coastalslacker

worth reading, but not if you're a one book a monther, Mar 14 2006

This book is good but, for me, it didn't live up to the hype. It is well written, but I never got that "I can't put this book down" sense until the last 50 pages or so. I should mention that, while I think Ishiguro is quite talented (loved "when we were orphans"), I'm not his greatest fan (didn't like "remains of the day"). Furthermore, I don't think this book should be talked about in the same breath as "the handmaid's tale"-this book is nowhere close to as good or as provocative, and Ishiguro is nowhere near the writer that Atwood is.

Oh, and people keep talking about the ethical issues around cloning raised by this book-Stop! That's not why this… Read more

good only for the simple or time-constrained, Mar 14 2006

If this book is all the neuroanatomy you know, good luck. It's somewhat useful, and it may be a good review tool when I am practicing, but I found it extremely superficial. If you know NOTHING, and have a few weeks to catch up to your class before a Neuro block exam......this isn't a bad place to start. That said, you'll probably find large chunks of it overly vague and undetailed.

boring, but worth a read if you don't know this stuff, Mar 14 2006

This is a good book if you don't already realize that we're screwing ourselves as a species. If this describes you, then read this book. It is methodical, it makes a strong case, and it doesn't degenerate into rhetoric like lots of environmentally themed books. Diamond does not present an Ehrlich-like appocalypitic certainty-he is generous enough, and confident enough in human beings' resourcefullness, to give us even odds. This is nice, because, while I do believe we're hooped if we don't change, I do believe we CAN change, and alot of popular books on this subject always just tell us we're done like dinner.

For fans of Guns, Germs and Steel,… Read more