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Review Date: 6/24/2012
This was my first exploration into this author and I was not impressed. I only liked one story out of the whole bunch and it had nothing to do with graphic nature or subject matter anymore than just plain boring writing. I have often been told I should read books by Irvine Welsh and I thought the short stories would be a good beginning. However, most of these stories seemed to hide the fact that they were relatively mundane behind dialect. Also it seems the only way the author expresses his creativity is through drug use with the lone exception of The Two Philosophers, a story which I found to be really quite good. Since I am not reviewing just one short story but the lot of them I must say I will give this author one more chance in his more popular works with the hope I find better results.
Review Date: 2/26/2012
This book was a hit and miss collection of stories for me. While none of the stories represented any new works by any of the authors in it many are stories that were in small works and are very interesting now to read. Specifically some of the big names such as Orson Scott Card give exotic stories from their works into this collection. I thought some of the stories were cheesy or rather juvenile also but that did not leave me disliking this collection very much at all. Enjoyable and quick reading!
I specifically liked some of the ones by authors I had not heard of such as "Sunday Night Yam at Minnie and Earl's" by Adam-Troy Castro and "Swarm" by Bruce Sterling.
I specifically liked some of the ones by authors I had not heard of such as "Sunday Night Yam at Minnie and Earl's" by Adam-Troy Castro and "Swarm" by Bruce Sterling.
Review Date: 10/6/2007
Helpful Score: 2
This book gives an interesting sweep over the arts an artistic times present between the Paleolithic and Renaissance. It is nice to see it spends more time outside the realm of Europe than a lot of art books tend to do. Informative and a good resource in my opinion.
Review Date: 6/10/2012
Helpful Score: 2
A frankly awful continuation of a series which should have been left alone. I read most of it just hoping it would get better or show some creativity. It did not and I want my bargain bin money back.
Review Date: 11/30/2008
Helpful Score: 5
Personally I was not very impressed with this book at all just as I was not impressed with Kurlansky's "Salt". I am very fascinated with the subject matter which is why I eagerly waited on the book. I found the book seemed to do more for stretching out Basque specialties and delights while not highlighting their other qualities such as the land they inhabit. The Basque industrious spirit and skill with enterprise were well discussed but they were narrowed to their place in fisheries, steel, and chocolate.
Most of the book was obviously based upon the Spanish struggle for independence and the ETA movements later in the book but there really wasn't a whole lot of mention of Basques as a people. For a book on a united ethnic group I just found the history; and therefore my interpretation of the Basques, to be very divided.
The writing style also did little to illustrate deep feeling. It seemed rather dry to me for a lot of it. The book wasn't really that bad but it just didn't live up to my expectations I guess. A more gripping account of this very interesting people could have been written.
Most of the book was obviously based upon the Spanish struggle for independence and the ETA movements later in the book but there really wasn't a whole lot of mention of Basques as a people. For a book on a united ethnic group I just found the history; and therefore my interpretation of the Basques, to be very divided.
The writing style also did little to illustrate deep feeling. It seemed rather dry to me for a lot of it. The book wasn't really that bad but it just didn't live up to my expectations I guess. A more gripping account of this very interesting people could have been written.
Review Date: 1/12/2008
Helpful Score: 1
an interesting collection of recollections and writings throughout time and continents from Hunter Thompson to Lief Erikson. A large number of traveller's and writers thoughts and journeys collected here.
Review Date: 5/15/2010
Helpful Score: 1
This book had a lot of very good parts about Tasmania and the wild scenescapes therein. It kept true to it's aim and the authors were given many unique looks into the perils of this amazing place. That being said, the subplot bored me and it was actually rather annoying I thought. This kept me from rating this book higher as I could have done without hearing about the authors trials with their stoned artist tagalong. I would still recommend this to anyone interested in Tasmanian wildlife or marsupials though.
Crown of a Thousand Years : A Millennium of British History Presented As a Pageant of Kings and Queens
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
?
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
?
Review Date: 1/6/2008
Helpful Score: 1
A useful and informative book with pictures and biographies of most of Britain's monarchy.
