Heaven is Real - Burpo

Meet Colton Burpo.  At age four Colton knows more about life and the afterlife than most of us will know in a lifetime.  Why?  Because Colton has been to the pearly gates.  In his recent book,  “Heaven is for Real” Todd Burpo, Colton’s father  a Christian pastor  from Imperial Nebraska, chronicles a series of medical close calls that eventually led Colton to a near death experience and to seemingly experience “for real”, a three-minute slice of Heaven.  Improbable as it might seem to non-believers, Colton’s story must be true.  There can be no other accounting for his awareness and the clarity of which he describes his visit.  Unencumbered by the stigma or the stigmata Colton met Jesus and described the wounds in his flesh as simply markers of red color on the man with “pretty eyes” who held him in his lap during the last few moments of his life.  And, while infection ravaged his small body during the last few moments of his life his dad, closed off in a hospital closet, privately cried and cursed his own creator and savior. 

Many have seen the white light and moved towards it, only to be recalled back to the operating room or accident scene by doctors or EMT’s working frantically to save them.  Colton seems to have traveled beyond.  Perhaps he slipped away unnoticed by an incompetent medical staff for his brief encounter with the sister and grandfather he never knew, an exquisite kaleidoscope of rainbow colors, God the Father, the Angel Gabriel, the Virgin Mary, and of course the One who undeniably Loves us all an perhaps the little children just a little bit more..

Many others have written about the afterlife, Mitch’s Albom’s account, in “Five People You Meet in Heaven” springs to mind.  But while beautifully written and articulated, Albom’s account is a fancifully fabricated story that simply brings us great joy to believe.  Colton’s account cannot be a work of fiction because at his age he had nothing upon which to base his story.  Simple Bible stories would not impart the sophisticated tapestry of past, present, and future (including the end of times) events upon which Colton was conversant.  Only first hand witness explains his account, which he began sharing first with his family, and later with those he came into contact who could be comforted with his knowledge.

A light read, a compelling story, and a simple solution for where we all are headed.  As with all things that require faith you must also make a personal choice to believe in this book.  Five stars for the spectacular and haunting picture of the Prince of Peace…but four stars overall.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Pirsig

 

I first read this masterpiece of fiction when I was fifteen, I remember clearly it was 1980 and I spent days in my room trying to understand the big words and attempting to figure out all the characters Pirsig would reference, Kant, Hume, Poincare, and the ancient Greeks.  Since we were well before a simple Wikipedia search, it would be years before I would hear most of their names again.  What I do know very clearly is that when I emerged from my room I knew I was going to college to become a Mechanical Engineer.  I had long since forgotten why I came to that conclusion until I relieved my young experience on page 176 just a few days ago.  It was my third reading of this book.

My second reading came in 1992, I was 28.  In those days I was brash, arrogant, and full of gumption, as Pirsig would call it.  I knew a lot more about philosophy and theology and engineering at that time.  I also owned a motorcycle and had completed an active duty tour in the military.  I was working as a systems engineer for the DoD and was in school working on my second Master’s degree.  The book still made sense… a lot of sense.  At that point I knew it had nothing to do with Zen and even less to do with motorcycle maintenance, but Pirsig has always told us that up front.

Fast forward sixteen years…a family, a company, a new career, a fresh read.  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is still every bit the masterpiece it was back in 1974.  But ultimately what is it about – if it’s not about Zen or art of motorcycle maintenance?  Certainly much has been written over the past four decades attempting to define exactly what Pirsig was trying to tell us.  No need for that.  Read the book, Pirsig will tell you.  No matter what you may hear, no matter what you may think, this book defines for us that which can never be expressed through words and rational thought alone.  It must be experienced.  Experience is the life changer, not thoughts or deeds.  Experience this book and understand why.

Why We Make Mistakes - Hallinan

As a professional problem solver I am intrigued by the fact that in my day job I can decompose a problem, put together a number of corrective actions, evaluate those actions with quantitative and qualitative factors, and recommend a competent solution.  Why, when I’m away from the office, equipped with the same problem solving skill set, do I make seemingly endless mistakes?  Investment decisions are of course the most painful.  The only thing easing that pain is the knowledge that everyone (almost everyone) is suffering along with me.  But I am also plagued by more common decisions like should I switch insurance companies?  Should I put my kid in braces?  or my favorite…should I fire my lawn guy?  I will give you more details on the fate of my lawn guy in a minute.  So basically I have this endless feeling of incompetence stemming from the endless array of everyday decisions I always seem to get wrong.   Enter Joseph T. Hallinan and his book, “Why We Make Mistakes?”  I can sum up his book with three words word…”Oh, that’s why”.  

It appears, according to Hallinan, the entire world conspires against our ability to make correct decisions.  Or, we have been set up, since birth, to make mistakes--at least by our birth into modern society.  Speaking from the standpoint that we are products of evolution, we simply are not equipped to make correct decisions in our modern world based on the way were receive and process information.  Our memory’s stink, we scan and simplify what’s in our field of view, we wing it, and we bias things unconsciously all day every day.  His book is very easy to read and while it is clearly comprehensive, well researched, and detailed, it flows effortlessly off the page making perfect sense as it winds along.   After reading his book I highly suspect I do everything wrong.   It’s all there and I am guilty down to my last ounce of over confidence.

Yet somehow I must not do everything wrong. I’ve been equipped with a great education that allows me to have a super job.  I have a super family and can honestly say I am a very happy person who is afforded leisure time, to not only read Hallinan’s book, but to write about it.   But I fret over the simplest of decisions…I make decisions, I don’t delay, but I worry if I’ve made the right ones.  And typically they don’t appear so good after I’ve made them however I have a tremendous ability to rationalize them or put the blame on something beyond my control.  Of course that’s exactly what Hallinan says I do.  So he is right again.  

In the end he really doesn’t provide a recipe for not making mistakes.  We will continue to make mistakes and waste time in the process.  He just wants us to be aware of the things that influence us, when we don’t realize we are being influenced.  He believes that it’s the mistakes that keep us from enjoying life that are the ones we want to try hardest to avoid.  So tomorrow I will fire my lawn guy.  One he is too expensive for the service he provides. Two he gives me a headache when all I want is my lawn mowed.  Three he is constantly badgering me for more work.  And four, I’ve always enjoyed mowing my own lawn, typically on Saturday’s, with a gin and tonic, and a slice of lime.

The God Who Is There - Schaffer

If you are looking for proof that there is a “…God Who is There”, as given to us by Francis A. Schaffer in 1968 in his book, ‘The God Who Is There”, unless you are willing to convert to Christianity on the spot, you will probably look elsewhere.  In this book Schaeffer is not writing as an apologetic to the masses who have not found salvation through Jesus Christ.  He is writing to those already saved and explaining to them a formula to combat Secular Humanism and still win disciples for Christ in this 20th Century.  In so doing he tosses out the theology of men such as Soren Kierkegaard disallowing a “Leap of Faith” discussion, which Schaffer believes to the root cause of a New Theology.   A theology that is incorrect because it merely uses religious Truths shared as iconic representations of greater meaning without actually understanding that which is true, namely that God exists.

