Truly written with a high intellect and is a very ...
924258
Truly written with a high intellect and is a very thorough read for anyone interested in a more in depth review of life itself !!!
838533
The most intelligent book I have read in years, it offers a very complex perspective on the Vietnam war which keeps the reader from indulging in complacent opinions. Brilliantly ironic yet sensitive and subtle, the writer gives his narrator a very richly textured voice, both cynical and moving.
2995844
Brilliantly written and interesting. I had trouble reading this because I started treating a schizophrenic patient at the time I started reading and honestly it is very hard and exhausting due to their states of confusion. So I took forever to read this because my patient kept on popping into my mind and I had a hard time disconnecting from my sessions. The fact that I felt the same type of anxiety while reading this book that I felt in session makes me believe that Imp's character is really well thought of and written.
1503864
This is not for everyone (particularly those who do not read French - duh !).
The story is quite extraordinary and the book is very well written, in a cynical, sarcastic and humoristic way.
The author does not spare many, but he mostly focus on attacking the stupid positions of some scientists and many religious organizations.
If you have a very sincere and deep faith, don't read it. It will shock you.
3961976
I picked up this book knowing it would be different and initally I found it to be very difficult to keep up with. I found it confusing to try and figure out at what age and time the writer was dealing with. But once I figured out the writer's style and marvelled at his brilliance and individuality I found myself caught up completely in this little tale about Max Tivoli.
Andrew Sean Greer has written a book that is profound and very much in its own class. He writes with great prose and many phrases read like poetry, causing one to pause and treasure the thought. I applaud Mr. Greer for writing unlike any other and being brave enough to stick his neck out to reap the rewards.
You will fall in love with Max Tivoli, pain in his lonliness and ache for someone to love him. It is such an interesting concept to start from the end, to be old when you are young and young when you are old. Maybe we should all try a bit of his wisdom. Max reminds me of an old soul reincarnated into a young child and hindered by all the handicaps of youth and then slowed once again by the horrors of aging just when exuberance is at its most inspirational. It brings new meaning to deja-vu'!! While Max brings such sadness it is a wonderful thing to feel emotion just from the simplicity of reading. I wish more books were written with such warmth and heart.
3719967
This is a wonderfully sophisticated, intelligent book with sharp commentary on multiple social issues of her time.(and ours in certain aspects) All of the characters are wonderfully imperfect, restrained and original and are caught in the intriguing webs of dilemmas but their behviors are very coherent with their characters and subcultures.  This author truly deserves our utmost respect.
4786920
This eight week diary is written by an extremely intelligent woman who is using her wits to survive under terrible circumstances. I found her writing to be informative and detailed and full of insight. This is no easy task when living under constant threat of sexual violence from the Russian troops as well as the constant threat of hunger and disease for poor sanitation and crowded living conditions. The diary fully explores what happens to a conquered people when the invading armies enter the city. It is to the credit of the author that she shows how this was not just a personal tragedy but a collective tragedy as over 100,000 German women were raped by the Russian troops that occupied Berlin. It is not a moral choice but a survival tactic to attach to a high ranking Russian officer to avoid daily group rape. Knowing the history of World War II, and knowing the terrible actions of the Germans, this book will provide the reader with mixed emotions. One is left with the impression that we all our guilty, that we all can commit terrible acts given the correct social pressures and orders from authority. I found it hard to put the book down each evening to go to sleep since the author keeps the reader transfixed by her efforts to survive under terrible post-war conditions.  I would certainly recommend the book highly.  The author's exploration into the relationship between men and women under times of brutal suppression was fascinating and was so very true. A German man finds his wife has been gang raped while he was fighting the war. He kills her by shooting her in the back while she is washing dishes and then kills himself. This simple example gives you a flavor of the tensions and misery experienced by the vanquished Germans. This book honestly looks at the sexual aspects of war and how violence against women may be seen as the spoils of war for the winning troops. There is much here that makes the reader feel hopeless and depressed at the human condition yet there is also hope and resiliency and this keeps the reader engaged page after page. I think it is an incredible document worthy of wide readership.
2730925
This book came very highly recommended.  I must admit that if it hadn't I probably never would have read it.  Having said that--I liked the story but found the writing not easily accessible, but well written.  The main character's identify morphs a number of times which makes for some confusion.  All is much clearer by the end.  Wonderful to learn more about life in North Korea, although it is very grim.

