Philip J. Kurle

Remarkable review of a terrible situation.

Revisado: 09-15-23

Mr. Zygar goes back about 400 years to examine and dissect many of the factors that led to today's Ukrainian - Russian conflict on a microscopic level. The depth of his historical and psychological review of the situation is stunning. His writing style is clear and compelling. The narration is also remarkably good, especially in light of the frequent insertion of Ukrainian and Russian names and phrases. The detailed biographical depiction of both Putin and Zelenskiy really does afford a great deal of insight into the complicated human factors at play in this horrendous and unnecessary war. It is clear that Putin's nationalistic/imperialistic notions and twisted sense of history and the concept of novorossiya combined with his ability to suppress truth and dissension within his country and within his people is at work. This also has implications for imperialist tendencies in many other places, including obviously the US. Absolutely required reading to have any hope of understanding this unfortunate situation.

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A very good overview of medieval times

Revisado: 12-23-22

This is more of a historical overview of various aspects of medieval Times. It doesn't focus exactly on a particular medieval timeline, and it isn't exactly a history book, but it is part of the author's explanation of the transition from Roman times to the Europe that we see today. superb and even soothing narration.

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Superb overview of the issues of consciousness.

Revisado: 10-22-22

Ms. Harris concisely reviews some of the major issues surrounding the mystery of consciousness. This can be a very challenging subject and many works on this topic are difficult to follow and lack clarity. I know many folks who don't seem to recognize that there is a mystery surrounding consciousness at all. Although I haven't tried giving any of them this book yet, I really think this work goes a long way towards defining the nature of the mystery and presents various perspectives on the issue. I do not feel that Ms. Harris is really presenting any new theories here, and I wouldn't expect that, but she lays out the existing ideas very clearly. She does spend some additional time, towards the end of the work, trying to review the notion of panpsychism, because she feels that it is too easily dismissed. I feel that she does a very good job explaining why panpsychism is a viable theory about the nature of consciousness, and that it needs to be taken seriously. I would say that if, somehow, you can only read one book on consciousness, this one should probably be it.

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What is it like to be an octopus? And why...

Revisado: 09-09-22

A thoughtful and detailed account of the parallel development of intelligence and perhaps consciousness in various species, focusing on the cephalopods, in particular octopi (which the author always calls octopuses) and cuttlefish. This is a philosophical review, but includes a lot of biology and evolutionary theory about the structure and development of nervous systems. Of course it really can't explain the development of consciousness, per se, or why it should be like anything to be an octopus... or a human. This work does harken back to Thomas Nagel's philosophical paper "What is it like to be a bat?". It also includes a lot of poignant personal accounts of interactions with octopuses and cuttlefish. This is key to the author's perspective, in conveying the experience of interaction with sentient beings. Very well narrated, with some fairly complicated notions, such as the function of chromatophores and the reasons why, in a sense, octopuses can see with their skin. absolutely worth reading (listening).

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A good, brief review with a surgical perspective.

Revisado: 08-28-22

This was a good and very brief overview of some of the history of medicine. As a neurologist I have to say that this "history of scientific medicine" left a lot of gaps and releasing to focus on the history of surgery. The scientific development of medications was sort of skipped. The very slow transition from the conception of disease as being caused by an imbalance of humors espoused by the Hippocratic physicians and then codified by Galen to the point that it was never questioned for 1500 years was well explained. The very gradual development of true anatomical understanding through dissection was explained, with the anatomical works of Vesalius. There is a review the works of some other physicians who gradually expanded the understanding of anatomy, then a mention of Joseph Lister and sterile technique, the development of anesthesia, and then eventually the book culminates with a very interesting description of the first heart surgeries, involving the tetralogy of Fallot. Dr Nuland is a very talented storyteller and keeps the listeners interest. This might very well have been titled "A brief history of surgical medicine revealed through biography". There's nothing much about the development of the first effective medications. The understanding of cellular pathology was briefly mentioned, but with a continual focus on surgical implications. Although I am almost certainly biased, there was almost nothing at all about the understanding of the nervous system. This Great Course was very well worth a listen, but I feel that the surgical perspective, since Dr Nuland is a surgeon, was unmistakable.