If this is the best Schaffer can do, he still has some unfinished work left.  Unfortunately he moved on in 1984.  As far as I can tell, however, it is three things that form the basis of Truth.  

First, the observation of God's of effect on humanity.  Using the scientific method, we first conduct an experiment and look at the result.  God exists because we can observe how people change in his presence.  

Second, each and every individual longs for some meaning in their life.  

And third, the argument for a source from which morality springs.

In his first proof, which I believe to be his most compelling, we cannot differentiate Christianity from other religions.  Plus, if as what Marx calls the opium of the people, or as Freud calls an illusion, we still see societies reacting in ways that are rallying around a higher calling.  Societies can always be motivated to rally around a higher calling...there are many examples both good and bad.

In his second proof, the search for meaning at the individual level, here too, if Christianity is an illusion -- just like a placebo, the meaning could profoundly affect the individual. It is this purpose that separates us from the machine, plants, and animals. A lot wrong here -- and although his profound love for humanity is clear, he has no faith that humanity is ultimately good and will find their own way to the Truth.  Instead, if they are left to their own devices they will only deteriorate and then commit suicide.  He uses prime examples from the masters of Secular Humanism who happen to be some of the most arrogant individuals in society -- that were in fact -- truly lost because of their pride and higher intellect.  He paints a very depressing and bad view of society without the Love of Christ in an individual’s heart.  Christians know that God works in everyone even if they are not "conscious" of his presence, and humanity, on the whole, has more love than hate.  So Schaeffer is really dark on this subject. 

And finally in this third proof, I think a great deal of work as been done in the area of morality and where it comes from since Schaeffer wrote this book.  Again, Christians already believe the work of God always prevails here – because they can pin it on Him because they know His finger prints.  The rest of humanity will still search for another cause and never see that He was in the house.  No proof here for those who do not believe already.

So basically -- once you come to believe -- the proofs Schaeffer uses are self-evident which brings up his most powerful contribution to both theology and conversion.  This is his requirement for apologetics to both prove God's existence and communicate His existence at the same time.  Otherwise they are just philosophers. It puts the burden on the actions and deeds of the individual and not just the words. And for the witness, once you bring someone over to Christ, what more proof do you need.  It's a self reinforcing algorithm.  And for the subject, once you believe, again, the proof becomes self evident.  So it's a great approach for gaining disciples -- which is what Christians are called to do, and why this book is from them.   

So Schaeffer was clearly one of the best apologetics and put the formula for coming to know the Truth in writing.  Ultimately -- the proof is in the pudding.  It's therefore a very powerful proof – it does not mean, however, that the Kierkegaard  “Leap of Faith” is wrong because the Truth can still not be proven quantitatively -- and therefore, no matter how deep we dig, taking the plunge is what's important -- that also gets the non-believer where they need to be…believing.

Artemis - Weir

Just Go Watch Total Recall with Schwarzenegger Instead

What a disappointment.  Sorry Mr. Weir, perhaps after "The Martian", there is no way to live up to the task.  I am still a fan but I can't, in good conscience, recommend "Artemis" to your fan base.

First, F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells us to write what we know.  You are a computer scientist, not a welder or a twenty something female who thinks like a boy in middle school.   Jazz is not Lisbeth Salander, but perhaps she could have been?  The computer science you wrote into "The Martian" was extremely accurate.  The computer science you wrote into "Artemis" despite the futuristic setting, was all of late 1990's.  Far from science fiction. This makes sense because although I said the computer science in "The Martian" was accurate, it was dated given the necessity to find engineers from the previous decades to reprogram the Mars lander.  You never really gave major advances in computer science a spin and could have given your background.

You choose Artemis as the name of the Moon Base. How cliché, but then again, you write with clichés.  I didn't count them but it feels like there is one on every page.  You named the Moon base after a Greek Goddess, whose space program was developed in an African country, with a Muslim heroin, and a South American mafia as the antagonist.  Are you trying for a diversity award? Diverse yes, but culturally speaking, you've stereotyped everything and everybody.  It's a bit the opposite of being in the running for a diversity award.  A Ukrainian computer wizard?  Ugh. Well at least he, spoiler alert, gets the girl.

As far as plot development goes, it's not clear if Jazz isn't the antagonist.  The ethics of her decision to engage in an act of sabotage for money, is no deeper than the dollar amount, followed by her saying, "I'm in".  Repaying her estranged father for burning down his lab was a weak attempt at a justification.  Maybe Jazz has some depth, seemingly because she's always referring to a second meaning behind everything she says.  There could be merit in this approach to her character, except for everything she says or thinks, and every double entendre she manifests, she gives it a sexual reference. Ugh.  Note comment on a boy in middle school above.  

I like that you tried to research and build a firm basis for the Moon's economy.  It's a foundation, although, completely wrong, lends credibility.  We can assume there will be some sort of currency, with some sort of exchange, but it's safe to say, those living on the moon, even at this seemingly advanced, and mature stage, with only 2,000 residents, will still be hugely subsidized by government or industry investment.  Think about this for a second.  Every trade on the Moon has a guild.  There are a lot of trades on the Moon.  How many trades would you need to establish a functioning colony.  There are a bunch of welders and tour guides…but only one law enforcement officer. Ugh.   When there are 20,000 residents on the moon, there might be the beginnings of a stand-alone economy.  But more likely it takes many more.  Even then, the Moon wouldn't be able to sustain itself because there simply are no raw resources on the Moon…or Mars for that matter.  You cannot compare Moon or Mars exploration with the colonization of continents on Earth.  When settlers came to the "New World', everything they needed was already in place.  The resources to live were in place, food, water, shelter.  All that was necessary was a strong back and a set of hands.  You carved out a living on the land and traded what you had in excess.  Moon dwellers will be completely dependent on Earth forever.   Once we colonize Mars, terraform the atmosphere, and turn it into its own ecosphere, perhaps.  But we are talking centuries from now.

This book does not push the genre for this fiction in any direction.  The closest perhaps to what you were trying to achieve would be "Total Recall", either the original short story idea by Phillip K. Dick, or the novel by Piers Anthony, or even just watching the movie, the Schwarzenegger version as I had trouble with Collin Farrell.

