I have lost count of how many times I recommended this while reading. Informative and easy to follow whilst not being overly simplified, Stamped from I have lost count of how many times I recommended this while reading. Informative and easy to follow whilst not being overly simplified, Stamped from the Beginning is an absolute must-read. ...more
A very interesting exploration of the narratives around Aboriginal Australian's that cast them as a hunter-gatherer culture. I think this is more persA very interesting exploration of the narratives around Aboriginal Australian's that cast them as a hunter-gatherer culture. I think this is more persuasive than necessarily informative (though of course, Pascoe cites his evidence) but in some sections, I thought Pascoe could have explored more in-depth. I felt sometimes the content moved on too quickly from each point being made (this is a very short book). That said, I think this was still excellently written and certainly interesting and definitely a book all Australian's should read. I particularly enjoyed how Pascoe linked the colonial effort to delegitimise the Indigenous claim to Australian land ownership with the persistent belief and that Indigenous people did not and could not have ever managed the land driven by a deliberate erasure of evidence of just that...more
I was supposed to spend two weeks in Italy this year which was reduced to 4 short days due to the impact of Miss Rona. So I thought, maybe I'll read a
I was supposed to spend two weeks in Italy this year which was reduced to 4 short days due to the impact of Miss Rona. So I thought, maybe I'll read a book about Ancient Rome which somehow substitutes for being on a holiday there and looking at these things (??). No, I don't think it was the same vibe but it was still interesting to read this all nonetheless.
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome is an expansive history, tracing from the supposed origins of Rome in 753BCE to 212 CE. This covers a lot of history, from looking at specific rulers and significant figures to significant events and founding myths to more broad questions like the wealth divide in Rome, Roman perceptions of themselves, and the impact of Christianity on later Rome. I sometimes found the way Mary Beard jumped through time periods and chronology a little confusing, but it all came together in the end.
There is definitely a lot of information I didn't know, so even though the tone wasn't always exactly what I want in non-fiction I still really enjoyed it. I can see how people who are a little more familiar with Ancient Roman history might not be into it, but personally I'm a newbie to it worked for me. I also really liked the inclusion of photographs of places, people and artifacts which Mary Beard discusses.
If you're looking for an intro into Roman history, I definitely recommend. Just be aware at parts it's a little dense and hefty
At its very core, the story of Jack the Ripper is a narrative of a killers deep, abiding hatred of women. Our cultural obsession with the mytholog
At its very core, the story of Jack the Ripper is a narrative of a killers deep, abiding hatred of women. Our cultural obsession with the mythology surrounding Jack the Ripper only serves to normalise its particular brand of misogyny. We've grown so comfortable with these stories - the unfathomable male killer - that we've failed to recognise that he continues to walk among us."
I really really admire what the author did here. The Five is such an engaging book, highlighting not only some of the social conditions of the Victorian period, but also finally unveiling the lives of five women whose names and death are immortalised, but whose lives haven't been of much interest to the public. This book not only examines cultural beliefs and ideologies of the period, and acts as a study into Victorian life, but also creates a fascinating picture of five women who we know nothing about aside from their deaths. I was expecting a story about five lives and I got that - but I also got so many more context and information about the Victorian period that I found fascinating.
Rubenhold doesn't attempt to solve the crimes - she just lets the voices of the women speak without contextualising them in their deaths. I thought the way Jack the Ripper is barely mentioned, except in the conclusion, was a powerful way to tell this story and I really appreciated Rubenhold's dedication and research that has gone into finally telling these women's stories.
One thing I particularly enjoyed was Rubenhold's linking of the mythologies around men like JTR, and the violence and abuse against women that continues to plague society. Rubenhold contextualises the deaths in our current culture well - examining how Victorian archetypes of "angel and whore" persist, and the Victorian media's and publication of the Ripper story which was heavily embedded in the idea that bad girls deserve punishment - has also persisted. Rubenhold critiques the mythology around JTR and similar serial killers, questioning why we praise their ~twisted genius~ in getting away with violent crimes against women, whilst also sweeping the victims lives under the rug.
I think some of the reviews saying this book tries to sympathise the victims because they weren't prostitutes isn't exactly what Rubenhold is trying to do. In fact, she explicitly outlines in the conclusion that it doesn't matter whether or not they were sex workers - they didn't deserve to die and they were complex women with whole lives. I think, however, she's trying to deconstruct the trope that all poor women are sex workers, and Jack the Ripper just hated sex workers (which was used to justify which his murders were okay) - when in reality it's more likely he just preyed on vulnerable women.
"In order to gawk at this figure of malevolence, we have stepped over, and in some cases, figuratively kicked, the corpses of the women he killed.
