Zack A

Must Read, Inspirational warning about China

Revisado: 12-21-20

This book is superbly read by Ray Porter. It is concise and easy to follow. It is the opposite of Kissinger's books, in that it warns us of the "stealth war" in which China is engaged: a totalitarian vision of world power whereby people are controlled to serve the state and where individual liberty has no place. Spalding recounts how China has planned to control merchant shipping and consumer goods production and how it has managed to allow foreign investment without any prospect of repatriating profits. He points out how it has built huge cities with Western financing, where the RE is now worth only 1/5 of the book carry cost, and how it plans to default on the loans and then sell the RE to locals at a fraction of the cost in order to solve its housing shortage; how it plans to build huge IT complexes in these cities; how it "invests" in foreign countries that have the resources (land or minerals) that it needs so that they will be forced to use its technology and leave China in control. He tells us how it uses its citizens to spy for the CCP through its social credit score, whereby one needs a certain score to fly domestically or travel internationally, and therefore can be required to perform certain services for the CCP in order to maintain the credit score. He warns that the large Chinese population here in the US can be required to transmit trade secrets in this way, and he warns of the Confuscious centers on college campuses that help promote the CCP and its agenda indirectly

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Excellent memoir marked by self righteousness

Revisado: 08-24-20

A very enjoyable narrative from an insider about the Obama presidency. However in his telling, he demonstrates the liberal’s self righteousness in their belief that they know what is best for all and see the other as being less qualified and somehow San enemy of democracy. Even when discussing Brexit, there is an assertion that the reason Brits supported it was due to fake news about immigration. It is year another example of how elites live in a bubble. Nevertheless, I totally appreciated this window into Obama’s
Presidency.

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absolutely fabulous

Revisado: 05-24-20

Elton John comes across in full color: truthful, outrageous, present and inspirational. I was moved that this person so fully embraces life.

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superficial

Revisado: 04-12-20

I listened to this book with the intention of seeing the viewpoint of the addict and her care-givers. Although I did get the feeing for the addict, which was well described, the people around her, her mother and the author, were so complicit in her behavior, that I felt more hopeless than before. For example, twice mentioned were Tess's assertion that she would of course chose to give up drugs in favor of her child, but that assertion is left hanging as if to imply that someone else has kept her from chasing her child. But in every case, it is Tess who choses the drugs, even though she constantly says that she wants to go home. There is not one single word or thought given to responsibility on the part of the addict or her enablers. Instead, it is society that is at fault. There is no attempt to consider the psychological profile of an addict. Instead, it is assumed that kids want to experiment and would chose to surround themselves with bad influences with no realization of their destructive consequences. If this is the case, what about looking to the family's responsibility in raising that child. I kept asking: where were the parents when they saw their teenage daughter choosing friends who were doing drugs and drinking? I am very open to the genetic pre-disposition to addiction, but the author seems to state that this pre-disposition alone excuses all addiction and crime that arises from such pre-disposition. The author makes no effort to explore the character of addicts who have become clean and chosen sobriety. The book would have been far more interesting if the author had juxtaposed the lives, psychology, environmental influences, etc. of recovered addicts with Tess's choices. Instead, she paints Tess as the victim of society's decision to abandon addicts, despite the thousands of dollars that Tess's family spent on treatment for her. It is never Tess's responsibility...it is always society's responsibility. If this is indeed how things are, addiction and all psychological disorders are ultimately hopeless.

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Beautifully read memoir but lacking in perspective

