Category Archives: Books

Summary of Greenpeace “Nuclear Reactor Hazards”

Posted on July 1, 2025 by

Source: Nuclear power is dirty, dangerous and expensive. Say no to new nukes. Preface.  This is a summary of: Hirsch H (2005) Nuclear Reactor Hazards Ongoing Dangers of Operating Nuclear Technology in the 21st Century.  Greenpeace International. The revival of … Continue reading →

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Geography, Resources, & the Destiny of Nations

Posted on June 11, 2025 by

Preface. Jared Diamond’s famous book “Guns, Germs, and Steel” discussed why some nations were so much more successful than others. Much success came from nearby nations who bootstrapped each other up with new ideas, crops, and ideas. Especially Eurasia due … Continue reading →

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DOGE could have been great. Instead it blew everything up

Posted on June 3, 2025 by

Preface.  You may remember that a movement called “Code for America” founded in 2009, used technology to improve government services and make them more efficient and accessible.  This post is a book review of Pahlka’s 2023 “Recoding America” about how … Continue reading →

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The Nuclear Bomb is Back!

Posted on May 21, 2025 by

Preface. If you are not worried about nuclear war anymore, you should be. We have accidentally come close so many times.

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Nuclear power is not the solution

Posted on May 8, 2025 by

Preface. This is a book review of Ramana’s “Nuclear is not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change.” A great overview that covers many topics, one of the best out there, and most recent. … Continue reading →

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Refrigeration uses up to 30% of world electricity

Posted on May 1, 2025 by

Preface. This is a book review of Twilley’s 2024 book Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves. It is a really great book, highly recommended. Refrigeration plays a much larger role in our lives than people realize. … Continue reading →

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Chemical industrial farming does not work: Pests evolve immunity quickly

Posted on April 3, 2025 by

Pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides destroy soil and ecosystems. Yet a third of crops are lost to pests just as in the many millennia of farming before chemicals Preface. This is a book review of Dyer’s “Chasing the Red Queen”, and … Continue reading →

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The Mayflower from the book The Barbarous Years

Posted on November 30, 2024 by

Preface. It was recently Thanksgiving so I thought I’d post something from Mann’s 1491 about the pilgrims that I later found out was grievously wrong from an expert who gives lectures on the Mayflower history. Here is a more subtle, … Continue reading →

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Book review of “Livewired. The inside story of the ever-changing brain”

Posted on November 19, 2024 by

Preface. This book conveys a sense of wonderment and awe about our brains work and how we become who we are.  I think if you read the excerpts below you will understand why Artificial Intelligence will probably never come close … Continue reading →

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Book review of “Pandemic Politics: The Deadly Toll of Partisanship in the Age of COVID”

Posted on October 15, 2024 by

Preface.  This is a book review of “Pandemic Politics” about the myriad ways Trump mishandled the covid-19 pandemic. With the 2024 election coming up, it is a good time to remember how spectacularly Trump failed in managing covid-19. In 2016 … Continue reading →

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