A surprisingly engrossing tale on a beer company I am at best ambivalent about. I had at first dismissed the book as just being "Drink Budweiser: the A surprisingly engrossing tale on a beer company I am at best ambivalent about. I had at first dismissed the book as just being "Drink Budweiser: the Book", which for the first half it absolutely is. However, William Knoedelseder weaves the tale to be just as much about the *fall* of AB as it is it's rise. And to do so, I think Knoedelseder makes a wise decision writing from the perspective of a "fan" of Budweiser and Budweiser products. ...more
I have been reading the audiobook version of Masters of Doom. I think the book's prose and style is fine, it's just how it's narrated by Wil Wheaton tI have been reading the audiobook version of Masters of Doom. I think the book's prose and style is fine, it's just how it's narrated by Wil Wheaton that irks me. His over enthusiastic hyper-ness draws me out of David Kushner's words, and it's hard to tell if when immersion is broken if it's truly Wil Wheaton's fault or if it's David Kushner...more
The Great Air Race of 1919 is a fascinating and underexplored topic that John Lancaster illuminates most of spectacularly. It takes a broad look at thThe Great Air Race of 1919 is a fascinating and underexplored topic that John Lancaster illuminates most of spectacularly. It takes a broad look at the race not just from the Flying Parson's perspective but also some of the less fortunate and successful contestants. The book can be hard to follow in places however, especially as an audio book, and I had to keep a google maps tab open as I read. My only real criticism of the book however comes within it's final 30 minutes, where John Lancaster seems to praise the privation of the Air Mail Service. Something that would lead to an equally unknown scandal called the Air Mail Disaster, where the privation of these routes lead to deaths and delays of packages. It was a very odd turn in the last thirty minutes, much like a sudden crosswind on final. ...more
To steal a line from Secret Base's "History of the Seattle Mariners", If you're here for championships you're an astronaut who's brought his wallet. TTo steal a line from Secret Base's "History of the Seattle Mariners", If you're here for championships you're an astronaut who's brought his wallet. The title of the book works against it, a Legendary car didn't exactly *beat* Hitler's Best outside of a few and frankly, arbitrary boundaries. Often this car and driver, like the French Formula circuit, beat them where the German were either explicitly or implicitly banned. However where the book really shines is if you pull back, let the struggle for championships, wins, and everything else melt away and appreciate Rene Dreyfus and his racing exploits on their own. Let his achievements stand against the fascists knowing that he was driving inferior machinery and punching well above the car's weight....more
A pressing and prescient book on what is often the most forgotten, yet most important period of the Roman Republic. Mike Duncan either knowingly or unA pressing and prescient book on what is often the most forgotten, yet most important period of the Roman Republic. Mike Duncan either knowingly or unknowingly called his shot in the introduction. Mos Maiorum in America is breaking down, the introduction of political violence into the system, demagogues run rampant and men at the levers of power are asleep or are actively plunging America into the abyss. This book is as much about Rome as it is about America, without really meaning to. ...more
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