darren
I genuinely can't fairly rate this book given my deep objections to the current US administration, and that I'm unqualified to reckon this book with JD Vance as Vice President. But I recommend it to those interested in US politics.
I can say it is well written, articulate, and doesn't appear self-indulgent. I do not know how much is fiction.
An excellent telling of the war, its valour, tragedies, and human faces from a fearless correspondent.
I came to Our Enemies Will Vanish from Geopolitics Decanted where Trofimov spoke with Alperovitch on his book. That podcast dives into the technical nuts and bolts of the war and as a regular listener I've been exposed to plenty of analysis on Ukraine's shortcomings including an inability to pull off combined arms, a feature the show's various experts finger as a key contributor to the limited success of the counter-offensive.
That level of analysis isn't in these pages, but it is touched on in something of a passing narrative. The overall view from this is one of Ukrainian strength, which while undoubtedly true, struck me as a little rose-tinted.
Hey, it's a book written on an active conflict where one can receive daily updates on Reddit, Telegram, and regular mastheads. This is a wonderful telling of the war from a cracking correspondent with deep ties to the country. He's brave and unyielding in his reporting and I thank him for this contribution.
Thank you, Trofimov.
Salva ukraini.
Sexton's dismemberment of American exceptionalism and the power and influence of the mercantile classes is well presented and researched. The book does well in tackling a tremendous span of history.
But while I lack the depth of knowledge to identify any gaps and distortions that such a work must inevitably contain, what stands out as unfortunate is Sexton's hyper partisan language particularly in the latter pages. It will surely be confronting and taste bitter in the mouths of those this text should reach above all others.
But all told I gained a lot from this book, would recommend it widely, and thank Sexton for his effort in what must have been a challenging work.
Fantastic. Take a bow, Dan. Fans of the podcast and history buffs will relish this book, as will those who seek to know the past to understand the present. You will recognise the podcasts in this work, as is expected, but Dan isn't repetitious and gives new and established readers plenty to think about.
Take a bow, Margaret, a masterclass in essay writing and a critical read for every Australian. She tells the absolute tragedy that will be apparent to all in the coming decades. Hers pairs well with another excellent piece of storytelling a few years back in the ABC's Background Briefing. Do yourself a favour and look it up.
Important reading for anyone with a more than a passing interest in Australian politics.
Tingle shows how the gradual de-fanging and disparaging (‘cut the red tape' etc) of the public service has led to a loss of the most senior and capable bureaucrats, and deterred promising young talent.
The loss of these bureaucrats has, Tingle argues, led to a loss of collective memory of what policies work, which fail, and why. Since Howard policy making has been torn from the service, previously a bastion of apolitical research and rigour, and moved into the partisan and near-sighted executive.
Tingle argues with this loss comes political amnesia, and the litany of recent policy failures on both sides of government.
Reading some soldier's story on professional redemption shared by my colleague: a cadet who aced entry tests but failed in the academy, was given a second chance by the commander, and later succeeded. Everyone's banging on about warm feels and the commander's wisdom. It's hard not to burst their bubble with ‘oh that's just regression to the mean'.
Hard to give a rating on account of YT being a sexualised 15 year-old character. My version is an earlier edition. I understand subsequent editions had sex scenes removed.
The teenage, vacuous, sarcastic dialogue piled on like a mountain of tomato sauce for me ruined Weir's Artemis.
Similar protagonist chatter was annoying in Martian but in Artemis I found it so grating and abundant that I quit after struggling through half the book.
Others may fare better: The storyline seemed ok.
Absolutely devouring this series starting with the Blade itself. First time reading Abercrombie after a reading a passing comment in a review of some book with dark protagonists.
I was floundering for a read like The Blade Itself off the back of a run of non fiction. The books were ok but not sticking.
Didn't expect to become enraptured and then to throw myself at the First Law series.
Steven Pacey is iconic as a narrator in the series. He's the perfect voice for it and gives the characters such a shine of depth and personality.
Now on to The Heroes.
Like Weir's Artemis, the prose is fine but the conversation is so babbling, irritating, and unimportant that it ruins the read.
I thought going into this that the Sacklers had a tarnished, bloodied name. I was wrong. They're simply evil.
Those new to Paul's work are in for a treat while avid listeners of his eponymous podcast, like myself, will love both the greater depth and analysis as Cooper explores the fall of great ancient civilizations and his superb knitting of narrative between the stories.
Bought a signed hardback for the shelf and listened to the audiobook.
Not sure if you'll read this Cooper, but your epilogue was really beautiful mate, take a bow.
One of the great foreign correspondents with a tremendously broad and deep history across the middle east. Bowen is compassionate, wise, and undaunted.
I'd recommend this book more than ever to those seeking understanding about the middle east and its many conflicts.
Nearly 14,000 reviews; what's left to say? Something simple.
Goes deep so not a breezy read, but Keefe rewards.