Amazon

1984

"Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, Orwell’s narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents a startling and haunting vision of the world, so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions—a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time."
-Amazon synopsis


This novel is artistic, classic, and very entertaining.

When George Orwell wrote in 1949 he was pessimistic about the so far of what Seoul has the world after 1984
Yeah, probably not achieved what Orwell completely , but it has garnered in parallel and similar in many authoritarian societies
Let's talk about Syria, for example :

Big Brother : the visionary leader and the young president Bashar al- Assad ..
Internal party members : some of the major components of the system
Party members outside : the Baath Party
General : 19 million and a half million Syrian citizen
Oceania : Syria's Assad
God is power : God of Syria Bashar al- ups
Double think : " the reluctance of the state did not fire a single shot at the enemy , who found his opposition ," for example
Monitoring screens : mobile spyware on the Internet
The new language : Reform , Impedance , progress , national and other
O'Brien : a model of the Syrian informant who gives him soul and confidence to beat you and humiliates
Room 101: Desert prison
Rooms and cellars of the Ministry of Love: security headquarters scattered everywhere
The disk device even exists as the Flying Carpet
And others ..

You meant to drop the novel on any totalitarian society to see a perspective similar to that dark world .
But the result is different ..

There are some sentences that must be kept preserved , not only recorded :
Loyalty means a no-brainer , but is not needed to think about . Loyalty means a lack of awareness
This is what we teach and keep it in the same school term , loyalty to Big Brother .. regardless of his actions and their results and ideas and doing, actually any lack of awareness ..

If there is any hope , it is in the public
Exactly .. just give them some awareness and Sasnon miracles ..
Ie:
In order to rise up must be aware , and to become aware of should Ithorowa

Please .. forget all that novel , then get out of them these three words only ..!
The power is very power
According to power ..
Do not believe everything the immortal speeches and promises of economic , political, military and development ..
Power of authority , not to serve the people or a humanitarian or value, or create or anything else ..
Therefore, the absolute authority is always an absolute evil ..

Book clips Goldstein albeit utopian to some extent , but it is true and the Academy . !

Normal situation must go as he talked about Orwell , though the owner of the shop - forget his name - and what O'Brien had been informants for the successful revolution ..
This is what happened in Egypt and Tunisia , and the rest will happen in totalitarian societies ..
Consciously and public awareness of their revolution , and then again

The Great Gatsby

"This is the definitive, textually accurate edition of a classic of twentieth-century literature, The Great Gatsby. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan has been acclaimed by generations of readers. But the first edition contained a number of errors resulting from Fitzgerald's extensive revisions and a rushed production schedule. Subsequent printings introduced further departures from the author's words. This edition, based on the Cambridge critical text, restores all the language of Fitzgerald's masterpiece. Drawing on the manuscript and surviving proofs of the novel, along with Fitzgerald's later revisions and corrections, this is the authorized text --The Great Gatsby as Fitzgerald intended it."
-Amazon synopsis

It is difficult to give a fair unbiased review of The Great Gatsby novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, because it was required reading for most of us in high school . But if you return to him as a full-fledged adult , you'll find that the story still resonates but more like just a piece of polished cameo from a forgotten time . The heart of the book is complete infatuation Jay Gatsby has for Daisy Fay Buchanan, a love story portrayed with both a dull veil and a fatalistic urgency. But the broader context of the creation and irreconcilable nature of the American dream in 1920 is what gives the novel its true weight.

Much of this is eloquently articulated by Nick Carraway , Gatsby modest Long Island neighbor who becomes his most trusted confidential . Nick is responsible for collecting enthusiasts both came at different times of their lives five years after their aborted romance that . Now a solitary figure in his luxurious mansion , Gatsby is one that has accumulated his wealth by dubious means newly rich man. Daisy, on the other hand , has always led a life of privilege and could not let love stand in the way of his comfortable existence . She married Tom Buchanan for that sole purpose . With the aim of Gatsby driven by his love for Daisy, he rekindles his romance with Daisy, as Tom driver carelessly with a woman car mechanic gripping . Nick himself get caught in the traps of the jet set and has a relationship with Jordan Baker , a young golf pro .

These characters are inevitably led on a collision course that exposes the hypocrisy of the rich, the falsity of an unworthy love and the transience of individuals on this earth. The strength of Fitzgerald's treatment comes from the lyrical prose he provides to illuminate these themes. Not a word is lost, and economic manipulation of the author of such a potentially complex plot is a technique I want more frequently repeated today. Mostly, I just love the book because it does not portend greater importance 80 years. This is a classic tale that gives vitality and texture to a bygone era. It is worth re - reading , especially at a bargain price.

"Cat’s Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny. A book that left an indelible mark on an entire generation of readers, Cat’s Cradle is one of the twentieth century’s most important works—and Vonnegut at his very best."
-Amazon Synopsis


Cats Cradle is by far the best Vonnegut novel that I have read. Blending his patented wry humor with acute social insight presented in an absurd fantasy world , Vonnegut has written an exceptional novel about love, lies and self-destruction of humanity. The story revolves around the narrator , Jonah, who are called by name once in the entire book . We are told in the beginning, to write a book about the events of the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. His research led to a correspondence with Newt Hoenikker , the dwarf son of Doctor Felix Hoenikker , father of the atomic bomb . After meeting with Newt , destiny leads our protagonist to the island republic poor of San Lorenzo, where among other adventures , he finds religion , falls in love and becomes president . Naturally, you would have been a very entertaining book , but it's not in the story line that Vonnegut genius lies. Cats Cradle is filled with painfully precise ideas in our institutions so dear community, such as religion, politics and science. Vonnegut invents for the inhabitants of San Lorenzo a brand new database completely and admittedly on " FOMA " religion, or lies. It would not be so shocking, except for the fact that " bokonism " seems quite logical. Other Vonnegut irony pervades the book and is too complex to go into. Kurt Vonnegut is my favorite author of all time. Cats Cradle is one of his funniest , most absurd and frightening novels. This book really makes a stop and think about things that you definitely applies . All the amazing people, places , things and ideas in Cats Cradle are intricately woven into a perfect tapestry that summarizes and explains the many problems even created mankind in 191 pages .

Get a $25 Amazon gift card for writing a scifi short story!

Email submission to jjohnpotter@gmail.com by March 22nd at 8PM PST  good luck to all!  Email to that same address if you have any questions or comments, or comment here.

Robot Dreams

"Robot Dreams spans the body of Asimov's fiction from the 1940s to the mid-80s, and features classic Asimovian themes, from the scientific puzzle to the extraterrestrial thriller, all introduced in an exclusive essay written especially for this collection"

-Amazon synopsis

I expected this to be a collection of stories about robots because of the title, but only two are stories of robots. They are the first two , and the first is also a story of I , Robot (which the Will Smith movie is based on) . The other is "Robot Dreams " from which the book takes its title , and it 's another story about Susan Calvin robot as those _I , Robot_ but was written in the mid-80s (I , Robot_ was written 30 years earlier) . It is in the same form with the previous stories, but with a nod to the advancement of technology.
Many other stories in this collection center " Multivac " , a giant computer. The name is an obvious derivative of UNIVAC , a large computer based vacuum in the early 1950s . UNIVAC became famous for predicting that Eisenhower would win the election in 1952 based on the initial responses ( against forecasts oracle Stevenson would win ) . This led directly to a story , " franchise " which is the ability to test a small number of votes predicts an overall result of the election results and the idea of ​​an absurd (but interesting ) extreme .
There are a number of other stories that relate to beings without bodies to speak a foreign medical investigator who came to Earth to learn more about a disease. All are worth reading , and some are really fascinating and ultimately very unexpected .
Ralph McQuarrie provides cover illustration and several other of the individual stories are familiar style to anyone who has seen the original art of "Star Wars" ( which he worked on ) . The introduction of Asimov 's fun , he says that he was right to predict the future - and it has spectacularly wrong. It discusses about the two phases of work ( Multivac , for example) and other books and stories he had written decades earlier .

Overall, this book is a fun read.

The Psychopath Test

"They say one out of every hundred people is a psychopath. You probably passed one on the street today. These are people who have no empathy, who are manipulative, deceitful, charming, seductive, and delusional. The Psychopath Test is the New York Times bestselling exploration of their world and the madness industry. When Jon Ronson is drawn into an elaborate hoax played on some of the world’s top scientists, his investigation leads him, unexpectedly, to psychopaths. He meets an influential psychologist who is convinced that many important business leaders and politicians are in fact high-flying, high-functioning psychopaths, and teaches Ronson how to spot them. Armed with these new abilities, Ronson meets a patient inside an asylum for the criminally insane who insists that he’s sane, a mere run-of-the-mill troubled youth, not a psychopath—a claim that might be only manipulation, and a sign of his psychopathy. He spends time with a death-squad leader institutionalized for mortgage fraud, and with a legendary CEO who took joy in shutting down factories and firing people. He delves into the fascinating history of psychopathy diagnosis and treatments, from LSD-fueled days-long naked therapy sessions in prisons to attempts to understand serial killers. Along the way, Ronson discovers that relatively ordinary people are, more and more, defined by their most insane edges. The Psychopath Test is a fascinating adventure through the minds of madness."

 -Amazon book synopsis

People who are psychopathic prey ruthlessly on others using charm , deceit , violence or other methods that allow them to get what they want. The symptoms of psychopathy include: lack of conscience or guilt, lack of empathy , selfishness , pathological lying , repeated violations of social norms , disregard for the law, shallow emotions, and a history of victimized others. "
- Robert Hare , Ph.D

You might have also heard about another one of Jon Ronson's books, The Men Who Stare at Goats which is a great book, and The Psychopath Test does not disappoint either.  The author gets to the meat of important topics and asks intriguing questions.  His style is that of sharp observational humor and wit, journalistic rigor, and he often shows the less glamorous side of human nature.  The Psychopath Test goes through the themes and topics of psychiatry, psychopathology, medication and incarceration of "dangerous" individuals.  This book is hard to put down because you must know what happens next, there is always another payoff or reveal around the corner.

The story begins with a meeting between Ronson and a history student who has received a mysterious book entitled "Being and Nothingness " by mail. The same book was received by many people around the world , most of whom work in psychiatry. The book contains 42 pages every other white.

Ronson 's journey leads him to ' Tony' in Broadmoor , a famous mental hospital in Britain who - when charged with GBH and facing prison 12 years earlier - had faked insanity in the hope of being sent to a psychiatric hospital in pleasant surroundings. Instead he was sent to Broadmoor high security psychiatric hospital, where he was detained indefinitely. Tony explained that he had taken on the characteristics of different movie-goers then assembled character "crazy " . Enter Broadmoor had been easy , but getting out was much harder to prove. One of the main psychiatrist admits to knowing that Tony is not crazy like a crazy person really does not make a new personality in hopes of avoiding prison ... but a manipulative psychopath would .

Ronson meets Bob Hare , creator of the PCL -R test, a list of 20 steps psychopath , which gives individuals scores between zero and forty, the higher the score , the higher the person is a psychopath. Hare reveals that inmates in prisons and psychiatric institutions are not the only ones who have a high score on his test " psychopath . " Many entrepreneurs and executives in companies considered psychopaths also This raises the question Ronson ' If sometimes the difference between a psychopath in Broadmoor and a psychopath on Wall Street was fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy stable family.

Al Dunlap closed Shubuta Sunbeam factory ( the economic heart of this community ), showing no empathy while firing workers and effectively killing the town. Bob Hare flags Dunlap as a psychopath , so Ronson wanted to meet the man . When Ronson asks probing questions based on the checklist PCL -R , Dunlap answers mark him as a textbook psychopath .

Hare explains the science of psychopathology : a part of the brain called the amygdala does not function in psychopaths as it does in others. When a regular person experiences extreme violence or carnage (or even photographs of these scenes) , his amygdala excited that cause extreme anxiety response in the central nervous system . When a psychopath experiences the same stimuli , his amygdala does not respond : no anxiety response occurs. This is what explains the lack of empathy for the psychopath .

The Psycopath Test is by all measures a wonderful book, I highly recommend it.

The Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye has always been a controversial book, both because of it's divisive content, and because people constantly argue as to whether or not the book is actually any good.  Personally, I think it is a fantastic novel.  Sure it doesn't read like most books, and you might find yourself confused by the practically nonexistent plot structure at times, but it is a very thought provoking book. It is called The Catcher in the Rye because Holden Caulfield wants to protect innocent children and catch them as they fall off the cliff from the rye field.  That is about as much sense as anything makes in this book, but it's a fun read.

A Short Guide to a Long Life

What is the greatest of them , this book is in good health is to be noted that almost all intuitively . And in this sense , it is not in the final mark of the research site of pleasure, or studio. Most people in this book of the known real estate developers , a lion, and now is widely proven solid research. ( Unless they have in their knowledge, studies have shown a solid plan. )

The reason this is a good thing , so its our free memory , we can not be of much use . A sad fate of a world where apparently the same as out of control, enjoy reading this book that we may live , and the lives of our children healthy recalls .

Of course , the author of this advice a man to love better quality of life .

Note , too, a part of this book , only 1% of the rejection notice and ideas they fight so he emptied. But first, we observe that the basic corporate income . Inspired by some or seems to the author that you have written something a little thing to genetically modified foods. People in one of the world then you need to get there, and there is no doubt other issues more often, look around you .

This is the book that is actually a positive impact on the letter of some of the great life it is .

The Giver

Jonas is living the perfect life  - no pain, no crime, no misery. However, no color or love and hardly any emotion.  He receives knows the secrets of the mission of his life in the past but if he be, and it is terrible this could be determined.

He is perfect in the world lives in the future life of the Son of Jonah is commanded to twelve years old, to the twelve to the ceremony. John's new role at a secret chosen to honor the memory of the person being shocked.

Confrontation is an important undertakes by the prior to the sender. Preparation of transfer is to the memory of the past - they before the - I can not, which is in himself, where the others meet the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence, but also the color of the severe weather conditions,. Little by little, and is understood to convince Jonah to create the world, so that the decisions of the ought to have been, and the terrible secrets of its perfection.

They altered their plan at the same time and the donor so they imagine that the world operates, there he was forced to Jonah to establish before they are able to effect, they destroyed utterly.

This is a great book for young teenagers, and people who want a quick read, but it does have it's faults as well.  The plot is a little shaky, and it can get a little boring at times, but over all it's a great book!

Slaughterhouse Five

Kurt Vonnegut absurd to the classic slaughter: - the five brought us to Billy Pilgrim , who , in turn, and in time, after he had been raped by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore . To lie in ambush - scrambling display of virtuosity, at the same time through every step of his life, out of those working with them , to collect his (and Vonnegut is ) to make use of the experience of broken in pieces as the American prisoners of war, and a witness will be summoned, in Dresden the bombing.

Do not be fooled the ease of reading - Vonnegut and the institute is of , or simple, novel. He writes: " There are almost no characters in the south, and as though not dramatic confrontations , because there are several for the patient , resulting in an empty toy , a numerous army of One of the main effects of war after that. which is a sign , discouraged the heart of the people. "

For the slaughter - The fifth book of the writings of not only the most powerful Vonnegut is also important , so that when 1945 . -22 If it is . It is the experience of fishing in World War 2 , and the author of an element in the service of authority for the slaughter is decreed in the direction of a good speaker and very funny - he has the imagination of the Five , the sense of humanity and cheerful, it inappropriate to be in Vonnegut 's other works, but in the book the in the rock hard , you know , as it gives a unique focus on - and of humor.

War and Peace

So I know you all on the edge of the last two months since I will be studying for social work tonight checking licenses , it seems the perfect time to put an end voltage.

After all my poignant and thoughtful suggestions below I mutilate my beautiful hardcover Pevear and Volokhonsky translation to safe underground tanks .... reader , I took him . All pages 1272nd Every day in five counties and three states for almost two months ....

So the burning question is on your mind : "Am I is risking misalignment and shoulder in the interests of preserving a pristine issue that inevitably to get in any case slammed redislocated , I take you through the battlefields and trenches around for what seems like an eternity , which is more important ? back of the book or my "

Bookster , I 'm here to this situation by the end ! Here's what you do: just a passionate exacto knife ( you could ask Cossacks to seek it for you) , and cut the " Epilogue " the last part of this great book. It will not hurt to do the book - the end is like an appendix ( and hey, what the heck to cut ) - because this part is not necessary , and in fact, even if it's only theoretically, 7 % of the book is this part actually responsible , at least 63 % of its weight . Then cut out this bitch and throw it out ! The vortex will thank you later.

Another advantage of getting the epilogue is to liberate that you avoid reading , what in theory, the most deadly boring and disappointing end to a large and beautifully readable book ever written. To be particularly difficult , double bed , I ask, that the glory of a great final novel is proportional to its length . I think it 's just, I was faithful and patient , and spent many hours reading the story of the author , and at the end I was rewarded for my courage with a glorious finale. That's always been my philosophy , anyway. Apparently , however, is not Tolstoy.

What is the philosophy of Tolstoy , you ask? In particular , what is your philosophy of history? Well, let me tell you ! Or rather , let me tell you. Because it is . Over and over again . And then . And in case you were interested and wanted to learn , he really is .... I tell you, and you always say .... and I tell you a little more more .... and a little more ".... no , let him finally now, in detail .

Yes , the perfect Tolstoy guest house that was almost two months on the couch and you're just happy as hell to do it , the time for a visit, because it's just a smart guy and an excellent and interesting and sincere . These story tellers ! Oh , sure, it is sometimes a bit " dull and flaky with his political ramblings , but the stuff is in place pretty much. So yes, it fixes story ideas that go well , think we , but it's a little strange that to repeat it and to the same points over and over again always him and the friend of your roommate or you classmate in the supermarket, or an old lady in waiting to catch the bus, explain again why you think that Napoleon is not large at all yes, it 's funny, but in the end Leo is just great , and you are excited to have - even for such an extended visit - because it really is so bright and clear and in gold really almost worth its weight .... you know, it's sad to leave , but his flight was late and you are happy , you can one night there but still is the night that suddenly decides to return home , full of cocaine. Leo goes for hours drinking all your expensive scotch and talk about your damn ear on his philosophy of history , which is really just do not care and will not leave and let you go to bed , you can continue to speak and it is annoying , and apparently think Stare interest signals catatonic removed because it just keeps going over and over again to explain - it does not stop ! It's almost like physically from this guy who you thought the best house guest was tortured in the world. And yes, if Leo finally left the next morning - watery and to be and still dazed tears , quite embarrassed - not sorry to see you go, you are really happy. And that's not to abort a boring night , two months after the good times you had together ? Of course it does not, and I remember him with affection and tell everyone who asks how nice it was when he left. But the night will be a special weight because he is the "last , and if you prefer to remember Leo, your wonderful guest, your condition does not completely from the memory of his stupid , selfish, rants Coca be tainted - from the night before for real left .

I mean, the rest of the book was absolutely fantastic ! As my Great Aunt Dot ( played twice) commented: " It is really difficult to read at all, there is a chapter on the war , then a chapter about peace, so it is never boring. " War and peace is very funny , particularly readable. Moreover, it is very instructive to have you learn more than you know always about the great Napoleon ! ( According to Tolstoy, was not that bad No, I mean really, it was not so great. . ) War and peace is given a great book because it has lots of bloody action and tons of romance, to check the secular history - and more in the opaque parts in which Tolstoy, can do as twelve pages of various general and strategies and XIX talk .

If it is higher than the standard value , my question is long book - great - well, that's what I call " Make Me Cry " I do not really think that the book is not so great if you . made me cry ( No, it does not work in the opposite direction - .. Just because a book makes me cry does not mean it 's great that I cried really stupid movie, and I will be regularly used every time when I read the newspaper that one of the reasons why I stopped crying . ) war and Peace has me like a colicky baby who was stabbed with a bayonet , three cry! time I will not say I was a little clouded or chokey - I mean, I cried, I cried and moaned , completely broken and I lost my shit on a very cathartic and soul - . ! Hooray heartbreaking I can not guarantee that war and peace will also make you cry, but I bet if you are prone to this sort of thing , you have a good shot .

GOD this book is good. You see, you really should skip the " Epilogue , because apart from being extremely annoying, but it is also very depressing ( so bad) , and beyond to make you vow never to marry , you might forget how amazing and the rest them What a great book and amazing holy shit I flipped now, and it is all new to me , it was totally 1868 the Wire : . ! . , if you really like the character development and plot , which takes place over a longer period , you should read this book seriously I do not know much about this book before I read it , but I think I remember someone - . Jane Smiley - . Posted going than war and peace I would not go with this (I'm not sure it would be ) , but it is on most of the things that are really important. If you are someone who thinks everything about life and death , you might like this book. Here is a passage of a character who is a prisoner of war barefoot over Russia in October :

Prisoner in the shed , [ he ] had learned not with the mind but with his whole being , his life, that man is created for happiness , that happiness in itself , in the satisfaction of needs of people and that all unhappiness does not come from a lack , but superfluous , but now in the last three weeks in March , he had learned a new and comforting truth - that he had learned that n ' there is nothing fearful in the world. He learned that since there is no situation in the world where a man can be happy and totally free , so it's a situation where you can be perfectly unhappy and unfree. He had learned that there is a limit to the suffering and the limits of freedom , and that these limits are very close, the man who suffers because a leaf is on the side in bed of roses, so much pain as now suffer the naked wet floor rests a hand on the other cold heated when it is used on your shoes narrow dancing has suffered so much as now, where he worked very bare (Shoes should be made of the time) , and his feet feet were covered with wounds. (P. 1060 )

I just think it's great. Perhaps it is not taken out of context .... In any case, because it is one of the best things about reading this so strange - Russia! 1812 ! OMFG! all so different ! - And what is the same. Nuance , specificity and instantly recognizable character here is pretty amazing . I know it sounds silly, but you really feel like you know these people , and in a sense it is the minor characters - Sonja , Anatole , Dolokhov ( my favorite! ) - What are so well drawn , and I go " , man , I know these people ! Woah ! "

I think with about the war , while reading this , because it's something I never done before. At first I was hoping that it would help me to understand why wars happen, but I did not. It could have been that Tolstoy tried to explain in his afterword , but I need that at this time I was not really listening to admit .

Anyway , I liked this book. It's long , however.