Mr. Anonymous

Entertaining, but hard for me to relate to

Revisado: 04-30-20

Lulu Miller really knows how to tell a good story, and she also comes across as very likeable -- the sort of person you might enjoy knowing in real life. Parts of this book are very personal, where Miller reveals some mental-health issues that she had faced. In her book, she draws parallels between her own existential crises and the life of biologist David Star Jordan. And this is where she lost me. The central message I got from this book is perhaps not one that was intended by the author. I concluded that people derive comfort and meaning in very different and idiosyncratic ways, and what works for one person may be unintelligible to another.

This book also appealed to me because I attended Stanford University, and I really enjoyed learning about the early days of the school (it was all new to me).

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Very informative but a bit dull

Revisado: 08-24-15

I wanted to like this book. I have an interest in science, and it's also clear that Steven Weinberg really knows his stuff. I expected that this book would be similar to Carl Sagan's "Cosmos". But, unlike "Cosmos", I found "To Explain the World" to be overly long and tedious.

This book had a "cast of thousands" approach to the history of science. For example, Weinberg mentioned many different Greek thinkers, most of whom are not exactly household names. It became hard to keep track of who did what.

Also, Weinberg spent a great deal of time talking about various different theories of the solar system, and how those theories evolved over time. I understand that this subject was very much relevant to the topic of the book, but I still found the details to be tiresome. I suspect that I might have felt different if I read the book in print, rather than listening to it in the car, while driving.

I can definitely say, though, that if you are someone who has a strong interest in the history of science, this book would be right up your alley.

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Recommended only to serious, die-hard Skynyrd fans

Revisado: 08-24-15

I'm a casual fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd. I found this book to be tedious, with too much detail. Also, almost everyone in the band -- or even associated with the band -- was an unpleasant person. There wasn't really anyone to root for. Finally, the author's style was very much over the top. He would use phrases like, "when the devil claimed his bounty" to describe the day of the plane crash. Understatement was not his strong point.

Still, if you're a huge fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd, you might enjoy this book.

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Interesting at first, but soon becomes repetitive

Revisado: 07-20-14

This book presents some scientific interesting data about the beneficial effects of exercise. However, the book should be treated more as a reference than as a work that you read (or listen to) from start to finish. The author addresses many different health problems, all of which are improved by exercise. After a while, the research findings start to become dull and repetitive. My advice is to read only the chapters that pertain to your particular health issues.

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esto le resultó útil a 37 personas

Interesting but too long

Revisado: 03-28-14

There are some very mild spoilers below.

This book was interesting mainly for the insights it provided about Japanese culture. For example, who knew that the Japanese police are almost laughably incompetent at solving all but the most routine crimes? Also, the narrator was outstanding -- I felt shivers down my spine every time he pronounced the word, "Roppongi". Seriously, though, he was truly an excellent reader.

The story itself was suspenseful at the beginning, but the actual crime turned out to be far less sinister and less interesting than I thought. Also, the book is much too long, and it drags in places (particularly toward the end).

Two other things I didn't like: The title is bizarre and misleading. I don't recall the author developing any ongoing theme of eating darkness (whatever that might mean), and there was only ONE person involved in the crime. Also, I really didn't like the author's final chapter, where he pontificates on What It All Means. He should have left the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Some interesting stories, but not much depth

Revisado: 10-20-13

This book is a light-hearted, superficial romp through the periodic table of the elements. "The Disappearing Spoon" is more entertaining than profound. And that's fine -- I think the author did not set out to write a deep, philosophical book. Don't expect a whole lot, and you won't be disappointed.

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Lots of weird stuff happens without much sense.

Revisado: 08-25-13

If you like your fiction to make sense, then this book is not for you.

The story begins with the suicide death of an opal miner. Shortly after his death, strange things start happening. For example, a fish dies because of a coin that mysteriously appears in its stomach. What, exactly, is the connection between the opal miner and the fish? Well, your guess is as good as mine.

I did not like this book. The author did not seem to have a clear, coherent vision of the ties between different parts of his story. Overall, the fable did not amount to much. If you're a logical thinker, you may want to skip this one.

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Interesting but technical book. Sound is flawed.

Revisado: 11-25-12

Steven Pinker is an excellent writer and an all-around smart guy. I always learn a lot when I read anything by Steven Pinker. Having said that, though, I have to admit that parts of this book were somewhat dull (such as the detailed analysis of grammar in chapter 4), and parts were a little hard to follow. I feel like I would need to listen to the book a second time to catch all the parts I missed when my wind wandered. But, overall, I think the book is well worth reading.

The narrator himself is fine, but the recording is poor. The "s" sounds are very harsh and prominent. I think this problem is called "sibilance". I had to turn the treble way down on my car's sound system, and I still cringed whenever a word had an "s" in it.

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esto le resultó útil a 17 personas

Maybe it's me, but I still don't understand Bayes

Revisado: 09-15-12

I've taken two statistics classes in my life, and I remember being confused by Bayes in both classes. So I was hoping that this book would clarify matters for me. Sadly, it didn't. I fully realize that the fault might be my own -- maybe I just don't have a mind for statistics.

The book did have some interesting stories in it, such as the one about the massive search for a missing atomic bomb that fell into the ocean. However, I never did understand why Bayes' Rule was so controversial (if it works so well in practice, what's not to like about it?), and I'm just as confused as ever about the nuts & bolts of the theorem. I'm almost tempted to crack my old statistics textbooks. Almost.

Incidentally, the reader mispronounced a lot of names.

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esto le resultó útil a 9 personas

Speculative hypothesis, not very convincing

Revisado: 09-15-12

William Davis might be right, but he didn't convince me. His theories about wheat are largely consistent with the idea (championed by Gary Taubes and Robert Lustig, among others) that carbohydrates in general are harmful. So perhaps it's not wheat per se that is the problem; it's the high carbohydrate content of wheat products that's the issue.

Another problem with this book is that it's very wordy and repetitive. I got the sense that Davis had to struggle to write enough content to fill a book. I remember one section of the book where he tediously listed many, many examples of wheat-based products that you can find in the supermarket. He went on ad nauseum. Was that really necessary?

My recommendation is to skip the book and wait to see how this all plays out. Perhaps Davis will be proved right, or perhaps he's conflating wheat with carbs.

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