Reviews and Comments

Quando julgava eu que mais à vontade tinha com a obra poética de Herberto Helder, eis que me vejo quase que na situação inicial de espanto, sem saber de facto que opinião ter. Agora a poesia é prosa, prosa poética que traça mais caminhos que as frases soltas da poesia de Helder; mas nesse mapa com mais caminhos, a sensação paradoxal é a que é mais fácil nos perdermos por entre a floresta de palavras.

Nem todos os textos aqui reunidos têm a mesma qualidade. Alguns há que parecem realmente tocar aspetos concretos da vida (ou vidas) do poeta, outros como que divagações, e um aqui e outro além que parecem ter sido escritos de forma pouco inspirada.

Seja como for, e dada a posição em que me encontro, a de me ver mais como turista a percorrer as ruas de uma cidade que mal conheço e da qual só tenho opiniões superficiais, pouco do que diga reflete realmente a qualidade da arte da perspectiva do autor. O que quero dizer é que, apesar de me permitir a estes curtos comentários sobre o que me restou da leitura deste livro, estes meus comentários refletem apenas o meu olhar ao olhar essas paisagens que Herberto Helder ali me oferece—e só vejo o que vejo só. Passo tão rápido que mal me sobra tempo para no que vejo descobrir mais do que ali se me oferece nesse primeiro olhar.

De qualquer das formas, e posto perante a possibilidade de recomendar a leitura destes “Passos em Volta”, teria algumas reservas em o fazer. Apontaria a direção doutros livros mais curtos, talvez mais emblemáticos do estilo característico do autor. Se este fosse o único livro de Helder disponível numa biblioteca, dele apenas recomendaria a leitura de um ou outro texto (Escadas e metafísica, Aquele que dá a vida). Isto é: pelo menos por agora, acabado que estou de chegar de viagem dessoutra viagem que foi viajar pelas paisagens surreais deste poeta.

This is a rather straightforward account of the many ups and downs of the Greek peoples since the dawn of their civilization (of our civilization?) to the time Isaac Asimov wrote this book (ca. 1963).

If you’re looking for an overview of that long history, this book probably fits your bill. Given the scope of the subject matter and the inherent complexity of all the events, characters, and developments of such long history, Asimov makes a great job in keeping the narrative streamlined and coherent. Given the length of the book (only 320 pages), where it fails it just goes to prove that Asimov’s intention was to keep it simple and readable: it sacrifices narrowing too much on historical precision to provide a much needed broader overview of the whole of that history.

Here and there Asimov goes a little bit overboard in making his personal fancies known, by criticizing this or that character, this or that people (mainly the Spartans, of whom he doesn’t hide his dislike), this or that event. But, on the whole, those little subjective snippets do not harm the main narrative. If anything, these just give a quaint flavor to the text, making it somewhat outdated and queer.

So, if you’re already acquainted with the subject, if you are familiar with Greek history, and its manifold characters and accomplishments, this probably isn’t the book for you. This book is for those who, knowing little, are curious to learn about the incredible civilizing journey of the Greek peoples, how they came about and how they came to be what we now know them to be. Therefore this is not a book for experts; rather this is much more a beginner’s book. And since it succeeds in this task, it deserves its positive reviews and ratings.

You know pot? Have you tried it? Are you familiar with it? If yes, this book is pretty much useless to you. Here and there you may find some factoid you’ve missed, maybe a thing or two about the how trendy cannabis is becoming, and how the general perception of this plant and its effects is slowly, but steadily, changing for the better. Overall, if you fit this case, maybe you can skip this book altogether without any loss. However...

If you’re new to pot, if you never tried it, or if you have no familiarity with it, this book can come pretty handy. You’ll learn a lot about the history of the plant, how it has gone from a indispensable natural remedy throughout most of human history to become one of the major vilains of the 20th century. You’ll also learn the many uses cannabis has, the possible health benefits its use provides and how it can help you boost your life’s experiences overall. You’ll get to learn some of minuciae of the underground cannabis culture, the different ways you can consume cannabis, and, as the title indicates, maybe you’ll learn “How to Smoke Pot (Properly)”. Overall, if you want to get deeper into your newly found passion for cannabis, this book is probably a good starting point.

What does it mean to be a pragmatist? How come an actual attitude towards knowledge becomes a philosophical school? This is what William James develops throughout eight one hour lectures given at the Lowell Institute (Boston) in 1906.

Throughout these lectures, James explores different aspects of the pragmatic thinking, how it relates to different schools of thought and how it distinguishes itself in terms of its results. Be it in the domain of the classic philosophical disciplines, such as metaphysics or epistemology (in its striving to come up with a workable definition of truth), be it dealing with more down to earth matters, such as common sense and even religion, James guides his listeners/readers through a superbly reasoned journey in defense of pragmatism as a genuine philosophical school of thought worth of study and practice.

