tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61254706692197007102024-03-27T02:37:25.325-04:00The Channel of Matt RiesA review blog of television, movies, and books with occasional opinion on sportsMatt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.comBlogger867125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-7422543145281367732024-03-18T09:49:00.003-04:002024-03-18T09:49:23.814-04:00Book Review: The Age of Reason Begins by Will & Ariel Durant<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/868267.The_Age_of_Reason_Begins" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Age of Reason Begins (The Story of Civilization, #7)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431919885l/868267._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/868267.The_Age_of_Reason_Begins">The Age of Reason Begins</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16184.Will_Durant">Will Durant</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1899744082">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The near century between the death of John Calvin and the Council to Trent to the end of the Thirty Years War saw first religious intolerance and religious wars range across the continent until in the end politics trumped everything like it always does. <i>The Age of Reason Begins</i> is the seventh volume of <i>The Story of Civilization</i> series by Will & Ariel Durant as Protestants fight one another and both fight Catholics before eventually politics overrules everything and people begin to ignore religion.<br /><br />This volume continues a trend of transitions that defined Early Modern Era highlighting a single nation, then the continent, and finally beginning of the return of “reason” over “religion”. The Durants began the rise of Great Britain from the reign of Elizabeth I to the death of Charles I as it transitioned from warring individual nations to nations united political though with significant differences that still needed to be worked out. Next, they followed the transition across the continent of various religious wars that saw either the rise or follow of great powers from prominence that ultimately went from how God was worshiped but what was politically more important. Then they completed the volume with the rise of science and slow return of now religious inspired philosophy. Even though the Durants focused on philosophy and scientific advances in the last 100 pages of the book, they did not neglect cultural developments in literature to theater to music to the development of scientific thought, it was in this area that one could tell Will Durant was enjoying writing. After three volumes in which Will Durant had to focus on religion more than he liked this volume a reader of the series could tell change in Will’s writing that could by a result of Ariel or Will love of philosophy and science.<br /><br /><i>The Age of Reason Begins</i> is a transitional volume of Will Durant’s <i>The Story of Civilization</i> not only in the transition into the Early Modern Era but also the involvement of his wife Ariel as a cowriter.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-90987443261792496552024-02-28T07:39:00.001-05:002024-02-28T07:39:09.149-05:00Book Review: East of Eden by John Steinbeck<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4408.East_of_Eden" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="East of Eden" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1623105403l/4408._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4408.East_of_Eden">East of Eden</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/585.John_Steinbeck">John Steinbeck</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3177771693">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Two families, two sets of brothers, a well-known Biblical tale, and one important location are central to this magnum opus of one of American’s best-known writers in the first half of the 20th century. <i>East of Eden</i> is an ambitious novel by John Steinbeck that is essentially a historical fiction novel of the Salinas Valley that is a double allegory for the Biblical Cain and Abel.<br /><br />Steinbeck used his family history, his hometown’s history, and the Biblical story of Cain and Abel to form the backbone of this 600-page literary classic. Focused on the Hamiltons—based on Steinbeck’s maternal family—and the Trasks, were within Cain and Abel is repeated in succeeding generations, the story is also a fictional history of Steinbeck’s home region of the Salinas Valley in Central California. There is a slew of characters that come off the page at comes off as actual human beings, though many of them if we met them would wonder if they had gotten any psychological help and if not would hope they’d get it. The Biblical allegory centers around one man, Adam Trask, first as the Abel to his younger half-brother Charles’ Cain and then as the “father”—biologically it could also be Charles, legally it was Adam, and essentially it was Lee who I’ll get to further down—of Cal and Aron who repeat the Biblical allegory in a different way. Early on Adam is sympathetic given his childhood, but after the “breakup” of his marriage he becomes a human nonentity which allows the repetition of the Biblical story. The twins undisputed mother Cathy/Kate Trask (nee Ames), could be in the allegory the Devil or the Talmudic Lilith who was the Biblical Adam’s first wife but didn’t want to be dominated and became a baby killing demon in Jewish folklore, is an amoral psychopath who is able to hide her amorality from all but a few observant individuals. Then there is poor Lee, a Chinese manservant to the Trask family that essentially is Cal and Aron’s dad but could only do so much with Adam around and was in this ambiguous position of sage relative and hired help, but along with Sam Hamilton is the best character of the entire book. Looking overall at the story, it is very engaging and a page-turner to me yet also frustrating with Adam’s wanton disregard of his sons thus allowing the family drama to repeat itself.<br /><br /><i>East of Eden</i> is considered by John Steinbeck as his magnum opus, it was certainly ambitious with this allegorical approach that was mixed with a fictional account of the author’s home region.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-2143121073425060072024-02-25T03:20:00.000-05:002024-02-25T03:20:12.277-05:00Book Review: White Sand Omnibus by Brandon Sanderson<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123849463-brandon-sanderson-s-white-sand-omnibus" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Brandon Sanderson's White Sand Omnibus" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680027260l/123849463._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123849463-brandon-sanderson-s-white-sand-omnibus">Brandon Sanderson's White Sand Omnibus</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38550.Brandon_Sanderson">Brandon Sanderson</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6246067870">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The desert planet of Taldain is locked between two suns so that that with one side is constantly in light and the other in constant darkness, each side has powerful magic apparently exclusive to it but is it possible that isn’t the case? <i>White Sands Omnibus</i> is the only graphic novel entry into Brandon Sanderson’s <i>Cosmere</i> where if follows two individuals looking to save their cultures, Kenton is attempting to save the Sand Masters after a surprise attack left their ranks decimated while Khrissalla and her entourage have arrived from the dark side of the planet to enlist the help of the Sand Masters to save her homeland.