Robert Goldston

Insider View of US-Israel Relations

Revisado: 04-11-16

There is probably no one better positioned to provide this panoramic historical review of the US - Israel relationship. You will need some fair background to understand the story - Do you remember the Sinai Campaign of 1956? - but Dennis Ross provides a lot of useful perspective. He emphasizes that our Arab friends do not prioritize resolving the Israel - Palestinian conflict, but he has devoted countless years to trying to resolve it.

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A Great and Thoughtful History of Israel

Revisado: 01-08-14

Would you consider the audio edition of My Promised Land to be better than the print version?

I notice that the print version has some low-quality B&W pictures, so that is not a major consideration. The reader is very good.

What was one of the most memorable moments of My Promised Land?

The description of the expulsion of Arabs from Lydda.

Which character – as performed by Paul Boehmer – was your favorite?

Paul Boehmer has a distinct Israeli accent - but he also pronounces French beautifully. He made it feel as if Shavit were talking to you. He says the word :"sexy" in a remarkably sexy way.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No way. There is too much tough stuff. And 20 hours!

Any additional comments?

Anyone who is interested in a balanced perspective on Israel - told by an unabashed old-style Zionist who has a heart and a mind - should listen to this book.

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Focused on the Lone Wolves

Revisado: 11-14-08

This book is mostly about the early history of fusion research, and about the more recent fiascos where lone-wolf researchers have claimed breakthroughs without adequate scientific basis. If you are interested in cold and bubble fusion, and how the press has dealt with them, this is a good book for you. On the other hand, Seife devotes relatively little ink to the scientists and engineers worldwide who are working to develop fusion, on the basis of peer-reviewed, replicable research. He also doesn't systematically review the literature on progress in fusion, on the remaining challenges, and on why it is attractive as an energy source. When I started in this field as a graduate student we made 1/10 of a Watt of fusion heat in a pulse of 1/100 of second. Now the record is in the range of 10 million Watts for a second. That is an improvement by an overall factor of 10 billion. The international ITER project will produce 500 million Watts of fusion heat for periods of at least 300 - 500 seconds. We have further to go, and lots of challenges, but fusion has large advantages in safety, waste and nuclear proliferation. There are relatively few options for large-scale, long-term, steady electric power production, and they all need to be explored.

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Author is Embarrassed !?

Revisado: 07-26-08

There is some interesting material in here, but the author herself seems to be embarrassed about all of this - she finds the whole thing a bit unseemly. That gets to be a bit cloying. A real, critical analysis of this material would be much more interesting.

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As Good as the Series

Revisado: 08-09-06

I came to the end of the Aubrey/Maturin series and felt like I had lost four friends, Jack Aubrey, Steven Maturin, Patrick O'Brian and Patrick Tull. Well, here they are back again. The youthful protagonists of this book, Jack and Tobias, are not quite Aubrey and Maturin, since the book is set in 1740, but one is a midshipman and the other a surgeon's mate, and they bring a fresh, young presence with many of the characteristics of their more well known literary descendents. O'Brian's dry humor and human insight, as well as his knowledge of the Royal Navy (here in Anson's time before the problem of longitude was solved) are already on display, and Tull does a masterful job reading. Highly recommended.

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Great Series, Great Reader

Revisado: 08-09-06

I couldn't recommend this series of books more highly. Patrick O'Brian combines a masterly knowledge of the Royal Navy of Nelson's time with a sensitive and witty understanding of human nature. It makes you wonder how any novelist can plumb human character and circumstance in less than a few thousand pages.
I read the full series of books, and have now listened to the full series of audiobooks - with great pleasure in both cases. Patrick Tull does a masterly job with meaning, accents of all kinds, and Patrick O'Brians dry humor. Truly a masterpiece.

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