Peak Everything by Richard Heinberg - Book Review #305

Narrated by Edward Dalmas

To be honest I felt like there was no hope for humanity after hearing this book.

The world is a big giant mess, I already knew this.  It's why I picked it up.

I've said it before, with a lot of these books they are heavy on problems and light on solutions.  Heinberg simply made me feel like everything was hopeless and I just wanted to give up.

But as the eternal optimist, Peter Diamandis, often says - "The world's biggest problems are the world's biggest market opportunities."  Keep that in mind.

A book like Peak Everything will shine the light on the problems.  It will be up to you to decide which ones you'd like to tackle and to go out to find the solutions yourself.

To be fair, Heinberg does have some solutions, but they mostly revolve about returning to an agrarian life.  Who knows, maybe he's right.

Do I recommend it?  Sure.  Why not?  Just be warned that it's a very one-sided read.

Richard Heinberg's website - https://richardheinberg.com/

Richard Heinberg

Waking Dragon by Prof. Peter Navarro - Book Report #235

This was a comprehensive look at the influence and future impact of a rising China.

The audiobook was part of the Modern Scholar Series which are recorded lectures taught by university professors.

It was primarily a course on the economics of a modern China.  But it also looked deeply into environmental and social impacts the country's role as the world's factory floor.

Let's face it, the world is a big, complicated and messy place.  So is China.

I liked the course, in that it illuminated the inner realities of the country and, if things are not managed carefully, how conflicts can arise.

I found it sobering.

The only downside to the series were the questions at the end of each lecture.  Which were not questions at all but a terrible way to recap the salient points the professor wanted to make. 

Prof. Navarro's Wiki page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Navarro

Save Me Plz by David Barr Kirtley

This was an alright story. A play on the theory that we are all living inside a simulation.

If that’s true then why should we remain in the “real” world full of dullness, poverty and pain. Why not live in a computer game filled with adventure, mystery and clarity?

Like I said, it was alright. It landed a bit flat but that’s okay too. 

David Barr Kirtley's website - https://davidbarrkirtley.com/

David Barr Kirtley

Canadians by Roy MacGregor - Book Report #202

This is not an easy book to describe, it is part Canadian history, part sociology and part personal reflection.

The thrust of the book is to try and define the elusive Canadian Identity.  We are trying to find a way to identify ourselves without using the pat answer of; "Well, we are not American."

This was a perfect book to read in this 150th year of Canadian Confederation.  Although we are still struggling to include our First Nations in meaningful and respectful ways, it is still well worth taking the time to look back and try to make sense of this country.

This became a touchstone book for me personally.  It awoke a desire to learn more about my country.  I feel that I've been a rather lousy Canadian by not taking the time to learn about our history.

From MacGregor's work I was lead to many authors and events, both recent and in the distant past that I wish to learn about.

In the intervening eight years since the book was published and with the massive effort of the Canada 150 department I think we've been able to at least find images that spark an answer to the question: "What is a Canadian?"

I've already purchased his more recent book Canoe Country which is another exploration of Canada this time through the history of the canoe and the great rivers of our country.  I am looking forward to settling back into this one.  I am sure it will lead me to other discoveries.

Roy MacGregor - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_MacGregor

Roy MacGregor

Minla's Flowers by Alastair Reynolds

The protagonist, Merlin and his AI equipped ship are thrown from their flight path and have to land on a planet to make repairs.

There they discover a society on the cusp of an industrial and technological revolution.  Merlin also discovers that the entire system is threatened by a coming natural disaster and takes it upon himself to help these people.

It was an interesting story that, if you are a Star Trek fan, takes on the implication of a "prime directive."  How far should you go to help nurture progress to help a society?  What are the consequences if you succeed?

I enjoyed this story because, as the anthology suggests, this is just one small corner of a much larger universe that Merlin is part of.

Reynolds has used this character in other books so it's inclusion in this anthology does its job of whetting an appetite to discover what else he's written.

As a stand alone story it worked very well and hinted at the larger universe that is out there in the author's imagination.

Alastair Reynolds' website - http://www.alastairreynolds.com/

Alastair Reynolds

Batman: Black and White, Volume 1, by Mark Chiarello and Scott Peterson- Graphic Short Story Collection.

I found this volume to be a joy to dip into, I would enjoy a story or two then get on with my day.  It also served me well as a quick diversion when I had a few minutes that I did not want to spend watching TV.  I liked being able to pick the book up, spend ten minutes with it and enjoy a complete adventure

The sequential art is wonderfully diverse.  Each story worked so well with the art that accompanied it.

I enjoyed the range in tone.  Some were over the top action while others contemplative.  The editor did a fine job of collecting a wide range of stories.  It gives you an appreciation that comics are not all fisticuffs and super powers.