<br /><br />While there are times when a writer’s style and storytelling differ from one format to another, this graphic novel is not one of them as it is quintessential Brandon Sanderson. In fact, given the magic involved, as Sanderson said himself in the forward, the graphic novel worked to showcase it. This omnibus edition included a new prologue that gave better background to Kenton and Khrissalla before the opening of the original first volume of the trilogy, which not only showcased the Diem before it was decimated while Khrissalla’s personality traits are developed for her eventual appearances in other Cosmere locations. The script—translated from Sanderson’s original prose draft—was by Rik Hoskin, who overall did a good job keeping Sanderson’s voice throughout the whole of the book though there were times it was quite Sanderson. A variety of artists and colorists worked on the projected over the course of the three volumes and the new prologue but while those early on had a unique style those later in the prose had a crisper though “generic” style, the sudden change was a bit of a jar but not out of the ordinary. Overall a good story for those interested in continuing their journey through the Cosmere especially as it’s the homeworld of a Shard that is impacting other locations.<br /><br /><i>White Sand Omnibus</i> is a unique entry in Brandon Sanderson’s <i>Cosmere</i> as it only graphic novel, yet it’s a fun engaging story once collected in one place that features a new prologue that helps start things off well.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-79066176545553553232024-02-19T09:18:00.000-05:002024-02-19T09:18:42.468-05:00Book Review: Psalms by Martin G. Klingbeil<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202534482-psalms---1q-2024-bible-bookshelf" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Psalms - 1Q 2024 Bible Bookshelf" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1705509139l/202534482._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202534482-psalms---1q-2024-bible-bookshelf">Psalms - 1Q 2024 Bible Bookshelf</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4258923.Martin_G_Klingbeil">Martin G. Klingbeil</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6106931487">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The Book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible with some of the best-known passages in all of scripture contained in its 150 hymns. <i>Psalms</i> the supplement book for the Adult School Bible Study Guide (1st Quarter 2024) by Martin G. Klingbeil covers the book through 13 chapters in which Klingbeil pulls out spiritual, scriptural, and historical lessons that span across multiple psalms that believers can always look to. Through 128 pages Klingbeil brought out interesting and important facets from the overall book but also how its parallel other parts of the Bible that I hadn’t considered or seen before. For such a long book in the Bible, this short guide can help one study it.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-18760881399682413772024-02-17T20:16:00.000-05:002024-02-17T20:16:42.951-05:00Book Review: Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18656031-baptism-of-fire" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Baptism of Fire (The Witcher, #3)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443279182l/18656031._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18656031-baptism-of-fire">Baptism of Fire</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38569.Andrzej_Sapkowski">Andrzej Sapkowski</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4110422948">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The second Nilgaardian war began as the result learning about the Northern Kingdom’s secret plans and backing a coup among the sorcerers and sorceresses, the later of which found a unexpected factor in the person of a certain witcher. <i>Baptism of Fire</i> is the third novel of Andrzej Sapkowski’s <i>The Witcher</i> series as an recovering Geralt of Rivia looks to head south to rescue his ward Ciri from Nilgaard and slowly collect a cadre of fighters around him.<br /><br />From beginning to end, the narrative essentially followed Geralt or his companions with only glimpses of Ciri and a little subplot amongst sorceresses from across the continent. This tight focus was a vast improvement over the two previous books from Sapkowski, showing growth as an overall writer. Coming in at roughly 350 pages, the pacing was very good and very easy to stop and start giving I read it during my breaks at work. The introduction of new major characters of Milva, Regis, and now official Cahir—who has been around but not really developed—as well as interesting or important secondary characters brought a new dimension to the narrative and Geralt’s reactions to have to work with more than one person, especially as part of a team. The surprise ending for Geralt was a nice little twist that would be interesting to see as to how it would affect his story going forward.<br /><br /><i>Baptism of Fire</i> is frankly the best book of the series so far, Andrzej Sapkowski kept the narrative basically tight and covering the entire book with only occasional glimpses into developing subplots important in the future. After reading this book I look forward to where things are going.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-87393149283726872352024-02-13T11:25:00.002-05:002024-02-13T11:25:25.898-05:00Book Review: Political Writings by Jean-Jacques Rousseau<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/272100.Rousseau_s_Political_Writings" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Rousseau's Political Writings: Discourse on Inequality, Discourse on Political Economy, On Social Contract: A Norton Critical Edition (Norton Critical Editions)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388369294l/272100._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/272100.Rousseau_s_Political_Writings">Rousseau's Political Writings: Discourse on Inequality, Discourse on Political Economy, On Social Contract: A Norton Critical Edition</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7994.Jean_Jacques_Rousseau">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1273414121">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment and later the French Revolution, yet it is through three pieces written within 8 years of one another that would be the most important. <i>Rousseau’s Political Writings</i> collects the essays <i>Discourse on Inequality</i>, <i>Discourse on Political Economy</i>, and <i>The Social Contract</i> that sees the development of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s political thought and features how his contemporaries and later commentators have reacted.<br /><br />In <i>Discourse of Inequality</i>, Rousseau after a long examination of how human society began focused on the creation of private property as the beginning of inequality and this created a corrupt modern world as well as illegitimate states—as alluded to in future writings. In the <i>Discourse on Political Economy</i>, was a furthering of some of Rousseau’s ideas in Inequality to a conclusion while ignoring others but the most important was that he proposed that the best way for a legitimate state to handle inequality is for essentially progressive taxation on income and wealth as he views luxury with distain and leading to corrupting of a legitimate state into an illegitimate one. Finally, <i>The Social Contract</i> Rousseau fully develops his systematic approach into how a legitimate state is established, organized, and run though they are more guidelines as each state’s environmental factors dictate which type of government—democracy, aristocracy, or monarchy—is best for it. The 173 pages in which Rousseau develops his ideas takes up a little over half the book, the second half the editors gave background to Rousseau’s life that influenced his thinking with selections from his own autobiography and the thoughts of his contemporaries and later commentators thought the later would focus on one intellectual thread they loved or hated while ignoring Rousseau’s careful balancing act. Overall Rousseau’s thoughts and the critical reaction they elicited from others made this little over 300-page book very informative in the development of political thought in the 18th century and beyond.