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100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life and What you Can Do About Them
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
6
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
6
Review Date: 5/11/2012
A fun little bathroom reader. Some things are a (big) stretch but some make you think!
Review Date: 1/15/2023
Helpful Score: 1
This book tries to develop the story from 5 characters and a geopolitical story to boot. It fails. While the writing is well done, the story itself is so implausible as to ruin the story. I like a good geopolitical story with a little limited war or limited battles to explore potential scenarios, but very little of this makes sense.
With the gut punch to America's forces in the beginning, the three-way battle near the end, the badly degraded condition of the American military throughout, it is very disappointing. Granted by 2034, the U.S. might be brought down a few notches to where we are easily handed our a$$e$ and easily shut down technologically, but I doubt it. Perhaps in 2050 or 2060, but not 2034. And I doubt the Chinese are capable of being that dominating over anyone technologically. China prefers Sun Tzu's guiding words to win without fighting a war. Unfortunately for China, they will always be vulnerable to internal politics, infighting and potential collapse. They are certainly capable of defending themselves and projecting power over the South China Sea, but not much more than that. And they will never conquer Taiwan in cake walk any more than they will so overwhelmingly dominate the early fighting as they do in this book.
Sorry Admiral, but this one is just not a keeper nor will it encourage me to read your other books though, judging only by titles, I am sure there is some good guidance to current leaders, naval and others, to be had in your writings.
But please leave the fiction to others.
With the gut punch to America's forces in the beginning, the three-way battle near the end, the badly degraded condition of the American military throughout, it is very disappointing. Granted by 2034, the U.S. might be brought down a few notches to where we are easily handed our a$$e$ and easily shut down technologically, but I doubt it. Perhaps in 2050 or 2060, but not 2034. And I doubt the Chinese are capable of being that dominating over anyone technologically. China prefers Sun Tzu's guiding words to win without fighting a war. Unfortunately for China, they will always be vulnerable to internal politics, infighting and potential collapse. They are certainly capable of defending themselves and projecting power over the South China Sea, but not much more than that. And they will never conquer Taiwan in cake walk any more than they will so overwhelmingly dominate the early fighting as they do in this book.
Sorry Admiral, but this one is just not a keeper nor will it encourage me to read your other books though, judging only by titles, I am sure there is some good guidance to current leaders, naval and others, to be had in your writings.
But please leave the fiction to others.
Review Date: 1/8/2023
Another well done story. Ever since Coughlin hooked up with Davis as coauthor, his stories have become intriguing and hard to put down. While his nonfiction were informative, they hardly grabbed your attention like his fiction does. I've read 6 of his books now and I think his fictional series is up to 9.
His character development is pretty good and the concepts in the story are very believable.
I highly recommend his work.
His character development is pretty good and the concepts in the story are very believable.
I highly recommend his work.
America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
16
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
16
Review Date: 7/30/2019
The stories are interesting looks into the small back stories of Washington, Benedict Arnold and others. They add a little flavor to history. It is interesting that other than selling out West Point, Arnold was a highly ethical and very respected man. Unfortunately his ethics led him to support the British in the end.
The titles are a bit odd, but the back stories are interesting. If you live on the east coast, you might even find some local history you were unaware of. Fort Ticonderoga, Richmond, New York, even Paul Revere's family history. Definitely worth the time to read.
The titles are a bit odd, but the back stories are interesting. If you live on the east coast, you might even find some local history you were unaware of. Fort Ticonderoga, Richmond, New York, even Paul Revere's family history. Definitely worth the time to read.
Review Date: 6/9/2016
A good history of Russia in the Soviet era. It tracks the seeds of it's collapse back to the 1970s when policies began to fail to deliver results and people, including high level communists, began to work around the system as if they could see the writing on the wall ("sticky fingered managers"). In a dysfunctional system, opportunism ruled. Russians have a history of very strong loyalty to "mother Russia" but never to the government.
The book makes clear that the old guard kept the Soviet Union going until the death of Chernenko and the rise of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. Factoid: by the 1990s, 2/3 of factory equipment in Russia was judged obsolete. A lot of facts like that throughout the book make it an interesting read.
