Logical Paradox

fantastic!

Revisado: 04-03-25

a perfectly executed book with s perfectly rendered audiobook version. impeccable narration coupled with a text that is layered And infinitely explorable. Perhaps the greatest modern parable since heat of darkness!

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Fantastic!

Revisado: 08-26-21

A great overview and survey of the history of one of the most interesting ancient Mesopotamian civilizations and states.

Western history tends to gloss over Mesopotamia and thousands of years of the history of civilization in a mad dash to classical Greece and Rome. everything through the Persians is condensed into Cliff notes, and the Persians themselves are mostly just there to serve as the antagonists for the beginning of the story of the Greeks. You spend a little time on Egypt & you get some mention of the Israelites due to their biblical relevance, but the rest of it is just window dressing. Maybe you talk a little bit about Ur and Uruk and the Sumerians, build a model ziggurat, read the passage from the epic of Gilgamesh, and have a brief discussion of Hammurabi's law code. But that's about it. little if any attention is given to people's as important as the Hittites, the Mitani, the Lydians, and if you hear about the Phoenicians it's just as a hand wavy way to discuss the invention of the alphabet. And how many high school students I wonder would have any idea of the significance of Assyria? Name a single city of king? Or express any concept of their relevance?

And yet the Assyrian Empire was one of the most long-lived and at it's height the largest of the Mesopotamian superstates. The implosion of the empire just 50 years after its peak and their reputation for prowess on the battlefield and cruelty to those they conquered are the stuff of Legends.

it's hard to find good reading material for ancient Mesopotamia in general, but for Assyria particular. it's easy to be skeptical of these kinds of overview topical educational series, but this one was very well done. there was much more detail than I expected. the information provided was well structured and seems genuinely unbiased. but more than anything it seems to truly appreciate the significance of the period. it's still just a broad overview, but if you're interested in the topic this isn't just a great place to start it's a great find considering the dirt of other titles available.

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a real tour-de-force

Revisado: 01-11-20

if you're just looking for a book about mosquitoes, this is not going to be the book for you. you would find this book to be long-winded, verbose, and prone to tangents. but if you're looking to take the subject of the mosquito as an antagonist in the story of human history, and then re-explore the entire narrative of human history from the perspective of the impact that the mosquito has had throughout, then I highly recommend this. This kind of history has become more common over the last two decades. from the history of salt to the biography of continents, these histories retell what we normally think of history with an adjusted lens in focus, both broader ended it incorporates more science and scientific detail (such as biology, entomology, climatology, ecology, geology, epidemiology, etc) while always following and emphasizing the key subject of interest (in this case the mosquito). the book is long, but very well written and comprehensive. it examines everything from the original Man - mosquito relationship that emerged in prehistory, the specific qualities and characteristics of the mosquito that makes it such a profoundly powerful and relevant agent of historical determinism, and the co-factors such as the diseases that use the mosquito is there vector of choice for spreading and through which the mosquito exerts it's agency upon the history of humankind. from malaria to elephantitis the yellow fever to the more modern and the novel ailments such as zika and West Nile, the mosquito and the pathogens for which it is merely a host and the method of transmission a truly shaped everything from the history of the Roman Empire entire regions of the world such as sub-Saharan Africa and a surprisingly large impact on the u.s. civil war. this was a very interesting read and the great starting point for anyone who needs to be broken of the outdated idea that history has been purely determined by the actions of so-called great men. humans of course exert their own agency upon their Fates, and some humans much more so than others, but the nearly infinite lists outside agents and forces in the natural world complete a truly awesome roll in shaping and constraining if not outright determining in their entirety, the outcomes of the human story.

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Rushed Ending, but otherwise good

Revisado: 06-26-19

great up until the last 2 segments, where it started to feel quite rushed. if you're a fan of the movie, and you'll find this quite a letdown, as those are some of the most iconic scenes of cinema of that era. the final rescue followed by the false getaway leading to that final battle all takes place way too quickly in comparison to the rest of the audiobook, not to mention the film in which they really relished the build-up of tensionduring some of these moments such as Ripley's initial encounter with the alien queen.

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The Best Book on Nukes!

Revisado: 02-21-17

If you find the subject of nuclear weapons science, strategy, policy, and/or history even the least bit compelling, then this is the book for you to get!

I've long been very interested in these areas and I've listened to just about every book that Audible has on the topic. Among those titles have been many good reads and quite a few truly great ones. But among that crowd, Eric Schlosser's book "Command and Control" stands head and shoulders above the rest. This is simply the most comprehensive, wide-scoped, and ambitiously detailed book of its type that I've yet come across.

