sandinista's reviews
14 reviews

Returned to digital library.

Reasonably interesting reflection on Buddhism within the lens of business, but and also: ew capitalism. Would love a book by the same author in a different lens.

A lovely book — this is my second read, and I truly absorbed more this time and understood aspects of Buddhism that I hadn't before as a result. Additionally, it's a pleasantly quick read full of very helpful resources.

Fascinating lens upon which to look at American history, including the lesser-observed parts.

So many of this book’s delights are also its weaknesses. As an erstwhile academic, fun and accessible histories delight me; making the stories of the past too dense and hyper-dry engenders a lack of inquiry into our past, and Southon’s prose is more fun than any Horrible Histories on the market.

However, when I think about the joy of how fun and quick this book is, its primary fault stands out: it’s a touch too referential to the present in telling the past. There are already analogies utilizing Obama or memes circa 2019 that have all of maybe 3-5 years left in the tank, and although they are very helpful towards bridging the gap between the culture of Republican and Early Imperial Rome now, I already hesitate to say that this book will even make sense by 2030. Which is a damn shame – this book is otherwise like having your bestie gossip with you in the chat, but it’s about Cicero being an absolute rotter.

A fantastic approach – not only to Minnesotan history – to historiography in general. One of my favorite things about this book is the methodology: different forms of prose, storytelling, and so on, as well as Atkins’ partiality towards focusing her record through the lens of the average citizen.

Of Twain's travelogues, I would place this in the middle of the pack: clearly written in one of his low periods, meant to pay off whatever fiscal mishap he had at the time. But even as the mining chapters go on and the usual nineteenth century attitudes about manifest destiny, attitudes on race, and general white dude exceptionalism prevail, there are also glimmers of Twain's insight beyond his time. His vocabulary may be tragically stranded in an ass-backwards era, but his curiosity, marvel at the ingenuity of humanity, and self-depreciative wit shine through as per.