Family Sayings (Original title Lessico famigliare) is a novel by the Italian author Natalia Ginzburg, …
Review of 'Lessico famigliare' on 'Goodreads'
4 stelle
Rileggere Lessico famigliare non è stata una delusione. Si può godere la pure bellezza linguistica, oppure assaporare l'immagine di una vita famigliare molto particolare eppure molto semplice, o ancora meravigliarsi della macrostoria di cui apprendiamo tramite questa microstoria, come l'episodio della fuga di Turati.
In the Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers, legendary software expert …
Review of 'The clean coder' on 'Goodreads'
4 stelle
A good reference, mostly because it's so compact and well thought out. I've not managed to use it that much in practice, but it can be a good starting point for conversations or for self-improvement if you're confused about where you stand.
One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society is a 1964 book by …
Review of "L'uomo a una dimensione" on 'Goodreads'
5 stelle
Already in 1964, Herbert Marcuse had understood that most of our political discourse is completely missing the point: we need to rethink our approach to technology, or we won't achieve anything apart from touching the cosmetic surface of things. 1986 and 1991 screamed for help, but we failed to listen. Now the climate crisis and the big technological oligopolies expose the deep rot of the system in smaller installments, and the background noise makes it impossible to understand why we seem unable to do anything. Marcuse reminds us to question the basics.
From chapter 7 (1964 translation via marcuse.org): «For example, the scientific approach to the vexing problem of mutual annihilation–the mathematics and calculations of kill and over-kill, the measurement of spreading or not-quite-so-spreading fallout, the experiments of endurance in abnormal situations–is mystifying to the extent to which it promotes (and even demands) behavior which accepts the insanity. It thus …
Already in 1964, Herbert Marcuse had understood that most of our political discourse is completely missing the point: we need to rethink our approach to technology, or we won't achieve anything apart from touching the cosmetic surface of things. 1986 and 1991 screamed for help, but we failed to listen. Now the climate crisis and the big technological oligopolies expose the deep rot of the system in smaller installments, and the background noise makes it impossible to understand why we seem unable to do anything. Marcuse reminds us to question the basics.
From chapter 7 (1964 translation via marcuse.org): «For example, the scientific approach to the vexing problem of mutual annihilation–the mathematics and calculations of kill and over-kill, the measurement of spreading or not-quite-so-spreading fallout, the experiments of endurance in abnormal situations–is mystifying to the extent to which it promotes (and even demands) behavior which accepts the insanity. It thus counteracts a truly rational behavior–namely, the refusal to go along, and the effort to do away with the conditions which produce the insanity.»
I like to compare Marcuse to the classic "Prometheus Bound" by Aeschylus, "Téchne d'anánkes asthenéstera makrô". This really is the basic problem of modern society, since 2500 years ago.
A classic of sociology and the study of the commons, which remains captivating and entertaining. Even though the forest ranger is nowadays a mere metaphor of the challenges of administration and regulation, particularly in the area of the commons, I've also learnt a lot about forest management in the USA. The book is packed with figures and concrete data but remains very enjoyable to read.
I'm a broken record on this, but one of my take aways was how important it is for a central bureaucracy to consider the cost of information when working on such a huge space. The passages on the importance of preserving records and local knowledge, and the difficulty of training new rangers, may sound trivial, but I believe they're crucial.
While observing exotic animal trainers for her acclaimed book Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched, journalist Amy …
Review of 'What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage' on 'Goodreads'
2 stelle
A funny and enjoyable read with some sound advice on relationships. There isn't much more than you won't have learnt already from the original essay on the NYT, but there's some nice filler.
We live in an era in which offensive speech is on the rise. The emergence …
Review of 'Hate' on 'Goodreads'
4 stelle
Nadine Strossen is very convincing and uniquely experienced in the topic. Before coming up with your own definitions of online harassment or whatnot, check this book for the well-known pitfalls.
Review of 'Racconti dei saggi taoisti' on 'Goodreads'
Nessuna valutazione
Va bene, ho resistito per mesi ma dopo che ho cominciato ammetto che è vero: se ponete al libro una domanda assillante e lo aprite a caso, vi risponderà.
Un romanzo sull'impossibilità per il narratore di scrivere un romanzo, per questioni stilistiche e narrative che emergono dalla storia e da tutti gli "inserti meta-narrativi" (mi invento il nome tecnico, vabbè, insomma qualcosa meta-qualcos'altro). Intelligente e divertente, ma leggendolo ho avuto la forte impressione che tale tecnica fosse già superata cinquant'anni fa, insomma non stupisce piú nessuno, e resta senza scopo una certa pesantezza linguistica che quindi non appaga molto. Comunque val la pena di leggerlo, anche perché è corto. Qualche citazione qui: it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tommaso_Landolfi#La_biere_du_pecheur
"John Kerry tells the story of his extraordinary life of public service, from decorated Vietnam …
Review of 'Every day is extra' on 'Goodreads'
2 stelle
Back in 2004 I had great hopes for John Kerry, and his digital campaign was very innovative, so I was interested in seeing his take on the classic genre, "memoir to re-write history and raise the profile of one's late career". The book is well written, no doubt, but it remains a bit hard to reconcile the anti-Vietnam war beginnings with everything happened afterwards.
It was nevertheless very interesting to learn about a number of episodes in decades of behind the scenes. There are a few remarkable admissions.