All of this criticism aside, you do write well.  Perhaps it comes from your experience as a blogger.  The story moves quickly and you want to turn the pages, but for me, I had to suspend complete belief.  Those with a technical background, who loved "The Martian" cannot love this book for the same reasons despite the ease of your writing.  Others will…so perhaps you've carved out a followership that will allow you to continue to write.  Good for you.  It's doubtful I will read another book, and be content simply to go back and reread "The Martian".  Five stars for the promise, subtract one for implausible plot, and one for character development, and one more for juvenile use of double entendre…basically every ugh.  Add one star back for smooth and easy writing.  Three stars for Artemis…sadly it is not "The Martian".  

Better - Gawande

 

On the cover of “Better” by Atul Gawande, the thoughtful Malcolm Gladwell exclaims, “Better is a masterpiece…”.  To be sure “Better” gets high marks for exploring territory that the medical profession might sooner forget, even Gawande admits to his discomfort level but to suggest that the bell curve tells us “…something unforgettable about the world outside” is to know very little about the world outside.  However, I don’t want this to be about Gladwell.  Gawande is a good writer.  He captures the medical world, a world alien to most of us, through the eyes of a surgeon in a way that makes those who heal, those we trust and respect more than any others in society, almost human.  They are just like us.  As the father of a daughter who was brought into this world with a mere 23.3 weeks gestation and a zero Apgar score, who just turned 10 years old this month, I considered these healers and decided they were superhuman.  They were sheltered from a world of stress, financial worry, problems with relationships, and the like.  I knew I was kidding myself but I chose to believe.  I knew the doctors and nurses caring for my daughter in the NICU for 87 days were on top of their game.  Gawande pierces the veil and I applaud the effort to capture his thoughts.  To take the time from his busy schedule to think and to consider the meaning in what he does, to improve, to get better.  He has a simplistic five-step method; Ask an unscripted question, don’t complain, count something, write something, and change.  Simple enough, and the beauty of his formula is that it will work, and it can be applied to all aspects of life – so do as Gawande asked, heath professional or not, improve what you are and what you do.  However the real message, the journey Gawande takes us on to reach his formula, is the better part of “Better”.  And since we all get sick and need the medical profession, we should all stand in the shoes of a medical professional.  Gawande let’s us stand in those shoes, if just for a brief moment, to glimpse a world where life and death decisions hang in the balance. Followed shortly by a life and death decision in the next examination room.  Most of us will never know this kind of life.  So here is my formula, first go wash your hands.  Second go read this book.  It will not change your life, but it will change your perspective on your next visit to the doctor’s office and how you perceive the hidden world of medicine.  

The GIrl Who Played with Fire - Larsson

The World is Burning and Salander Didn’t Strike a Match

I am officially two-thirds through the Stieg Larsson trilogy and can still say I am officially still on board Lizbeth Salander/Mickel Blomkvist fan club train.  I just finished, “The Girl Who Played with Fire” and can tell you the intrigue, twists, and shocking narrative that were the hallmark of “Dragon Tatoo” keep coming.  And this is not a sequel in the sense that a new story is being told.  It’s the same story.  Larsson had a story to tell, it is just so much longer than a standard novel that it will take him three or more full length treatments to reach the end.  The tragedy of course it that Larson is no longer with us so it is impossible to know what was ultimately locked away within his characters.  And since I’ve seen all three movies I know that the saga is not brought to a neat close.

So what we have is not three separate novels but one story.  And therefore the first novel, the “Girl with the Dragon Tatoo” is only a marketing ploy.  Lizbeth Salander is not the main focus of the first novel. Mickel Blomkvist is the principle actor in that one no matter however intrigued we might be by the mysterious and heroic introduction of Salander.  But we do wish to know her better.  Who is she? Where did she come from? Why is she the way that she is?  “The Girl Who Played with Fire” answers all of these questions and more.   And as we learn about Salander, and meet her horrific and twisted past, we solve another mystery…or she solves it…without striking a match.  This book is another whodunit, but this time with a real murder, a series of murders in fact, rather than a search for a missing person with a cold case file.  We also meet her true family, and those she considers friends, and discover who wants her dead, or at least locked away, and who is trying to protect her. 

 In Salander’s world, everything that that we consider normal is completely backward and the world is set ablaze before us.  Those that should love and protect us are trying to bury us in a hole.  Those we are close to get hurt.  And those we are unable to trust completely we must trust on faith alone.  We may never know Larsson’s motives for writing these books, perhaps he is preaching; perhaps he wanted to send a higher message.   At this point it’s hard for me to tell.  But what I can say is that these are great books with great entertainment value.   Once again however I will not go as high as five stars for this book.  A very strong four and a hope that the final chapter will bring this trilogy home with five stars.

 

 

Merle's Door - Kerasote

 A few things are not clear when you begin to read “Merle’s Door – Lessons from a Freethinking Dog”, by Ted Kerasote.  First of all it is not clear how to pronounce his (the dog’s) name correctly.  And second it is not clear until the end that you are reading the biography of a dog.  It’s a very clever method that just creeps up on you.  I doubt I would have read a book labeled, “a dog’s biography” so they drew me in with, “Lessons from a Free Thinking Dog”.   

There have been other attempts to do similar things – “Marley and Me” jumps out, but Kerasote, Merle’s chosen biographer,  has succeeded magnificently with this book.  Partly because Kerasote is no ordinary writer, he writes prolifically about the outdoors, and partly because Merle’s was no ordinary life, this dog’s story is captured as effortlessly as the freethinking life that he led.  

Kerasote was chosen by Merle as his biographer just as sure a Merle chose Kerasote to be his human on the banks of the San Juan River where they chanced upon one another and stayed together for the next 14 years.  With keen insight into Merle’s amazing behavior, sometimes canine and sometimes of an intellect and sophistication beyond that which we call human, Kerasote captures forever the life of this special animal.  In so doing the “Door” that Merle was free to enter and exit on his own free will, becomes representative of something far greater, it’s the window into the soul of intelligent life.

Sometimes repetitive and sometimes a bit “fictitious” as Kerasote attempts to translate Merle’s language into ours, the story and the life of this dog are real.  I’ve had several dogs in my life but after experiencing Merle’s life through his door, I feel like Merle was my dog as well.

Are Your Lights On? - Gause

 

Are Your Light’s On?  How to Figure Out What the Problem Really Is.  By Donald C. Gause and Gerald M. Weinberg has been a favorite of mine since I first ripped through a copy I found on my father’s book shelf in early 80’s.  I subsequently reattached it late one evening in the early 90’s.  Over the past 20 years I have returned to it over and over again and have provided many copies along with its powerful yet exceedingly simple message to the members of many analytic teams I have I have had to privileged to assemble and lead.  The message Are your light’s on?  Are you awake?  Are you able to use your brain before you engage your gears? Or as Tom Watson the founder of IBM has beckoned us to do, THINK!   

