Superminx

Researched well, presented with flair

Revisado: 06-05-24

The intervening decades have revealed a few new facts--Pluto is no longer a planet--but this audiobook offers a fascinating view of, well, just about everything.

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Funny and factual

Revisado: 09-24-23

I'm giving this book to friends interested in psychology and the human condition. Sound research presented in a narrative style that is easily understood, humorous and not weighed down by over reliance on statistics. Makes it much easier to accept our inevitable foibles.

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Bryson never fails

Revisado: 01-23-22

Impeccable research, engaging prose, Bryson makes it look so easy—and fun. Any book by Bill Bryson will be well worth your time and attention.

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Worth the time

Revisado: 11-01-19

Fascinating and detailed. Harari offers a scholarly and yet readable look at our extraordinary history. Should be in every high school and college library where a few eager minds might stumble upon it. It is unlikely that classes will devote the necessary time to a book of this much detail and potential controversy.

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Deserves the time investment

Revisado: 11-01-19

Okay, it is long. It is very long, and detailed in ways that make the experience feel repetitive, but the compelling reason to go the distance is that every sentence carries the ring of absolute fact. Facts that are hard to face, but documented with such extraordinary care that they cannot be refuted or ignored. Some will say, “just give me the Cliff Notes version, I don’t have time for this much detail”. Maybe that’s what is wrong with America—we have time for watching Family Feud or the talking heads on cable opinion shows, but we turn away from the more difficult task of comprehending the crumbling of our Democracy. The hours spent taking in the minutiae and corroboration of fact found in this report seem a small price to pay for knowing what has happened, what is setting events in motion for our future. The facts are staggeringly apparent. It is worth the investment of time.

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Challenging but worth it

Revisado: 11-01-19

Westover takes us to places, introduces us to people, we never hope to know in life. We are better for the experience but it is hard to shake off the sense that the world is a little crazier, more dangerous, less knowable than we previously believed. I’ve listened to it twice—some sections more than twice—and come away changed by it. I sent it to a prison inmate who devoured it saying, “this captures and explains my early life. I get it now.” You’d think it fiction but nobody could make this stuff up.

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Full of connections

Revisado: 06-22-19

The author makes interesting connections between materials around us and the life we are living today. Any humor may have been unintentional but the book would have been improved by adding a little more humor.

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Heartbreakingly honest

Revisado: 12-24-18

Our credulity is stretched to the limit by the man in the Oval Office. A closer look at his manipulation of people, policies and governmental processes from the man who sat face-to-face with the president, attempting to help the president be successful in governing. No amount of guidance or conscientious truth-telling would persuade Donald Trump to honor, to truth, to compassion or humility. Donald Trump is a thug and a bully. American democracy is in peril. Read Comey’s book.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Testament to the human spirit

Revisado: 09-19-17

Humble origins and lack of many of the supports we often take for granted, did not prevent "the boys" from achieving greatness of spirit, of manhood, of maturity. This book tells a powerful story of how anyone might achieve greatness: self regulation, dignity, intellectual and physical challenge. A terrific read--hard to put down, and the Audible narration is perfect. I recommend it to any thinking person who wants to experience elation--it is a must read/listen for anyone with ties to the Pacific Northwest!

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Essential reading

Revisado: 07-01-17

This book is essential for all adults, but particularly for those of us over 40. Our own aging, our parents' aging and decline, and the inevitable illnesses of friends-- we will all be asked at some point, "what options do I have?" Maybe by the person we see in the mirror each morning. Thinking about what matters at the end may relieve suffering, save money and most important, offer the chance for higher quality of life. Read it and give a copy to a friend!

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