Review: Star Wars: Visions - Ronin

Star Wars: Visions - Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sadly, this book was a disappointment. I love the anime short it was based on, "The Duel". It was my favorite of the Star Wars: Visions shorts. And the idea of a more full-throated re-imagining of Star Wars in the context of a Japanese influenced tropes, images, and mythos was exciting. Star Wars itself was influenced by these and the idea of returning the favor was an excellent idea. I was really excited for this book. However, the execution falls short. There are interesting characters and settings, but the flow of the plot and the development of the characters and their motivations was not what it needed to be. I found myself rereading sections several times because I wasn't sure what was going on or why something was happening: it frequently felt like I missed some important piece of action. The individuals character were each compelling on their own, but their motivations for what they were doing and why they were doing it together was never clear enough. And I still don't quite understand the ending.

The way Candon handles the force, the Jedi, the Sith has a lot of potential; but it ended up being more confusing than insightful. The author's use of the singular they/them for the non-binary character could be confusing. There were several times I had to reread the paragraph because it wasn't clear if the pronoun's antecedent was the non-binary character or the group.

There was a lot of potential; lots of good ideas worth exploring and developing, but unfortunately it just didn't come together.

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Review: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Greenblatt’s The Swerve purports to explain how Epicureanism, in the form of Lucretius’ great poem, De Rerum Natura, created the modern world. This overstates, however, both the impact that Lucretius’ rediscover probably had as well as what Greenblatt actually shows. Nevertheless, it’s a wonderful book.

It is far more about the intellectual and theological world of the 15th and 16th centuries than it is about anything else. This is not the book to turn to in order to learn Epicurean philosophy, though Greenblatt provides a adequate sketch. The claims made about Epicurean influence on the early modern thinkers are interesting and provoking, but all together to thin. Lucretius’ work obviously had an influence and was important in helping to shape the thought of this period; but the extent of it is less clear. That is, Greenblatt is not able to make the counterfactual claim that had Poggio Bracciolini not found the manuscript in the early 15th century, the course of history would have been all that different. That said, it was discovered and did influence thinkers such as Giordano Bruno, Galilee, and Jefferson, among many others.

What makes this book so wonderful, though, is the tale Greenblatt weaves. His narrative explains how the ancient works found their ways into monasteries, how and why they were copied, and how they were lost. And then, of course, how they were rediscovered by likes of Bracciolini and other humanists. Greenblatt ends the book with discussions of how the Church responded to the growing influence of the work. As Greenblatt tells it, the Church saw Epicureanism as a particularly threat, in a way it didn’t see the other ancient others. The physics of Epicureanism as presented in Lucretius’ beautiful lines of poetry seemed to them utterly incompatible with Church dogma and thus merited special attention. So, while Aristotle, Plato, and the Stoics could all be made to fit in some way, Lucretius’ poem was stubbornly indigestible by Christian theology. Greenblatt doesn’t come right and out and say it, but I think he sees this utter inconsonance with Christianity as why it is the set of ideas so central to the making of the modern world.


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Review: Infinite Baseball: Notes from a Philosopher at the Ballpark

Infinite Baseball: Notes from a Philosopher at the Ballpark by Alva Noë
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On one hand, I really rather enjoyed this book. The chapters are short and pithy. Noe’s musings about baseball are thought-provoking; and his love of baseball shines through out. His idea that baseball is all about deciding who’s responsible for what, left me thinking about baseball from a new perspective. The relation of baseball to language and linguistics was intriguing. Anyone interested in baseball will find the book charming.

On the other hand, I found myself annoyed and disappointed at times with the book. Clearly aware of the philosophy of sport literature, the author makes almost no mention or reference to it. So many of the topics he dives into he treats as novel and original, as if he’s the first to consider these topics philosophically, when they are well-trodden in the literature. Noe has some interesting insights, but these too could have been better had he engaged with the writings by philosophers of sport.

Noe is explicit that he’s not trying to write a philosophy of sport book; that his is more the musings of a philosopher obsessed with baseball. And there is much in the book that fits this vein. But much of the book is also engaged in philosophical analysis of arguments about topics central to sport. As such, it is, necessarily, a work in philosophy of sport. And on that front, one has to grade it down a bit because it doesn’t enter the dialogue where those conversations are taking place. To strain the metaphor, he’s swinging the bat, but not stepping into the batter’s box to face the pitcher.


