Entries Tagged as ''

Now and Then by Robert B. Parker

wfzimmerman's review: "Spenser and Susan edge towards getting married. A bad guy edges towards endangering Susan, but doesn't actually do it. Parker should have pushed this closer to the edge."
Putnam Adult (2007), Hardcover, 304 pages
tags: Spenser

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

wfzimmerman's review: "Classic sf. Does Will Smith realize what a contribution he is making to the genre? If he keeps up he will have starred in more classic SF novelizations than any other star."
Tor Books (2007), Edition: Reissue, Paperback, 320 pages
tags: science fiction, sf, vampires, Will Smith

BETRAYING OUR TROOPS by Dina Rasor

Rating: 4
Review of: Betraying our troops : the destructive results of privatizing war by Rasor, Dina, 1956-

The mind boggles at how cost-inefficient and wasteful the war in Iraq has been. Yet the money wasted in Iraq will not be wasted if Iraq eventually becomes a stable government acceptable to American interests.



Next time,though, let's not spend the money on contractors. Let's insource all these functions back to the government.

THE GREAT WALDO SEARCH

Rating: 5
Review of: The great Waldo search by Handford, Martin

lost somewhere in Parker's room ... I'm on renew #78...

RULE NUMBER TWO: LESSONS I LEARNED IN A COMBAT HOSPITAL by Heidi Kraft

Rating: 4
Review of: Rule number two : lessons I learned in a combat hospital by Kraft, Heidi Squier

I've only read the first couple of chapters so far. I'm hoping it gets better. The theme of the opening of the book is that this psychologist, a nine-year Navy veteran, is surprised and upset she is sent to Iraq. Why do people join the military if they don't realize it's for real?

REAPER MAN by Terry Pratchett

Rating: 5
Review of: Reaper man by Pratchett, Terry

One of the very best Pratchetts. My favorite moments? when Bill Door reacts with rage to the idea that the new death wants to wear a crown; and, of course, when Azrael says YES.

THE BOTTOM BILLION by Paul Collier

Rating: 4
Review of: The Bottom billion : why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it by Collier, Paul

An important book on an essential subject. Collier masterfully reviews the academic literature on development and identifies four statistically significant "traps" that cause nations to remain in poverty. For all its insight, though, this book would be better if informed by a wider range of disciplines and cultural perspectives.

Richard Armitage mans up about foolishly leaking Plame’s name

Although the admission was shrouded within a thicket of denial, I’m glad to see that Richard Armitage is man enough to admit that leaking Valerie Plame’s name to Robert Novak was foolish.

Armitage says he was ‘foolish’ to leak CIA agent’s name - CNN.com

However, that doesn’t take away from what Mrs. Plame said. It was foolish, yes.”

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TORTURE AND DEMOCRACY by Darius Rejali

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Amazon.com: Torture and Democracy: Books: Darius Rejali

Darius was a friend of mine at Swarthmore. I learned more from him than from any other single person there, faculty included. This is an extremely important book.

THE GHOST by Robert Harris (spoiler)

Rating: 1
Review of: The ghost by Harris, Robert, 1957-

This is a deeply silly book, a roman a clef about Tony Blair and his horrible foreign policy of allying with America.



Spoiler Warning:



the denouement reveals the explanation for Blair's massively unpopular alliance with America during the Iraq war: his wife was recruited by the CIA when she was at Harvard in 1976.



Really, if you want an intelligent take on current international affairs, try Vincente Fox's memoir, in which he comments that he (Fox) is absolutely confident that Bush believes that he has done the right things, and that the great irony is that of course, Bush could not be more wrong.