A good book well worth the time for anyone interested in history, economics and government.
The book makes clear that the old guard kept the Soviet Union going until the death of Chernenko and the rise of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. Factoid: by the 1990s, 2/3 of factory equipment in Russia was judged obsolete. A lot of facts like that throughout the book make it an interesting read.
A good book well worth the time for anyone interested in history, economics and government.
Review Date: 6/26/2020
I was unable to get into this story. Following my usual rule of giving a book 60-80 pages to grab my interest and then skimming through it, I found nothing interesting in the story. The writer was trying to develop the characters and lay a foundation for a story using tired sounding astronauts just glad to finally be going back to the moon. Then a Chinese ship crash lands on the back side of the moon and the American mission changes to a rescue mission. Some of the writers characters are ok in the middle and end of the book, but it felt like it was a struggle to develop the story and keep it moving.
Blood of the Earth: The Battle for the World's Vanishing Oil Resources
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
2
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
2
Review Date: 6/13/2022
A pretty good history of the oil industry and how they are facing the inevitable decline of oil as the world slowly switches to other technologies. There will always be a market for oil based products, but with the loss of the huge transportation techs (cars/trucks/aircraft/ships, etc.), oil is facing huge drop in demand. How are they facing it? Saudi Arabia and others are branching out to other technologies to invest it, but some in the industry have their heads buried in the sand rushing to extract every drop of oil as fast as they can before the demand drops. Is there enough oil to last until the switch? Probably, but it is getting harder to extract.
Review Date: 7/15/2011
Interesting way to present God, from an alien's perspective. The whole story is about an alien visiting earth as part of a study to find God's purpose for creation and sending civilizations on similar paths of development. Good characters, pretty good story writing. The main character, an anthropologist sought out by the alien(s), is a bit of a moron, but the writer makes you feel for him. Not a great book, but not bad either. A fun little read.
Review Date: 11/23/2013
A classic spy story. I love the Russian character, Filitov. Tired of life, loving his country but recognizing it's wrong-headedness, he seeks to balance the scales by giving the enemy enough information that they will feel confident enough to pursue peace and not war. The book is just a joy to read, easy in pace, plenty of twists and turns, good rich characters, a very plausible story. I wanted this hard cover to add to my permanent library where it joins Red October and Patriot Games as 3 Clancy books worth keeping.
Review Date: 6/13/2022
A pretty good overview of how America and China pretty much rule the world economically. Explores what might happen if these two disparate countries ever joined forces, as well as what the future might be like if they remain competitors. Will China become like Japan as their middle class begins to demand higher wages and quality of life? Some interesting projections for different futures are presented for the reader to consider.
Review Date: 3/3/2021
One of my all-time favorites! The first in the series that I reread almost every year. I love the ambiance of the book, historical aspects, learning about herbs and how they may have mastered new tools. And of course, Ayla, the heroine is heart warming, a character you can't help but root for.
The first book is a bit tough to read with the things she had to endure but still a wonderful story to set up the far more enjoyable stories to follow. Highly recommend!
The first book is a bit tough to read with the things she had to endure but still a wonderful story to set up the far more enjoyable stories to follow. Highly recommend!
Review Date: 4/3/2012
Kind of a nice little read. Moves too slow in places, but the SF is fantastic. The military and Armageddon aspects are ok too, I guess. The author really tried to develop the characters, but they seemed weak to me. Dreaming up the new angle on the origin of Venus makes for good sci-fi. A new planet is born, ejected from Jupiter (I did say it's fantastic sci-fi, didn't I?).
Review Date: 1/25/2019
Provides the big picture of the war, battle strategies and some good stories of personal experiences without getting bogged down in them. Seems a well balanced praise and criticism noting as in all wars, mistakes are plentiful, but planning and preparation pay off. A super-sized, driven ego like General Schwarzkopf is also valuable despite their prima donna rantings (admittedly under great pressure that would have crushed others).
For the most part, he accomplished the main goal and did it fairly well with minimal allied casualties, once again proving dictators have to be dealt with with overwhelming force.
