Hi all. I think this is what the new-look Eiserman Domain is going to be. Now to replicate it throughout the rest of the site…
cheers!
Neal
New look and feel via Wordpress
Written by Neal on February 4th, 2010Influence – Science and Practice
Written by Neal on October 5th, 2008
Title: Influence – Science and Practice – 4th edition
Author: Robert Cialdini
Year: 2001
Click, Whirr
This book is great is you would like to know more on how to influence people (or defend against being influenced. It is easy to read and the examples are entertaining and effective.
The Selfish Gene
Written by Neal on October 1st, 2008
Title: The Selfish Gene
Author: Richard Dawkins
Year: 1976
The only kind of entity that has to exist in order fir life to arise, anywhere in the universe, is the immortal replicator.
This book is quite interesting and caused a great stir when it was originally released. the title was also a bit controversial in its day and Dawkins has since made quite a splash with some of his other books, like The God Delusion.
I found the book to be very well written and engaging. I also thought that it covered modern Darwinism in good detail that a layman can follow and understand. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to look a bit deeper into evolution.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Written by Neal on September 25th, 2008
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Year: 1960
Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
What a great book. It is a tale of small town USA, prejudice, discrimination, and one mans fight against it in the 1930’s. It is told through a child’s eyes, which gives the book a sort of innocence even when it’s awash in racism.
The images and characters, from Atticus Finch to Scout, that Lee creates will never fade from your mind.
Everyone should read this book. It is a great book for school, both for its entertainment values and the issues that it deals with. I wish that I had read it in English class.
The Sword of Honour Trilogy
Written by Neal on September 24th, 2008
Title: The Sword of Honour Trilogy
Author: Evelyn Waugh
Year: 1886
The hallucination was dissolved, like the whales and the turtles on the voyage from Crete, and he was back after less than two years’ pilgrimage in a Holy Land of illusion in the old ambiguous world, where priests were spies and gallant friends proved traitors and his country was led blundering into dishonour.
This series is not quite what you would expect for material relating to WWII. It is humorous in many parts, but it does have sober moments of tragedy and suffering.
The three books in the Trilogy are Men at Arms, Officers and Gentlemen, and Unconditional Surrender. It tells of a gentleman whose family is extremely old and respected, and now broke. He joins the army for his own glory and experiences many events over the war.
What I really liked about the novel was how it presented the British army. Many times the solders were moved around in chaos, and most of the operations were cancelled in the eleventh hour. The bureaucracy of the military, in all of its strange glory, is brilliantly presented throughout the series. A good read; funny, well written and engaging.
Rob Roy
Written by Neal on September 23rd, 2008
Title: Rob Roy
Author: Sir Walter Scott
Year: 1817
For Why? Because the good old rule
Sufficeth them; the simple plan,
That they should take who have the power,
And they should keep who can.
Rob Roy’s Grave. – Wordsworth
If you have seen the move, forget it. The book has very little to do with the movie. In fact, Rob Roy is only in about 1/3 of the book.
The novel is about a young man who defies his father and refuses to take on the family business. His father is a successful merchant and the son wants to be a poet. The father sends his son to his brother and the book tells of this journey and the consequences of it.
I enjoyed the book but some sections were hard to read. When the Scotts are speaking in their native dialect, the novel is hard to understand. In my copy, there was a glossary in the back, but flipping back and forth seemed to break the flow of the story so I soon stopped. I think this is one of the first historic Fictions, as Rob Roy really existed, which is kind of cool. Other than the dialogue problems, it is a good book to read and I recommend it.
The Scarlet Letter
Written by Neal on September 22nd, 2008
Title: The Scarlet Letter
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Year: 1850
On a field, sable,
The letter A, gules.
This was probably America’s first classic. If you have watched the movie with Demi Moore, forget it! The book is worlds better, and except for the characters names and the basic story, it is completely different. How could Hollywood produce such filth, and then tarnish the book by sharing its name?
My biggest beef with the book is the horrendously long, boring and meaningless preface. Take my advice, don’t read it! Skip right to the story. The preface is nearly ¼ of the length of the story, and it is some of the worst drabble I have ever read.
The story proper, is a gripping tale of adultery in a puritan colony. In it you will find a soul tormented by long-kept secrets, and another whose strength bears the weight of the world.
Robinson Crusoe
Written by Neal on September 21st, 2008
Title: Robinson Crusoe
Author: Daniel Defoe
Year: 1719
All these things, with some very surprising incidents in some new adventures of my own, for ten years more, I mat perhaps give a farther account of hereafter.
This book has no chapters! It is one continuous tale from start to finish. I found this very strange, but it adds to the overall tone of the book.
Almost everyone knows something about Robinson Crusoe. There have been movies and it is one of the most popular books in English literature, with good reason.
The book is short, but it seems longer because there are no breaks in it. I enjoyed this book and even if you know the story before you start, it is enjoyable.
Moby Dick
Written by Neal on September 20th, 2008
Title: Moby Dick
Author: Herman Melville
Year: 1851
Call Me Ishmael!
I found this book OK. The emotional struggle between Ahab and the White Whale was written very well. When the book was telling the tale it was riveting. The only problem is that the author frequently sidetracks to inform the audience about various whaling practices. These tend to be overly-descriptive, long-winded and boring. In one section, when he is talking about the measurements of the whale I actually fell asleep reading it!
One interesting thing about the book is it sometimes takes a Shakespearean twist with play-like soliloquies. Often times these are used to reveal information about the characters that needs to be told.
The chapters in the book are very short. There are 135 chapters for a 590 page book! It is great for reading on the train, as it allows you to have convenient breaks in regular intervals.
Overall, I recommend this book. The story is very good, only a little wordy in sections.
Metamorphoses
Written by Neal on September 19th, 2008
Title: Metamorphoses
Author: Ovid
Year: circa 8 A.D.
Of bodies chang’d to various forms, I sing:
Ye Gods, from whom these miracles did spring…
The message that Ovid is trying explain in his Metamorphoses can be summarized in two words: omnia mutantur, ‘everything changes.’ It is one of Ovid most famous works, and is a true classic that has stood the test of time.
Many of the tales told in the book are very well known. There in the story of Daedalus and Icarus, Narcissus and Phaethon to name a few. Ovid takes these myths and uses them to tell his tale. Having a basic understanding of Greek and Roman myth will definitely help a lot in understanding Ovid’s points.
This book is not a light read! I found some of the tales hard to understand, since I did not have a basic idea of how they were supposed to go. For these sections, I often had to read the verse multiple times. The version might have contributed to the problem since it is written in rhyme. If you want to see if you will enjoy reading and epic, read Dante’s Inferno first. If you can’t handle that one you won’t even finish Metamorphoses.