<br /><br /><i>Rousseau’s Political Writings</i> is both a good collection of three of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's most important political essays as well as thoughtful criticism from his contemporaries and later political commentators.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-69288225262221366902024-01-30T12:49:00.005-05:002024-01-30T12:49:50.426-05:00Book Review: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76919.Guns_Germs_and_Steel" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562257627l/76919._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76919.Guns_Germs_and_Steel">Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/256.Jared_Diamond">Jared Diamond</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2350701419">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The fates of Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Sub-Saharan Africa all turned out differently for some there is the question of why? <i>Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies</i> by Jared Diamond looks to answer that question while also challenging the colonialist rationale that has dominated 19th and 20th Century discussion. <br /><br />Diamond’s argument comes down to environmental differences in which human groups had to work from the end of the Ice Age, circa 11,000 B.C. There were three factors that Diamond highlighted the domesticable plants to create large agricultural societies, domesticable animals that helped in agriculture as well as transferring diseases from animals to humans, and finally the continental axis that allowed for easier spreading of innovations in Eurasia compared to the Americas or sub-Saharan Africa. Using a multiple of scientific disciplines, Diamond builds his case as to why overarching historical patterns played out like they did while not completely taking out the impact of individual decisions but also saying that those individuals that had a big impact on history had advantages that others living on the planet didn’t. Overall, the book is an overview of large historical factors that resulted in the world we’re living in, the case Diamond makes can either be accepted in whole, in part, or completely rejected and while I some merit to his overall thesis I think it isn’t the entire explanation.<br /><br /><i>Guns, Germs, and Steel</i> is an intellectually stimulating read for anyone interested in history, but whether you agree with Jared Diamond or do not this is a very good book to read.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-50218297992614998832024-01-28T11:41:00.001-05:002024-01-28T11:41:11.174-05:00Book Review: Women of Myth by Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59465293-women-of-myth" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Women of Myth: From Deer Woman and Mami Wata to Amaterasu and Athena, Your Guide to the Amazing and Diverse Women from World Mythology" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674683429l/59465293._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59465293-women-of-myth">Women of Myth: From Deer Woman and Mami Wata to Amaterasu and Athena, Your Guide to the Amazing and Diverse Women from World Mythology</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/767632.Jenny_Williamson">Jenny Williamson</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5371183137">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Over the millennia and around the world, religions and literary epics and superstition had numerous female characters that have influenced numerous cultures and societies. <i>Women of Myth: From Deer Woman and Mami Wata to Amaterasu and Athena, Your Guide to the Amazing and Diverse Women from World Mythology</i> by Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy with illustrations by Sara Richard covers 50 goddesses, heroines, and monsters from around the world.<br /><br />Over the course of 248 pages, Williamson and McMenemy cover their selected subjects in encyclopedic format giving pronunciation guides, appearance, and any symbols connected with the subject before giving an overview of the individual and their story with a sidebar to end the entry. As the very long subtitle states the authors cover women from around the world as 28 of them come from non-European, North African, or Middle Eastern cultures that sometimes dominate books like these with only token characters from China or India and a generic entry to cover all Native American tribes & cultures. The main reason I got this book was the 30 illustrations done by Sara Richard, an artist whose work I’ve followed for a very long time and frankly her work here is once again top notch. Now for some people who are triggered by gender terminology, avoid this book because Williamson and McMenemy don’t shy away from stating the evidence of genderbending or intersex for some individuals which when I checked other sources—besides those they provided in the reference section at the back of the book—turned out the authors did their research to give that possibility of that interpretation. <br /><br /><i>Women of Myth</i> looks at 50 individuals that had significant impact upon their cultures either as deities to be prayed to, heroines to look up to, or monsters to look out for. Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy did a great job introducing readers to these individuals with the added effect of the amazing art of Sara Richard giving a visual interpretation of them as well.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-69190896279709411352024-01-22T10:55:00.004-05:002024-01-22T10:55:41.463-05:00Book Review: Lore Olympus (Volume Two) by Rachel Smythe<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57717417-lore-olympus" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Lore Olympus: Volume Two (Lore Olympus, #2)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656929870l/57717417._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57717417-lore-olympus">Lore Olympus: Volume Two</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21592354.Rachel_Smythe">Rachel Smythe</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5012227643">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Two gods quickly meet awkwardly then go their separate ways expecting nothing to come out of it, then stuff just keeps on coming up from that meet that just makes their lives annoying. <i>Lore Olympus: Volume Two</i> by Rachel Smythe continues following Persephone and Hades after their initial meeting as they try to either get used to being in Olympus or back to one’s usual routine, but others keep on butting in making immortality annoying.<br /><br />Covering episodes #26-49 of the webcomic sees the main protagonists attempting to get on with their lives and duties, however things aren’t easy as Olympian gossip makes both of their lives more interesting though more for Persephone than Hades. Smythe while giving depth to her central story arc, world builds a modern age Olympus, and wrapping in various Greek gods and goddesses deciding how to react to the “facts” of the relationship. The art is excellent, and the story is engaging enough to keep me invested and interested in what twists and turns Smythe is planning towards the eventual outcome—just because it is a well-known myth doesn’t mean there are not multiple ways of telling it.