Customer Comments

The author is an expert in his field but the book has some odd recommendations, some that don't make sense and some that most people would find very difficult to follow. The book is worth reading for his expertise in immunology but I doubt if you will want to follow his advice. Other information and books on the immune system: mwir-immunesystem.blogspot.

This is Mr. Hing's 10th book about immigration. He believes we should get rid of ICE and essentially open our borders. He doesn't explicitly support open borders but that is the implication of his work. The book is mostly stories about the mistreatment of particular people with the implication that we should radically change the way we deal with everything we do about immigration. There is no real analysis or general argument, there is only what could be called an attempt to make readers more sympathetic to all immigrants based on the sad stories of particular immigrants. This is not logical and not good social science. Readers may be sympathetic but there is no reason to support the author's call for radical change in the system. That is not to say that the system does not need to change. Only that this author has not made a reasonable argument for any change. Not recommended. Better information and books on immigration here: mwir-immigration.blogspot.

Good intentions but not good execution. Sophomoric and full of irrelevant personal and unnecessary material. A two page further reading section is typical of the lazy quality of the book. Not recommended. For better material and books see: mwir-evolutionscience.blogspot.

Ilona Bray is one of Nolo's best attorney writers and this is an extraordinary book. Anyone who needs a green card or knows someone who may need one should read this book. It is comprehensive and logical. Nothing better. Other information and books on immigration here: mwir-immigration.blogspot.

This is a great book about the Milkwood plant with wonderful illustrations. The ecological importance of this plant and the butterflies it feeds and other animals and insects affected is detailed. Everyone should read this book and every school and library should have it. Native plants are important. mwir-nativeplants.blogspot.

This book exposes the false hopes of personalized medicine based on genetic research showing that the sponsors of this revolution are more interested in profits than curing people. The author argues that preventive health care would be more productive. Nutrition, environmental improvements, lifestyle changes etc. would make more of a difference and are more cost effective. The book makes a strong case with extensive evidence. I worked in healthcare as an economist and I saw that preventive health care and health promotion were neglected. More information on this subject here: mwir-preventivehealthcare.blogspot.

RFK Jr. did do some good things before he became an anti-vax crusader. But he went off the deep end, and is probably mentally ill. His family is deeply embarrassed by him and he should be in a mental hospital. Very sad. The author of this book is apparently an enabler, not clear what his motives might be. Stay away for both of them and hope RFK Jr. gets help.

The author has good intentions but the book is journalistic rather than analytical and much of it is questionable in terms of accuracy. There is no bibliography and no charts or tables and few relevant statistics. There are many better books on the subject. mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.com/p/books-waste.; mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.com/p/books-recycling.; mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.com/p/books-recycling-plastics.

Richardson is an excellent historian and writes an excellent progressive newsletter (Letters from an American) that is followed by many people. This book details much of American history in clear and useful language focused on the issue of democracy vs. various anti-democratic forces. It is interesting history even though much of it is well known. The weakness of the book is that there are no proposals for what we can do now to save our democracy. The final conclusion has nothing about this. Nor do any of the other chapters. People expected this book to offer something about the "Awakening" and how to restore democracy. Unfortunately, it isn't there except possibly indirectly from examples in the book. Other books and information on Democracy and Politics here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

This was one of the best books on the subject when it was published in 2012 but it is outdated now and there are better books. There are still few books on this important subject. Here is a list: mwir-immunesystem.blogspot.com/p/books-phage-therapy.

There is some good information in this book but very little that isn't outdated. The book is journalistic, not surprising since the author is a journalist. Subjects like dementia should not be written about by anyone other than scientists in the field. Don't waste your time on this book. Good information and books on dementia here: mwir-dementia.blogspot.

Suze Orman is the classic fraud, she doesn't know anything important and she only is interested in making money for herself. There is some common sense in her books but you can find that anywhere. She doesn't have anything intelligent to say about the difficult issues. There are many better books by honest people. Why public television gives her a platform is a mystery. Better books and information here: mwir-financialhealth.blogspot.

The author is correct, of course, in saying that mindfulness has become a scourge and is promoted by phonies and opportunists like Kabat-Zinn. He doesn't really need 296 pages to prove all of this but he writes well and drives his points home. However, one could make the same argument about Buddhism which he promotes and is a practitioner of. Mindfulness is a phony mysticism, Buddhism is a full fledged mysticism and we can do without either of them. There are hundreds of thousands of publications about Buddhism and it is a case of "the lady protests too much". If there was really something to the whole thing, it could be stated in a small pamphlet. It is frequently the case that someone will make a good argument against one thing while supporting something else that is just as silly and empty. As John Lennon pointed out, we don't really need religion. And it is and has been a vast waste of time and cause of tremendous violence. (Meditation is good for stress but don't expect Nirvana.) For more on the subject: mwir-mysticism.blogspot.

Corey Robin is one of those authors who may be too intelligent for the average reader. This is an excellent book but I doubt if many people will be able to appreciate it because of the high intellectual level. Michael Kirk produced a documentary film for Frontline on Clarence Thomas recently which is also excellent. Both this book and that film show how dangerous Thomas is and how corrupt the forces were that brought him to the Supreme Court. Just one more part of what is happening in this country now. More information here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

You will deserve an award if you actually read this whole 452 page book. Why these 3 supposedly eminent men need all those pages to discuss some fairly simple ideas is a mystery. The explanation is that they love to hear themselves talk or put their words on paper. They are arrogant. The book is an incredible waste of time. Whatever ideas they have could be stated in a few sentences. One of the reasons many people hate school, college in particular, is that people like these three don't know when to quit, they are experts at boring others. They can talk for hours and write dozens of books in spite of havomg very little of importance to say. It is the scourge of our education system to have arrogant people like this teaching and getting Nobel Prizes. Avoid this book.

It is news to most people that the radical left has conquered everything. Mr. Rufo needs to be treated for paranoia. The top 5% or 1% or even .1% still control most of the wealth and politics of this country. There is $100 trillion is total wealth in the US and the top 5% own a good deal more than 50% of that. From 1980 to 2009, Republican tax cuts led to $15 trillion in extra income for the top 5%. That was about equal to the increase in federal deficits. We need a more progressive income tax and a wealth tax to solve our federal debt and deficit problems. The right wing complaints about the Left taking over our culture is nonsense, just a way to distract people from the real issues, taxes, equal opportunity, voter rights, the environment etc. Don't waste your time on books like this. Better information and books here: mwir-progressives.blogspot.

The author is a respected and talented journalist and his intentions are very good. However, the book is journalistic rather than analytical so that it does not do a good job of explaining the problems of offering solutions. Better information and books on race here: mwir-race.blogspot.

The author is considered to be an important philosopher but I found the book unreadable and incoherent. I have no idea what he was trying to say. I won't say he was pompous but that is possible. Nothing that I could find in the book made any sense at all and there was no continuity between sentences.

Khan Academy is one of the most important things that is going on in education in the world and this book is a good introduction to it. It is a basic description of Sal Khan's experience and thinking. He has done a great thing and the Academy has helped and is continuing to help millions of children and adults in their education. More than that, he has changed the nature of the whole idea of education and nothing will be the same again. Read the book and go to the website and join and try some of the courses. You won't regret it. Bravo. Other information and books on education here: mwir-education.blogspot.

The British comedy group, The Week That Was, had a routine where a minister gives a sermon that attempts to be profound and goes on and on with more and more stories and and lessons that never makes any sense or comes to any conclusions. This book is like that, a failed attempt at being profound and telling the reader how to "awaken your genius". More like how to bore you to death. Better books on creativity here: mwir-researchandstats.blogspot.com/p/books-creativity.

Health care books, especially books about cancer, that sell gazillion copies tend to be unreliable at best, fraudulent at worst. I am not an expert on this subject but I doubt that this book is worth reading or that the advice in the book is worth following. I would ask an expert to review it before taking it seriously in any way. Useful information and books on cancer here: mwir-cancer.blogspot.

Paul Bloom has written about 10 books and won some awards. Some people think his books are great but this one doesn't show any new or interesting thinking. He sounds like an academic who is trying to make a name for himself but really has nothing very important to say. There is no bibliography, this is often a sign that the author doesn't want you to know how much he has relied on other writer's ideas. The book isn't terrible but it isn't worth reading. Better material and books can be found here: mwir-mentalhealth.blogspot.

There are many best sellers in the self help etc. category that are not worth reading or even opening. This is one of them. The author is a "productivity expert". Really? He certainly wasted his time writing this book. Better books on creativity here: mwir-researchandstats.blogspot.com/p/books-creativity.

Rick Rubin may be a talented record producer but he is a terrible writer. This book is worthless. When a book gets rave reviews from people like Anne Lamott, Russell Brand and Seth Godin, you should avoid it. Rubin has nothing of importance or even coherence to say.

"The endorsements shown here demonstrate who Christiana's friends are. Because she is such an important woman in the climate movement, deservedly I might add, no one wants to say the truth. This is not a good book. The authors contradict themselves. For example, they write about the "destructive effects of grazing." And then extol "sustainable grazing" and the benefits of "free-roaming livestock". With all respect, they don't seem to know what they're talking about or where they stand. There is no mention of agriculture except in the negative. They never mention how soil can sequester carbon. There is a very questionable assertion about what forests can do provide based on a widely discredited study. Forest are crucial, no question, but not a panacea as described here. It seems the book was done with haste. It's as if both authors had a full-time job and fit the book into their busy schedule. It contains more bromides that any one person should have to swallow. There are Ten "Actions". Like Defend the Truth. Yes, well, sure. Use Technology Responsibly. Move Beyond Fossil Fuels. After you have read the book you have no idea what to do. But wait, there is an Appendix: What You Can Do Now. That section can be summed up in one sentence: Think about what you can do now. This should have been a determining book from on high. Christian has that bully pulpit. Rather, it is something thrown together, littered with clichés and proverbial advice." Review from GaryP

Many people have found this book to be impressive and useful. I could not understand why. It seemed academic and his arguments did not make much sense or even seem coherent. Better books and material on global warming here: mwir-globalwarming.blogspot.

Steve Paxton is a committed socialist and this is a book devoted to socialism. He makes excellent criticisms of capitalism and arguments for change. However, the prospects for socialist revolution in Europe or the US are poor and his views on that subject are not realistic. All of the countries that have been socialist or communist became dictatorships and police states. This is not surprising because when private economic activity is outlawed, the enforcement of that requires a police state and leads to dictatorship. Social democracy on the other hand has worked very well, it is the combination of private businesses, strong government programs, cooperatives, and strong unions. The 8 social democracies have always been rated the best places in the world to live. Paxton does not mention those countries or social democracy. I do not recommend this book for that reason. Better books and information can be found here: mwir-socialdemocracy.blogspot.

Roger Rosenblatt used to do pieces on PBS Newshour, he was awful, an arrogant idiot. This book is the same sort of thing. What sort of person calls himself witty in the title of his book? Some people are famous for being famous, this guy is a well known writer etc. for being a well known writer. There is nothing good about him or his writing. He is an arrogant jerk. How he got the fame and recognition he got is a mystery. This is a terrible book, typical of his writing and thinking.