The book's central theme is the examination of the nuclear command and control system and the various aspects of risk management and safety that surround the development, deployment, and management of nuclear weapons. The book, however, goes well beyond that focus, to give a real tour de force treatment of nuclear weapons. From the very beginnings of the first nuclear weapons research, to the esoteric theoretical and scientific principles that make these devices possible, to the technical and engineering details of individual weapon system designs and the history of their development, deployment, and intended uses, all the way to the constantly evolving space of nuclear strategy and doctrine throughout every U. S. administration from FDR to George W. Bush... this book seemingly leaves no stone unturned.

The book is told as a narrative history, or more accurately histories (plural), of many nuclear accidents and mishaps. The well known Damascus Incident of 1980 serves as the unifying narrative, broken up into chunks that are told to the reader in bits and pieces, broken up by the recounting of numerous other incidents and countless historical, scientific, and political tangents that truly flesh out an impressive compendium for those interested in this kind of stuff. That Schlosser is able to tie all of this together in one book, while keeping it cohesive and maintaining a logical flow between its various parts is the mark of a true labor of love.

Equally impressive is the balance Schlosser is able to strike between a rich intellectual analysis and idiosyncratically personal human moments. The book treat its more complex technical and scientific information with integrity, while gracefully managing to stay deeply in tune with the humanity of the people and personalities in the story. Far from being cold and dry, this book is thoughtful, deeply inquisitive, and continually refocuses itself on quintessentially human problems and factors, all while never flinching or shying away from looking at the facts with a sober and steady view.

Highly recommended to anyone who's interested in the subject matter or who loves a good narrative full of techno drama and political machinations. also highly recommended for anyone interested in systems analysis and risk management, as the problems and issues that come to light as some of the key conclusions of this book are applicable to so many everyday people in today's world of complex integrated systems.

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Difficult Read, but Worth It

Revisado: 02-09-17

The only way to accurately describe this book is as a historical and philosophical survey of that human notion we know of as "System". Both as a conceptual tool for organizing and generating knowledge of the world (an explanatory model approximating reality) as well as an actual feature of the organization and behavior of that world, perhaps even fundamental to nature of reality itself as an information system containing many other systems at various scales, Siskin examines the subject with deft analytical and academic energy.

The book is at times earth shakingly profound in the revelations and suppositions put forward relating system to the world as well as to knowledge of the world and the magnificent moments when the author is able to steer what amounts to an intellectual locomotive in such a way as to unify vast strands of thought that serve to hint at tantalizing uniformities and commonalities across the disciplines. The depth of historical evaluation is equally impressive, almost recursive, as we are taking not just through the history of the idea of System, but the history of the idea of systems it relates to the history of ideas and indeed to the historiography of how history emerged as as separate discipline and how that discipline diverged so far from its brethren in both the humanities and the sciences for its phasis on the particular and the peculiar (the outliers) rather than a coherent knowledge system with unifying principles and explanatory forms.

Where the book suffers is a ponderous and dense writing style (even by my standards) that tends to (among other things) repeat the word "system" as a pronoun so often it becomes insufferable.

but, if you can make it through, you will come away with a richer understanding and a wider perspective of just how much is contained in (and promised by) that innocuous, overly repeated word: "system".

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Simply Great

Revisado: 02-09-17

One of the best books on applied complexity; that is applying complexity and complex systems theory (a highly abstract field) in ways the evaluate and explain the chaos of the modern worlds we live in.

A truly great book with practical implications for anyone who works with systems of any types. As an IT administrator, I could only nod my head knowingly as the author discussed the dual tendencies of accretion (adding to systems over time) and interconnectedness (the web of dependencies and interactions that link all the various parts of a system into a cohesive whole, which inevitably lead to complexity and incomprehensibility.

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Wasted Space

Revisado: 12-20-15

The last chunk of the book is, as far as I can tell, several chapters of nothing but a flute playing. Not sure I understand why... but seems like padding to make this particular version of this classic text longer and therefore more complete.

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Far Better Than Ken Burns

Revisado: 08-25-15

minus the visuals, of course. But otherwise this course presents a comprehensive, sweeping, 360 degree, 3 dimensional Account of the war, from its complex web of causes and initiation, through the conclusion. All perfectly delivered in a coherent, scholarly, and yet approachable lecture series.

Among the best history courses from the Teaching Company and and excellent overview of a chaotic and complex period. The professor is strikingly objective and presents all sides of the notable controversies before noting his own take, dutifully calling out his opinions as such when offered.

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lackluster

Revisado: 08-20-15

Enjoyable for those interested in the subject, but not nearly comprehensive enough to meet my wants.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas