Fairly engrossing most of the way through, but kinda lets you down in the last couple of chapters. The conclusion feels abrupt, and comes right as the story begins to really ramp up. Generally speaking, though, it is an interesting introduction to the subject, and a nicely written historical narrative.
Reviews and Comments
Arts grantmaker living in Austin, TX. Jazz, museums, pre-Kurtzman Star Trek, so forth and such as. Also in the fediverse at @5easypieces@social.coop.
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Koven Smith rated The design of everyday things: 3 stars
The design of everyday things by Donald A. Norman
The Design of Everyday Things is a best-selling book by cognitive scientist and usability engineer Donald Norman about how design …
Koven Smith reviewed Uncertainty by David Lindley
Uncertainty (2007, Doubleday)
The more precisely the position is determined, the less precisely the momentum is known in …
Review of 'Uncertainty' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Koven Smith reviewed The Road by Cormac McCarthy
A searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece.
A father and his son …
Review of 'The Road' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Excellent. Rarely have I been so completely drawn into a world with so few words.
Koven Smith rated Linked: 4 stars
Linked (2003, Plume)
Linked by Albert-Laszló Barabási, Albert-Laszló Barabási
A cocktail party. A terrorist cell. Ancient bacteria. An international conglomerate. All are networks, and all are a part of …
Koven Smith rated In Cold Blood: 5 stars
Koven Smith rated The death and life of great American cities: 4 stars
The death and life of great American cities by Jane Jacobs
The Death and Life of Great American Cities was described by The New York Times as “perhaps the most influential …
Koven Smith rated Envisioning information: 5 stars
Envisioning information by Edward R. Tufte
The celebrated design professor here tackles the question of how best to communicate real-life experience in a two-degree format, whether …
Koven Smith rated Free Culture: 5 stars
Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig
Lessig details the history of copyright law as it pertains to digital media, how it has affected creativity and expression …
Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance by Noam Chomsky
From the world's foremost intellectual activist, here is an irrefutable analysis of America's pursuit of total domination and the catastrophic …
Koven Smith rated The Catcher in the Rye: 4 stars
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Holden Caulfield, knowing he is to be expelled from school, decides to leave early. He spends three days in New …
Koven Smith rated The Bell Jar: 4 stars
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
A vulnerable young girl wins a dream assignment on a big-time New York fashion magazine and finds herself plunged into …
Koven Smith reviewed You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers
In his first novel, Dave Eggers has written a moving and hilarious tale of two …
Review of 'You Shall Know Our Velocity' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Meh. Has some nice turns periodically, but can't help but feel pretty slight at the end of the day.
The novel begins in 1939 with the arrival of 19-year-old Josef "Joe" Kavalier as a …
Review of 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This book rules hard.
Koven Smith rated The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: 5 stars
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (ねじまき鳥クロニクル, Nejimakidori Kuronikuru) is a novel published in 1994–1995 by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The American …