The author has academic credentials but this book is an attempt to find optimism in a world where biodiversity and many species are seriously threatened. I don't know what his motives are but he is doing a disservice to science and the public to write and publish this book. Better books can be found here: mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.com/p/books-biodiversity. Avoid this book.

This is an extraordinary book based on a great deal of excellent research written by two experts in the field. It should be read by everyone concerned with this problem. There is a 4 star review on Amazon by "Book Shark" which gives an excellent summary and evaluation of the book. Other good books on violence here: mwir-violence.blogspot.com/p/books-violence.

This is a fascinating and extraordinarily educational book by a true expert. The author taught ornithology and ecology courses. He covers a great many subjects about bird evolution and behavior. The book is well written and well researched. Worth reading and owning. Other books on birds here: mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/books-birds.

The author is now a celebrity expert on forecasting. He is not really a statistician and this book is mediocre at best. Many people become celebrities or known in particular fields due to luck or particular successes. They usually don't deserve their fame of success. This book is not really worth reading. For good books on statistics: mwir-researchandstats.blogspot.com/p/books-statistics.

This is an extraordinary book by an expert who is willing to challenge orthodox ideas. I am not competent to judge all of his analyses but he seems to know a great deal and have the ability to put his ideas together in a comprehensive and coherent way. I recommend the book to anyone interested in building houses or evaluating how houses are built. Other books on this and similar subjects can be found here: mwir-alt-energy.blogspot.com/p/books-green-building_

It is odd when a book that is supposed to be about logic or similar subjects is mostly incoherent or stupid. This book misses it intended targets completely. The author has written other books but I am not at all tempted to read them now. Far better books here: mwir-researchandstats.blogspot.com/p/books-rationality.

This is a very basic book about Cognitive Therapy by a therapist who has written about 6 books. He seems to be in it for the money. There are many better books, e.g. : mwir-mentalhealth.blogspot.com/p/books-cognitive-therapy_30.

The author, Tim Birkhead, is a nature lover and bird lover and an excellent writer. The book is filled with extraordinary information and insights. Birkhead has written about 15 other books worth reading. This book has an extraordinary bibliography with books from 1800 to the present. There are few people with this author's knowledge or ability to write about nature and birds. Other books on birds here: mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/books-birds.

I agree with the previous review, this is an excellent book. Whitehouse should run for President. One of the worst results of Trump's Presidency has been the current Supreme Court. Clarence Thomas and Alito should be impeached based on their corruption or removed using an age limit. Whitehouse has two other books worth reading. This book is one of the best books about the Supreme Court and the corruption around it. Books on Constitutional Law here: mwir-law.blogspot.com/p/books-constitutional-law.

While I agree with much of the arguments in this book, it reminded me of why I never continued to take philosophy courses in college. Philosophy professors tend to belabor the obvious and bore the be-Jesus out of everyone. There are, of course, some great philosophers but not many of them teach in colleges, they do write books. Taking their courses will drive people into other fields, including math. If you want to know more about philosophy, try this: mwir-philosophy.blogspot.

I thought this might be an interesting book but it is one conservative man's opinion based on zero evidence. He is clearly a Trump supporter since he includes Trump's 1776 Report. There is no bibliography, no statistics or charts and no reference to any evidence to support the author's various opinions. There are far better books about what is happening in our society. E.g. mwir-sociology.blogspot.

This is a distorted and dangerous book. The author attempts to be optimistic but if you read the book carefully you will see he is not. Global warming and other harmful effects from human activities are causing massive damage to the environment and ecosystems everywhere. To tell people otherwise is nonsense and corrupt. There are many books that are far better: mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.

This is an unusual book, most people have not eaten ocean greens and know nothing about them. Perhaps the time is coming when many of us will begin to eat them and books like this will be useful and popular. The authors appear to know a great deal about this subject, the book is well designed and organized. We should all thank them and take a look and give it a try. Other books on similar subjects here: mwir-nutrition.blogspot.com/p/vegetarian-cookbooks.

The author is a professor of social sciences at Princeton and the book is academic in the worst sense of the word. It is difficult to figure out what the book is saying and there are no conclusions or proposals about what to do that make any sense. It is not unusual for professors at Ivy League colleges to write muddled books, in fact, it is common. Many people gave this book good reviews, probably these are people who write similar books. Don't waste your time or money. Better books on Democracy here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

This book is not as great as some of the other DK books. The subject is too large so that the book cannot live up to the challenge and seems random and somewhat chaotic. There are some great pages and photos and it is worth looking at and reading. But it is just too ambitious and the authors could not do what they tried to do. Maybe it should have been a series of books. Information on earth science can be found here: mwir-earthscience.blogspot.

One of the very best DK books, it will make you want to sail the many oceans of the world. The book has everything including great maps, and hundreds of great photos. You won't find a better book about oceans. Highly recommended. Other books here: mwir-earthscience.blogspot.

This is one of the best books in this DK series with excellent pictures and text. The choices of buildings and architects make sense and the structure of the book is logical. I kept thinking that the workers who built these incredible buildings should somehow get a lot more credit. They must have had great skills and worked unbelievably hard. This book is well worth having. Other books on architecture here: mwir-architecture.blogspot.com/p/books-architecture.

There are a lot of good books on the immune system and this is one of the best. Four parts and 45 chapters, 341 pages, worth reading if you want to understand this subject. The author has a Youtube project that is worth looking at also. The book is written at a level that is understandable by nonscientists but not dumbed downed so much as to lose the science. Highly recommended. See also: mwir-immunesystem.blogspot.

It is hard to believe that this person teaches at Yale, in fact, it is hard to believe that she teaches at any university. This is a distinctly mediocre book, hard to read because you keep waiting for her to say something useful and she never does. There are many books that should never have been written, it is tragic. Editors and publishers are to blame, they need to be far more discriminating but if they think money can be made, they don't care how bad a book is, they will go ahead and let it be published. Flannery O'Connor said it best, more writers should be stifled. Unfortunately, there are a great many bad books and bad writers. Sad.

Whenever a book begins by talking about Michael Brown being murdered, you can assume there will be a lack of objectivity. There are many cases of black people being murdered that are far more clear. The officer who shot Michael Brown was cleared by a grand jury and the evidence was overwhelming. This is not a terrible book, there are some good things but it is not a very good book and not really worth reading. There are many better books.

This is a generally good book with basic common sense about racial issues and black attitudes and values. It got bad reviews from radicals and progressives but they probably didn't read it carefully. Unfortunately Steele became more right wing and worked for the Hoover Institute, writing more ideological work that was not as good or reasonable as this book. Too bad. He is half black, his mother was white. He could have been an important source of good thinking but he sold out to the far right for big money. Sad. Good books on race here: mwir-race.blogspot.

This is an excellent book, detailing the problems of police work and related injustices. The author is an expert in the field and has many profound ideas and suggestions for how to improve the situations involved. This is one of the best books on the subject of crime and criminal justice, Highly recommended. Other information and books here: mwir-law.blogspot.

Ten chapters with 37 myths and Chapter 11 with 6 things you can do to combat misinformation. This is an extremely well written and well researched book with a very powerful message. Evey library should have multiple copies and every school should require this book in social studies classes. The authors have produced a comprehensive argument for intelligent gun control Highly recommended. See also: mwir-violence.blogspot.

William Nordhaus won the Nobel Prize for his work on the economics of global warming. His specialty is economic solutions to reducing carbon dioxide production. He considers primarily things like carbon taxes. He does not spend much time or thought on alternative energy subjects or conservation. This book does not include material on conservation, geothermal, hydroelectric, marine, hydrogen, active solar, passive solar or wind energy. He assumes there are many other sources for those subjects. The book may be difficult reading for non economists but the author did make an effort to make it readable for non experts. He is considered the top expert on this aspect of the global warming analysis. For more information: mwir-alt-energy.blogspot.com/p/alternative-energy-other and mwir-globalwarming.blogspot.

RFK JR is an embarrassment to his family and to the country. He is an extreme anti-vaxxer and conspiracy monger. He has a strong following and is doing great harm. He should be locked up.

On the back of this book there are tributes from Andrew Weil and Jeffrey Bland, two of the worst people in the field of alternative medicine. That should be enough to turn anyone away from this book. The book has no notes or bibliography and the content is as bad as you would expect from the tributes. A mixture of obvious material and errors. Avoid at all costs. Better information and books on alternative medicine can be found here: mwir-altmed.blogspot.

There are many scam artists in this field and Mark Hyman is one of the worst. His books are full of obvious and well known material and questionable nonsense. Do some research about him and the material he recommends and sells. He is a phony and a crook. Unfortunately so are many in the alternative medicine field. However, there are some good people and books: mwir-altmed.blogspot.

I agree with the argument of this book that the nation was founded on secular Enlightenment principles rather than Christian. However, the book goes further in its anti-religious messaging. That was unnecessary and unfortunate. Separation of church and state is one thing but there is no need for anyone to be anti-religious. The book is well written and well documented for the most part. Other information and books on US history cam be found here: mwir-ushistory.blogspot.

When a memoir or self help book gets thousands of good reviews on Amazon, it is almost always a sign of a poorly written and useless book. This is no exception. It is no surprise that this man went on to become a right wing politician supporting Trump. He is a good example of someone who sounds reasonable and intelligent but is really a hack and a phony. He fits right in to the Republican corruption machine. Expect to see a few scandals. More on Trump here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-trump-2020.

Drucker writes for the right wing Washington Examiner and this book is written from a right wing point of view. If you want that perspective on Trump and the other top Republican politicians, you may like this book but if you want reasonably intelligent and objective information, you would do better with other books. Good books on right wing politics can be found here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-right-wing.

The author was on PBS Newhour the other night and was given a warm reception. The book is good in the sense that it encourages people to be more sensitive to fat people and less judgmental. However, the message of the book, about "the myths", is mostly wrong and misleading. Obesity is a major health problem and most obese people should for their own sake and for the sake of the healthcare system try to seriously lose weight. Some overweight people can be fairly healthy and may not need to lose weight but they are the exceptions. In general, obesity is a serious problem, has been getting worse in the US and in other countries and needs to be dealt with. Any book that argues against that is a threat to our health. Information and books can be found here: mwir-preventivehealthcare.blogspot.com/p/obesity; mwir-preventivehealthcare.blogspot.com/p/books-obesity.

This is an excellent and interesting book written by three experts on nutrition. The science is impressive and the recipes are great, about 160 pages of them with good photos. I don't buy many books anymore but I will buy this one. The logic is that the correct balance of protein and carbs gives you good nutrition and helps you lose weight and keep it off. I will give it a try. Other information and books on nutrition and diets here: mwir-nutrition.blogspot.

This is a misguided book, based on opinions not science or research. Much better books on this subject can be found here: mwir-mentalhealth.blogspot.com/p/books-trauma.

