"Time Travel" by James Gleick

 

Publisher: Pantheon Books
Copyright: 2016
ISBN: 9780307908797

    This was an extremely interesting book to read, as it began with an examination of the phenomena created by H. G. Wells when in wrote "The Time Machine" in 1895, and then went on to look at how it has been treated in other stories. Mr. Gleick also reviews the science behind time travel, as well as the philosophy of it as well.

    To say that the concept of time travel is a staple of science fiction as some authors have said is, I believe, an exaggeration as Wells was the originator of the concept, and science fiction itself existed for a considerable time before he came on the scene, even though it went by other names. Mr. Gleick looks at a number of different topics related to time travel such as: the concept of time itself, paradoxes, how time flows, etc.

    Mr. Gleick's research on this topic was extensive, and I am looking forward to reading some of his other books, as if they are even half as good as this one they should be well worth it.

"Limitless" by Alan Glynn

 

Publisher: Picador
Copyright: 2001 (Originally published as "The Dark Fields"
ISBN: 9780312428877

I was drawn to this book after watching the 2011 movie (Bradley Cooper, Abbe Cornish, Robert De Niro) by the same name, and while the movie is quite different in some aspects I was quite impressed Hollywood didn't mess it up too bad. The book is much darker than the movie, but to a certain point this is to be expected considering the topic. The ending of the book is not what I expected, and this was the biggest change that was made. The movie in contrast to the book has a very positive / uplifting conclusion.

The story tells a tale of a down and out writer (Eddie), who is introduced to a mind enhancing drug by his former brother-in-law (Vernon), and is hooked after just one pill. The drug works absolute wonders with his memory, research skills, work ethics, he doesn’t have to sleep or eat as much, you name it. But when Vernon is killed, Eddie has in his hands the only supply of the drug that exists, and he uses it to his advantage..

Unfortunately this drug is also extremely addictive, and has some very detrimental side effects such as blackout, migraines, and violent outbursts, and when you try to stop taking it the withdrawal effects can kill you.

An excellent book, highly recommended. But watch the movie too so you can enjoy the differences.

"The Art of Taking It Easy: How To Cope With Bears, Traffic, and the Rest of Life's Stressors" by Dr. Brian King

 

Publisher: Apollo Publishers
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9781948062466

This is a very interesting book to read, and Dr. King's sense of humour is great. His methods for relieving stress are easy to follow, and make so much sense that I'm quite surprised a book of this sort didn't come out many years ago. His method of expressing his ideas is straight forward, and the stories he tells to illustrate the concepts are excellent. He does who into some detail about how the brain works, and some might anticipate this would be a little hard to understand, however he does it in such a way that it is easy to comprehend.

Here's hoping that he continues writing books of this kind, and while I've never seen him perform I am sure his stage show would be extremely entertaining.

Highly recommended.

"Deception Point" by Dan Brown

 

Publisher: Pocket Books

Copyright: 2001

ISBN: 9781416524809

I reviewed Mr. Brown’s book Digital Fortress a couple of weeks ago, and he is back with another great story that will keep you turning the pages. This time he takes on the entire political structure of the US Government, and it’s relationship with NASA and a number of other factors. It is an election year, and the president is  vying for a second term in office. His opponent is a ruthless senator who will stop at nothing to ensure he is elected instead, no matter what it costs.

The story revolves around the locating of a meteorite that was determined to have fell to the Earth in the early 1700s, and has been buried in the Arctic ice ever since. A team of civilian personnel are sent to investigate the meteorite, and discover some absolutely startling information. What this information is I’m not going to tell you, but if it is true then the whole world will be changed.

Once again the lead character in this novel (as in Digital Fortress) is female, which definitely adds (in my humble opinion) to the overall story as these types of novels have been dominated from the beginning by males. In many cases these males were also portrayed as essentially being super-humans, with a few minor flaws which makes them almost laughable in many cases.

Another great story, looking forward to the next book.

"Relax, Dammit: A User's Guide to the Age of Anxiety" by Timothy Caulfield.

Publisher: Allen Lane

Copyright: 2020

ISBN: 9780735236325

This book takes the reader on an interesting journey though a single day, and highlights the myriad of different things that humans (yes, you!) typically worry about during that time, in the order you normally will encounter them. Most of these things were ones I'd personally never given any thought to, but upon reading about it realized that they are part of my life as well (except for the coffee part).

The book is split into three main sections Morning, Afternoon & Evening, and within each of these Dr. Caulfield examines the various things that are part of our lives. There are of course certain things that are present in all areas, such as our fascination and slavery to our cell phones, but like he says "Relax, Dammit!" Each of the topics he surveys are very informative, and for the most part addressed from a rather unique point of view, which is both enlightening, and at times quite humorous.

I don't want to spoil the read for you, but as a bit of a teaser he examines such things as waking up, weighing yourself, vitamins, parking, hand washing (something we are, or should be quite aware of in today's world), public toilet seats, coffee (yuck!), stand-up desks, soap, water drinking, the ubiquitous five-second rule, napping, hugging, television, and much more.

Dr. Timothy Caulfield is the Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, as well as a Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton. He has written a two other books "The Curefor Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness, and Happiness" and  "The Science of Celebrity ... or is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?"

An excellent read that will definitely open your eyes. Highly recommended. If you ever get a chance to hear Dr. Caulfield speak, take the time out of your busy schedule and do so. Also don't forget to Relax!

"Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown

 

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Copyright: 1998.

ISBN: 9780312263126

This is the second book of Dan Brown’s that I’ve read (I read The Da Vinci Code first, not realising that it was the second book in a series). This story however is a stand-alone novel that concerns the American National Security Agency (NSA), and its cryptographic division who have a sophisticated computer program that can decode anything in a matter of minutes, until it comes across a code written by a former employee.

A high level cryptographer in the NSA is called in to solve the riddle of this new code when the agency is essentially held hostage by a code system that threatens to put put them out of business, and ensure 100% privacy to everyone in the world - something no security agency would want.

Unlike numerous thriller novels there isn’t tonnes of violence, with everybody armed to the teeth, etc. This novel is could easily be considered a classic as it requires the reader to think, and understand rather than just experience the visceral pleasure.

It is great to see the emergence of strong female characters in Brown's books, as the spy/thriller genre has been centred almost solely on males for decades. An excellent novel, looking forward to reading more of his work.

"Hoax, A History of Deception: 5000 Years f Fakes, Forgeries and Fallacies" by Ian Tattersall & Peter Nevraumont

 

Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9780316503723

Hoax takes the reader on a very interesting journey through the minds of perpetrators, as well as others who have had something to do with hoaxes, cons, etc. It is an extremely interesting read that will surprise you. In all the authors examine 50 hoaxes starting in 2800 BCE and going through to present day, dealing with such topics as The End of the Word, the myth of Noah's ark, Gladiators vs. Professional Wrestlers, various religious topics such as sacred relics, the Shroud of Turin, Priory of Sion, etc. They also cover the typical ones such as the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, and Piltdown Man. But in case you might think this is mainly about things that happened many years ago, they also looks at the vaccination debate, homeopathy, race, fake memoirs, fake bomb detectors, and much more..

I found this book to be quite informative, and even though I had heard of some of these topics before, others were brand new to me. The chapters are rather long, but do present the information in a well written and concise format. I can see this book being valuable to students in junior and senior high school especially considering the amount of misinformation that is present in the world today via the internet.

Well worth the read! I hope the authors consider doing a second volume as there has to be more hoaxes they didn't have a chance to cover.

"Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown

Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2003
ISBN: 9780385504201
 

This is the first book of Mr. Brown's that I've read, and to say the least I was very impressed. The plotting, characterizations, research were fantastic. Unfortunately (at least for me) it is the second book in the Robert Langdon series, which I didn't know, so now that's I'm hooked I've got to go read Angels and Demons.

The lead character is Robert Langdon, a symbologist is summoned to the Louvre in the middle of the night as the curator has been murdered. Unbeknownst to Langdon he is the chief suspect, but with the help of the police's cryptologist he begins to uncover a evidence the leads him to the discovery of a shocking historical fact, one certain people groups will do anything to keep a secret.

A number of christian sects, most notably the catholic church were quite upset as the book supposedly misrepresented their rituals, and beliefs, however as Mr. Brown stated in an interview with Martin Savidge "99 percent of it is true. All of the architecture, the art, the secret rituals, the history, all of that is true, the Gnostic gospels."

In any case it is an absolutely great story, and I'm looking forward to his other novels.