Grant

Know what’s happening and the motivations

Revisado: 08-31-24

Read if you are a parent or a teacher. Note: “Queer” does not refer to anything sexual. It is about rejecting all societal norms, so don’t dismiss this book as anything “anti” homosexual. It is about anti-post-modern-communism/fascism.

It is the modern philosophy of the 1970’s and 1980’s LRS that I encountered in college.

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The Arc of Religion, mysticism and culture

Revisado: 02-24-22

The Actual Star is a well performed epic of religion, mysticism and indigenous culture.
Spanning 2000 years of history, in vignettes from the year 1012, 2012 and 3012, the book traces the track from Mayan royalty to the transcendence of consciousness 2000 years later from a religion inadvertently started by a modern 2012 woman on a trip back to partially Mayan roots. Replete with highly researched ancient culture, modern commentary on the struggles of central American indigenous culture in the modern error, and believable future technologically-connected but post-apocalyptic culture and science.

As I heard this on audio-book, the performance was key to maintaining the believably. Each chapter starting out with both Mayan and modern dates helps set the transition from the three eras, but I imagine a READING of the book might be hard to follow, at least for me. I HIGHLY recommend that you get the audio-book as the performances of the vocal talent is superlative and worth it in itself.

There are the necessary modern warnings of disturbing themes (blood letting through self-cutting being one) but I found this much less disturbing than the androgynous confusion of love and physical sex in the future through genetic engineering. Not necessary to the plot, it left me feeling more preached at than enlighten or drawn along with the story. Some of the climate-change/anti-capitalistic themes also seemed preachy and one-dimensional.

But, while making the book a bit longer than perhaps needed, the story idea, story arc, and story-telling is extremely well done. The author has a talent for details of the ancient Maya culture that is fascinating in itself and sure to open the readers mind to new anthropological ideas. The detailed thoughts of ancient Maya royalty is believable and entertaining. The sacrificial rituals and descriptions are sometimes graphic, but necessarily so to tie the story together. And the character development draws you in to each.

This will spur me to read Ms. Byrne's prior work and for me to be looking forward to her next. That is probably the best compliment I can give an author.

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Premise is faulty but research is good

Revisado: 06-03-20

This book is highly factual and well researched, with a goodly amount of supporting facts regarding historical records of presidential elections and actionable steps states could take to ensure their electors go to the majority candidate. He correctly points out that the electoral college redo by constitutional amendment in 1803 did not necessarily take into account emergence of third party candidates which dilute voting so that candidates that do not have a true majority can garner all electoral college votes. He thus says that candidates like Clinton in 1992, and bush in 2000 were not true “majority of majority” winners. He call majority of majority—meaning garnering majority electoral college votes from true majority state wins—as jeffe

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Romp through techno talk...

Revisado: 05-22-20

This was quite a romp! The hero is a quick-thinking ne’er-do-well. I listened to 95% of this book on two longer drives. I found that playing it back at 1.5x speed made the hero, Jazz, must more believable as the true narration speed was much to slow for how imagined her quick mind to be. Sardonic (like The Martian), and very entertaining but for the most part technically accurate. I really liked the relationship development.

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One of the best leadership books I’ve read

Revisado: 09-24-19

First off, I want to say that this book is full of good advice and real world (not combat) examples. Those not inclined to read it thinking it may be a glorification if macho he-men should bout that false impression aside and read the contents. Not to denigrate their experience and trial by fire in a literal sense, but the authors are talking about leadership.

I cringed often as they spoke to many of my own weaknesses and foibles. But through their consulting to business examples, they brought the points home to someone not experienced in their combat experience but experienced in leadership.

I would recommend that someone pressed for time pick a chapter and read it. I don’t think you need to read the book in its order. Each chapter is a nugget in its own.

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Detail rich, and context driven account

Revisado: 03-23-18

The account here of JSOC parallels my life so was very good at filling in the blank spaces on my understanding of the evolution of the special forces. Scary at times in its depiction of a unsleeping eye of surveillance, it nonetheless doesn’t pull punches. Knowing some of the characters in real life also lent context and voice. A must read for anyone that interfaces with the DoD in their day job.

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Understanding now comes from history

Revisado: 01-26-18

This is recommended reading for anyone that is curious about how politicians of the day can condemn capitalism when national socialism and communist socialism has been shown to not only be economically destructive but deadly to populations as a whole. By understanding what has shaped the current economic structure, the listener/reader can put it all in context and what is important.

This book doesn’t sugar coat the effects of colonialism, slavery and exploitation of workers.

This is a LONG book, but worth every minute.

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View from the other side of the tracks

Revisado: 11-13-16

This book took me on a journey to re-examine my childhood, which I'd always felt was pretty great, and come back to that conclusion but from a different perspective. The cycle of socially-facilitated failure is interesting. In this account, you have to conclude its much more a factor of situation than race.

A criticism of the narrative is that the author, though I'm sure is using his own voice, has seemed to have completely lost the accent that I was hearing in my mind's eye when he was narrating the dialogue. It seemed to detract from the story a bit.

A very good reminder that all social problems are not solved by grand gestures and wand-waving.

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Good on Eugenics, horrible on political bias

Revisado: 06-03-15

I was looking for a book my precocious 15 year old would like for summer reading in her self-described "potential career path". This fit the bill in that it gives a very clear and cogent description of the field and unanswered questions. It doesn't get bogged down in bio-jargon and I'm confident my 15 yr old will be able to understand it completely.

What my 15 year-old doesn't need is the politically snide and holier-than-thou remarks sprinkled throughout the text. It's interesting to have an author as a scientist be exacting in his wording only to have the next paragraph make sweeping generalizations about political leanings or beliefs.

But I still recommend it. And I'm curios what my 15 year-old will sa about the political asides or even notice them...

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