Category: Misc

The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-made Landscape by James Howard Kunstler

A classic in urban planning, covering the downside of post-war American urban design. It dates from 1993 so but still 90% relevant. 3/5

A Year in Paris: Season by Season in the City of Light
by John Baxter

A series of short chapters arranged in seasonal sections on Paris, People, the Author’s life and the French Revolutionary Calendar. Plenty of Interest. 3/5

These Happy Golden Years: Little House Series, Book 8 by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Covering Laura’s short time as a schoolteacher (aged 15!) and her courting with husband-to-be Almanzo. Most action is in the first half of the book though. 3/5

Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World by Matt Alt

In depth chapters on things the Walkman, Game Boy and Hello Kitty traces Japans rise first in hardware and then in cultural influence. Excellent story 4/5

On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist by Clarissa Ward

A conflict-reporter memoir of her life and career. Based mainly in Moscow, Baghdad, and Beirut she especially goes into detail of her missions into Syria during it’s civil war. 3/5

My Scoring System

• 5/5 = Brilliant, top 5 book of the year
• 4/5 = Above average, strongly recommend
• 3/5 = Average. in the middle 70% of books I read
• 2/5 = Disappointing
• 1/5 = Did not like at all

Protocol: The Power of Diplomacy and How to Make It Work for You by Capricia Penavic Marshall

A mix of White House stories and tips about how to enhance your career though skills she has learnt. The stories are the best bit of the book. 3/5

Little Town on the Prairie: Little House Series, Book 7 by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Various incidents with 15 year old Laura now studying to become a school teacher while being courted. The family farm progresses and town grows. 3/5

Bold They Rise: The Space Shuttle Early Years (1972-1986) by David Hitt and Heather R. Smith

Covering up to and including the Challenger Disaster. Largely quotes from astronauts and people involved. Interesting seeing how missions quickly went to routine. 3/5

The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings into Space by Michelle Evans

A detailed look at the rocketplane programme. Structured around each of the pilots. Covers all the important flights and events. 4/5

The Time Traveller’s Almanac – Part III – Mazes & Traps
by Multiple Authors

Around 18 short Sci-Fi stories about Time, the oldest from 1881. Not all stories strictly time travel. Plenty of hits among the collection. 3/5

My Scoring System

• 5/5 = Brilliant, top 5 book of the year
• 4/5 = Above average, strongly recommend
• 3/5 = Average. in the middle 70% of books I read
• 2/5 = Disappointing
• 1/5 = Did not like at all

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan

Chapters on Pseudoscience vs Science, critical/skeptical thinking, science education and public policy. Hasn’t aged too badly and well written. 4/5

Don’t Fall For It: A Short History of Financial Scams by Ben Carlson

Real-life Stories of financial scams and scammers (some I’ve heard, some new) and then some lessons people can draw from them. Nice quick read. 3/5

The Bomb and America’s Missile Age by Christopher Gainor

A history of the forces that led to the Atlas program from the end of the War to 1954. Covers a wide range of led-up rocket programs, technical advances and political, cold-war and inter-service rivalries. 3/5

Girl on the Block: A True Story of Coming of Age Behind the Counter by Jessica Wragg

A memoir of the author’s life and career from 16 to her mid 20s. Mixture of story, information about meat (including recipes), the butchery trade and meat industry. 3/5

The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone by Brian Merchant

A history of the iPhone and various technologies that went into it. Plus some tours of components and manufacturing. No cooperation from Apple so some big gaps but does okay. 4/5

Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors by Matt Parker

Lots of examples of where Maths went wrong. From Financial errors and misbuilt bridges to failed game shows. Mix of well-known and some more obscure stories. Well told. 4/5

My Scoring System

• 5/5 = Brilliant, top 5 book of the year
• 4/5 = Above average, strongly recommend
• 3/5 = Average. in the middle 70% of books I read
• 2/5 = Disappointing
• 1/5 = Did not like at all

Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster by Allan J. McDonald

The author was a senior manager in the booster team who cooperated more fully with the investigation than NASA or his company’s bosses would have preferred. Mostly accounts of meetings, hearings & coverups with plenty of technical details. 3/5

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Ferguson

A quick tour though the rise of various financial concepts like insurance, bonds, stock markets, bubbles, etc. Nice quick intro and some well told stories. 4/5

The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe by Angela Kelly

An authorized book from the Queen’s dresser. Some interesting stories. Behind-the-scenes on typical days and regular events Okay even without photos. 3/5

Second Wind: A Sunfish Sailor, an Island, and the Voyage That Brought a Family Together by Nathaniel Philbrick

A writer takes up competitive sailing after a gap of 15 years, training on winter ponds in prep for the Nationals. A nice read. 3/5

Spitfire Pilot by Flight-Lieutentant David M. Crook, DFC

An account of the Author’s experiences as a pilot during the Battle of Britain. Covering air-combat, missions, loss of friends/colleagues and off-duty life. 4/5

Wild City: A Brief History of New York City in 40 Animals
by Thomas Hynes

A Chapter on each species. Usually information about incidents they were involved in (see “Tigers”) or the growth, decline, comeback of their population & habit. 3/5

Fire in the Sky: Cosmic Collisions, Killer Asteroids, and the Race to Defend Earth by Gordon L. Dillow

A history of the field and some of the characters. Covers space missions, searchers, discovery, movies and the like. Interesting throughout. 4/5

The Long Winter: Little House Series, Book 6 by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The family move into their store building in town for the winter. Blizzard after blizzard sweeps through the town over the next few months and starvation or freezing threatens. 3/5

The Time Traveller’s Almanac Part 1: Experiments edited by Anne and Jeff VanderMeer

First of 4 volumes of short stories. 14 stories, many by well known names (ie Silverberg, Le Guin). A good collection. 3/5

A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away: My Fifty Years Editing Hollywood Hits—Star Wars, Carrie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mission: Impossible, and More by Paul Hirsch

Details of the editing profession & technology. Lots of great stories 4/5

My Scoring System

• 5/5 = Brilliant, top 5 book of the year
• 4/5 = Above average, strongly recommend
• 3/5 = Average. in the middle 70% of books I read
• 2/5 = Disappointing
• 1/5 = Did not like at all

The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power by Deirdre Mask

Covered the subtitle well. I would have like some of more technical stuff that the author mentioned reading. 3/5

The Fated Sky: Lady Astronaut #2 by Mary Robinette Kowal

Set mostly in the lead-up to the first Mars expedition and the journey to Mars. Lots of interpersonal/interracial problems & fixing toilets. 3/5

Enola Gay: Mission to Hiroshima by Gordon Thomas

Mainly following Paul Tibbets and the 509th Composite Group plus some on the ground in Hiroshima. Has “minute-by-minute coverage of the critical periods”. 3/5

Pandemic by John Dryden

A 3 part radio play set before/after and during a global pandemic. Total length just 2 hours. Parts 2 & 3 felt a little cliched. 3/5

An Economist Walks into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk by Allison Schrager

Examples of how people in unusual situations handle risk and how you can apply it to your life. Interesting and useful. 4/5

100 Things The Simpsons Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die by Allie Goertz & Julia Prescott

Over 4 minutes per fact so plenty of depth. A Great collection of stuff for casual and serious fans. 4/5

Chernobyl 01:23:40 : The Incredible True Story of the World’s Worst Nuclear Disaster by Andrew Leatherbarrow

Chapters on the disaster and aftermath alternate with the author’s trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. A good intro to the disaster. 3/5

Turn the Ship Around! : A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet

The management advice is lost on me but the stories about turning around an under-performing sub crew in weeks is interesting. 3/5

