This book turns the idea of privacy on its head, suggesting that it鈥檚 more than just protecting one鈥檚 own personal privacy. Privacy 鈥� and specificallyThis book turns the idea of privacy on its head, suggesting that it鈥檚 more than just protecting one鈥檚 own personal privacy. Privacy 鈥� and specifically 鈥榦blivion鈥� 鈥� is necessary for the flourishing of humans. The author makes a very convincing argument, particularly in light of other notoriously famous authors (e.g., Arendt, Emerson) who have touched only lightly on the subject. Mr. Pressly鈥檚 deep dive is engaging and enlightening, and could be life-changing for readers who have gotten swept-up in the cultural phenomenon of incessantly documenting one's life in the public sphere. ...more
This collection of stories focuses on the importance of 鈥檌dentity鈥�, and the oppressor/oppressed narrative. It鈥檚 propaganda for brainwashing women to bThis collection of stories focuses on the importance of 鈥檌dentity鈥�, and the oppressor/oppressed narrative. It鈥檚 propaganda for brainwashing women to believe that they鈥檙e helpless victims and have no agency. It鈥檚 particularly disappointing that this was put together by the Great Books Foundation. Parents, beware of your school-age children being subjected to the Great Books curriculum...more
One can only hope that every school administrator, teacher, school board official, and parent reads this book! This book offers advice on how young peOne can only hope that every school administrator, teacher, school board official, and parent reads this book! This book offers advice on how young people can be empowered to make good decisions, and fortunately the advice is common sense and practical. It鈥檚 somewhat disappointing that we鈥檙e at a point where this has to be explicitly pointed-out, but that鈥檚 where our society is at!...more
What an inspiration this book is! Being able to recognize the humanity of others after being treated with brutality and indignity for so many years isWhat an inspiration this book is! Being able to recognize the humanity of others after being treated with brutality and indignity for so many years is quite remarkable. I will make a point to reread this book at least every year. ...more
A day-in-the-life of a flawed and tragic character . . . this could be another well-worn, ubiquitous theme. But not in the hands of Saul Bellow! He ilA day-in-the-life of a flawed and tragic character . . . this could be another well-worn, ubiquitous theme. But not in the hands of Saul Bellow! He illuminates how societal and familial expectations can wreak havoc on an individual who has ceded his or her own agency. There鈥檚 also an element of caution against relying on shortcuts to meet the expectations of others. ...more
I honestly don鈥檛 know that it鈥檚 even worth my time to write a review of this book. Hinging a storyline on a character鈥檚 ability to 鈥渇eel鈥� any and all I honestly don鈥檛 know that it鈥檚 even worth my time to write a review of this book. Hinging a storyline on a character鈥檚 ability to 鈥渇eel鈥� any and all pain of others - including animals! - is absolutely ludicrous. The reliability of the narrator was discredited from the start with this 鈥渆mpathy superpower鈥�, and I couldn鈥檛 shake the feeling that the author was rushing to a pre-conceived ending due to one-too-many contrived scenes. Don鈥檛 waste your time on this book....more
This dystopian view of a world in which collective memories are held by only one person has a slight air of 鈥�1984鈥�, but the implications in 鈥淭he GiverThis dystopian view of a world in which collective memories are held by only one person has a slight air of 鈥�1984鈥�, but the implications in 鈥淭he Giver鈥� aren鈥檛 as far-reaching, nor as memorable, as 鈥�1984鈥�. Perhaps it鈥檚 not fair to compare a book to such a classic as 鈥�1984鈥�, but if an an author is going to venture into a similar dystopian world as the one created by Orwell, it鈥檚 game on! If you haven鈥檛 read 鈥�1984鈥�, don鈥檛 waste your time on this book. ...more
I enjoyed learning about the flaws and trevails of a real-world individual who influenced the trajectory of historical events. I didn鈥檛 get the impresI enjoyed learning about the flaws and trevails of a real-world individual who influenced the trajectory of historical events. I didn鈥檛 get the impression that this was a polished, clean-cut clip of an otherwise-flawed individual. I enjoyed the narrative journey! ...more
Beautiful writing - the visual of the 鈥榩aper palace鈥� will remain with me for a long time - and effective character development makes for a memorable sBeautiful writing - the visual of the 鈥榩aper palace鈥� will remain with me for a long time - and effective character development makes for a memorable story....more
A memoir written by a renowned philosopher that provides interesting insight into the mind of a genius child. If you believe that an adult can accuratA memoir written by a renowned philosopher that provides interesting insight into the mind of a genius child. If you believe that an adult can accurately relay minute details of his childhood from 50 years prior, then this book will be even more incredible in your eyes! ...more
This is a brilliant satire of the inner-workings of the mind of a social justice warrior (SJW). Many laugh-out-loud moments while reading this book, tThis is a brilliant satire of the inner-workings of the mind of a social justice warrior (SJW). Many laugh-out-loud moments while reading this book, though much of it was nervous laughter as there are too many parallels to real-life SJWs with whom I鈥檝e interacted. Come to think of it, this should be categorized as a horror book! ...more