Drums Along the Congo: On the Trail of Mokele-Mbembe, the Last Living Dinosaur
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
3
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
3
Review Date: 11/13/2008
Helpful Score: 2
I found this book informative from a point of view that showed off the overall unique nature of the Congo jungles of central Africa. While the author's quest certainly sounds a bit ludicrous the subject matter of most of this book was actually a botanical and cultural showcase in many ways. The author has a keen interest in the flora and fauna of the jungle, as well as a lot of interest in the many tribes and urban landscapes of the DRC. This makes a good read for anyone wishing to hear about the various happenings of a land far away from the norm.
Review Date: 1/12/2008
Helpful Score: 1
A guide to Arizona's many natural wonders with 60 sites selected with detailed maps of good areas to explore. Lots of ruins and artifact sites in particular are selected.
Review Date: 10/2/2012
I found this book to be plain. The stories were very mediocre. Even the story by Orson Scott Card was the least entertaining short I have so far read by him. I liked certain parts of a few of the stories such as those by Frederick Pohl and Dan Simmon's Hyperion story was a pretty decent one. Overall, as one who enjoys short stories for their windows into brief imaginings, most of these just fell flat to me.
Review Date: 6/10/2012
I was first lured to this book by an author's recommendation, but it took me years after having the book to read it. Upon doing so I found it to be a very odd book with some good parts in it. I found the ending too short and the beginning too long. The story seemed less polished than the characters own intents would have presented. Aside from that, the book grabbed my fascination in a way many stories of alternative type groups do. I think any who like books which differ a little from standard subject matter would enjoy this book.
Review Date: 1/8/2008
from flyleaf "OK, ecology - rainforests, pollution, recycled paper, hippies hugging trees, ozone layer, all that stuff. Except that ecology is a far more complex and fascinating subject than a bland list of buzzwords suggests. Investigating all the complicated interactions between living things and their environment, ecologists are equally interested in the physical characteristics of the tiniest individual species, and the global impact of large-scale environmental changes. And by the end of Get a Grip on Ecology, you will be as well.
The Ghost with Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking and the Search for Lost Species
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
3
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
3
Review Date: 3/1/2012
This is a highly readable account of the search for many of the more well known, and some less well known, crypto-zoological vanishing acts of the last century. The author does presents an open account of the likelihoods and problems facing rediscovering presumed extinct species. I thought this book to be very good especially when compared to other books in this area of research.
Review Date: 10/15/2012
I found this collection of stories to be rather boring mostly. They were mostly too short or too rushed. Twenty-six stories in a little under four hundred pages is a small window for each story. A large story of which was taken up by a story I found disappointing from Orson Scott Card. I found Neil Gaiman's story 'Chivaly' to be very good as well as a few other stories. Out of them all though only a handful really stood out.
The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
26
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
26
Review Date: 6/2/2009
Helpful Score: 1
I really liked the idea in this book. I also liked seeing the tedious words of the Dutch colonists being expressed in this book. All around I thought it was a decent book. I do think the author was a little too all encompassing in how he chose to portray the colonies works from the records left behind. This was what made the book difficult to read for me. I would think this a like able and informative book for anyone though!
Review Date: 9/12/2010
This book provided a very detailed and adventurous account of the exploration of a very large cave in South Dakota by two rock climbers turned spelunkers. At the time of publish of this book the cave had 66 miles of mapped passage but since then it is now the worlds second largest cave at over 150 miles. This book also contains maps of passages and many many black and white pictures inside the cave. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys the underground!
Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect That Shaped the American Frontier
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
4
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
4
Review Date: 10/3/2009
Helpful Score: 3
I thought this to be a very well written book by an author who holds entomology very dear to him. This book provided details I had never really heard about but which it is important to hear about for the past and future implications of pests. Also it did not focus on this locust species as just a terror for settlers but put it in it's place as one of the most important creatures to the plains and western United States. I liked it a lot!
Review Date: 11/24/2012
This book was a great one about a fascinating topic. I really liked the authors' biography of London. I only have to say that I really wish more were written from this point of view looking down on London. The writing is well placed with a special sense of awe directed toward the topic. I recommend this book for anyone interested in digging into the ground of cities.
Review Date: 10/6/2007
"In Dame Marie, sleeping villagers walk in the dead of night- they return without memory, naked and soaking from the sea... when they return at all."
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