If you’re interested in learning what makes pragmatism one of the great contenders in the philosophical arena, this is an essential book, one of the best introductions to this topic. Give it a try and maybe you’ll discover how much philosophy has to offer on a practical level.

This is a quite good book if you’re interested on learning more about fasting in all its aspects, be them the benefits, the physical processes behind it, and even to learn how to try different approaches to fasting.

If you’re already onto this subject, this book may not bring much onto the table, so to speak. Nonetheless, here and there you’ll learn little bits that may be helpful on your efforts to cope with and deal with the many quirks of fasting.

But truth be said, at least from my perspective: the book is a little repetitive. It could be much shorter without loss of vital information, but probably it wouldn’t look as much as a book, but more like a brochure. In any case, if you’re fast reader, or you’re listening to it on an audiobook, the size of the book won’t be much of a problem.

Overall, and notwithstanding some flaws (whatever they may be), this book can be a great source of inspiration to take the right steps onto fasting. Also, if you’re reading it/listening to it during one of your fasts, it may also provide you with that much needed motivational energy to keep you on the path to reach your goal.

The pun, although nice, was unintended.

I have to confess I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Judging only by the title, I read it thinking I was about to learn more about the evolution of our genus, and thus enhance my understanding or our own evolution. By reading it, I was taken into a completely different journey, one that took me to the heart of the complexities of life’s dispersion, challenging my many assumptions on the subject. And this makes the book interesting in two ways.

First, if you, like me, are unaware of biogeography as a scientific endeavor, this book will not only show you the history of the discipline, but also map its controversies, its main characters, and the current state of the art as far the author goes.

The second may be implicit, and not immediately obvious, but it relates to the way we tend to think about evolution and the development of life in general on our planet. Maybe it’s something unavoidable and that it relates to the way we humans tend to think in generic terms. We tend to prefer neat explanations, preferably simple and narratively compelling. However, that’s not how things happen or have happened to life. Deep is the deep history of time, and life, having been around such a long, long time throughout that history, makes what seems impossible at some point not only possible, but factual. Elaborate way to say that life, in all its complexities and long history, has managed to find innumerable ways to keep on going, to keep on striving, notwithstanding the many geological pressures it had to cope with.

So this book had the merit of making me rethink a lot of things I thought I understood, and many of my presuppositions about how life has spread about and occupied the whole of earth. If you, like me, have any interest in these topics, maybe you’ll find it as interesting as I did.

I didn’t want to pass the opportunity to review a book I have read and that gave me more food for thought in an increasing understanding of how important is the issue treated on this book.

If you are familiar with Edward O. Wilson’s work, you don’t need much to understand its subject matter, for the title says it all: The Future of Life. And if you are aware of the ongoing pressure we humans have been putting against life’s continuation on this planet, this book will just be another reminder of how big a blow ours have been.

Published in 2003, the book hasn’t aged too well. Not that it contains incorrect information, it’s just that the many let’s say less optimistic predictions haven’t fared well with the accelerating downward trend the world has followed. So it’s not E. O. Wilson’s fault that we haven’t taken heed of his advice and that we, as a whole, continued to act blindly to warnings such as these.

If you are acquainted with E. O. Wilson’s work and you are pondering about reading this book, maybe you can devote your time to more recent publications, for maybe your time will be better spent. If you are new to the author, don’t waste your time here, and choose some other of his best known works, for this is not his best. In any case, if you enjoy E. O. Wilson’s writing style and the clear way he presents his subject matter, this book won’t weigh you down.

Is there really a book we have read? How so, if we immediately start forgetting when we read it? Is there a difference between a book we have not read and a book we have forgot?

These are no trifle questions; for this book is not to be taken lightly. This is not a self-help book. This is a treatise on literature, on culture as a whole.

If you want to find your way through the endless rows of the collective library of humankind, if you want delve deeper into whatever thing happens to be your thing, you obviously need books, lots of books; problem is: there are simply too many of them, and there's not enough time or life that would make that task feasible; game over; better quit. So what to do when you are faced with those inevitable situations where you will have to exchange information contained on that library, on all those books you failed to acquaint yourself?

Well, you simply have to start doing what the author here proposes, meaning you have to engage in more meaningful conversations while not bothering about reading books. It's not as scandalous as it sounds at first, for as the author himself points out, "what is essential is to speak about ourselves and not about books, or to speak about ourselves by way of books".

So do yourself a favor and read this book; or, better still: do not. Skim it. Get the general feeling of it. If the task is impossible, free yourself from the constraints. Cherry pick; enjoy, all the while you continue (or start) talking about the books you have not and will not read. Be creative. Reboot your attitude toward books.