Paul

Some friends dislike Tuchman's writing, too crammed with facts. I like the full context she paints and am not too anxious to get to the punchline. She does pick people as good and bad at what the do, but in times of war, our strengths and faults are accentuated. Her doing so makes a good story and probably she is usually right. This book certainly explains how a month determined much of what the 20th century became. It would be interesting to read a german's account of this time.

Science and other specialty books should have pronunciation reasonably correct. Get readers who know a little of the field or have a checking and correction process.

Reading of long lists of tables and equations is almost unintelligible. Linked graphics and reading are almost essential for efficient learning. At least name a preferred print edition of the book and give page #'s.

This course has more content than the usual introductory course that is available in the wide audio media.

Interesting sci fi of a few decades from now without the full apocolypse having occurred yet.

4.5 stars, actually. I found it immensely informative history of Robert Oppenheimer and his times in physics. This is a very different perspective on many of his famous contemporaries. Readers might be interested in visiting the first large scale nuclear reactor, the B Reactor, at Hanford, WA. Tours are now available to the public.

Interesting imagining of worlds in which time might be circular, or flow backwards, or flow down at higher altitudes, or be noncausal. A few changes in the rules make a very different life. Is it possible that other universes could exist with other rules? Many fit the opportunities afforded by modern mathematics. The Phoenix Audio recording is of such poor quality and the reading by Michael York so dreamy I use it to put me to sleep if some other book or my more responsible life is keeping me awake.

Thought it would be a boring repeat of Omnivores Dilemma, but there is even more to our food industry that we must face. This is much better documented by a very knowledgeable scientist. (I'm glad the FDA just took a stand on regular antibiotics in feedlots, but the compromise taken is expected to initially raise antibiotic use based on European experience.)

Very informative choices of the major unanswered scientific questions of our time. A VERY difficult task. Particularly good for someone wanting to do important science. He/she must think like this. I disagree with the negative reviews, 2008.

The exploitation of african american domestics in the deep south in the 60's as experienced by the maids is a revealing tale. It reading might help us recognize our own tendencies to boost our egos by degrading others. It was a bit artificial that the writers in the story did not anticipate the need to jumble individual maids' stories to protect their anonymity, but as with Clark Kent and Superman we go on accepting the artifice because of a beautiful and entertaining story.

My pleasure in "reading" and rereading all the Tales of the Otori books nudged my to share my experience with others. I very rarely reread books, but these are never boring. They seem to provide a pleasant experience even as the protagonists face terrible challenges. I presume it is the wisdom and strong principles with which the lead characters face their difficulties that keeps the experience uplifting. The atmosphere set by the reading and music adds much to the listening pleasure.

Most of the popularizations of modern science stop well short of the latest thinking. Greene does not, introducing us to an exciting variety of speculative new theories with quite different long term consequences than the cold dead universe that has been thought for quite a few years to be most likely. Entanglement by Aczel covered just quantum mechanical mysteries. Walter Isaacson's Einstein was mainly about history.

It might be time to look for or pay attention to alternatives to string theory, but certainly not time to abandon it.

I'm not an expert in modern physics, but highly conversant; I found the numerous simplified analogies generally helpful. When one hears the same old examples and thought experiments over and over you don't develop the sense of belief that you do when you can see the principles from different directions or multiple real examples.