On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks. Simon Garfield. Gotham Books. Paperback. $17. Mr. Garfield’s book might also have the subtitle of, “Why you should care about the geography of Liberty City.” For those of you who are not familiar with Liberty City, allow me to fill you in. While…
Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy; by Kip Thorne; Norton Press; Paperback; $19 I’ve read so many books on black holes, space-time warps, wormholes, the universe, membranes, event horizons, riders on trains looking at stationary candles, people on platforms looking at moving candles, red-shift, blue-shift, Doppler shift, and the like, I think I’ve…
Bare Bones. Kathy Reichs. Pocket Star Books. Paperback. 2003. I don’t like writing bad reviews. Anyone who knows me knows I have no particular issue being critical. Writing a bad review means I’ve spent time reading a disappointing book, time I could have spent reading a better book. Kathy has written a few books which…
The Story of Earth, by Robert M. Hazen. Viking Press. Hardback. $28 I’m writing this review early. I think it is important I do so. I learned something almost immediately, within the Introduction, in fact. Not even did I reach the first chapter before I realized how ignorant I have allowed myself to become. And,…
Drood. Dan Simmons. 2009. Hatchette Book Group. Hardback. $9 I’ve been wanting to read a Dan Simmons tome – and I do mean tome – for years. Originally, I had anticipated reading his Hyperion Cantos series first. This collection of four novels has become a science fiction classic around which science fiction enthusiasts have developed…
Purple Cane Road, by James Lee Burke. 2000. Dell Fiction. Paperback. $8 Some people, when they write, take you there. You know what I mean; poets, authors, songwriters whose ink magically transmutes thoughts and imagery from their minds into ours. Lyrical words spellbind us, capturing our attention like the scent of a woman, like driving…
This Machine Kills Secrets: How Wikileaks, Cypherpunks, and Hacktivists Aim to Free the World’s Information. Andy Greenberg. Dutton Press. Hardback. $12. A dilemma looms. How much of what an organization does should remain private? If the organization crosses the line and become corrupt, how best to protect the privacy and identity of the whistleblower? I…
The Redbreast, by Jo Nesbø, translation from Norwegian by Don Bartlett. Harper. Crime/Suspense. Paperback. 2000. $8. I’ve been reading a number of crime/suspense fiction over the last few years. Science fiction and fantasy novels still outnumber crime/suspense novels, but the latter is growing by leaps and bounds. The scope of authors I have read is narrow.…
Governing the World, by Mark Mazower. Non-Fiction/History. Penguin Press. Hardcover. 475pgs. $30. Governing the World is a non-linear examination of the events, people, countries, and circumstances leading to the creation and organization of today’s United Nations. I did not select the book knowing this, though. I had an option to read and review a new…
Voodoo River. Robert Crais. Hyperion Paperback. Suspense. 1995. $8 I use a combination of tape flags and mechanical pencil to take notes in the margins when I read. I read crime/suspense novels for fun (and no profit, other than my own benefit), and to help people realize the geography they are being exposed to in…
Constant Geography 
You must be logged in to post a comment.