I had never heard of this writer so I looked him up and found that he writes for Jacobin, a socialist publication. He has written hundreds of articles there. His articles and this book are professionally written and well researched; however, in spite of their radicalism, they are quite boring. I got the feeling that he is what might be called a hack, someone who has been doing his thing so long that he doesn't have much feeling for it anymore and is just going through the paces. Is Biden as bad as the author claims? Possibly but then the Democratic Party hasn't shown us much in general so Biden may just be part of the whole. Most progressives support the Democrats because the Republicans are so horrible. The lesser of the evils argument has become a very strong argument. We would vote for Daffy Duck rather than any Republican. What we need are good ideas about how to solve our problems, not attacks on people. Good information and books on democracy and politics: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

Desmond writes well and provides much good information and commentary. The book is worth reading as was his previous book, Evicted. Most books like this are weak on proposals for how to make significant change and this one is no exception. Desmond has some ideas but nothing new or substantial. If we want to change the distribution of income and create equal opportunity, we need to increase taxes on the wealthy by a great deal. Republicans have cut taxes on the wealthy significantly since 1980, adding $15 trillion to the wealth of the top 5%, equal to ihe increase in the federal deficit, 1980-2009. The wealthy need to pay much higher taxes on income and on wealth not only to help the rest of the population but to help the government pay for the programs it delivers. We need to make Americans understand this so they vote for politicians who can change the tax system. Books worth reading: mwir-econhistory.blogspot.com/p/books-taxes.

I have spent the last 16 years evaluating books, sometimes it is difficult but sometimes it is easy to tell how good or bad a book is. With this book, it is easy, this is a bad book, in fact, the author may be quite insane. There are some useful bits of information (already well known in most cases) but there are many useless, dangerous or laughable pieces of misinformation. Two examples, p. 193, Plant-Derived Sources of Bone Minerals, 5 listed...; p. 200, Neutralizing Burgers with Avacados. He gives homeopathy a thumbs up. The book gets rave reviews from Steven Gundry, Mark Hyman, David Perlmutter and a few other disreputable "health experts". It is an indication of how uneducated the reading public in this country is that books like this are popular. This is sad and dangerous. There are a great many good books on health care and alternative medicine but many people can't tell the difference between the good ones and the terrible ones like this one. Good books on alternative medicine: mwir-altmed.blogspot.com/p/books-alt-med.

This book is a good example of narrative nonfiction and if you like that, you may like this book. For people who want to be informed about something important, this book is a great waste of time. There are no notes, no bibliography, not even an index. The author is so enamored by his own writing skills that he can go on and on about almost anything for many pages without saying anything about the supposed subject of the book. Maybe he forgot. Not recommended. If you want to read about religion and politics, there are many good books: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-religion-politics.

Owen Deutsch is an extraordinary photographer and birder. This is one of the best books I have seen in many years and definitely the best book of bird photography. After two trips through the book, Owen Deutsch spent 20 years finding all of these birds. I assume he found them in their native habitats. The text is interesting also but the photos are unique and great. Anyone who loves birds or nature in general will value this book. Other books and information on birds can be found here: mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/books-birds, mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/birds, mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/birding, mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/books-birding.

Johnston is an extraordinary journalist, he doesn't hide his point of view, he is strongly anti-Trump and anti-right wing. This book is full of evidence that Trump used his position to enrich himself and his allies during his Presidency much as one would expect from his history. The book is not perfect but it is impressive and convincing. One more aspect of how dangerous and evil Trump and his associates were and are. We can hope that justice will finally be done. There are now hundreds of books on this subject: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-trump-2020 and mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-trump-pre-2020.

The worst sort of arrogance is that of someone who thinks they are saying something profound when they are saying something profoundly ignorant. Murray is a perfect example of this. He presents evidence of black and brown inferior intelligence and excessive criminality without attempting to say what the basic causes are and without any coherent statement about what should be done about these "facts". The word "genetics" doesn't appear in the index so it seems Murray doesn't have the courage to even imply that these differences are caused by genetics. However, he doesn't want anyone to believe that history and social conditions can be blamed for lower IQ scores or higher crime rates. He doesn't want these lower groups to have any excuses. This very arrogant man has written an ignorant and incoherent book. His wealth and higher education didn't help him. He has no excuse, genetic or otherwise. Better information and books can be found here: mwir-race.blogspot.

I looked at every Mediterranean cookbook I could find and decided this one and one other, Gloria Reiber's, were the best. I have been using this one and the meals have been excellent. The ingredients listed are generally great but I have to substitute sometimes if I don't happen to have everything. The instructions are sometimes a bit unclear but it is possible to figure them out. I would recommend this book without reservation along with the Reiber book, Mediterranean diet cookbook for beginners. Other material on nutrition can be found here: mwir-nutrition.blogspot.

Laura Erickson has written a dozen or more books on birds and this is one of her best. There are 256 pages with photos on almost every page, her knowledge of the relationships between plants and birds is amazing. The book is extremely useful to anyone who cares about having birds in their area. Wonderful details and beautiful photos, Highly recommended Other bird books here: mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/books-birds.

Steven Pearlstein is an excellent writer, he won a Pulitzer for his coverage of the 2008 financial crisis. This book is a rare example of a clear and concise statement of what is wrong with the economy and a good attempt at proposals for improving it. From one review "First, we should "eliminate special interest money in politics". Second, we should offer guaranteed income for life in exchange for public service during a number of years. Third, corporations should share profits with employees. Fourth, educational opportunities should be open to all. Fifth, by a combination of taxes, redistribution, and incentives (or "predistribution" measures), we should reduce the concentrations of wealth and economic power while restoring competition. Finally, we should de-emphasize the shareholder-value ideology." Too many writers try to make things more complex than they need to be. Pearlstein does not. His charts are basic and excellent. Worth reading. Other books and information on economics: mwir-economicimprovements.blogspot.

Like most of the books produced by America's Test Kitchen, this book has great recipes and is well organized. It has one major flaw, the print is too small which makes it difficult for many people to read. Two excellent books on the Mediterranean diet: The Mediterranean Dish: 120 Bold and Healthy Recipes You'll Make on Repeat: A Mediterranean Cookbook Hardcover – September 13, 2022 by Suzy Karadsheh Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Beginners: 1500 Days of Affordable and Mouthwatering Recipes to Change Your Eating Lifestyle Forever. Bonus: 30-Day Flexible Meal Plan On a Budget Paperback – September 23, 2022 by Gloria Reiber For more nutrition information: mwir-nutrition.blogspot.

Diet and health books that sell vast numbers of copies and are recommended by people like Mehmet Oz, Dale Bredesen, Terry Wahls, and Tony Robbins are always to be avoided and probably should be burned. This book is written by a cardiac surgeon who has no credentials in nutrition or any related area. There is no indication that he knows anything about the subject. The book is dangerous. Avoid it. For better information see this: mwir-nutrition.blogspot.

When you see names like Daniel Amen, Dale Bredesen, David Perlmutter, Stephen Sinatra recommending a book, you can be confident the book is not worth reading or taking seriously. There is a group of medical fraudsters who support each other and make a lot of money running clinics and publishing books. They don't have any serious knowledge or helpful ideas, they are crooks. It is easy to spot them once you know who they are. Avoid them all. They are bad news. Go to a real doctor or an honest alternative medicine practitioner. You can find one if you are careful.

This book gets good reviews from Tyler Cowen, Bill McKibben, and Ezra Klein, that should be enough to scare you away from it. Bill McKibben gives good reviews to thousands of books, he must get paid for them. The other two are idiots. The book promises to be profound and inspiring but it is not. It has almost nothing coherent to say and the conclusion especially is a muddled mess. Start with that and you will save the time you might have been in danger of losing if you were going to read the whole book. A terrible and worthless book by someone who should not be teaching innocent students anywhere.

The author makes some relevant and fair points but carries his arguments much too far. Giving up showering, soap and water for dubious reasons makes no sense and no one, especially a doctor should advise anyone to take extreme measures that could threaten their health and the health of people around them. Personal hygiene isn't just personal, it is social and interpersonal. During allergy season e.g., it is important to wash your hair often to protect people around you from allergies. For better information, look here: mwir-improvinghealth.blogspot.

Antibiotics were the first medicines that actually cured diseases, that is how important they were. (People who believe in alternative medicine etc. may disagree with this.) William Rosen has written an exceptional book that documents the creation of these medicines. He is a talented writer and the book is well worth reading. He discusses the excessive use of the drugs and goes into the current problems of antibiotic resistant infections. Highly recommended. Other books on the subject can be found here: mwir-immunesystem.blogspot.com/p/books-infectious-disease.

There are a lot of books on this subject and most of them have similar messages. This book is not terribly different but it is well organized and well written and better than most of the others. The author doesn't make any wild promises, his work is based on science. It is worth reading and taking seriously. There is no bibliography and no notes and the author doesn't seem to teach anywhere but he has a PhD and lectures on this subject. Other books and information on dementia here: https://mwir-dementia.blogspot.com/

This is an interesting book, better than most diet books but with a lot of material that is not particularly useful. The general idea is good and similar to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which the author refers to only once briefly. The ideas are mostly common sense and worth thinking about. 99% of diet books are not worth reading so this book is part of the 1% that is. For the other good books, go here: https://mwir-nutrition.blogspot.com/p/books-diets.html.

This is a comprehensive and excellent book with detailed instructions for a great variety of projects. The section on building a deck is very good. The section on bamboo is brief but helpful however it says the resource section lists sources for bamboo and that is not the case. Too bad this book is out of stock here. Highly recommended, you can get it elsewhere.

This is an anti-vax book and should not be sold. It is based on bad science that has been disproven and the doctor who did the work has lost his license. Do not support anti-vax people, they are killing children and bringing back diseases that had been controlled. These are ignorant and dangerous people. Do your own research, vaccines are important and have been a great benefit to people for many years. Anyone who knows anything about medicine knows that.

Ads for this book list glowing reviews by Nassin Nicholas Taleb, Rebecca Solnit, and Robin D.G. Kelley. If you ever wanted to have a reason to avoid a book, that would be a good one. Three terrible writers recommending a book. And the book is bad, in fact, the two writers are arrogant and apparently ignorant of the subjects they attempt to write about. It is somewhat difficult to tell this because the whole things is obscure and incoherent but read the one star reviews on Amazon to get a feel for how bad this book really is. Not just bad, but misconceived. There is nothing worse than people tryng to write a book that they are not qualified to write and unfortunately it happens all too often. Some people may say these authors are well meaning but I suspect their main motives have been self promotion and ambition. My public library bought 8 copies of this book and all of them were still on the shelf when I took one out. I hope they throw them in the dumpster.

This is a beautiful book, extremely well done like most Taunton books. It is an idea book, not a how to book. Most of the projects would have to be done by professionals. It is a book for rich people and you can see that by the expensive houses in the pictures. But if you are looking for ideas about using stones in your yard, this would be a good book to use. Inexpensive.

