When I decided I needed a blog again, rather than start fresh, I decided to convert old book review blog to something more general purpose. I deleted all the posts that didn’t age well and in the interest of OCD, I decided to consolidate the old book reviews into batches. This is the third batch, they were posted in January 2008 reviewing/commenting on books I read the previous Summer/Fall.
Title: Ender’s Game
Author: Orson Scott Card
Read: December 2007
Edition: Gift Style Hardback (ISBN 0765317389)
This is another reread. But there is a story there (isn’t there always? 🙂 )
I listen to tech podcasts in the truck on my commutes in an almost vain attempt to keep current on tech news. One of the podcasts, TWiT (This Week in Tech) comes out weekly and does a nice job of summarizing the week along with commentary and criticism. It’s not awesome, but it frequently fun. The host, Leo Leporte is very good. Hey assembles a panel of 3-6 guest each week and steers the conversation to keep things moving. Since he can’t pay the guests, he gives them all a chance to plug their website/podcast/company at the end of the show. One week, one of the guests was a semi-regular, Veronica Belmont who does video netcasts for the start-up Mahalo. Instead of plugging that gig, she plugged this new website she created with another person called Sword and Laser. It’s a The concept is … NM, I will crib their words:
The Sword and Laser (S&L) is a science fiction and fantasy-themed book club, started by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt. The main goal of the club is to build a strong online community of sci-fi / fantasy buffs, and to discuss and enjoy books of both genres.
So, what they do is vote on a book to read and then everyone reads the book and they discuss it section by section. I thought that was a neat concept. When I checked it out, they were wrapping up their second book, Ender’s Game. I had read that something like 20 years ago as a novella and never got around to reading the novel length version or any of the sequels. Not sure why, I enjoyed it, but so many books, so little time.
Well, on the time aspect, I didn’t see me geeking out chapter by chapter, but I thought that I could read it and then pop into their forums and see how it all worked. They were about done with that book anyway and voting on the next. So I looked around for my copy and, of course, couldn’t find it. So I went off to Borders, since I had to have it now! Well, of course the paperback is out of print, but they have this lovely hardback for $17.
Anyway, that’s how I got it. And things being what they are, Jess took it and read it before I could even get to it.
The expanded story was OK. I think it added more to the world and in the context as the first book in a 6 or 7 book series and 10 or 11 book world, it’s fine. But it didn’t add materially to the basic story. Still, this is a classic, must read story. I hope to get to the other books some time “soon”. I give it 4 out of 5.
Title: Space Vikings
Author: H. Beam Piper
Read: December 2007
Edition: mass market paperback
This is an oldie, but goodie. I have read it a few times before, but it has a nice blend of brain candy action, nice world-building and some thought-provoking messages. I read this in about 24 hours which, for me, is the speed of light. But I needed a break from all the other reading and this was just sitting there begging me to pick it up.
In brief, the story is about a mid-level noble (Lucas Trask) who lives on one of a small cluster of stars (call the Sword Worlds) that are about 3000 light years away from the old Terran Federation. That empire had it’s roots on Earth and collapsed for reasons unknown to the Sword Worlders, a few centuries before our story.
The few thousand settled planets of the Old Federation now have technology levels that run the gamut from stone axes to interstellar travel, with most somewhere in the middle. Opportunists from the Sword Worlds have taken to raiding these planets for whatever they can find of value. They built these great globular starships and make the 6 month hyperspace journey over to the decaying remains of the Federation. The loot plundered from theses planets is either imported in to the Sword Worlds as booty and sold it or, staying in the Federation, they trade it for repairs and supplies at one of the raiding bases located there.
These are private enterprises, but the government on the various Sword World planets don’t mind. In polite society, such as the world Lucas travels in at the beginning of the story, they are deployed and murderers and thieves. They are also looked down upon by managers because they feel that the ship captains lure away the best talent to these off planet adventures and out of the “gene pool” of the planet.
As you might expect, an event occurs that transforms Lucas from mild mannered noble to the thing he hates most, a Space Viking. Although one that would rather build than destroy even though he is forced to destroy plenty of things in the course of events. He eventually goes on to set himself up as a planetary king running a modest multi-star trading empire of his own and the proximal cause of his abandoning his old way of life is relegated to almost sub-plot status.
