An important, compelling, and fantastically well-researched story
924151
This was a literal page-turner, ok page-swiper, but I could not step away from this story. With each chapter, my mouth fell further open. First it was the raw facts of the story that gripped me. To watch someone go from idea to implementation on something so grand, so dark, and so consequential is amazing. Second it was the reporting by Bilton that stunned me. That this book is non-fiction is a testament to the research methods, timeline reconstruction, and raw reporting talent by the author and his team. I feel like they should get a digital forensics award for this project. It's as close to time travel as I've experienced in non-fiction book form. Congratulations, Nick Bilton. This is your best book yet and a great title for a mix of readers who love adventure, are curious about the web, or want to explore the human side of what are too often categorized as "technology stories."
2948083
Sobczak put a great deal of research into this book, and that fact is abundantly clear from the introduction, which outlines some current trajectories of climate change and explains that he has sped up the timescale of the changes that will come upon earth for the purposes of this book. The decision, from a storytelling perspective, is a brilliant one.

One of the reasons the dangers of climate change has become so controversial over the last several decades is because its timescale is quite slow compared to the human life. It is cognitively difficult for humans to prioritize a tragedy that will take place on a scale of centuries rather than months or years. By speeding up the timescale by a few decades, Sobczak gives us Warren, who was a child in the times that we know now, and watched the effects of climate change personally affect him throughout his life. It makes the abstract personal, letting the reader see how we might feel about the future of climate change if we would be there to see itand be at the age where we could still dedicate ourselves to doing something about it.

Intermittently, through Warrens journal, Sobczak details the many, many aspects of how climate change will affect the human experience. There is the devastating heat of summer and the droughts and fires that result, of course. He also details effects of the strengthened hurricanes and sea level rise; the flooding and water shortage that plague humanity. There is the spread of disease, as climate changes and disease-carrying organisms spread to new territory. There is the acidification of oceans, and the effect that has on marine life. The way that transportation methods change as a result of climate change are also detailed.

Even more impressive are the rich details about the many ways that humanity has attempted to combat climate change in the decade since it became undeniably devastating, before the book begins.

But Sobczaks vision of the future is not only limited to climate change. We see an NSA that is no longer even pretending to hide its total surveillance, and the black markets that spring up as people seek to hide from an omnipresent government. We see the public consciousness shift and elect the idealistic Green Party, and that partys corruption into the power-hungry political entity that every other leading power has been. There is even a thread about the technological singularity.

This book was extremely readable. I want to say that the author was too compassionate, too timid to write about the protagonists falling prey to the horrors that consume the world and losing their humanity, but the book was a somber enough tale as it is without making it bleak as well. He managed to put a positive spin onto what seems like a terrifyingly real prospect.

There were a few things that took me out of it: magical realism, details that seemed a little confusing, and a few facts that, while not entirely wrong, were phrased in a way that was misleading. But these were only small details inside a much larger book. These details are the reason why I give it a 4/5.

Overall, I enjoyed this and am glad that Sobczak brought this book into the world.
2274622
This compelling account of the fight to stop decimation of the labor movement by global corporations working in league with the racist anti-labor government of South Carolina may well be the best written and best researched book of its genre. The captivating story pits longshoremen's union local president Ken Riley against South Carolina Attorney General Charley Condon in a David vs. Goliath battle that will have you staying up late to finish the book. The skills of anthropologist Durrenberger and journalist Erem merge seamlessly to produce a tour de force that tells the story of labor action on the waterfront in Charleston before expanding globally to give the reader a clear understanding of how the religious right, neoconfederate southern racists, neoconservatives, and globalizing corporations are teaming up to crush and impoverish workers everywhere by criminalizing dissent while themselves disregarding law and propriety. In the process, the reader is treated to a course on the labor movement more concise and useful than any college semester on the subject. The high global stakes in what would appear on the surface to be an isolated local labor strike are clearly laid out, leaving the reader with an understanding of the threat we all face from the globalization juggernaut. If you only read one book on labor or globalization, this must be it.
812154
Murphy tells a captivating story about Philadelphia's yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in this young adult tome. First, he provides a compelling narrative of the epidemic itself, replete with first-hand accounts of witnesses. Then, he tells us something of what happened in Philadelphia after this particular epidemic, illuminating the important impacts this event had on such diverse aspects of life as a public water system and whether the U.S. President can call Congress outside of the capital city.

He goes on to explain the unfortunately major role of yellow fever as a U.S. killer for over a century. We then learn how scientists eventually discovered the cause (mosquitos carrying the virus) and a vaccine.

Murphy's inclusion of relevant details adds to the evocative account of the tragedy itself. For example, we feel the irony when - in the midst of doctors and quacks expounding a range of potential ways to avoid the fever - an unknown author submits a letter to a newspaper suggesting that city residents kill the mosquitoes hatching in their yards. The remedy is not heeded. Likewise, in the midst of the panic that the epidemic created, a meteorite actually lands in the middle of the city, adding to the apocalyptic frenzy.

