Recensioni e commenti

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.

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.

A classic, still very instructive. A few parts have not aged well, but most of it remains prescient. For example, Monbiot gave us a simple message: there's no way we can make fast travel environmentally sustainable, we just have to give it up: we can't replace the growth in air travel with an equal growth in trains going at 300+ km/h. Some people still don't get it, even in the environmental movement. And this is just one example which reminded me of this book the other day.

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.

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.

Obviously I've only started the book because I was captivated by the eye candy of the movie, but surprisingly I ended up reading it in one sitting because it was very captivating. There's something for everybody.

«Water is the least favourable condition for life on Arrakis. And remember that growth itself can produce unfavourable conditions unless treated with extreme care.»

Very well written and enjoyable, much better than Barack Obama's books. A much more realistic point of view. I can't say I know much more than before though.

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

L'argomento è interessante, i dodici straordinari; ma da quel poco che ho letto il libro mi sembra troppo agiografico e poco storico (del resto Boatti è un giornalista), insomma non molto profondo, una semplice somma di biografie. Non ho tempo per finirlo, e non credo che lo riprenderò in prestito.

Piuttosto noiose: sono proprio cronache cronache e anche censurate. Non finito.

Noioso: inutile proseguire, non è qualcosa che mi interessi; ho preso un granchio.

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.

Err:510

Kropotkin is a classic, of course, but what I didn't expect is that this book is packed with data and and historical information about different land management structures which existed across Russia before a specific economic model was imposed on everybody. I wish Kropotkin had had the resources to conduct studies of the sort Elinor Ostrom did on Swiss pastures. Now so much has been lost forever.