Reviews and Comments

Martin Holland

Fingolas@bookwyrm.social

Joined 2 years, 5 months ago

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Simon Garfield: All the Knowledge in the World (2022, Orion Publishing Group, Limited)

Fascinating history of encyclopedias, from the print versions over Encarta to Wikipedia

Great summary of the history of #encyclopedias with lots of fascinating insights and a focus on the #EncyclopædiaBritannica. The final chapters made me aware, that not Wikipedia really ended the printed encyclopedias, but #Encarta from #Microsoft, also one of my first encyclopedias. But of course #Wikipedia finished them all of and there seems to be no possible path for an alternative now...

Fintan O'Toole: We Don't Know Ourselves (2022, Liveright Publishing Corporation)

Weaving his own experiences into this account of Irish social, cultural, and economic change, O’Toole …

Astonishing book about the modern history of Ireland

This is one of those rare books, that show you the complete picture of a country. Ireland is certainly not in the centre of my attention, and I learned so much about its recent history, it's people and the drastic changes in the last decade. Absolutely worth every minute it took to read this not very short book..

William Neuman: Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse (2022, St. Martin's Press) No rating

Sad and infuriating account of the recent developments in Veneuzuela

No rating

It should be one of the richest countries in the world, instead people don't get enough to eat. The book explains what happened and why it propably won't going to get better soon.

David Quammen: Breathless (2022, Penguin Random House)

Fantastic Chronicle of the Pandemic

Detailed and fact-filled account of the first years of the Pandemic, full of input from scientists. Even if you read all the articles in the last years, you'll find countless new informations and much better explanations. The best summary until now.