This book is an excellent introduction to the importance of public health issues in U.S. and world history. I sent a copy as a gift to a young friend with a taste for history today.

(Special note on the audio version narrated by Pat Bottino: he sounds too much like sportscaster Howard Cosell for my taste, with every sentence delivered as a sharp staccato.)
4635315
Morning of the Rising Sun is the compelling story of the first major Allied combined land, air and sea offensive in the war in the Pacific. Historian and author, Dr. Kenneth Friedman, spent six years extensively researching and painstakingly writing the first draft of this sweeping trip across the battlefields and into the minds and motivations of the combatants ... and it shows. It unflinchingly depicts the deadly details of the war in the jungles, waters and airspace that made up the struggle for control of Guadalcanal.

Dr. Friedman brilliantly lays out the political and cultural underpinnings of that bloody six month donnybrook with the meticulous clarity of an accomplished historian while at the same time taking the reader into the minds, motives and personal experiences of warriors from both sides with a novelist's sense of story. This is an eminently readable and thoroughly enjoyable delineation of the fascinating details of the conflict that changed the course of the war.

Guadalcanal stopped the advance of the Japanese across the Pacific and created momentum that would take the Allies from blood soaked island to blood soaked island all the way to Japan. Hastily organized, audaciously launched and uncompromisingly fought, its outcome was tenuous and uncertain until the very last days and, but for a few propitious moments that we euphemistically, in hindsight, call the fortunes of war, it could easily have turned out differently. And that would have dramatically altered the course of the war.

This book is a valuable addition to our understanding of the causes of conflict and the nature of both victory and defeat, a testament to the honor and courage of those who believed in their cause and fought on both sides. Anyone interested in military history, political history or the very personal nature of war without quarter will find Morning of the Rising Sun a productive investment of their time and a fascinating read.
2041771
In this incredible biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Caroline Fraser digs deep and presents a fair and well-documented account of Wilder's life.
What truly sets this apart from other LIW biographies is the amount of research that clearly went into it, and the rich historical detail. Fraser consistently gives the reader the larger historical context of the world and the nation in each period in Wilder's life, and then zooms in to see how it shaped Laura, and how Laura was involved in these events. Rather than just telling her story, it tells of the nation that grew to love her.
I appreciate that Fraser begins with the history of the Native Americans in Minnesota, the New Ulm Massacre, and the subsequent hangings. As a resident of Mankato, MN it often seems that that important history is known to locals, yet lost to the rest of the world. Yet these events shaped our part of the nation, and greatly influenced the development of this area.
The entire book is this way - Fraser paints the backdrop, and then moves the Ingalls and Wilders into the scene. The rich historical context is very helpful.
Fraser writes with depth and knowledge, and has created both a memorable biography and a history of the early homesteaders.
4828179
The depth of Blackmon's research is beyond impressive; his writing is precise; and the story that emerges is one of singular import -- a look at a enormous, barbaric and wide-spread crime against humanity carried out for three-quarters of a century following the Civil War for purposes of individual, governmental, and industrial profit. Blackmon also makes a strong case for how numerous societal evils arose as ramifications and justifications of the peonage practices. Blackmon sifts through court records, grand jury investigations, diaries, family memories, clippings -- every record he can in order to bring human faces to the staggering statistics he places before the reader. The inconceivable level of horror he uncovers at operation after operation, from coal mines to turpentine camps is genuinely disturbing, troubling to the conscience of readers with a sense of justice or morality. It is an unflinching history like John Hersey's "Hiroshima" that causes one to ask rhetorically, "My God, what have we done?" It should be a part of any course on Civil War American and its aftermath, American labor, and civil rights.
4734001
A compelling story about an unlikely duo and the uphill fight against tech giants and their clashing personalities. The two former co-CEOs are the protagonists in this novel, and the authors bring out their quirks and nuances in great detail through extensive interviews and research. Though today the fall of Blackberry is far more prominent than its improbable rise (hence the title), the book gives equal time for both and shows how the ingredients of the company's decline were assembled well before the company's peak.

I work in the mobile IT industry, so books about Jobs and the Blackberry duo will appeal to me more than many, but this story will interest anyone as a case study on business strategy, organizational behavior, negotiating tactics, or corporate governance.
3242158
Gripping to read and exhaustively researched, this is an important book. Peele is a dogged investigative reporter and he goes all out to shine a blinding light of scrutiny on both Your Black Muslim Bakery and the officials who let the violence continue for so long. He pieces together a fascinating narrative and gets inside the heads of his characters, putting it all the context of Oakland's history and a searingly critical look at the Black Muslim movement. It's a shocking story that anyone who's interested in religious cults, true crime, or journalism should read.
666223
A well researched and crafted novel, action packed and detailed scene setting
2479186
The unfolding story that S.R. Reynolds depicts gripped me from the start.  With every detail she so craftily reveals, Ms. Reynolds paints a vivid portrait of each of the players in this tragic drama.  Most telling is the horrific motivation of the perpetrator and the devastating influence that he had on his victims and their families, all of which is fleshed out in an intriguing and deeply interconnected way.