Piper creates a compelling universe in a relatively short novel. One that is the basis for many of his stories. And you can read this book on many levels. At the surface, it’s a fun space opera. But, you can’t help noticing some fairly trenchant observations on the human condition and the philosophy of government as you go along. In fact, one person went so far as to put together an excellent 30 page analysis of the themes in space viking and posted it on their website.
What makes Piper’s world compelling is the consideration of economic and political factors in the universe. I really enjoyed this book and the other stories set in this universe. It’s a shame Piper committed suicide before more of his work was published, he would have been one of the greats. I give this a 4.5 out of 5.
Title: Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use
Author: Christopher Schwarz
Read: December 2007
Edition: Hardback (1558708405)
I have admired the writing of Chris Schwarz for a couple of years now, ever since I discovered Woodworking Magazine issue 2 in a Walmart while killing some time one day. Finally, I had found a woodworking magazine that seemed to be aimed right at me. A mix of hand tools and power tools. A mix of projects and how-to articles. And, done with taste, style and no advertisements. What a great magazine. Since that find, I have subscribed to Popular Woodworking (his “regular” magazine), his blog and haunt the bookstores for each new edition of Woodworking magazine.
Since I come at woodworking from my interest in medieval history, I tend to favor the period furniture reproduction type of projects and that’s a lot of what he does. Also, what woodworker isn’t also interested in collecting tools? Add to that the workbench “thing”. It’s the largest and most fascinating tool in a woodworker’s arsenal and it’s the one big item that almost every woodworker has to make for themselves.
I made my current workbench several years ago when I determined it was time to move from the door on saw horses version that seems to be some sort of universal starting place for hobbyist woodworkers. It’s fine. I still use it every time I am in the shop. It’s got a lot of things going for it: it’s long (10′), it’s against a wall that faces west under a large window, it’s heavy, really heavy. And all was good as I perused the hobby.
Then, through the pages of his two magazines and his blog, Chris introduced me to a new tool, the hand plane. Suddenly, my workbench was obsolete. I didn’t figure this out right away, but over the course of struggling to learn the hand plane I discovered that the surface that couldn’t be high enough was too high. The massive bench that could easily dampen vibration from power tools was weak to the racking forces of a large guy pushing a #7 plane. Hrm.
So, I need to make a new workbench. Then, just as I make that determination, Chris’ writing reveals his almost unhealthy obsession with workbenches. The thing that he brings to the conversation is the “why” certain features are as they are. We have noted the different styles of workbenches in other books, but now we are getting some information on historical benches and methods of work that places these benches and features in context.
Even though I had read a lot of the material contained in this book before, the whole discussion, put all in one package was very valuable. I love the many historical etchings and photographs. The more the better.
I firmly believe that there is no perfect bench. I think this is something Chris Schwarz has already come to grips with. What your bench needs to look like depends on not just what sort of projects that come off it, but how you work as well. This book will help you understand what sorts of things a bench can do and help you sort through the options in designing and building your own.
This was one of the few books I have ever pre-ordered from Amazon and I waited impatiently for it to show up. It was work the wait, an excellent book. Don’t miss out on the version with the CD, it contains drawings and a PDF of the book. Highly recommended.
Title: Glen Huey’s Illustrated Guide to Building Period Furniture
Author: Glen Huey
Read: 9 January 2008
Edition: Hardback (w/DVD)
I went to the Woodworking show in York, PA the other weekend. I don’t remember the exact “flavor” of show. This one was sponsored by “Wood” magazine, I believe. Last year, it was an excellent show. Not nearly as crowed as the ones in the Baltimore/DC area and only about 1.5 hours away. Unfortunately, this year, the show was greatly diminished in size. The WoodMizer portable sawmill display was back from last year, but instead of having 10 models set up and operating, there were 2 or 3 and only one was running.