This was, of course, an ambitious project. The text is not impressive, I would bet that owners of this book will read very little of it. Most people will skim the book just to see which books are included. There are some odd errors, e.g. a number of books are included in the 1450-1649 period which were written in the following period, 1650-1899. Same with the 1650-1899 period. I am surprised the publisher didn't catch those errors. There are likely more errors in the other periods. There are a few choices that I don't agree with but that would be expected with a large collection. In general, I would give the author a C or C-. Not recommended.

I wasn't going to bother reviewing this book but I saw that Bill McKibben had given it a good review. He gives good reviews to thousands of books, you have to wonder if he gets paid for them or is he just trying to get his name out there. This book is not good in any way, as science or as writing, it is a mess. There are many far better books about Greenland. Greenland is important now because of global warming and you should be interested in it so it is worth reading about but this book is not worth reading. Here is a good book Stunning Iceland: The Hedonist's Guide (The Hedonist's Guides).

Pseudo Intellectual nonsense, recommended by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tucker Carlson, anti-vax idiocy. It is difficult to tell what the book is actually about but it is clearly nonsense. Why Chelsea Green would publish this is a great question.

Ezra Klein and this book are very popular, I am not sure why. He did a good deal of research for the book but it is not impressive either in it analysis or in its conclusions. There is no discussion at all of the Republican goal and strategy of cutting taxes on the wealthy. This is clearly their top priority, from 1980 to 2009, the top 5% of income receivers gained $15 trillion due to Republican tax cuts and federal deficits increased by the same amount. 96.3% of federal deficits from 1950 to 2009 came during Republican administrations, almost all during Reagan and the two Bush years due to tax cuts and increased military spending. Deficits during Obama's 8 years were due to his inheriting a financial crisis, the worst recession since the 30s, two wars, and the Republican tax structure. Deficits fell during his years. The title of this book implies equal guilt in the polarization, this is not true. Republicans have gone much further to the right than Democrats have gone to the Left. In fact, Democrats have done far too little to fight the battle against the Right. This isn't a terrible book but there are many better books: e.g. mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

This is a well written book. It is a memoir of the author’s life and focuses on his relationship with his father, Robert McNamara, who was the Secretary of Defense for Kennedy and Johnson and a central figure in the Vietnam War. The author attempts to deal with his father’s guilt related to the war and his dishonesty about that war. The author feels some guilt because of his relationship to his father. Robert McNamara was clearly a war criminal but so were a great many other people including Nixon, Johnson, Kissinger, Walt Rostow, McGeorge Bundy, Westmoreland, etc. A significant part of the problem was the ignorance of important people about Vietnam and its history and situation. The Vietnam war was part of a 100 year history of the US supporting right wing dictatorships against revolutions in over 60 countries and a much longer history of imperialism based on greed and power. We are still living with the results of all that.

This is a fairly comprehensive history, well written but not much that people who have lived thru this period didn't already know. Like most journalists, the author has virtually nothing in the way of proposals for how to fix things. No one should be allowed to publish a book without something substantial to say on this front. How can anyone involved in this area not have ideas about such things? They must have at least heard of some. Worth reading if you want to be reminded of the ugly past. Other books on political matters are here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

The author has good intentions and clearly wanted to write a book that would do good things for poor people but the book is a good example of narrative or creative nonfiction which tends to mean that there will be very little analysis or statistics. This is OK with some people but it is a violation of academic standards and generally makes the book a waste of time to read. This book has some value because the author was sympathetic to the people she interviewed and had good values but there are better books on this and related subjects. Books on nutrition: mwir-nutrition.blogspot. Books on inequality: mwir-equalopportunity.blogspot.

This is a book put together by a large staff, there are about 90 short chapters on all sorts of subjects. It is like some of the DK books that give brief essays on pieces of a big subject. It isn't a bad books but it is not very useful. You won't miss much if you don't read the book. Better information and books on global warming can be found here: mwir-globalwarming.blogspot.

Ezra Klein and this book are very popular, I am not sure why. He did a good deal of research for the book but it is not impressive either in it analysis or in its conclusions. There is no discussion at all of the Republican goal and strategy of cutting taxes on the wealthy. This is clearly their top priority, from 1980 to 2009, the top 5% of income receivers gained $15 trillion due to Republican tax cuts and federal deficits increased by the same amount. 96.3% of federal deficits from 1950 to 2009 came during Republican administrations, almost all during Reagan and the two Bush years due to tax cuts and increased military spending. Deficits during Obama's 8 years were due to his inheriting a financial crisis, the worst recession since the 30s, two wars, and the Republican tax structure. Deficits fell during his years. The title of this book implies equal guilt in the polarization, this is not true. Republicans have gone much further to the right than Democrats have gone to the Left. In fact, Democrats have done far too little to fight the battle against the Right. This isn't a terrible book but there are many better books: e.g. mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

I have not read any of this authors articles in various publications. This is her only book and it is a bad one. The idea of giving everyone below a certain income level money instead of finding other ways to deal with maldistribution of income and wealth is a bad idea. There are much better ideas, much better ways of creating level playing fields and equal opportunities. Plus the obvious fact that this type of program would never be passed and would not be popular with the general population. There are a significant percentage of people who would not try to find jobs if they could simply collect money from the government for doing nothing. In fact, that is happening already. What we need to do is provide useful educational opportunities and job opportunities for anyone who wants them. We also need to have a fair tax system that taxes the upper income people sufficiently to pay for all the programs we need. Republicans have allowed the wealthy to avoid their fair share of taxes. From 1980 to 2009, the top 5% gained $15 trillion thanks to Republican tax cuts. And that added the same amount to federal debt. We need to think in terms of economic justice rather than welfare, equal opportunity rather than government charity. Better books can be found here: mwir-equalopportunity.blogspot.

Robert Greene has written a number of best selling books, that is always a bad sign. This book is a good example of mediocre self help philosophy. It isn't terrible but it isn't very good. Lots of these books are best sellers because masses of people like them and think they have profound truths. It is sad and a good example of how bad our educational system is but maybe these books are better than other books that people might read that have worse messages. Self help books in general range from terrible to excellent, you have to be careful. This one is over 600 pages, definitely not worth your time.

Caldwell is one of the most skilled conservative writers, he has written for the top conservative periodicals for many years. This book is intended to be a history of the progressive movement in the US since the the 60s. It is a very selective and biased history and not coherent as an argument about what was wrong with progressives. It is not very readable or convincing and there is no conclusion or proposals for what might be solutions to the mess that Caldwell thinks progressives have made of this country. Caldwell makes a lot of bad arguments and insinuations that he does not support with evidence and could not support. He uses examples of bad behavior such as the riots around the justified Michael Brown killing to prove his point without discussing larger issues such as police misconduct or racism in general. He doesn't understand the credit crisis that led to the financial crisis and repeats the Republican nonsense about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He is a journalist, not an economist or historian and fails as any sort of analyst. The book is not worth reading, it is a waste of time. Better books on modern US history can be found here: https://mwir-ushistory.blogspot.com/p/books-us-history-modern.html.

Many people, including Vietnam veterans, have criticized this book and denied many of the author's claims. I was not a US soldier in Vietnam but I had a number of friends who were and I spoke to them about their experiences there. I have also read many books on the subject. I am not an expert but I believe a good deal of what this book alleges is true but not all. 3.5 million Asians died during the US war and about 35 million were wounded during the war so it is not hard to believe that US forces intentionally killed many civilians. However, some of the accusations in this book may be excessive. The point is the US was responsible to a very large number of people being killed by many methods, intentional and unintentional. Over 50,000 Americans were also killed and about ten times that many wounded physically and/or mentally. I lost three close friends because of the war. For more information about the war: https://mwir-vietnam.blogspot.com/

Like millions of other people, I am a fan of Bob Dylan's work. However, this is not a good book, he has very little of importance to say and the book is not put together well. There are only 4 women out of the 66 artists featured. I am surprised no one seems to be aware of that scandal. I expect there will be many critical reviews of this book. But there will be much praise. It is a case of the emperor has no clothes, too many people are afraid to criticize the great artist. Not recommended.

The author is a journalist with no scientific training and apparently very little intelligence. Avoid this book, it is awful. Good books on this subject can be found here: mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/books-wildlife.

This is a dangerously stupid book. I advise anyone who is tempted to read it to first read the reviews by ecologists or reviewers who actually know something before buying it or taking it out of a library. The author has not education or training the the field and is not competent to write about this subject. Good books on ecosystems can be found here: mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.

When you are JFK's granddaughter, it isn't hard to get a book published. This isn't a bad book but it isn't very good. There aren't any new or good ideas and there is very little evidence of solid research. There are many books that are far better. No bibliography, not even an index. If the author is serious, she needs to try a lot harder and get very good advice. Better information and books on global warming here: https://mwir-globalwarming.blogspot.com/

David Horowitz was a Marxist and the radical editor of Ramparts back in the 60s and 70s. He made a great deal of money writing books and became a far right writer and entrepreneur. This book is odd, it has some fair and balanced material but is mostly colored by Horowitz's extreme right wing opinions. His "research" is sketchy at best and ludicrous at worst. There have been some unfair elements in the Black Lives Matter movement. Some of the alleged victims were not as innocent as they were claimed to be. Michael Brown for example was a poor choice for a focus of a movement, he was a thug and the cop was justified in shooting him. However, the issue of police mistreatment of black people needed to be dealt with and most of the victims were legitimate victims. Horowitz picks his "evidence" very carefully to make his case that the BLM movement was radical and wrong. All of his writing is predictable and biased to the point that libraries would be justified in not buying his books. He is now the classic example of a right wing nut case. This is sad because he was a brilliant person.

This is an anti-vax book written by a person who has zero scientific credentials or training. It is recommended by Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Dinesh D'Sousa and other far right idiots. How Naomi Wolf got to be a popular writer is a mystery but save yourself money and time and read books written by actual scientists not by conspiracy theorists like this person or Robert Kennedy Jr.

The author is a talented writer and the book has some good humor and insights but nothing we didn't know already. It is journalistic, not analytical. Probably a waste of time if you are a serious reader. Better books on Trump here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-trump-2020 and mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-trump-pre-2020..

This is an excellent book by an extremely knowledgeable doctor. He wrote Overdosed America previously, also an excellent book. This book examines a number of cases where the pharmaceutical industry made billions with fraudulent practices, e.g., Vioxx, Neurontin, Statins, Insulin pricing. The author explains the nature of the relationships involved in medicine and pharmaceuticals and politics that have corrupted our medical care and the medical profession. He makes a convincing case and the last three chapters propose a way to reform the system. I would have liked to have seen a broader analysis of all of the products and research involved in the industry. There are more issues involved that could have been explored. However, what was presented was excellent and necessary. Everyone should read this book. Other books worth on this type of subject can be found here: mwir-improvinghealth.blogspot.

This is an exceptional book, humorous in one aspect but deadly serious in another. The author hits all the strategies and excuses of the corporations and their allies that are used to avoid responsibility and continue profiting in spite of all the harms they are doing. The book is impressive in its scope and organization, it is extremely well written. Everyone interested in this issue should have a copy and every library should have one. College courses on business and environment should require the book. See her other books also. Highly recommended. See also mwir-corruption.blogspot.