Tales like these need to be told.  By telling this particular true story in such a compelling manner, Ms. Reynolds provides a great service.  She helps us to understand how social and psychological forces combine to create heinous actions without regard to the unconscionable pain that lies in its wake.  We need to understand this dynamic in order to work to try to prevent similar acts from occurring in other settings.  Expository writing such as this goes a long way toward that end.

In reading this highly-developed informative text, the reader experiences both the bystander's frustration in light of a flawed legal system and satisfaction when that legal system works as it was intended.  It would behoove advocates of justice to read Reynolds' work carefully in order to improve the chances that just outcomes will prevail.  Beyond the fascinating read that Similar Transactions represents, it is a vital piece of research in the annals of judicial history.  This is a book that needs to be read.
843638
Perhaps I'm biased because I helped Aharon and Ben write and publish KADDISHEL, but I'll speak up here anyway--because this is such a terrific book!

It is an unusual combination of scholarly research and personal stories, mainly Aharon's, that are up-close and revealing; the well-researched historical backgrounders give Aharon's personal history heft and context. Conversely, Aharon's life story, which he tells in a most humble, eloquent voice, renders the historical information compellingly relevant; the reader gets a real-life character that s/he can intimately relate to against the big-picture backdrop of local, regional, and world events.

This can be seen as a scholarly book with the addition of lots of personality and without any academic jargon; it gives the reader a comprehensive understanding, from a Jewish viewpoint, of the three intense historical periods Aharon Golub lived through: rural eastern Poland before the Holocaust, during the Holocaust, and during the amazing attempt to create in the Middle East a utopia for all against great odds.
4656486
This rich study and biographical account has everything you would hope to find in a work of this nature: originality, balance, insight, intuition, splendidly crafted prose, human frailty, and exhaustive historical research. And a good story, to boot! In short, the kind of book one is loath to put down at the end of the day, or to finish. We are indebted to the author for bringing to light this remarkable Colonial American, whose contribution to the early history of American (and especially Virginian) life has been largely overlooked, at least up to now. No historical account of Colonial America, slavery in America, of Colonial Virginia can ignore this most welcomed contribution. One quibble with the paperback edition: though portraits of Carter, his wife and other principal characters in the book are mentioned from time to time, none have been provided. Could we also have maps showing the location of Carter's plantations (and of Colonial Virginia in general) and illustrations of his various homes?
2767925
Most of the people who posted negative reviews I've read here all seem to have one thing in common:  apparently none of them bothered to read the book.
I found the book exceedingly well-researched--though there were a number of editing errors (such as misspelled names).  Alterman devotes different chapters to various facets of the media.  What I found particularly interesting was his detailed espose of the right-wing "punditocracy" and the network of right-wing "think tanks" ("propaganda mill" is a more accurate term, in my opinion) who generate policy talking points.
A must-read for anyone interested in how a small cabal of wealthy individuals (in particular, Richard Mellon Scaife the heir to the Mellon banking fortune, the Coors brewing company, and self-proclaimed "messiah" Rev. Sun Myung Moon) control much of the political discourse in this country.
2550963
You'll begin the book because you have a cultural or historic interest in the subject matter, but you'll finish it because you're immersed in the narrative.  No less than a heroic epic, the level of detail presented in this novel rivals any piece of fiction on the bestsellers list.  Mr. Weatherford's first-hand research adds a credibility to a narrative so rich that one could believe that the subject matter took place in the modern era of recordkeeping.  Simultaneously, the commentaries on the role of prejudice on the writing of history and the role of commerce on the building of it are moving, and perhaps more relevant in today's political climate than one would initially imagine.  Mr. Weatherford's fine work is worthy of recognition, and stands near the high water mark of the genre.
1912965
I hate to sound like a hackneyed reviewer, but I've just finished James Donovan's book, and that's the (inadequate) phrase that springs to mind.

The research is stunning and the comparative analysis truly important.  The narrative is handled deftly, with great confidence, and more than a little elegance.  Donovan is a helluva writer.

This is a topic I knew little about beyond the myths we all grew up with and a handful of books read over the years.  But this book draws one in quickly and refuses to let go.  The characters come alive, the events unfold with a cinematic sweep, and beneath it all, the deep research reassures that the only agenda at work here is to tell a fascinating story with balance and a strict adherence to the knowable truth.

And the last line is a killer.
1680700
Well written story and eye-opening research.