My Scoring System

• 5/5 = Brilliant, top 5 book of the year
• 4/5 = Above average, strongly recommend
• 3/5 = Average. in the middle 70% of books I read
• 2/5 = Disappointing
• 1/5 = Did not like at all

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff

A good warning of the dangerous designs and goals of firms like Facebook and Google. Sometimes a bit wordy. 3/5

The Calculating Stars: Lady Astronaut Volume 1 by Mary Robinette Kowal

Alternate timeline SF. A meteorite hits the US. The Space program accelerates so humans can escape earth. Our hero faces lots of sexism & other barriers to becoming an astronaut. 3/5

By the Shores of Silver Lake: Little House Series, Book 5 by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The family move to De Smet, South Dakota. The railroad and then a town is built about them over a year. A good entry in the series, some gripping passages. 3/5

The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out
by William Sitwell

A non-exhaustive history. Bouncing through ancient times before focusing on Britain since 1945. But plenty of fun and interesting bits. 3/5

Broadway: A History of New York City in Thirteen Miles by Fran Leadon

A mile by mile coverage from South to North. How each section was added to the street and developed. A range of interesting stories and history. 4/5

My Scoring System

• 5/5 = Brilliant, top 5 book of the year
• 4/5 = Above average, strongly recommend
• 3/5 = Average. in the middle 70% of books I read
• 2/5 = Disappointing
• 1/5 = Did not like at all

Fewer books this month. At home on lockdown and weather a bit worse so less time to go on walks walks and listen.

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book On Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need by Jessica Brody

A fairly straight adaption of the screenplay-writing manual. Lots of examples from well-known books including full breakdowns of beats. 3/5

Happy Singlehood: The Rising Acceptance and Celebration of Solo Living by Elyakim Kislev

Based on 142 interviews. A lot of summaries of findings with quotes for interviewees and people’s blogs. Last chapter has some policy push but a little lights 3/5

Scandinavia: A History by Ewan Butler

Just a a 6 hour long quick spin though history. First half suffers a bit with lists of Kings although there is a bit more colour later in. Okay prep for something meatier 3/5

One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon by Charles Fishman

A bit of a mix. It covers the legacy of Apollo but the best bits are chapters on the Computers, Politics and other behind the scenes things. A compliment to astronaut and mission orientated books. 4/5

My Scoring System

• 5/5 = Brilliant, top 5 book of the year
• 4/5 = Above average, strongly recommend
• 3/5 = Average. in the middle 70% of books I read
• 2/5 = Disappointing
• 1/5 = Did not like at all

Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections by Patrick Smith

Lots of “you always wanted to know” & “this is how it really is” bits about commercial flying. Good fun 4/5

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

A very tightly written thriller about a fictional 1963 plot to assassinate Frnch President Charles de Gaulle. Fast moving, detailed and captivating 5/5

Topgun: An American Story by Dan Pedersen

Memoir from the first officer in charge of the US Navy’s Top Gun school. A mix of his life & career, the school and US Navy air history (especially during Vietnam). Excellent 4/5

Radicalized: Four Tales of Our Present Moment
by Cory Doctorow

4 short stories set in more-or-less the present day. They all work fairly well. Worth a read. Spoilers in the link. 3/5

On the Banks of Plum Creek: Little House Series, Book 4 by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The family settle in Minnesota and build a new farm. Various major and minor adventures. I’m struck how few possessions people had back then. 3/5

My Father’s Business: The Small-Town Values That Built Dollar General into a Billion-Dollar Company by Cal Turner Jr.

A mix of personal and company history. I found the early story of the company and personal stuff the most interesting. 3/5

You Can’t Fall Off the Floor: And Other Lessons from a Life in Hollywood by Harris and Nick Katleman

Memoir by a former studio exec and head. Lots of funny and interesting stories from his career, featuring plenty of famous names. 4/5

The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey

75% about Big-wave Tow-Surfers with chapters on Scientists and Shipping industry people mixed in. Competent but author’s heart seemed mostly in the surfing. 3/5