Dante's Commedia may save your life, but I wouldn't bet on this book doing the same. How Dante can Save Your Life is both interesting, annoying, and ultimately disappointing. If I had stopped in the middle of this book I would have rated it higher. It certainly started out well but, what can only be described … Continue reading How Dante Can Save Your Life: Review
Category: Books
Pandora’s Star: a Grand Sprawling Entertainment
In my fevered youth I was an avid fan of science fiction but as I crossed the Rubicon of middle age I read less and less of the genre. For years I preferred nonfiction: mostly science with a smattering of history and biography. Then, about five years ago, I started reading science fiction again. What … Continue reading Pandora’s Star: a Grand Sprawling Entertainment
Marcus Aurelius tunes my RSS Feeds
The Emperor’s Handbook is a new translation of Marcus Aurelius’ classic The Meditations. Marcus Aurelius was a second century Roman emperor and stoic philosopher. You probably know him as the old guy (Richard Harris) that chose Maximus (Russell Crowe) as his successor in Gladiator. Marcus is counted among the “five good Roman emperors”1 and his … Continue reading Marcus Aurelius tunes my RSS Feeds
Review: Into the Wild
Anyone contemplating a “return to nature” would be well advised to read Into the Wild first. This gripping little book investigates the last journey of Christopher McCandless: a young man who walked into the Alaskan wilds north of Denali in the early 1990’s with the intention of living off the land. He was woefully under-equipped, … Continue reading Review: Into the Wild
Review: The Creature from Jekyll Island
In 2008 whatever residual trust I had in American democratic institutions was irrevocably shattered by the larcenous and criminal bank bailout. If you recall the bailout, the infamous “crap sandwich”, was overwhelmingly opposed by the public, initially rejected by Congress, but stuffed down our throats anyway. The sky was falling! The banks had to be … Continue reading Review: The Creature from Jekyll Island
Review: The Signal and the Noise
There is nothing like being right to make an impression. After calling the majority of congressional districts in the 2012 US election Nate Silver enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame. Before his election prediction I was only dimly aware of Nate Silver. I knew he worked for the New York Times, but that's no longer … Continue reading Review: The Signal and the Noise
The Myth of Sisyphus: Camus’s Absurd Prototype
In 1942, with World II raging, readers of The Myth of Sisyphus could easily identify with Camus's absurd man. Not only is man absurd he has reduced his entire world to absurdity. Now, seventy-plus years later, Sisyphus readers are more likely to politely yawn and wonder what the fuss is about. Camus's themes are not … Continue reading The Myth of Sisyphus: Camus’s Absurd Prototype
Books to Ignore
My superpower is indifference. Indifference is the soporific that lets my inner beast nap in peace. Without it I would have long since turned into a murdering psychopath, but I remain calm, rational, nearly ethereal, as I proudly ignore the unhinged idiocy of my fellow human beings. I prize my detachment, my don't-give-a-shit-ness, my lordly … Continue reading Books to Ignore
Blurb: Nick Lomb’s Transit of Venus
Nick Lomb’s Transit of Venus 1631 to the Present is the best illustrated astronomy book for general readers since Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer’s The Backyard Astronomer's Guide. Everything about Lomb’s book from its eye seizing cover, rarely seen historic photographs and charming well researched commentary is first class. Transit is the type of work … Continue reading Blurb: Nick Lomb’s Transit of Venus
Mike Brown Punts Pluto
As a longtime amateur astronomer I appreciate good science writing and Mike Brown's little book How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming is a wonderful example of the genre. When Pluto was tossed from the pantheon of planets I didn't care. I knew that in previous centuries, when asteroids were first discovered, … Continue reading Mike Brown Punts Pluto
Analyze the Data not the Drivel 