diff --git a/content/reviews/books/greek-mythology-explained.md b/content/reviews/books/greek-mythology-explained.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ebb0596 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/books/greek-mythology-explained.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ ++++ +title = "Greek Mythology Explained: A Deeper Look at Classical Greek Lore and Myth - Marios Christou, David Ramenah" +date = 2019-01-05 + +[taxonomies] +tags = ["en-au", "book", "reviews", "greek mythology", "marios christou", "david ramenah"] ++++ + +[GoodReads Summary](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41822694-greek-mythology-explained): +Greek mythology explored like never before. + +Fans of George R.R Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire series and the Game of Thrones +TV series will love Greek Mythology Explained, a unique retelling of Greek +mythological tales featuring love, betrayal, murder and ruthless ambitions. + + + +{{ stars(stars=4) }} + +When I saw "Explained" in the title, I thought the explanations would point +things in the stories that reflected things in the Greek society at the time. + +But no, explanations are way more simpler than that. + +For example, the mith of Odysseus and his voyage back home, starting when he +has to choose between facing Scylla or Chyrabdis, one a monster of 6 heads and +another a huge whirlpool. The explanation: "between a rock and hard place". I +mean, it doesn't take much to realize that either option is terrible. You don't +need explanation for that. + +On the other hand, some explanations are, actually, explanations about the +chosen story. Some characters in Greek mythology have different narrations for +the same story -- for example, there are, according to the book, 6 different +tales of Artemis and Orion, all with the same start, the same ending, but +different content "in between". This is nice. + +And, even if the explanations aren't a huge thing, the select stories are +pretty good. diff --git a/content/reviews/books/modern-vim-craft-your-development-environment-with-vim8-and-neovim.md b/content/reviews/books/modern-vim-craft-your-development-environment-with-vim8-and-neovim.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cde9bc5 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/books/modern-vim-craft-your-development-environment-with-vim8-and-neovim.md @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ ++++ +title = "Modern Vim: Craft Your Development Environment with Vim 8 and Neovim - Drew Neil" +date = 2018-12-29 + +[taxonomies] +tags = ["en-au", "books", "reviews", "vim", "drew neil"] ++++ + +[GoodReads Summary](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36517607-modern-vim): +Turn Vim into a full-blown development environment using Vim 8’s new features +and this sequel to the beloved bestseller Practical Vim. Integrate your editor +with tools for building, testing, linting, indexing, and searching your +codebase. Discover the future of Vim with Neovim: a fork of Vim that includes +a built-in terminal emulator that will transform your workflow. Whether you +choose to switch to Neovim or stick with Vim 8, you’ll be a better developer. + + + +{{ stars(stars=4) }} + +I'll be honest and say that I did expect a bit more about this book. + +It is not a book talking about changes in the last few years in the VIM +workflow; it's more about the changes in the ecosystem of VIM. So instead of +focusing on new features (say, from last version and current version), it +focuses a lot more on plugins. + +Not that focusing on (recent) plugins is a bad thing: There were changes in the +infrastructure of VIM that allowed the creation of more modern and flexible +plugins and talking about them is a good thing. But, again, I expected a more +focused book on VIM than plugins. If the title were "Craft your VIM environment +on VIM 8 and Neovim", it would fit perfectly on what the book presents, for +example. + +In all, it's not a bad book, although it requires that you know VIM beforehand. diff --git a/content/reviews/books/moon-shot-the-inside-story-of-americas-race-to-the-moon.md b/content/reviews/books/moon-shot-the-inside-story-of-americas-race-to-the-moon.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..79f10c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/books/moon-shot-the-inside-story-of-americas-race-to-the-moon.md @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ ++++ +title = "Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon - Alan Shepard" +date = 2018-12-28 + +[taxonomies] +tags = ["en-us", "alan shepard", "book", "review", "nasa", "apollo"] ++++ + +[GoodReads summary](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37711959-moon-shot): +The never-before-told story of the courage, dedication, and teamwork that made +the journey to the moon possible--an intense human drama of the sacrifices and +risks asked of a remarkable group of astronauts. Shepard and Slayton, part of +the pioneering space program from the beginning, tell this fascinating inside +story. 32 pages of photos. + + + +{{ stars(stars=0) }} + +I'm giving this book no stars because it deserves none. + +First of all, the writing style is terrible. At the very start, the way the +author writes makes you wonder if this is really a book about history or if it +is plain fiction. There are ways to write about historic events -- and I don't +mean you can't go a little overboard while writing about it -- but the way the +story is told is more akin to fiction than actual reporting of events. + +Second, this is as "MURRICA!" as a book can get. All American events are +described as passionate as possible, while Russian events -- you know, the guys +who put a man in space before the US and who did a spacewalk before the US -- +as described as plain as possible. This gets to the point that, at the first +half of the book, events are timed after American successes and Russian +failures; it gets to the incredible insensitive point when talking about Apollo +15 and the moonbuggy and how it was easier to carry stuff on the moon compared +to the Apollo 14 mission (which is probably the longest part of the book, even +supplanting the Apollo 11, the first mission to reach the moon) and, oh, 3 +Russians died a bit before -- mentioned as a simple "matter of fact" than an +actual accident and something that shouldn't happen. + +I'm not saying "Yeah, Russians are part of the Apollo mission" 'cause that +would be stupid, but JFK said the space missions were a mission to humanity and +even Neil Armstrong said reaching the moon was a giant leap for mankind, but +this book takes "humanity" and throws out of the window. 'Cause the important +stuff is that American win and Russians lose and fuck Russians, amirite? (That +was sarcastic, in case you didn't noticed.) + +And the last chapter is purely political instead of focusing on history. + +If the whole book was Alan Shepard telling his side of the history -- and +focusing on *that* instead of going all the way to the points where +Shepard had no interaction with -- then yeah, it could be a reasonably good +book. But the way it is told, it's Alan Shepard story hidden in a bunch of +other stuff.