For the most part, he accomplished the main goal and did it fairly well with minimal allied casualties, once again proving dictators have to be dealt with with overwhelming force.
Review Date: 1/8/2023
Another well done story. Ever since Coughlin hooked up with Davis as coauthor, his stories have become intriguing and hard to put down. While his nonfiction were informative, they hardly grabbed your attention like his fiction does. I've read 6 of his books now and I think his fictional series is up to 9.
His character development is pretty good and the concepts in the story are very believable.
I highly recommend his work.
His character development is pretty good and the concepts in the story are very believable.
I highly recommend his work.
Review Date: 6/13/2022
Kinda fun little romp in high school humor. Over 120 books in the series. Both authors have passed on now, but the stories they left behind are a good mark making us smile and enjoy a bit of extrajudicial justice for the bad guys in society. Suspend reality and just enjoy the stories. This is an old book!
Review Date: 5/4/2023
A very interesting life Melissa has lived. She writes well. Her mother is a sad story and had quite the negative impact on her. I met her a couple times on set in Simi Valley and had no idea she was going through that. She just impressed me as a very focused little girl with a lot of talent and beautiful eyes.
Review Date: 7/10/2010
Ok read. Interesting story. Good character development. Kind of fantastic with it's premise of being transported to another planet, but what the heck, it's a good story.
Review Date: 11/3/2020
This was a nice little story about a teen boy working with dinosaurs that are being moved back to the wild after years in a circus. It was a fairly good book as Greg Bear is usually a good writer. The second half where they are in the jungles of Columbia after returning the dinosaurs get's kind of weird, but the first half was entertaining.
Review Date: 9/10/2014
A classic book by George Rippey Stewart, an American historian, toponymist, novelist, and a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. Earth Abides is a post-apocalyptic novel written in 1949. It won the first International Fantasy Award in 1951. Mr Stewart also wrote another great book, Pickett's Charge in 1959 (a detailed history of the final attack at Gettysburg, it was called "essential for an understanding of the Battle of Gettysburg".), among others. He is a history professor with excellent writing skills and winner of many awards. I also recommend his Ordeal by Hunger about the Donner Party. His scholarly works on the poetic meter of ballads (published under the name George R. Stewart, Jr.), beginning with his 1922 Ph.D. dissertation at Columbia, remain important in their field. Read his Wikipedia entry. His professional history is interesting proving often that he could write as a professional and an author.
This story draws you in with it's frequent explorations of the impact of an apocalyptic pandemic and how the world's ecosystem adjusts. The characters are very well done, the story credible and the action just enough to keep you entranced by Ish's adventures. A few revelations open your eyes like "Wow, didn't see that coming". It can get kind of deep as you become lost in Ish's fog of his thinking,but it is a great story about mankind's recovery from this disaster and how that might happen. Sleepy's review above describes the story very well.
I highly recommend this book!
This story draws you in with it's frequent explorations of the impact of an apocalyptic pandemic and how the world's ecosystem adjusts. The characters are very well done, the story credible and the action just enough to keep you entranced by Ish's adventures. A few revelations open your eyes like "Wow, didn't see that coming". It can get kind of deep as you become lost in Ish's fog of his thinking,but it is a great story about mankind's recovery from this disaster and how that might happen. Sleepy's review above describes the story very well.
I highly recommend this book!
Review Date: 2/20/2023
A pretty good history of a unique Native American tribe who had a very smart leader set them up by actually purchasing the land they were sent to. This forced the U.S. govt to buy it back for the distribution to whites. Even so, the smart retention of mineral rights set up the tribe to receive huge income when oil was discovered (not hard as oil was actually on the surface in places).
But then someone was murdering the wealthy tribe members. The new agency, FBI, got it's first big case. While not completely solved, it did clear up a few murders and help the tribe members to relax a little.
Good story! I loved that the Native Americans hired whites to be servants, reversing the tables, much to the chagrin of some racists.
But then someone was murdering the wealthy tribe members. The new agency, FBI, got it's first big case. While not completely solved, it did clear up a few murders and help the tribe members to relax a little.
Good story! I loved that the Native Americans hired whites to be servants, reversing the tables, much to the chagrin of some racists.
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