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I'm about half-way through Walter Issacson's Einstein: His Life and Universe. I recommend it to anyone who wants to see just how messy and (dare I?) indeterminate real science is done. It's like making sausage. The misperception that real science is systematic, deliberate and...

It is easy to be a slacker when it comes to reading stuff for work. I tend to pay far less attention to nuance and detail with work-related reading: I just scan it, get the gist of it and move on. When ever I pick up a potential book-for-pleasure, I first scan a few pages to see if the...

I think that the disassociated nature of "internet research" (compared to reading books) might not foster the kind of gestalt understanding of issues as a whole. Internet research (and hey, I do it, too) often means scanning for this and that bit of information to assemble a mosaic-like picture...

I read Charlie Wilson's War before they made the movie. The book characterizes Charlie Wilson very differently than the movie. Casting Tom Hanks as Wilson made the movie seem like the Disney version of the story. Hanks is a fine actor, but he has trouble conveying the dark, cynical...

Have you read, "Charlie Wilson's War"? It purports to explain US involvment in Afghanistan during the Russian occupation. The movie was pretty fun, too. But the book is better.

Ah, yes. Just the sort of thinking I had in mind. Very illustrative.

Use plain words instead of fancy words. Feel the heat. Be there. Get metaphorical. Always: What is the purpose of this scene to the meaning of the narrative? Focus on the key thing you want to show. Is it the sun? I doubt it. Is it the traffic jam? Nah. Construction signs? Pffft. The...

I don't think it will any difference to most people who call themselves Christians. They don't follow the teachings of Jesus in any version of the new testament as it is. Sadly, The Bible has become just another totem for primitive tribalism.

Tut. Tut. This is the non-fiction section, I think.

Cowboy saloon furniture is not very well made. Cowboy clothing, on the other hand, is exceedingly durable and stain-resistant. Many many factories have catwalks positioned over open vats of boiling acid. On TV, the FBI, CIA, NCIS, and other law-enforcement agencies evidently recruit...

Sigh. Others can never tell you what to think; they can only tell you what to believe.

O'Brian can get a bit technical at times. It's as if he assumes you know your way around late 18th century British naval ships (well, doesn't everybody?). Here's a tidbit from another site (still under 15, I see) Patrick O'Brien's editor from Norton publishing...explained that he is very...

All high-security facilities have big wide ventilation ducts that lead to control rooms. Stair and walkway railings in factories will protect you against machine-gun fire. Vulcan logic is different from college logic class logic. Getting punched in the face really hard doesn't hurt all...

Hmmm. Well, yes. I suppose Rush et al do, um, simplify matters.

I read all the Patrick O'Brian Captain Aubrey/Maturin books. There are 20 of them, I think. Really, it is one novel in twenty volumes. O'Brian may be the best novelist ever.

I organize books by just setting them down someplace. This method is easy, quick, and results in wonderful teetering stacks.

A Concise History of the Middle East by Arthur Goldschmidt Jr and Lawrence Davidson This big fat book demostrates that history is never concise. Lucid, well-written, and engaging, it takes the reader on a clear-eyed tour of centuries of that troubled part of the world. A must for anyone...

Walter Isaacson: Einstein, His Life and Universe

The problem with trying to answer the charge that young people aren't reading anymore is that the non-readers generally don't show up to answer polls about reading! Having taught college English for the last 25 years, I've come under the impression that ten percent of college students do ninety...

So, um, what exactly was the URL on that?