Bruce R

Worth a listen

Revisado: 11-20-24

Like: Part III deals with AI
Interesting and informative. Much food for thought.

Dislike. Parts I and II lay the foundation for Part III. The foundation, however, is basic information such as Knowledge is not Wisdom, the nature of bureaucracy and so on. Overly long and tedious examples to tell us what we already know. Good information if the reader is not familiar with it.

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Great Writer and Narrator, Weak Analysis

Revisado: 10-23-24

Opens with the role of the writer, the shape of the narration on public perperception of issues, history, morality. Refers to Orwell and Baldwin as mentors. Ends by abandoning that role in favor of heartfelt but shallow arguments.

This is not a book to educate. The author uses the language of conclusory adjectives and polarizing clichés from the culture wars.

The last section is a love song to the Palestinians. Avoids what Orwell and Baldwin did so well which is depth. This book Avoids depth. Romanticized, vilified, and presents a handful of selected facts designed as argument but not to enlighten.

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Storytelling

Revisado: 04-23-24

Liked: a nice story of what the life of Dufu may have been. The last hour contained interesting tidbits of his life.

Disliked: Mostly speculation of the daily life of Dufu, his worries, his meals, what he may have experienced, etc. All speculation. The author is not a historian. Not a literary scholar. Many superlatives, dramatic reading. I am not enriched by this narrative.

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Revealing the Culture

Revisado: 07-05-23

Excellent work here. More than fictional depiction of persons. This work shows the relationships of spouses, family, government to both high ranking nobles and the lowly and how precarious the life of each. Employment and the cultural practices governing those relationships. Very educational. This work deserves high praise

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Deep Dive Biography into Li Bai

Revisado: 06-28-23

Very well done. A biography of the life and times of Li Bai. With a cursory knowledge of Li Bai's poetry through translations into English, I had a romantic notion of this man. This biography gives an excellent account of the strenghts and weaknesses of the man. Also provides some insight into the Tang Dynasty which was also interesting. Recommended.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Lots of Content, Overly Long

Revisado: 06-28-23

This work by Will Durant is full of content and well worth a listen. A broad sweep with occasional depth on certain points to make us feel like Durrant is treating us to an epic work. The overly long remark applies to the first five hours which is ponderings upon such issues as who first discovered the use of fire and such issues. Nobody knows and these issues were not connected in any way to the orient. An hour might have been OK, but five hours made me impatient to get to the subject. The other "too long" was during discussions of religion, philosophy or literature. Durrant provides quotes from religious prayers and incantations, quotes from philosophers or poets. Sometimes, these were modest samples that worked well. Other times were endless and boring. Another minor flaw is that he seemed a little ethnocentric in his perspective of sex and morality in past cultures. All in all, Durrant delivered a lot of good content.

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Good Demonstration of Provincial Minds

Revisado: 01-30-23

Great premise and a good execution. Shows how a town turns against a truth teller. I want to compare now to the Crucible by arthur Miller. One missing piece of the story is the impact of modern tort liability on the town defenders of the contaminated spa waters. Artistically, not a fair criticism but kept me wondering what possible arguments of the town defenders.

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Scope of work

Revisado: 10-09-22

I recall Angela Davis as a lighting rod from my days as a graduate student. I returned to her now to see how she would connect her major themes. Although she has valid observations and goals, these talks are not an intellectual connecting the dots between abolition, racism, and capitalism. Her arguments are in conclusory words and presented as truisms. Preaching to the choir. If you are looking for the sweeping range of Davis, the clarity of mind, and her passion, this is a good selection.

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Original thinker, sound construction

Revisado: 10-02-22

She blows a hole through all of the feminist ideologies and presents original ideas, does not fall into any particular camp

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An independent mind

Revisado: 04-04-22

Love Thorstein Veblen. A wide intellectual range. Many of his views ring true today.

At times pedantic and occasionally slow, overall very good. I smiled at some arguments because Veblen must have been a grumpy guy. But whatever annoyed him gave rise to an intellectual clarity that is worth a listen

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