Steve Gross

Great courtroom drama with lots of local color.

The main character is maudlin and not very interesting. The other main character is too harsh although somewhat interesting. Despite the name, there are no escapes. Pass on this one.

In-depth presentation of the making of 2001. Like many books of events long ago, I suspect this suffers from over representing people whom the author had access to. Still, worthwhile if you liked the movie, or Kubrick or Clarke.

Even though there's kind of a twist ending, this is still basically an extended economics lecture on prices.

Good thriller, very much like the first one

I'm a big Jonah Goldberg fan and I really wanted this book to be life-changing. Unfortunately, it's not. It is an excellent, thought-provoking work but there are flaws. The writing seems unstructured and repetitive. Goldberg, with one exception, never defines most of the terms he uses, like “nationalism”. Well-worth reading, but could have been better.

A fun book if you have ever been to Alaska and wondered what was over the horizon

Good collection of locked room type stories

A book not about Egypt but rather about the world's fascination with Egypt throughout history. Dense but fascinating. Only weakness is a sparse index.

Eclectic essays, some long, some very short, about many aspects of books.

A quirky semi-biography that contains something rare these days - genuine wisdom, sometimes profound.

Comprehensive and thorough history of the Mafia. Not too sure about the “resurgence”, though. I don't think he makes the case.

More sophisticated than typical recreational mathematics books

If you can hear the author on a podcast, do it; but as to his book, not so much. It was tedious. For every paragraph that contained information, there were three or four with navel gazing speculations on “what is conspiracy”. Moreover, he lost my respect when he revealed that he didn't understand what Ultra was in WWII and repeats the canard about bombing Coventry.

The writing in Conan Doyle's voice is remarkable although a little wordy. The problems are twofold: the mysteries aren't that intriguing and there's way too much bromance.

For hardcore fans. Photographs were small and grainy - this book deserves much better.

Game invention is just not an exciting topic

Engrossing history of targeted assassinations by Israeli intelligence services. It's hard to know who to trust when it comes to books written about Israel in terms of the author's slant. Bergman is a little bit to the left - just enough to be mildly annoying at times, particularly after 2000 and he finishes the book with a three page screed against Netanyahu that is really out of place here. Still, clear explanations with a cast of hundreds of players. Worth reading.

Good except for the very end, when the author tries to resolve everything in what seems like two paragraphs. Not worthy of the rest of the book.

Well-written but lengthy book about quantum physics, neutrinos, modern physics labs, scholarly infighting, grant seeking, Antarctica, drilling, neutrino telescopes, wintering over and much more.

Some good information and explanation, but rather too cutesy for my taste. The footnotes are not worth reading.

Confusing hodgepodge with no interesting writing.

Basically attacks the Right and many specific players for losing the COnservative way. OK but I would have rather read “Why” the Right Lost Its Mind.

A page-turner, but not a happy story. Brutal depiction of child trafficking.

The same as the rest of the series; maybe getting a little repetitive and overwrought within this one book