A fictional memoir of a young woman who becomes immortal and shares her learnings of gratitude and the importance of being seen and heard. While thereA fictional memoir of a young woman who becomes immortal and shares her learnings of gratitude and the importance of being seen and heard. While there are many meaningful themes to mull over in this book, I鈥檓 downgrading my rating because it seems that the author has succumbed to an ideology in which it鈥檚 necessary - and virtuous - for characters to be inclusive in modern-day terms. In this book, the majority of characters identify as gay or bi-sexual, though this is not germaine to the storyline at all. Our society has come a long way in accepting different sexual orientations, which is wonderful. However, suggesting that it鈥檚 commonplace to 鈥渂e attracted to a person first and their gender second鈥� feels like an overcorrection in the interest of being inclusive. And when it feels like some kind of 鈥榲irtuous鈥� checklist was used during the editing process, I can鈥檛 help but wonder whether the author鈥檚 true voice has been compromised....more
A collection of essays and speeches written by a Uyghur intellectual years before the current catastrophe (some call it a Genocide) of imprisoning andA collection of essays and speeches written by a Uyghur intellectual years before the current catastrophe (some call it a Genocide) of imprisoning and indoctrinating the Uyghur population commenced, and years before he was imprisoned for life based on 鈥渟eparatist鈥� crimes. Tohti had the foresight to understand the potential ramifications of China鈥檚 ethnic policies that are supposed to squelch separatism, religious extremism, and terrorism, which unfortunately have played out: Chinese officials are afraid that ethnic autonomy will lead to a separatist movement, and therefore they believe that ethnic assimilation (e.g., indoctrination) is the only answer. It鈥檚 heartbreaking to read how an entire ethnic community has been torn apart, and literally annihilated....more
A fictional account of an all-female team of Arctic explorers in the mid-1800s. This could have been a more compelling story if not for the forced proA fictional account of an all-female team of Arctic explorers in the mid-1800s. This could have been a more compelling story if not for the forced progressive prerogative of present-day post-modernism to include a lesbian character and a transgender character in a story where these traits have absolutely no bearing on the storyline. This book is fortifying my tendency to harken back to the days of old when searching for an enchanting story....more
This work was published in 1897, and the rigor of data analysis and hypotheses on why suicides don鈥檛 appear to be completely random in nature is quiteThis work was published in 1897, and the rigor of data analysis and hypotheses on why suicides don鈥檛 appear to be completely random in nature is quite remarkable for the time period of this book. His theories on the roles of religion, family, geography, marriage, psychopathic states, and the State on the rate of suicide sounded very logical and rational to my ears, 125 years later!
The data that Durkheim reviews and analyzes is from various European countries, covers the time period of 1850 to 1890 (or thereabouts), and in general shows an incremental increase year-over-year in the incidence of suicides. There were major upheavals to society during this time including wars (e.g., the Franco-Prussian War was a major event), urbanization and industrialization, both of which contributed to the decline of the family unit and a change in the role of organized religion. And while the incidence rate of suicides varied by geographic region, the geographic-specific incidence rates were fairly predictable. Durkheim鈥檚 comprehensive review of the statistical data leads to a very plausible explanation: 鈥淐ollective tendencies have their own life; they are forces as real as cosmic forces, even though they are different in nature; they, too, influence the individual from outside, though by other means. Since moral acts such as suicide are reproduced with equal if not greater uniformity, we must similarly accept that they depend on forces outside the individual. Since these forces can only be non-material ones and since, apart from individuals, there is no moral being except society, they must be social forces.鈥�
Viewing individuals and society as moral beings is an interesting perspective, though it鈥檚 a bit uncomfortable to consider the influence of social forces on the formation of my own moral compass. They鈥檙e probably much larger than I had imagined....more
This book - a critique of the Women鈥檚 Liberation movement - was written in 1972 during the heyday of this movement. Being a benefactor of this movemenThis book - a critique of the Women鈥檚 Liberation movement - was written in 1972 during the heyday of this movement. Being a benefactor of this movement, I had never before given much thought to unintended negative consequences that may have come about. So did any of Ms. Decter鈥檚 predicted fallacies of this movement come to fruition? I would say 鈥測es鈥�, but qualify that they have manifested themselves in the current illiberal movement known as Social Justice Theory.