Another terrific DK book with some surprising material. If you take the time to read the entries, you will learn a lot. Some stuff is covered too lightly but there are references to books and people so you can follow up on those. These DK books are very valuable and everyone should read them, every library should have them. Other books and information here: https://mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.com/

These DK books are great, if you read them carefully, you will learn a great deal. Tony Juniper is one of the best writers in this field, a true expert. This is a book that everyone should have and every library should have. It is exactly the same as How We are F..king Up Our Planet, I guess they wanted to have an optional book with a more polite title. Highly recommended. Other books on ecology here: mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.

There has been a great debate about the atomic bombings of Japan that ended WWII. Some people thought they were necessary to prevent the loss of life that would have occurred if American soldiers would have had to invade Japan. Others thought they were not necessary because Japan was close to surrendering anyway having lost almost all of their military in the Pacific. I don't know what is the correct conclusion in this debate but I think it was an error to begin bombing civilians in WWII and there is a great deal of evidence and argument for that. Bombing should have been limited to military and industrial targets. This book takes an extreme position on the issue of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in terms of the horrific human consequences. Some critics have pointed out that the Japanese were guilty of even worse crimes. I would just argue that bombing should have been limited to military and industrial targets if at all possible. The book is not the best in this category. Other books on the subject can be found here: mwir-nuclearweapons.blogspot.

If you find runners talking about running boring, this book will only confirm your opinion. Sweeney has to be congratulated for her ability to use running to overcome her mental problems but the book is boring. Exercise is a good thing for people with depression and/or anxiety and probably lots of other problems but there are far better books. E.g., mwir-mentalhealth.blogspot.com/p/books-self-help.

This is a typical DK summary book, it covers a large amount of material, wide by not very deep. Useful for giving someone a broad but slight education about all of the problems and some solution to our environmental situation. Definitely worth looking at. Don't let the title bother you, there is another edition of the book with a better title. Other books on the environment here: mwir-environment.blogspot.

Ironically, this short book about the burden of debt is expensive especially in hardcover. The book is a bit simplistic and not well researched but the intentions are good. However, debt is just one piece of our economic problems, there are many more, we need fair taxes, better education, universal health care, equal opportunity, reform of the criminal justice system, etc. Debt could be called a lagging indicator since if you solved all the other problems, there would be a lot less distributional debt. It has become harder to declare bankruptcy in recent years. That was a solution for many people that is now not as available as it was. This book has some good ideas but better books can be found here: mwir-econhistory.blogspot.com/p/books-debt.

I have read a number of books about bats and this is as good or better than any of them with terrific photographs. The authors are both experts and clearly dedicated to the science of bats. The book is worth a serious read and is also worth owning. Bats are fascinating, most people don't know they are mammals or that they are important because they eat enormous numbers of insects and pollinate plants. Highly recommended. For more information on mammals see: mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/mammals and mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/books-mammals.

This is one of the best books on animals I have ever seen, both the photographs and the text are extraordinary. It is hard to imagine how Tuttle was able to get all the photos and Taylor's writing that introduces the detailed photos and goes along with them is also impressive. If you have any interest in bats or mammals in general, you will not want to miss this book. People know too little about bats and this book will do a great deal to rectify that. Highly recommended. Other books on mammals here: mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/books-mammals.

Gideon Defoe is a man with apparently a lot of time on his hands. This book has 48 chapters on "extinct countries", a few are humorous, some chapters show some knowledge or insight but most of the book is a failed attempt at humor. Defoe has an inflated opinion of his intelligence and ability to write. Don't waste your time or money.

I don't doubt that Stan Cox is a good man with the best of intentions but this book is a good example of political correctness and little else. He has only vague things to say and almost no clear analysis of anything important. There are far better books and other material on these subjects. E.g., mwir-alt-energy.blogspot.

Some good analysis and criticism but weak on solutions. In the last chapter, 3 modest proposals don't really add up to much. Too bad because the author is intelligent. For more on this subject: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

The author is extremely qualified to write this book and it is an important work. He makes excellent points and concludes with excellent suggestions for reform. There are 5 very useful appendices. Everyone interested in mental health should read the book. My only criticisms are that there is no bibliography and that there is only a brief mention of cognitive therapy, which deserves far more discussion. Otherwise, highly recommended. Other material and books can be found here: mwir-mentalhealth.blogspot.

It amazes me that anyone finds this book amusing. It is terrible, so is the author's other book. Take a look at it before you buy it.

The author has nothing to offer except self confidence which is based on nothing. She has no concept about how to solve any problems and she can't write. Don't waste your time. Her other book, Visual Intelligence is even worse.

This book promises great things and delivers nothing. It is pretentious and empty headed. The author considers herself an expert on perception but has none. Don't waste your time. Her other book, Fixed, is just as bad.

I have often argued that non economists write the best books about economics and Kenworthy is a good example. I admire his work in general a great deal. This book has a lot of good empirical support for his arguments. He is a great scholar and does excellent research. However, this book doesn't quite put everything together in a convincing way. The final chapter lists 11 "Obstacles" to the US becoming a social democracy with only a small section at the end for why we may overcome these obstacles. It is not a positive way to end the book. You could say Kenworthy is too generous to his opponents. I do recommend this book and his other work. For more information on social democracy: mwir-socialdemocracy.blogspot.

The book has an interesting and promising title and premise but the author unfortunately has very few new or important ideas about anything The book is weak especially on proposals for how to solve our problems. We really don't need any more books like this, it is sad and frustrating. Better books can be found here: mwir-progressives.blogspot.com/p/books-activism.

This is not a diet book, there is only one small section on dieting. The book is similar to many DK books that have many one or two page pieces on separate subjects within the general subject, in this case, Nutrition. The writing and analysis are good but necessarily limited. The book is worth reading or skimming and is helpful for anyone interested in the subject. There is an online bibliography that you can access. The author is a nutritionist with a good reputation and DK always does a good job with books like these. It isn't the best book on nutrition but it is accessible and interesting. For other information: mwir-nutrition.blogspot.

The author is well intentioned but he tries too hard to be literary and impress the reader with his intelligence. The book is not clear and coherent or well organized about the important facts. There are many far better books on this subject. Here is a list: mwir-law.blogspot.com/p/books-incarceration.

Excellent comprehensive book. I can't say that everything the author recommends works and I hope others will comment on that but the author certainly did a great deal of research and the book appears to be well done. Worth buying. see also mwir-alternativeag.blogspot.

This is an excellent book, well written and well researched. It has one of the best short bibliographies I have ever seen. Too many books these days don't have bibliographies, some don't even have indexes. The author obviously has done her work well and is a talented writer. She has also suffered with illness and bad medical treatment. Highly recommended.

I have seen references to this book many times and finally decided to try to read it. It is not worth reading. The ideas or accusations in the book could have some merit but the author fails to either make good arguments or document her arguments with any reasonable evidence. There are far better books on this and related subjects. I worked with statistics and forecasting models for many years and this author does not have the knowledge or judgment to write clearly about this subject. Better books can be found here: mwir-researchandstats.blogspot.com/p/books-research-statistics.

This seems to be an excellent book. I have to admit that I was ignorant of what curry meant. I thought the recipes would all be about using curry as the main spice. If you look up curry in Wikipedia you will find "A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine." Most of the recipes don't have curry spice at all, they have a number of other spices. However, I believe you can add a bit of curry spice if you like to most of them, it won't matter much and if you like the taste of curry spice, it will make things better. It is a DK book so it is likely to be well done. Highly recommended.

This is an anti-vax book written by people of dubious scientific credentials. There are 30 million unvaccinated people in the US today who threaten everyone's health because of people like this. Don't be fooled by anti-science.

This is an excellent comprehensive analysis of European socialism with important documents. The author is a dedicated scholar and objective in his treatment of the people and organizations involved. There are few books that deal as well with this subject. If you want to understand European socialism and this period of history, you should read this book. Highly recommended. See also: mwir-socialdemocracy.blogspot.

There are 15 interviews with prominent Leftists, mostly Marxists. If you are interested in what these sort of Leftist have to say about the problems of capitalism and the ideas of socialists, you will like this book. However, for people who are not part of this ideological community, the book will be disappointing. The problem with socialists or Marxists is that they don't want to admit that socialism has failed and is likely to fail again wherever it may be tried. They will try all sorts of explanations for why socialism really could work and could avoid leading to dictatorship but they fail to understand what the problem has always been. When a government outlaws private economic activity, there has to be enforcement and since many people want to have their own business, that leads to a police state and dictatorship and since the government officials take control of everything, it also leads to corruption. Every member of the Chinese Central Committee is a billionaire and all of Putin's close circle of associates are also. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The other avenue for socialists was social democracy and that worked far better. The 8 social democracies of Europe are always rated the best place in the world to live. The combination of regulated business, strong government, strong unions and a large cooperative sector works better than any other alternative. see: https://mwir-socialdemocracy.blogspot.com/

You have to be suspicious of any book that gets rave reviews from Steve Forbes and William Frist. This book has some good analysis and some halfway good ideas but never gets to the heart of the real problems or the best solutions. There is no mention of the Republican's attacks on ACA or the attempts to get universal health care, or any discussion of universal health care at all. This is a Wall St. Journal approach to reforming health care. There are far better books. See: mwir-improvinghealth.blogspot.com/p/books-universal-health-care

This is a terrific book that makes a well documented case about the rise of power of corporations and the damage that has been done because of that. It is the best book of its kind. Absolutely recommended.

This is an extraordinary and unusual book. It charts the impacts of global warming in 5 chapters: Atmosphere, Water, Land, Cities, and Life. There are many photos and graphics and a very intelligent text aimed at a general audience but at a high level of scientific understanding. It is a book that everyone should take the time to read and look at the photos and graphics seriously. It will give you a more expansive understanding of global warming and of our world in general. Every library should have a copy. The author is a professor at the U. of Colorado in the Dept. of Integrative Biology. He also teaches at the U. of Alaska, Fairbanks. He has led research expeditions. For more information on the subject see: mwir-globalwarming.blogspot.

Thomas Piketty became famous with his publication of Capital in 2014, he has published two other economics books dealing with inequality since then and has a 3rd coming out soon. He has become THE expert in this field and has earned his reputation. This book promised to make an argument for socialism but fails to do that, except for the short first chapter, it is just reprints of his articles since 2016 on world events. He is a good writer and these are interesting. But it is disappointing and dishonest to title a book in this way and not follow through. If you are looking for an argument for socialism, you should not buy this book. It is sad that someone of his prominence would do this. For information on socialism and social democracy: mwir-socialdemocracy.blogspot.

I evaluate many books every year and I don't buy many. I live in a city with good libraries and they will find books for me through interlibrary loan but when I find a book that I know is worth owning, I buy it. This is such a book, especially if you love cheese and want to know as much as possible about it. Liz Thorpe is an expert and writes with great imagination and intelligence. It is unusual and extraordinary. This is a book anyone who wants to understand cheese and know what to buy and how to enjoy cheese should have. Highly recommended. For information on nutrition: mwir-nutrition.blogspot.

