Uberpower: The Imperial Temptation of America
by Josef Joffe
The Naked Tourist: In Search of Adventure and Beauty in the Age of the
Airport Mall
by Lawrence Osborne
Virginity or Death!: And Other Social and Political Issues of Our Time
by Katha Pollitt
The Human Factor
by Kim Vincente
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Uberpower: The Imperial Temptation of America
by Josef Joffe
From Publishers Weekly
While not the first or even the thousandth evaluation of America as
the world's sole superpower, Joffe's version is more insightful than
many and less unflattering. The editor of Germany's Die Zeit and
author of The Future of the Great Powers offers an educated European's
vantage point on America's role as the first nation in history so
powerful that no alliance could challenge it. While American mass
culture dominates the world, our universities, scientific advances,
medical technology, entrepreneurial vigor and even our immigration
policies are the subject of considerable envy, he asserts. Equally
universal is anti-Americanism, which the author defines in several
perceptive chapters as obsessive stereotyping, demonization of our
entire culture and accusations of moral inferiority. Yet as great
powers go, the U.S. inspires remarkably little fear, largely because
it exhibits no overt interest in acquiring territory, he argues. The
worldwide U.S. military presence suppresses half a dozen regional
disputes, allowing potential rivals (Russia, Japan, the European
Union) to skimp on their defense budgets. Ironically, the author
points out, this is a sign they accept U.S. leadership. He concludes
by suggesting the U.S. avoid defying international opinion, and that
invading Iraq was a mistake for which we are still paying. Still, he
argues, if the world requires a policeman, it could do worse than look
to America.
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The Naked Tourist: In Search of Adventure and Beauty in the Age of the
Airport Mall
by Lawrence Osborne
From Publishers Weekly
When a neighborhood is described as 'seedy' by some Lonely Planet
prude," Osborne (The Accidental Connoisseur) declares, "I immediately
head there." But even the boldest of travel writers can become jaded
by visiting locales that have recreated themselves in romanticized
"exotic" images, making one feel one is merely playing the role of a
tourist rather than seeing anything new. So Osborne sets out to visit
a tribe in Papua New Guinea that's had barely any contact with
Westerners. Instead of heading straight for the jungle, however, he
embarks on a lengthy trek along "the Asian Highway," clusters of
tourist attractions that lead him through Dubai on to Calcutta and
Bangkok. The story is strongest when Osborne drops the world-weary
tone and simply engages with his surroundings: a hellish drive through
Indian jungles, for example, or a whirlwind tour of Thailand's
inexpensive medical centers. Once he fully abandons his comfort zone
and plunges into the remote swamps of Papua, his encounter with the
Kombai tribe is anticlimactic. Although he writes of the "shimmering
hysteria" that came with stripping away nearly all vestiges of modern
civilization, Osborne's account never fully embraces that vertigo,
remaining just another well-crafted travel story.
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Virginity or Death!: And Other Social and Political Issues of Our Time
by Katha Pollitt
From Publishers Weekly
This second collection of Pollitt's columns in the Nation offers more
lively and penetrating discussion of political, social and cultural
trends from one of the country's finest left commentators and feminist
stalwarts. Picking up in early 2001 where her previous collection
(Subject to Debate) left off, the 84 taut essays—invariably witty,
astute and relentlessly logical—together chart the progress of
right-wing policies under the Bush administration before and after the
flash point of 9/11, while engaging such urgent and related issues as
the attack on abortion rights, the health-care crisis, the rise of the
Christian Right, expanding war and militarism, gay marriage and the
perpetual "demise" of feminism in the mass media. Selections include
perhaps her most infamous essay, "Put Out No Flags" (Oct. 8, 2001)—an
account of an argument with her teenage daughter over displaying the
U.S. flag at home after 9/11—but there are also dozens of incisive,
frequently hilarious gems here. While no conservative interested in
public debate should ignore so formidable an opponent, this book will
appeal mostly to progressive readers (fans of Barbara Ehrenreich or
Molly Ivins are only the most obvious match).
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The Human Factor
by Kim Vincente
TIME Magazine
"Kim Vicente puts human simplicity back into technology."
Review
What form of social change could save lives, boost the economy, and
increase health and happiness, all without political wrangling or
moralistic finger-pointing? The answer: making our technology work
better with human minds and bodies. This delightful and important book
explains how we can at last reap the fruits of the recent revolution
in technology. It should be required reading for all engineers.
–Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard
University,and author of The Blank Slate and How the Mind Works
Kim Vicente puts human simplicity back into technology.
–TIME Magazine
Kim Vicente is a visionary. He is using his engineering training to
help human beings in the most direct possible way. He is using
technology to help people, rather than the other way around. He is
placing human needs and values first. The world today badly needs such
people. This book may well be a landmark in changing people's
attitudes towards technology, both the general public and professional
engineers.
–Alan P. Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams and The Diagnosis
This book can save lives. Strong words? Yes, but this is a strong
book: engaging, easy to read, but carrying a powerful message. We have
far too long neglected the human and social side of technology. When
accidents happen, we rush to find blame, to sue, fire, penalize, and
otherwise punish people when it is the system that is at fault. The
result is needless accidents in vehicles, hospitals, manufacturing
plants and, worse, no way of stemming the tide, of learning from our
actions and indeed revolutionize the way we live with technology. Read
this book: it can save lives.
–Donald A. Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things
Kim Vicente is an engineer who understands how all our lives are being
engineered. You will put down this book with a new awareness of the
link between devices and those who use them. And you will be greatly
entertained.
–John Polanyi, Nobel Laureate