http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/ en-us Copyright 2011 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:33:31 -0500 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:39:17 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=4.35-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss (and why Islam is dying too) David P. Goldman - ISBN - 9781596982734 This is one of the most challenging and seminal works of recent issue; the equal--or better--of Huntington's Clash of Civilizations (reviewed on this site over five years ago.) He gives new meaning to critical events, ancient and recent. While primarily about the modern world, specifically Europe and Islam, he does delve into the history of most all "dead" civilizations of the past... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/11/how_civilizatio.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/11/how_civilizatio.html Book Reviews Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:33:31 -0500 Neil Postman - ISBN - 978-0679-751663 Originally published in 1982, this '94 reprint is still available. It has been recently released as an electronic book. Now deceased, he was a university professor, and one of America's leading social commentators. Looking for something to read t'other day, anticipating a long wait in the doctor's office, I picked up my old copy and took it along. It is a phenomenal book--one of Postman's best, which is saying... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/11/the_disappearan.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/11/the_disappearan.html Book Reviews Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:59:46 -0500 Have recently run into some particularly apt quotations, which I shall simply use to amplify the title of this little missive: "Most political disputes boil down to a contest between the party of hope and the party of memory." Ralph Waldo Emerson (c.1850-not much change, huh?) "Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't." Margaret Thatcher "From an early age, smart people are reminded of their... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/09/thots_on_a_vani.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/09/thots_on_a_vani.html Pontification Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:50:14 -0500 H.W. Crocker III - ISBN - 9780895261625 This historically praised comic novel comes highly recommended by, amongst many others, Christopher Buckley, whose comment was "Until I read The Old Limey, I had no idea that sex, drugs, booze and elderly British generals could be such fun." It is a daft work in which British humor meets wacky American flair. Set in California, a retired British general arrives to rescue his goddaughter from uncertain harm, thought... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/08/the_old_limey.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/08/the_old_limey.html Book Reviews Sun, 28 Aug 2011 12:40:06 -0500 A True Story of Medicine, Science and Fear Seth Mnookin - ISBN - 9781439158647 A perfect introduction to this missive would be Chris Mooney's observation that "Expecting people to be convinced by the facts flies in the face of, you know, the facts." It is an exceptionally well researched and plainly written book. He deals with vaccinology, law and precedent, psychology and fraud, as well as the politics and marketing of ideas and products, as... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/08/the_panic_virus.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/08/the_panic_virus.html Book Reviews Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:49:35 -0500 I just learned of, and last night watched the documentary entitled Inside Job, produced by Charles Ferguson and narrated by Matt Damon. It is a scorching, frightening narrative--very well documented--which exposes and explains the enormous power that the present banking industry has over the government, and our economy; how they engineered the recent financial disaster and are in a position to do it again. Having read a number of books about the present calamity, I... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/08/the_truth_scary.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/08/the_truth_scary.html Pontification Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:55:31 -0500 Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital Dr. Heidi Squier Kraft - ISBN - 9780316067904 (for those who have read this before, I have reworked it a little and, I believe, improved the review) My daughter* sent me a copy of this book. It is a stunning book which, despite a caveat or two, I recommend highly to anyone interested in what it is like to work with wounded warriors in a combat zone; to... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/07/rule_number_two.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/07/rule_number_two.html Book Reviews Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:31:51 -0500 And other true tales of Detroit Ze'ev Chafets - ISBN - 9780394585253 Given the world situation, from the Mid-East thru Greece and on to England, it seemed not inappropriate to reread this 20 year old book (long out of print but easily and cheaply available as a used book.) It was written by an Israeli journalist who spent his youth in Detroit, and revisited it in 1988-89, where he interviewed hundreds of residents. He renders... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/06/devils_night.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/06/devils_night.html Book Reviews Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:04:29 -0500 Liberating Americans from Too Much Law Philip K. Howard - ISBN - 9780393338034 This is Howard's third book, and it is dynamite; a rather liberal lawyer, he is articulate, smart, rational and wise--something not commonly found in liberal or legal circles. This treatise reflects, above all, his common sense. (He has previously written two marvelous books: The Death of Common Sense - 9780446672283 and The Collapse of the Common Good - 9780345438713.) "Civil libertarians are... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/06/life_without_la.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/06/life_without_la.html Book Reviews Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:45:54 -0500 Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology Kenneth Feder - 9780072869484 Feder does a good job of discrediting myriad myths and mythmakers, from ancients to Erich von Daniken. The book is well researched and written to deliver a breezy read for the average layman, offering explanations which are logical and readily understood. He joyfully buries von Daniken's hypotheses in Chariots of the Gods, which is particularly offensive drivel, and his other writings which intend to make credible... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/06/frauds_myths_an.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/06/frauds_myths_an.html Book Reviews Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:15:50 -0500 A New Look at the Rise of Big Business in America Burton W. Folsom, Jr. - ISBN - 978-0963020314 This book has been reissued from time to time over 25 years, and takes a look at the "Robber Baron" school of historians who, by and large, got some of the story right, and much of it wrong, but were never able to discriminate between the good guys and the bad. To be sure there were... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/05/the_myth_of_the.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/05/the_myth_of_the.html Book Reviews Mon, 30 May 2011 11:39:30 -0500 Inside the Doomsday Machine Michael Lewis - ISBN-978-0383338829 Well, for those who haven't discovered yet, Lewis has done it again. He debuted on the scene ten years ago with Liars Poker, a sharp-edged tale of Wall Street greed and manipulation which he felt would pull back drapes and open windows for some fresh air and sunlight. It didn't work (though I strongly recommend the book, now re-issued in paperback.) Instead, according to the Wall Street... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/05/the_big_short.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/05/the_big_short.html Book Reviews Mon, 23 May 2011 12:06:10 -0500 From Islam to America A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations Ayaan Hirsi Ali - ISBN = 978-1439157329 Ayaan was the young Somali Muslim on her way to an arranged marriage in Canada when she defected to Holland. There she learned Dutch--her 4th language--acquired a Western education, became a translator between cultures, a Dutch citizen and member of the government. When she became a political risk Holland evicted her. Dutch Muslims were threatening to... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/05/nomad.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/05/nomad.html Book Reviews Tue, 17 May 2011 13:43:53 -0500 Thomas Sowell - ISBN - 978-0465019489 "Intellect is not wisdom." Thus the master begins his latest tract on the deleterious effects of "intellectuals" on society. As in A Conflict of Visions, and The Vision of the Anointed, his lacerating observations are plainly explained in his characteristically acerbic style, and with such clarity that there can really be no argument with his conclusions--at least none that is rational. He characterizes intellectuals (for the purposes of this... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/05/intellectuals_a.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/05/intellectuals_a.html Book Reviews Wed, 11 May 2011 14:34:21 -0500 Liars, Misleaders, Hoodwinkers etc. Michael Farquhar Any tract which leads by wholly discrediting Nostradamus has my attention; he was, after all, the "master of avoiding specifics," and a still quoted fraud who has endured for the ages. His end of the world predictions first went awry in the 1800s, but they're renewable thru 7000 A.D. This volume is one of four such written by Farquhar on related things; all are absorbing. In it he exposes... http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/04/a_treasury_of_d.html http://www.curmudgeonalia.com/blog/archives/2011/04/a_treasury_of_d.html Book Reviews Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:26:06 -0500