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A reader's reviews
| My Reviews - Page 1 of 2 |
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A reader posted a review at 2009-11-02 05:33:38 for Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny.
(Language: English)
 
For the most part very thought-provoking. The best parts, literary-wise, are maybe the personal anecdotes. Bad parts: He does grow somewhat repetitive, and the chapter on the anti-globalization movement is an attack on a straw man. 
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A reader posted a review at 2009-09-07 10:39:33 for The Noble Lie: When Scientists Give the Right Answers for the Wrong Reasons.
(Language: English)
He does ask some interesting questions about the implicit moral questions answered by the actions and definitions of scientists (mostly in medicine).It could have been a good book, if it wasn't for the author's rampant postmodernism, and attempt to shoehorn it into the frame that his publisher apparently asked for - Plato's "Noble Lie". Just about nothing the book describes is deliberate deception, and if all answers to moral questions are "lies" anyway (as you can get the impression, from the author's extreme po-moism) why did he bother writing the book in the first place?
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A reader posted a review at 2008-10-20 20:59:32 for A Life Stripped Bare.
(Language: English)
Rather humorous and well written, but again in a blog way rather than a book way - this seems to be a trend, and I don't like it.Also, he sometimes fails to ask the right questions about perspective. The auditors have very little sense of it (when it came to their advice for the medicine cabinet, my darkest fears were confirmed. NO NO NO to homeopathy against real illnesses!)
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A reader posted a review at 2008-10-20 20:56:00 for Bad Science.
(Language: English)
Rather informative, and well written, but more in a blog way than a book way, sadly. He's preaching to the choir, yet sometimes in an overly hostile manner, as if we are not on his side. But interesting, and informative. Recommended.
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A reader posted a review at 2008-10-20 20:49:26 for The Weather Makers : How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth.
(Language: English)
The bit about biodiversity loss was informative and moving. The "solutions" chapter left a bit to be desired.
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A reader posted a review at 2008-08-16 17:19:32 for The Second Book of Go (Beginner and Elementary Go Books).
(Language: English)
Far more technical and verbose that "Go for beginners", but many very interesting topics, like classification of various semeai. Haven't managed to make all that much use of it yet, I'm not really good enough.
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A reader posted a review at 2008-08-16 17:17:32 for Hex Strategy: Making the Right Connections.
(Language: English)
I bought this book expecting it to be for Hex what the Go books were for Go. It wasn't. Lots of irrelevant information, and only vague (and in some cases wrong) advice when it came to strategy.
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A reader posted a review at 2008-08-16 17:14:27 for Go for Beginners.
(Language: English)
I thought this was a great intro to the basic concepts of Go. Helped me a lot (though I'm still < 10k)
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A reader posted a review at 2008-07-04 17:51:09 for The World Without Us.
(Language: English)
Dystert tankeeksperiment om hva som hadde blitt arven etter oss mennesker om vi plutselig forsvant. Bra skrevet, og en del tankevekkere.
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A reader posted a review at 2007-09-22 13:22:21 for A Scanner Darkly.
(Language: English)
One of the more unpleasant books I've read. It's almost as if your own head gets hazy as Bob Arctor's mind and surroundings gradually falls apart. The book has a strong anti-drug message, but most of all it's about compassion with drug addicts - in the afterwords he likens them to children playing on the highway. (However, this book is not about the "War on drugs". Although the police in "A Scanner Darkly" employ infiltration and surveillance to a sinister degree, they are pretty indifferent to mere users - all Arctor gets when they find out he's addicted is a fine. The film seems to ignore this, judging from the trailer, perhaps in an attempt to make it more "relevant". I've put off seeing the film for that reason.)
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| My Reviews - Page 1 of 2 |