A Modest Construct

Posts tagged `politics`

¶ Hitch-22

Hitch-22 by Christopher Hitchens: Publisher: Twelve; Year: 2010; Pages: 448

Christopher Hitchens is hard to get a handle on. The same people who gleefully forward me his scathing review of Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 would of course be aghast at his most controversial book, God is Not Great; similarly, those who would cheer No One Left to Lie To: the triangulations of William Jefferson Clinton wouldn’t likely appreciate The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice. A man who for many years called himself a socialist and or a Trotskyist, Hitchens now finds himself largely decamped from the Left, operating in some vague political DMZ, his politics both hawkish and liberal.

§5698 · June 25, 2010 · (No comments) · Tags: Book Reviews, books, Christopher Hitchens, literature, nonfiction, politics, religion, reviews

¶ Killing Pablo

Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden: Publisher: Penguin; Year: 2002; Pages: 304

If Mark Bowden can be considered a prominent author, it is likely because of Ridley Scott’s Blackhawk Down, a 2001 film based on Bowden’s book of the same name. In fact, Killing Pablo will also be a movie, to be released in 2011. Bowden is a journalist of sorts, whose forte is police or military stories; you can tell because all of his publicity photos make him look like a rough & tumble badass in order to fit his image as a documenter of other rough & tumble badasses.

§5501 · May 25, 2010 · (No comments) · Tags: Book Reviews, books, nonfiction, politics, reviews

¶ 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

¶ Singularity Sky

Singularity Sky by Charles Stross: Publisher: Ace; Year: 2003; Pages: 320

Singularity Sky is one of Charlie Stross’ first and most famous works, and therefore predates the other books of his that I have read—namely Accelerando and Halting State. If the two, Singularity Sky more closely resembles the former, being something of a treatise on the economic, political, and cultural effects of a point when technology essentially makes humanity part of a post-scarcity economic; Halting State, by contrast, was a narrower work looking more immediately into our future.

Accelerando was, I think, technologically oriented, taking the reader to the further reaches of the technically possible and back again, with all the ramifications of said technology being simply assumed, alluded to, or—at best—covered briefly. Singularity Sky strikes me as more of a political or cultural commentary made possible in the context of fantastic futuristic technology, or in other words a more classical science fiction novel along the lines of Heinlein.

§5220 · April 1, 2010 · (No comments) · Tags: Book Reviews, books, Charles Stross, economics, fiction, politics, reviews, science fiction, time travel

¶ The Forever War

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman: Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; Year: 1974/2009; Pages: 288

In a sort of theme of futuristic sci-fi war dystopias (see Ender’s Game and Old Man’s War), I’ve decided to read Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War. It’s a famous book, and over 35 years old at this point. It’s most commonly compared to Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, but that’s a rather facile comparison, especially today when we all know better.

Last year, the movie District 9 came out to great acclaim; the most common complaint was that its symbolism (hint: it’s an allegory for apartheid) was too ham-fisted and obvious. The Forever War is a little like that, except instead of apartheid, the book is an allegory for the Vietnam War, and most particularly the reacclimation of those who fought in it to post-war civilian life.

§5021 · March 12, 2010 · 3 comments · Tags: Book Reviews, books, fiction, politics, reviews, science fiction