Thomas Frank is an excellent writer and these essays are interesting and enjoyable but he has a tendency to put too much faith in his own thinking or speculating. He needs to do more research and analysis of data rather than simply "thinking" even though he is usually good at that. His books are worth reading and he is a valuable social critic. He is just a bit too fond of his own work. Other sources of commentary on Trump here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-trump-2019.

If you attempt to read this book, it will either make you glad you didn't go to graduate school or sorry that you did. The book suffers from all the problems of being academic, it is boring and it has a terrible time trying to make a clear point. Some academics write extremely well and clearly, like Randall Kennedy, but many do not and this book is a great example of the latter. Save your time and money and avoid this book. For better books on politics: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

This is an impressive scholarly book, both authors have written excellent books before. This book contributes a unique climate history, going back 20,000 years and therefore a perspective that is useful. Both authors are archaeologists with impressive credentials so the book should be read by anyone with an interest in the long term history of this subject and the perspective of these scientists. The final chapter does not provide a strong set of proposals about what we should be doing but there are many books that fill that need. Highly recommended. For other material and books on global warming: mwir-globalwarming.blogspot

Bjorn Lomborg teaches at a business school and is a fellow at the Hoover Institute, a right wing organization. He is not a climate scientist or any kind of scientist. He has taken it upon himself to pretend to be an expert on the global warming issue and write books attacking the real climate scientists. He is almost certainly being paid to do this and he is a fool. This book is full of dishonest and ignorant assertions. You can find reviews of it on the internet. If you want to read good books about global warming, see these books: https://mwir-globalwarming.blogspot.com/p/books-global-warming-2016.html

This is a short book that doesn't claim to be comprehensive but gives an excellent picture of the civil rights movement, hitting most of the important events. The author has a good perspective and knows what he is talking about. I expect this book will be useful in many college courses and for anyone who wants a quick reminder about the movement. For other information about the civil rights movement and New Left: mwir-progressives.blogspot.com/p/new-left and mwir-progressives.blogspot.com/p/books-new-left.

Gene Sperling is an intelligent person with an impressive record of public service. This is a good book with an important message. However, but it is all fairly obvious and there are no ideas about how we can do anything to implement or achieve the ideas in the book. The conclusion simply restates the analysis. The ideas are good but incomplete and the book is weak for that reason. Too bad. Some better ideas and books here: mwir-progressives.blogspot.

Thomas Patterson has written a number of excellent books. This is a timely one. He explains clearly what has gone wrong and why it is important that we recognize the problem and fix it. Irrationality is all too common and contagious. We need to uproot it and make things right. Highly recommended. Other books on Democracy and Politics: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

This is one of the best books I have ever read, it is objective, well documented and extremely intelligent and well argued. The author is a professor at Harvard School of Government and has written a number of other excellent books. He is trying to give Republicans good advice and hopes for a healthy two party system in which the Republicans restore their conservative heritage. However, it doesn't appear that will happen, the Republicans have gone too far down the road of extremism and corruption. The book documents five traps that the party has set for itself, ideological, demographic, media, tax cuts, and democratic norms. They have simply crossed too many lines and have gone against the basic trends and values of this country. If we need two viable parties, the Republicans are not likely to continue to be one of them. In the long run, it is more likely that the Democrats will become the conservative party and another party, possibly a social democratic party, will become the alternative progressive party. Patterson's book deserves to be read by everyone, including Republicans. Highly recommended. Other books on similar subjects here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

It is hard to figure out if this book is actually saying anything but there does seem to be two messages: 1) Corporate America does not really care at all about social justice issues, but corporations will certainly pretend to if it means that they can profit as a result. 2) He thinks that Capitalism and Democracy are two separate pillars of America, and should be kept separate at all costs. Any attempt to combine politics/democracy with the corporate world is damaging to both. The first is obvious to anyone, the second is his opinion and worthless not too mention unsubstantiated. This is a great example of a book that had no reason to be written and certainly no reason for anyone to read. The author fancies himself to be an intellectual based on nothing but arrogance. We really don't need any more of these people.

Thomas Frank has written some good books but this one is not as coherent or well organized as his better books. In the conclusion, he has nothing important or new to say. Many people in this field simply try to write too many books when they should concentrate on one or two good ones. Too bad. For books and other information on these subjects: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

Erwin Ghemerinsky is a distinguished Law professor and Dean at the Berkeley Law School, he has written 13 other books and over 200 articles. This book is one of the best books on any legal subject and makes a strong case for its argument about the Supreme Court's role in the issue of police vs. civil rights. In six parts and 19 chapters, the author details how the Supreme Court over time has ignored, supported and then failed the victims of police misconduct. Given the current 6 to 3 conservative balance on the court, we can now expect further declines in the court's progress. The author uses the final chapter to outline what should be done to reverse the injustices and correct the situation. This is an unusually strong conclusion. This is one of the best legal books I have encountered, highly recommended.

I had high hopes for this book and it starts strong but it is a good example of an overly intellectual well intentioned book that fails to deliver what it promises "How Philosophy Can Save Us From Ourselves". The book is well written and intelligent but never really is able to tell us that. The analysis of the problem is good although very repetitive but the discussion of solutions is weak and for the most part missing. You can't really expect two philosophers to come up with a solution to nitty gritty tough problems. It would be like throwing a 120 lb. weakling into the ring against a 250 lb. wrestler. They are academics, not fighters. Good books on activists here: mwir-progressives.blogspot.com/p/books-activism.

Lewis is an excellent talented writer and has written some good books but this is not one of them. It seems to have been intended to be done for making into a movie. People who know about the subject have condemned the book as extremely inaccurate. Not worth reading. For information about financial markets etc.: mwir-financialhealth.blogspot.

Lewis is an excellent writer but like all of his books this is narrative nonfiction or journalistic, not analytical nonfiction. I found it hard to figure out what Lewis was trying to say about the virus or government policy. The book is filled with stories and commentary but there is no clear analysis of anything. Here is a coronavirus book list mwir-immunesystem.blogspot.com/p/books-coronavirus.

Robert Caro is one of the best writers we have and this book is a gift to anyone who wants to know how a great writer works. One critic said he is blowing his own horn, not so. He is telling how he goes about his business and it should be enlightening to anyone interested in writing. We need more people of his talent and honesty. Highly recommended. see also mwir-ushistory.blogspot.

The author is not a climate scientist, he is a professor of physics. Read the reviews of this book that have been critical of it. There was one in Scientific American, others can be found in Google. The book is not accurate or unbiased. Better books and information can be found here: mwir-globalwarming.blogspot.

The author's criticisms of alternative energy, solar, wind, etc. are inaccurate and exaggerated. He either doesn't know what he is talking about or he is dishonest. Some of his other ideas and suggestions about lowering consumption and population growth make sense and can be done at the same time that alternative energy is expanded. But he is not the best analyst for these options. The book is not worth reading. Better sources here: mwir-alt-energy.blogspot.

Steve Benen is a very well informed professional political expert and this is a well researched and well written book. He details many of the things that have been wrong with the Republican Party with intelligent commentary. Much of it is well known but he makes a good case for how and why it has all happened the way it has. There is no real conclusion or proposal for what can be done about the situation, the final chapter is just more of the same. There is no index and no bibliography, there should be both in a book like this. The book is worth reading but there are other better books on this subject and period. For other information and books: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

This is a well written, well researched and well argued book. I don't understand why the other arguments for a vegan diet were not even referenced. There are strong environmental reasons for people to go vegan. The ethical argument will influence many people but it is important to discuss the environmental reasons as well. On the subject of the ethical argument, one of the great evolutional biologists said, the four billion year history of life on earth is the history of one organism eating another. We need to consider all factors in determining our decisions about how to live and how to deal with our environment. Other books on animal rights here: mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.com/p/books-animals-humans.

This is a well written, well argued book that details the crimes and lies of Bill Barr during the period he served as Attorney General for Trump. Much of the story may not be news to many readers but the author is a skilled prosecutor and legal expert who has an excellent perspective on this story. He also provides nine specific proposed reforms in his chapter, The Road Back. p234 He points out that Barr and his senior associates in the Justice department did not have any experience as prosecutors and compares them to people he had worked with and for who were experienced and competent prosecutors. Highly recommended. Other material on Trump and his associates here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/trump and books mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-trump.

Mackay is a great expert and this was a tremendous book 12 years ago but it is now outdated and essentially useless. If Mackay updates it, it will be a great book again. Don't bother reading this edition. Other books here: mwir-alt-energy.blogspot.com/p/books-alternative-energy.

Mary Trump's first book, Too Much and Never Enough, was quite good. This one is not, she tries to do things she is not qualified to do, long term history and recapitulating the last 5 years with commentary. She is not good at either. There are no notes and no empirical analysis. She even gets the vote totals wrong in 2020, giving Biden a ten million vote advantage. She should have stuck with the things she has a particular knowledge of and left the other things to people who have expertise in those things. Not recommended. Better books on democracy and politic here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

Excellent book with a great deal of information about QAnon all over the world. The authors are both experts in this field, Moskalenko has written a great deal about extremists, this is important and brave work. We can't underestimate these crazy people and the harm they are doing and may do in the future. The anti-vaxers are causing the pandemic to worsen and be prolonged, they aren't all extremists but there is a large overlap. There is an unfortunately great deal of anti-science and ignorance in the world today and it hurts all of us. It is almost exclusively right wing and much of it tends to be violent at the extreme. more information here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-right-wing-populism. and here: mwir-violence.blogspot.com/p/books-domestic-terrorism.

The book examines 50 nature based practices in 5 categories: Ranching, Farming, Technology, Restoration and Wildness. All of the practices are interesting and the writing is excellent. The author is an expert at detailing practical solutions and innovations, the idea of the book is that many small improvements can add up to major changes. We may still need some big changes but this book is a good start and well worth reading. Other books on sustainability: mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.com/p/books-sustainability.

This is a well written, well researched and well organized book that will teach anyone interested in the subject a great deal of what they need to know. There are many good and relevant photos. The only problem with the book is that animal agriculture no matter how well done it is can't be part of a sustainable or ecological policy. We simply have to change our diets away from meat, animal agriculture contributes too much to all of the ecological problems we now have. The book The Sustainability Secret by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn goes into great detail about all of this. Good books on sustainability can be found here: mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.com/p/books-sustainability.

Lots of great material and ideas in this book. It is very unlikely that a significant number of people will become vegetarian or vegan for health or environmental or ethical reasons soon but it is worth informing all people of the evidence involved in animal farming and meat eating. It is an issue like abortion that will be very difficult to change minds about. I encourage people to try vegetarian diets because it tends to make them lose weight and feel healthier. But it will probably take significant price increases in meat and fish to make big differences. Other material can be found here: mwir-nutrition.blogspot.com/p/vegetarianism.

There are 40 essays in 5 parts plus an introduction and an epilogue in this well intentioned book by intelligent scholars. Many of the essays are well written and interesting but very few are enlightening. Most collections such as this fail to accomplish what they attempt and this one is no exception. It is worth skimming and looking for things that might interest you but you won't miss anything if you don't get it. Better books on sustainability can be found here: mwir-ecosystems.blogspot.com/p/books-sustainability.