Having said all this, I do think any serious reader should read this book.
3364677
You will not find a writer who is so clever, but on the sly, or who is so smart that you can't figure out exactly what he means but you know or you think you will figure it out someday. cause he's got a distinctive voice that is at once emotional but doesn't give anything away, except you know he is deep.
124054
Even though this was written by a very dear friend of mine, I would have purchased this boom even if I did not know the author. This is a highly intelligent and well written book.
527486
Some historical figures are known to all cultured persons.  Leo
Tolstoy, Johannes Brahms, Vincent Van Gogh -- these are names of
which most of us would be embarrassed to be ignorant.  On the
other hand, few of us would think to add the name of Jules Henri
Poincare to this list; and yet, if we did, it would tower over
all the rest.  For Poincare was a mathematician of the very
highest rank, an astonishingly fertile creative genius whose
prescient insight and technical mastery utterly transformed the
art to which he devoted his life.  Among his predecessors in the
three-thousand-year history of mathematics, only Archimedes,
Newton, Euler, and Gauss can be said to have equalled or
exceeded him.  By any standard, Poincare was one of the truly
great.
If for no other reason than this, THE VALUE OF SCIENCE is well
worth reading.  It is, after all, quite rare to find a book that
collects the thoughts of one of the very few genuinely profound
intellects in human history.  But what makes THE VALUE OF
SCIENCE truly wonderful is that it is not merely worth reading:
it is, in fact, a joy to read.  For in addition to his uncanny
mathematical gifts, Poincare had the knack of expressing
himself beautifully in writing.  Even in translation, his prose
has an admirable lucidity and grace, and his aphoristic style
often makes him highly quotable.  When he speaks of mathematical
creation, as he does in a celebrated essay of that name, he
offers general readers a fascinating glimpse into the depths
of his own extraordinary mind at the peak of its imaginative
frenzy; his (scrupulously non-technical) account of one of his
greatest mathematical discoveries supplies an unforgettable
intellectual thrill, a sort of electric shock for the soul.  For
anyone interested in the psychology of creation, this is simply
irresistible stuff.
A final brief caveat: although Poincare was clearly the greatest
mathematician of his time, he was not the greatest physicist.  A
curious wrong-headedness kept him from beating Albert Einstein
to the creation of special relativity, and general relativity
eventually proved Poincare wrong in some of his opinions on the
relation between physics and geometry.  So when Poincare speaks
of physics, bear in mind that some of his positions no longer
seem really tenable.
But this is no reason not to read every word of THE VALUE OF
SCIENCE.  It's a marvelous book, and its author was a marvelous
man.  Get to know them both.  You'll be glad you did.
3823252
Like some other reviewers before me, I bought THE HISTORIAN along with THE HEAP by H. Albarelli in the special price package. I feel that I got a good bargain in the process: Kostova's book is very, very well written, but where it falls down is in its story: in my view there simply wasn't enough complexity to the overall story or its suspence. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book immensely. H.P. Albarelli's THE HEAP is an extraordinary book: its story is complex and extremely intelligent in design. I think that anyone concerned with the fate of the world should read THE HEAP with an eye toward terrorism and the world's street children. The subtle implications of what Albarelli writes do not bode well for any of us.
660141
Its a very very good book written by a very talented young man.  His observations on life transcend generations, race, religion. Everything. Its poignant. The gentleman is very brave to share his innermost feelings and thoughts with the world. A very powerful voice for all generations. Love it and will share it with all who appreciate life.
3183777
One of the best books I have ever read-  the story is good but the writing is very unusual and outstanding.
1297905
I am a very avid reader of alot of books of all kinds of subjects. I found this book to be easy to read and so intelligently written. This is a very hard subject to write about,I feel he explain quantum mechanics well enough to where I was able to understand to where I have never been able to understand fully with out feeling lost and confuse. Dean's chacters are very real and loveable especially Barty and Angel. I feel that this book deserve's to be #1 for along time. Alot of people might be lost on this subject so those who read alot and look up the meaning of words they don't understand will be able to read this book in a matter of a few days just to understand how Enoch Cain Jr get's his just dues. I highly recommend this book to any one who love's a challenging subject.
2895884
I have long thought that you can tell much more about people by observing their friendships than you can by observing just themselves. No where is this more evident than "Brave Genius: a Scientist, a Philosopher..."I was familiar with Camus having read, "The Stranger" in college. I loved his writing and his ideas even when I did not agree with them. I did not know Monod  until this book and that is definitely my loss.

I had no idea (thanks Philosophy 101 proff) that Camus was such a brave and good man. While he supported communism as a youth he was well shed of those illusions later in life. I had forgotten that was the death knell for his friendship with Sartre. At a time when it was neither fashionable nor safe he openly criticized the Soviet Union. Monod was also standing up to the Soviet Union at the time.

While on generally does not think of philosophers and scientists as war heroes, these men truly were. But they continued to be exceptional throughout their lives no matter what the situation.

Due to the thickness of the book and the challenging matter, I thought it would take me much longer to read. But it is very compelling and engaging. I found myself staying up late to read.

I have purchased several copies for the bookish people on my Christmas list. It would be a shame to miss.
3217082
This is the rare writer who not only has much to say, but writes in a witty, cleaver way. I never found myself rushing through to get to the point because the way he writes is so rich. He allows the reader to really steep in this concept of "anti fragility" so that it becomes something one has a new relationship with. It's beyond robust, it's  a quality of resilience few have put their finger on until this writer.