Engaging, Surprising, and Informative
359367
I read this book wanting to be better informed about how The Fed and Greenspan operate, and wound up being thoroughly educated and entertained understanding how banks, the White House and Washington DC political appointments work. I never thought I would ever use the phrase "hard-to-put-down" in connection with an economics/banking book but this one did it.  It was a real page turner and definitely one of Bob Woodward's most underrated and under-discussed books.  (No caller mentioned this work during his 3-hour C-Span interview a few months back.) Get your hands on a copy of this book and prepare for an interesting and enjoyable ride.  My one complaint:  I wish it were longer.  Although this book answered all my "Fed" questions, I wished its time track would continue to the present, or perhaps delve a little deeper into the past.  But this complaint notwithstanding, the book was still an excellent and engaging read.
1395788
As usual, Lewis pulls off complex topics in a lively, engaging and enlightening form. The story of these two psychologists' discoveries of human cognitive biases is both a fascinating exploration of the personal dynamics of two very different geniuses and the process of ground-breaking discoveries that have informed behavioral economics, personnel selection, management theory and a host of other areas benefiting from a radically  understanding of how we err in our decision making. Essential reading for those interested in how our minds deceive us.
1955771
A different , startling and very informative perspective.
1189950
I had no idea that this book would be this good. Not only was it informative, it addressed the vast complexities of a family. And i declare, i didn't see that ending coming .
325855
I genuinely enjoyed this book; nonfiction can fall anywhere along the spectrum from mind-numbingly dull to riveting, and this falls at the riveting end. I teach a cultural property class, and I'm tempted to make it an optional reading for the week when we're discussing fakes.
999972
Excellent -- interesting, with unexpected twists, and challenging.
471806
TIDES is a wonderfully-engaging, entertaining, and informative book.  I had been under the impression that I understood the basic nature and cause of oceanic tides, but Whites book provides a whole new level of understanding, appreciation of and deference for the role of the dynamic waters of the ocean.  White describes how the movement of the planets oceans are extraordinarily complex, inexorable, almost mystifying and idiosyncratic to the local geography and topography.  The reader of TIDES not only comes away with a rich understanding andespeciallya deep respect for the power of oceanic tides, but given Whites many engaging stories about his personal adventures while exploring the extremes of tides unbelievable antics around the globe, comes away with a sense that either (s)hes been there, orin my casewants to go there to share in the discovery of the majesty and power of tides.
1078015
I found this book to be engaging and informative. The writing lends itself to young readers as it presents chunks of interesting ideas and information. Each section provides food for thought and might inspire further research.
1831736
A surprisingly gripping and very informative read, full of interesting characters.  Mr. Amore seems to be a true expert in this area, and his conceit of exploring the problem of art heists by examining thefts of Rembrandt's works pulls the book together in a way that is engaging and entertaining.  I was especially interested in the account of the theft at the Gardner Museum in Boston, which occurred not long after I visited there, but the entire book is filled with fascinating accounts of thieves and their targets.  Recommended.
2548013
This sounded interesting but wasn't sure what to expect. It is engaging and very informative. You travel the journey with her.
4699309
While the issues of conservation vs. development are timely, the impressive achievement of Mitchell's book is the narrative.  He cleverly tells his story Roshomon-style through the "nature notebooks" of three women who are all in the same nature writing class.  The different perspectives offer an unfolding understanding of a series of events culminating in a tragedy.  The pleasure comes in the new level of comprehension provided by each of the three narratives.  You'll want to keep flipping back to compare the earlier accounts.
Very engaging.
2123109
This book presents fascinating details of life in Spain as it writhed with the dynamic of change, much of it seemingly self induced. In many parts the narrative glitters with assembled insight that surely exists nowhere else. In some (to me) it seems to get bogged down in detail that may or may not amuse particular readers. This is not necessarily a problem: Throughout the book, the details are so rich that even if only a quarter of them amuse, the book easily justifies its price-tag. And if time or attention span is an issue, just skip over a section until you find another vein to explore. Highly recommended.
474826
CPR for Dummies is a brilliant, inventive, and thoroughly enjoyable novel. It's filled with wild, engaging characters and an interesting mix of sex and politics--part Henry Miller and part Howard Zinn. While it has a storyline that moves compellingly forward, it also uses a postmodern collage structure that carves out plenty of free space for author playfulness, surprising anecdotes about history and science, and urgent political commentary. I read it in two sittings and found it to be both a real page-turner and an educational treat. And watch out for the ending.
2929523
The Willing Widow was a delightful surprise for someone who reads mostly nonfiction.  With all its twists and turns and intrigue I could
hardly put it down.  Its vivid historic details of New Orleans in the late 1800's drew me in. Even the presentation of medical situations that arose in the story was very accurate for the time period.
The character development was terrific and the denouement was masterful.  I still feel a little anxious when I think of one of the final scenes.  It's hard to stop thinking about the characters after the book ends-- even the despicable ones!
This is a well-written, very engaging book and I highly recommend it.
4787266
All memoirs are a way to peek in on the private lives of individuals, be they politicians, movie stars, or your neighbor. What we, the reader, are really interested in are the surprises -- the things we didn't expect. This book by Noll is sure to deliver.

