to describe things. You also hear a "wind" effect on the microphone at times. It's not so bad as to be intolerable, but it is very noticeable. Yes, I know it's a live recording, but that is no excuse in 2021, especially for a paid product. As far as the speaker herself, particularly at the start she seems winded and gaspy, I don't know if this is because of the nature of the stage she's presenting on and if she had to climb some stairs first or what -- this does improve over time. Generally speaking, she was an engaging speaker with clear vocals.

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History of Moon Race, not much new

Revisado: 09-01-20

I expected from the title this would be largely focused on current efforts but most of the book was history of the Apollo program and only a brief overview of space efforts since then. When it finally got to the discussion of future missions it became very repetitive seeming to emphasize the same few points of the benefit over and over. It isn't a bad review of the history but there are far more comprehensive examinations than this. I found it became tedious but I wanted to see what he had for the current "race" and honestly the lack of detail was disappointing.

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Cosmic Mysteries

Revisado: 08-21-20

This is pretty standard fare for a Neil deGrasse Tyson presentation. If you like his work and are interested in some of the weird questions still left to be answered about the universe you will probably enjoy this. There's nothing earth shattering in here, but it is a nice introduction with a low technical entry point for those who don't have a background in the area.

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A Brief Cultural Tour of Holiday Traditions

Revisado: 06-18-20

This feels more like a podcast than a book as the author interviews a number of Chefs about their family traditions for the holidays. Their diverse backgrounds and family dynamics lead to a fun romp through holiday memories. I haven't tried the recipes, but some of the things described do sound delicious.

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Decent Overview. Could lose sarcasm.

Revisado: 06-18-20

This book starts out with a lot of snark and sarcasm. I'm assuming the intention is to provide humor, but for me it was too thickly laid on for a science book even one meant for the mainstream. Thankfully, by chapter two it does thin down to the occasional comment or jab at this group or that situation.

Overall the content generally lines up with what I know of the field, though I'm no expert. At times she does raise some interesting questions and conundrums which will need to be addressed as the science moves forward. If you're looking for a broad overview of the field this succeeds in that regard, though as others have noted, with a field moving along so quickly how long this information remains current is anyone's guess.

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Philosophy meets Physics

Revisado: 06-12-20

This was far more philosophical than most of his works. Focusing on the human experience in the context of the bigger universe, he discusses issues and theories from across a wide swath of the physical and social sciences as well as philosophical and religious schools of thought to paint a picture of what it means to be a thinking creature. As the title suggests he goes from the beginning of time as we understand it physically through a number of potential ends. While there are periods of heavier math and physics there is enough explanation to make it understandable for most casual listeners. The audio quality was good and I find his narration easy to listen to. If you're a fan of cross discipline contemplating you'll enjoy this book.

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Very Enjoyable

Revisado: 01-03-20

This book combines a basic introduction to astronomy with a philosophical outlook that suggests science and religion can comfortable co-exist. I didn't know exactly what to expect when I started but I'm happy with what I got. Obviously the religion in question is Catholicism, but he presents that side of the story in a very philosophical way which asks the big questions of our place in the universe that are asked by people of many faiths. The narrator keeps the physics very understandable and uses good examples for explaining new concepts.

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