author: Tim Wu
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2011/04/06
date added: 2013/09/30
shelves: economics, history, politics, non-fiction, favorites, technology
review:
As with Nothing to Envy, I should have written this review right after reading the book. It was fantastic, and I’d like to read it again. Great history of the “Information Empires” of the 20th and early 21st century, the continuing tension between openness and control. The history of television seemed particularly instructive: there was no early era of openness; instead Sarnoff (RCA/NBC) manipulated everything he could to make sure that it came out under the exact same control as radio at the time. Found myself kinda wishing for some discussion of Facebook in the closing chapters, in which there was a lot of focus on Apple & Google. It seemed to me that Facebook (or its moral equivalents) are the elephant in the room in that discussion. Very highly recommended.
The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal
author: M. Mitchell Waldrop
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2005/01/01
date added: 2013/09/30
shelves: history, biography, non-fiction, technology
review:
Read this quite a few years ago (pre-Goodreads), saving now so I don’t keep forgetting the title. :\ What I remember is that it was a really good book.
The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal
author: M. Mitchell Waldrop
name: Elaine
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2005/01/01
date added: 2013/09/30
shelves: history, biography, non-fiction, technology
review:
Read this quite a few years ago (pre-Goodreads), saving now so I don’t keep forgetting the title. :\ What I remember is that it was a really good book.
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
author: Colin Woodard
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2013/09/26
date added: 2013/09/26
shelves: history, non-fiction, politics, sociology
review:
I really enjoyed most of this book. It gives a different perspective on large sweeps of American history, but in a way that’s immediately intuitive for someone who’s read quite a bit of history. I especially appreciated the colonial and antebellum sections, and the early chapters on El Norte included a lot that was entirely new to me. It definitely gives me a new and useful framework for thinking about American culture and politics. (Goes well with The Big Sort, which is to some extent about individual choices reinforcing those national identities.) It was so engrossing that I really truly couldn’t put it down.
On the other hand, it didn’t feel quite as thorough or deep after the start of the twentieth century, and that was where my interest drifted. Some things I would have liked to have seen covered in more depth:
* African-American migration out of the South and Asian-American influences on the Left Coast. The coverage of non-European non-Native people wasn’t really that great, honestly. He’s strongest talking about European-derived cultures, and I think there’s a lot to explore in the black and Asian experience in particular.
* The culture of Los Angeles specifically (I’m coming to the opinion that LA is a fractal of the nation as a whole) — also, I don’t know much about Chicago, but my opinions about LA lead me to the conclusion that the other gigantic American city might be special too.
* The role of 20th century mass media (and the internet?!) in reducing and/or reinforcing the separation of the nations — this is where the research in The Big Sort could have come in handy.
* The First Nations chapter at the end might have benefited from a bit of discussion of the Native populations of the Far West & Left Coast.
A tiny thing that’s been bugging me: he described Obama as a member of the “Northern nations”, and a footnote details that although he spent his early years entirely outside of the nations in the book (Hawaii, Indonesia), he spent his adult life mostly in the Northern nations. But his mother and grandparents were from Kansas; might one look at him differently if the Midlander or Far West background (I don’t remember what part of Kansas) were taken into account? (Also: fractal America, like LA? Where he also lived as a teen IIRC.)
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
author: Colin Woodard
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2013/09/26
date added: 2013/09/26
shelves: history, non-fiction, politics, sociology
review:
I really enjoyed most of this book. It gives a different perspective on large sweeps of American history, but in a way that’s immediately intuitive for someone who’s read quite a bit of history. I especially appreciated the colonial and antebellum sections, and the early chapters on El Norte included a lot that was entirely new to me. It definitely gives me a new and useful framework for thinking about American culture and politics. (Goes well with The Big Sort, which is to some extent about individual choices reinforcing those national identities.) It was so engrossing that I really truly couldn’t put it down.
On the other hand, it didn’t feel quite as thorough or deep after the start of the twentieth century, and that was where my interest drifted. Some things I would have liked to have seen covered in more depth:
* African-American migration out of the South and Asian-American influences on the Left Coast. The coverage of non-European non-Native people wasn’t really that great, honestly. He’s strongest talking about European-derived cultures, and I think there’s a lot to explore in the black and Asian experience in particular.