There are six chapters in this book.  Each chapter takes about between 15 and 20 minutes to read.  An average reader should be finished in less than two hours.  For the cost of a movie, perhaps $8 bucks, and a similar time commitment I suggest that the lessons within this book are more powerful per dollar than anything I have ever read.  For me the revelations of this book are almost spiritual in nature.   I’ve had mixed reactions from team members to whom I have shared its message.  Some think it’s cute-- it is.  Some believe it’s a book about problem solving-- it’s not.  Some are insulted by the implication--they should be, and alas some have never found the time to read it--that’s a crying shame.  Those who have seen the light share in a new found wealth.  Those who have not will remain in the dark.  ARE your lights on?  Are your LIGHTS on?  Are your lights ON?  Are YOUR lights on? 

Checklist Manifesto - Gawande

 

Use a checklist.  This is the major takeaway from Atul Gawande’s latest, “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right”.  Although it’s a short book, just less than 200 pages, but for me it was a difficult book to get through.  I don’t know if that is because I’ve spent my entire career in and around checklists and believe in their value already (I don’t have to be convinced) or because Gawande is reaching too far with his message.  Doing a complex job correctly demands following a checklist.  He suggests that better team cooperation, communication, and discipline are the components of getting things right that emerge from the use of a checklist.  No kidding ?  He uses as his fundamental example the growth and now ubiquitous use of checklists in aviation.  And for sure checklists designed to operate something as complex as a large multi-engine aircraft demand such instructions…they also require team skills, communication, disciple, and a lot of experience…which he points out.  He applies his analogy to surgery and how a checklist used during a surgical procedures could help eliminate the most common mistakes made in the operating room…introducing infection, unexpected blood loss, operating on the wrong side of the body, etc.

This, of course is rather frightening because I’ve always viewed the modern operating room as a place where they have already reduced the procedure to its simplicities thereby allowing the surgeon to concentrate on the task at hand.  Perhaps I’ve been watching too much television where the doctors and nurses are so familiar with their scripts they work as a team.  The truth according to Gawande is a bit different.    It is normal in a large modern hospital for a surgeon to show up for an operation with a team he has never worked with before…this is particularly troublesome when we now realize they don’t have a script or the most rudimentary of  checklists to follow.  How could that be?  No wonder mal-practice insurance is so high!  It’s incredibly ironic that we pay more for a medical procedure so the highly skilled doctor can afford mal-practice insurance so when he is in the operating room he can wing it with a team of stand-ins.  For the love of God…..other expletives deleted.

Don’t we all use checklists several times a day?  Checklists are everywhere.  ”Read this First” stickers, warning labels, recipes, instructions, trouble-shooting guides, home improvement tips, and even Google maps.  And we have all not used checklists.  We bake bad cookies, we break things, and we get lost.  Those of us with complex jobs undoubtedly have checklists, standard operating procedures and directions at work which we don’t tend to ignore like the ones we do at home.  I am dumbfounded by the lack of checklists as reported by Gawande in the medical industry.  Dumbfound isn’t the correct word… appall is closer to my true feelings.

Because of this disconnect I’ve got a considerable amount of criticism for this book and I’ve been struggling between giving it one star because there is not a single original thought when it comes to large scale, complex program management and the utility of checklists…but then Gawande isn’t a program manager and is therefore way out of his element.  And this book is not like his other books where he is an undisputed master of the domain within which he writes.  On the other hand, five stars definitely seem appropriate since he points out this magnificent oversight of the medical community.  And if the medical community is his audience then he has done a decent enough introduction to the subject.

I’m going to settle on four stars simply based on the potential value this book could have within the medical community.  I will highly recommend it to medical professionals.  But anyone else, particularly those with a lick of common sense can avoid reading this book and just read the warning labels first.

Shoot an Iraqi - Bilal

 In November, 2010 I read about the artistic exploits of Wafaa Bilal and was intrigued.  So intrigued I blogged about his latest project and posted it in several online forums.  I also ordered his book, “Shoot an Iraqi; Art, Life, and Resistance Under the Gun” co-written with Kari Lydersen.  I read it in one sitting.  Astonishing in content and brilliantly written, Bilal and Lydersen have taken, by my first estimate, an ill-conceived, albeit somewhat artistic, publicity stunt and turned it into a MUST READ commentary on the cost of war…now my second and more accurate estimate.  

In a nutshell Wafaa writes about his confinement to an exhibit room at the Flat File Gallery in Chicago.  He called the exhibit “Domestic Tension” and lived within its confines for one month.  That’s the domestic part.  The tension comes from the added twist.   If you visited him, either on-line or in person, he gave you the option to fire a yellow paint ball at him at 300 feet per second, all day, every day.  Approximately 65,000 balls of yellow paint were fired during his ordeal.  He was forced to live under the fear of being whacked at anytime.  There was a field of fire available to the paint ball gun which he could escape be remaining close to the ground…inducing the stress of literally living “Under the Gun”.  When online visitors stopped in they could chat with him directly, setting up a tension between those who could reach out to the humanity of the situation observing and bearing witness to the ongoing persecution, and those who wanted to have sadistic fun at the expense of another human being. (NOTE: Although sadistic fun unfortunately occurs in warfare it is rarely its primary driver and becomes yet another ugly cost of war).  

As he writes about his ordeal during his month in captivity he wraps in the story of his early life growing up in Iraq under the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.  He describes what life like for the Iraqi people, their hopes and dreams for education and prosperity, their day to day family life, with both their good humor and sanity evaporating during what has now amounted to almost three decades of constant war.   Wafaa escaped as a refugee to the United States but carries the scars of many haunting years of fear and persecution in its countless forms.  That is what he was trying to recreate in a cathartic response to the guilt he has felt by leaving Iraq and thus surviving to tell his tale.

“Shoot an Iraqi” is not a war protest, though many who read it might consider it so… I might also add that some associated with his project seem to convey a clear anti-war vibe…yet Wafaa resisted the invite to preach rather he simply wants us to think about the cost of war in human terms rather than ethical or moral implications.  This book is also not an indictment on the use of remotely piloted vehicles to execute war, which have gained so much favor and criticism during the wars in the Middle East…yet remain highly misunderstood.  Again, Wafaa resists the temptation to draw too many parallels between what he was doing and this new brand of warfare.  Early on he exhibits a desire to make the parallel, primarily when he attributes a tragic event which cost the life of many innocent civilians to reconnaissance conducted by an unmanned aircraft.  Only in the sense that violence is being executed at a distance can the two be compared.  No other parallels to this brand of warfare exist.   But this is not a debate to have in this book review.  The other parallels to the stress of those caught in the war zone and living minute by minute “Under the Gun” and threat of death are quite real.

Wafaa has a unique vision in his art form that continue to elicit strong criticism, censorship, and even persecution, whether intentionally by his own hand or by the hand the ignorant.  He grows and we grow as a result of what he has experienced and has now shared.  This book goes a long way to reducing the hand of the ignorant.