<br /><br /><i>Lore Olympus: Volume Two</i> sees Rachel Smythe build upon the foundation she laid down in the first volume and kept me interested in how she’s going to craft her 21st century version.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-40935776674731149282024-01-21T08:49:00.001-05:002024-01-21T08:49:19.926-05:00Book Review: The Reformation by Will Durant<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1140431.The_Reformation" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Reformation (Story of Civilization, Vol 6)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1401859969l/1140431._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1140431.The_Reformation">The Reformation</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16184.Will_Durant">Will Durant</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1718141753">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The Reformation was the outgrowth of and the downfall of the humanism of the Renaissance, together both movements ended the Middle Ages while dividing Europe civilization in the process. <i>The Reformation</i> is the sixth volume of Will Durant’s <i>The Story of Civilization</i> as he explores how the rest of Europe outside of Italy transitioned from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era as Christendom divided and as Europeans expanded their footprint across the world.<br /><br />This volume is unique in Durant’s series as it was originally supposed to be combined with <i>The Renaissance</i> but given the length and depth of the research would have resulted almost twice the size of the longest book in the series. This volume is a continuation of <i>The Age of Faith</i> outside of Italy as well as paralleling the events through the end of the Council of Trent. After setting the stage for Luther’s protest in the first third of the book, Durant then turned to the period from Luther’s thesis to the death of John Calvin in which northern Christianity split away from Rome and developed into different sects aiming for reform, the final third of the book was Durant looking at Islam and Jewish developments followed by cultural accomplishments and then the Catholic Counter-Reformation. This volume was a change from previous volumes as Durant concentrated most of the text on a 50-year period instead of the ebbs and flows of history and society over the course of centuries. The fact that most of this period centered around religion, Durant is able for the most part to keep his contempt for belief at bay though he does go a little off in the Epilogue in synthesizing the developments of the Renaissance and the Reformation. Yet throughout the book, Durant notes that the religious developments were a reaction the pagan influences of the Renaissance along with the budding of nationalism that would be supercharged once the church came under the purview of the state.<br /><br /><i>The Reformation</i> is a unique book as Will Durant must literally dedicate the majority of his writing towards religion instead of culture, yet he is able to hide his contempt to look how the reforming of Christianity influenced and was influenced by centralizing of various nation-states as Europe entered the Early Modern Era.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-41804379868975960712023-12-29T08:06:00.002-05:002023-12-29T08:06:16.054-05:00Book Review: The Buzz on Professional Wrestling by Scott Keith<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1369980.The_Buzz_on_Professional_Wrestling" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Buzz on Professional Wrestling" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1183043102l/1369980._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1369980.The_Buzz_on_Professional_Wrestling">The Buzz on Professional Wrestling</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/357005.Scott_Keith">Scott Keith</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/345232199">1 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Coming in at roughly 217 pages in an oversized format, <i>The Buzz on Professional Wrestling</i> was published just weeks before the 90s Wrestling Boom ended and began a slow declined thanks to the WWE monopoly. After spending a little time on “wrestling 101” and a “history of wrestling” (up to 1984), author Scott Keith then dedicated the rest of the book to look at pro wrestling from 1984—and the start of the WWF Golden Age—to sometime in 2000, covering both WWF (now WWE) and WCW through biographical sketches of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Sting, Steve Austin, Goldberg, and many others. The first time I read this book all the way back in 2001, I thought this book was pretty good, however after 20+ years during which I learned a lot more from other sources I can say this book is awful. There are a lot of issues from poor editing and basically lying about things people supposedly did, namely Hulk Hogan—who has done a lot of shady stuff in the business and in real life not covered in this book—who it turns out did not do everything Keith accused him of. Basically, this book was a cash grab in <i>The Buzz on</i> series to get in on the wrestling boom but given how bad it was written I’m happy that it was published just before the wrestling business cooled off and no one was interested anymore.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-15475291304678109002023-12-24T21:03:00.005-05:002023-12-24T21:03:59.507-05:00Book Review: Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion by V.S. Naipaul<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1688107.Mr_Stone_and_the_Knights_Companion" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1186928353l/1688107._SY160_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1688107.Mr_Stone_and_the_Knights_Companion">Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3989.V_S_Naipaul">V.S. Naipaul</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4524679916">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
A life-long bachelor a few years from retirement and without achievement in his career drastically changes everything in a few sudden bursts of inspiration. <i>Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion</i> is a novella by V.S. Naipaul detailing the how an average man achieved the one great achievement in his life.<br /><br />The titular character is a middle management lifer in the late 1950s/early 1960s London with retirement slowly getting closer when he suddenly falls for a twice widowed woman and during a holiday finds inspiration to create a program for retirees for his company. Naipaul creates a mediocre man living an eccentrically self-regulated life that suddenly changes everything up not once but twice and sees how things turn out. The pacing is pretty good and the second characters alright, but Naipaul excelled in portraying his main character’s arc which was both triumphant—albeit all too brief—and sad all too predictable when you look at the whole novella.<br /><br />Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion is only 126 pages long, but V.S Naipual shows the humdrum of a middling man whose one burst of inspiration is just a blip in his life.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-64215776821880252102023-12-23T20:08:00.002-05:002023-12-23T20:08:18.791-05:00Book Review: The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14781491-the-time-of-contempt" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Time of Contempt (The Witcher, #2)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443278961l/14781491._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14781491-the-time-of-contempt">The Time of Contempt</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38569.Andrzej_Sapkowski">Andrzej Sapkowski</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4110428167">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The fallout from the first Nilfgaardian war is affecting politics and future war plans only for a certain white-haired individual to interfere. <i>The Time of Contempt</i> is the second Witcher novel by Andrzej Sapkowski sees Geralt, Yennifer, and Ciri come together at a conclave of magicians only for things to go to hell.