Fascinating - reading it now
358358
This is the only book I've read on water wheels, but it's fascinating. It seems like a pretty thorough history going back as far as possible, and it discusses theories about how the ideas developed and includes many drawings and a few photographs. Lot of material here. Seems pretty thorough and interesting and authoritative for a textbook on *any* subject.
802869
Have read this multiple times. Compelling, fascinating! This is the kind of literature you need to "chew on" to really derive its full meaning.
4114947
Wow, if you like history, want to learn about the CIA, the government, why the world is so messed up, this book explains a lot.....I loved this.  Are we better off now, after this secret war?  Only time will tell, but this is fascinating.
3998418
This was a book club pick that I have to admit, I had some initial reservations about. The description sounded pretty interesting, but I was completely unprepared to have enjoyed it as much as I did! I am really happy that I read it - not only was it a fast non-fiction read, but I felt that I learned a lot from it. Many of the facts presented were ones that I had never encountered before and they were presented clearly, and without being dry or in any way dull. From tidbits about cell culture itself to unethical studies, this was a fascinating (but be prepared to be horrified and sad along the way) read. So, please, don't be deterred by the book's description - it truly is worth the many rave reviews that it has received and is not at all what I feared it to be.
664513
I found this book to be fascinating.  I really enjoyed reading  it, and  strongly recommend that others read it as well.
1000447
Sweet Hera, I think The Secret History of Wonder Woman might just be one of, if not the, most fascinating 20th century-based non-fiction books I have ever read. Especially as a woman conflicted about her own feelings toward feminism.

I can't begin to do it justice other than to say it proves irrevocably that truth is so much more interesting than fiction and that things we adore very rarely have the origin story we think they do. (Outside of the hardcore fan boys or little sister's thereof, how many of you knew the creator of WW also invented the lie detector and was a polygamist?)

The book focuses largely on the unknown role WW played in the Suffrage movement, and First Wave Feminism (with serendipitous occurrences no one could make up) and vice versa; but also the complexity of how she eventually helped to "plateau" the movement.

It's appropriate to read this during the era of Caitlin Jenner as when exploring the contradictions inherit in the medium of comic books as we do today, it echoes the importance of remembering that while she's undoubtedly brave and courageous, Caitlin is not representative of the entire trans community anymore than Laverne Cox is.

And if you like audiobooks, this one is a winner, as author Jill Lepore has a decidedly appropriate enthusiasm and cadence for the subject matter.

Two Thumbs Up: Fine Holiday Fun.
3283380
Malcolm Gladwell's engaging writing style, combined with the examples of instant cognition and how the brain works, makes for fascinating reading. You will find yourself thinking about this book long after you finish it--and if you're like me, you may even go back and re-read parts of it. Well worth owning this work.
2815800
I opened the book to glance through it, then stayed glued to it until I had read the whole thing. It was completely fascinating.
600327
I took a chance on reading this book. It's one of the best I've ever read, and I look at eating (and the food industry!) entirely different now - especially when out to eat. I've recommended it to several friends and everyone else has raved about it as well. Remarkable. Frightening.
4519301
Very interesting. I had bought it for children but I found myself engrossed in it as well. The paper is really nice and the quality of pictures is excellent. The way in which it is presented is gripping and it is a fascinating read, even for those who have read more detailed books.
1643871
A fascinating read.  Highly recommended.  The  glimpses  into the the personal feelings and prejudices of these great men (heroes of my youth), make them no less towering personalities and the sublime intellects of the last century and a half.  It is hard to overestimate the influence and impact that these few personalities have had on our lives.

The author distills the science and mathematics that are central to  'our' current 'understanding' of the universe, and which is  central to the this narrative, while  still making it  understandable to a laymen like me.  The parallels to ancient thoughts and belief systems are striking.

[My rating system:  Amazon ratings are almost always highly inflated.  I never base a purchase decision on a '5' rating. So for a '4' rating from me is high personal praise].
4790398
I had absolutely no knowledge of war in general or of this era but just happened upon this book and found it a totally compelling read. Absolutely fascinating. Keep in mind too that I am female, college educated (engineering/art) but one who avoided all history and related classes like the plague in high school & college--but I truely enjoyed this book and it made a huge impact on my mind. I plan to insist that my children read it. It certainly makes one thankful for what one enjoys in our society today.
101495
We know a lot by simply reading the cover and the jacket. This is nonfiction and it's about the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary, and there is also a murder, and some insanity. You'll have to read the book to find out the who, what, why, when and how. It's fair to reveal that you find out most of this within the first to pages. The balance of the book fleshes out the details in a way that kept my attention from beginning to end.
The author paints an interesting picture of the British intellectual mind, the personalities that were involved with this gigantic endeavor, and also its significance today in a world that is increasingly paperless. Winchester has very thoughtfully and compassionately given us insights into modern thought on insanity, psychiatry, and treatment. The story could have been entirely different if we knew then what we know nowmaybe.
4209403
This book is a really fascinating read, and it does not delve into heavy scientific theories that would put off most non-scientist types.

Basically, Haidt (himself an admitted left-leaning person) makes a very good case for the notion that people's conscious minds are heavily controlled by "the elephant" - that is, the subconscious that filters how we interpret everything we take in (the conscious mind is "the rider", who can sometimes sway the direction of the elephant a bit but who doesn't have much control).

He lays out a very understandable approach to the moral matrix. This, along with Thomas Sowell's "Basic Economics" is a book I recommend everyone read - in fact wish were on the required reading lists of every high school in the country.
2160761
I read this book in Hebrew, and I am waiting for more copies of the English translation to re-appear on Amazon, as I very much wish to send copies to many of my friends as presents for various occasions.  The book is brilliant:  It presents a few existing theories for each of the observations described in the different chapters, without pushing one over the other.  However, the emerging picture is that humans rose  to their undisputed rulers and controllers of earth by having the ability to imagine things that do not exist at all... Absolutely fascinating.  It is written very well  with humor, and after the first chapter, you will find it difficult to stop reading (unless you want to take a few minutes after every several pages  to contemplate the wealth of described facts and the new ideas!)
2105546
This is one of the best books I have read recently.  It opened up a whole new world of interest to me.  The scientific information and the human story are very well integrated; extremely interesting.  I would love to revisit Maine, and go to some of the locations described in this book.
810015
Fascinating book. Heard a review of it on NPR and had to buy it.