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Excellent combo autobiography & social commentary.

Revisado: 01-09-22

Dr Fiona Hill conveys an improbable and amazing life story, while applying her undeniable intelligence and erudite education, to try to make sense of the social dynamics that make her life story the "exception that proves the rule" due to endemic social and geographic immobility. Due to her participation as a national security advisor in the Trump administration, she had a firsthand glimpse into the deep dysfunction that he brought to the White House. She does not really speak very much about her testimony before congress during the first Trump impeachment. However, she has a lot to say about the populism that brought Trump to power. She is able to convey the connection between the social and economic hardships that pervade in stagnant regions of the US and UK, and the likely dynamics by which this engenders the dissatisfaction with government that leads to the populism that makes people vote and make decisions against their own best interests. Brilliantly written and, since she is her own narrator, I can't help but comment on her voice, and her northeastern British accent, which I found to be a joy to listen to.

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Masterful Discussion of Many Human Genetic Topics.

Revisado: 10-09-21

Dr. Rutherford knows how to write and knows the science of human genetics and genomics in depth. Of course his book only lives up to it's name on the broadest of scales. He starts with an overview of what genetics can say about archeology, which is quite a lot. He explains what genetics shows us about our ancestors and how the divergence of the subspecies neanderthals and denisovans yielded genetic differentiation and then reintroduction of those genomes into our own homosapien lineage. He very eloquently explains how we know this happened. He then covers a wide range of other topics related to genetics and human history. He reviews the the genetic studies performed on Richard III and attempted on Jack the Ripper, and uses these individual cases to contrast good genetic science from bad genetic science. He explains what it means to say that humans are still evolving. He comments throughout the book on the nature of science itself, and the nature of what it can tell us, and the general tendency to misapply or misinterpret science. Since he is narrating his own writing, and since he is amazingly skilled at both, the book is a remarkably easy listen and even challenging topics are effortlessly conveyed. I tend to give out five stars to many of the books that I have read, but this one makes me wish that I could add an extra star.

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Compelling perspective on North American divisions

Revisado: 09-06-21

This is a remarkable and well-researched overview, including a lot of reasoned opinion, about the origin and nature of the enduring divisions between cultures and regions of the United States, Canada, and northern regions of Mexico. Mr. Woodard goes well beyond the superficial divisions that most of us easily discern between North and South, Left and Right, or Republican and Democrat. He identifies the regional origins of 11 Nations which, he argues, comprise the "federations" of Nations which we perceive as The United States, Canada, and the northern reaches of Mexico. He describes Yankeedom, New Netherland, The Midlands, Tidewater, Appalachia, the Deep South, New France, the Far West, El Norte, the Left Coast, and the First Nation. These are regional groups of people that are bound together by common cultures and origins and, though they were founded centuries ago, persist to this day. I felt this initially sounded far-fetched, but he makes some compelling arguments in the course of the book. This perspective certainly helps understand some of the cultural and political tendencies that we see played out in The US and Canada today. The book is well written and well narrated. Even if one does not entirely agree on the premise and conclusions, the book includes a sweeping and well researched historical narrative of the development of North America over the past 400 years.

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Now I almost understand how we got here.

Revisado: 11-07-20

Kurt Anderson has synthesized an amazing overview of the sociopolitical situation that we find ourselves in. He has pinpointed key individuals (evil geniuses) who have cleverly manipulated the political climate, legal system, and public awareness in a way that has reinforced a misguided system that favors the wealthy and big business. His excellent journalism is well researched and well conveyed in a way that makes it clear that this is not simply a left-wing conspiracy theory, but rather an explication of a true evil conspiracy. Unfortunately, although Kurt Anderson brings all this to our awareness, I am unaware of many true "good geniuses" who are in a position to undo the harm that has already been done.

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Well worth reading (listening).

Revisado: 08-19-20

Overall, a very good book with a lot of insights into the upbringing of Donald Trump. Clearly, Mary is greatly influenced and essentially scarred by the way her family treated her father. Actually, much of the book is about her father, Freddy, primarily to show the family dynamics that favored Donald's skills of self aggrandizement and cruelty over true competence, or over family loyalty, or even common decency.

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