Most all of us are probably familiar already with its most famous and iconic moments, but that does not mean there are not still fresh insights to be gained by reading the story straight through.
On Physics Review
With our hydrogen masers, particle accelerators, astronomical observatories, mass spectrometers, laser interferometers, and gravitational wave detectors, we have never had better tools with which to seek a superior understanding of the cosmos. On Physics is a reminder to use our original tool: our minds.
Some Thoughts Concerning Education Review
Given my interest in education, his Some Thoughts Concerning Education stood out for reading, and I finally picked it up as one of my inter-Wheel of Time reads, fully expecting it to be as insightful on the topic of education as Two Treatises were on governance. Instead, I barely convinced myself it was worthwhile to finish skimming it.
Genesis Review
It probably sounds terribly sacrilegious, but the God in Genesis feels like a God who is sort of figuring things out as He goes.
Prose Edda Review
At a glance, the Edda is not so different from other mythologies, like those of Greece, Egypt, Sumer, and so forth. A glancing view, though, is really a way of looking at a subject through the lens of a previous understanding, rather than acquiring a new and independent understanding of the subject.
Canterbury Tales Review
More even than other historical works, it is a true portal to the past, replete with everything that implies for the historian, the author, the worldbuilder, and the simply curious.
A Story as Sharp as a Knife Review
The book spends more time on Bringhurst’s analysis, philosophizing, and linguistic and cultural musings than it does actually presenting Haida stories.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms Review
Sometimes likened to a Chinese Odyssey, the story is epic in a literal sense, at some eight hundred thousand words over one hundred twenty chapters, and its structure has more in common with modern storytelling than you might expect.
Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini Review
With many caveats, this is said to be the first autobiography, which is the reason it ended up on my reading list. To be more specific, it is the earliest surviving autobiographical text written with the intent of being autobiographical in nature, as opposed to serving some other didactic purpose while being incidentally autobiographical.
History of the Peloponnesian War Review
The Peloponnesian War was a world war, drawing in all the Greek polities through a network of alliances, and, over twenty-seven years, involving diverse foreign powers, from Persia, to Egypt, to Italy, and even parts of Europe. To the Greeks, that was the world, and for twenty-seven years the world warred.