In the first chapter of her book, Ms. Decter points out that the Women鈥檚 Liberation movement paints women as helpless, and victims of their circumstances. 鈥�. . . the new liberators of women give no evidence of a feeling of obligation to alter themselves. Their view of changing the present condition of women involves instead an alteration of all the present arrangements of society.鈥�
The second chapter continues the theme of women being victims, specifically victims of their own sexuality. 鈥淭he woman who engages in the effort to make herself sexually attractive to men is not only meeting a demand that she finds unfairly troublesome, she is doing violence, says the movement, to her own humanity. The woman who offers herself without resistance to the opportunity for sexual engagement is not only taking a certain risk with her pride and vanity, she is relinquishing, says the movement, the one small bit of personal power left to her in a transaction that is totally rigged against her, a transaction that is merely the paradigm of her general submission to needs and demands that are not her own.鈥�
The final two chapters include examples of how the movement 鈥渃haracterizes marriage as the very model of the exploitation of women by men鈥� and suggests that 鈥渁 woman who becomes a mother might indeed be holding herself in servitude to the species.鈥� If our society would have upheld all the tenets of the Women鈥檚 Liberation movement, women would have relinquished all of their agency in the name of 鈥渇reedom鈥�. It鈥檚 so similar to today鈥檚 Social Justice movement, whose proponents believe that society is built on systems of power and privilege and the only way to rectify this injustice is to tear-down existing systems. Reading this book gives me hope that because our society spurned the nonsensical part of the Women鈥檚 Liberation movement in the 1970s, we can do it again in response to the Social Justice movement. ...more
A well-crafted spy novel based on real-life events in 1938, specifically the orchestration of how the Munich Conference was negotiated and agreed uponA well-crafted spy novel based on real-life events in 1938, specifically the orchestration of how the Munich Conference was negotiated and agreed upon by Hitler, Chamberlain and Mussolini. And how a well-meaning German and Brit tried to circumvent this historical agreement from being signed. Unfortunately we know how this ends, and makes me believe that this historical fiction novel is more about retelling a historical event than it is about fully developing characters who find themselves in the midst of a historically-significant event. ...more
A very clever way to tell Marie Curie鈥檚 life story: how would her life - and subsequently the scientific world - have turned out differently if Marie A very clever way to tell Marie Curie鈥檚 life story: how would her life - and subsequently the scientific world - have turned out differently if Marie had made a different decision when she was 18 regarding her future education. The reader goes back and forth between the 鈥渞eal鈥� story and the 鈥渨hat if鈥� story, and fortunately there are plenty of cues along the way that prevents confusion about what life you鈥檙e in! This was a very enjoyable read. ...more
Every parent should read this book! A fascinating look into the power of social media 鈥渋nfluencers鈥� on the mental wellbeing of vulnerable teenagers, aEvery parent should read this book! A fascinating look into the power of social media 鈥渋nfluencers鈥� on the mental wellbeing of vulnerable teenagers, and the powerful attraction to these teens of gender ideology. Back in the 1970s, parents were warned about their children being physically pulled into a religious cult. In the current day, the cult of gender ideology is capturing the hearts and minds of our youth with ease. ...more
Only a gifted writer like Conrad can pack-in so many thought-provoking themes into a short story: loyalty; deference to authority; deception. This stoOnly a gifted writer like Conrad can pack-in so many thought-provoking themes into a short story: loyalty; deference to authority; deception. This story presents a view into an alternate society, one in which deception is necessary in order to maintain a sense of order. Does this parlay into current-day society? Maybe!!! ...more
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