Ross Poulton
I very much liked the historical aspects of this book (not having read much of Mallory and Irvine's story) but found the contemporary climb sections a bit gratuitous at times. Still, this is a well-researched and interesting read that will be well received by anyone with more than a passing interest in Everest.
Finn perfectly captures why we run for silly distances and what we feel when we push ourselves to our physical and mental limits. Without resorting to extraneous adjectives he shows how we talk ourselves into pushing even deeper than we're comfortable admitting. To arrive at the finish line, on the other side of darkness and pain, is very difficult to explain. “Rise of the Ultra Runners” is what I want to give to others after I complete an Ultramarathon, to say “here - this is what I feel.”
Easy to read, approachable, light hearted, and most importantly it nails why us runners often have a love/hate relationship with our chosen pastime. I've long been a reader of Brendan Leonard's blog at semi-rad.com and was eager to read this book once he announced it.
In true Semi-Rad style it's kinda about running but not really. It highlights our human flaws and shines a light on what really goes on in our heads. The charts illustrate our often silly perspective on life without being condescending.
If you or a loved one are afflicted with a desire to run, especially if it's for an irrational distance, this will be a fun down to earth read.
No matter your chosen profession, Hadfield reminds us that it's possible to be the best you can be while lifting those around you. The tiny details about life in space are interesting and amusing, but the real meat of this book is how you can apply his story to the everyday. My favourite chapter was on aiming to be a “zero” - someone who isn't seen as a try-hard but improves themselves and those around him.
I'm never going to find myself in space but this book has helped remind me how to be a better person right here on earth.
The financial literacy that Scott Pape shares in this book should be part of every Australian's education. It includes some basic steps on how to sensibly plan your day to day finances, plus long-term savings plans that are easy to implement and cost $0 today but will set you up for retirement success.
I wish I read this when I was 16!
A wonderful insight into the creative process at Apple - I particularly enjoyed the anecdotes about internal demonstrations and the iterative design process in place.
Fantastic concept. Poor book.
The writing very much assumes traditional gender roles (what about two full-time workers? This is a very obvious omission) and after the first two chapters I was sick of the stereotyped use of “he/she” when “they” would be perfectly reasonable. The author's constant hero self-worship was tiring after 4 pages, let alone the entire book. When I got to the end of the book (and did some Googling) and realised that Chapman is an evangelical preacher, his world-view made more sense.
My least favourite part was when I got to the chapter on “Physical Touch”. This is my own love language but Chapman managed to make me feel gross about it. When Chapman wrote about how he used a woman's Christian faith to tell her she regularly have sex with a husband she clearly disliked (because God would rather she have miserable sex than get a divorce) it made me feel that “Physical Touch” was purely about selfish receipt of sex rather than a shared experience. This is a very icky position and a disappointing perspective to read given there are so many ways to communicate this common imbalance in physical desires in relationships.
I honestly think the “5 love languages” concept is important to understand to better communicate with your partner. This isn't the book to learn this in.