* The culture of Los Angeles specifically (I’m coming to the opinion that LA is a fractal of the nation as a whole) — also, I don’t know much about Chicago, but my opinions about LA lead me to the conclusion that the other gigantic American city might be special too.
* The role of 20th century mass media (and the internet?!) in reducing and/or reinforcing the separation of the nations — this is where the research in The Big Sort could have come in handy.
* The First Nations chapter at the end might have benefited from a bit of discussion of the Native populations of the Far West & Left Coast.
A tiny thing that’s been bugging me: he described Obama as a member of the “Northern nations”, and a footnote details that although he spent his early years entirely outside of the nations in the book (Hawaii, Indonesia), he spent his adult life mostly in the Northern nations. But his mother and grandparents were from Kansas; might one look at him differently if the Midlander or Far West background (I don’t remember what part of Kansas) were taken into account? (Also: fractal America, like LA? Where he also lived as a teen IIRC.)
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
author: Colin Woodard
name: Elaine
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2013/09/26
date added: 2013/09/26
shelves: history, non-fiction, politics, sociology
review:
I really enjoyed most of this book. It gives a different perspective on large sweeps of American history, but in a way that’s immediately intuitive for someone who’s read quite a bit of history. I especially appreciated the colonial and antebellum sections, and the early chapters on El Norte included a lot that was entirely new to me. It definitely gives me a new and useful framework for thinking about American culture and politics. (Goes well with The Big Sort, which is to some extent about individual choices reinforcing those national identities.) It was so engrossing that I really truly couldn’t put it down.
On the other hand, it didn’t feel quite as thorough or deep after the start of the twentieth century, and that was where my interest drifted. Some things I would have liked to have seen covered in more depth:
* African-American migration out of the South and Asian-American influences on the Left Coast. The coverage of non-European non-Native people wasn’t really that great, honestly. He’s strongest talking about European-derived cultures, and I think there’s a lot to explore in the black and Asian experience in particular.
* The culture of Los Angeles specifically (I’m coming to the opinion that LA is a fractal of the nation as a whole) — also, I don’t know much about Chicago, but my opinions about LA lead me to the conclusion that the other gigantic American city might be special too.
* The role of 20th century mass media (and the internet?!) in reducing and/or reinforcing the separation of the nations — this is where the research in The Big Sort could have come in handy.
* The First Nations chapter at the end might have benefited from a bit of discussion of the Native populations of the Far West & Left Coast.
A tiny thing that’s been bugging me: he described Obama as a member of the “Northern nations”, and a footnote details that although he spent his early years entirely outside of the nations in the book (Hawaii, Indonesia), he spent his adult life mostly in the Northern nations. But his mother and grandparents were from Kansas; might one look at him differently if the Midlander or Far West background (I don’t remember what part of Kansas) were taken into account? (Also: fractal America, like LA? Where he also lived as a teen IIRC.)
Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power
author: Rachel Maddow
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/09/19
date added: 2013/09/26
shelves: ebook, history, non-fiction, politics
review:
Thoughtful and angry examination of what’s happened with America’s military since WWII, with lots of references back to the Constitution & the Founding Fathers. Includes a genuinely terrifying chapter about our decaying nuclear weaponry.
Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power
author: Rachel Maddow
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/09/19
date added: 2013/09/26
shelves: ebook, history, non-fiction, politics
review:
Thoughtful and angry examination of what’s happened with America’s military since WWII, with lots of references back to the Constitution & the Founding Fathers. Includes a genuinely terrifying chapter about our decaying nuclear weaponry.
Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power
author: Rachel Maddow
name: Elaine
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/09/19
date added: 2013/09/26
shelves: ebook, history, non-fiction, politics
review:
Thoughtful and angry examination of what’s happened with America’s military since WWII, with lots of references back to the Constitution & the Founding Fathers. Includes a genuinely terrifying chapter about our decaying nuclear weaponry.
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food
author: Mark Bittman
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2013/08/15
date added: 2013/09/03
shelves: cookbook, non-fiction, own
review:
Got from the library, made a couple of things, and it was so good that I went out and bought a copy. Have now finally made crispy breaded veggies that don’t suck. (The secret, as far as I can tell, is refrigerating after breading.) Fantastic quiche. Great pitas. Pretty sure a copy should come with every CSA subscription. (Setting “date finished” to make sure it shows up where I want in my reading history.)