Category: Books

Amazing novel.

Smart and funny horror.

Love this series.

This is an odd book. The author is very, very worried about the rise of China and he seems to have done a great deal of research to back up his case. And as an antidote to some of the more naive proclamations about the inevitable Westernization of China (we’re looking at you Thomas Friedman) it probably serves some good.

However, I remain unconvinced the situation is as dire as the author would have us believe. Here are his claims as I understand them:

• The key to understanding China’s leaders and the mindset of the Chinese people is Confucianism.
• Confucianism is fundamentally at odds with Western values.
• The Western media and political classes do not understand this, but the same classes in China and other Eastern countries do.
• There is far more collaboration between “Confucian” countries than is apparent from their public behavior.
• The economic system employed by China, which is adapted from similar systems in Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and other Eastern countries, is simply better at producing economic results than Western-style capitalism.

The author tries to draw stark differences between East and West, and in the process he often manages to caricature both. In his portrayal, Westerners are not just more individualistic than Easterners, but are rather defined by this individualism. The Western and Eastern “truth ethics” differ so greatly that, for example, the concerted efforts by the conquered Japanese after World War II to present a more cooperative face than was really the case is “inconceivable” to the Western mind.

By the end of the book, the case he has presented, if taken at face value, is so alarming that his proposed solution (raise tariffs) seems woefully adequate. Rather, if he is right, the West is doomed.

But I’m not ready to build my bunker.

While this is a comprehensive guide to jQuery, I’m not sure it’s worth the money. The online docs are already extremely good, and I found myself skimming through much of the book’s content. And the author spends far too many words telling us how nice jQuery UI is. Just tell us how it works and its awesomeness will be evident, or not.

A good addition to the series, though not as strong as the earlier ones, I thought.

Pretty good book about a pit bull who rose to the top of the competitive disc dog world. The writing isn’t always the best, but the story is great.

A lovely little book about our relationship with made objects (doors, radios, light switches, etc.) and what makes them easy or hard to use and why. A lot of useful wisdom presented in a very accessible way.

My first attempt to understand what the Haskell folks are really up to. I have a feeling many more attempts will be required!

A quirky little self-published introduction to jquery. Pretty decent for the price, but the lack of an editor is apparent in some pretty relaxed grammar.