The Long Gray Line

*****
Rick Atkinson
Such and interesting book and story. This has to be one of the best peeks into the US Army ever, all the way from West Point '66 to Grenada. By following a number of key individuals all the way from '66 to '87 or so Atkinson was able to put together a story as wide and sweeping as the era, doing justice to the men, the times, and the Army as institution. The stories are so human and gripping, the characters truly diverse and human, that you come away very moved by what the Vietnam war did to that class of boys, to the army, and to the nation.

Alexis de Tocqueville: A Life

****
It's been about a month since I finished this, so it's a little hazy now. Hugh Brogan has done a good job of presenting a complete life, which I'm sure is very valuable for the academics who read the book. It was for me a little tedious at times, the major part of the text being of more interest to scholars of French history and politics than political philosophy and American history/culture. That being said, his coverage of Tocqueville and Beaumont's travels in America were very complete and well done. For the first time I felt I had a good sense of where they did and did not go and for how long. Other than that Brogan tries to take on Tocqueville to no real avail. But the life he presents seems honest and true and is very useful for understanding more about the man and how his experience and station may have influenced his thought.

The Best American Science and Nature Writing

***1/2
Jerome Groopman, M.D., Editor

This is a good read with an interesting selection of articles. Notable articles included topics like the role of dark matter in the universe's expansion (The Universe's Invisible Hand), the growing use of robots in warfare (The Coming Robot Army), new archaeological evidence of the early Christian church (First Churches of the Jesus Cult), the brain and music (Bolt from the Blue), and the role of retro-viruses in the human genome (Darwin's Surprise). The later was particularly interesting because these viruses embed themselves in the genome in ways that can lead to -- technically -- a new species. Hmmm, maybe we are all Cylons!

Fooled by Randomness

Nassim Nicholas Taleb
***1/2
291 pages

Coming from a Lebanese immigrant background, Taleb learned early on to distrust the "normal" and be on the look-out for the "black swan", the event that can come by out of the blue to blow you and yours out of the water. He also likes money and free time, so he ended up as an investment banker who learned to balance his bets to yield a good return while at the same time protecting him and his invetors from black swans, which are actually creatures of randomness. So this book helps explain how we are fooled by randomness. (Essentially, we are wired in such a way to take risks according to Taleb.) It was a good read in spite of the hectoring tone. I think he had a particular audience in mind who think they know -- when they don't really.

Snow Crash

Neal Stephenson
****
470 pages

This was a great read: combining great action description, clever cartoonish exageration, and biting satire. Add in a slightly dystopian depiction of a networked future that is sometime uncannily acurate, and you have a significant read as well. This -- like all good sci-fi -- said as much about the present as the future.

The Living Great Lakes

****
Jerry Dennis
It was a real treat to read this last summer while in Michigan. The combination of human and natural history this author brought to light was genuinely fascinating. Having read Tocqueville in America a few months before, I had a cross referencing experience when reading about the white pine forests of Michigan in this book. The two accounts matched nicely. Also, the use of a voyage to tie the facts together in a memorable whole worked quite well. He followed the lakes all the way past Niagra and down the Erie canal to the Hudson and beyond. That was interesting too.

The Body Has a Mind of Its Own

****
Sandra and Matthew Blakeslee

It was interesting in this read to realize the role of body mapping for placing our sense of self solidly in the world. And it was particularly interesting to note the relationship body mapping has to "paranormal" experience, i.e. "out of body" experiences, "phantom pain" in amputees, the experience of extra limbs, or the brain's ability to develop new maps in virtual reality experiments, in which an experimenter learned to move claws and tail un-self-consciously.

Slan: A Novel

***
A. E. Van Vogt
Imagine science fiction with no computers. With no DNA. Could it be any good? Slan is. Essentially its a story of natural selection as opposed to genetic engineering. It has rocket ships. but with mechanical controls. But essentially its a story about prejudice, and prejudice is universal. It's a quick read and worth taking on.

The Best American Sports Writing 2008

****
Glen Stout , ed.
This is a great collection of well written, interesting stories. It's not a book to keep, but it's worth buying and passing on.

Once Upon a Time in the North

Philip Pullman
*** 104 Pages

This slight book is a form of "prequel" to the His Dark Materials trilogy, which recounts how the balloonist Lee Scoresby and Iorik the bear first met. In a nutshell, Scoresby comes upon an island in the far north on a balloon trip from Texas. He lands in the middle of a mayorial contest pitting a candidate fronting a rapacious oil company which is corrupting local politics. Somehow this politician has hired a notorious gun slinger from Texas as his thug. Scoresby has run into him before. Eventually they have a major gun fight with Scoresby's rabbit daimon taking on the rattlesnake daimon of the outlaw. Meanwhile Iorik has been performing mighty deeds helping to knock out a mechanical cannon, break down steel doors, and gather a healing moss to dress Scoresby's wounds. They escape by balloon supplied by the Customs agent who has a soft spot for Scoresby since the latter talked the agent's fiance into accepting his mariage proposal. A bit of an outlandish tale and fun if you have already read the Golden Compass, otherwise it wouldn't be very compelling.

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

Daniel H. Pink
** 247 Pages

Well, first of all, the title doesn't fit the message: his claim is that a BALANCED brain will be needed, left AND right brain, not just one or the other. This book could have been half to two thirds the length, but I will grant that he at least footnoted his text. In a nutshell, six "BIG" ideas will CHANGE THE WORLD: design, story, symphony (really means synthesis), empathy, play, and meaning. The main value of the book is in the "practical exercises" at the end of each chapter. Some of theses sections have some interesting links to web sites. Don't get me wrong, don't go out and buy the book for the practical sections, they just have some value. I would not recommend buying this book.

Tocqueville in America

George Wilson Pierson
***** 777 pages
I stumbled upon this book at 3rd Place Books and bought it without hesitation. I had always wanted to read it since taking an NEH Seminar on Tocqueville at Kenyon College in 1988. The book is everything it was cracked-up to be: thorough, balanced, well written, and full of information about not only Tocqueville and the origins of his ideas, but also the United States in 1831. Traveling with his friend, Gustave Beaumont, Tocqueville traversed a broad swath of US geography and society, journeying to three of the four corners of the country, New York, Michigan territory, and New Orleans. Travel in the 1830s was rigorous and not without its dangers. Two of the steamboats they traveled on sank, they had to walk twenty miles through knee deep snow in Kentucky, and slept out in the deep woods of Michigan.

One of the best aspects of Tocqueville in America is the extensive and informative footnotes that Pierson employed. He identifies almost every person they talked to, explaining their role in society, accomplishments, and significance for Tocqueville's thought. Essentially, he combed Tocqueville and Beaumont's journals and letters, the newspapers of the day, and litterally follows their progress day by day on their explorations. One of the best reads I've had all year.