This book is considered the gold standard by many people and it is a great book in many ways. However, its main claim to fame is that it destroys the two main methods used by many stock "experts", fundamental and technical analysis. Both of these methods have been discredited many times by many people, Malkiel is just one of many, his attack may be excellent but it isn't really necessary. The problem with the book is that he doesn't mention a method that does work, regression analysis. If you look at the records of investment managers, a significant percentage of them have done well in timing the market in the 1984-2008 period. The most likely explanation for that is that they used regression analysis because nothing else would have worked. (Regression hasn't worked since 2008 because interest rates and inflation have been artificially controlled.) Malkiel doesn't know anything about it and doesn't think it is worth knowing about. His loss and the loss of his readers. He has made a small fortune with this book and its numerous editions but that is just one example of what is wrong with our investment industry. More information here: mwir-financialhealth.blogspot.

When a self help book of any sort gets thousands of positive reviews it is almost always a danger signal. There may be some good ideas in this book but the general program or discipline proposed by this author is more likely to hurt you than to help you. A cold shower once in a while might stimulate you but all of the other fairly crazy things proposed are best left alone. The author is probably well intentioned but so are many people whom you should avoid. Good information can be found here: mwir-preventivehealthcare.blogspot.

One review states "The book chronicles the discovery of a chromosome that would later be recognized as the sole cause of chronic myeloid leukemia, a deadly blood cancer. The discovery launched a new era of cancer research and established the concept of rational drug design." Wapner is a science writer not a scientist so she does not get all of the facts completely right but she does give a good account of the dedication and perseverance of the scientists and doctors involved in this story, which is a very important one. Highly recommended. More on cancer here: mwir-cancer.blogspot.

This book is a classic example of narrative nonfiction and why that is a type of writing that should be avoided. Worse, the author has nothing important to say, e.g., the last chapter which can't be called a conclusion says nothing worth reading. It is too bad that people who are on the right side of politics publish books like this because they waste people's time and contribute nothing to the understanding of where we are or what we should be doing. Many better books can be found here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

This is a journalistic narrative non fiction book. This type of writing appeals to people these days but I don't find it informative. The author did a lot of interviewing and spent considerable time but I prefer more analytical books. Information on Afghanistan can be found here: mwir-middleeast.blogspot.

In his previous book, The Strange Death of Europe, Douglas Murray warns against the Muslim "invasion" of Europe. Of course he has nothing to say about the failure of the West to support the rebels in Syria in their fight against the brutal Assad dictatorship. That failure led to millions of Syrians becoming refugees. Similar failures by the West can be blamed for the other refugee crises. In this book Murray attacks political correctness in its various areas. This is easy to do since political correctness is often silly and overdone but Murray goes too far given his extreme right wing views. The book is not worth reading. For more insights on the Right, see these books: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-right-wing.

This is a scholarly work with plenty of charts and documentation, it is well written and well argued. As with many such books, the conclusion is weak in the sense that there is not much in the way of presenting an analysis of how we can turn things around. Too much about what happened and why but not much about how to do better. Other information and books on such matters here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

Many books about economic or social problems don't have strong final chapters or conclusions. This book is an exception, Chapter 8, The Path Forward is 70 pages and has 25 recommendations plus 10 things we can all do. All are very good ideas and the whole book is excellent. Amy credits her husband who is a law professor for writing the notes for the book. Antitrust has been relatively neglected in recent years and this book is a welcome addition to the literature. Highly recommended. Every library should have a copy. Other material can be found here: mwir-corruption.blogspot.

Daniel Levitin has written a number of best selling books, he is a neuroscientist and cognitive psychologist. The problem with this book is that he tries to do too much and goes beyond his research but does not really break any new ground, most of what he has to say has been said before. The book is therefore dull and uninspiring even if it contains some good points. I would not recommend it. For information on aging, look here: mwir-eldercare.blogspot.

This is an extremely intelligent and detailed book that makes a convincing argument about the problem of black savings and wealth. The basic truth is that we won't solve particular problems separately, banking, education, criminal justice, housing, etc., we have to have a general social transformation. And that won't happen until we deal with racism and inequality in a very big way. see: mwir-race.blogspot.

Michael Wolff is the classic celebrity journalist, the type who only writes big books about important people. The books are very journalistic and filled with what is supposed to be exciting and revealing one of a kind big time journalism. In fact, it is very mediocre. He does provide a lot of information and if you have the patience to wade through all of the mess, it may be worth your time. However, there are many other books on Trump that are better. mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.com/p/books-trump.

It is possible to turn to almost any page and find something like this: "...the old radicals have now been reinforced by the product of fifty years of left-wing indoctrination in our schools and colleges, exemplified by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And now, thanks to an acquiescent and obsequious media, their extremist views are parroted openly, including the need to abolish ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, as AOC and her subservient colleagues brazenly promote communism under the cover of Environmentalism with a "Green New Deal" that would ban gas-powered cars, air travel, and beef husbandry as we know it today, and require the destruction and reconstruction of all the homes and commercial buildings in America in order to make them "environmentally friendly." This would require a Communist level of government control." p107-108 Gorka doesn't bother with providing any evidence for his assertions, no hint of scholarship. This is the sort of national security expert that Trump loves.

Mark Bittman is a great cookbook writer and knows a lot about food. This book has some good information and ideas but it is not as good or worth reading as many other books of this type. Journalists usually don't write the best books on such subjects. Scientists who specialize in the field are far better. Bittman made a good effort but there are many better books. You can find some here: mwir-alternativeag.blogspot.com/p/books-alternative-agriculture.

When self help health books are best sellers, you need to be very skeptical. Some bits from this book may help some people, especially if they are mouth breathers but the book is not scientific in general and not worth reading for most people. The author is a journalist, not a scientist or a health professional. There is no bibliography. Not recommended. Good information and books on health: mwir-healthcareinformation.blogspot.

John Seymour has to be considered "The Expert" in this area. And this is a fantastic book. Even if you have been gardening for many years, you will learn a great deal. It is scholarly but readable by any intelligent person and extremely well organized and illustrated. If you only buy one book of this type, you would do well with this one.

The author is a right wing radio host and apparently knows nothing whatsoever about Marxism. The book is, of course, very popular among right wing people who also know nothing about Marxism. it is scary how many of these people there are and how enthusiastic they are about their own ignorance. But not surprising.

This is an interesting and intelligent book and the thesis is reasonable, that doing physical work that produces real results helps people avoid depression and that is why there is more depression now than there was 50 years ago. However, there are other possible reasons for the difference in the incidence in depression which the author fails to discuss and the book does not deal with the argument scientifically. There are only 10 pages of notes and there is no mention of double blind experiments, in fact very little mention of any experiments. The author does credit cognitive behavior therapy with effectiveness but only with brief mentions and no significant discussion. CBT is extremely effective and there is an excellent literature that should have been in the bibliography of this book. I don't doubt that physical exercise or work may be useful in preventing or curing depression but this book does not make a strong argument and does not present a good discussion of CBT. For books on CBT look here: mwir-mentalhealth.blogspot.com/p/books-cognitive-therapy_30.

It is unfortunate that journalists are the people who are most likely to write this sort of book, at least at first. The book is not bad, it is just journalistic and doesn't focus clearly enough on the most important issues. These subjects should be written about by scientists. Read the book if you have time but there are better books, e.g., mwir-immunesystem.blogspot.com/p/books-coronavirus.

The author is an excellent writer and has good ideas and values. This book has an interesting analysis that divides the US population into 4 groups and discusses the dynamics that has been going on and what may continue. The book is unfortunately weak on proposals for solutions, this is common in books of this kind. Often the final chapter makes only a vague attempt with no real substance. For more books about what might work: mwir-progressives.blogspot.com/p/books-activism.

This is a straightforward well written but nothing new Marxist guide. You could get the same information more quickly and without the bias from Wikipedia pages. Marx found three basic problems with capitalism: exploitation, alienation and recurring crises. You can't really argue with that but you can argue about the success of communist countries. They simply haven't worked out well. Russia, China, North Korea, Albania etc. have been disasters. The social democracies however which are also heirs to the Marxist tradition have worked very well, they are always rated the best places in the world to live. The author of this book doesn't discuss communist, socialist or social democratic countries. That is too bad, she should have at least tried. You can find material on social democracy here: mwir-socialdemocracy.blogspot.

The book is a good history of McDonalds in black areas but I agree with a review at Amazon, "Ultimately, however, the book lacks a clear message. The history is there, and this is a great place to read it, but should somebody ask me “what was the main idea of this book?” or “what do you think prompted the author to write this history?” I would be at a loss." I couldn't figure out what the author was trying to argue. For more books and material on race: mwir-race.blogspot.

Peter Hotez is an exceptional doctor and this book should be read by everyone. It details the issues involved in our most crucial health problems and the fight to vaccinate people all over the world. The anti-vax and anti-science people have created a terrible obstacle to the best medical efforts to deal with serious illnesses. This is one of the best books on the subject. Other sources of information can be found here: mwir-preventivehealthcare.blogspot.com/p/books-vaccination

Balcombe wrote What a Fish Knows, another excellent book. He is extremely knowledgeable and writes very well. He has a passion for animals and a way of presenting information that readers are unlikely to find anywhere else. This book is full of surprises and extremely interesting information. We are losing a large % of our insects including whole species and like many other ecological problems, this is critical and likely to be disastrous. Highly recommended. Other useful information: mwir-lifesciences.blogspot.

This is a very intelligent and enjoyable book. The author has a great sense of humor and manages to make many aspects of the story of evolution both interesting and humorous. He has a very serious story to tell and does a good job of it, showing how the various aspects of our human nature developed and why problems can be explained. The book deserves to be read by anyone interested in evolution. Other information on the subject can be found here: mwir-evolutionscience.blogspot.

Both authors have written other good books and this book has good analysis and criticism of the current criminal justice system. It is worth reading. However, the 40 page conclusion is unfortunately weak in terms of presenting alternatives. This is common among all sorts of books. One problem with books critical of the criminal justice system is that they don't face the issue of what to do with serious and dangerous criminals. Anyone who has had experience in this area, police, prosecutors, judges, victims, etc. knows that this is a critical problem and the reformers often don't seem to pay enough attention to it. There are some very evil and dangerous people who need to be dealt with. They may be capable of being reformed but the public needs to be protected from them as much as necessary. Reducing crime is a very complex issue and involves every part of our social and economic system but there are many personal and family aspects as well. Murderers often had very violent childhoods and were abused by family members. We need to understand the whole picture. Useful information can be found here: mwir-law.blogspot

This book has a lot of good analysis and ideas but it doesn't quite live up to its promises, e.g., there is a section discussing the abortion issue which gets into general and broad categories and never develops any specific answers about how to discuss or argue about abortion. The author is intelligent and has had important experience but he doesn't have the answers we need. The book is worth reading. Useful information can be found here: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

There appears to be confusion about the title of this book, the same book is listed with different titles, one specific to MS, the other referring to all autoimmune diseases. The author has a PhD and teaches at a university but the book does not appear to be scientific. Two of the people recommending it are David Perlmutter and Mark Hyman, both known to be frauds. There is a great deal of information in the book but no solid evidence that the prescriptions have worked for anyone. The author doesn't seem to know what double blind studies are. She doesn't even mention anything relating to evidence. Diet books in general are often of dubious value and credibility, this one is no exception. That is disappointing. Not recommended. Better information can be found here: mwir-nutrition.blogspot.

The author, Stuart Blume, is Emeritus Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the University of Amsterdam. The book is sophisticated and intelligent, detailing the history of vaccines and the response to them all around the world. It is not too technical for the lay reader. Blume isn't afraid to express strong opinions but he backs them up with evidence. Highly recommended. also good information: mwir-immunesystem.blogspot.com/p/vaccination and mwir-immunesystem.blogspot.com/p/books-vaccination

The author makes a good argument and many good points in support of that argument, however, he doesn't have much to say about the politics involved in cities and towns or federal involvement in urban affairs nor does he deal with the corruption that is involved in urban areas. I worked for a model cities program in a large city in the 70s and politics and corruption were major factors affecting everything. They were far more important than many of the issues dealt with in this book. I assume they still are. The book does not have notes or a bibliography in spite of the fact that many books and articles are referred to in the text. If you have a particular interest in this subject, you may find the book worth reading. Other information can be found here: https://mwir-architecture.blogspot.com/p/books-urban-planning.html

There are 56 essays in this book, mostly personal in the touchy feely vein rather than scientific or political. I didn't find them very inspiring or useful but some people seem to have. Climate change is too important for us to fool around with things that feel good but don't give people truly useful information. More useful sources here: mwir-globalwarming.blogspot

Lofgren knows what he is writing about but so do most people who have paid attention. The book is worth reading because he spells things out and makes a strong case. His solutions in the final chapter are about the same as those of many others who write such books. Nothing new original but all sensible. This is a good book, but not a great book. It should be in every library and used in college classes. See also: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot,

Extremely well researched and well documented study of racism and Trump's political career. This is a powerful and clearly written book, it may be too academic for some readers but everyone should read it. Highly recommended. Also see: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

This is an impressive well researched, well written comprehensive book. The author is an expert on the subject and the book is extremely worth reading. He may not have a definite cure for Lyme but he has a great deal of information. Highly recommended. See also: mwir-immunesystem.blogspot.com/p/lyme-disease and mwir-immunesystem.blogspot.com/p/books-lyme-disease

Nothing useful, nothing you didn't already know if you are halfway intelligent. You don't need to throw things away if you don't buy them in the first place. Not recomended. Find information here: mwir-consumerism.blogspot

The author, Lee Drutman, has excellent credentials and has written 3 other excellent books. He proposes significant and intelligent changes in our electoral system that would improve the political process and situation. I don't know how likely any of these things are but I agree with Drutman that they would be worth trying and I would encourage people to push for them. We are definitely at a terrible place in our political life now and we need to make improvements. These ideas should be discussed and seriously considered. The book should be read by anyone interested in our politics. Highly recommended. See also: mwir-democracyandpolitics.blogspot.

Bill Gates has done a very good thing in writing this book and focusing on solutions. However, he should have partnered with an expert or a few experts so that the book would have been better and far more useful. He had some good ideas and good analysis and the book is worth reading. He should have had a bibliography. Again, he would have been better of working with experts who would have given him a long list of books and other material to read. There are many books worth reading on this subject, see: mwir-globalwarming.blogspot.

The authors led negotiations for the United Nations during the historic Paris Agreement of 2015 and so have many admirers who have given this book good reviews. It is a mediocre book, dumbed down for a mass audience. If you know much about this subject, you won't gain anything from reading this book. There is no index, a short bibliography with obvious books. It is a good book for people who know nothing or very little. Otherwise, don't bother.

Bjorn Lomborg is not a scientist, his training is in political science. He has no background whatever in climate science. He has a talent for creating the illusion of documentation in his books but he has been accused many times of falsifying his evidence. He is determined to play the role of the brave hero in opposing the global warming crusaders but he has nothing of any real substance to say and he is not honest. He is a fraud like most of the anti global warming "skeptics". Why anyone wants to take on this role is a hard question to answer. Some people just want the attention and fame no matter how foolish they look to people who actually know about the subject. To the extent that people believe what he writes, he is doing damage and people need to critique his work and expose him for what he is, a fraud. For good information on this subject: mwir-globalwarming.blogspot. There are hundreds of better books by real scientists.

Bjorn Lomborg is not a scientist, his training is in political science. He has no background whatever in climate science. He has a talent for creating the illusion of documentation in his books but he has been accused many times of falsifying his evidence. He is determined to play the role of the brave hero in opposing the global warming crusaders but he has nothing of any real substance to say and he is not honest. He is a fraud like most of the anti global warming "skeptics". Why anyone wants to take on this role is a hard question to answer. Some people just want the attention and fame no matter how foolish they look to people who actually know about the subject. To the extent that people believe what he writes, he is doing damage and people need to critique his work and expose him for what he is, a fraud. For good information on this subject: mwir-globalwarming.blogspot. There are hundreds of better books by real scientists.

I had high hopes for Dr. Moncrieff's books, I am reading 3 of them. Sorry to say, they are not worth reading she is in the tradition of Peter Gotzsche, Peter Breggin, Thomas Szasz, R.D. Laing, David Healy and other critics of psychiatry and psychiatric medications. There is a lot to criticize in the psychiatric profession and the drug business but these people go too far and too wide and end up doing more harm than good. All of them lose track of the truth and blow things out of proportion. If you want good analysis, stick with the people who know what evidence based medicine is all about and know how to do good analysis. These naysayers like Moncrieff, are too obsessed with their own very limited ideas to understand or write about psychiatry. Moncrieff is also not a good writer. It is very true that patients are mistreated and that drug companies are more interested in profits than in science but there has been progress and some drugs do work for some people. Many drugs have been over prescribed and cognitive therapy often works better than either talk therapy or anti-depressants but some drugs have been effective and lithium (an element) is still the drug of choice for manic depression even though it is not effective for some people. For your own mental health stay away from all of these "critics", there are far better books. You can find some here: mwir-mentalhealth.blogspot. Midwest Independent Research

This book has had many good reviews but all of them have been from non-scientists. The author is a journalist. I spend most of my time evaluating books and it is a general rule that journalists don't write good books about scientific subjects. This book is a good example of that rule. The author doesn't seem to know much about genetics but that doesn't stop her from holding forth. There are far better books and other sources, see for example mwir-genetics.blogspot. Midwest Independent Research

This is one of the best Dummies books, lots of details, easily understandable. Extremely well organized and well written, highly recommended. Sometimes the Dummies books are the best way to learn a subject quickly. See also mwir-genetics.blogspot. Midwest Independent Research

Charles Murray offers us an almost perfect example of why you don't want to read books by people who are not objective, i.e., people who started out trying to prove what they already believed. Of course, it may be hard to find books written by objective scholars but some people are better at maintaining objectivity and putting aside their biases that others. Murray's record is obvious, so much so that his books should be avoided. The subjects he writes about are important but there are far better books written by far more honest people. Avoid Murray's books.

This book points out the problem with anti-hunger organizations and their ties to corporations. Excellent analysis and proposals for alternatives. Similar to the problems with most nonprofits, we need equal opportunity and jobs, not charity and corporate power. Highly recommended. Midwest Independent Research mwir-equalopportunity.blogspot

This is an extremely well written and well researched book on a little known topic. The author tries hard to give the US political authorities the benefit of the doubt on the issue of the US sympathy and help to the European Jews during WWII. She will be criticized for her position but she makes a strong case. Some people will argue that the Rescue Board saved only a small number of people compared to the millions who were killed by the Nazis but the author argues that every life is important and the effort was heroic. Lives that were saved were important. Highly recommended.

The author works for National Geographic and the book is published by National Geographic. The book is not academic or especially scientific, it is quite readable and makes good arguments and points but there are many other books that are more informative about ecology and global warming and the various threats to our world discussed in the book. If you are looking for the best literature in this field, you should look elsewhere. E.g., mwir-ecosystems.blogspot Midwest Independent Research.

This is a well researched, well written and well organized book. There are 3 very useful Appendices: Where can I learn more, What are the Main Points, and Glossary. Excellent book, highly recommended. Also see: mwir-immunesystem.blogspot Midwest Independent Research

This book is recommended by: Deepak Chopra, David Perlmutter, Mark Hyman, Mehmet Oz, Susan Sarandon and a few other similarly dubious characters. If that isn't enough to scare you, you are a brave person. The book borders on useless but has a few pieces of information that may help someone. However, you won't regret giving it a miss. For more useful information see mwir-immunesystem.blogspot. Midwest Independent Research.

This is an intelligent book about the problems of the US Senate, especially the problems related to the filibuster which makes it possible for the minority party to block the majority from passing legislation. The author had substantial experience working in the Senate for Harry Reid and clearly knows a great deal about these subjects. Highly recommended.

A great tour of the primate family with excellent photos and intelligent text. One of a kind book that explains how primates are unique and important and should be protected not only because humans are part of the group. You will want to see more of the great variety of primates. Highly recommended.

This is an academic book written by academics for academics. If that is what you like, then you may like this book but for non academics, the book is hard to read and not rewarding. I always look at the bibliography first in a book like this and try to see if there are many books listed that I would want to find. In this case, there are very few. That is always a sign that the book will not be interesting. There is a great deal of quantitative material in this book but very little of it is useful in terms of helping the reader understand the subject. Too bad, and important subject and the authors did a lot of work.

This is a very interesting book but one that should have a warning label or maybe two. Neither Putin nor Stone can be trusted. Putin clearly is one of the worst dictators or most successful dictators in the world and Stone is a very talented but naive and confused radical with complicated and distorted ideas about the world. Read the book with extreme skepticism. Don't let the book mess up your thinking. Go elsewhere for facts.

This book hits most of the issues and arguments involved in racism problems. It is well written and organized. It is meant to be one sided and strongly partisan but that doesn't excuse it from overstating its arguments or neglecting points that should be made for a more balanced picture. E.g., it is true that police stop blacks and Hispanics far more than whites but it is also true that blacks and Hispanics commit more crimes and are therefore more likely to be suspected of being criminals. That needs to be explained in an objective way. Also, if whites are more likely to be hired for some jobs, it is at least sometimes because they are more qualified or more educated. They may have had more opportunities and better situations of course but the whole situation needs to be examined. There are many aspects of racism in our society but we need to look at them and deal with them objectively not with a bias. Recently, a young black girl was shot while she was going after another black girl who was unarmed with a knife. A number of reports failed to mention the crucial details of the situation and presented the shooting as another case of excessive violence by a police officer. Things like that hurt the cause of anti-racism. When you are arguing for justice and fairness, you need to be honest and fair yourself. The book is worth reading.