I can only give it a four-star though - because the author engages in a little bit too much conjecture for me. I appreciate how difficult this would have been to piece together and research but that said, some of the assumptions made felt unfounded to me. "She must have felt this", "she must have done this" and similar statements rubbed me a little bit the wrong way. I appreciated Rubenhold trying to humanise the victims by assigning them these feelings and ideas but it strayed a little too far for me. Some of the conclusions felt like reaches. That said, I still think it's clear an enormous amount of research went into this - so I still really enjoyed it despite a few 'uhh' moments from me.
Overall, I highly recommend picking this up if you have an interest in Jack the Ripper, victorian lives -or just want a great insight into five women's who's deaths have far out shadowed their lives in the public consciousness....more
I was a dinosaur obsessed kid. I watched the entire Land Before Time series, many many times, and would rewatch BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs so often I was a dinosaur obsessed kid. I watched the entire Land Before Time series, many many times, and would rewatch BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs so often that I can still quote large segments of it verbatim despite not having watched it for over a decade.
I didn't know about this book until it won the Goodreads Choice Award for best non-fiction in 2018, and I knew I had to read it. Even though my obsession with Dinosaurs has faded, I still find the humongous animals that roamed the earth we stand on right now so freakin fascinating. They seem so alien and out of this world, its hard to really fully process they very much were alive and thriving 150 million years ago.
The information in this book was definitely interesting - when it related to the Dinosaurs. Research indicating Dinosaurs had feathers, information on new species such as a bad winged Dinosaur, crucial to understanding how Dinosaurs evolved into todays birds, explanations of how we know what colours Dinosaurs are, and conclusive proof that it was an asteroid that wiped out the Dinosaurs for good.
But that was kind of outweighed by the author - who was often incredibly annoying and injected his own story and relationships into the story way too often. He's like that guy in your class who is absolutely desperate for everyone to know he is, in fact, the smartest person in the room. The way he name dropped colleagues was not only annoying, but also confusing, as all the names got jumbled into one (and I was expected to remember them despite only being mentioned once 500 pages ago). The sexism also was a bit off-putting, especially one section that made me actually cringe - where the author gleefully recounts a palaeontologist event where the speaker spent his time talking about the bodies of female palaeontologists and talking about how many he had slept with. It reeked of the awkward nerdy boy in high school who said awful things about women to try and sound cooler but just ended up sounding like a dick everyone hated.
If you want to know about Dinosaurs, including so much emerging research you definitely would not have heard about before I do recommend this - but go into it with a huge grain of salt because the author was A Lot in my opinion. I couldn't skip his personal stories on the audiobook, but I would do that if you're reading physically.
Now, enjoy this picture of T-Rex drawn with the feathers they absolutely had
“Culture tends to argue that it forbids only that which is unnatural. But from a biological perspective, nothing is unnatural. Whatever is possible
“Culture tends to argue that it forbids only that which is unnatural. But from a biological perspective, nothing is unnatural. Whatever is possible is by definition also natural. A truly unnatural behaviour, one that goes against the laws of nature, simply cannot exist, so it would need no prohibition.”
This book was incredibly fucking interesting. Somehow Yuval Noah Harari is able to condense human history into 450 pages, and it's both concise enough to not drag, but detailed enough to feel like you're really developing knowledge. I love all the different threads this book bought together: history, science, culture, anthropology and philosophy all combined to create some really interesting discussions about Homo Sapiens.
What I liked about this was that it was so educational, but also quite funny and entertaining. It was so easy to follow because of how the author infused it with jokes and funny comparisons. If you're someone like me who enjoys non-fiction but isn't a massive buff that balance between facts and humour was so nice. It's definitely a beginners, "I don't do this often" type book, but thats what I am so for me it was perfect.
This book definitely blew my mind, multiple times. Can't tell you how many times I messaged friends and family like "did you know that scientists are going to inject Neanderthal DNA into a human so they give birth to a Neanderthal" and "did you know Homo Sapiens, Homo Erectus and Neanderthal's were alive at the same time?" and "Did you know that aluminium used to be worth more then gold so Roman kings served their favourite guests on aluminium plates and everyone else had to 'make do' with the gold plates" All the little trivia facts and things like that were fun to collect and I definitely remember a lot of the things that happened in here
I also found the discussion aspects illuminating and open-ended enough that I could debate it with myself. My perspective on some issues were challenged which was really nice. Some of the chapters though were definitely less interesting then others. The beginning was so interesting and my favourite part, early human civilisations were covered so well, but some of the discussions on economics and religion didn't engage me as much. Maybe because I hate math? regardless, the middle wasn't as exciting to me as the beginning and the end.
“You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.”
Overall, I definitely recommend this if you want a brief but educational book about history. It's easy to read despite it's subject matter, and definitely taught me a thing or ten. I actually listened to this on audiobook and I highly recommend that, the narrator was fantastic and actually had a really soothing tone that helped me fall asleep (in the good, this calmed me down way not the bad it was so boring I fell asleep way)
Will definitely check out the sequel, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow ...more
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