One of David Brin's Best Books
920702
One of David Brin's best books.  Good characters and a great plot set in first trilogy of the the Uplift universe.
715529
As I read The Final Summit I found myself wishing that I had read the first book. The Final Summit was a very interesting book. I enjoyed reading the story of David Ponder. It was a sad moment when his wife died. I felt like this was a perfect book for the times that we are living in. It is critical that we begin to look at how we live and the choices we are making as a society. This book helps us to see those things more clearly.

The book helps to see a bigger historical picture as well. I always enjoy when a book has a great historical content and this writer did a great job of telling an amazing story. After reading this book, I intend to read The Traveler's Gift as well. Andy Andrews does a great job of weaving together history and critical decision making into a very enjoyable and easy read.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great story.
3527435
I couldn't get enough of this book, and cant wait to read more by Charlie Bronson.
His writing style is engaging and chatty as he talks to the reader as if hes enjoying a pint with you on a Saturday afternoon before football.
Charlie Bronson (or Charles Salvador, as hes now known as) started his career as a petty criminal, rose quickly through the ranks to armed robbery, served seven years in prison and upon release took up bare-knuckle fighting in Londons East End. He lasted 69 days before he was arrested for robbing a jeweller, for which he given another seven years.
That was in 1988 and hes still inside now, almost 30 years later.
Now theres no denying hes had his moments, but hes never killed anyone, and yet, as he discusses here, there are people whove committed several murders, been imprisoned, been paroled, killed someone else and sent back to jail, and all the time Charlie Bronson has remained inside, serving many, many years in solitary.
This book covers his time in Broadmoor, the most infamous of Britains high security loony bins. I use that term because, even though it isn't politically correct, Bronson continually refers to himself and other patients/inmates as Loons.
The irony, of course, isn't lost on him, and he demonstrates an excellent sense of humour. Charlie Bronson, for all hes been through, is blessed with the Heaven-sent ability to laugh at himself. And its possibly this which makes this book so readable.
I cant recommend this book highly enough. If you know nothing about Charlie Bronson, yet are concerned that a prisoner whos been handed a seven-year sentence can still be inside 30 years later, but are also believing everything youve read in the papers about him being Britains most violent prisoner then allow him to tell his own story. You may be surprised to discover the humane, decent and honourable to Charlie Bronson.
I cant recommend this book highly enough
1664888
As a Naturalist and a Science Fiction fan, I loved this book. Read it many years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the Hardin's unusual technique of telling a Sci-Fi story in one chapter and then following it with a factual explanation in the next. He goes in to some detail of Populations, Ecology, and the Tragedy of the Commons (Which I have explained as "Responsibility Shared is Responsibility Denied" to laymen.). I think this is still one of the most important reads for anyone involved in the Environment or Decission-making, or even the Sci-Fi fan.
2990652
This is one of the best books I've read in years. It's funny, well written and creative. I love that now that I've finished it, I can re-read it and make different choices.
My favorite part is the section in which David makes annotations. At one point, I was laughing so hard I couldn't breath.  I highly recommend this book for anyone who wishes to laugh.
3612968
"The Map" is a surprise, it is a book in two parts.  Although I only expected a spiritual book of instructions or meditations, it is also a marvelous mystery story.

In part I on the book, David Murrow is contacted by a Welsh Vicar named Benson.  Benson asks him to meet with an old priest who knows of a guide to Christian manhood.  Part I of "The Map" describes David Murrow's search for that blueprint.

The mystery is very suspenseful and exciting.  As David begins his search for documents that might reveal the very ancient "way" or map, he becomes aware of forces that intend to block his search and impede his activities.  On several occasions during the search, David narrowly evades the enemy and becomes increasingly nervous and almost paranoid.  Murrow knows that the opponents represent evil, but has very few clues to  identify of his enemy.  He does, however, become increasingly aware that the world needs this map.

The missing map may solve a serious problem in the western church.  In countries like the British Isles, over the years men have ceased to function in the church.  Men have decided that the church is too feminine, too meek and weak, and hence not a place for "real" men.

In Part II of "The Map", having narrated the mystery, Murrow takes us on a journey through scripture.  He analyzes several Biblical heroes, such as Paul, and Moses and relates their stories to the map.  He explains the concepts behind the map using many scriptural verses.  He provides detailed instructions for using the map with numerous examples and stories to illustrate his points.

Overall, "The Map" is an excellent book.  The mystery is plausible and exciting.  The concept of teaching Christianity through a mystery story is  extremely effective.  The later explanation of the mystery is exacting and detailed.  Murrow provides many scriptural references and wonderful stories to support his teaching.

