A Modest Construct

¶ Logan’s Run

Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson: Publisher: Dial Press; Year: 1967; Pages: 133

It is almost certainly true that Logan’s Run is more famous as a 1976 film than it ever was as a book. At a mere 133 pages, the latter is little more than a novella, and while it’s certainly interesting, it’s far too thinly-written to allow us to empathize with the characters in the way that the film is more likely to do (and, let’s face it: all the male views liked to ogle Jenny Agutter). Ultimately, Logan’s Run is an example of tremendously wasted potential.

§5282 · April 29, 2010 · (No comments) · Tags: Book Reviews, books, fiction, reviews, science fiction

¶ Information and the Digital Economy

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Economic models of the traditional and well-known sense usually describe either manufactured physical goods or services performed, both of which are scarce resources: only so much grain can be grown, for instance—or widgets churned out of an industrial plant, or pipes plumbed by professionals. Short of espionage, even the market for Information was tied to the cost of materials and availability of produced goods such as printed books, pressed records, or spooled movies. In other words, though the Information was created once and itself remained unchanged, the marginal cost of creating copies of that Information was the sum of the materials, labor, and transportation costs used the produce, package, and ship the finished physical good to a store or warehouse.

§5294 · April 27, 2010 · (No comments) · Tags: economics, essays, technology

¶ Foundation

Foundation by Isaac Asimov: Publisher: Spectra; Year: 1951/2008; Pages: 272

In what has become an unofficial theme for my reading selections this year, I’ve chosen yet another classic or important piece of science fiction; Asimov himself is considered, if not the father of science fiction (that title is usually reserved for Verne), then at least one of its major players during the genre’s ascension in the middle half of last century (along with Heinlein and Clarke). Foundation is the first book in the eponymous trilogy (and later an even longer series), and arguably his most popular and important book. Though parts of it have aged poorly, it’s easy to see how the book propelled its genre into orbit.

§5260 · April 24, 2010 · 3 comments · Tags: Book Reviews, books, fiction, politics, science fiction, sociology

¶ The Wal-Mart Effect

The Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman: Publisher: Penguin; Year: 2006; Pages: 336

It would be virtually impossible to overstate the size, scope, and power of Wal-Mart. It’s the largest retailer in the world, the largest public company of any sort in the world (by revenue), and since opening its Superstores it has also become the largest grocer in the world. Everyone is likely familiar with the most common case made against Wal-Mart: it’s a big, soulless corporation which comes into small towns, drops its brick-and-steel monolith in the middle of a freshly-paved asphalt desert, and proceeds to drive the town’s smaller retailers out of business. Add the various and sundry complaints made against it w.r.t. workers rights, salaries, and shady business practices, and then contrast that against the millions of people who rely on Wal-Mart in order to make ends meet, or those for whom the retailer really is a benevolent, paternal corporation, offering steady employment and decent wages. These conflicting portraits are just a slice of the issues at the heart of Wal-Mart, but it’s the likeliest vector for Charles Fishman to enter the fray in his startlingly well-executed The Wal-Mart Effect.

§5258 · April 15, 2010 · (No comments) · Tags: Book Reviews, books, economics, nonfiction, reviews

¶ On Monsters

On Monsters by Stephen T. Asma: Publisher: Oxford University Press; Year: 2009; Pages: 368

Hot on the heels of a book about a monster comes a new about monsters generally, though I honestly did not plan it that way. Though I’m not an avid fan of old (or new, for that matter) monster movies, I am generally interested in the engines of culture which generate monsters. This is one of the reasons that I like Kornwolf so much: where monsters come from is ultimately more interesting than the monsters themselves.

§5240 · April 12, 2010 · (No comments) · Tags: Book Reviews, books, history, nonfiction, reviews, sociology