Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Reviews - Annotation
I enjoy reading a great variety of books, movies and music - from the literary classics such as Shakespeare to the common suspense renderings of Dick Francis, from the heartrendering 'Schindlers List' to the common spludge of 'The Simpsons', from the invariably distinct non-fiction musings of politicians and historians to the musings of the scientific community. These reviews are meant for those with a discerning taste - notably backed with interest in what I read. You can agree with me; you can berate me; you can ignore me - all plausible options. Will these readings make you a learned scholar? or increase your grey matter? As with any publication, it is the enjoyment, the sentiments, the knowledge, the humor that you take that makes a book a personal matter. But feel free to let me provide you some insight into what I thought.
As with any reading that I undertake, I tend to take one of two approaches - if it is an engrossing read, I tend to speed read to the finish line; if it is a hearty book, meant to be downed with thoughtfullness, I could take several years.
It is unlikely that I will get to review in quantity the works stored in Alexandria and beyond. Hopefully some of the books mentioned in the next few scribbles will do some justice to some of the quality works of history and our time. Carl Sagan said (of the Great Library),
"there is no record, in the entire history of the Library, that any of its illustrious scientists and scholars ever seriously challenged the political, economic and religious assumptions of their society. The permanence of the stars was questioned; the justice of slavery was not. Science and learning in general were the preserve of a privileged few. The vast population of the city had not the vaguest notion of the great discoveries taking place within the Library. New findings were not explained or popularized. The research benefited them little. Discoveries in mechanics and steam technology were applied mainly to the perfection of weapons, the encouragement of superstition, the amusement of kings. The scientists never grasped the potential of machines to free people. The great intellectual achievements of antiquity had few immediate practical applications. Science never captured the imagination of the multitude. There was no counterbalance to stagnation, to pessimism, to the most abject surrenders to mysticism. When, at long last, the mob came to burn the Library down, there was nobody to stop them."
Let this be a neutral ground where we can question both science and scientists, politics and politicians, laws and lawyers - or enjoy the lighter side of life.
Michael Collins
The Great Library at Alexandria
As with any reading that I undertake, I tend to take one of two approaches - if it is an engrossing read, I tend to speed read to the finish line; if it is a hearty book, meant to be downed with thoughtfullness, I could take several years.
It is unlikely that I will get to review in quantity the works stored in Alexandria and beyond. Hopefully some of the books mentioned in the next few scribbles will do some justice to some of the quality works of history and our time. Carl Sagan said (of the Great Library),
"there is no record, in the entire history of the Library, that any of its illustrious scientists and scholars ever seriously challenged the political, economic and religious assumptions of their society. The permanence of the stars was questioned; the justice of slavery was not. Science and learning in general were the preserve of a privileged few. The vast population of the city had not the vaguest notion of the great discoveries taking place within the Library. New findings were not explained or popularized. The research benefited them little. Discoveries in mechanics and steam technology were applied mainly to the perfection of weapons, the encouragement of superstition, the amusement of kings. The scientists never grasped the potential of machines to free people. The great intellectual achievements of antiquity had few immediate practical applications. Science never captured the imagination of the multitude. There was no counterbalance to stagnation, to pessimism, to the most abject surrenders to mysticism. When, at long last, the mob came to burn the Library down, there was nobody to stop them."
Let this be a neutral ground where we can question both science and scientists, politics and politicians, laws and lawyers - or enjoy the lighter side of life.
Michael Collins
The Great Library at Alexandria