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Review: The Closers

The Closers by Michael Connelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gripping and engaging as always. Bosch is back on the job, working cold cases now. I like he and Kiz together as partners. Connelly's plotting is superb.

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Review: Let My People Know: The Incredible Story of Middle East Peace—and What Lies Ahead

Let My People Know: The Incredible Story of Middle East Peace—and What Lies Ahead by Aryeh Lightstone
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was disappointed by this book. I heard the author on a podcast and thought he and the book sounded interesting. I really wanted to like it; I am pro-Israel; I think the Abraham Accords are a tremendous, historical achievement. But the book itself doesn’t really work. The author violates one of the core principles of good writing: show me, don’t tell me. Lightstone tells us a lot of what happened in the buildup towards and the execution of the Abraham Accords but the account lacks punch, drama, or intensity. We are told how ecstatic and thrilled the author and everyone around him is, but it’s hard for the reader to get that themselves from the text (though it is there when one considers the historical accomplished of the accords). There are just too many platitudes, hyperbole, and grandiose proclamations.

The author repeatedly expresses his gratitude in the book; his wonder and excitement at playing a role in this historical process; his thanks for those that helped me be there and be a part of things: from Ambassador Friedman to Kushner and even Trump. That’s all well and good; gratitude is important. But that’s not what the book sells itself as. This is far more memoir than account of how the accords came to be or why they are so important.

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Review: Persepolis Rising

Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series continues to be one of my favorites. Each volume adds to the story, to the characters. It surprises, while also sticking with what makes it great. After #6, I didn't know where the story would go; I was worried it get stale, but the authors juggle things up here to make it feel fresh again. This sets up what I assume will be the story arc for the last novels in the series.

While the last book felt much more intimate, this was more sweeping. How does the crew of Rocinante do with others, not only amongst themselves? How do they evolve to the next stage? If the last novel had a theme focused on forgiveness, the leitmotif of this novel is power: what drives it and what opposes it.

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Review: A Pastime of their Own: The Story of Negro League Baseball

A Pastime of their Own: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Louis Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a well-presented and concise history of Negro League Baseball. It's only 12 lectures, about 6 hours, but it covers the development, growth, and downfall of the different leagues. Starting with the growth of baseball after the Civil War and emancipation, Moore tells the story of the development and difficult growth of Black baseball through the players, owners, and teams that were essential to the history. I didn't realize how many different Negro leagues there were. I would have liked another lecture on the post-integration downfall; this is covered very quickly in the lecture on integration but it felt like there was more to be said about what happens after integration. I think any fan of baseball will learn a lot about an important part of the history of baseball and America in these lectures.

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Review: Philosophy, Sport and the Pandemic

Philosophy, Sport and the Pandemic by Jeffrey P Fry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My review of this book is published on the Nordic Sport Science Forum.

There are some excellent chapters in this new anthology on sport and the pandemic, but my overall assessment of the volume is mixed. There are some issues with it that prevent me from recommending this work without qualification.

Read the rest: https://idrottsforum.org/klesha_fry-edgar230201/

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Review: The Catcher Was A Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg

The Catcher Was A Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg by Nicholas Dawidoff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A biography of a fascinating man. Moe Berg was a unique figure; a quirky and weird guy in many ways. Brilliant and talented in many other ways. His life seemed rich and mysterious, but also quite sad and lonely. He seemed to be in the center of things but at the same time, no where at all.

The covers Berg's who life from his youth until death. It gets into more detailed than I expected into his family and the various friends and relations whose lives Berg drifted in and out of. His years as a spy during WW2 are of course covered, but they are not the focus. The mystery here is not this perennially backup major league catcher working as an OSS spy assigned to kill, if necessary, the renowned Germany physicist Werner Heisenberg. The mystery is Berg himself.