Norwegian Wood - Murakami

I will not be able to do this book justice in a short review on Amazon.  I will study this book for the rest of my life and place it among the greatest novels I have read.   Norwegian Wood is simply magnificent.  Strip away the awkward young love and the experimental erotica and what’s left is a deep examination of the human heart.   Haruki Murakami, although not an educated psychologist, is an extremely talented novelist.  We are all amateur observers of the human condition and have experienced the love and pain created in our own relationships, Murakami merely writes it down for us to examine more closely.  Not all of us have experienced the darker side of emotional behavior when loss, leads to depression, which can lead to suicidal gestures, and which might ultimately lead to a terminal act.  Here is a spoiler.  There are four suicides in this book--one by carbon monoxide asphyxiation, one through wrist laceration, and two by hanging.  There are other deaths described as well.  But this is not a morbid book.  On the contrary Murakami goes to great measure to capture the beauty of life both in natural and physical state and in its more mystical shape of brotherly love and of course erotic love.  He captures the beauty of human friendship and what happens when selfishness overrules better judgment, but ultimately that selflessness can prevail, in some cases it can save.  Murakami ‘s philosophy, that death is the inevitable outcome of life, permeates this book, but also that lives and experiences, even those that have been lost can continue to live.  “Norwegian Wood”, the Beatle’s song not the novel, evokes the memories of lives and loves worth remembering for the characters in this novel.  We all have similar songs that remind us of those other experiences we have long since forgotten.  Murakami is simply reminding us that not only is it OK to remember, it is a fundamental requirement of the well lived and considered life.

The Swerve - Greenbaltt

Stephen Greenblatt, with the publication of his latest history lesson, "The Swerve, How the World Became Modern", has awakened one dormant desire in me...to learn Latin. I grow tired of not being able to read the original Latin text and am forced to depend on the interpretations of others.

Greenblatt has written a necessary and rich interpretation of how humanist book hunters, not our first bibliophiles, existed during the dark ages and struggled to uncover that which lay dormant after the collapse of the Roman empire. He would assert it was the discovery of these ancient texts that led to the world becoming modern...although he doesn't directly assert it...only in the sub-title and perhaps jacket text are the specifics of the assertion which mention a presumed influence on Galileo, Darwin, Freud, Einstein, and of course Thomas Jefferson. He only devotes a few pages in the last chapter to discuss the role of Lucretius in the thinking of these paradigm shifting individuals. The final proof is left unfortunately to the student.

Greenblatt takes us on a tore of Italy during the 15th Century through the life of Poggio Bracciolini. A well educated, seemingly middle class (if there were such a thing) scribe who rose through the ranks, with the help of a few mentors, to become a career bureaucrat on the Pope's staff in Rome. During his career he was a learned humanist who cared deeply about ancient works and dedicated most of his life to their preservation. Among other things his most celebrated discovery was that of the lost work of Lucretius, "On the Nature of Things" which he discovered while searching monasteries in Central Europe. As he unveils some of the philosophy contained with this lost work he tries hard to depict the politics and the dangerous balance for a humanist standing on the toes of the Inquisition while trying to enlighten.

Among other very astute observations pertaining to the "Nature of Things" Lucretius made the observation that all matter is composed of very small indivisible particles called atoms. Atoms cannot be destroyed and are the building blocks of all matter. "The Swerve" as it is called, is the continuous acting and reacting of these atoms to cause the destruction and creation of everything we perceive and interact with inside the tangible universe. Quite a weighty thought today let alone 2000 years ago. And the reason these weighty thoughts didn't drive a Renaissance of sorts at the time was because the growth of Christianity and specifically the Catholic Church systematically buried these notions.

His attack on the Catholic Church is well trodden territory and easy pickings. Yet he fails to properly credit the same Church, in fact he goes to great measure to distance his hero, Poggio Bracciolini from the Church, for providing him with the necessary means by which he could attend to his life long passion. Whereas Greenblatt is not short on judgment when it comes to reporting on the moral failings of presumably pious members of the Church, he does not equally judge the moral failings of those enlightened individuals whom are merely employed by the Church.

The astounding discovery here, is not so much that the writings of Lucretius (once rediscovered) had a direct influence on a world struggling to recover from the dark ages but rather it was the Roman empire itself that was becoming more enlightened and perhaps more so than anyone had previously imagined. If Lucretius was but one of many dozens of poets/scholars who filled the Roman Empire with the enlightened thoughts of atomic particles and the greater pursuit of happiness, whose thoughts and writings were never recovered, how did this early enlightenment fail to survive the growth of the Christian Church? Meaning, was it the deliberate work of the Church or the failings of this particular philosophy to catch-on. In order for an idea to catch-on there has to be something to it, something more. Christianity might just have been what society was searching for at the time. Just as the time was right for an enlightenment albeit 1,500 years later.

Although Greenblatt writes well I can't help feeling I was in an undergraduate history class and must remember the lecture as given, thus interpreted, rather than as a graduate student wherein I might discover and debate the meaning as would, it appears ironically, all the enlightened readers who gathered along the seashore, at the base of Mt Vesuvius, to debate modern philosophy 2000 years ago, were doing when they were frozen in time.

Sure enough Greenblatt takes us back to that time yet what he tells us does little more to aid our understanding since his own thoughts are still frozen with Lucretius and have not advanced beyond the atoms and the void.

Disturbing the Universe - Dyson

 

If you've ever wondered how the British firebombing of Germany in World War II, searching for extra terrestrial life, nuclear terrorism, and the existence of dark matter are related this book is for you.  "Disturbing the Universe" written in the early 1970's by the mathematician/physicist Freeman Dyson--the best scientist on tour never to have won the major--is an amazing philosophical journey through the author's life as a scientist and the deep questions of conscious through which he struggled to simply show up for work the next morning. 

Dyson is quite a character - a kind of scientific Forrest Gump...he seems to have been in on some of the most profound technology developments this side of sliced bread...but then standing just slightly left of the stage smiling.  He writes extremely well and is just enough a radical to be interesting, has just enough knowledge to be credible, and just enough humility to be tolerable above the obvious arrogance required to write such a profound book.  To me he has struck the perfect balance.

As I read this book for a second time, the first time was in 1988, I searched for information that would render some of what he had to say obsolete, OBS, as it were, overcome by science.  The fact is this book has survived the test of time.  What he says is as relevant today as it was 35 years ago.  His description of the potential for nuclear terrorism is the most powerful.  His appeal that science must be permitted the resources and flexibility to explore and discover and not be shut down prior to making important discoveries is perhaps the only thing that Kuhn missed, but the practical thing that can drive a scientific revolution (my words not his).  Then, only after the important discoveries are made, should the usefulness of the science be ethically weighed within our societies conscious.  Finally, his three reasons humanity must venture to the heavens should be required reading by anyone who consider themselves an earthling and highly relevant as we currently debate the chapter of space exploration.

