Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, & technology book reviews, plus social, political, & economic commentary
Some of the reading material inside the Franklin Public Library in Franklin, Massachusetts. It is America’s oldest lending library, founded with books donated by Benjamin Franklin in 1790. (Photo by Si Dunn) Banned Books Week is coming (again) soon. This time, it will be observed Oct. 1-7, 2023, and the theme will be “Let Freedom … Continue reading Ban Books? No, Ban Ignorance
Stories about Belonging Mira Furlan Gajic & Furlan Enterprises, Inc. Autobiography, 592 pages Mira Furlan’s well-written book Love Me More Than Anything in the World offers much more than familiar life-in-Hollywood reflections. Completed before her death in Los Angeles in 2021 from complications related to West Nile virus, Ms. Furlan’s autobiography chronicles her difficult 1991 … Continue reading Love Me More Than Anything in the World – #BookReview
This fourth edition of Ben Frain’s Responsive Web Design with HTML5 and CSS continues an information flow that has now spanned a decade and helped numerous new and experienced web designers. The book is well written and well illustrated with plenty of code examples to support key topics and instructions. The major principles of responsive … Continue reading Responsive Web Design with HTML5 & CSS, Fourth Edition – #bookreview
I have reached four conclusions after reading Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. Conclusion one: Our system of government is much more fragile than I realized. The Founding Fathers had no way to anticipate all of the guardrails that would be needed in the 21st century, nor how easily American democracy could be wrecked … Continue reading America is in ‘Peril’ – #bookreview
It’s not your imagination: America really is awash in conspiracy theories. Trump, UFOs, the JFK assassination, Elvis, “crisis actors,” Obama, Hillary, George Soros (or was it George Clooney?) grabbing for your guns — take your pick. The current warning shouts of the looney toons can keep you on edge and looking over your shoulders 24/7 … Continue reading Why Do We Have So Many Ridiculous Conspiracy Theories?
Mastering Python, Second Edition by Rick van Hatten aims to help you “write powerful and efficient code using the full range of Python’s capabilities.” It’s a big book, some 680 pages in print form, and well written. And it does indeed delve into Python’s “full range.” Even so, a few reviewers have commented that they … Continue reading Mastering Python, 2nd Edition -> Big & Beneficial
#bookreview The Cost of Free Shipping: Amazon in the Global Economy Jake Alimahomed-Wilson and Ellen Reese London, UK: Pluto Press, 2020 ISBN-13: 978-0-7453-4148-4 In an unironic collection of essays spanning globalization, labor movements, gender studies, and economics, Jake Alimahomed-Wilson and Ellen Reese have delivered a masterpiece of sociological text on the truth behind the curtain … Continue reading Paying Your Way to ‘Free’ Shipping
Yes, Americans need to work, and businesses of all sizes now claim they are desperate to hire. So why are we quitting jobs, refusing employment offers we supposedly “can’t refuse,” resisting orders to return to previous workplaces, and generally just mad as hell at those who employ us or beg to hire us? A few … Continue reading The Great Resignation. Why Is Anyone Surprised?
Remembering DD-431 – #bookreview #USNavy #history Maine writer James Sullivan grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, hearing World War II stories from his great-uncle, Frank Gallagher, an Army veteran. One memorable tale included the time Gallagher, a medic, managed to sneak away from his camp and climb aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer anchored off Italy to … Continue reading The Ship That Refused to Die
Actually, no. This is not a post about that snarky kid named Eddie Haskell on the mid-20th-century TV sitcom “Leave It to Beaver.” (But I did watch “the Beave” and “Eddie” back then on a black-and-white television set with a rabbit-ears antenna.) The topic this time is Haskell, the not-so-popular software development language named for … Continue reading ‘What? Haskell??? Eddie Haskell?’
Books, Commentary, & More 