Review: Muqtada

Muqtada by Patrick Cockburn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I got this back when Muqtada was prevalent in the news for his battles with Coalition forces from his HQ that seemed to lie in a mosque-cemetery complex. I did not get around to reading it then and was reluctant to pick it up now, since time has passed and Muqtada has gone from emanating an evil, rebellious auro to a political moderate.

However, Muqtada is actually minor or perhaps supporting character in this recent Iraq history focused on the Shia-Sunni divide. Not only is the background of that religious division and its regional and national implications explored but there is such helpful observations as that the appellation "Sayyid" often givens Muqtada denotes a person descending directly from the Prophet Muhammad, as does his black turban while "al-Sadr" indicates his descent from Shiite martyrs.

Still, a relevant and enlightening book on Iraq.



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Review: Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat

Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The narrator here has a funny way of pronouncing many words: "inventory" has an accent on the second syllable, and "scones" has no long vowel sound. That aside, the fork is not considered until the second half of the book, as a polticized prelude to the culture of chopsticks. (Forks were, at times, pro-Republican and anti-Christian.) Ahead of all that there is spoon, boiling puts, dogs in spit-turning wheels, and more.

Appliances, peelers, ice cream makers, and more, this is an excellent microhistory covering centuries of cultural change from the vantage point of the kitchen. However, it maybe should be called "Considering the History and Development of Appliances, Utensiles, and Kitchen Gadgets". :)



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Review: American Honor Killings: Desire and Rage Among Men

American Honor Killings: Desire and Rage Among Men by David McConnell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Hear my interview with the author on Podomatic.

McConnell takes from what would be called homosexual "hate crimes" or "gay panic" to an attempt to find how a distorted "honor" became the departure point to such violence. It seems an overt or possibly latent homosexuality is the commonality to the killers from the infamous Jenny Jones case which was a big deal up here in Michigan to John Katehis, part-time John, one-time killer. In the journey, McConnell admits to seeking "pure masculinity enraged". I am not sure if that is what he found, or if even he is, but I respect that in the annals of true crime assailed ("assay-led"?) the subject like an ardent researcher and truth-seeker.



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Review: Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat

Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson

My rating: 0 of 5 stars



The narrator here has a funny way of pronouncing many words: "inventory" has an accent on the second syllable, and "scones" has no long vowel sound. That aside, the fork is not considered until the second half of the book, as a polticized prelude to the culture of chopsticks. (Forks were, at times, pro-Republican and anti-Christian.) Ahead of all that there is spoon, boiling puts, dogs in spit-turning wheels, and more.



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Review: A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of the Smiths

A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of the Smiths by Tony Fletcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A penetrating and detailed look at the quick rise and sudden disintegration of the Smiths over 633 pages. The book reveals Moz to be a petulant, self-centered, and insecure deal-breaker that while outspoken in criticism could brook no dissent or conflicting opinion. The focus is on the close and special Morrissey-Marr relationship, both artistic and business. The context tells much of the story of British post-punk pop, as well. Details on the albums, their recording and individual songs and sessions will be of interest to Smiths fans while the greater work has much to offer any music enthusiast.

Hear my interview with author Tony Fletcher from Outsight Radio Hours episode 695.



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Review: Confessions of an Alien Hunter: A Scientist's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Confessions of an Alien Hunter: A Scientist's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence by Seth Shostak

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I hear "meetings about meetings" and know there is an ineffectual prelude to and uncertain future. Such is with this alient-hunting literature. I love the subject, but there is really no "there" there: hoaxes, false alarms, and suppositions of what would happen if only... A good narrator and the inside story of the birth and life of SETI make this a good read.



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Review: Bluegrass : A True Story of Murder in Small-Town Kentucky

Bluegrass : A True Story of Murder in Small-Town Kentucky by William Van Meter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is a quick listen-read about a brutal, horrific college (WKU) campus crime. A woman is raped, beaten and burned to die later. Much like the classic [b:In Cold Blood|168642|In Cold Blood|Truman Capote|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327873309s/168642.jpg|1940709], this book gives us background, cultural-geographical context and then lingers long over the aftermath: trial, penal, survivors. The narrator, perhaps Southern himself, does a great job with the required dialect. I especially liked the lnegthy recreations of a couple of key police interviews and witness stand testimonies.



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Review: The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby

The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby by Tom Wolfe

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Isn't Wolfe's thing that he writes a book on American society for every decade, or something? Well, if so, this seems to be the late 50s to mid-60s. Phil Spector is at this peak and The Rolling Stones make a quick, ghost-like cameo. A proto-hippied crash pad pot den is another foreshadow of what the rest of the decade has in store. Celebrated is Ed Roth and teen car culture customizations, the birth of stock car racing and the demolition derby. It's this car stuff and the colors and "boomerang" signs of the roadside attractions that has the most life in this book. Cassius Clay at the time of the first Liston-Clay fight on February 25, 1964 get an article in this compendium of short pieces. A lot of verbiage is given over to New York topics like the one-man attack on abstract expressionism by Huntington Hartford, doormen, cartoons of NYC citizen caricatures, Fashion Avenue foot traffic, and more. It is the Manhattan matters this seem the least relevant and most vapid. As if still touched by the 50s himself, Wolfe writes in a glib, post-Beat rap that is entertaining and easy to read kept pseudo-intellectual by Wolfe's ejactulations of cultural allusions.