<br /><br />Throughout the book there is a sense that things are happening but the characters and thus the readers only see what’s happening to them until everything hits the fan. Sapkowski builds the events up slowly as the main characters come together on the Isle of Thanedd for a conclave of mages when two coups, one supported by the Nilfgaardians and the other by the Northern Kings who are planning covert action about the Nilfgaardians as well. The entire book feels more coherent than Sapkowski’s previous outing as the main narrative took over 60% of the book while aftermath took up the rest especially as Ciri makes an important decision near the end of the novel. Though there is a quick succession of point-of-view narratives across the continent, they are framed in a conversation between Dandelion and Geralt providing a better flow than the previous book. Thanks to a series by the YouTube channel <i>Wizards and Warriors</i>, I have a rough idea of the political and physical landscape of the continent which helped to understand where things were because there is no map which is the only thing that takes away from Sapkowski’s world building. Overall, this is a better book than the previous novel and makes me look forward to the rest of the series.<br /><br /><i>The Time of Contempt</i> is an improvement on the opening novel but with the same great action and character development thus making me interested in where Andrzej Sapkowski takes things.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-89398927436189491622023-12-15T17:56:00.005-05:002023-12-15T17:56:51.106-05:00Book Review: Tribal Bigfoot by David Paulides<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43155517-tribal-bigfoot" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Tribal Bigfoot" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544392516l/43155517._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43155517-tribal-bigfoot">Tribal Bigfoot</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2107948.David_Paulides">David Paulides</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5357668171">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Following up his initial investigation into Bigfoot incidents and witnesses, a former police investigator expanded his search area in northern California as well as expanding out to Minnesota and Oklahoma. <i>Tribal Bigfoot</i> is David Paulides follow up to his first book, <i>The Hoopa Project</i>, in which he gathers more evidence and proposes a new theory about bigfoot today.<br /><br />Expanding his research area to the northern California countries surrounding the Hoopa Valley, Paulides methodically examined the terrain and wildlife before looking for witness testimony for the viability of bigfoot in the area. Like his previous book Paulides spends most of his time going over the witness testimony—which are back up by affidavits—followed by his personal observations of the area where the incident(s) took place in each interview. Once again Paulides hired law enforcement forensic artist Harvey Pratt to draw sketches from the memories of witnesses he interviewed, and it is the result of these sketches and local Native American knowledge that Paulides made his big conclusion at the end of the book. Paulides believes that bigfoot isn’t an ape as some researchers believe but a homininan that can reproduce with humans which seems to be showing with the amount of a more human-looking bigfoot seen by witnesses than the ape-looking bigfoot of the Patterson-Gimlin footage. Like his previous book Paulides’ is a little dry in his style though his writing did improve as did his referencing between witness accounts.<br /><br /><i>Tribal Bigfoot</i> continues David Paulides’ research into bigfoot in northern California as well as glance at Minnesota and Oklahoma. The book not only contains Paulides well done research, but also a theory that bigfoots and humans can produce offspring.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-29775700534737331672023-12-08T18:03:00.004-05:002023-12-08T18:03:43.792-05:00Book Review: Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45305065-childhood-s-end" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Childhood's End" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556244067l/45305065._SY160_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45305065-childhood-s-end">Childhood's End</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7779.Arthur_C_Clarke">Arthur C. Clarke</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3177829427">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The two most powerful nations on Earth are reaching for the stars when suddenly the stars reach down, and everyone waits. <i>Childhood’s End</i> by Arthur C. Clarke is one of the most important novels of “the golden age of science fiction” with its surprising twist and interesting ending.<br /><br />Given the time the book was published and how Clarke projected the “future” timeframe that the story took place, it didn’t hurt the overall story. The benevolent alien contact trope, but with a unique hidden agenda twist was good as well. The surprise twist of the appearance of the aliens was cool, though the later explanation at the end about how their appearance was ingrained in human consciousness was disappointing though it went with the ending of the book. Clarke’s point-of-view characters were a bit flat just there to move the narrative along, which overall was fine. Yet it was Clarke’s prologue for the 1990 edition—which I read—unfortunately undermined the story even before I had begun that I wish that Clark had decided to make it an epilogue. Overall, I thought this novel was okay, I wasn’t dissuaded from reading other of Clarke’s works.<br /><br /><i>Childhood’s End</i> is one of science fiction’s most important works from its golden age and put Arthur C. Clarke on the literary map.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-801166605498432023-12-02T22:36:00.004-05:002023-12-02T22:36:30.816-05:00Book Review: Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36379422-blood-of-elves" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Blood of Elves (The Witcher, #1)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507522647l/36379422._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36379422-blood-of-elves">Blood of Elves</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38569.Andrzej_Sapkowski">Andrzej Sapkowski</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4110431027">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The child is hunted because of her lineage and the power in her blood, yet she is under the protection of a man mutated to protect people from monster beasts. <i>Blood of Elves</i> by Andrzej Sapkowski is the first novel of <i>The Witcher</i> series as the titular character Geralt of Rivia looks after Ciri, the child of destiny and heir of Cintra.