Missive #125 Published 14 September 2023
This is Volume III and for the most part is just as good as the first two. However, Psi-Rec: Of Sword and Sitar can be skipped and you will not have missed much.
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Missive #124 Published 12 September 2023
A very good book written by someone that is not an economist that believes the current ideology. The reviewers that give the book low ratings are such true believers. I for one agree with what he says and think we are now in that depression and it will get worse before it gets better.
Missive #122 Published 8 September 2023
Kelly Turnbull, the hero of People’s Republic, Indian Country, Wildfire, and Collapse, is back this fifth novel that tells the story of how America split apart into red and blue. Brought back to the United States to work with an elite group of operators who are seeking to stop the slide to open civil war, Turnbull pursues a leftist terrorist mastermind who will stop at nothing to burn down the country.
Missive #121 Published 6 September 2023
These are thee very good stories that the author wished to be called short novels not novellas. She wrote mostly short stories with only one completed novel. The book that I read had a Cronology of her life that was an interesting read as well. She was married four times and quite a minx even into her more mature years. A good read.
Missive #120 Published 4 September 2023
This was the first book in the Kelly Turnbull Series but is #5 in the story chronology. It is much better than the first book that I read by Schlichter but would not call it great literature. It is of the political fiction or dystopia genre depending on the book seller or reviewer. It is good entertainment.
Missive #118 Published 1 September 2023
I did not like this book although there were some reviewers that thought it was great. There were two reviews that I have quoted that express what I did not like. First, was the non-linear narrative1 and second was too much philosophy2. Huxley once stated that his aim in his fictional works was to “arrive, technically, at a perfect fusion of the novel and the essay.” Perhaps he thought that he did that with this book. I think he made a hash of it and would have been better to publish the 'story' as a novel and the rest as a collection of essays.
Missive #117 Published 31 August 2023
An interesting book that makes a good point about one of the things that has created the new aristocrats/elites and the 'deplorables'.
Missive #116 Published 29 August 2023
I read a lot of Berry’s books while living in Reno and could get them as dead trees from the Reno library. When they changed their policy about charging for Interlibrary Loans I let him slide. Very glad that I have picked up again about where I left off with this book published in 2000. If you read nothing else in the book read the last essay, Chapter VIII Some Notes In Conclusion.
Missive #114 Published 25 August 2023
I liked the subject matter of this book but did not like the style. To use 'an oral history form' for a speculative alternative history just didn't work for me. the author has written a series of novels that I'm going to give a try and hope he uses a more conventional style.
Missive #113 Published 22 August 2023
Classical liberalism promised to overthrow the old aristocracy, creating an order in which individuals could create their own identities and futures. To some extent it did--but it has also demolished the traditions and institutions that nourished ordinary people and created a new and exploitative ruling class. This class's economic libertarianism, progressive values, and technocratic commitments have led them to rule for the benefit of the "few" at the expense of the "many," precipitating our current political crises.