A revelatory history of how postcolonial African Independence movements were systematically undermined by one nation …
Excruciating Detail
4 stars
So much interesting information on African decolonialisation and how it often failed is contained in this book. And people tend to be ignorant about the involvement of western powers in the often brutal dictatorships and political instability that ruled so many African states. Unfortunately it's hidden in a writing style that often succumbs to providing almost tedious amounts of detail and directly quoted evidence. I wish this book would have had a different editor because the story it tells is important
So much interesting information on African decolonialisation and how it often failed is contained in this book. And people tend to be ignorant about the involvement of western powers in the often brutal dictatorships and political instability that ruled so many African states. Unfortunately it's hidden in a writing style that often succumbs to providing almost tedious amounts of detail and directly quoted evidence. I wish this book would have had a different editor because the story it tells is important
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch is a 1990 novel …
Review of 'Good Omens' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
Good Omens is a thrilling apocalyptic fantasy with a good bit of humour. the amount of characters introduced leading up to the climax lead to a somewhat protracted lead up to an already heavily foreshadowed climax, which made me a bit impatient at times for the book to finally get on with it, but the climax then definitely was worth it <spoiler>even if it hand-waved away an insinuated further climax</spoiler>. Well worth reading for sure.
Good Omens is a thrilling apocalyptic fantasy with a good bit of humour. the amount of characters introduced leading up to the climax lead to a somewhat protracted lead up to an already heavily foreshadowed climax, which made me a bit impatient at times for the book to finally get on with it, but the climax then definitely was worth it <spoiler>even if it hand-waved away an insinuated further climax</spoiler>. Well worth reading for sure.
Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen is het bekendste werk van de historicus Johan Huizinga uit 1919. In …
Review of 'Waning of the Middle Ages' on 'Storygraph'
1 star
This book took me 10 months to finish, which usually means it failed to pull me along, and I needed to rely on my completionism to pull me through. Yes this is a seminal wok of (art) history, and i can see why, but the views it espouses on the way are just utterly outdated. From normative and hierarchical views of artistic "progress" to Huizinga's Calvinism tainting his views of medieval catholicism there's a lot in this book that just made me(ahistorically) think what a prick. I don't think I would recommend reading this book even to art history students (unless to quote mine it, I guess). There are better books out there making good cohesive and readable arguments about the late middle ages (and they'll likely boil down Huizinga's main point more succinctly than he ever did).
This book took me 10 months to finish, which usually means it failed to pull me along, and I needed to rely on my completionism to pull me through. Yes this is a seminal wok of (art) history, and i can see why, but the views it espouses on the way are just utterly outdated. From normative and hierarchical views of artistic "progress" to Huizinga's Calvinism tainting his views of medieval catholicism there's a lot in this book that just made me(ahistorically) think what a prick. I don't think I would recommend reading this book even to art history students (unless to quote mine it, I guess). There are better books out there making good cohesive and readable arguments about the late middle ages (and they'll likely boil down Huizinga's main point more succinctly than he ever did).
Not at all an enjoyable read, not only because it made me face my own medical issues, but also because this book has some real issues of medical condescension, cisheteronormativity and sexism. Just as an example this book has a knack in the way of weirdly sexist misogynist talk about female patients with marfan syndrome: sentences noting that minimally invasive surgery is "especially for women, cosmetically advantageous" just made my eyes roll back into my skull, and that's ignoring the really reductionist explanations of chromosomal sex and other such things It also tends to wildly flip flop between intended audiences for its chapters. From really basic "oh don't eat too many sweets, it's bad for your teeth" to complex heart surgery explained in all glorious and jargon-heavy detail
Not at all an enjoyable read, not only because it made me face my own medical issues, but also because this book has some real issues of medical condescension, cisheteronormativity and sexism. Just as an example this book has a knack in the way of weirdly sexist misogynist talk about female patients with marfan syndrome: sentences noting that minimally invasive surgery is "especially for women, cosmetically advantageous" just made my eyes roll back into my skull, and that's ignoring the really reductionist explanations of chromosomal sex and other such things It also tends to wildly flip flop between intended audiences for its chapters. From really basic "oh don't eat too many sweets, it's bad for your teeth" to complex heart surgery explained in all glorious and jargon-heavy detail