Eschew Obfuscation: Category Books and Movies

"Lipstick Jihad" by Azadeh Moaveni

Max Dunn — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:29:00 -0700

In Lipstick Jihad, Azadeh Moaveni provides a fascinating view of the complexities facing the new generation of Iranians living in modern Tehran. Americans are not often exposed to anything more from Iran than crazy ayatollahs shouting angry diatribes against the West, so this is an important book that provides a more realistic view of what life is really like in Iran and how people are attempting to live normal lives against the backdrop of a violent religious police, the continual repression of women, a corrupt and ineffectual government as well as all the splendors, culture, family ties and stumbles towards modernism that makes up the sum of Iran.

"The Mermaids Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd

Max Dunn — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 12:39:00 -0700

When I was working, I would try not to start a new book. The problem was that if I found a really good book, I would have a hard time putting it down and would sneak out and read the book during my work hours. Once when I was working as a summer intern at Hughes Aircraft, I was so caught up in a book and continued reading at my cubicle after my lunch hour. At one point, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my boss came in and saw me reading. He didn’t say anything, but they didn’t offer to put me on leave when I went back to school, which I guessed was because of that book.

Lately however, I haven’t found any books all that engrossing. I did read The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman in a little over a day, but that was basically showing off since the book is over 500 pages and I was determined to speed-read through it quickly. It wasn’t until I The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd caught my eye that I found another book that was truly engrossing.

"The U.N. Exposed" by Eric Shawn

Max Dunn — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 10:56:00 -0700

I didn’t know anything about the U.N., so when I saw a review of “The U.N. Exposed” by Eric Shawn, I thought it would be interesting to learn more about it. Wow, was I in for more than I realized! While I am sure that there are some good things that the U.N. is doing around the world, this book is focused on exposing their problems, and they have a lot! In specific, it makes a very compelling case that the U.N. actually ended up aiding Saddam and helping him stay in power, which ultimately resulted in the Iraq war.

"Blink" by Malcom Gladwell

Max Dunn — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 15:54:00 -0700

Back in 1986 when I was working for InsMark, we set out to hire a programmer. We interviewed many candidates, several were very good, but one stood out above the rest. This candidate had a problem though—she was a girl.

"The Constant Gardener" by John LeCarre

Max Dunn — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 13:32:00 -0700

It isn’t often that a movie about a book is very good. After all, most books are comprised of 6 to 16 hours of text, so cutting it down to a 2 hour movie often cuts out the heart of the book. It is rarer still that a movie is better than the book, but I think this is the case with The Constant Gardener by John Le Carre.

"Acts of Faith" by Philip Caputo

Max Dunn — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 09:50:00 -0700

Usually when we think of “faith” we associate it with religion. Faith in God, faith in life after death, those kinds of things. And while religious faith is usually a positive force, it has a dark side too. Besides religious faith, many other types of faith are intricately woven into our lives in ways we often don’t realize.

These are some of the ideas that Philip Caputo explores in his book Acts of Faith using relief efforts in the Sudan as the stage.

Review of "Boy Talk" by Mary Polce-Lynch

Max Dunn — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 11:24:00 -0700

What if you were told:

In order for girls to be complete humans, they need to be as good at sports as boys.
The main reason girls don’t play sports is that “Girl Rules” looks down on girls that play sports.
In order for girls to be good at sports, women just need to encourage them and play sports too.

You would probably disagree with most of these points. Yet May Polce-Lynch makes similar claims in her book Boy Talk regarding boys and their emotions. Her main points are: