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Category Archives: books
Reading Daniel Yergin's "The Quest" & a Witty Post About Truthiness
So I’m reading the much-talked-about new tome on energy and the future, Daniel Yergin’s The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, just published. So far I’m not particularly impressed, especially after Dwight Garner’s rave review in … Continue reading
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On a Novel Titled "The Bird Saviors"
So a few months ago I blogged about finishing my new novel ms., The Bird Saviors, & how the completion occurred by describing a rather simple detail—a man drinking a glass of water—that has greater implications and reverberations than one … Continue reading
Posted in books, The West
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Review of Justin Torres's novel(la) "We the Animals"
So my review of Justin Torres’s debut novel, We the Animals, appears today in the Dallas Morning News, here: http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/books/20110902-book-review-we-the-animals-by-justin-torres.ece It’s a good, short book. I point out that it’s closer to a novella than a full-figured novel, but that’s … Continue reading
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On Finishing Tim Flannery's "Here on Earth," in Contrast to Justin Torres's "We the Animals"
So last night I reached the end of Tim Flannery’s new excellent book of nonfiction, Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet, which I rate as one of the best books of nonfiction I’ve read since Timothy Egan’s … Continue reading
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No Fence-Sitting Here: Republicans Are Anti-Environment, and That's a Major Difference
So Paul Krugman had a good piece recently about the issue of media fence-sitting, decrying those b.s. ‘journalists’ who repeatedly say, “Washington is broken! Both parties are to blame!” He then details just exactly how wrong the Republican and Tea … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, Politics, The West
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On Reading Tim Flannery's "Here on Earth" on an iPad
So I’m now reading Tim Flannery’s Here on Earth on my iPad, which is a curious and thrilling experience. Early on he’s discussing the works of Richard Dawkins and memes, of the spread of ideas, of how much faster cultural … Continue reading
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On Tim Flannery's "Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet," and LinkedIn Is Now Officially the Most Annoying Social Networking Site
So Tim Flannery, author of one of the best books about global warming, The Weather Makers (2006), has a new book out, which sounds like its subtext is environmental disaster—Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet. While the … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, Social Networking
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On Mark Hertsgaard’s “Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth,” and the Forest Fire in My Backyard (Almost)
So I’m continuing in my quest to read every book ever written about Global Warming. (Well, not all of them, but I have read quite a few.) I’m also starting to think only wimps use the term ‘Climate Change,’ which … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, The West
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On James Hansen's "Storms of My Grandchildren" & The Folly of Creepers
So I just saw that the temperature reached 118 degrees in Phoenix yesterday (How can they stand it?) and is forecast to be at record levels all across the country, including where I am, in the Southwest, which by some … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, The West
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Review of Stefan Merrill Block's "The Storm at the Door"
My review of Stefan Merrill Block’s novel The Storm at the Door appeared in the Dallas Morning News last Sunday, and can be found at this url: http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/books/20110624-book-review-the-storm-at-the-door-by-stefan-merrill-block.ece It’s an earnest novel about his grandparents’ lives, and at times I … Continue reading
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