Book review: Lessons from Walden: Thoreau and the Crisis of American Democracy

Posted on September 22, 2021 by WordsAndPeace

Lessons from Walden:
Thoreau and the Crisis of American Democracy,
by Bob Pepperman Taylor
University of Notre Dame Press
3/30/2020
258 pages
Nonfiction / Political literature criticism
Award:
American Political Science Association 2020, Section Award for Best Book in American Political Thought
Goodreads

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I read Walden by Henry David Thoreau a few years ago. So when I saw Bob Pepperman Taylor had a book on it, I knew it would be a great way of going deeper into the work and its meaning. Lessons from Walden focuses also on Civil Disobedience. So I read it first to be really ready for this excellent inquiry into Thoreau’s thought. Click to continue reading

Book review: Languages of Truth

Posted on July 21, 2021 by WordsAndPeace

Languages of Truth:
Essays 2003-2020
by Salman Rushdie
Random House
5/25/2021
368 pages
Nonfiction/Essays
Goodreads

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My discovery of Salman Rushdie’s writing is definitely not the normal one.
I have yet to read his most famous books. The only novel I have read so far is Quichotte, which I found quite impressive.
Even though I totally disagree with the author’s views on religion, I find him to be one of the most profound minds in literature today, and one of the most articulate voices, alongside the alas departed Umberto Eco, one of his friends, as expected. Les grands esprits se rencontrent.

So when I realized a volume of recent essays was being published —Languages of Truth is the third collection of his essays– I knew it was appropriate to spend more time with this brilliant author.

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Book review: The Code Breaker

Posted on July 7, 2021 by WordsAndPeace

The Code Breaker:
Jennifer Doudna,
Gene Editing,
and the Future of the Human Race
by Walter Isaacson
Simon & Schuster
Published on 3/9/2021
560 pages
Nonfiction/Science/Biography
Goodreads

I don’t need to prove to you how great a biographer Walter Isaacson is. I first discovered him with his biography of Benjamin Franklin, and then was totally awed by The Innovators, focused on the creators of the digital revolution. And of course, you probably read his biography of Steve Jobs and/or Leonardo da Vinci.
These titles and many more show how he zooms in on key genii. Jennifer Doudna is certainly one of them, so I was totally thrilled when I won The Code Breaker through Goodreads.
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