<br /><br />Set in the aftermath of a war of conquest a few years before, the story sees Geralt and Ciri—a politically neutral witcher and the fugitive princess of conquered Cintra—navigate the new political order was one looks to find those looking for his ward and eliminate them while learns not only to fight but her magical potential. The novel feels like a string of Sapkowski’s short stories that at first seemed to be linked towards a narrative climax, but suddenly in the middle of the book things just get fractured into different storylines and timeframes with no narrative cohesion nor a satisfying stopping point in the arcs begun in the book. Overall Sapkowski’s action scenes and world building are very good, but the biggest fault is the randomization of narratives that are just introduced haphazardly chronologically in the flow of the book.<br /><br /><i>Blood of Elves</i> is an okay start of <i>The Witcher</i> series by Andrzej Sapkowski as it has good action scenes and background worldbuilding, but its overall structure especially in the second half of the book muddies things.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-5697109914620712272023-11-24T09:30:00.001-05:002023-11-24T09:30:06.874-05:00Book Review: Daniel 11and the Medieval Divided Kingdoms by Perry F. Louden<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58290395-daniel-11-and-the-medieval-divided-kingdoms" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Daniel 11 and the Medieval Divided Kingdoms: The Struggle between Rome and Constantinople for Church-State Supremacy" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1623120289l/58290395._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58290395-daniel-11-and-the-medieval-divided-kingdoms">Daniel 11 and the Medieval Divided Kingdoms: The Struggle between Rome and Constantinople for Church-State Supremacy</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21576237.Perry_F_Louden">Perry F. Louden</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5899607264">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The study of the books of Daniel and Revelation have been a hallmark of Adventism, yet in the former book there is one passage that keeps on mystifying researchers but there might be an answer. <i>Daniel 11 and the Medieval Divided Kingdoms</i> by Perry F. Louden proposes a different interpretation for passages of Daniel 11 that have long been debated.<br /><br />The interpretation of Daniel 11:23-29 has always brought confusion to students of Biblical prophecy including Adventists. Louden using principles of interpretation consistent with Adventist theological history to bring forth his hypothesis that these verses take place between the fall of Imperial Rome and the wounding of the Papacy in 1798. The main feature of these verses that feature the continuing struggle between the Kings of the North and the South is that they represent two different church-state unions, one in which the church dominates that represents Papal Rome and the other in which the state dominates that represents the Byzantine Emperors.<br /><br />While Louden’s proposition is sound and worth further study for those interested in it, his overall presentation in the book and trivial historical inaccuracies that do not undermine but could raise questions to his conclusions are issues. While the latter issue could be fixed with better editing and fact checking, those inaccuracies while not undermine his overarching proposal could cause some individuals to dismiss it out of hand without giving it any consideration. It is the presentation that Louden uses that is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed. While there are publishing errors that have footnotes covering the bottom lines of some paragraphs, page 44 most notably, the main issue was with how Louden presented his interpretations of Daniel 11: 20-39 in Chapters 6 and 9. Louden presents each verse and his suggested interpretation but then he presents a “Parallel Text” verse that can confirm his interpretation, but Louden only briefly touches upon these parallel texts in Chapter 4 of his book and no where in that chapter or at the beginning of 6 or 9 does he say he will be including those texts during his main interpretation presentation or for what reason. Thus, the reader can get confused about what is going on, if like myself, they had to put the book down for a few days before continuing to read and suddenly am dealing with these very confusing chapters. I was able to get through these parts of the book by completely ignoring the “Parallel Text” parts and focus on the main presentation then went back to discovery the reason for those “Parallel” sections but at no point did Louden really prepare the way for their inclusion at the heart of his presentation nor why they were important.<br /><br />This is not to say <i>Daniel 11 and the Medieval Divided Kingdoms</i> should be ignored by Adventist readers interested in studying the issue Perry F. Louden highlights. I think Louden’s hypothesis should be studied and discussed, however I want to warn future readers—at least of the 2021 edition of the book—that the presentation Louden put forward was not the best and to give assistance for when they read the book.
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Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-46171694119561076772023-11-23T22:20:00.001-05:002023-11-23T22:20:04.410-05:00Book Review: The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60531420-the-sunlit-man" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Sunlit Man (The Cosmere)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1696146860l/60531420._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60531420-the-sunlit-man">The Sunlit Man</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38550.Brandon_Sanderson">Brandon Sanderson</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5934065798">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
A man decided to agree to a request from his mentor and now he is on the run for his life while unable to fight even though he is a Knight Radiant. <i>The Sunlit Man</i> is a standalone <i>Cosmere</i> novel by Brandon Sanderson that sees a familiar face from Roshar finding himself mixed up with a culture in conflict on a weirdly Invested planet.<br /><br />A man called Nomad, known to longtime <i>Cosmere</i> fans as Sigzil, arrives on the small planetoid of Canticle on the run from the Night Brigade who want him so they can find the bearer of the Dawnshard he had briefly held. Unfortunately for him the planet is small, and the sun’s light is so intense that it burns and melts the land as well as vaporizes humans. Sigzil soon finds himself caught up in an ongoing rebellion of humans from the floating city of Beacon from the tyrant Cinder King who rules over the large floating city of Union. For most of the novel, Sigzil is the narrator while a native character named Elegy gets a point-of-view near the climax to show all the action that is happening. As a result, the narrative is tight as the reader gets an idea about why Sigzil is so different than when we last saw him and in a far future era of the Cosmere so different than seen before. As usual Sanderson’s worldbuilding and his characters are fantastic while a thrilling climax to the story is just icing on the cake. Give the time period the story takes place in, Sanderson only drops hints about events in various series that have yet to be seen so while Sigzil as the main character is a spoiler that he’ll survive the upcoming fifth <i>Stormlight</i> book and space travel by various cultures there is no massive spoiler that will make anyone mad. It took me a while to read this book, mostly due to real life issues but once I was able to sit down and read the last half the book, it was done in just two days and just shows that when Sanderson is on his game the quality of the work keeps you very much engaged.<br /><br /><i>The Sunlit Man</i> is a fast-paced novel that only seems to gain momentum as the pages turn with fantastic Sanderson worldbuilding and fleshing out a known secondary character given the spotlight while keeping as yet unseen events hidden from the reader.
Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-46442947128895397292023-11-22T23:26:00.000-05:002023-11-22T23:26:39.273-05:00Book Review: Deceptions of World War II by William B. Breuer<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2453141.Deceptions_of_World_War_II" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Deceptions of World War II" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328807473l/2453141._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2453141.Deceptions_of_World_War_II">Deceptions of World War II</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/68804.William_B_Breuer">William B. Breuer</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1088572719">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The most destructive war in history and like all wars there were deceptions used by both sides to gain an advantage on the battlefield. <i>Deceptions of World War II</i> by William B. Breuer goes over various incidents of espionage and military trickery before and during the global conflict.<br /><br />Over the course of roughly 240 pages, Breuer relates stories and anecdotes of incidents of underhand dealings, spying, and military intrigue surrounding World War II from both sides of the conflict. While some of them were interesting and worth reading about, many couldn’t be classified the same. Obviously what one person thinks is a deception could be different from someone else’s but to me when I think of deceptions in the context of a military conflict dropping spies behind enemy lines—while important to a military’s overall strategy—isn’t on the same level as the operations to create a phantom army to mask Operation Overlord or Operation Mincemeat neither of which were even mentioned in this book. And either Breur or his editors left in tiny mistakes that were factually incorrect with one of the most egregious being a line that said the Chief of German military intelligence was working for the British. So, while a nice book to pass the time overall I wasn’t impressed.<br /><br /><i>Deceptions of World War II</i> is a slender volume of stories and anecdotes about the cloak-and-dagger events of the global conflict, but to me a lot didn’t feel like “deceptions”.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>
Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-27074953531434480652023-11-15T12:06:00.005-05:002023-11-15T12:06:55.923-05:00Book Review: Endless Night by Agatha Christie<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1934147.Endless_Night" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Endless Night" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1345940106l/1934147._SY160_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1934147.Endless_Night">Endless Night</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14374803.Christie">Agatha Christie</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4893439011">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
A piece of land in rural Britain is said to be cursed due to a tribe of gypsies being forced from it for a house to be built that was the scene of several mysterious deaths, now there are new owners. <i>Endless Night</i> by Agatha Christie follows the account of Michael Rogers whose fateful encounter with said property momentarily brought happiness then pain.<br /><br />The story is a first-person narrative from Michael’s point of view, which in the mystery genre means he solves the death which centers the mystery, is the killer of said mystery, or is set up as a patsy at the end. Throughout the book Christie gives subtle clues that only become apparent at the climax, yet from the beginning there was a sense of doom that lingered for the entire narrative. Yet it was this depressing feeling, which for me affected my view of the book as while I was interested in how it was going it in my enjoyment of the reading was frankly nonexistent. Frankly it was a good mystery and very well-written but that depressed feeling for some reason stayed with me even when not reading which made the overall experience negative for me.<br /><br /><i>Endless Night</i> is one of Agatha Christie’s favorites of her own works and is critically acclaimed, while I acknowledge it’s a good story and well-written the overall experience wasn’t for me.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-62946637918364022772023-11-12T00:37:00.005-05:002023-11-12T00:37:52.375-05:00Book Review: The Games Do Count by Brian Kilmeade<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1460091.The_Games_Do_Count" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Games Do Count: America's Best and Brightest on the Power of Sports" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1428865011l/1460091._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1460091.The_Games_Do_Count">The Games Do Count: America's Best and Brightest on the Power of Sports</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/273823.Brian_Kilmeade">Brian Kilmeade</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/571884080">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
They are known for their accomplishments on stage, on screen, in the political arena, the newsroom, and the boardroom, not on the athletic field but that doesn’t mean they didn’t “suit up” as kids. <i>The Games Do Count</i> by Brian Kilmeade collects the reflections from over—or about—70 individuals, including the author, about their time playing sports as kids shaped their futures once their competitive time on the field came to an end.<br /><br />Kilmeade’s inspiration for this book was a segment he began one Saturday afternoon for his shift on an all-sports radio station in Los Angeles for listeners to phone in and talk about their own sports experiences, resulting in a flood of calls for people reliving their memories growing up and more than a few saying how their time helped them later in life. A decade later, Kilmeade thought the concept would work by interviewing well-known actors, singers-musicians, politicians, and television personalities about how sports affected their non-playing professional careers. Published in the 00s, some of those interviewed aren’t well known today as they were then or whose time in the political spotlight is long gone as well as the fact that many had a connection with Fox News at the time due to Kilmeade co-hosting <i>Fox and Friends</i>, and a few from family or friends about those who had recently passed. Overall Kilmeade wrote some great early life sketches based on the interviews he conducted with Robin Williams and Bernie Mac standing out to me. Because it’s been almost twenty years since publication some of the individuals have passed away—the aforementioned Williams and Mac along with President George H.W. Bush—or some individuals have destroyed their own reputations and careers since along with some active athletes that were mentioned throughout the book namely Lance Armstrong.<br /><br /><i>The Games Do Count</i> is a nice collection of briefs snapshots of the early years of famous individuals and how sports shaped who they became before they transitioned to their non-playing careers.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-25277967630767145962023-11-08T09:26:00.002-05:002023-11-08T09:26:15.376-05:00Book Review: Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals by David Hume<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34442508-enquiries-concerning-the-human-understanding-and-concerning-the-principl" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1488393215l/34442508._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34442508-enquiries-concerning-the-human-understanding-and-concerning-the-principl">Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/45726.David_Hume">David Hume</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1928589974">1 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
