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why the surprise

Revisado: 10-02-18

I was appalled by the choice I had to vote for in 2016. I reluctantly voted for Clinton only because she might have some credentials for running a government. This book shows that Trump acts as President the same way he acted as CEO of the various Trump companies and expects to have the same power. He is arrogant and a boor. He has attempted to do what he said he would do and what his supporters expected him to do. He knows nothing about government. His management style is based on bluster and fear. What I find amazing is that after nearly two years of Trump the country and world don't appear any worse than it was under Obama. Obama was an appeaser and apologist. Trump is not that and despises Obama policies. Trump has created some chaos in a stagnant government. He is not really a Republican but he uses the GOP and they use him. He hated Obama's foreign policy and is trying to rescind it. He thinks allies have suckered the US into paying the bulk of western defense while they make money from protectionist trade policies and trade with adversaries such as Iran. Trump feels he is personally being persecuted because Russia preferred him to Clinton (a no brainer) and actively pursued legal and illegal methods to get him elected. It didn't help that many of his top campaign staffers including family were in contact with and making money from Russians. I expect Trump was unaware and disinterested as he is with the details of most things. This book is interesting and paints a fair portrait of Trump as president. It does not set the mind at ease but for better or worse it is what the electorate should have expected. BTW I don't think a Clinton presidency would have been any more reassuring. I hope in the future both parties will put forward and support better candidates and ones more in tune with the electorate. If that were the case maybe voters might outnumber non-voters.

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well reasoned presentation

Revisado: 08-25-18

an electronic brain may be possible but only if the structure of the organic brain is implemented. thus far computers are faster and more accurate at following algorithms but that is not how the brain operates. this book gives a good presentation of how the author believes the brain to function.

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nothing there

Revisado: 08-05-18

I could not finish. The countdown became unbearable. I quit around C-37. Falconer writes well but there is negligible content. It goes on and on with nothing really happening.

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too wordy

Revisado: 05-27-18

The author has become too intoxicated with his words. Unfortunately they contribute very little to the fabric or flow of the story and to the entertainment value. In short they just bloat the novel. The story itself is a fantasy but that would be alright if it were told with better craft. This is the worst of the Hawke novels.

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overstuffed with description

Revisado: 03-23-18

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I could only stand a couple of chapters. Reichs is one of those authors that feels compelled to fill the story with incidental descriptions of just about anything. The story may be good but drags because of the word baggage that accompanies it. I would estimate that 2/3 of the book is this stuffing.

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got to be kidding

Revisado: 03-21-18

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The premise is absurd, even more than the original myth. The crazy guy wanting to wipe out the human race is a bit old by now, but this is too ridiculous and poorly executed.

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great biography of a great man

Revisado: 01-29-18

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I believe Grant benefited by leaving the army in the years prior to the civil war. Otherwise he might have been lost in the military swamp in which McClellan and Lee rose in the ranks. His failure in the civilian ranks probably hardened him for his later tasks. If he was an alcoholic he was a strange one. He could go months or years without a drink from willpower alone. Apparently he was never drunk when it mattered. Even then he was no worse than others. He was a good man, a good husband and father as well as a great general and president. He was probably even a better man and president than Lincoln. Andrew Johnson was a horrible man and successor to Lincoln and Grant did his best to repair the damage he caused. Lee was a good general but not as good as some of his Confederate mates. He appears not to have been a very good man. Grant could recognize talent in his military commanders but not so in his civilian subordinates. He was an extraordinary president unfortunately tarnished by the corruption of a few of those he appointed.

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tedious

Revisado: 01-03-18

Did Origin inspire you to do anything?

Stop listening

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Dan Brown's formula for novels:
1. Choose an item of monumental importance to search for
2. Pick a country to search in
3. Fill novel with catalog and travel log descriptions of art and architecture found in the country
4. Sprinkle the dialog with phrases in language of the country followed by English translations
5. Add descriptions and asides which contribute nothing to the story value but fatten the book by at least 30%
6. Use a pretentious tone with frequent repetition and use of cliché phrases
7. End with a less than monumental finish
I grew tired of items 3-6 and the constant use of 'future queen of Spain' to refer to the heroine so I could not get to item 7.
Brown's first novel seemed exciting. The succeeding books were all disappointing.

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nothing new

Revisado: 12-24-17

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I listened to only about 30 minutes before deciding I wasn't interested in the rest. The script and dialog were just too familiar and unexciting. Brick is an excellent narrator but has become overexposed.

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more of the same

Revisado: 08-07-17

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This novel contains the same tech-war stuff of previous novels but with no compelling story line. It's probably time to retire the series.

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