baw

What honesty looks like.

Reviewed: 02-02-23

Like so many people, I was always drawn to the person that John seemed to be. I’d watch shows and games simply because he was on them. It is so nice to find out that he was as he appeared.

Also like many others, I was of the mistaken belief that his depression had finally worn him down. It’s an odd thing to say, but I was so “relieved” that he ultimately succumbed to the body we each have and not the demons that inhabited his.

He was a person and people are all imperfect, but as much as I liked him then, I admire him so much now. This book was an honest example of the man and the reasons for his legacy and continuing popularity. He is, will and should be remembered for who he was, not for what he did, both personally and professionally.

I am one of so many that didn’t know John, but miss him terribly.

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Wow

Reviewed: 08-02-22

History with context is in short supply, but not here. It is likewise bracing to hear that a very loud minority of Americans are expressly uninterested in precepts held so dearly by so many…equality of opportunity, acknowledgement of the privilege that far too many consider natural and, most importantly, civic fairness.

There is small minority to whom a large minority have abandoned even the pretense that a republican (clearly distinct from “Republican”) form of government is desirable and worthy of support. Many so adore being told that “we are better than them” that they willingly sacrifice their humanity and sovereignty to anyone that says what they want to hear.

America as a civic experiment is at existential risk. This small book clearly explains why this time is dangerously different. Greedy, lazy and stupid must not be allowed to prevail, or the American experiment will end in abject failure, on our watch.

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Hmmmm

Reviewed: 09-17-21

I’m very fond of Peter Heller’s previous work, but this book could have been half as long and, consequently, perhaps twice as good. The protagonists are unbelievably dense, the fly fishing details excruciating and the denouement not condensed into such a hectic and implausible finale.

Personally, I believe that Heller is an accomplished writer that struck-out this time. I look forward to more from him.

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Remember how decency sounded?

Reviewed: 02-16-21

General decency, sincere empathy and thoughtful decisionmaking make up for a multitude of sins. Particularly in the world we’ve recently inherited. Nobody agreed with every decision, action or, conversely, inaction. Sometimes we disagreed strenuously, but none of that detracts from his character, viewpoint or compassion. A class act, warts and all.

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Context is everything

Reviewed: 09-27-20

Twilight of Democracy does a great job of putting the current craziness that has become politics into a global perspective. I’m not certain, though, if I am relieved or even more anxious knowing that the authoritarian kool-aid is flowing everywhere and not just in the U.S. Knowing her history and her and ideological viewpoint, I find her analysis all the more damning of the entire Republican party’s acquiescence to its current, and likely future, idiocy. So hard to believe that we’re talking about the United States of America. If this is greatness, God help us.

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It stays with you

Reviewed: 07-15-20

This AO production is short, powerful, raw, way too real, of such immense importance and, as a father and husband, disturbing in ways that I can’t enunciate. Kate del Castillo was truly impressive, Isaac Gomez took such a simple premise and, in a bit over an hour, created a multi-layered journey into a terrifying world. Worst of all...it’s so grotesquely true.

Normally, when a book or play includes a warning about language or themes, one generally ignores it. This story, in this place at this time...sticks with me, not because of how well the story is told (though it certainly is), but because of how horrific this truth is.

If you’re someone for whom our world is already too often unconscionable, this won’t help at all. If you aren’t one of those people, then listen intently. If you aren’t disturbed by this story, you may be human, but you lack humanity.

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Even ostriches drown when the water table rises.

Reviewed: 01-03-19

When facts get subsumed by mere belief, we get what we deserve. Terrifyingly clear evidence meets astonishingly shortsighted avarice on, by and under the streets of Miami, Norfolk and more.

Three kinds of decisions - right, wrong and none. Of these, none is nearly always fatal and wrong may be the greater good because at least you’re trying to deal with reality and not burying your head in the temporarily dry sand.

Takes a rather complex topic and makes it deafeningly clear. Unless you are unable to distinguish between climate and weather, you will learn things in these pages. Objective facts don’t require an opinion.

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At this point its just piling on, but.......

Reviewed: 08-06-18

It honestly is as good as all the thousands and thousands of reviewers (including me) so breathlessly exclaim. I'm sure it helps to be a Trevor Noah fan, from TV and/or stand-up comedy, but if for some reason you have never heard of this dude, his telling of the South Africa of his youth and his introduction of his mother to the rest of us is genuinely a gift. You don't have to like Trevor to have strong feelings about his story. Worth every penny and every minute.

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Fascinating stuff, but...

Reviewed: 05-22-17

I've loved Krauss' writing in the past and this book is no exception. He does a pretty good job of covering a lot of reasonably complex ideas in a relatively short fashion and provides practical meaning to otherwise esoteric concepts. His narration is equally terrific. That said, for myself personally, while he made the subject accessible, I nevertheless found listening to this book a bit more challenging than usual, as I had to construct mental frames of reference to consider movement, spin and energies from whole cloth rather than be able to refer to the valuable diagrams and illustrations found in the book.

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72 people found this helpful

OMG!

Reviewed: 02-17-16

As a child, I never understood when someone I knew experienced a transcendent experience associated with a piece of music or other work of art. I thought they were lying, but now I get it. Over the past fifty odd years, I’ve read thousands and thousands of books, and the vast majority were nothing more than a temporary diversion.

Over all that time, there are three autobiographical works that have had an immense emotional effect on me. Along with Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt (hearing it in his voice is sublime) and All Over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi defines, at least for me, what it is that makes a good book a great book.

I cry, smile, frown, laugh and then cry again because they are over. Anytime that I start to believe that my life is unfair, I remember Dr. Kalanithi and I shut the hell up. This book epitomizes both the personal and the real and, in such a very short volume, introduces you to a man and his family that had the dream so tantalizingly close and then the bottom of their world fell away. I know from personal experience that no one could deal with this situation with perfect aplomb, but their story after cancer invaded their dreams was one of style, perseverance and honor. It appears that perhaps my time is coming soon and I hope that I can be half the person that both Dr. Kalanithi and his wife were during their time together.

By the way, I listened to this on a road trip and got to the final chapter (WOW!) while sitting in traffic in Salt Lake City. If you are ever there, try to avoid crying; they get extremely nervous with a sobbing middle-aged man driving on their roads. AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

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