One of the best-known modern philosophers wrote his masterpiece at a young age, it wasn’t well received at the time and to being important to Western philosophy, and so David Hume decided to do something to get his thoughts talked about. <i>Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals</i> are two pieces that Hume wrote from sections of his most famous work to enlarge and make them well known thus putting his name out into the philosophical community.<br /><br />The two Enquiries are essentially extracts and revisions of sections from his <i>A Treatise of Human Nature</i>, his anonymously published most important work that was not received well and very long. In all honestly, <i>An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding</i> was to me were words that signified nothing. Every statement and argument Hume put forward neither interested me nor really was convincing and his section “On Miracles” was nothing more than a circular argument that just wasted my time. <i>An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals</i> was not much better, while I understood Hume’s thinking, I just didn’t understand the reason for the entire piece existing and frankly the four Appendixes that were attached where the best part of what Hume wrote. The publishers decided to include <i>A Dialogue</i> in the book, and it was probably the best piece in the entire book as I took it as satire and if not, I don’t care because those 20 pages were better than the previous 326. Frankly I had hoped for Hume to contrast or compliment John Locke’s <i>An Essay Concerning Human Understanding</i> and while I felt Locke was a bit bloated, at least I cared about what he wrote unlike Hume.<br /><br /><i>Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals</i> are two of David Hume’s work combined in the same book, I read them and felt like I wasted my time.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-82414465092920349082023-10-30T12:37:00.005-04:002023-10-30T12:37:52.648-04:00Book Review: The Story of Egypt by Joann Fletcher<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32191846-the-story-of-egypt" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Story of Egypt" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1477089123l/32191846._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32191846-the-story-of-egypt">The Story of Egypt</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/79186.Joann_Fletcher">Joann Fletcher</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4110481872">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
It was a civilization that lasted so long that its last independent ruler lived closer to us today than when its most defining structural achievements were built. <i>The Story of Egypt: The Civilization that Shaped the World</i> by Joann Fletcher shows the cultural development around the Nile that led to political and religious institutions that stood alone for nearly four millennia until it was absorbed by multinational, culture reshaping empire.<br /><br />One blurb on the book stated that Fletcher wrote a “revisionist history” of Ancient Egypt, with that mind the only thing that could truly be considered “revisionist” is that it turns out that half the Egyptians were women and there was more than one female pharaoh (Hatshepsut) before the Ptolemies—in fact at least ten. Throughout the book Fletcher essentially goes ruler to ruler so how the political and religious life of the nation changed or stayed the same throughout the centuries. Given Fletcher has only the records of the elite, it hard for her to cover the life of the ordinary people through as time progresses even ordinary people learned to write and as that happened, she would mention it. Where there is not academic consensus on the chronological front, Fletcher puts forward her interpretation which to me wouldn’t be considered revisionist as that would be more a theory from knowledgeable academic who is putting her two cents in as every other academic is doing. As stated above the “revisionist” issue revolved around how much women were involved in the political and religious life of the ruling class, Fletcher throughout the book laid out how royal women were integral to maintaining political and religious power and legitimacy for pharaohs. Along with that Fletcher brought a new interpretation into the led up and consequences of Akhenaten’s monotheistic revolution, which while I don’t consider revisionist was a new spin on things that I felt shined a new light on events. Throughout the book the quotes Fletcher used from other sources were in quotation marks but without any footnote or reference number so when you looked in the back for any information you must remember the wording of the quote to find the source which wasn’t very efficient. Fletcher’s references to early 20th-century Egyptologists that put the male-spin on Egyptian culture while not full snarky were close even though I understood the point she wanted to bring across, it could have been worded it differently to get the same thing across. Yet, these two things can’t truly harm the overall quality of this history of Ancient Egypt.<br /><br /><i>The Story of Egypt</i> brings the millennia of a ancient nation’s history into a readable form. While Joann Fletcher looks at that history from another angle, it’s only “revisionist” if you can’t come at this book with an open mind.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-79069675920372084662023-10-29T10:24:00.004-04:002023-10-29T10:25:48.605-04:00Book Review: The Book of Daniel by Elias Brasil de Souza<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51580913-the-book-of-daniel" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Book of Daniel" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1697457576l/51580913._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51580913-the-book-of-daniel">The Book of Daniel</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15529241.Elias_Brasil_De_Souza">Elias Brasil De Souza</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4396450592">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Daniel is both a beloved and confusing book for Christians, the former because of such stories as the fiery furnace and the lion’s den but the latter when dealing with the prophecies that make up half the book. <i>The Book of Daniel</i>, the supplement book for the Adult Sabbath Bible Study Guide (1st Quarter 2020) by Elias Brasil de Souza covers a chapter of Daniel per lesson bringing out important items in the text itself and how it relates for us today either in our personal lives or how God is in control even as things appear to be chaotic in the world. At 144 pages, this has been longest supplemental book I’ve read as the author was given the freedom to work more when dealing with the prophecies in Daniel 7-12:4 especially for Chapter 11 which is one of the most challenging prophecies to interpret. While not recommended for an intensely in-depth study of Daniel, this is a perfect quick and easy study of the book for anyone.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6125470669219700710.post-53692679653797660702023-10-24T11:34:00.001-04:002023-10-24T11:34:21.990-04:00Book Review: Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62825625-texas-bigfoot" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Texas Bigfoot: History, Legends, and Modern Encounters in the Lone Star State" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1664482823l/62825625._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62825625-texas-bigfoot">Texas Bigfoot: History, Legends, and Modern Encounters in the Lone Star State</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5768936.Lyle_Blackburn">Lyle Blackburn</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5357666078">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
For those who do not live in Texas, what comes to mind when it’s mentioned? Deserts, plateaus, maybe the southern edge of the Great Plains and its prairies? All places one doesn’t associate with Sasquatch/Bigfoot, but all those locations are in the western part of the state and the eastern part of the state is very wet and woody. <i>Texas Bigfoot</i> by Lyle Blackburn sees the author tackle the legendary stories and modern-day encounters of the Lone Star state.<br /><br />In roughly 230 pages, Blackburn covers many encounters of Texas residents coming across evidence of some other bipedal inhabitant of their state. While most of the book focuses on the eastern portion of the state, which sees almost a dozen rivers either flow into the Gulf of Mexico or eventually into the Mississippi, Blackburn surprises with a few reported sightings in the far west of the state that are hard to explain away. Blackburn, a Texas native, had only touched a little of the state’s history of Sasquatch encounters in a previous publication and lightly into the northeast corner of the state when discussing Boggy Creek in his first book. While Blackburn retreads some territory, he overall focuses on incidents he had never written about before to keep this book unique and doesn’t overdue the drive-by sightings like in another publication. Given the author’s easy to read prose plus all the informative encounters, this was another great read.<br /><br /><i>Texas Bigfoot</i> explores the history of Sasquatch in the Lone Star State that Lyle Blackburn brought together from old news reports, Bigfoot research groups, and personal investigations to allow readers to come to their own conclusions.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9698647-matt">View all my reviews</a>Matt Rieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01338552811241583947noreply@blogger.com0Collegedale, TN 37315, USA35.0500092 -85.0490497999999926.7397753638211526 -120.20529979999999 63.360243036178844 -49.892799799999992