John Satterfield

Too long, bloated by babble

Revisado: 12-03-10

I listened to about half of the story, 14 hours. I got a little tired of the sometimes unconvincing techno-babble describing weapons and other technology, and finally quit listening when I got very bored by the tactical/strategic-deployment-babble describing unending battlefields. A very interesting story, which I would have found absorbing if it had been half its length. I probably would like it more in hard copy, where I could skip the babble. This reaction may be just reflect my personal impatience to get on with the story and find out what happens.

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Excellent explanation of renaissance

Revisado: 11-15-10

This is an excellent explanation of the causes of and the nature of the renaissance in its effects on all aspects of society.

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Interesting view of modern Chinese society and gov

Revisado: 10-19-10

I recommend this series of lectures because it presents an interesting and sympathetic view of Chinese society and government today. Some of his conclusions are speculations that don't ring true for me, e.g., that Chinese watch our TV shows because it confirms their sterotype of America and that Thailanders, a mostly Muslim population, watch Baywatch for the same reason (not because of the nearly-naked women). His arguments for not-too-quickly condemning China's political system are interesting and convincing, but he seems to try too hard to justify the system at times, e.g., in connection with China's censorship of internet, first by saying that the U.S. govt. has acknowledged that it can't control the internet (implying that China can't either), but then by asking why we would think that CNN (a more objective reporting of news and blocked in China) was important for people to be able to watch anyway. He has a halting speaking style, often with 4 to 8 second pauses between sentences, which I got used to. To reiterate, I do recommend these lectures, because he presents a more interesting and personal view of Chinese society than we usually see in reporting about China.

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Boring

Revisado: 05-15-10

Mostly a history of financial regulation, from Jefferson to date. Usually inadequate descriptions of the complicated financial instruments that were involved in the recent financial crash. For me, boring, not enhanced by the unchanging, disdainful manner of the reader. Not nearly as informative or interesting as Michael Lewis's "The Big Short."

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Clear explanation of financial crisis

Revisado: 05-03-10

Excellent description of what happened in financial crash, good descriptions of complicated securities.

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Academic and boring.

Revisado: 04-23-10

Listened to 50", then skimmed through another half of book. The author analyzed and dissected, ad nauseam, the many obvious factors boding for and against the adoption of "standards" of commerce and culture by other nations and groups. Very general analysis, with only occasional examples of what he was talking about; very academic. One of the most boring books I've listened to.

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Hard to swallow

Revisado: 12-27-09

Listened to half of it. The meaningless and brutal killings, and the unlikely development of the story line and some of the characters, made it hard to enjoy.

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Buy the printed book

Revisado: 10-13-09

A very interesting analysis of the causes of and remedies for the current and historical recessions and depressions, and the actions that have been taken and could be taken to ameliorate them. However, I recommend that the book be enjoyed in hard copy rather than in audio. The material is dense, and Krugman throws out references to many technical aspects of domestic and international finance. Although Krugman states at the outset that he's trying to avoid economic jargon and abstruse economic concepts, so that a broader audience can understand his analysis, he assumes a level of understanding of the forces that operate in finance that I believe most listeners won't have.

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Good idea for a plot, poorly executed

Revisado: 08-29-09

Great idea for a plot, but sometimes implausible conversations, actions, choice of words. Quite a few cliches, old jokes. Really not very carefully written.

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Fascinating description of the evolution god.

Revisado: 08-05-09

"The Evolution of God" is a convincing explanation of how "Homo Sapiens" has come to believe in gods, and then in one god. He quotes (sometimes at great length) anthropolical research and the books of the (now) mono-theistic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to support his thesis, and comes to a surprising, unconventional conclusion about the validity of belief in divinity.

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