I highly recommend reading this interesting and intriguing book.
686049
I have read most of David's other books and found them fantastic. My favorite is "The Fifth Profession". I am a police officer and greatly enjoyed that story. This book though was read in a night. I was unable to put it down. I found the change of plot exciting and unexpected. I hope David puts out more books just like this one.
2315409
Prior to reading this book, my only knowledge of David Niven was as an actor in a few films I had seen.  'The Moon's A Balloon' was recommended to the highest level by an old aunt, and I must do likewise to anyone who enjoys superb writing, hugely entertaining and humorous stories, and dry wit of the highest calibre.  David's writings are wonderfully descriptive and tinged in places with tragedy lest we forget he was apportioned his share.  He led a most extraordinary life, met some of the most famous people from royalty to screen stars, and after reading his memoirs I defy anyone not to be endeared to the man.  The book was no doubt initially made popular by David's popularity as an actor, but I guarantee that people who are not acquainted with him will enjoy his memoirs as much as those who are.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough, nor adequately elucidate my surprise that it is no longer in print.  After reading it I believe you will concur that the world lost a very unique person when David died in 1983.  Please do yourself a favour and read this book, you will love it.
4666219
Unlike the book before it, I was unable to put this one down!  Quite a  page turner.  Brin seems to write two types of books:  the ones that you  can't put down from the start, and the ones you have to force yourself to  finish.
Fortunately, this one falls under the first category.
Finally,  after struggling to complete Brightness Reef (one of the slowest Brin  Novels I think I have ever read.  I finished two other book while still  reading that one.) everything seems to fall into place.
I would  definitely recommend this book, but it's a shame you have to read  Brightness Reef to fully appreciate it.  Oh well.  Can't win 'em all.
1985013
This book was a great read from beginning to the end.  I have read all David's books and this another winner.
2277778
Uvi Poznansky gets five big stars from me.  I will do my best to explain and try to do justice to this marvelous book. You know David, the Biblical King David? Well if you don't you have to read this. Uvi's book reads like a piece of art. I think it is like taking the history that was written about David and creating a story resembling "A Real Hollywood Story" or "This is Your Life"

David explains his life and the creation of the legend that is David. So there are reveals, confessions and decisions leading to David himself just trying to survive.

 Most people don't know David as young person formulating a plot and creating his ambitious life. David was not only a poet and writer but he was a musician.

 , this time for her marvelous portrayal of the Biblical King David. Her David, although fictional, is not the perfect figure sculpted by Michelangelo. Nor is he strictly the David of the Bible. With his human failings, the David she has created is a bit of a departure from the legend.

I would say the book is also a modern tale. The way it is written in terminology that doesnt need a dictionary or interpreter. The author also adds to the story how women just adored David. He was pursued by many. In this time, David, had many wives as was the lifestyle.

As far as Davids alleged affairs, I was wondering how he kept up. He had twenty children with as many as weight wives. Shocking to me, by the way.

If you love history as a base with a modern flair PLEASE read this. I found it an excellent impression of all the is David. Im really looking forward to the sequel.
2754946
I got my copy of this book, autographed by David Crosby, at a CSN concert in 1992.  I read it immediately and have re-read it several times since; the hardcover book is now falling apart.

It is compelling from beginning to end, in no small part because of the collaboration between Crosby, his coauthor Carl Gottlieb, and the co-participants in the amazing musical journey on which David Crosby and his many cohorts embarked.  It doesn't hide from or glamorize Crosby's descent into freebase cocaine hell and escape from it - against all odds.

But for those of us who grew up with CSN(Y) and the various combinations as an integral part of our own musical history, this is a must read.  And re-read.  I wish it were on Kindle.
3563326
The Great Silence, the deafening LACK of contact from intelligent aliens that the Drake equation says ought to be swarming our galaxy (and the universe, if not multiverse), bothers me mightily.  And it bothers astrophysicist David Brin mightily, too.  The Great Silence is a boon to those skeptical that there is life other than on Earth, those who (modern day anti-Copernicans?) believe on some level that our home planet really IS the center of, and the only example of, sentient life that God and/or physics has managed to create.  Existence is Brin's lengthy and thorough exploration of the possibility that humans are NOT the universe's sole example of a sentient species, enriched and spiced by vigorous conjecture about the future of artificial intelligence (AI).