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Review: Lonely on the Mountain: The Sacketts

Lonely on the Mountain: The Sacketts by Louis L'Amour
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Though the plot is similar to many other Sackett novels (one or more of the brothers gets into some kind of trouble, the other brothers come to help out, more trouble is had, and brothers come out victorious), there are some new elements here. There are a few twists. The landscape is different taking place mostly in the northern plains and Canada. There are some dicey moments for the brothers as well. I love living in the Sackett world even for just a few moments -- though I wouldn't last long if I had to for real!

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Review: The Promise

The Promise by Robert Crais
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are a few twists and turns in this mystery. For the most part, this delivers what Cole fans will expect: Pike and Stone help him out. Cole gets into some trouble with the police. But the world's greatest detective eventually figures out what is going on. One of the most interesting elements of the novel is Crais's use of Maggie's point of view. Maggie is a former Marine dog now working with LAPD K-9 unit. Crais switches from Cole's first person of view to the third person point of view of other characters, and this includes Maggie. I didn't realize that Scott, Maggie's handler, have their own Crais standalone. I'll have to check that out.

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Review: Tempest Runner

Tempest Runner by Cavan Scott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoy the Star Wars audio dramas, though this was not as good as the Doctor Aphra or Dooku ones. It was a fun listen, and gives much more context and background to Lourna Dee's character. In the Light of the Jedi series and the High Republic comics, she is just a villain. Here, we get more about who she is and where she comes from. She's still a villain, but a more interesting villain because she's not just a monster.

I did have some trouble distinguishing the characters in the audio drama, particularly at first. Also, the fights scenes tended to be just a lot of grunting and moaning.

I'm still not entirely sold on the High Republic era. I enjoy the books, the comics, etc., but I've not (yet) connected with any of the characters in the way I have with the Skywalker Saga characters.

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Review: The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism

The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism by Matthew Continetti
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Continetti’s sweeping history of American conservatism from the 1920’s up through the 2020 election offers important perspective and context for much of contemporary politics. Starting with President Harding and covering the political and intellectual figures of the Right and the conservative moment up through Trump. It’s well-research, balanced, and comprehensive. It is worth a read by anyone interested in the political and intellectual history of the US. Conservatives will find much to learn about the history of the movement they seem themselves apart of. Liberals will find a more nuanced and richer intellectual opponent than they are familiar with.

There are three criticisms I have. First is that the Continetti’s focus is really only on political and intellectual figures. What is missing is a sense of the conservative movement on the street level; how the common person might have understood conservativism and the Right. But that’s a different kind of history so it’s less a criticism than a caveat for readers who might be looking for that perspective. Second, and more substantive, is that Continetti doesn’t do enough to define the differences between conservatism and the Right. He acknowledges that these are not the same thing, but the contours are not always clear and at Continetti slides too easily between these. And this leads to my third criticism that Continetti does not do a good enough job with libertarianism. He treats it largely as just one more thread in the right, but that doesn’t do justice to the intellectual history of libertarianism and its stark differences with much of the rest of the conservative movement.

While this history is not written as guide to trying to understand Trump and the Trump phenomenon, it does have that as kind of sub-theme running through background until the last chapter that focus directly on Trump and the aftermath.

Much of what we might call the content of “Trumpism”: antipathy for immigration; ambivalence, sometimes hostility, about free markets and free trade; isolationism/disengagement; and populism; has always been an element of the Right. It coexisted with the pro-immigration, pro-market, pro-trade, elitist, and projection of American power kinds of conservativism. Continetti traces out the various threads and streams of American conservatism and the American right. These disparate elements are only united by its opposition. Continetti’s starts his history with the Right’s opposition to Wilsonian progressivism. This early conservative movement, highlighted by President’s Harding and Coolidge, saw itself as preserving the principles and ideals of the founding that Wilson and the progressives were looking to reform. The next generation of the Right was united by its opposition to Roosevelt and the New Deal. The Right was then united in the post-war by anti-communism and turning back the New Deal. Things get messy with Nixon for a while, but with Reagan, the Right returns: united again by anti-communism, rejection of big government liberalism, and social issues. The end of the Cold War then leads to the fraying of the broad coalition of the Right. The divergent elements all vie to have their vision be the controlling vision. We are still in this period; as evidenced by the turmoil in the GOP exposed by Trump’s candidacy and presidency.

