Although the back-and-forth between various authors made it a bit disjointed, I appreciated the firsthand accounts of how ordinary working Bolivians oAlthough the back-and-forth between various authors made it a bit disjointed, I appreciated the firsthand accounts of how ordinary working Bolivians organized themselves to take on a major corporation. The authors were upfront about the challenges and what the leadership could have done better, and also discussed the aftermath of the war--ie, having to organize a community-controlled water system. My only major complaint is that I wanted more!...more
This was excellent--started it on a Sunday morning and ended up canceling all my plans for the day because I just couldn't put it down.
It's a short, vThis was excellent--started it on a Sunday morning and ended up canceling all my plans for the day because I just couldn't put it down.
It's a short, very dark story about genocide against the elderly--the young people of Buenos Aires have decided that seniors don't contribute to society and should be eliminated. The mere concept is terrifying, and Bioy Casares did a great job of showing the atrocities that normal people are capable of doing when they're consumed by hatred. He described the mob mentality of the young people, told of neighbors informing on neighbors, families turning on their loved ones, etc. It was so sinister it made my skin crawl throughout the entire book. It wasn't all gloom and doom though, as the author also described how the old folks stuck together, how some families hid their old people from the mob, etc. His characters were vivid, and his descriptions of being old were heartbreaking but sweet at the same time, if that makes any sense.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I found the ending to be very abrupt--I wanted more! I'd never read this author before but now I will certainly be looking for more of his work....more
I have mixed feelings about this one--I'd really been looking forward to it, and I was disappointed, but I can't exactly pinpoint why.
I guess maybe II have mixed feelings about this one--I'd really been looking forward to it, and I was disappointed, but I can't exactly pinpoint why.
I guess maybe I just feel that with such an interesting case, Goldman could have done more with it. It felt kind of disjointed, like he didn't choose a particular angle and stick with it, so it ended up reading like more of "first this happened, then that happened, then something else happened" kind of narrative.
It's a page-turner though, and worth reading if your expectations aren't too high. ...more
I'm surprised that it got so many good reviews, because this book didn't really do anything for me. I normally love reading about crises caused by thiI'm surprised that it got so many good reviews, because this book didn't really do anything for me. I normally love reading about crises caused by things being commodified when they shouldn't be, but this book treated the issue pretty superficially and didn't really teach me anything new. The author also repeated herself a lot--like, she would say the same thing over and over again. Did I mention it was repetitive? ;)
I have no doubt that Barlow is an admirable advocate, but the whole book seemed it like it came straight off a website or something. Not to mention the fact that she discussed activists from Guyana in the "Africa" chapter--I mean, I can overlook typos, but if you're going to write a book you should at least get your basic geography straight....more
I think this is the only time in my life I've actually liked the movie better than the book, but perhaps my expectations were too high (I hadn't read I think this is the only time in my life I've actually liked the movie better than the book, but perhaps my expectations were too high (I hadn't read or heard of LeCarré before this). Basically I'd thought that since it was about pharmaceutical company conspiracies to test drugs on poor Africans and kill people who get in their way, I'd love it... I was wrong, but maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised.
I felt Le Carré didn't address the pharmaceutical issue with enough depth, and focused too much on making the main character, Justin, run all over the world, trying to solve the mystery of his wife’s murder. I also never really warmed up to Justin; he started out as a spineless bureaucrat, and didn’t develop or grow much—he ended up merely as a regretful spineless bureaucrat. Le Carré also threw in a weird religious character at the end, which felt completely random and disjointed from the rest of the book.
Overall, Le Carré’s writing was a bit too Dan Brown-ish for me—meaning that the book was too exciting to put down, but I was constantly irritated by his typical “beautiful smart woman” and “nerdy middle-aged man” characters. If you’re looking for a page-turner, this is definitely worth a read, but if you’re looking for a substantive manifesto against the pharmaceutical industry (and yes, I do realize I might be the only weirdo in the world looking for this in a novel), you’ll be disappointed....more
The world's greatest photographer, focusing on the struggles of one of the world's greatest social movements (and in black & white, even better!)... iThe world's greatest photographer, focusing on the struggles of one of the world's greatest social movements (and in black & white, even better!)... it's breathtaking and well worth purchasing so you can look at it over & over....more
This is the most powerful anti-war statement I've ever seen. It's also quite possibly the most depressing book I've read in my life, but I loved it anThis is the most powerful anti-war statement I've ever seen. It's also quite possibly the most depressing book I've read in my life, but I loved it anyway because I'm a masochist.
Strada's a war surgeon who has worked in nearly all the big conflict zones of my lifetime. The book is exactly what it says it is--a diary. Each chapter is only a few pages long and discusses a particular patient or incident that made a lasting impression on him. He doesn't get into the economics or politics of war, but he doesn't need to, because his stories remind us why it should never happen to begin with.
Basically it's a testament to the casualties of war, and it portrays the brutality of the people and weapons manufacturers behind these wars. It also makes you really admire the people who do this kind of work, and appreciate the tremendous strength it must take. I found myself wondering how Strada and his team can possibly keep doing this depressing work year after year--but then I realized that they can't possibly not do it and still be able to live with themselves. I also thought it must be so frustrating for them to be stitching up patients, teaching kids how to live with fewer limbs, etc, while knowing that there's always going to be another war right around the corner. Perhaps that's whey he felt compelled to share his stories--so that people will think twice before entering into armed conflict (too bad the current White House resident isn't literate).