Toward the end for the book Dyson throws in an argument for design.  It is important to note that the design he is referencing is not that of intelligent design as forward by Michael Bebe and his ilk.  His confronts the uncertainty of quantum physics vs the certainty of biological evolution.  His is specifically a brief introduction into the anthropic arguments, which, since they are scientific fact, have no place in the fabricated science of intelligent design.   Dyson finishes the book with what we knew must exist in 1975 and now still can't find but know by the name dark matter, and then closes with a shameless head nod to Stanley Kubrick's, "2001; A Space Odyssey", with whom he was on the set with and interviewed by Kubrick during its filming (see Forrest Gump above).

Recently Dyson has quoted and heralded by those who believe the science of global warming to be fraudulent, as if Dyson were on their side and he is their champion.  Since this is a mere book review I will not enter into that discussion.  I will say though, from what I've read about Dyson and from a glimpse at the way his brain functions, as revealed through this book,  his life, his quotes, and his deeds are being heavily misconstrued.

Confronting Space Debris - Welser

 

Space…Pollution’s Final Frontier

 Have you ever wondered why it’s difficult to get a handle on industrial pollution?  For air pollution think smog and acid rain.  For hazardous waste think Love Canal and our 1,500 nationwide superfund sites.  For oil spills think Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon.   Dave Baiocchi and William Welser IV, of the RAND Corporation, have taken an objective look at pollution, in its many forms, to compare its origins, its awareness in the public eye, and multiple strategies to mitigate it’s effect and remediate it’s presence with the growing problem of orbital space debris.

 In their study which they published as “Confronting Space Debris, Strategies and Warnings from Comparable Examples Including Deepwater Horizon”, Baiocchi and Welser give us a history lesson on how major episodes in industrial pollution became public problems and have constructed for us a framework to understand when they entered the public debate and what was necessary in order for corrective measures to be enacted.  Now in fairness to the author’s objective monologue Baiocchi and Welser stop short of calling space debris, pollution.  I am guilty of using the more polarizing term.  Yet although Baiocchi and Welser stop short of using this term, of the nine comparative problems they examined, seven—acid rain, asbestos, chlorofluorocarbons, hazardous waste, oil spills, radon, and spam— are pollution and six are from manmade sources.  I think they are striving for complete objectivity in their monologue but there is no escape from the reality.  Space debris is man-made industrial pollution.  It has yet to emerge into the public debate as such because no children have grown up playing in the harmful chemicals and no cancer clusters have broken out.   Yet there is a problem.  Perhaps we are still decades away from needing a space vacuum, but that time will almost certainly arrive, and unless those who pollute space learn from these past examples, the damage the space debris will cause and the cost of its physical remediation will no doubt be high.

The assessment framework they introduce creates a timeline within which they examine when the problems first begin, when they become such a problem that it was recognized that something must be done, when corrective and mitigating actions were taken to reduce the problems, and finally when extreme measures were necessary to eliminate the problems with remediation techniques.  In addition they show who must be involved from the single affected individual through the multinational group with a diverse set of interests.  Finally, they show that until those responsible or blameworthy, become those affected, a change in behavior will never occur.

This book was written in part to influence the current debate over what to do about space debris.  However the framework to compare similar problems that emerge in the public domain is a powerful tool to use in many other discussions and makes it a must read for those involved in public policy debates, particularly those that involve damage to the environment.  This is a clear and well written assessment which is accessible to all.  Four stars over all.  Five stars for the way they have opened up this discussion and given it a framework.  I’ve deducted one star because they have not presented more detail on space debris in general, when I am sure they command a more comprehensive knowledge of the subject. 

Not Even Wrong - Woit

 

Science that is not scientific

As with most things related to quantum physics even the title of the book, “Not Even Wrong” by Peter Woit, is hard to understand.  When dealing with things that don’t behave intuitively, as is the case with quantum physics, and on the brink of human understanding, clarity is critical. Nevertheless, physicists always seem to revel in their own intellect and have little regard for those of us who don’t share their higher order IQs.  Woit seems different notwithstanding his choice of titles for this book.   The purpose of this book was to write down in one place the case against string theory and the monolithic institution of researchers and worshipers of the theory that grew up in the shadow, or on the coat tails, of Ed Witten.  Woit does this by giving us a short history of theoretical and experimental particle physics that begat quantum theory, the standard model, and with Ed Witten’s help, string theory.  This is all very clear and tracks very well, and of course necessary to understand the criticisms he later levies against string theory in general and the M-Theory that was to follow, more specifically.

First a word on understandability:  When I took second year physics in college -- electromagnetic theory --  and experienced imaginary numbers, flux, phases, and triple integrals for the first time I had to wonder if any of it was truly understood, or what was understood was how to manipulate the observed phenomenon for useful purposes.  Of course my professor spoke with a deep Czechoslovakian accent which made the lectures even harder to understand.  Day in and day out he would stand in front of the room with his back to the class and lecture to the chalk-board filling any available space with a flurry of equations.  One day he was absent and his wife took over the lecture for him.   In some strange confluence of synchronicity, his wife stood in front of the classroom, with her back to us, and in a deep Czechoslovakian accent lectured to the chalk-board filling every available space with a flurry of equations.  The class felt as if we had just experienced a breach in time-space and with perfect symmetry as the professors’ anti-matter component slipped into our room for the day.  This is difficult stuff.  It takes a great deal of study to understand the very simple let alone the highly complex.  In some cases, as Woit points out, even the experts get fooled due to lack of understanding or interest in taking the necessary time, and pain, to gain more than a general sense of the topic.  Decades later I understand all too well, that I will never truly understand what is being discussed in Woit’s book or any number of texts on the subject that I might open.   Nevertheless, I gave it a try and have come away with a few insights I feel are worth noting in my review.

First, Woit really only has a single point to make, albeit an extremely powerful point.  The fact is that after two full decades of research into string theory, not a single prediction coming out of the theory can be confirmed experimentally.   To me, a book isn’t necessary to convey this message.  His deeper message, and his second important point, is that a book was indeed necessary because after years of screaming into the abyss with no one is hearing his message too many resources have been and continue to be wasted in pursuit of a theory that ceases to be scientific.   Theory, no matter how beautiful it might be to the eye of the beholder is no more than mental masturbation without experimental results confirming something, anything, not, as has been the case with string theory, nothing, zip, zero, zilch, nada, butt-kiss.   So whereas I may not understand exactly how a 1-dimensional closed loop of energy vibrates across 10 or 11 dimensions of space and time, six or more of those dimensions are so small we can’t see them thus we don’t need to worry about them, I do understand that I shouldn’t believe you even though I can’t do the math myself.  Science ceases to be scientific when the hypothesis cannot be proven.  For this insight Woit is highly effective and should be thanked for trying to make this simple message clear.  Has his message been heard?  I heard him, I can only hope the next generation of quantum physicist hear him before investing a life-time in pursuit of a science that is not scientific.

The Art of Racing in the Rain - Stein

A Champion Will Emerge

What do you get when you mix Formula 1 racing, with philosophy for living, man's best friend, tragedy, conflict, and a happy ending?  The great American novel.  At least for a man.  I'm not sure what a women would think of this book, but I give it 5-Stars.  Garth Stein's novel, "The Art of Racing in the Rain", is a fabulous encounter with Enzo, or man's best friend in this story, and, as it turns out, it's narrator.  Enzo tells the story of his master's life, or as he calls him, the alpha-human, and is revealed completely through his eyes during his life with him.  Enzo turns out to be an observer of things and quite a philosopher as well.  That is what makes him, as a dog, a truly compelling character.  Enzo's philosophy is within reach of a dog, perhaps, while still sophisticated enough to appeal to a human's higher intellect.  For instance, Enzo is certain that dog's enjoy a higher intellect than other primates such as chimpanzees.  The only restrictions to their social advance is their inability to speak and their lack of an opposable thumb.  He further believes there is a active conspiracy a foot that prevents the evolution of a dog with an opposable thumb through the evidence of the dew claw and the very human (or in humane) practice of removing the dew claw from their pets.  Further, he believes that the dog is fundamentally closer evolutionarily speaking to a human based on the evidence of the existence of the man-dog or werewolf as it were.  This is brilliant deductive reasoning and establishes Enzo as one of the great thinkers in the whole of literary fiction.  He is also the know-er and witness to great human tragedy and faces these heretofore very human understandings with empathy.  "The Art of Racing in the Rain" much like the great manual for living "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", is not about racing or motorcycle maintenance for that matter.  It is about living life and in this case living a life into which not a little, but a lot of rain must fall, and racing in that rain.  At the finish-line a champion will emerge.

The Hidden Life of Dogs - Marshall Thomas

 Dog Rape

Are you kidding me?  "The Hidden Life of Dogs" by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has been collecting dust on my shelf for perhaps ten years.  I should have left it to continue collecting dust.  All the time it's been there, I would see it occasionally and think, "One day I will read that book".  I would think warm thoughts about how, contained within it pages, was information pertaining to our shared love of dogs and the belief that they are more than just man's best friend.  Knowledge that they share with us a few bits of what make us human.  Those bits include the ability to think, the knowledge between right and wrong, self-awareness, and the ability to consider events yet to come.  I did not know I would be treated to a pornographic description of two dogs, not just mating, but having sexual intercourse followed shortly thereafter by the appalling description of a dog being raped by another dog.  Well, this is a book review, and not a commentary to pass judgment on the author's belief, however, Marshall Thomas has professed to having observed her subjects before writing this book for over 100,000 hours.  That gives her ten times the necessary experience to master any subject -- her mastery of the subject of dogs fails to show up within the brief pages of her book.  What shows up is a pattern of illogical conclusions and advanced states of hypocrisy where she clearly condemns certain owners for how they care for their dogs, but undeniably shows an utter lack of concern for her own.  And that goes beyond letting a dog free wheel about town -- many dogs do that -- it's about failing to recognize that the pack begins with her.  She is the Alpha, her dogs return to wildness was out of necessity because they lacked an adequate leader.  Domesticated dogs had the good sense to come sit next to the fire some 20,000 years ago.  The fact that they still choose to do so is evidence enough that they possess an advanced awareness of their surroundings.  The "Hidden Life of Dogs" is a self-delusional fantasy by someone who does not have that same level of awareness.  The only one a dog's life is hidden from unfortunately is her.  The artwork in this book keeps me from disposing of it.

The Origin of Wealth - Beinhocker

 

The Origin of Everything - The Best Book on Saving the Environment Ever Written

It's called the "Origin of Wealth", and subtitled "The Radical Remaking of Economics and What it Means for Business and Society".  But if Eric Beinhocker could have another shot at it, he might call his manifesto, "The Origin of Everything" and subtitled it, "Including the Kitchen Sink".  He has a case, as few others have had, at claiming this honor. His broad effort combines complexity theory and advanced adaptive systems with the latest thinking on biological and evolutionary science to give Beinhocker a business book for use not only by the titan's of industry but for anyone else who participates in our economy. Meaning you don't have to be studying computational economics or be enrolled in business school to read, understand, and learn from this book.  Very few people, Henry David Thoreau  and Ted Kosinski , come to mind, are not active in the evolutionary gene pool that is the global marketplace for the creation of wealth, and thus will not gain wealth from this book.  And wealth, according to Beinhocker is the creation of "Fit Order".  You will have to read the book to understand what he means by "Fit Order" but his type of wealth is not about dollars.  Don't read his book to become rich, read his book to keep from becoming poor.

Even if you do not buy-in to his theory, you will get a first-class treatment of economic systems, traditional economic theory, complexity, non-linear systems, game theory, advanced adaptive systems, networks, evolutionary theory with it's fundamental aspects of emergence and selection, along with the necessary aspects of business strategy development, finance, and ultimately politics. Toss in little thermodynamics and stir.  Does Beinhocker have it right?  Unlike biological evolution, it's impossible to prove scientifically that our economy evolves in a similar fashion, but he has made the necessary case.  What he has clearly proven is that traditional economic theory is dead, the economy is far more dynamic and unpredictable to believe in assumptions about rational markets and equilibrium states.  In order for markets to emerge, adapt, and evolve, in the biological sense, they have to be alive.  We see similar emergent behavior that certainly suggests that markets are alive because commercial entities are born, live, and die within it's boundaries.  Although he doesn't explicitly state it, if it's evolution that drives the markets, it has to be biologically based just as certainly as our DNA has created a life support system that has arms and legs and systems that bring air and food to our cells.  It has therefore created other systems to ensure there is an abundance of everything else we need to survive.  These systems are now detached from our physical bodies but are still driven by the same rules embedded in our DNA.  The same rules that are now screaming at society to protect the air that we breath and all of the natural resources we need for survival.  So the next time you are holding a glass to get a drink of water, you might ask, did that forces of nature that brought you an opposable thumb, also bring you indoor plumbing and hence the kitchen sink?  Beinhocker would say yes.  Add this book to your environmental reading list as well.