What Continetti shows is that behind he superficial unified front of the Right, there were also always deep tensions and divisions. So Trump is in many ways just the latest iteration of the line of figures from Lindberg to McCarthy to Wallace to Buchanan that tapped into populist and outsider anger. The MAGA movement often sounds a lot like a contemporary reboot of the Birchers. One optimistic message of Continetti’s book is that the Right survived those and it will survive Trump. The pessimistic undertone is that these elements will also remain a part of the right, since they have always been a part of it.

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Review: Men Without Work: Post-Pandemic Edition

Men Without Work: Post-Pandemic Edition by Nicholas Eberstadt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An in-depth exploration of one of the major issues in labor economics: the large and growing percentage of prime-age men opting out of work. Eberstadt describes this growing phenomenon with lots and lots of graphs and data. He first gives the evidence for growing numbers of "un-working" men. He then describes the demographics of this group. He looks at what these men do and how they are able to do it without working. He also looks at some of the possible causes. Lastly, he briefly suggests some prescriptions to help reduce this problem.

One of the more interesting aspects of the book is that after the last chapter, there are two additional chapters by critics of book, and then a response by Eberstadt to the critics. The critics dispute aspects of Eberstadt's description of the problem, his explanation of the possible causes, and his prescriptions. This added a lot to my understanding of the ideas of the book.

It's a bit wonky and data-heavy for most readers; Eberstadt has appeared on any number of podcasts discussing the ideas in the book (that's how I heard about it). And unless you really want to dig into the data, those are probably sufficient to get the idea and the book is not necessary.


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Review: Star Wars: Victory’s Price

Star Wars: Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As with the first two books in the series, I am mixed on this book and the trilogy. I like it, but didn’t love it. There are many elements I really like but overall it just doesn’t come together for me. This puts me into an unusual position. I am typically the Star Wars fan defending Star Wars from (mostly unwarranted) criticism and here with a series that is widely praised and well-received, I’m being critical!

I suspect there is just something about the author’s style that puts me off since I have felt the same way about all three books. I find it takes me a bit to get into them, the books can be a bit of slog at certain points, particularly in the first halves, and they meander in ways I don’t think ultimate pays off or helps the story. And while by the end, I do care what happens to the characters and the story, I don’t get the emotional payoff I’d expect (and that many others seem to get).

I do like the characters; they are fresh. Not retreads of Star Wars types. They are all interesting in terms of how they come to Alphabet Squadron and what happens to them while there and how they change. At the same time, I never really warmed to them in the way I did, say with the Aftermath trilogy characters. I don’t always get a sense of what their motivations where or why; in some cases, these were just told to us rather than developed through the story. There was an emotional connection missing.

The themes of this book, and the series, are also thought-provoking. Forgiveness. Consequences for one’s actions. Morality for morally compromised situations. Reconciliation after war. What war does to people at a personal level. How soldiers relate to each other and to their enemy. Like the TV show, Andor (fantastic btw!), this series brings the war to a very personal level. It’s not grand battles, it’s individuals. And Freed shows us the points of view of both sides.

There is lot to explore here philosophically. I don’t think I the themes get resolved as well as they could, though. In part this is because the themes are sometimes too explicit or too on the surface. That is, rather than having the theme work out and resolve through the plot and character action, it is imposed through dialogue. That was less satisfying to me.

As I said, a lot of Star Wars fans love this series, and I do think it’s worth a read if you are a Star Wars fan.


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Review: A Purple Place for Dying

A Purple Place for Dying by John D. MacDonald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

MacDonald's Travis McGee novels are such pulpy fun. The language, though dated, sexist, and otherwise political incorrect, has its own rhythm and poetry to it. McGee is somewhat the reluctant knight-errant. He describes himself as salvage expert; and that has three meanings. He lives on a houseboat in the Keys, so there is the maritime connection. But the main meaning is that he primarily makes his money by recovering wealth or goods for his clients (he keeps half of what is recovered). The deeper meaning is that, in each of the three stories I've read so far, McGee's real salvage work is the female protagonists. There is the element of knight-errant saving the damsel in distress; but MacDonald, though trading in sexist stereotypes of his time, does a good job of making sure the women have agency. There are not there merely to be saved; McGee helps them to get on a better path by showing them their own strength, and it is their own agency that gets them there.

