Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Woman in the Moonlight

By Scott J. Pearson | August 10, 2020August 10, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

In one of the all-time most famous works of classical music (The “Moonlight” Sonata), Beethoven cryptically dedicates the tune to a Countess Guilietta Guicciardi, whom he taught piano to. Julie, as Morrisroe re-nicknames her, did not leave behind much in history, but as detailed in the Author’s Note, she likely had some form of romantic relationship with the Ludwig van Beethoven. Morrisroe imagines this relationship and Julie’s life as a whole in this work of…

History Software-Technology

From Gutenberg to OpenType: An Illustrated History of Type from the Earliest Letterforms to the Latest Digital Fonts

By Scott J. Pearson | August 9, 2020August 9, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Although I am not a graphic designer, I have followed graphic design and computerized fonts since the 1990s. Thus, many of the font-forms referenced in this book are familiar to me. This book narrates how letters have historically been formed by technology. As the title implies, it starts with ancient scripts, continues with Gutenberg’s printing press in the 1400s, and closes with modern fonts digitized in OpenType on computers. Dodd focuses her energies on how…

Kids

The Odyssey, a Graphic Novel

By Scott J. Pearson | August 8, 2020August 13, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Homer’s Odyssey requires no introduction for hard-core fans of literature, but reading this great work in its original translation can be daunting to older kids and young adults. Fortunately, Punter and Fiorin retold this classic in a graphic novel. They maintain the basic storyline and illustrate the action with imagination. Fans of Dog Man and other graphic novels will appreciate this form of one of the best stories ever told in human language. It’s action-packed…

Religion-Philosophy

Can I Believe? An Invitation to the Hesitant

By Scott J. Pearson | August 7, 2020August 7, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Despite the academic publisher, this book is essentially a defense of (a conservative version of the) Christian faith to skeptics. Stackhouse deals with defending religion in general, but he obviously addresses Christianity in the most detail. Despite his expertise in teaching world religions, these other religions receive only superficial treatment. I take issue with Stackhouse’s description of Christianity in chapter 2. It contains a description of conservative Western Christianity. He does not describe progressive and…

Healthcare Research-Education Science

Cells are the New Cure: The Cutting-Edge Medical Breakthroughs that are Transforming Our Health

By Scott J. Pearson | August 2, 2020August 2, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Paradigm shifts happen in science occasionally, but historically, relatively few professionals make the shift. Usually, new generations of practitioners tend to bring in the change via their educational experiences. This is unfortunate. In this work, Smith and Gomez educate healthcare professionals and the reading public about advances in medical research. They attempt to enlighten us all about what is going to happen next in doctor’s offices. Their focus is on multiple developments around the cell.…

Fiction-Stories History

Across the Winding River

By Scott J. Pearson | August 1, 2020August 1, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

This story is founded historically off of events around the Western European front of World War II. It enticingly employs a technique called “triple narrative” in which the plot is told from three perspectives across varying timelines. Altogether, it mixes together several thematic tales – of love, of the horrors of war, of family, of Jewish and Christian identity, of women overcoming obstacles, and of the power of the individual in authoritarian regimes. Runyan generally…

Software-Technology

Web Security for Developers: Real Threats, Practical Defense

By Scott J. Pearson | July 31, 2020August 3, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Much has been and continues to be written on the topic of computer security, but a lot of that content is directed towards computer security professionals. Few resources exist that are written for software developers, by developers. In this work, McDonald seeks to answer the need for a comprehensive exposition on this topic. In this attempt, he succeeds in providing a clear and thorough introduction of what developers need to know about security. The biggest…

Fiction-Stories

The Castle by Franz Kafka

By Scott J. Pearson | July 27, 2020August 13, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Franz Kafka lived in Germany in the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries He is most well-known for his work The Metamorphosis, in which the protagonist grotesquely wakes up one day as a giant cockroach. The work of this review (The Castle) was started and left unfinished in 1922, two years before Kafka’s death in 1924. It was only published posthumously in 1926 – against Kafka’s expressed wishes in his…

Management-Business Research-Education

Managing the Research University by Dean O. Smith

By Scott J. Pearson | July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

In traditional Oxford University Press fashion, this book communicates an “all you need to know” about being a Chief Research Officer at a research university. It attempts to catalogue the disparate parts of administering research. Much of the knowledge and wisdom in this field is broken up into different segments – like legal, administrative/management, marketing, and laboratory. This book attempts to bring all of this information into one place based off of sweat-earned experience. Research…