I admit to finding most Christian historical fiction cloying. Not this. It avoided almost all cheesiness. It helped me relive a moment of Jewish and CI admit to finding most Christian historical fiction cloying. Not this. It avoided almost all cheesiness. It helped me relive a moment of Jewish and Christian history combined. It presented memorable characters and something of a classic dilemma. I was deeply moved to see what Christ's love would do in the life of a young Jewish zealot. I want one day to hear the true story from those to whom it happened: surely there are some analogs to the main characters of this book among the earliest followers of Christ....more
He did his homework, and his writing style is totally fine; but the story didn't live up to the dramatic promise. The arc of it all was obvious once tHe did his homework, and his writing style is totally fine; but the story didn't live up to the dramatic promise. The arc of it all was obvious once the conflict was set up. And I'll confess I had trouble following all the many Italian and other European details. I simply didn't enjoy this book....more
Because I think this volume undercuts the central, brilliant idea I just had to know how the story ended.
Now I kinda wish I'd resisted the temptation.
Because I think this volume undercuts the central, brilliant idea of the main trilogy, namely the validity of the Seldon Plan. Also, it's somewhat boring, it's way too talkative and a little too episodic, and (I'm sorry) but it contains light descriptions of the sexual fantasies of middle-aged men.
But the Foundation series is still a brilliant achievement. It's a measure of its greatness that I didn't resist the temptation of reading the whole thing....more
There was a GREAT DEAL OF TALKING in this book. But I liked the series enough to want to know what happens. I didn't waste my time! The origin story oThere was a GREAT DEAL OF TALKING in this book. But I liked the series enough to want to know what happens. I didn't waste my time! The origin story of a previous major character was worth waiting the whole book for!...more
A fun setup to the main trilogy. It started to strain credulity that so few people in the story would doubt the validity of psychohistory despite its A fun setup to the main trilogy. It started to strain credulity that so few people in the story would doubt the validity of psychohistory despite its decades of failure to materialize....more
The character of Seldon changes a good deal, loses some of its mystique, when you read the backstory after reading the main trilogy. But the characterThe character of Seldon changes a good deal, loses some of its mystique, when you read the backstory after reading the main trilogy. But the character is also more human and more believable....more
I have learned so much from McWhorter, and not just about language, but about using the tools of persuPersuasive because of its skill and graciousness
I have learned so much from McWhorter, and not just about language, but about using the tools of persuasion. He could have buried all Whorfianism under an avalanche of wit and reason, and his fans would have followed him. But he carefully distinguishes the good ideas proposed by the movement from the faulty conclusions drawn popularly from its work. The title of the book is a bit clickbaity (publishers choose titles), and he opens his book by calling his work a manifesto, but he doesn’t have that grandiose tone. He’s patient and clear....more
Walter Isaacson is really good. I feel bad giving him three stars. But he set such a high bar in his Steve Jobs biography; I just didn’t feel that thiWalter Isaacson is really good. I feel bad giving him three stars. But he set such a high bar in his Steve Jobs biography; I just didn’t feel that this one measured up to that standard. I think this biography came too early for someone with Isaacson’s abilities; it’s his wise assessments that I enjoyed so much in the Jobs bio. But in media res in the life of a man only now entering middle age, it’s hard to get wise assessments. I felt like I got a long series of bizarre and instructive vignettes that were strung together via chronology. And there were a few moments that strayed toward the uncritical or even the hagiographic.
Musk is a weird one, and Isaacson probably did as well as anyone could do with the task assigned to him. I enjoyed the book. And I wasn’t expecting Robert Caro, whose brilliance consists perhaps most in the ability to dive so deep into the details that he comes out—surprise—with a massive and so-satisfying narrative arc. Who can do more in such a frenetic life as Musk’s than provide a breathless one d*** thing after another?
It’s so sad to watch Musk’s life; he sure doesn’t seem like a happy person. My heart really goes out to him. I’d rather the world go without Tesla and Space-X for a while (though I’m very impressed by both companies and what they’ve accomplished!) than that Elon had to go through a childhood like the one he faced. A remarkable man worthy of a biography by one of our great biographers. Just not quite yet....more
The few individual judgments I was in any position to doubt weren’t always spot-on, and I regularly had trouble feeling confident that a given figure The few individual judgments I was in any position to doubt weren’t always spot-on, and I regularly had trouble feeling confident that a given figure really fit in the Aristotelian or Platonic camp, respectively. But the overall effort was immensely enjoyable and written with a narrative verve that kept me coming back. I am, again, not truly fit to judge the overall point—that Plato and Aristotle have been struggling for the soul of the West for 2,000 years. But I now happily take this idea as a heuristic into my reading and thinking, such as it is. And I come away delighting in God’s gifts to mankind—specifically the ability to offer a masterful synthesis of very wide reading....more
Very well done. Unavoidably a tiny bit hagiographic. The time for greater distance will come. This is the right book for the moment. So glad he wrote Very well done. Unavoidably a tiny bit hagiographic. The time for greater distance will come. This is the right book for the moment. So glad he wrote it. ...more
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