Don't read this while you're alone in your apartment, because it makes you want to put a bullet in your head....more
I picked this up in preparation for a trip I was taking to the Dominican Republic, partly because I desperately needed to practice my Spanish, and parI picked this up in preparation for a trip I was taking to the Dominican Republic, partly because I desperately needed to practice my Spanish, and partly because it takes place during the Trujillo dictatorship, an infamous era in Dominican history of which I knew very little about. I had never read anything by Vargas Llosa, so I had no expectations—and I was blown away! I couldn’t put it down.
Vargas Llosa smoothly transitions between different narrators and time periods, and tells stories about Trujillo’s regime—and its downfall—from the point of view of different characters, many of whom are based on real Dominican heroes, villains, and martyrs; all the while, he maintains a consistently sinister mood. He makes his characters come alive--even Trujillo is realistically portrayed as a human being instead of the monster he really was--yet he doesn’t get too bogged down in their details and personal histories, so the story still flows well. As I later discovered, he does an excellent job of mimicking the way Dominicans talk, throwing in just enough “¡joder!” (fuck) to make you feel like you’re there, listening to a real conversation.
Since it's about a notoriously brutal dictator and his courageous assassins, I wasn’t exactly expecting a lighthearted novel; nevertheless I found some parts a bit hard to stomach. I've read countless personal accounts of torture and brutality and am rarely shocked by anything, but there was one torture scene that actually gave me nightmares and still makes me shudder whenever I think about it.
Overall, it's excellently written and an addictive page-turner. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because there were some parts I found a bit confusing, and it took me a while to get through it. However, this was likely due to language difficulties on my part. ...more
This book is every human rights activist's dream come true, because Farmer documents his efforts to provide quality health services in poor communitieThis book is every human rights activist's dream come true, because Farmer documents his efforts to provide quality health services in poor communities around the world, and he shows how the struggle for adequate health care is unavoidably connected to the struggle for other human rights.
Through various case studies, Farmer demonstrates that, contrary to the claims of most governments and international agencies, public health crises in poor communities can in fact be avoided. Most governments and international agencies primarily concern themselves with the cost effectiveness of addressing health crises in poverty-stricken areas; Farmer demonstrates how small things-—like providing patients with a small stipend to buy more nutritious food, giving out mosquito nets, or providing transportation to health clinics-—can prevent disease and increase patients’ chances of recovery. He shows that rather than treating a disease or an individual patient, investments must made in the whole community. Much of his discussion focused on foreign countries, but I was glad to see that he also addressed the U.S.’s denial of adequate health care to the poor. Throughout the book, he stresses that structural violence is the root cause of premature deaths among the poor, and therefore structural violence must be addressed if human rights are to be protected. I appreciated his observation that the human rights movement is also partially to blame for public health crises, because it has largely failed to adequately fight for the recognition of health care as a human right.
Since I don't have a medical background, I found his case study on multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis particularly informative, because he explains how governments and well-meaning international aid organizations can actually make things worse by only partially funding efforts to control TB. Treatment of TB requires intensive and expensive drug therapy, but if patients get the wrong type of drugs, or receive them at the wrong time or in insufficient quantities, their symptoms worsen and the virus becomes even more resistant to drugs, thus further endangering the patient and the public. Farmer uses this to illustrate his main argument: that only substantial, long-term community investments can truly protect the health and human rights of the poor.
Overall, I found Farmer to be incredibly well-informed, eloquent, and thoughtful. Oh yeah, and one of things I appreciated most: nearly all the books I read are 'downers,' ie, they talk about all the depressing problems that plague humanity without really proposing any solutions. Farmer not only discusses solutions, but his case study of Haiti demonstrates how he's actually been able to make a difference in people's lives by tying the struggle for health care into the struggle for other economic rights--access to nutritious food, clean water, transportation, etc. Unlike most books of this genre, it didn't make me feel like giving up in despair--instead, I pulled out my checkbook, and have been donating regularly to his org ever since, because I find their work incredibly admirable and important.
The only reason I'm giving it 4 instead of 5 stars is because I found it a bit dry and hard to get through. I also felt his chapter on the Zapatistas didn't flow well with the rest of the book. ...more
Wow. This and Eduardo Galeano's Open Veins of Latin America, which Klein cited frequently, are the two best books I've read in years.
What's amazing isWow. This and Eduardo Galeano's Open Veins of Latin America, which Klein cited frequently, are the two best books I've read in years.
What's amazing is that none of the historical or current events she covered were really new to me--I read the papers, I'm up on my Latin American history, and I'd had a basic understanding of Chicago School ideology... but she pointed out connections between them all that I hadn't seen before. I felt her analogizes between economic shock therapy and torture practices were quite fitting.
I found her chapter on South Africa particularly informative, because it explained how the ANC managed to fail so miserably in the economics arena, which is something I'd always wanted to understand. And I was SO glad that she repeatedly took on Jeffrey Sachs--I'd had some serious doubts about him since reading his End of Poverty, and she filled in many of his omissions and turned many of his assertions upside down. My only minor complaint is that I was surprised she didn't discuss her shock theory in the context of the 1970s oil crisis--as far as global economic crises go, you'd think that one would deserve at least a mention, and I was left wondering why it was left out of her otherwise very thorough analysis.
Basically, this book expanded my understanding of both history and the contemporary world, and I think about it every day, especially when I'm reading the news....more
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