We Heard The Heavens Then: A Memoir Of Iran
by Aria Minu-Sepehr
Aria Minu-Sepehr was the son of a general in the Shah's Imperial Iranian Air Force. He was brought up in a sheltered world. When the Ayatollah came to power in 1979, Aria's life as he knew it came apart.
I honestly can say that this book did absolutely nothing for me. There have been a whole slew of accounts written by Iranians about their cultivated and privileged upbringing that were pretty interesting. We Heard The Heavens Then just left me empty. I believe it was the style of writing. Nothing exceptional, no beauty in the prose. You can pass this one by.
Not recommended.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
An Economist Gets Lunch : New Rules For Everyday Foodies
by Tyler Cowen
Tyler Cowen has unconventional ideas about food but they're only his opinions. He comments about good food vs. bad food; that local food is not better for the environment; the best barbequed food is not in the United States; different regions of Chinese cooking; airplane food is bad but airport food is good; where you can get good, cheap food, etc.
Although Cowen is known as one of the most influential economists today, it does nothing for his writing. Parts of the book are very interesting but most of it is plodding. There's way too much filler. Most of the stuff could have easily been a magazine article. I didn't finish the book as it became much of an irritant for me.
Not recommended.
by Tyler Cowen
Tyler Cowen has unconventional ideas about food but they're only his opinions. He comments about good food vs. bad food; that local food is not better for the environment; the best barbequed food is not in the United States; different regions of Chinese cooking; airplane food is bad but airport food is good; where you can get good, cheap food, etc.
Although Cowen is known as one of the most influential economists today, it does nothing for his writing. Parts of the book are very interesting but most of it is plodding. There's way too much filler. Most of the stuff could have easily been a magazine article. I didn't finish the book as it became much of an irritant for me.
Not recommended.
Paris, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down
by Rosecrans Baldwin
From the time he was a little boy, Rosecrans Baldwin has always loved French things. When he gets a chance (as an adult) to go and live in Paris for one year (with his wife) and work at an advertising agency, he is delighted. Here's the catch, though: he has no experience in advertising and can barely speak French. So, lucky for us, we get to read about his mistakes in communication at the office, embarrassing situations, misinterpretations and many more ho-hum escapades.
This book is not funny as other reviewers have said and the writing is slip-shod. Baldwin becomes more and more annoying. The result is, who cares? I never finished the book as everything just became too tedious.
Not recommended.
by Rosecrans Baldwin
From the time he was a little boy, Rosecrans Baldwin has always loved French things. When he gets a chance (as an adult) to go and live in Paris for one year (with his wife) and work at an advertising agency, he is delighted. Here's the catch, though: he has no experience in advertising and can barely speak French. So, lucky for us, we get to read about his mistakes in communication at the office, embarrassing situations, misinterpretations and many more ho-hum escapades.
This book is not funny as other reviewers have said and the writing is slip-shod. Baldwin becomes more and more annoying. The result is, who cares? I never finished the book as everything just became too tedious.
Not recommended.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
The Escape of Sigmund Freud : Freud's Final Years in Vienna And His Flight From The Nazi Rise
by David Cohen
The title of this book is very misleading. You don't read about his escape until you are more than halfway through the book. First, you must plow through copious amounts of detail and information on psychoanalysis plus the people who were active in this field.
Apparently, a Nazi named Anton Sauerwald saved Sigmund Freud but I never got to that point. The writing is very plodding and could be used in a university.
Not recommended.
by David Cohen
The title of this book is very misleading. You don't read about his escape until you are more than halfway through the book. First, you must plow through copious amounts of detail and information on psychoanalysis plus the people who were active in this field.
Apparently, a Nazi named Anton Sauerwald saved Sigmund Freud but I never got to that point. The writing is very plodding and could be used in a university.
Not recommended.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Father's Day : A Journey Into The Mind And Heart Of My Extraordinary Son
by Buzz Bissinger
Buzz Bissinger has a set of twins that were born three minutes apart and premature (by thirteen and a half weeks). The older one, Gerry, is going for a graduate degree in education at the University of Pennsylvania. Zach has only attended special schools and has a job bagging groceries at the supermarket. He'll never be able to be independent nor drive a car but he has incredible memory and loves maps.
Buzz decides that the two of them should take a road trip together to visit all of the places they used to live. He is hoping that this will bring them closer together because he feels that he hasn't been such an attentive father.
The subtitle of this book is very misleading. "Son" should be changed to "Self" because that is who Buzz is focused more on. His obnoxious personality bounces off the pages. At times, he has these juvenile rants where he uses profanity. Not necessary. He also airs his political views. Also, not necessary.
I didn't finish the book (I read half). Buzz just became more and more annoying.