The author takes us head on into unexplored territory -- spousal abuse from the perspective of a battered husband. Generally such subject matter is taken lightly, but the antagonist in "The Love Bomb" is truly terrifying. Magnificent story-telling makes sure you're along for the emotional ups and downs of living with someone with an unstable personality. The book delves in to the subjects of Christianity and the pitfalls of the sexual morality religion prescribes, masculinity and the modern man, alcoholism in a loved one and the emotional chess match of dealing with the disease, the role of parents as enablers, and the role of parents as advocates.

As with most books without a publisher, the book has spelling errors -- typos really. There are some transitions and character introductions that could be done better as well. The book has flaws, but those technical issues won't degrade a fantastic story and a central character that, through his own flaws, humanizes the whole experience.

Edit: I could imagine a hard-copy with stylized photographs of the author or even actual photographs of his pained face with the antagonist respectfully blurred. Publishing companies -- make this happen.
4538776
This book covers a LOT of material.  It covers the history, politics, current issues and possible solutions of nine MAJOR hot spots for debate in the upcoming election. If you feel as though the media creates a lot of noise around issues with little substance, this book helps fill in many of the gaps and helps point out solutions to move us forward. It's also surprisingly hard to put down, maybe because it reads more easily than most other politically-educating books. The stories, analogies and general nature of the prose make it actually kind of fun to read. I'm not going to lie.. it's pretty long (400+ pages) but the layout of the chapters make it easy to skip around to the issues that interest you the most, and to come back to the others later when you are ready for more.

I found the chapters about China the most interesting, of course, but I was actually pretty surprised at how much I learned from the other issues Kiernan covers. I loved how streamlined Kiernan's history of unions was, especially because its an issue I've heard a lot about but never quite understood. The way it was explained in this book really resonated with me and I'm pumped about it.  I also loved how swiftly he explains think-tanks, lobbyists, the different sides of the immigration debate, big tobacco, healthcare, the real threat of terrorism, and our prison systems. I had no idea how serious some of these issues are and can't believe so many of us walk around without thoroughly understanding each one.

Unlike one of the reviewers, I found Kiernan to be beyond informative AND well informed on the issues he discussed and he covers a LOT of them. If he went into extreme detail on each subject, the book would have been 9x as long. I think the amount of information included is the perfect amount to thoroughly grasp the issues without being weighed down with nitty-gritty dull details that belong on C-SPAN. READ IT!
1747966
In addition to writing an engaging story that offers a glimpse into a fascinating world foreign to most of us, Ms. Gruen shows herself to be a master "architect" with this novel, crafting a story that flows seamlessly between two radically different eras in her protagonist's life. The book starts with a flashback, so you know at some point it's going to bring us back to the opening scene. But Ms. Gruen does so in such a surprising and unexpected way, with a twist that left my jaw on the floor. It's not an exaggeration to say I was stunned.

With Riding Lessons and Flying Changes, Ms. Gruen proved she was capable of writing good commercial fiction.

With Water For Elephants, she proves herself capable of writing a great American novel.