#BookReview: Food Waste, Food Insecurity, And The Globalization Of Food Banks by Daniel N. Warshawsky

Solid Primer On The Concept Marred By Typical Academic Left Leaning Myopia. Quite simply, at roughly 38% documentation across just a 225 page or so text, this is one of the better documented nonfiction books I’ve come across in quite some time. Indeed, at times it seemed like there were citations on every sentence or maybe just every other sentence, they were that prevalent. So a lot of kudos on that end, and it really helps make the case of what Prof. Warshawsky is showing here in describing how food banks began in different regions around the world and what their current realities are. Through these sections, the book is truly a great resource for seeing just how widespread the idea is now and the various challenges each particular country and region faces in providing these services.

Indeed, the only real flaw here – and yes, it was big enough that it warranted the star deduction – is the typical left leaning (vs outright leftist) myopia common in Academic circles. Over and over and over again, Warshawsky blames corporations as only sponsoring these efforts in order to burnish their own public images and condemns these efforts as stymying truly productive reforms, all without truly looking to a more holistic approach to those very reforms or even to this specific issue. Instead, while so much else of the text is so well documented, that government providing these services is better than private efforts is seen more as a fait accompli never to be questioned or even examined.

So read this text, it really is quite remarkable so far as it goes. But don’t let its limitations limit your own imagination. There likely are better solutions to these issues out there – but assuming any one approach will work globally probably isn’t going to work, for the very reasons Warshawsky illuminates here. Very much recommended.

This review of Food Waste, Food Insecurity, And The Globalization Of Food Banks by Daniel N. Warshawsky was originally written on December 8, 2023.

#BookReview: Feast by Jeremy Robinson

This time we travel, interestingly, not far from where the real me actually lives – to the swamps outside Charleston, SC. This book in particular is great because it slows the pace down a bit from the first book, yet WAY amps up the drama. There are certain situations in this book that will make some/ possibly many uncomfortable, but this is still a Jeremiah Knight/ Jeremy Robinson book – you don’t have to worry about actually seeing any of the things I refer to. The monsters here are top notch, as always, but the case could be made that the real monsters of this story are the humans our heroes encounter – and along the way, we may just see the possibility that perhaps the monsters we know aren’t so monstrous, and the people we know aren’t so nice…

This review of Feast by Jeremy Robinson was originally published on June 9, 2016.

#BookReview: Hunger by Jeremy Robinson

Curing world hunger sounds great, right?

That is why I did it. I wanted to be the guy that solved World Hunger.

And I did. I used genetic modification to unlock so-called “junk” DNA in plants, and with this I was able to allow them to grow anywhere that had a permeable surface. Desert? Not a problem. Marsh? Not a problem. Mountains? Not a problem. As long as it didn’t involve steel, concrete, rock, or the like, my plants would grow.

Unfortunately I never really tested my breakthrough before it got out of control, and my boss never looked at my work either.

So I wound up causing the apocalypse by solving world hunger.

Oops.

Now it is several years after my breakthrough caused the end of humanity, and my boss is on the run. She still has hope that what little remains of humanity outside of our San Francisco complex can be saved. Me, I’m not so sure – but her bosses sure seem to be intent on stopping her for some reason.

How did we do it? How did we cause the end of humanity? Will she be able to reverse what I did?

Well, you’re just going to have to read Jeremiah Knight’s debut book to find out…

Note: Hate to spoil the illusion here, but just to be clear: I am a real person who is a long time fan of the author (as in, we met via MySpace) whose name the author used for a character in this book. The above is solely my own review, my way of trying to thank the author, who is easily one of my favorites.

This review of Hunger by Jeremy Robinson was originally published on June 9, 2015.

Featured New Release Of the Week: Space Force by Jeremy Robinson

This week we’re going to look at the most hilarious book I’ve read this year. This week, we’re going to look at the book that the author had just finished writing when I met him almost three months ago. This week, we’re going to look at Space Force by Jeremy Robinson.

The book itself is classic Robinson as far as the science fiction itself goes – alien invasion, Earth forces have to stop it. But it is the way Robinson crafts this particular tale that makes it stand out above even his own amazing books. The pop culture (and specifically geek/ gaming culture) references abound arguably more than in even Ready Player One – you seriously seemingly can’t go more than a paragraph or two without some reference. And they all work well in the story he is telling with the tone he is telling it in. Specifically, a very irreverent, literally laugh out loud comedy that happens to have a solid science fiction backing. In some ways, it is reminiscent of the 2015 Adam Sandler movie Pixels as far as the mix of science fiction, gaming, and comedy goes, but Robinson is far superior on his execution and more modern on his gaming, using some of the latest and biggest trends in gaming -battle royale games ala PUBG and Fortnite – as one of the primary plot points of the book.

Coming from a man that is written into one of Robinson’s other books (HUNGER) and literally has a tattoo featured in another Robinson book (UNITY, see over there ->) on his arm, this is arguably one of my favorite Robinson books to date because while his other books have been fun, they have always had a very serious undertone. This book is basically pure fun, even while the characters and indeed, Earth itself, are in mortal peril. Robinson shows that he is equally as gifted at creating pure light-hearted escapism as he is at crafting solid science fiction heart wrenching drama, but these days I find myself preferring the more light hearted side of things, and thus this book is very welcome.

So help me out here. I’m going to read Robinson’s books regardless, because I absolutely consider him the Modern Day Master of Science Fiction. But I would REALLY love to see more of these pure fun, light hearted books from him – but he is absolutely sales driven. So I really need this book to sell better than his others, preferably *all* of his others. That way he’ll be convinced to write more of this style of book, and we can all laugh a little more.

And really, given all that is happening in the world right now, we could all use a little more laughter.

So go buy this book!

As always, the Goodreads/ Amazon reviews:

The Master Of Science Fiction Adds Humor! Jeremy Robinson, the modern day Master of Science Fiction, has now added even more to his stories: literal laugh out loud, and very nearly literally roll on the floor laughing, level humor to a science fiction adventure that is just as breathtaking as his other books.

If you like science fiction at all, this is a must have. If you like geek humor and/ or battle royale gaming, this is a must have. If you just want to laugh amidst all the drama in the world right now, this is a MUST. HAVE.

So stop reading this review and go buy this book and start reading it instead already! President Kanye West demands it!