Not recommended.
by Buzz Bissinger
Buzz Bissinger has a set of twins that were born three minutes apart and premature (by thirteen and a half weeks). The older one, Gerry, is going for a graduate degree in education at the University of Pennsylvania. Zach has only attended special schools and has a job bagging groceries at the supermarket. He'll never be able to be independent nor drive a car but he has incredible memory and loves maps.
Buzz decides that the two of them should take a road trip together to visit all of the places they used to live. He is hoping that this will bring them closer together because he feels that he hasn't been such an attentive father.
The subtitle of this book is very misleading. "Son" should be changed to "Self" because that is who Buzz is focused more on. His obnoxious personality bounces off the pages. At times, he has these juvenile rants where he uses profanity. Not necessary. He also airs his political views. Also, not necessary.
I didn't finish the book (I read half). Buzz just became more and more annoying.
Not recommended.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Hell Above Earth : The Incredible True Story Of An American WWII Bomber Commander And The Copilot Ordered To Kill Him
by Stephen Frater
Both the title and subtitle are enough to make you want to dive right into this book. The first couple of chapters were quite interesting and then it turned sour.
During World War II, two men flew a B-17 together in Nazi territory. The pilot was an American named Werner Goering who had nerves of steel. His co-pilot was Jack Rencher. The two of them became great friends. There was only one catch. Goering was the nephew (supposedly) of the head of the Luftwaffe, Reich Marshal Herman Goering and the FBI wanted Werner killed if he surrendered to the Nazis. Rencher was chosen to shoot him.
Unfortunately, the suspense just hung in the air. The book is not riveting as the publisher notes it is. It's actually quite boring, repetitious and diverts, most of the time, from the subject. There's way too much filler about other events and flyers and this could easily have been a magazine article. But, the most annoying thing about the book was the poor editing (it jumped around all over the place) and the amount of missing words, duplication of words in the same sentence, typos, and inverted question marks was a chore to plow through.
I wrote to the author after having read thirty pages to alert him about the numerous errors. He wrote back saying that he knew about it, that it was very frustrating because it was totally out of his control. The publisher was in such a rush to get this book out and it's quite a sloppy mess.
Not recommended.
by Stephen Frater
Both the title and subtitle are enough to make you want to dive right into this book. The first couple of chapters were quite interesting and then it turned sour.
During World War II, two men flew a B-17 together in Nazi territory. The pilot was an American named Werner Goering who had nerves of steel. His co-pilot was Jack Rencher. The two of them became great friends. There was only one catch. Goering was the nephew (supposedly) of the head of the Luftwaffe, Reich Marshal Herman Goering and the FBI wanted Werner killed if he surrendered to the Nazis. Rencher was chosen to shoot him.
Unfortunately, the suspense just hung in the air. The book is not riveting as the publisher notes it is. It's actually quite boring, repetitious and diverts, most of the time, from the subject. There's way too much filler about other events and flyers and this could easily have been a magazine article. But, the most annoying thing about the book was the poor editing (it jumped around all over the place) and the amount of missing words, duplication of words in the same sentence, typos, and inverted question marks was a chore to plow through.
I wrote to the author after having read thirty pages to alert him about the numerous errors. He wrote back saying that he knew about it, that it was very frustrating because it was totally out of his control. The publisher was in such a rush to get this book out and it's quite a sloppy mess.
Not recommended.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Paris In Love : A Memoir
by Eloisa James
In 2009, Eloisa James, a Shakespeare professor at Fordham University, her husband, Alessandro, an Italian who also teaches, and their two children, Anna and Luca, went to Paris for one year. James who is from a family of writers (her father was poet Robert Bly) is actually known more as an author of romance novels. She definitely knows how to tweak words to make the text more appealing but this book is a disappointment. All it is are snippets of events that happened to the family: Anna and Luca's behavior problems in the French schools; having to go on a diet because chocolate keeps rearing its ugly head; Alessandro's weight loss; French culture; etc. James posted her observations on Facebook and then these thoughts and essays were combined to produce a book. After a while, who cares? It is not enough to keep one's interest and mine certainly lagged halfway through. There is no substance; only light fluff.
Not recommended.
by Eloisa James
In 2009, Eloisa James, a Shakespeare professor at Fordham University, her husband, Alessandro, an Italian who also teaches, and their two children, Anna and Luca, went to Paris for one year. James who is from a family of writers (her father was poet Robert Bly) is actually known more as an author of romance novels. She definitely knows how to tweak words to make the text more appealing but this book is a disappointment. All it is are snippets of events that happened to the family: Anna and Luca's behavior problems in the French schools; having to go on a diet because chocolate keeps rearing its ugly head; Alessandro's weight loss; French culture; etc. James posted her observations on Facebook and then these thoughts and essays were combined to produce a book. After a while, who cares? It is not enough to keep one's interest and mine certainly lagged halfway through. There is no substance; only light fluff.
Not recommended.
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