Unbroken - Hillenbrand

Is Laura Hillenbrand a biographer, a sports writer, a military  historian,  a survival writer, a political scientist, or a Christian revivalist?  Whatever she is her ability to recognize and capture the essence of a good story and convey its meaningful content with action, clarity, and balance are hallmarks of her craft. For these reasons Hillenbrand has taken her second book, “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” to the top of the best seller list. Her first book, “Seabiscuit: The True Story of Three Men and a Racehorse” also rose to #1 on the best seller list.  Should we be surprised that she did it again? She starts with a compelling story.  Just like Seabiscuit, many have never heard of Louis Zamperini and his harrowing saga as Olympic athlete turned, turner Army Air Forces officer, turned prisoner of war.  And in a similar fashion to Seabiscuit, those who study military history, in particular the War in the Pacific during WW II, are no stranger to his tale (as with those who know horse racing).  In addition, Louis Zamperini’s autobiography is already on the bookshelves and has been since 2003.  His work, “The Devil at My Heels” did not achieve the same lofty heights as Hillenbrand...but the story was told, and has been told, countless times in newspaper articles, interviews, and lectures given by Zamperini across the country since his return from the war in 1944.  However when Hillenbrand tells the story, her gift, and gift to us through her writing, is her ability to turn her subjects into household names.

As a biographer Hillenbrand gives us the mother/father town feel for a childhood growing up in a poor Italian family in the United States along with the good, the bad, and the prejudices they faced along the way...Mario Puzo would be proud.  She then transitions to sports writer and brings us, to quote from the old ABC Wide World of Sports “The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat...[and] the human drama of athletic competition” necessary to compete in the 1936 Olympics in Germany.  We are not just in the stands, we are with the athlete, in the arena, on the track and we feel each step and each breath of the racers.  This particular story suggests the four minute mile was under serious threat from Zamperini if only he could get to the 1942 Olympics...as a former distance runner, based on the facts as given, I believe he would have broken the barrier.  

Next she puts on the hat of a military historian and brings us the Air War in the Pacific at the start of World War II.  Joseph Heller brought us the fictional Yossarrian, a bombardier on  the B-25 Mitchell, and the air war over the Mediterranean.  Hillenbrand brings us Zamperini, the bombardier on the B-24 Liberator, with all the drama, bureaucracy and insanity that is a Catch-22...but with the actual people who flew, and in this case crashed, into the wide expanses of the Pacific Ocean without a trace...the statistics are staggering and sobering and it’s good to be reminded of them from time to time.  So now she begin the castaway saga and the epic tale of being lost at sea on a tiny raft...for 47 hunger and thirst filled days.  They fight sharks, they fight death, until finally they are delivered from certain death straight into the hands of the enemy.  Can it get any worse?  Drawing from interviews with surviving POWs and the documentation taken from the archives of Post WWII Japan Hillenbrand writes one of the most explicit exposes on the Japanese treatment of the POW they captured during this dark page of world history. As she explores the evil that lurks just beneath the surface of men, with an undisciplined power over other men, she weaves an understanding of the utter brutality of war and it’s consequences.  While not a philosopher she does approach some plausible explanations for what was witnessed by many accounts of POW at the hands of their Japanese captors.

Another understanding that she reveals from the first-hand accounts of POWs on the ground in Japan during the Allied advance in the Pacific is that without the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Japanese people would have fought to the death.  While not exactly Richard Rhodes, “The Making of the Atomic Bomb”, with regard to military history, Hillenbrand nevertheless makes a compelling case.

Now the happy spoiler...Zamperini, of course survives and returns to his family in the US.  He still faces the demons of war and suffers with post traumatic stress and alcoholism. After marriage and the tough realization that he will never return to his Olympic form, he reaches rock bottom.  The book ends rather quickly at this point.  Zamperini finds God through the early ministry of Billy Graham, the demons he has faced since captivity miraculously leave his body, and he lives happily ever after.  Which by all accounts...and the fact that Zamperini is still full of life and happiness at 95 (as of March 2012)...is certainly true.

This is an amazing story of an amazing man by an amazing author.  There are some who have been critical of the believability of the Zamperini sorry and of the author’s writing.  I share a certain scepticism of both but find overall that so  many facts in this story are absolutely sound any incidental information which may not rise to the exact standards of historical fact are of little consequence in this epic saga of a true American hero...Louis Zamperini.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest - Larsson

As I am writing this book review there are almost 1,700 other reviews currently posted on Amazon for this book.  Of those, almost 1,100 have given Stieg Larsson five Stars for the final book in  his Millennium Trilogy, “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”.  I too am tempted by the overwhelming appeal of this book by others to also rate it highly...but five stars means classic to me...not only a must read but something I would consider reading multiple times.  “The Great Gatsby”, “Catch-22”, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”...and just to show that I can be in genre, Thomas Harris’s, “The Silence of the Lambs”.  Don’t get me wrong, this trillogy, and in particular the character Larsson creates in Lisbeth Salander, is fantastic.  Whereas Clarice Starling may have a rival in Lisbeth Salander, no character in this book rises to the level of a household name such as Hannibal Lecter.  Even after 1,200 some odd pages Salander is the only draw, and, given the length to this  expose and the title of each book, we still are just getting to know her.  Which is why most fans, including me, would have liked for Larsson to have stayed with us a lot longer.

Hornet’s Nest is a great  book and a must read for all fan’s.  Simply put you must finish the series. Larsson end’s what he starts...in fact looking back it is clear he set out to write a single novel in three parts.  It all fits together.  “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” only worked, and I speculate here, because everyone knew that it’s was the first of the series and that there was more of Salander ready for us...already written, already printed.  Had it not been that way, had the series not continued, we would have been left with half a character and the hope there the author would write more.  It wasn’t until “The Girl Who Played With Fire”, that we learned, as we already suspected, that Salander wasn’t a fluke, she was definitely someone we could cheer for, and hope for, and care for, as did Blomkvist.  

Yet this third book is strained.  It is too long.  It is too repetitive. And ultimately the character who is so compelling to us, as some of the her mystery fades, also loses some of her charm.  Many of her secrets are revealed, she does have a conscious and she does require help from others...in this case the old and feeble mystery conspirators who conveniently off the more interesting protagonist, Zalachenko, before Salander can finish what she had started with an ax to his face by killing him with a pencil.  A scene we must imagine for ourselves because the conspiracy intervenes early in the book.   Basically I think Larsson simply ran out of intrigue for her and we are left with a boy meets girl, girl likes boy, girl hates boy, boy saves girl’s life, girl still hates boy, girl likes boy in the end story.  And then they live happily ever after, but only after girl tries to kill all her family members, but actually doesn’t holding her morality untarnished, yet they die nevertheless, as they certainly deserved to die.

I’m glad I read this trilogy...I’m glad I read  “Hornet’s Nest”...I’m glad to be done.  Four stars for a very good series.  I will not be re-reading any of these books, however, but I will continue to watch the movies...but only the Swedish versions...the Hollywood version adds nothing to the story...except maybe the James Bond title sequence accompanied by Led Zepplin’s “Immigrant Song”.