Month: April 2024

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#BookReview: Alien Earths by Lisa Kaltenegger

Solid Examination of The Field Of Planet Hunting. This is a solid look at how scientists find extra-solar planets and work to determine what they may be like – compositionally, temperature, whether life (as we understand it) may be possible, etc. Written for a general audience by a US-based Austrian native scientist working at the Carl Sagan Institute, the author clearly knows her stuff, but perhaps the English can be a touch stilted at times. It wasn’t enough to distract from the book for me, but there absolutely were a few “huh, weird phrasing” moments. Which happens even with fully native English speakers even in the same country – I’m sure there are Americans reading this review who will question even my own phrasing, and I’m a son of the Southern US to the tune that parts of my family have been on the North American continent since the second generation of Europeans to get here at all.

Overall truly a fascinating book, and Kaltenegger’s own experiments sound quite fun and interesting to boot. The only flaw I noticed here was such a small bibliography, which is where the star deduction comes into play. Still, this is ultimately a solidly written depiction of a truly fascinating part of interplanetary science. Very much recommended.

This review of Alien Earths by Lisa Kaltenegger was originally written on April 9, 2024.

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#BookReview: Our Fight by Ronda Rousey

The End Of An Era. I write this review nearly a week after reading this book, and hours after the conclusion of Wrestlemania 40 – the beginning of a new era of WWE. Which is fitting, because so much of what Rousey talks about re: her involvement with the prior regime in WWE had been relatively well documented both in court and in the court of public opinion over the last couple of years in particular, as Rousey was experiencing some of it and then working with her writer to write this book. Yes, much of this book are complaints about how she was mistreated in various ways by both her longtime UFC trainer and later by Vince McMahon, whom Rousey rarely holds back on her disgust and disdain for, but there is actually much about this book to like as well. For one, for those looking for celebrity “look who I know and run with” kind of memoirs… this is absolutely that. (As contrasted to Rebecca Quin’s Becky Lynch: The Man which released a week earlier, and which played a heavy role in Quin’s Wrestlemania 40 presentation, which was pretty well the opposite of that.) Particularly husband Travis Brown and the other three “Four Horsewomen” of UFC, Rousey talks a lot about all of them and largely in a particularly glowing manner, while not holding back on those she disliked in both her UFC and WWE runs. Indeed, there is little “foundational” material here – perhaps because this is her second book and the prior book perhaps covered more of that, being written before her WWE run? And perhaps the very coolest encounter she recounts is actually with a Mexican colleague, ring name Santos Escobar, as she was getting ready to finally hang up her fighting boots and return to life on the farm. A similarity she shares with another former UFC and WWE star… Brock Lesnar, not mentioned once in this particular tale.

Overall an interesting read that “peels the curtain back” more than some, if in a more negative/ pessimistic/ self-centered manner than others. Still, a truly interesting read and very much recommended.

This review of Our Fight by Ronda Rousey was originally written on April 8, 2024.

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#BookReview: She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica

Slow, Problematic (Some Say Offensive) Main Character, Largely Forgettable. Yet Good Enough. This is a book where from an objective (ish) standpoint, there really isn’t much if anything actually *wrong* about it. Yes, it is absolutely a slow burn – and yes, some people may prefer faster pacing, particularly in a “thriller”. But that is taste, and the artist is allowed to do as they will there. The MC could be argued to be quite stupid or even downright evil by some, but there again – artistic license. Writing this review even 5 days after finishing the book (while having read 5 other books since, and with quite a bit going on in my own life at the moment, admittedly), I must confess that I barely remembered the book at all and only really picked up what it was when reading other reviews.

And yet, despite all of that… I *do* remember the book as enjoyable enough while I was reading it, and a good enough tale to be a worthy read for those looking for a solid enough mystery/ thriller. It won’t be going on my personal “best of” lists any time soon, but it was also solid enough that I don’t in any way feel I was cheated out the time I spent with the book. Obviously, other reviewers have had stronger reactions both directions and will continue to have so long as this book exists. But for *me*, it was ok and with nothing objectively (ish) wrong, therefore it gets a 5* rating, a decent enough review, and an encouragement from me to you, the reader of my review, to check out the blurb, maybe check out some reviews from other reviewers you trust not to spoil anything who may highly praise it – and others who highly despise it – and make your own call.

For me, I’m comfortable enough saying: Recommended.

This review of She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica was originally written on April 7, 2024.