Revisado: 03-31-20

The memoir is perfectly read by Cherise Boothe, and the writing flows well, except in the final chapter, where it is too repetitive. Granted, Ward's writing is beautiful. However, I deplore the premise that underlies her writing, a premise that reflects Ward's emotional immaturity: racism is the sole cause of black suffering and black communities bear no responsibility for changing their circumstances because they are powerless due to racism....catch 22.
Although she is a product of a single parent family where her mother is the sole support of the family and everyone else is drinking and doing drugs and many boys drop out of school, die or go to jail, and where she herself feels devalued, drinks until she passes out, experiments with drugs and, as an adult, becomes a single mother of two,
not once does she accept any responsibility for the fact that her choices could be contributing to the problems in her community:
bearing children that grow up without two parents and raising them with anger and blame for the situation they find
themselves in, a community of poverty and poor education, drugs and alcohol. The fact that there is poverty in her community
is the fault of society, of the nebulous “them” she refers to throughout. “Society” is also to blame for drugs, alcohol and the despair in her community. As is poor education to blame, in that no effort is made to counsel young rebellious males or give them tutoring so that they might turn from crime to studying (never mind the difficulty of giving them that help when they get no parental supervision or encouragement). Ward seems to think that the influence of parenting is negligible because there is a large family support system with aunties and uncles. However none of these peripheral extended family in her story are available to sit down with a child to do homework, or to take away the beer and turn off the TV. They are there
so that, if adults are fighting at home, the chid may go sleep at someone else’s home! And how is this child supposed to have
the stable base for a hopeful and secure future? Ward’s limitation is that she is emotionally immature in that she has not explored her own anger. Instead of taking responsibility for transmuting her anger, she wallows in it and uses it to fuel her writing and her continued anger.
Granted, she is lauded by media and academia for this politically correct stance, so she is not challenged to grow.
Anyone who has engaged in self-exploration, analysis and personal growth, has had to confront her own demons, which lurk within us all.
Anger is there to show us where we need to make room for love, where we must let go of pre-conceived notions and gain more understanding.
A person who insists on staying in anger and blame stays stuck within herself and where there is no change within, there is no change without.
Inner change begets societal change. Ward wants “them”, ie society, to change while she continues to indulge in anger. And academia tells her she is right to do so and rewards her with literary accolades.

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Narrator was a distraction

Revisado: 03-06-19

I found Scott Brick’s reading a distraction from
the material.. a bit pompous and self
important, similarly to his narration of Bhu Srinivasan’s book, Americana. I tend to look at history in geopolitical terms, and so this book offered a good overview. I was able to follow along by viewing maps on my computer, as other reviews suggested

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Excellent narration of exceptional biography

Revisado: 06-25-18

This wonderfully interpreted reading of Chernow’s equally wonderful
Grant biography will hopefully reinstate Grant’s reputation as a great American President. I was in tears at the end of the book, as I said goodby to Grant and mourned with the thousands of onlookers, military (both north and south), congressional representatives and ordinary citizens who
marched in the 5 hour long funeral procession. Chernow painted the portrait of a great man with all his foibles, but who maintained his integrity, simple kindness and humility throughout his life. The tears were due to a wish for such greatness in our public servants today.

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Inspired Story-Telling of US History

Revisado: 11-02-17

This "history" book is inspirational and riveting. Clearly the immigrant/entrepreneur author loves America. He describes its history through the eyes of the entrepreneurial spirit that propelled its growth to the position it now holds globally. The book is logically and chronologically organized by chapter and industry, and weaves in the major players of each period with a story-telling expertise that made it hard for me to "put down". I would love to see it introduced to school curriculums where few students know much about history, with the intention of igniting an excitement for and love of the study of history, which many feel is very dry. Srinivasan's history is anything but "dry." I found the narrator to take some getting used to and would have preferred had Srinivasan read the book himself.

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Author's anger takes away from message

Revisado: 05-02-16

Several times while listening to the audiobook, I was tempted to stop. The author's anger contrasts with his roll model, Reinhold Niehbur, lacking Niehbur's compassion and objectivity. Thus, rather than being inspirational, the experience of
Listening was depressing and I cannot recommend to
Friends. However, the content, as opposed to the tone, was valuable. I also feel that the narrator was flat and added to the depressing quality.

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Inspirational biography of a great president

Revisado: 07-30-15

Wonderful, inspiring, uplifting biography of a great leader. Having read McCollough's biography of john Adams, I especially enjoyed the parts about their relationship. There was nothing I did not like about this book, and I found myself overwhelmed with sadness at the end when he dies, sad at the loss of this great man, at the lack of such a leader today, and at the sorrow of parting with Meacham's book.

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