Tagged: Nonfiction
Mafia!
Mafia! by Fred J. Cook, 3/5
For once, the commendatory cover quote on a cheap paperback is accurate! While the book is entertaining and does indeed read like a novel, it is unfortunate that, lacking sources, citations and notes of any kind, it also tends toward the credibility of a novel.
The thing I was most shocked to learn was the fact that upper-class society doesn’t care about morals as long as a person is personally attractive, charming and has plenty of money and power. Perhaps this seems obvious to others, but I could hardly believe the amount of hobnobbing with evil, murdering gangsters that was (and still is, I’m sure) done by celebrities, politicians, and respected businessmen.
[Why I read it: it was a random thrift store find and I admit I partly bought it because of all the fedoras being worn in the vintage photo illustrations inside.]
Understanding X-Rays
Understanding X-Rays: A Plain English Approach by Mikel A. Rothenberg, M.D., 3/5
Apparently, “plain English” is not-so-plain-English for the most baffling presentation of puns and random clip art I have ever seen published. At the bottom of this post are three of the more traumatising pages in the book.
Despite the format, there is still some valuable info and I enjoyed the more sensible sections, especially the case studies at the end. Even with my lack of medical knowledge, however, the scope of the book felt very narrow and simplistic. I could see it being well-used as a supplement for a class, but it definitely left me wanting more information.
[Why I read it: I became interested in the topic through my frustration at not being able to make much of my friend’s Lisfranc dislocation x-rays. I saw that this book had good reviews on Amazon and likely wouldn’t be too far over my head, so I ordered it through interlibrary loan.]
Unbroken
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, 5/5
Several people recommended this book to me, so naturally, I expected it to suck (following the observable and direct correlation between popularity and shitness… *ahem* 50 Shades of Grey, Twilight *ahem*). Given this [realistic, not pessimistic] expectation, I was first surprised to find myself not hating the beginning chapter, then shocked to find the rest of the book to be an extremely enjoyable page-turner. Not only does the story have enough drama and action for four movies, but it is based on a true account and is written sensibly. Hillenbrand doesn’t waste the reader’s time or make loads of obnoxious speculations about characters’ subjective feelings. The book is well-formatted, with pictures placed strategically throughout instead of in annoying inserts. The last time I was this surprised to love a book was War and Peace.
Lose It!
Lose It! by Charles Teague and Anahad O’Connor, 1/5
I love the Lose It! website (it’s helped me lose 30+ pounds) but this book has little to recommend itself. The info it provides is shallow and repetitive. The whole eat-a-normal-hamburger-every-day-instead-of-a-supersized-cheesy-one-and-you’ll-save-enough-calories-in-a-year-to-lose-5-pounds method of weight loss is not very convincing or motivating to me. The only reason to buy this book would be to support the free app and website. Everything you need to know can be found on the website, in the forums.
Words Like Loaded Pistols
Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama by Sam Leith, 4/5
Leith achieves a great balance with this book – he’s entertaining without being insulting, academic without being dry and analytical without being annoying. Where other writers might exhaustively dissect a piece of rhetoric at the cost of common sense and the reader’s patience (see How to Read Literature Like a Professor), Leith keeps his analyses to-the-point and useful. Less importantly, I enjoyed the English pop culture references – it was fun to see mentions of TV shows and celebrities that I love, but don’t get to share with anyone here.
Mind Reader
Mind Reader: Unlocking the Power of Your Mind to Get What You Want by Lior Suchard, 2/5
This book is pointless B.S. that somehow manages to be very entertaining.
F My Life World Tour
F My Life World Tour: Life’s Crappiest Moments from Around the Globe by Maxime Valette, Guillaume Passaglia and Didier Geudj, 3/5
Basically just like the website, but with more adult content (I thought). I think that the community-contributed nature of the content suits the website more than the book format.
The Gulag Archipelago
The Gulag Archipelago: 1918 – 1956 by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, authorized abridgement with a new introduction by Edward E. Ericson, Jr., 4/5
Only post-apocalyptic fantasy novels could come close to the otherworldly horror that Solzhenitsyn writes about. This is the kind of work that inspires both thankfulness and watchfulness in the reader – there is something chilling but deeply relatable about the outrageous, disbelieving silence that surrounded the ongoing atrocity of the Russian prison camps. Despite the language barrier, grim subject matter and frequent use of sarcasm, the whole work is suffused with gentleness, humanity, depth and insight, the product of a spirit made beautiful through the tempering of much suffering. I feel the need to read the complete, 3-volume work, since the abridgment felt awkward and cut out an extremely impactful section that I remembered from a previous encounter with a different version of the book, leading me to wonder what else has been sacrificed to the short attention span of the Westerner.
The Apollo Adventure
The Apollo Adventure
: The Making of the Apollo Space Program and the Movie Apollo 13 by Jeffrey Kluger, 3/5
I expected this book to focus on the Apollo 13 incident and the making of the movie, so I was disappointed that Kluger spent most of it discussing less interesting (though undeniably historical) Apollo missions. There was an absolute minimum of entertaining anecdotes sprinkled throughout, and hardly any insightful info about the making of the movie. I felt that, in an honest attempt to avoid retreading ground already covered in his book Apollo 13, Kluger stoops to using filler material and milking the franchise.
The Art of Raising a Puppy
The Art of Raising a Puppy by The Monks of New Skete, 3/5
Perhaps I’m just a bit jaded from reading two other puppy books, but I felt this one could have been a little more practical and a little less touchy-feely
OmniRambles 