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Review: Greek Athletics and the Genesis of Sport

Greek Athletics and the Genesis of Sport by David Sansone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is made up of two essays. The first essay focuses on the origins of sport in general, while the second focuses on Ancient Greek athletics in particular; and as instance of the general theory Sansone proposes in the first essay.

Sansone starts by discussing various accounts of where sport came from, dismissing them before offering his own. He argues the roots of sport are to be found in distant human pre-history: in particular, rituals and rites engaged in for hunting among Paleolithic hunters. He argues that sport is a form of ritual sacrifice of human energy. As human cultures moved away from sole reliance on hunting as source of food, the rituals used by hunters persist, evolving into various cultural features, including sport. The energy used for the hunt shifts away from the hunt into other ritual behaviors. While there are some very interesting descriptions of various rituals and different cultural rites across cultures from all over the world, the argument is unpersuasive. First, there are key assumptions of motivations and explanations of pre-historic and ancient peoples that seem impossible to know with any measure of assurance. Why did the hunter bath before the hunt? There are various possible reasons, but so far removed how could we possibly know with any confidence? Second, the links between the rituals and sport is too speculative to establish more than interesting possible connections.

The second essay focuses on Ancient Greek athletics and how these too are rooted ultimately in the hunting ritual. The focus is really on aspects of athletics: why the Greeks engaged in sport naked, why they anointed themselves with oil, etc. There is not much in the way of trying to explain the origin of sport as such (I supposed Sansone takes himself as having established that in the first essay). Like the first essay, I found the discussion itself very interesting, in particular some of the striking similarities in disparate cultures, but I don’t think the overall argument is all that persuasive. What Sansone takes as having established with confidence still seems far more speculative. I think Sansone is correct that sport contains much that is rooted in pre-historic rituals; and that many of these ritual behaviors have been repurposed to fill some new needs. But he doesn’t discuss these needs that sport is meeting; why adopt these ritual behaviors, why put them to these new uses? Moreover, I don’t think Sansone answers the main questions he takes himself to be answering: why do humans engage in sport? Why has sport persisted through time and cultures? I am not sure we can ever know the answers to these questions. At one point, Sansone says “But people engage in sport today for the same reason they have always engaged in sport, namely because they have always engaged in sport” (56). It’s not much of answer, but it might just be the best we can get.



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Review: Markets with Limits: How the Commodification of Academia Derails Debate

Markets with Limits: How the Commodification of Academia Derails Debate by James Stacey Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is James Stacey Taylor's critique of Jason Brennan and Peter Jaworski's Markets without Limits: Moral Virtues and Commercial Interests. I'm a big fan of B&J's book, notwithstanding some concerns I would make of aspects of their arguments. I've also followed Taylor's work, and was hoping for an interesting dialogue. Unfortunately, we don't get that. Some of Taylor's criticisms hit the mark, but I am unpersuaded by his deeper points. At times I think he's uncharitable and other times he seems to be misunderstanding them (the same could be said of some of B&J's criticisms of Taylor's book). There are important things Taylor brings up about scholarship and some of its problems, though I'm not convinced his diagnosis is accurate or that his prescription is warranted.

I edited an issue of Reason Papers which features a symposium of Taylor's book. Check it out here: https://reasonpapers.com/

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Review: Slow Horses

Slow Horses by Mick Herron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After watching the AppleTV+ series, I wanted to read the book on which it was based. I was surprised at just how close an adaption of the book the TV series was (especially after Apple's awful and disgraceful adaption of The Foundation). There are of course some minor changes, but for the most part the series follows the characters and plot of the book. It's impossible not to picture the actors from the show as you are reading, but that's fine. They are perfectly cast. I'm definitely going to read more of this series. I just hope to get ahead of the show!

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Review: Hellenistic Philosophy: Stoics, Epicureans, Sceptics

Hellenistic Philosophy: Stoics, Epicureans, Sceptics by Anthony A. Long
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A.A. Long's classic work on Hellenistic Philosophy is a great primer for anyone looking to do a deep diver into the thinkers of this period. At times a bit dated, but otherwise the writing is clear and detailed. Long covers the main thinkers, but also gets into some of the secondary figures as well.

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