by J.R.R. TolkienBBC Audiobook This book brings about the trilogy’s climax – when the ring leaves Frodo’s hand into the fire of Mordor with a special literary twist. However, this climax occurs relatively early in the third book. Like most wars (or football games), the victory is apparent much earlier than the end. The tale must continue as all of the intricate details must be tied up. Such is the case with The Lord of…
by Christine FonsecaCopyright (c) 2010. I picked up this book in an attempt to dive deeper into the psychological concept of emotional intensity. I’m an intense guy myself; I live in an intense workplace full of gifted people; my boss is intense; I have an intense wife and daughter at home. I’m trying to learn how to keep all these intense people (including myself) from boiling over. I could not find any management books on…
by Edith WhartonWritten in 1920. This tale spans 20-30 years, two continents, and the hearts of two women and one man. Newland Archer is engaged in pre-World-War-One New York City to May Welland. However, he falls for May’s cousin Ellen who is fresh off a separation from her marriage in Europe. Ellen seems to respond (however subtly) to Newland’s flirtations and overtures. Newland seems torn between his two lovers and seems to prefer Ellen over…
by J.R.R. TolkienBBC Audiobook This second retelling of Tolkien’s masterpiece trilogy of The Lord of the Rings contains more of the same. Like all middle-pieces of trilogies, tensions are unresolved and themes are explored more deeply. Middle-pieces of trilogies are never completely satisfying. The reader does not discover something new (that is left for the first book), and the reader does not come to an end (that is left for the third book). Instead, there is…
by Gore VidalCopyright (c) 1984 Lincoln is our nation’s savior and helped free an entire race of people from slavery. As such, he has risen to near-saint status. Most books by American historians – and even those takes like that in the British HG Well’s A Short History of the World – essentially form a hagiography. Fortunately, our age has Gore Vidal’s work of historical fiction, which places Lincoln as a politician and lawyer first. Lincoln,…
by J.R.R. TolkienBBC Audiobook How to review a narrative that has been a turned into classic tetralogy and a well-funded multimillion-dollar movie trilogy? I’ve chosen to do so via a trilogy dramatized and produced for radio by the BBC. In a few hours’ time, I let my mind recess into listening to words of fantasy. British accents and the deep tradition of the English language adorned my rides home. An escape was the result –…
by Madeleine L’EngleCopyright (c) 1962 I have been hearing of this book for a long time. I did not read it as a child nor as a youth. Nonetheless, L’Engle’s name circulates in some of the literary circles in which I read (e.g., fans of C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkein). L’Engle’s work portrays a broadly Christian worldview with a tale of the triumph of love. In so doing, she spins Einstein’s description of the universe…
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson I enjoy Einstein’s story a lot as I’ve read multiple biographies of him. His story spans more than a mere history of science as it tells the tale of World War II, being a refugee, struggles with marriage, and more. This biography is primarily based on recently released personal letters. As such, it provides a more intimate look than prior works. His science (especially the annus mirabilis of…
by Colson WhiteheadCopyright (c) 2016 I picked up this book because it won a Pulitzer for Whitehead and because it had the recommendation of Barack Obama, who reads widely. I was not let down. Its picturesque depiction of slavery and of slavery’s effects brought this historical event to life to me. Further, Whitehead vividly shows how the human heart – even those from “uncivilized” Africa – longs universally for freedom. I read it cover-to-cover in…
by Gerald WeinbergCopyright (c) 2011 Weinberg is a master of extracting the human personality required to run modern business. He describes one of his art-forms in this introduction to consulting practice. This book does not focus merely on short heuristics on how to consult. It instead goes in-depth into the psyche required to succeed as a consultant. He defines consulting as the art of influencing people at their request. He then describes a rational framework…