DMgraphicGlass

“Confidential” in the title is a great hint

Revisado: 01-06-25

While the book gives an in-depth history of the institution (which is its saving worth), it is written in a tabloid style — mixed with Pravda (Soviet) press releases — leaving the the listener to deal with locating the soul of the Bolshoi. Is it in the passion found in Russian literature? Or gray and ponderous like Soviet architecture? I didn’t particularly like the style of writing, but it got across the riddle of Russian artistic expression,

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Well researched. Superbly written, Augustly read.

Revisado: 08-14-24

A slightly more even-handed telling of the history of the British Empire — acknowledging its brutality, explotations and excesses while admiring it immensely.

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Simon Winchester takes on his biggest challenge so far.

Revisado: 05-16-23

This is an excellent history of how humans acquire, disseminate, and preserve knowledge. In many respects it is the author’s most ambitious project from an author that routinely likes big subjects — like oceans, whole continents and huge volcanic eruptions, and the human interactions and consequences that come with all of them. But let us be clear, it is neither dispassionate nor without a personal point-of-view. It is, as with all his work, a big story wonderfully told. But not one for casual readers and listeners.

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How to make an inherently exacting and tedious subject interesting

Revisado: 09-15-18

Simon Winchester is a human treasure, and one of my favorite authors. Since I first listened to his book on the Indonesian volcano, Krakatoa, I have immersed myself in all of his non-fiction. And what a journey it has been. Subjects I would know little to nothing about. From the making of a great dictionary to China and its ceramics to the origin and history of two vast oceans and on and on, he has educated me and broadened my understanding of all of us. Now he has done the same for precision engineering. You don’t even have to like engineering to become fascinated by these individuals and their stories that have shaped our societies and even the natural world.

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Not as comprehensive as perhaps is warranted today.

Revisado: 08-27-18

It is a history, so no peek into what may be just over the horizon, such as “gasoline from sunlight” an industrialization of what plants do with photosynthesis - make a liquid source of energy with sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. And because he wanted to write a much shorter book, this is not nearly as comprehensive as his two books on the making of the atomic and nuclear bombs. But still, a worthwhile listen. And he makes a great case for keeping nuclear energy as part of the mix of future electrical generation.

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An unresolved true crime mystery

Revisado: 03-17-18

At its best this is a review of all the leads that can be developed in what may be an unsolvable mystery. And how the personalities that become enmeshed in a crime investigation affect that process. I rated the performance low because the producers overuse of background music — at times bringing the music level up to a point of obscuring the narration.

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Gritty, beautifully narrated, wonderful

Revisado: 12-21-17

Joe Ide has written an exemplary suspense novel; made even better by Sullivan Jones’ narration. I had no idea that I, a 71-year-old white guy, could be so completely sucked into the world of black Southern California hip-hop. Wow!

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Well told, researched and intriguing.

Revisado: 10-27-17

A story, that by necessity, shrouded in government classification and, by tradition, dismissed by male prejudice, is finally told of a great mind and personality. Wonderfully narrated as well.

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"Emerging Industries" at its core

Revisado: 03-03-16

Alec Ross has an interesting perspective. As a former high ranking State Department appointee concentrating on science & technology under Secretary Hilary Clinton, Mr Ross has done extensive travel and met with thousands of leaders in those fields around the world. He has a great understanding of environments that facilitate the development of companies and jobs. He relates them both anecdotally and statistically. This makes for an important book.i

I rated it overall very high for that reason. Rather than trying to look well into the future and make informed guesses, this book looks at industries that are just starting out now and makes informed predictions. A much more practical approach. I did not rate it quite as high in the"story" category because the writing style, while good, tends tends to be that of a policy wonk or corporate report. The narration is adequate but not exception.

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Engaging look at the 1st two WOTSC

Revisado: 12-14-15

Being a man who came of age in the 1960s, I have often wondered why social change, especially those things that seem like no-brainers such as equality among races and the sexes have taken so long. Well, some of those answers can be found in this book.

Democracies and republics such as ours -- any self-correcting form of governance really -- just take time for big things to get accomplished. Churchill once said, "America can always be counted upon to do the right thing. After first exhausting all other possibilities." He said that in relation to WWII, but it is true in nearly everything we do. Especially in those two biggest challenges already mentioned: race and gender.

Being a passionate centrist and committed feminist, I found the portraits of the SC Justices Sandra Day O'Conner and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be both compelling and understandable. I would have given this five stars in all categories other than the fact that Ms Hirshman's writing style is derived from years of being a terrific lawyer. Therefore all of the facts are laid out in a logical, sequential order in a way that is comprehensible and persuasive, but lacks the punch of a really great storyteller. But that is really splitting hairs. If you want to understand how social change occurs within and via an institution like the Supreme Court this is a must read.

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