Eric Lawton replied to Ian Brown's status
I just started reading this. I has to take a break for family reasons and only just got round to starting again.
User Profile
Book interests very varied. Psychology, sociology, politics, social systems, history, biology, physics, philosophy.
Fiction: science fiction, literary, historical, much more.
Bio: Natural philosopher (STEM background), retired IT Architect. Supporting public policy based on kindness, respect and evidence. Cis, het: he. Settler on the traditional territories the Mississauga branch of the Ojibwa Nation.
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Eric Lawton reviewed The Age of Revolution by Eric Hobsbawm
Detailed and wide ranging
5 stars
Covers not just the violent revolutions of the age but the transformations of social conditions and economics, taking a #systemsThinking perspective.
Also covers culture, arts, religion and sciences.
Excellent detail and much food for thought from a single volume.
Eric Lawton reviewed The Third Child by Marge Piercy
Under her mother's constant scrutiny and lost in the shadow of her famous senator father, …
Almost as good as "Three Women"
5 stars
I should have waited a bit after reading "Three Women" because of their similarities.
Still, another excellent character, family and social study, this time focused around US politics. It's told from the point of view of the third child in the family who, unfortunately for us, is excluded from the politics that I would have liked to heard more about, but still reveals a good deal about how disconnected US politics is from the needs of Americans.
Eric Lawton reviewed Three Women by Marge Piercy
A novel on an unusual household in our day and age, three generations of women …
Excellent. One of Piercy's top ten
5 stars
I have had this for a while and it kept slipping down my "to read" pile. What a mistake. A brilliant portrayal of a complex family.
Eric Lawton reviewed The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough
A story tracing the creation of Republican Rome presents those who founded an empire, including …
Well researched, well told.
5 stars
This is my review for all 6 in the series which I just re-read. I was looking for something easy-ish to read when I was too tired to concentrate, but not too trivial.
The books cover the republican era of Rome, mostly from the perspective of the more powerful leaders, but also including a lot of side characters from different walks of life.
It covers social, political, military and other aspects of life in a society significantly different from current eurocentric systems, but of course some of this evolved into those systems.
The author includes notes on her historical research for each book; what she knows to be factual and what she invented to bring life to the characters. It also includes a list of the main families and their relationships, and a glossary of Roman concepts which most of us might not know about.
The quality is consistent across …
This is my review for all 6 in the series which I just re-read. I was looking for something easy-ish to read when I was too tired to concentrate, but not too trivial.
The books cover the republican era of Rome, mostly from the perspective of the more powerful leaders, but also including a lot of side characters from different walks of life.
It covers social, political, military and other aspects of life in a society significantly different from current eurocentric systems, but of course some of this evolved into those systems.
The author includes notes on her historical research for each book; what she knows to be factual and what she invented to bring life to the characters. It also includes a list of the main families and their relationships, and a glossary of Roman concepts which most of us might not know about.
The quality is consistent across all the series.
Eric Lawton reviewed England, England by Julian Barnes
A replica of Britain is created on the Isle of Wight, complete with Robin Hood, …
Light reading, wicked satire
4 stars
Funny but with interesting, believable characters.
A wicked satire on the English snob variant of billionaire business folks who think they're geniuses, with some minor characters like popular TV academics.
Eric Lawton reviewed Climate Book by Greta Thunberg
You might think it's an impossible task: secure a safe future for life on Earth, …
Lots of detailed information
5 stars
Essays be experts in many different aspects of climate change and what we can do about it.
I read it fairly quickly but expect to return to it as a reference.
Eric Lawton reviewed The brain by David Eagleman
"The dramatic story of the brain's role in creating our world, our experience of it, …
Review of 'The brain' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
The first few chapters were very basic, nothing new for me. 4&5 were better.
Last was speculative and very pro-technology without considering risks via the motivation of corporations providing the tech. Already , one of them has gone bankrupt, leaving blind people with brain implants that no longer work.
Eric Lawton reviewed Caliban’s War
Review of "Caliban's War" on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
Fast paced space opera, with a social and political background.