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#BookReview: The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart

Encyclopedic Look At The Botany Of Booze. This book has a few hundred pages (or just under a dozen hours, for Audible readers) to cover pretty well every plant that can either directly intoxicate a human or any plant that can be used as a mixer to help such other plants taste better. So there is going to be a lot of 2-3 sentence or so summaries of various plants – which is particularly prevalent in the back part of the book. Up front is a larger examination of the botany and history of the primary global liquors and beers and wines, though even here due to the sheer volume of the field, many important (yet more specific) details are often left out. Still, as an overall introduction to the complete field of the botany of booze… this is actually a rather great book. Mostly recommended for bartenders (professional or home) or those looking to possibly begin an actual scientific career in the field, but an interesting read for nearly anyone interested in the overall science of booze. Just be ready to read an encyclopedia volume. (Which I did many times as a kid, fwiw.) Recommended.

This review of The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart was originally written on April 5, 2024.

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#BookReview: Faithful Politics by Miranda Zapor Cruz

Comprehensive Look At Different Ways Different Christian Communities Have Viewed Politics Over The Millenia. This book is truly one of the most comprehensive looks at the subject that I’ve yet run across, and for that alone is to be commended. It is also immensely readable, which is always a nice bonus in an academic-oriented book.

Perhaps the only “negative” thing to be said here (and certainly some will view this as quite the positive, or even argue she doesn’t go far *enough*), is that Cruz at times can be a bit *too* tough on the Christian Nationalism crowd, while openly claiming a high degree of tolerance for every other perspective she discusses. Even as I oppose the Christian Nationalists myself (finding more cause for Anarchism in the text of the Bible than any support for any modern nation, *including* the modern State of Israel), I would have liked to have seen their positions presented with the same detached rational approach as all of the other perspectives presented – mostly because I truly believe that when presented in those same terms, the Christian Nationalists *still* lose, and lose bigger because they *were* given a rational chance.

Even this, though, is not the actual cause of the star deduction. The cause of the star deduction is instead the complete non-existence of any hint of a bibliography, which are generally present even in these Advance Reviewer Copy forms of texts, as I have quite a bit of experience reading and reviewing over the last several years (where 20-30% is considered my norm, though I’ve also openly discussed perhaps lowering that a touch more recently).

Still, even that is a flaw that will hopefully be corrected in the final form of the book.

Overall an interesting and comprehensive examination of the topic, one anyone interested in Christianity and Politics in America – for any reason – should make it a point to read. Particularly before any Presidential Election. Yes, including the one being conducted less than 90 days after the publication of this very book. Very much recommended.

This review of Faithful Politics by Miranda Zapor Cruz was originally written on April 5, 2024.

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#BookReview: I Will Tell No War Stories by Howard Mansfield

Father. Grandfather. Farmer. Engineer. Clerk. WWII Badass. Wait. What? While this book focuses more on the air war over Britain and Europe, it does in fact get to the heart of what so many of us born in the post WWII era have only been learning over the last 20-30 yrs or so: Our fathers (in the case of Boomers/ maybe Gen Xers) or grandfathers (for Millenials and Zoomers) that we knew as just that (+ whatever occupation they may have had as we knew them) had experiences during WWII that most of the rest of us can never imagine. For Mansfield’s dad and his dad’s fellow Airmen, Mansfield does a fairly thorough job of combining the personal and the global, of showing both where his dad was and when and also what was going on in the overall war effort – at least as it related to the air war over Europe and what the fliers encountered up there.

Personally, as the grandson of a pair of Infantrymen who both survived the Battle of the Bulge (and one of whom became a legit hero during its mop-up, earning a Silver Star and Purple Heart, while the other became one of the first to liberate the concentration camps on the American side of the war), I was hoping for more of a general look at this entire phenomena, of our fathers and grandfathers choosing to remain silent about their experiences during this pivotal time in human history, rather than the far more personal and specific look we get here – but that is more my own fault than the author’s. My own pre-conceptions and desires, rather than any fault of the author’s motivations or writing skills.

Indeed, the only actual fault vis a vis the writing itself is the dearth of a bibliography, despite the author clearly doing quite a bit of research. So that was the star deduction right there, simply for that. Beyond the lack of bibliography though, this really was an excellent look at the Air War in the European Theater as it was felt by the people flying as crew in the bombers themselves.

Truly an excellent book anyone remotely interested in that era and in particular that facet of that era will very much enjoy and may find quite informative. Very much recommended.

This review of I Will Tell No War Stories by Howard Mansfield was originally written on April 4, 2024.