Category Archives: FAQs & Commentaries
Third World development: A reading list
Listing 14 books that cast light on the realities of foreign aid and social change in the world’s developing countries. Continue reading
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The 30 best books of 2010-2011
OK, so they’re not really the “best” books of the last two years. Unlike the arbiters of our literary culture such as The New York Times Book Review, I don’t pretend to read everything. In fact, they don’t either. By … Continue reading
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Wondering why almost all my reviews are so positive?
You’ve probably noticed that I rate every book I’ve on a five-@ system, and that I usually rate books @@@@@, @@@@, or at least @@@. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever rated a book at less than @@@. This … Continue reading
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A publisher that’s swimming against the tide
My favorite among the seven publishers I’ve worked with, Berrett-Koehler of San Francisco, was founded by Steve Piersanti. Steve wrote the following article to balance an earlier post about the “10 Awful Truths About Publishing,” which I reposted some time ago. … Continue reading
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When it comes to national security, do you really get what you pay for?
Thoughts on reading Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin. The 16 major U.S. intelligence agencies have collectively spent — or, for the most part, better put, squandered — hundreds of billions of dollars since 9/11. Many of the 16 were established after the 2001 attacks. The money has paid for a host of overlapping and duplicative efforts that employ tens of thousands of people, many of them in the private sector. Much of what this ill-considered community has done in the past decade would be viewed by any dispassionate observer as ineffective at best. Continue reading
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Name those spies! (A pop quiz)
I’m currently reading Top Secret America by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin, an outstanding new book about the U.S. intelligence establishment. For your continuing edification, I have prepared a very brief (two-question) survey about this important topic. To take the … Continue reading
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What is a “Great Man,” and why should we care?
Thoughts on reading Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage, by Douglas Waller Have you ever heard of Tiglath-Pileser? Unless you’re a student of ancient history, chances are slim that you’re familiar with the … Continue reading
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The best books I’ve read so far this year
OK, for starters, when I say “best” I mean most engaging and satisfying in terms of the category into which a given book will fit. For example, I wouldn’t pretend to compare the value or quality of a gripping thriller … Continue reading
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Is history too important to leave to historians?
A review of Why the West Rules — for Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future, by Ian Morris. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). In Why the West Rules, he explores the state of society and the quality of life in both West and East since long before the onset of written history in the first millennium BCE — in fact, since the passing of the last Ice Age 15,000 years ago. Morris’s ultimate goal is to discern the shape of times to come. His conclusion is noncommittal: “The great question for our times is not whether the West will continue to rule. It is whether humanity as a whole will break through to an entirely new kind of existence before disaster strikes us.” Continue reading
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Help stop Big Media from censoring the Internet!
The video http://vimeo.com/31100268 explains exactly why every American should be screaming bloody murder about the proposed SOPA and PIPA “anti-piracy” legislation the big media companies are trying to rush through a Congress dominated by people who don’t have a clue about the Internet. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this is Hollywood talking: it’s the huge robber-baron media moguls, including Rupert Murdoch, Sumner Redstone, and the like as well as Disney and the other big studios. Go HERE — http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/ — to lodge your protest with Congress. Continue reading →
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Tagged as Congress, Internet, PIPA, piracy, SOPA