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Review Date: 1/2/2010
Dostoyevsky is my favorite author and this is without a doubt my favorite of his novels. The character of Raskolnikov, in addition to being a prophetic archetype of the Marxist or Nietzcheian "superman" compels you to sympathize with him as he seeks to arbitrate his own justice by killing a woman and then facing the consequences of his own guilt and condemnation as a result.
Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis (2nd Edition)
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
4
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
4
Review Date: 5/3/2009
Absolutely amazing analysis, taken from classified Whitehouse transcripts that were released in the 1970's. If your interested in the cognitive theory aspects of group decisionmaking, then those chapters stand alone, outside the context of the Cuban Missile Crisis. If you're just interested in the amazing history of what could really have been our civilizations' last hours on earth, you'll appreciate the narrative that this book provides.
Review Date: 4/27/2009
An easy read; in a way it reminded me of every Scooby-Doo episode I've ever seen (though I won't spoil the ending). Great, dark imagery and an engaging mystery.
Review Date: 4/12/2009
From what little I read of this book, the author takes the view that David's "reign" over Israel was a very brief and unsubstantial episode in the history of that nation. The historical citations paint a picture of a very minor king over a very minor kingdom; very different from the biblical testimony and that of what I understand to be the majority view of the history of Israel.
Review Date: 12/26/2008
This was the first of Dickens' works that I've read (December 2008). Up until now I've held a caricature of the Dickens' novel in my mind from the books I've seen on film. I have to admit, I didn't find the dark, drab tale of poverty and aristocratic oppression that I've seen in other films (e.g. Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, etc). The story takes place in the "Two Cities" of London and Revolutionary Paris, and follows a mixed French/English family seeking to escape the oppression of the French Revolution. I was surprised to be taught so much about the excesses of the more extreme of the Revolutionary parties, the Jacobins (portrayed by Mr. and Madame DeFarge). Dickens clearly intended to communicate the cruel character of those that overthrew the French monarchy and aristocracy in the name of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death". The plot of the tragic hero of the novel, Sydney Carton represents a type of the sacrificing hero, finding its archetype in Christ, and much imitated elsewhere in literature. This is what I most appreciated about the novel; Dickens is earnest to embody his disapproval of the Leninist idea that the best government is that ruled by a group of idealists with unlimited authority to preserve their ideals by censoring or exterminating evidence of contrary thinking. In addition, he was a very biblically literate man (certainly by today's standards), and the metaphor that Sydney Carton provides of the afflicted figure moved by his unselfish love to lay his life down for a friend resonates with the Holy Spirit's presence in me, who loves find well-told stories that communicate glimpses of the character and role of Christ; a theme that has been implanted in us by virtue of our creation in the image of God Himself.
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