A pertinent bit of biography regarding David Brin: he's an author with a mission.  Successful authors ply their craft for quite a variety of reasons, ranging from personal profit to polemics, from sheer love of wordsmithing to sheer love of self.  And a few write to try to change the world a bit.  Henning Mankell, the terrifically successful Scandinavian mystery writer, for example, spends a good deal of his creative energy, a significant part of his time, and no little amount of his money on promoting the social good as he perceives it.  Brin fits easily into the "change the world a bit" category, as a quick visit to his website will confirm.  An optimist (and a carefully reasoned one), Brin is not afraid to touch what was long a third-rail in anthropology: in his opinion evolution appears to be GOING somewhere.  In Existence, Brin makes a nuanced and sophisticated case, absent of sentimentalism or species chauvinism, that the universe is unfolding itself in a fascinating way.  Humans, should they choose to thread an endless procession of catastrophe needles, just might get to play a role in this.  The sophistication and depth of Brin's approach to this notion is the stuff of a five star novel.  Worthwhile as the book is, though, it doesn't shine with five star luminosity.

My favorite creative writing teacher in college would have handed Existence back to Brin with an A for content, and a C+ for writing. One mild to moderate detraction is the liberal cut and paste approach that Brin used (maybe as a labor saving device)to graft previouly published material into Existence.  The result falls short of seamless. Secondly, the characters don't play second fiddle in this space opera, at best they're part of the stage crew.  Much like Kim Stanley Robinson in his latest hard sci-fi opus,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/2312/dp/0316098124/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">2312</a>, Brin seems to frequently place the plot and characters in cryogenic suspension while he expounds (albeit entertainingly) on theories, conjectures, and technological tours de force that he has clearly been ITCHING to talk with us all about.

So....an "A" and a "C+" averages out to a high "B", does it not?  The book is a must for those of you that were nerdy enough to download the SETI program that enlisted millions of home computers to (unsuccessfully) help search for evidence of ET's (yes, I was one of those nerds).  The additional bonus of Brin's conjectures about the future of AI makes this an almost mandatory read for the hard sci-fi buff.  But if you're into a story that flows synchronously, or into narratives that explore the intricacies of human relationships and social intercourse, and don't care all that much about the Great Silence (you really ought to!), you can pass this one by.
3128761
I've had this book for months but never did anything with it. I finally decided to publish my book on Kindle and David's advice has been invaluable.

The beginning of the book where he talks about his initial success is my favorite. I read it over and over again for inspiration.
3200630
Ron White's best-selling and award-winning book How Computers Work  Millennium Edition is nothing short of brilliant. He explains how all of  this "pokerfaced" hardware works clearly and often even  humorously. The book falls into the category of when something is great, or  when someone is really talented, they make it look easy. It conveys how  computers work in an extremely effective way with both its illustrations  and text. The illustrations make one feel that they can practically  understand how the component in question works at a glance, and the text  seamlessly and lucidly ensures that the reader knows what's going on in the  illustration.  One of the best parts of the book, however, are the sections  at the beginning of each chapter where Ron White introduces the next part  of the computer he is going to cover. In these pages White's writings are  not the sidebar explanations that accompany the illustrations -- although,  as mentioned, those explanations are very good, too, and left me feeling I  really did know what was going on in the illustration -- rather, at the  beginning of each chapter, Ron White shows his immense talent as a  writer/essayist/humorist. Not only are these sections very enjoyable to  read, they also reveal how the illustrations and explanations to follow fit  into the big picture of how it all works.  The Millennium Edition also has  a really interesting part following each section of the book where he  predicts how a particular type of computer component might work in the  future -- i.e., how printers, multimedia, the Internet, software, storage,  microchips, input/output devices, and computers in general will work. Don't  know if the predictions will be right, but they're still interesting to  think about. There are also timelines in the Millennium Edition which show  the evolution of the computer and many of its essential parts, such as the  transistor, and there is also a good amount devoted to how software,  networks, the Internet, and MP3 works in this 400+ page book, which also  comes with an equally absorbing, interactive CD-ROM.  After reading the  book, I found that knowing how computers work has helped me in my everyday  use of computers, too. Somehow, knowing how they work seems to help when  dealing with them in general -- there's more of an insidious power in  knowing how something works than I thought... How Computers Work has also  come in handy -- too many times to recount -- as a good reference book for  randomly looking up computer related items and topics in the index, so not  only can I find it and know how it works, but I can find out what it is in  the first place, and get a sense of how it all fits together. With all of  this useful and educational information presented so well and effectively,  I would even say that this book is an important contribution to society!
3633511
I have read this book at least 10 times. Its a great book to read about Col. David Hackworth, a warrior and one that has learned a lot in his life. Out of all the books that he has written, this is the best of the lot and contains a lot of his experiences. Everytime I want to have a good read I would pick up this book and it just draws you in. So if you are after a good Korean and Vietnam history through his own eyes, this is the book for you.
1925536
I've read a lot of Gelnn Books and this is one of his best.  I was able to relate to a lot of what he said, it also opened my eyes to some new wyas of dealing with things and situations.  I would recommed this book to everyone who is looking for answers to lifes obstacles.