Inside, the show which last year occupied the whole of the expo floor covered only about 60% of it. Most of the displays were local clubs and guilds. Interesting, but…not really to me, since *I* wasn’t local. In particular, gone was the dealer in antique tools that I had been hoping to see. Most of the other vendors were the one trick pony types that fill out the larger winter woodworking shows (Forrest saw blades, The green plastic feather board guy, the guy that sells the thing that hooks on a drill and cuts anything, etc.). Fine products all, I am sure, but I have seen them all before and I am still uninterested. I was hoping for the larger retailers where I could pick up a few odds and ends at “show” prices. I guess it was lucky for me since I had talked my wife into coming with me by promising a drive through the nearby PA Dutch Country region and an early dinner at one of the nice restaurants there.
Still, I wanted something for the effort of getting her up at 8am, into the truck and driving into PA. One of the personalities at this year’s show was Glen Huey. He had his own booth where he was selling books and DVDs. I had thumbed through one of his early books at some time in the past and felt it wasn’t for me. First of all, he seems to focus on the more ornate New England 18th Century stuff that is still far outside my range of skills and not something to the taste of my wife.
However, I was intrigued by his range of how-to DVD products. Several of his offerings were things I felt I could use, but I have seen my share to poor productions and didn’t really want to gamble. On the other hand, he had his new(ish) book there and for $25, I could get a book AND a nearly 90 minute DVD. This seemed like a good deal to me. Even if the DVD was crap, the book had 10 or so projects nicely dissected in full color. And it would let me sample the quality of the DVDs to know if I wanted to buy them or not.
So, I bought it. And I am glad I did. First of all, I prefer to support practitioners by buying their books and I prefer to buy them directly when I can because I know they make more of the money that way. In addition, I could get it signed. I doubt that adds anything to the true value of the book, but I still think it’s cool.
Glenn asked me if I wanted anything in particular written in there and I replied, “No.” He doesn’t know me from Adam and won’t remember me at all in 10 minutes at a busy show. Anything “personal” written there will sound contrived and trite. So, he thought for a moment and wrote, “Make something great,” and signed it. Urf. Hrm. That’s a tall order. But maybe it’s time to stop collecting tools, books, DVDs and wood and actually crank out some stuff. So, Glenn, if you read this (hey, it’s possible) thanks for the truly inspirational inscription.
Now, on to my thoughts about the book:
First, the physical aspects of the book itself. I never usually mention this unless the book if seriously oversize or notably poorly made. This was neither, in fact, this is how ALL books should be made. All of them, forever. Well, all non-fiction ones at least.
I am not sure what this kind of binding is called, from the outside, it’s a glossy hardbound book and on the inside it’s a spiral binding. This is an awesome format. You get the quality of a hardback book (which, for the price, we can appreciate), but, it lies flat when open. OMG, I can’t tell you how cool that is.
The second nice physical feature is the recessed CD/DVD holder on the inside of the back cover. This is genius. I read a lot of tech books, many of them come with a CD of code and they are usually either in a paper sleeve glued to the back cover or bound in on a card stock page in the back. Neither of those is really satisfactory. Once you take out the CD to look at it, you can never put it back and expect it to stay. The little sleeve thing’s rip off tab is now gone. So, it’s a single use CD. Glenn’s book will forever keep its DVD (except when I am watching it) because there is a thoughtful and reusable place to keep it.
As to the DVD content, it’s nearly 90 minutes long. For an essentially free throw-in, that’s huge. And it’s well done. Seeing pictures of cabriolet legs being done is one thing, but after watching Glenn make one, I really believe I get it and can do it. It’s been a few weeks since I watched it, but I believe there are 5 sections to the DVD. All of the segments are well done and useful. On the PC side, there are a few PDF files of patterns and plans from the book.
As huge a step as this is, I think there ought to be more. The DVD ought to include a PDF of the full book including either full sized or known scale plans for all projects. You have a ton of space on a DVD, all of that had to be produced for the print edition anyway. So toss them in there. That way we can print out drawing and not have to expose the book to the shop for weeks.
Also, let’s not let what could be really valuable addition for woodworkers be hamstrung by hamfisted attempts at copy protection. Use PDFs, they work well, the reader is ubiquitous. In this market, while there might be a few people that copy the files rather than buy the book, it’s not something real woodworkers would make a habit of. More likely, after perusing the file, they would buy a copy themselves. It’s what I would do. I work in two modes. If I am reading anything of length, I want paper. Drawings I want to manipulate and print out.
And, finally, the text itself. Glenn is still focused on a pretty high style. But, I am thinking I could make a few of these projects for two reasons. One, my skills are improving and opening up my range and, two, his text and photos really show the important parts of the project. He doesn’t waste a lot of space telling you how to measure this or cut that, instead he focuses on the setups and approaches needed to execute the step.
One thing that stands out in all of Glenn’s work is his *love* for dramatic grain pattern. The reason the rest of us don’t see much bird’s eye maple or tiger stripe is that he has it ALL. Every last bit of it and he makes every project out of this startling, dramatically figured wood. Almost to the point where, to me, the wood itself is distracting from the piece. To be sure, everything is well finished and it takes some skill to bring out these figured woods, but wow. Maybe it’s just that the period pieces are covered in 300 years of gunk, but I am more of a mahogany guy with understated wood figure.
I am not sure I will build anything in this book anytime soon. It’s still not the style my wife likes for the house and these projects are all too much work to make and give away. But, this book helped convince me that they are within my range if I do have an occasion to make them.
With both the physical aspects of the book/DVD and the well done projects, I give this 5 out of 5. I hope Glenn continues to produce these fine books and I look forward to getting some of his instructional DVDs now that I know the style suits me.
Title: JPA 101 Java Persistence Explained
Author: Chris Maki
Read: September 2007
Edition: Sourcebeat Electronic Download (PDF)
I normally don’t review tech books. One reason is they are out of date so quickly, what’s the point. By the time the ink is drying they are behind and by the time I read it, write this and then you stumble upon it, it’s over, the lights are out. Another reason is that most people won’t care. I mean even fewer than would normally care about books that I have read.
In this case, the project I am working on took a sharp right turn as the Architect decided we would abandon the typical JBDC approach and implement the persistence layer of our LMS in OpenJPA, the persistence aspect of EJB3. With the project already behind, we needed knowledge of this new technology and fast. This was a BRAND new technology release and there was damn little out there past the usual trivial examples. Then I came across Chris Maki’s book and bought it immediately.
This is the way all books need to be sold, especially in the technology space. Why go to a physical book store (decent ones are getting harder to find as they get crushed out of existence by Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. In fact, despite the fact that I work in the DC area, not Silicon Valley, but still I hot bed of tech, there are no tech focused bookstores anymore. But, I have a 40 ppm Laser printer, a 40MBps Internet connection and a PayPal account, that’s all I need. And that’s certainly all I needed to check out this book on SourceBeat, buy it, download it and print it out.
The shopping experience was fast and easy, I recommend them.
The book itself is pretty good. Thin by tech book standards (a bit over 200 pages and that is padded out by a bunch of API charts), it still gives you all the information you need to start to get a handle on this technology. For once I had a non-trivial example. Still, this is pretty much a 1.0 book. I felt there could be more examples. The common path was well presented and explained. But, if you wanted to implement this in a slightly different way (and I did), you got into the tall grass pretty fast. To make this a real top notch book, it needs more of the lesser traveled paths fleshed out.
Still, it was what I needed, when I needed it and just enough to set me on the right path, so I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Title: Iron Sunrise
Author: Charles Stross
Read: December 2007
Edition: Mass market Paperback (ISBN 0441012965)
I found this book while hunting for Ender’s Game. I had purchased it over a year ago and tossed it on the bottom shelf for some reason. I have no memory at all of buying it. Likely I was looking for a quick read, got 5 pages into and realized this was book 2 of a series and tossed it aside. Well, I got far enough into it this time to get hooked and read it through anyway.
It’s great. I like the world, I like the tech and I really like the character development. I can’t summarize the plot very well, as I don’t really understand everything yet. I need to read the first book I think, but it’s a good and fast read. Definitely feels like an updated version so William Gibson (whatever happened to him?).
I give it 5 out of 5, high praise. And I bought the first book (Singularity Sky) and another set in the same universe, can’t wait to get to them.