Batman is also a good choice for this kind of exploration, in that he is the closest thing in comics to a regular guy.  Sure, he's strong, smart and rich but those are not super powers and that's what makes the character relatable.

If you don't read comics or know much about Batman this book makes for a fine introduction to this form of story telling.

Born Standing Up by Steve Martin - Book Report #145

Is there anybody who hasn't been touched by Steve Martin's work?  Stand up comedy, movies, books and music; this guy has pretty much done it all by following his passions and his heart.

This memoir chronicles his early years, from childhood to the height of comedy stardom.  In it he talks about his personal life without ever getting creepy about it.  His style is straight forward and honest much like he was telling you stories after dinner, in the living room.  His intelligence, thoughtfulness and humour seep into every passage making this a wonderful experience.

Hearing how he felt and dealt with lack of fame then and abundance of it was refreshing.  I was very happy to get the pay off I wanted from this: why did he turn his back so completely from stand up?  His answer is honest, intelligent, understandable and respectful to his audience.  I have come away from this only wanting to know more about this unusual man and with the desire to embrace the other aspects of his entertainment career, namely his novels and music.

I experienced this as an audio book and I recommend anybody to do so as well.  There are many benefits from this format; firstly it is read by Mr. Martin with his rich, warm voice, plus he also replays some of his best bits on stage and some things that did not make the show.  With his ability to deliver lines, you don't want to leave it to yourself to get it right.  The added bonus of the audio book are the musical interludes between chapters and the short performance at the end, all performed by Martin.  The audio book is a very rich experience.

Better yet buy the paper book and the audio version, it would make a terrific set.

Book Review #118 - Star Trek: Enterprise: The Good that Men Do by Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin

Book 42 of 52
Page count - 446

I really enjoyed this book. 

This is truly the first book in the continuing story of Star Trek: Enterprise with Jonathan Archer and his crew.

Most people agree the last episode of Enterprise; "These Are The Voyages ..." was terrible.  What made this book so enjoyable was how the authors used the same kind of framing of the story as the TV finale but tweaked it to give us a more satisfying story and jumping off point for the next "season."

The entire book is really a reworking of the finale; setting the story straight and allowing the authors to set the scene to continue the stories of the crew of the Enterprise NX-01.

I look forward to more in this time period of Star Trek.

Andy Mangels

Michael A. Martin

Mangels and Martin with Armin Shimerman AKA Quark

Book Review #114 - Red Moon Rising by Matthew Brzezinski

Book 38 of 52
Audio book - 9 discs

A previous book I reviewed called Command and Control showed just how paranoid the Americans were during the Cold War.  The story of the space race is closely tied to the creation of ICBMs and the days of nuclear proliferation.  As a matter of fact, the space race and the missions to the moon may not have happened had the Soviets not been having technical difficulties with a heat shield.

With the Americans constantly testing Soviet air pace with bombers and U2 over-flights they felt pressured to develop a capable missile.  The flight of Sputnik was a project promoted and engineered by a single man, Russia's Chief Designer, Sergei Korolev, who believed that satellites would be very valuable.  Since there had been no satellites to date, neither the Americans nor the Soviets could imagine the usefulness of one.

But Sputnik did go up and it changed the world.

Sputnik 1

 Before the race to the moon there was the race to orbit and before the race to orbit there was the race to perfect missiles.  This is the story of how missile technology almost accidentally created an industry that, it could be imagined, that has made our world a better place.

The book follows both sides of the missile race, concentrating on the Soviet side, we discover that they were not nearly so advanced as the United States declared.  Money, politics and pride were all very important factors on both sides of the race.

The story sheds light on yet another facet of the Cold War and I found it fascinating.  The book does not stop at the Sputnik 1 launch but continues well past Sputnik 2 and on to the successful launch of Explorer 1.

Explorer 1

An interesting point to know is variants of the R-7 are still in operation today transporting material and crews to the International Space Station.

Matthew Brzezinski

Book Review - Queenpin by Magan Abbott

Books are a passion for me, which is interesting considering how long it can take me to read one.  If only I could be like Maddy and blast through one in a weekend.  Man, I'd be reading all the time!

I will stick with a book though, I can't think of many that I've out-right quit reading.

The buzz in the crime fiction world these days is all about Megan Abbott.  She writes neo-noir with these wonderful painted covers, just like in the hey-day of trash paperbacks.  Abbott won the 2008 Edgar award for her book Queenpin.  It won in the Best Paperback Original category.  So I was pretty confident that I'd enjoy it.

I am sad to say that I never really got into it and I can't understand why.  It had everything going for it; from the period to depiction of life in organized crime, there's even a gruesome murder in it but I found it never explored the *crime* that surrounded the main characters.  Abbott kept the characters too distant from me, I never really got into their heads and so the book felt really flat to me and the plot kind of wondered around with out any convincing reasons for why certain events happened at all.

I was disapointed.