Category: Books

Quotations: Without supplies no army is brave. If a general did not wish to fight, he had nothing to do than hold a council of war.

Reading Notes: –        Acquiring  p. 98 –        Making another powerful is ruinous  p. 100 –        A republic’s dissention p. 108 –        make new alliances when fining resistance  p. 122 –        no “forgive and forget” p. 126 –        “scanty wisdom of man” p. 161 –        study history p. 166 –        hatred p. 192 –        fortune favors…

The Art of War Reading Notes: –        Cultivate the moral law  –        Energy and water flow analogy   –        Special considerations for ground of intersecting highways  Quotations: All warfare is based on deception. Attack him where he is unprepared; appear where you are not expected. There is no instance of a country having benefited from…

The word “Eaarth” is concocted to communicate that the world we live in today is significantly, permanently changed and is far more hostile to our human prosperity than the physical world we lived in generations ago or even a decade ago. I hope to see this word persist and develop into wider conversations and so…

Yesterday I finished reading “Click; the magic of instant connections” by; a short book that flows easily. Yet this is the first book I’ve read in awhile where I can’t offer an unqualified recommendation for others to read. The information is valuable and the outline-style illustration format helps the reader keep it organized.   My criticism is…

“Collapse” by Jared Diamond, published in 2005 Diamond was born in 1937. Prof. of Geology at University of CA, Los Angeles three prior books including “Guns, Germs and Steel” Five factors contributing to collapse of societies: Environmental damage Climate change Hostile neighbors Friendly trade partners Society’s response Autocatalytic expansion Thomas Malthus 1798 – population growth outpaces…

Four passages in “The Soloist” had an impact on me with regard to the book’s primary theme of mental illness. The ending of Chapter 2 is one of the most memorable of the book: “Nathaniel begins to play, slicing through the madness. His eyes are closed, and in his shuttered world there is order, logic, sanity,…

Four passages in "The Soloist" had an impact on me with regard to writing as a profession. The discussion of Lopez’s journalism career concerns resonated through the book, but I suspect that most readers would not pick this out as a significant theme. I am sensitized to the issues and was very much aware of the ongoing references to the author’s wrestling with concerns…

I am convinced that walking 3 miles/day and reading for an hour has helped unclog my mind and allowed me to create new possibilities in my life. Now reading "The Soloist"; another book that inspires and helps see the world in a new light. 

Just finished reading “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” by Dave Eggers. Thinking at age 24; I barely remember. I do remember people (my father and father-in-law) reflected on my thinking as being “of that age” and showed tolerance yet of course I was unaware of it. They might have had a tough time handling…