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Review: Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power

Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power by Steve Coll

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This business history of Exxon and after Mobil was aquired, ExxonMobil is more exciting read than may be imaginged, but of course it is a relevant one in this Oil Age. A lot of the story as oil exploration brings proximity to war, revolution, and genocide reads like the boardroom view of the sme tale told in [b:Confessions of an Economic Hit Man|2159|Confessions of an Economic Hit Man|John Perkins|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309200153s/2159.jpg|1734580]. This includes a fair amount of detail on the bizarre, failed recent attempt to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea. The bizarre economics and shaky profit assessment of the most profital corporation is explored. At the end of this book that starts with the Valdez disaster (not related or solely related to a drinking captain, it is said), there is an overview of the Deepwater Hoirzon blowout event. The book suggets that BP was rampant with operations mismanagement before this, that it was industry known, and that Halliburton knowling sent unreliable concrete.



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Review: MEMORIES OF A CHILD OF VASSAR

MEMORIES OF A CHILD OF VASSAR by Cornelia M. Raymond

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is a superficial if fascinating memoir of a woman that grew up at Vassar college, into it as a student became an educator and return to work in and retire from Vassar administration, public relations actually. She recalls the change from strict "hidebound" religious matrons to a more realized liberal college.



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Review: No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a quick, great read. Owen takes us briskly from training and ops in Iraq to the Infil-Exfil in Abbotabad with the resultant killing of Usama Bin Laden. Lots of the details have already come out, but Owen's telling still makes for a tense mission inside Pakistan. Owen stresses something I found odd, how with the crash and so much noise, so little resistance happened, especially from Bin Laden himself. I found most interesting the smaller details of SEAL life and technology: weapon and gear customization and gun manufacturer connections, $65,000 four-lens nightvision, "bone phones", power gel, infrared glowsticks, high praise for Salomon Quest boots, and Bin Laden's military neat personal effects.



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Review: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

My rating: 0 of 5 stars



This is the second time in my life reading this abridged edition - the same copy. This one still has page numbers in my childish hand on the inside front cover and my nonsensical highlights throughout.

Gibbons' facility of language and subjective enthusiasm for his task means this is a work that can be revisited in life. I hope to tackle the complete work this time.

Among the many charms, Gibbons can take us into the retirement of Diocletion to here is wisdom on governing from a lofty place: “How often, was he accustomed to say, is it the interest of four or five ministers to combine together to deceive their sovereign! Secluded from mankind by his exalted dignity, the truth is concealed from his knowledge; he can see only with their eyes, he hears nothing but their misrepresentations. He confers the most important offices upon vice and weakness, and disgraces the most virtuous and deserving among his subjects. By such infamous arts, added Diocletian, the best and wisest princes are sold to the venal corruption of their courtiers”. So says Sir Edward Gibbon in History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and who am I to say Diocletian didn't say it!

...it also seems rather funny to read this a scant two days after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, oh it we only had Gibbons around to comment on the current affairs of The Eternal City...



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Review: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

My rating: 0 of 5 stars



This is the second time in my life reading this abridged edition - the same copy. This one still has page numbers in my childish hand on the inside front cover and my nonsensical highlights throughout.

Gibbons' facility of language and subjective enthusiasm for his task means this is a work that can be revisited in life. I hope to tackle the complete work this time.

Among the many charms, Gibbons can take us into the retirement of Diocletion to here is wisdom on governing from a lofty place: “How often, was he accustomed to say, is it the interest of four or five ministers to combine together to deceive their sovereign! Secluded from mankind by his exalted dignity, the truth is concealed from his knowledge; he can see only with their eyes, he hears nothing but their misrepresentations. He confers the most important offices upon vice and weakness, and disgraces the most virtuous and deserving among his subjects. By such infamous arts, added Diocletian, the best and wisest princes are sold to the venal corruption of their courtiers”. So says Sir Edward Gibbon in History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and who am I to say Diocletian didn't say it!




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Review: No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a quick, great read. Owen takes us briskly from training and ops in Iraq to the Infil-Exfil in Abbotabad with the resultant killing of Usama Bin Laden. Lots of the details have already come out, but Owen's telling still makes for a tense mission inside Pakistan. Owen stresses something I found odd, how with the crash and so much noise, so little resistance happened, especially from Bin Laden himself. I found most interesting the smaller details of SEAL life and technology: weapon and gear customization and gun manufacturer connections, $65,000 four-lens nightvision, high praise for Salomon Quest boots, and Bin Laden's military neat personal effects.



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Review: A Beginner's Guide to Finite Mathematics: For Business, Management, and the Social Sciences

A Beginner's Guide to Finite Mathematics: For Business, Management, and the Social Sciences by W.D. Wallis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This second edition of Wallis’ concisely written textbook on finite mathematics can be a valuable resource for freshmen and sophomores. After opening with a brief overview of sets and numbers, counting arguments come in as part of probability measures, including the (unnamed) inclusion–exclusion principle leading to Bernoulli trials a section prior to truly basic counting principles. As a result, a student tackling the work sequentially confronts the probability of a netted butterfly being either striped or female two sections before meeting the much simpler ideal urn and its monochrome marbles. An economy of language lends elegance and thus hopefully clarity to this text which is unusual among comparable texts that I work with. However, the sequence presented convinces me it would be awkward in the classroom. Much additional lecture would be required as well as probably rerouting the students through the sections. Such situations, I find, often confuse and unsettle a student already on the margins of his or her confidence and works against encouraging students to read ahead and do independent study. However, I know of no better work to suggest as a study aid for parents or students seeking a second resource along with a required textbook during the first couple of years of pre-calculus college algebra...

[See my full review on MAA Reviews



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