Joe Walsh

Engaging and Thought Prrovoking

Revisado: 06-13-22

A intriguing take on human history and legacy, I gained a lot of perspective on humanity and nature.

I enjoyed it entirely and can wholeheartedly recommend it, but I do critique when Harari passes speculation as authoritatively as some of the other facts. The problem is not with being speculative: a book like this must speculate on several things and is better for it. But Sapiens handles this inconsistently. For example, Harari presents a few theories on why patriarchy is a near-universal phenomenon but is careful to note that these are speculative, pointing out several flaws with each. But elsewhere Harari presents equally speculative theories without any qualification whatsoever, giving the impression of wide acceptance.

With that in mind, I think anyone remotely interested in broad-strokes history of humans will thoroughly enjoy this book.

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Makes a Good Argument

Revisado: 04-04-22

Converted me to believe that there must be a language instinct. A relevant read despite its age, as the advances of the last decades have not substantially changed our understanding of this.

The few mistakes hardly detract from the main argument (e.g a false claim about additional expressive power in BEV, arguing against using genetic variation as support for a claim and then using it as support later, and a few others). The main claim of the book survives these oversights intact, as most are just factoids for reader interest rather than supporting evidence.

I admit being annoyed by one argument style: Pinker many times dismisses research or lines of questioning with "No one should be interested in this because it is boring." Do not tell me what I should not be interested in, the right to judge something as boring belongs entirely to me. The book would be better without these smug pronouncements.

Still, I can wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone with even a passing interest in language.

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Nice with weaknesses

Revisado: 10-14-19

Ken Follet's treatment of the past projects very modern notions onto the opinions of his historical characters. He makes sure to have antagonistic characters with the opposite view, but it gets a little difficult to believe that there weren't good people with bad viewpoints.

Some of his presentation of events is oversimplified or leaned toward unsubstantiated conclusions. This character quality is less garish in his other books given their distance from the current age.

Overall attractive reading about interesting times. Its only flaw is that Follet's reliable formula is harder to swallow the more recent the topic being handled.

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Interesting Perspectives

Revisado: 08-12-19

I enjoyed his perspectives and metaphors, they provide thought-provoking material.
Not quite sure why this book is recommended to non-believers, as Lewis spends most of his calories forwarding rationalizations of the difficult-to-accept ideas that only people who already think Christianity is true will find compelling.

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Important reading for human interface folks

Revisado: 08-05-19

I am an Apollo fan so found the story and main points interesting, even if some of the highlights are pretty well worn by now.

The narrator frequently ended phrases with a breathy sustain that I found unbelievably annoying. This forced affectation persisted for the entire reading, although it seemed to get better toward the end of the book. It was very hard to acclimate to it.

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Enveloping story and excellent narration

Revisado: 07-22-19

The story drew me in deeper the further I got into the book. I am a WW2 history afficianado so that played a role.
The performance was high caliber, I especially enjoyed the subtle regional accents. If only more authors were able to narrate their own work in this fashion.

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Interesting But Speculative

Revisado: 05-27-19

This is a great short summary of Lincoln's life. It falls short of making a compelling case for Lincoln's faith in my view. Many of Lincoln's amniguous statements are speculated to be potential evidence of his faith. These speculations are later referred to as concrete facts in building the case for Lincoln's faith. Sorry, but that's not how it works.

The author also seems to have difficulty accepting that the same Lincoln who brazenly lied about his atheism for political purposes could do so more than once.

I enjoyed the story but was unconvinced by the argument.

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Classic PKD

Revisado: 10-22-18

An interesting thought experiment, based on a simple principle, although I'm afraid Dick's explanation of a possible mechanism for it struck me as obfuscation through complication.

The narrator was a joy for me to discover, especially his capability for female voices. The various females did end up sounding a little too similar, and his implementation of them was perhaps too sultry, but I was impressed nonetheless.

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A full overview of this presidency's beginning

Revisado: 09-13-18

This is the best explanation of "What Happened" that I've seen so far. It's not impartial, but the other sources on this topic are not comprehensive enough to deliver an accurate summary.

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Great story, author's spin easily dodged

Revisado: 07-24-17

I enjoyed the story and the reading. The author mostly shows balance in describing the various stains in the history of the Irish in America. Fortunately, the few instances of Irish bias on the author's part are recognizable and are not germane to his ultimate conclusion regarding the reason for Maugher's death.

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