November 2002 Book Reveiws

[Knockout Mouse] - [Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure] - [Free as in Freedom] - [Manhattan Transfer]

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Knockout Mouse
A Bill Damen Silicon Valley Mystery
James Calder

It's a 'Do It Yourself' review of Knockout Mouse! Please pick one:

• Craptacular!
• Several hours of my life that I will never get back.
• This book actually make me dumber.

I have nothing more to add.

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Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure
Michael Palin

Once upon a time, I thought of Cleese as the most talented of the Python troupe. Palin has been coming on strong and after this book, Cleese is a distant memory.

This is taken from Palin's journals, written when he was following Ernest Hemingway's travels for the BBC. He goes from Michigan, USA to Italy to France, Spain, Africa, Key West, Cuba, and finally Idaho. A daunting journey in a lifetime, Palin accomplishes this in a matter of months.

What's more, his writing is intelligent, witty, fun, informative, and finally heartfelt. He was never cloying, never pompous, always respectful.

Not only is it well written, the photography is excellent also. A must-read, even if you don't care about Hemingway like myself.

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Free as in Freedom
Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software
Sam Williams

While writing this review, I had an idea: this book is released under the GNU FDL, so I can simply chop out all the sections that I didn't like. This is a great idea, primarily because FaiF is two books in one:

1. A bio of Stallman, focusing mainly upon his development of the FSF and the GNU GPL. This is done very well and is enjoyable to read.
2. Many stories about the author's interactions with RMS. This is wildly subjective, uneven and something whiny, concluding with a bizarre chapter about RMS finding a girlfriend and going out to dinner with the author.

So, next chance I get I will fork the book and publish only the sections with the bio and leave out the "RMS & Me" bits. This will be a good read. As it stands, it's merely mediocre.

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Manhattan Transfer
John E. Stith

Breaking new ground for me: this is an e-book that I purchased for $2 through the author's website. The money went directly to the author and is most likely far more than he would have gotten had I bought a paperback through the usual channels. While I don't care for the incorporeal-ness of only owning a series of 1's and 0's, I would do it again for other books, given the option.

About the book: A fine work of SciFi where Manhattan is kidnapped from Earth, literally lifted out of the ground by an alien fleet. We follow the unplanned space-farers as they attempt to make sense of what is happening to them and Earth. Good story, well written. Mostly forgettable characters, but the environment is so intriguing that you really won't care.

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