Writing-Communication – Page 3 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

A Word on Words: The Best of John Seigenthaler’s Interviews

By Scott J. Pearson | March 15, 2023March 12, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

This book is hard to categorize or to compare to other books. It is comprised of interviews with authors spanning several distinct subjects: the civil rights movement, literature, music, sports, and presidential histories. Because the interviewer John Seigenthaler read these books in detail, he asks smart questions and drew out deep answers. And because the interviewees wrote the books, you have expressive, informative answers. When added is the fact that these are the best of…

We are the Words: The Master Memoir Class

By Scott J. Pearson | February 16, 2023February 16, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Writing a memoir seems deceivingly easy at first. Anyone can write about their own life, right? Yet crafting a good memoir – one that vividly communicates and mesmerizes with its words – is a difficult task. As this book’s title infers, a memoir consists of the writer’s life becoming the words, which in turn take on a life of their own. Its author Beth Kephart teaches writing at workshops and an Ivy League university (the…

Presentation Science Writing-Communication

The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science

By Scott J. Pearson | January 7, 2023January 7, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

A popular impression about science is that scientists do not know how to write well; that is, they only write in highly technical jargon that’s, well, boring. Scientists spend so much of their training, the story goes, learning about facts that they do not master the art and craft of communication. Montgomery, in this work, seeks to counter that argument by teaching scientists how to communicate well. In so doing, he harkens to a centuries-long…

Society Writing-Communication

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

By Scott J. Pearson | December 4, 2022December 4, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

This book, originally published in 1985, warns against the proliferation of television media replacing printed texts. Much of Postman’s case comes across as a tome against television and cites renowned authors like Aldous Huxley and Marshall McLuhan in support of his thesis. However, 35-40 years after its original publishing, it’s easy to see how digital media (i.e., the computer and the Internet) have continued to revolutionize America’s information intake. Our goal now is simply to…

Management-Business Writing-Communication

The Business of Being a Writer

By Scott J. Pearson | November 27, 2022November 27, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Many people instinctively relate writing with a life of poverty. The impression is that majoring in English literature instead of, say, engineering will forecast a worse economic existence down the road. The “starving artist” stereotype thus comes into play. In this book, Friedman disagrees with this simplistic approach. She shows the many career paths that writing can take, including some more lucrative ones. She thus empowers readers (who are writers!) to make informed decisions about…

Presentation Writing-Communication

Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students

By Scott J. Pearson | November 8, 2022November 8, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Graphic design is an important help to any venture. In the age of electronic communication, it has become only more important to capture the public’s attention. Distractions abound, but well-thought visuals stand the chance of garnering a glance. Of course, only deeper substance will sustain interest in a written work, but interest will never be piqued without visual appeal. Lupton’s work seeks to enlighten those who deal with type in some format about the graphical…

Writing-Communication

The Writing Life

By Scott J. Pearson | July 28, 2022September 6, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Perhaps it was because I listened to this work via audiobook rather than read it from the page, but this book did not meet my expectations. I have the utmost respect for Annie Dillard as a writer: She has won a Pulitzer Prize and can entertain through the written word far better than I ever will be able to. However, this work was not really direct in its approach. Instead of giving actionable tips or…

Research-Education Writing-Communication

Stylish Academic Writing

By Scott J. Pearson | January 14, 2022January 14, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Academic writing has a reputation for being a bit dry and only interested in the dissemination of abstract information. Concreteness, style, and vivacity often fall to the wayside. As Sword points out, much of this dryness is due to social structures, not deliberate mastery of the craft. This book teaches how to bring a sense of style to academic writing without compromising its informational purposes. By examining 1,000 academic papers in ten different fields, Sword…

Management-Business Research-Education Writing-Communication

The Only Grant-Writing Book You’ll Ever Need

By Scott J. Pearson | November 13, 2021November 13, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Many small businesses, non-profits, individual researchers, and larger institutions depend on grants to fund their activities and livelihoods. Whether from private foundations or governmental entities, these funds are given through a competitive process. Through market forces, this process seeks to align funders’ desires with projects that achieve results. This book seeks to demystify this process and provide readers with a “leg up” to write better grant proposals. Karsh and Fox’s work is primarily geared towards…

Biography-Memoir Religion-Philosophy Writing-Communication

Albert Camus and the Human Crisis

By Scott J. Pearson | July 25, 2021July 25, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Albert Camus is one of my favorite literary figures of all time. I favor authors rooted in the Christian and classical literary traditions, and Camus fits this description well – even though he made no profession of faith after childhood. (Another fascinating and controversial book contends that Camus sought baptism just before his sudden death.) To me, Camus’ words capture the human condition very well. This biography, born out of college classes Meagher taught, attempts…